| Founder(s) | Pam Robinson, Hank Glamann |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional Association |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Origins | Developed from copy editors' meetings at American Society of News Editors (APNE) |
| Key people | Teresa Schmedding, president |
| Area served | United States and Canada |
| Focus | Advocacy and training for copy editors |
| Method | Conferences, publications, online resources |
| Employees | 2 |
| Members | 700 |
| Website | www.copydesk.org |
The American Copy Editors Society, commonly known as ACES, is a professional not-for-profit association for copy editors at U.S. newspapers, magazines, Web sites and corporations.
As of 2011[update], the group offers:
Contents |
ACES was founded in 1997 by Pam Robinson, who also served as its first president, and Hank Glamann. Its inception followed work of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and meetings by copy editors in North Carolina and South Carolina. It is currently led by society president Teresa Schmedding of the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill. John McIntyre, formerly of The Sun in Baltimore, was its second president. Chris Wienandt of the Dallas Morning News was its third president.
It has an executive committee of 15 people, of whom five are officers: the president, vice president for conferences, vice president for membership, secretary and treasurer. Any full member is eligible for elections. It also has an executive director, Rudy Bahr, and an administrator, Carol DeMasters. Membership is $55 a year for full members, and less for students.
In 2008, the board approved changes that allowed copy editors working outside traditional journalism organizations full membership with voting rights. As of 2009, the society has roughly 700 members.
The group has several chapters: Southeast, Florida, Midwest, Ohio, Texas, Southern California and Northern California, as well as college affiliates at the University of Missouri, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Pennsylvania State University.
The society also gives out two awards for copy editing, named after its founders: the Robinson Prize, which is awarded to the top editor of the year, and the Glamann Award, which honors contributions to the craft.
ACES' mission statement is as follows: "The American Copy Editors Society is a professional organization dedicated to improving the quality of journalism and the working lives of copy editors. Our main purpose is to educate our members and others in ways to raise the standards of editing and increase the standing of copy editors. We've created a community that's made copy editors more visible and given them a more constructive role in their careers. We hope you'll join us in continuing that effort."
| Year | Location | Att. |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Chapel HIll, N.C. | 347 |
| 1998 | Portland, Ore. | 400 |
| 1999 | Dallas | 525 |
| 2000 | Baltimore | 425 |
| 2001 | Long Beach, Calif. | 440 |
| 2002 | Louisville, Ky. | 354 |
| 2003 | Chicago | 410 |
| 2004 | Houston | 390 |
| 2005 | Hollywood | 504 |
| 2006 | Cleveland | 420 |
| 2007 | Miami | 368 |
| 2008 | Denver | 297 |
| 2009 | Minneapolis | 256 |
| 2010 | Philadelphia | 331 |
| 2011 | Phoenix | 297 |
The ACES national conference features the fundamentals of the craft and a primer for what's to come. Each year, copy desk executives, professionals, students and academics come together for three days of workshops, panel discussions and more. Learn about the origins of the conference. The annual event is a volunteer-run, nonprofit conference. Each year, more than 300 professionals and students attend the conference: copy editors for newspapers, magazines, websites, trade publications, book publishers, nonprofit agencies and corporations, as well as students, journalism professors, consultants and freelancers.
Its 2012 national conference will be April 12-14 in New Orleans. The University of North Carolina will host the 2013 conference. Regional chapters also hold meetings on occasion.
The idea that led to the creation of ACES was nurtured during a series of three conferences about copy editing sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1995 and 1996.
When ACES was chartered in the spring of 1997, the top priority of the society's founders was to conduct their own national gathering, organized by copy editors, for copy editors. Four months later, the first ACES national conference took place at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The participants, who numbered more than 340, felt the euphoria of shared experience, shared problems, shared goals and shared hopes.
More than 5,000 participants have taken advantage of the educational and networking opportunities offered by these sessions.
ACES members receive discounts on registration costs, as do members of the Society for News Design.