Sunshine Week, which will be held March 13-19, will once again honor citizens who play a significant role in fighting for open government at the local level. The winner of the "Local Heroes" contest will receive an expenses-paid trip in April to San Diego to be honored by the nation's newsroom leaders at the 2011 ASNE convention. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 18.

Managing industry changes, keeping up with technology, thriving in a digital age and covering the U.S. Census are topics to be covered in upcoming ASNE webinars. The sessions, which begin later this month and run through March, are free to members. To find out more about the webinars and to register, click view article.

Newsroom editors are working longer hours, studying up on technology in their off time, and spending less time on what had been the core functions of their jobs, according to a recent ASNE survey. The challenges and opportunities posed by the news industry’s increased focus on digital content development and related technology has profoundly affected the traditional role editors have played in newsrooms, according to the survey.

Know any free-spirited high school students in their junior year who are interested in journalism careers? Then let them know about the Freedom Forum's Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship and Journalism Conference, an all-expenses-paid journalism training workshop for 51 high school students -- one from each state and the District of Columbia. Students who complete the five-day course will be awarded $1,000 college scholarships. Applications are due Feb. 15, and the conference will be held July 9-14, 2011, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. For more about the conference and the application process, click view article.