Connecting - Dec. 04, 2024

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Dec. 4, 2024

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Colleagues,

Good Wednesday morning on this Dec. 4, 2024,

Last week, Connecting published a story on our colleague Adam Yeomans and his 31-year AP career after his position as the AP’s Nashville-based Regional Director/South was eliminated.

Adam is among an unknown (to Connecting) number of Associated Press staffers whose jobs were eliminated or who were offered and accepted a buyout as part of a plan to reduce staff by about 8% and accelerate a transition to a digital-first organization. The AP said 121 employees were presented a buyout offer.

Our story on Adam was based on a memo to AP editorial staff in the South, but news of others who either lost their jobs or are taking the buyout is unknown.

Connecting would like to profile the career of any staffer whose job was eliminated or who took the buyout that, to my understanding, begins in early January. But only with their buy-in. It is a private matter for some who were impacted, I recognize, but I believe it a shame that those impacted leave the AP without recognition for all they accomplished for the company during their careers – whatever the length.

Connecting stands ready to remedy that. So if you were impacted and would like to do a Connecting profile on your career and your plans, drop me a note.

With that, an addition to our call for information on authors and writers among us:

Book authors – if your book was published in 2024, send 300 words or so summarizing the book, along with a cover photo and headshot of you, both in jpg format.

Blog authors – send a brief description of the contents of your blog, its frequency and a URL.

Website editors – send a description of your website and its URL.

DEADLINE for your submissions is Friday, Dec. 6. The issue on books, blogs and websites will be published in the next week or so. (Connecting also plans to feature colleagues who write columns regularly for newspapers; more at a later date.)

Here’s to a great day – be safe, stay healthy, live it to your fullest.

Paul

Associated Press 100 Photos of 2024: An epic catalog of humanity

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

By TED ANTHONY

In nearly 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states, visual journalists with The Associated Press are eyewitnesses to the world’s news, and have won 36 of AP’s 59 Pulitzer Prizes since the award was established in 1917.

They assembled a visual catalog of our civilization as life in 2024 hurtled directly at us at every speed and in every imaginable color and flavor — dizzying, unremitting, challenging the human race to make sense of it. And behind it all, the unspoken questions:

How do you stop time? How do you preserve moments? Amid all the quick cuts that cut to the quick, how do you absorb what needs to be seen and remembered?

The answer is encapsulated — as it has been for nearly two centuries now — in one word that contains multitudes and possibilities: photography.

This year, AP photographers across the world captured 2024’s vast catalogue of events, from breaking news (wars, natural disasters, an assassination attempt) to intimate moments both quiet and exuberant.

Read and view more here. Shared by Lindel Hutson.

On the wisdom of building supers

David Beard - Molly Gordy's terrific note Tuesday on the wisdom of building superintendents reminded me of this:

Before leaving the New York international desk to serve as AP's Caribbean News Editor in San Juan, my super, who was Puerto Rican, gave me some parting advice.

You may think you are going to paradise, he said, but we have tensions too. The Puerto Ricans don't like the Dominicans, the Dominicans don't like the Haitians, and the Haitians don't like each other.

It was jaundiced advice, but usefully weighed my eager, perhaps Pollyannaish expectations.

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Bill Kaczor - It happens with some regularity: mail and packages being delivered to the wrong address, late, damaged or a combination of those mishaps. I once sent a canister of film to the Tallahassee Bureau by bus in an oversized manila envelope. It arrived with a tire track, a hole and no canister. Then there was the Christmas gift I received via USPS in the middle of summer. It was not from the last Christmas but from the one the year before that. I once received an envelope misdelivered by USPS that had my name in the return address, but I did not mail it. At that time the head of the American Postal Workers Union also was named Bill Kaczor. It was a piece of union mail intended for a postal worker and misdelivered by another postal worker. At least the intended recipient and I lived in the same town. This week I received the most misdelivered envelope I've ever gotten in the mail. I live at 1253 Sanibel Lane, Gulf Breeze, Fl. The delivery address on this piece of business mail from Lewisville, Tx. was 3567 Vista Grande, Carson City, Nv. -- wrong city, wrong state, wrong zip code, wrong half of the country and addressed to someone whose first name was not Bill and last name was not Kaczor. Anyone else care to share their mailing and packaging misadventures? After all, 'tis the season for loading up USPS, UPS, FedEx, et. al. with our holiday cheer!

Working with Reuters and AP

EDITOR’S NOTE: After it was recently announced that former AP and Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee is joining Reuters, Connecting asked colleagues who worked for both news services to tell their story. These continue the series.)

Tracy Brown - I'm both a former Reuters & current AP staffer. Worked in the Visnews/Reuters London office from 1989 and moved to New York in 1992 - ran the video desk in New York and helped move the operation to Washington. Was prompted to News Editor (Americas) and held that position for three years. Moved over to Associated Press video in 1996 as a producer - watched the operation evolve & transform in a myriad of ways since then. Now a Senior Producer, covering White House, politics and foreign policy (still from Washington!)

Connecting wishes Happy Birthday

Elaine Hooker

Bill Winter

Stories of interest

Most – not all – media all over the Pete Hegseth story (Poynter)

By: Tom Jones

Pete Hegseth’s improbable leap from Fox News host to Secretary of Defense might be in jeopardy because of several controversial and serious allegations.

Then again, if you get your news from conservative media and only conservative media, you might ask, “What stories? What allegations?”

In his “Reliable Sources” newsletter on Tuesday, CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote, “What’s a media outlet supposed to do when its longtime host is picked to run the Pentagon, and then a series of eyebrow-raising news stories trigger doubts about his appointment? If you’re Fox News, evidently, you just pretend the stories don’t exist.”

Again, this was Tuesday morning when Stelter was writing about Hegseth — the former Fox News host who is Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. Since Trump announced his decision, one controversial allegation after another has plagued Hegseth.

But as of Tuesday evening, virtually none of them could be found on Fox News.

Read more here. Shared by Doug Pizac.

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Most Americans continue to say media scrutiny keeps politicians from doing things they shouldn’t (Pew Research)

By Sarah Naseer

As they have for the past four decades, most Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in September 2024.

A line chart showing that a majority of Americans have long said media criticism serves as a check on political leaders.

But Republicans’ and Democrats’ views on this question often shift depending on which party controls the White House. And Republicans became much more skeptical about the media’s so-called “watchdog role” during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term.

Pew Research Center has been asking Americans about the news media’s role in investigating and reporting on public officials to hold them accountable since the mid-1980s. That was about a decade after The Washington Post’s coverage of the Watergate scandal contributed to President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

How Democrats and Republicans view the media’s watchdog role

In our most recent survey, conducted two months before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, about three-quarters of Americans (74%) said criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldn’t be done, while far fewer (24%) said this type of scrutiny keeps leaders from doing their job. The last time such a large share of Americans expressed the view that media criticism helps hold political leaders accountable was in 2016, just before Trump was elected the first time.

Read more here. Shared by Mark Mittelstadt.

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As journalists think of leaving X for Bluesky and Threads, media experts see pros and cons (Poynter)

By: Amaris Castillo

In July 2023, Inez Woody decided to give Threads a try.

“You know how when it’s something new, you get on there?” she said of the app from Instagram for viewing and sharing public conversations. “I think I might have gotten on there for like, a few weeks, and then I was just like, ‘OK.’”

At the time, Woody — a multihyphenate who works as a brand copywriter, editor and as a reporter for the Chicago Defender — was much more social on X and Facebook.

But over the past year, Woody became less active on X. “Right after the election, I found my spirit feeling heavy — like a darkness after I would be on there. My personal experience is that, since it was purchased by Elon Musk, it’s just kind of taken a different turn.”

Woody said she had followed a lot of X accounts that held differing views than hers. “I actually enjoy being challenged, especially as a journalist. It’s important for us to try to get as much nonbiased news and insights and information as possible.”

Read more here. Shared by Mark Mittelstadt.

AP classes, by the year...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a listing of Connecting colleagues who have shared the year and the bureau where they started with the AP. If you would like to share your own information, I will include it in later postings. Current AP staffers are also welcome to share their information.)

1951 - Norm Abelson (Boston)

1953 – Charles Monzella (Huntington, WVa)

1955 – Henry Bradsher (Atlanta), Paul Harrington (Boston), Joe McGowan (Cheyenne)

1957 - Louis Uchitelle (Philadelphia)

1958 – Roy Bolch (Kansas City)

1959 – Charlie Bruce (Montgomery)

1960 – Claude Erbsen (New York), Carl Leubsdorf (New Orleans)

1961 – Peter Arnett (Jakarta, Indonesia), Strat Douthat (Charleston. WVa), Warren Lerude (San Diego), Ed Staats (Austin)

1962 – Paul Albright (Cheyenne), Malcolm Barr Sr. (Honolulu), Myron Belkind (New York), Dave Mazzarella (Newark), Peggy Simpson (Dallas), Kelly Smith Tunney (Miami)

1963 – Hal Bock (New York), Jeff Williams (Portland OR)

1964 – Rachel Ambrose (Indianapolis), Larry Hamlin (Oklahoma City), John Lengel (Los Angeles), Ron Mulnix (Denver), Lyle Price (San Francisco), Lew Simons (New York), Arlene Sposato (New York), Karol Stonger (Indianapolis), Hilmi Toros (New York)

1965 – Bob Dobkin (Pittsburgh), Harry Dunphy (Denver), John Gibbons (New York), Bob Greene (Kansas City), Jim Luther (Nashville), Larry Margasak (Harrisburg), Rich Oppel (Tallahassee)

1966 – Shirley Christian (Kansas City), Mike Doan (Portland, OR), Edie Lederer (New York), Nancy Shipley (Nashville), Mike Short (Los Angeles), Marty Thompson (Seattle), Nick Ut (Saigon), Kent Zimmerman (Chicago)

1967 – Dan Berger (Los Angeles), Adolphe Bernotas (Concord), Lou Boccardi (New York), Linda Deutsch (Los Angeles), Don Harrison (Los Angeles), Frank Hawkins (New York), Doug Kienitz (Cheyenne), David Liu (New York), Bruce Lowitt (Los Angeles), Chuck McFadden (Los Angeles), Martha Malan (Minneapolis), Bill Morrissey (Buffalo), Larry Paladino (Detroit), Michael Putzel (Raleigh), Bruce Richardson (Chicago), Richard Shafer (Baltimore), Victor Simpson (Newark), Michael Sniffen (Newark), Kernan Turner (Portland, Ore)

1968 – Lee Balgemann (Chicago), John Eagan (San Francisco), Joe Galu (Albany/Troy), Peter Gehrig (Frankfurt), Charles Hanley (Albany), Jerry Harkavy (Portland, Maine), Herb Hemming (New York), Brian King (Albany), Samuel Koo (New York), Karren Mills (Minneapolis), Michael Rubin (Los Angeles), Rick Spratling (Salt Lake City), Barry Sweet (Seattle)

1969 - Ann Blackman (New York), Ford Burkhart (Philadelphia), Harry Cabluck (Pittsburgh), Dick Carelli (Charleston, WVa), Dennis Coston (Richmond), Ron Frehm (New York), Mary V. Gordon (Newark), Daniel Q. Haney (Portland, Maine), Mike Harris (Chicago), Brad Martin (Kansas City), David Minthorn (Frankfurt), Cynthia Rawitch (Los Angeles), Bob Reid (Charlotte), Mike Reilly (New York), Doug Tucker (Tulsa), Bill Winter (Helena)

1970 – Richard Boudreaux (New York), David Briscoe (Manila), Sibby Christensen (New York), Richard Drew (San Francisco), Bob Egelko (Los Angeles), Steve (Indy) Herman (Indianapolis), Tim Litsch (New York), Lee Margulies (Los Angeles), Chris Pederson (Salt Lake City), Brendan Riley (San Francisco), Larry Thorson (Philadelphia)

1971 – Harry Atkins (Detroit), Jim Bagby (Kansas City), Larry Blasko (Chicago), Jim Carlson (Milwaukee), Jim Carrier (New Haven), Chris Connell (Newark), Bill Gillen (New York), Bill Hendrick (Birmingham), John Lumpkin (Dallas), Kendal Weaver (Montgomery)

1972 – Hank Ackerman (New York), Rod Davis (Dallas), Bob Fick (St. Louis), Joe Frazier (Portland, Ore.), Terry Ganey (St. Louis), Mike Graczyk (Detroit), Denis Gray (Albany), Lindel Hutson (Little Rock), Brent Kallestad (Sioux Falls), Tom Kent (Hartford), Nolan Kienitz (Dallas), Kent Kilpatrick (Detroit), Andy Lippman (Phoenix), Ellen Miller (Helena), Mike Millican (Hartford), Bruce Nathan (New York), Ginny Pitt Sherlock (Boston), Lew Wheaton (Richmond)

1973 - Jerry Cipriano (New York), Susan Clark (New York), Norm Clarke (Cincinnati), Marty Crutsinger (Miami), Steve Fox (Los Angeles), Joe Galianese (East Brunswick), Merrill Hartson (Richmond), Mike Hendricks (Albany), Tom Journey (Tucson), Steve Loeper (Los Angeles), Jesus Medina (New York), Tom Slaughter (Sioux Falls), Jim Spehar (Denver), Paul Stevens (Albany), Jeffrey Ulbrich (Cheyenne), Owen Ullmann (Detroit), Suzanne Vlamis (New York), John Willis (Omaha), Evans Witt (San Francisco)

1974 – Norman Black (Baltimore), David Espo (Cheyenne), Dan George (Topeka), Robert Glass (Philadelphia), Steve Graham (Helena), Tim Harper (Milwaukee), Elaine Hooker (Hartford), Sue Price Johnson (Charlotte), Dave Lubeski (Washington), Janet McConnaughey (Washington), Lee Mitgang (New York), Barry Shlachter (Tokyo), Bud Weydert (Toledo), Marc Wilson (Little Rock)

1975 – Peter Eisner (Columbus), Charles Hill (Charlotte), Jim Limbach (Washington), Bill McCloskey (Washington), David Powell (New York), Eileen Alt Powell (Milwaukee)

1976 – Brad Cain (Chicago), Judith Capar (Philadelphia), Dick Chady (Albany), Steve Crowley (Washington), David Egner (Oklahoma City), Marc Humbert (Albany), Steven Hurst (Columbus), Richard Lowe (Nashville), Mike Mcphee (Boston), John Nolan (Nashville), Guy Palmiotto (New York), Charlotte Porter (Minneapolis), Chuck Wolfe (Charlotte)

1977 – Bryan Brumley (Washington), Robert Burns (Jefferson City), Charles Campbell (Nashville), Carolyn Carlson (Atlanta), Dave Carpenter (Philadelphia), Solange De Santis (New York), Jim Drinkard (Jefferson City), Ken Herman (Dallas), Mike Holmes (Des Moines), Brad Kalbfeld (New York), Larry Kilman (Atlanta), Scott Kraft (Jefferson City), John Kreiser (New York), Peter Leabo (Dallas), Kevin LeBoeuf (Los Angeles), Ellen Nimmons (Minneapolis), Dan Sewell (Buffalo), Estes Thompson (Richmond), David Tirrell-Wysocki (Concord)

1978 – Vinnie D'Alessandro (Hartford), Tom Eblen (Louisville), Ruth Gersh (Richmond), Monte Hayes (Caracas), Doug Pizac (Los Angeles), Charles Richards (Dallas), Reed Saxon (Los Angeles), Steve Wilson (Boston)

1979 – Jim Abrams (Tokyo), Peter Banda (Albuquerque), Brian Bland (Los Angeles), Scotty Comegys (Chicago), John Daniszewski (Philadelphia), Frances D’Emilio (San Francisco), Pat Fergus (Albany), Brian Friedman (Des Moines), Sally Hale (Dallas), Susana Hayward (New York), Jill Lawrence (Harrisburg), Warren Levinson (New York), Barry Massey (Kansas City), Phillip Rawls (Nashville), John Rice (Carson City), Linda Sargent (Little Rock), Joel Stashenko (Albany), Robert Wielaard (Brussels)

1980 – Alan Adler (Cleveland), Christopher Bacey (New York), Diane M. Balk (Indianapolis), Jeff Barnard (Providence), Mark Duncan (Cleveland), Bill Kaczor (Tallahassee), Mitchell Landsberg (Reno), Kevin Noblet (New Orleans), Jim Rowley (Baltimore), David Speer (Jackson), Hal Spencer (Providence), Jo Steck (Los Angeles), Carol J. Williams (Seattle)

1981 – Paul Davenport (Phoenix), Dan Day (Milwaukee), John Flesher (Raleigh), Debra Hale-Shelton (Little Rock), Len Iwanski (Bismarck), Ed McCullough (Albany), Drusilla Menaker (Philadelphia), Kim Mills (New York), Mark Mittelstadt (Des Moines), Roland Rochet (New York), Lee Siegel (Seattle), Marty Steinberg (Baltimore), Bill Vogrin (Kansas City)

1982 – Dorothy Abernathy (Little Rock), Al Behrman (Cincinnati), Tom Cohen (Jefferson City), John Epperson (Chicago), Ric Feld (Atlanta), Kiki Lascaris Georgio (New York), Nick Geranios (Helena), Mike Gracia (Washington), Howard Gros (New Orleans), Dan Juric (East Brunswick), Robert Kimball (New York), Rob Kozloff (Detroit), Bill Menezes (Kansas City), David Ochs (New York), Eric Risberg (San Francisco), Cecilia White (Los Angeles)

1983 – Elise Amendola (Boston), Edward L. Birk (Boston), Donna Cassata (Albany), Scott Charton (Little Rock), Sue Cross (Columbus), Mark Elias (Chicago), Doug Fisher (Columbus), Alan Fram (Newark), David Ginsburg (Washington), Lisa Hamm-Greenawalt, Diana Heidgerd (Miami), Sheila Norman-Culp (New York), Carol Esler Ochs (New York), Jim Reindl (Detroit), Amy Sancetta (Philadelphia), Rande Simpson (New York), Dave Skidmore (Milwaukee), Barbara Worth (New York)

1984 – David Beard (Chicago), Owen Canfield (Oklahoma City), Wayne Chin (Washington), Jack Elliott (Oklahoma City), Kelly P. Kissel (New Orleans), Joe Macenka (Richmond), Eva Parziale (San Francisco), Walt Rastetter (New York), Malcolm Ritter (New York), Keith Robinson (Columbus), Cliff Schiappa (Kansas City), David Sedeño (Dallas), Andrew Selsky (Cheyenne), Patty Woodrow (Washington)

1985 – Beth Grace (Columbus), Betty Kumpf Pizac (Los Angeles)

1986 – Joni Baluh Beall (Richmond), David Beard (Jackson), Tom Coyne (Columbia, SC), Dave DeGrace (Milwaukee), Alan Flippen (Louisville), Jim Gerberich (San Francisco), Howard Goldberg (New York), Mark Hamrick (Dallas), Sandy Kozel (Washington), Arlene Levinson (Boston), Robert Meyers (London), David Morris (Harrisburg), Susan Ragan (New York), Bob Seavey (Lima), Barbara Woike (New York)

1987 – Donna Abu-Nasr (Beirut), Jim Anderson (Mexico City), Dave Bauder (Albany), Bob Bellafiore (Albany), Chuck Burton (Charlotte), Beth Harris (Indianapolis), Lynne Harris (New York), Steven L. Herman (Charleston, WVa), Elaine Kurtenbach (Tokyo), Rosemarie Mileto (New York), John Rogers (Los Angeles)

1988 – Chris Carola (Albany), Peg Coughlin (Pierre), Frank Eltman (New York), Kathy Gannon (Islamabad), Steve Hart (Washington), Melissa Jordan (Sioux Falls), Bill Pilc (New York), Kelley Shannon (Dallas)

1989 – Charlie Arbogast (Trenton), Susan Boyle (New York), Ted Bridis (Oklahoma City), Paul Randall Dickerson (Nashville), Ron Fournier (Little Rock), Ann Gibson (Richmond)

1990 – Frank Fisher (Jackson), Dan Perry (Bucharest), Steve Sakson (Baltimore), Sean Thompson (New York)

1991 – Amanda Kell (Richmond), Santiago Lyon (Cairo), Lisa Pane (Hartford), Wayne Partlow (Washington), Ricardo Reif (Caracas), Bill Sikes (Buffalo)

1992 – Emery P. Dalesio (Trenton), Jennifer Garske (Washington), Kerry Huggard (New York)

1993 – Jim Salter (St. Louis)

1994 - Glen Johnson (Boston)

1995 – Elaine Thompson (Houston), Donna Tommelleo (Hartford)

1996 – Patricia N. Casillo (New York), John Khin (New York)

1997 – J. David Ake (Chicago), Martha Bellisle (Carson City), Pamela Collins (Dallas), Rachel La Corte (Miami), Madhu Krishnappa Maron (New York), Jim Suhr (Detroit), Jennifer Yates (Baltimore)

1998 – Alan Clendenning (New Orleans), Guthrie Collin (Albany), Mitch Stacy (London)

1999 – Melinda Deslatte (Raleigh), Laura Rauch (Las Vegas)

2000 – Carrie Antlfinger (Milwaukee), Gary Gentile (Los Angeles), Tom Tait (Las Vegas)

2001 - Mike Weissenstein (New York)

2004 - Jim Baltzelle (Dallas)

2005 – Ric Brack (Chicago), Frank Jordans (London)

2006 – Jon Gambrell (Little Rock)

2008 - Steve Braun (Washington)

2011 - Joseph B. Frederick (New York)

2013 - Alex Sanz (Atlanta)

Today in History - Dec. 4, 2024

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 4, the 339th day of 2024. There are 27 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 4, 1991, after being abducted and held for nearly seven years as a hostage by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was released from captivity.

Also on this date:

In 1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.

In 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, dubbed the “Million Dollar Quartet,” gathered for the first and only time for a jam session at Sun Records in Memphis.

In 1964, police arrested some 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, one day after the students stormed the administration building and staged a massive sit-in.

In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard on a two-week mission. (While Gemini 7 was in orbit, its sister ship, Gemini 6A, was launched on Dec. 15 on a one-day mission; the two spacecraft were able to rendezvous within a foot of each other.)

In 1969, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark of the Black Panther Party were shot and killed during a raid by Chicago police.

In 1997, the NBA suspended Golden State Warriors guard Latrell Sprewell for one year after Sprewell attacked Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo three days earlier.

In 2016, a North Carolina man armed with an assault rifle fired several shots inside Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C., pizzeria, as he attempted to investigate an online conspiracy theory that prominent Democrats were harboring child sex slaves at the restaurant; no one was hurt, and the man surrendered to police. (He was later sentenced to four years in prison.)

In 2018, long lines of people wound through the Capitol Rotunda to view the casket of former President George H.W. Bush.

Today’s Birthdays: Game show host Wink Martindale is 91. Actor-producer Max Baer Jr. is 87. Actor Gemma Jones is 82. Actor Jeff Bridges is 75. Actor Patricia Wettig is 73. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 69. Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King is 68. Baseball Hall of Famer Lee Smith is 67. Olympic pole vault gold medalist Sergey Bubka is 61. Actor Marisa Tomei is 60. Actor-comedian Fred Armisen is 58. Rapper Jay-Z is 55. Actor-model Tyra Banks is 51. Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas is 40. Musician Jelly Roll is 40.

Got a photo or story to share?

Connecting is a daily newsletter published Monday through Friday that reaches 1,900 retired and former Associated Press employees, present-day employees, and news industry and journalism school colleagues. It began in 2013. Past issues can be found by clicking Connecting Archive in the masthead. Its author, Paul Stevens, retired from the AP in 2009 after a 36-year career as a newsman in Albany and St. Louis, correspondent in Wichita, chief of bureau in Albuquerque, Indianapolis and Kansas City, and Central Region vice president based in Kansas City.

Got a story to share? A favorite memory of your AP days? Don't keep them to yourself. Share with your colleagues by sending to Ye Olde Connecting Editor. And don't forget to include photos!

Here are some suggestions:

- Connecting "selfies" - a word and photo self-profile of you and your career, and what you are doing today. Both for new members and those who have been with us a while.

- Second chapters - You finished a great career. Now tell us about your second (and third and fourth?) chapters of life.

- Spousal support - How your spouse helped in supporting your work during your AP career.

- My most unusual story - tell us about an unusual, off the wall story that you covered.

- "A silly mistake that you make"- a chance to 'fess up with a memorable mistake in your journalistic career.

- Multigenerational AP families - profiles of families whose service spanned two or more generations.

- Volunteering - benefit your colleagues by sharing volunteer stories - with ideas on such work they can do themselves.

- First job - How did you get your first job in journalism?

- Most unusual place a story assignment took you.

Paul Stevens

Editor, Connecting newsletter

paulstevens46@gmail.com