eChaser: October 2005


	Welcome to our newsletter ... Society of Professional Journalists, Fort Worth Professional Chapter Public Relations Society of America, Greater Fort Worth Chapter International Association of Business Communicators, Fort Worth Chapter eChaser archive [graphics format] We appreciate our advertisers! Advanced Mobility Systems Barr Printing Bass Performance Hall Business Wire DFW Printing Co. Fort Worth Business Press Fort Worth Transportation Authority Fort Worth Zoo Helping Restore Ability InterStar Marketing and Public Relations Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Food Restaurant Jubilee Theatre North Texas Daily Optimist, Abilene Christian University Pancho's Mexican Buffet PR Newswire PRSA Creative Consultants SIG The Shorthorn, UTA Star-Telegram TCU Daily Skiff Tony Roma's The University of Texas at Arlington VMS Weber Shandwick Worldwide Wise County Messenger Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations October 2005 MEETINGS Next at IABC/Fort Worth ... Strategic Planning 101 IABC/Fort Worth past president Robin McCasland will explore "Strategic Planning for Dummies" at the October meeting. Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25 Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets Cost: $20 members, $25 nonmembers RSVP by noon Oct. 21: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com ----- Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ... Before the Crisis: A Crisis Plan Two highly experienced PR professionals will present a comprehensive crisis communications program at the Oct. 12 professional development seminar and lunceon. Dan Keeney, APR, president of DPK Public Relations in Houston, will headline the morning session as he mixes fundamentals about crisis communications planning with interactive scenarios on how to make split-second decisions, develop key messages and deliver them on camera. NASA has engaged Keeney to build support for extending human exploration back to the moon and beyond. Daniel K. Carpenter, NASA deputy chief of staff, at lunch will describe what the space agency's public affairs director did to prepare the office and then how those plans worked during the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Other major events on Carpenter's watch include media relations for the International Space Station and NASA participation in both the World Space Congress 2002 (6,000 attendees) and the 2004 NFL Super Bowl in Houston. Time & date: seminar 9-11:30 a.m., lunch noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets Cost: seminar and luncheon, members $52, nonmembers $75, students $32; seminar only, members $32, nonmembers $57, students $18; lunch only, members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20 RSVP by noon Oct. 7: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org ----- Next at Fort Worth SPJ ... Get on the Bus! From the July 2002 eChaser: "That was a jolly band, 30 strong, of drinkers, grazers, gazers and near-geezers who made the excursion June 22 to peruse the Pulitzers at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. It was like the senior trip to play Odessa Permian, except the tuba section didn't grope the color guard. Instant charter-bus chums, the riders drank most of the soft drinks and bottled water and ... beer on board, ate all the pretzels and Goldfish that Kay Pirtle packaged in little Ziploc bags, uniformly pronounced the pictures stunning and still were back at their cars with two hours of daylight left. What a time. Surely we will do this again." And so the chapter shall, on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 22. Three years ago the payoff was a traveling show of Pulitzer Prize-winning photos. Same destination this time, but with a different slant on the craft. "Covering Chaos" packages historic film, artifacts, two videos and highlights of the museum's oral history collection to painstakingly narrate the four days of continuous coverage of the Kennedy assassination, Nov. 22-25, 1963. It gives voice to the more than 300 reporters present in 1963, among them Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer. An interesting angle compares the technologies of 1963 and today, helping visitors visualize the Stone Age nature of the bulky equipment -- a medium in its infancy. The bus will leave the Interstate 30/Trinity River Pappasito's parking lot at 1 p.m., then advance to Arlington and add a second batch of folks at the new Shady Oak Barbeque and Grill on Copeland Road. Everyone returns to God's county by 6. Onboard the Cowtown Charters coach, expect soft drinks, munch items and sufficient other beverages for those so inclined to get happy but not plowed (don't expect a bathroom). Or BYOB, if you like, and add it to the big cooler being arranged by the ad hoc libations committee. No glass containers or frowns allowed. Date: Saturday, Oct. 22 Times: bus leaves promptly at 1 p.m. from Pappasito's on I-30 and the Trinity River (park near the Pappasito's sign on the south side of the lot) and approximately 30 minutes later from Shady Oak Barbeque and Grill in Arlington on Copeland Road and Nolan Ryan Expressway (park near the access road, Copeland, between the big Shady Oak and Mexican Inn signs) -- be on time! Place: up and down I-30 and at the Sixth Floor Museum, downtown Dallas Cost: $15 cash at the bus door RSVP by noon Sept. 7: mkpirtle@yahoo.com =================================================== STRAIGHT STUFF A passel of Texas Radio Hall of Fame 2005 inductees -- Ann Arnold, Vesta Brandt, Al Caldwell, George Carlin, Caroline Devine, Sam Donaldson, Milo Hamilton, Vann Kennedy (deceased), Ken Knox (deceased), Hugh Lampman (deceased), Steve Lundy (deceased) and Wes Wise -- will be honored Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria. Also recognized will be 2005 Hall of Honor instatees Bill Bradford, Bob Bruton and Bill Enis (deceased). More at texasradiohalloffame.com. ... The East-West Center is accepting applications for the winter 2006 Jefferson Fellowships, which will bring Asia-Pacific journalists to the U.S. and send American journalists to India and Pakistan. Both groups will convene in Honolulu to share impressions and ideas. Applications are due Oct. 21. Fellows will be expected to travel Feb. 5-26. Go to eastwestcenter.org/Jefferson. ... Applications are due Oct. 7 for the expenses-paid seminar "Finding Hidden Secrets in Financial Documents" at the University of California, Berkeley's Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, wkconline.org. The seminar will be Nov. 15-18. IABC local update: It's not too late to register for the IABC Southern Region Conference, "005: Communication -- Shaken, Not Stirred," Oct. 16-18 in College Station. Organizers vow that participants will be inspired by Rudy Ruettiger, subject of the movie "Rudy," and learn from CNN Headline News senior VP Rolando Santos about connecting with an international audience; from Jane Cook, former White House webmaster, on communication secrets from presidential shake-ups; and from, well, a real-life spy, Dudley Latimer, on clandestine communications. More at iabc-bv.org/2005conference/index.html. IABC local update II: IABC/Dallas has blocked an entire day -- Friday, Oct. 7 -- to clebrate its Bronze Quill Awards and 35th reunion at the Renaissance Hotel and adjacent Eisemann Center in Richardson. "From Cacophony to Clarity" is the theme, and it's all about creating simplicity out of complexity -- taming chaos -- what great communicators do when they're at the top of their game. Communicator heavyweights Charles Pizzo, Charles Pizzo Public Relations; Jeff Herrington, Jeff Herrington Communications; Mitch McCasland, Moroch Partners Advertising; and Dusty Crocker, TCU professor and professional trainer, will lead four 2 1/2-hour seminars on strategy and tactics, sandwiched around the Bronze Quill presentation and address by Southwest Airlines senior VP Ginger Hardage. More here. PRSA local update: Have a project? Need some help? Rent a TCU PRSSA student. He or she can stuff media kits, work special events, do research, write media releases, etc., in exchange for a donation to the TCU PRSSA chapter. E- chapter chief Kina Garrison at k.d.garrison@tcu.edu. ... Starting this month, PRSA is implementing Cvent, an online event management and registration program. It should simplify the process, even allowing members to pay online using a credit card. PRSA local update II: Nancy Farrar, president of Farrar Public Relations and co-chair of the PRSA Independent Consultants Special Interest Group, spoke at a PRSA Arkansas professional development seminar Sept. 30 on "Going It Alone: Success Stories from PR Consultants." ... Postmark deadlines are Oct. 3 and 10 for the Spokesperson of the Year Awards, "honoring the masters in messaging," sponsored by PR News and CCG. More here. PRSA local update III: Greater Fort Worth PRSA will hold its annual meeting during the November chapter meeting and luncheon. A vote will be taken on the 2005-06 slate of officers: president, Holly Ellman; president-elect, Marc Flake; vice president programs, Lyndsay Nantz; treasurer, Laura Van Hoosier; treasurer-elect, Krista Brown; and secretary, Chris Smith. June Norman, APR, is the 2007 assembly delegate and past-president Heather Senter, APR, the '08 delegate. Joining new director Carol Murray, APR, will be returning directors Tom Burke, APR, 2006, and Tracy Sturrock, 2007. Directors serve for three years and leave the board in the year indicated. Chair Susan Schoolfield, APR, Hope Caldwell, Joy Rich, Heather Senter and Holly Ellman served on the nominating committee. PRSA local update IV: Renay San Miguel, weekend anchor for CNN Headline News, will keynote Dallas PRSA Media Day on Friday, Oct. 28, featuring issues-oriented strategy sessions, tactical updates from local and regional media panels, training time for APR candidates and an opportunity to meet the industry's leading resource companies. Reservations deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 24. More here. SPJ national update: End the world now, ask questions later; incompetence and deceit; and the killing of journalists. The Pentagon has drafted a doctrine that foresees commanders requesting presidential approval to use nuclear weapons to preempt an attack by weapons of mass destruction. The draft includes the option of using nuclear arms to destroy enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. More here. ... From U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.: "I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims -- far more efficiently than buses -- FEMA again dragged its feet. Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency. But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday (Sept. 2) with the president, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment." More here. ... Reuters in a letter Sept. 28 called on Virginia Sen. John Warner, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to raise widespread concern about the conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq. Reuters' David Schlesinger referred to "a long parade of disturbing incidents whereby professional journalists have been killed, wrongfully detained, and/or illegally abused by U.S. forces in Iraq." More here. SPJ national update II: Ronnie Earle, God's prosecutor; and life on the edge at the Times-Precarious. A new film featuring Travis County prosecutor Ronnie Earle as he pursued the investigation that led to the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay portrays Earle less as a partisan figure than as a Bible-quoting crusader. "The root of the evil of the corporate and large-monied interest domination of politics is money," Earle says in the still-unfinished film, entitled "The Big Buy." "This is in the Bible. This isn't rocket science. The root of all evil truly is money, especially in politics. People talk about how money is the mother's milk of politics. Well, it's the devil's brew. And what we've got to do, we've got to turn off the tap." More here. ... The New Orleans paper went on an odyssey for a new home while still managing to publish, first online and eventually in print. The paper had to report the biggest story in its history with no electricity, no phone access and no place to work. More here. SPJ national update III: GAO says administration acted improperly; troops still killing journalists; a hard look in the mirror; and they call it Airhead America. Federal auditors said Sept. 30 that the Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of the president's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a PR company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party. In a blistering report, the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said the administration disseminated "covert propaganda" in the United States, in violation of a statutory ban. There is no penalty for violation of this law. More here. ... The International Federation of Journalists has urged the United Nations to investigate media deaths at the hands of coalition forces in Iraq. The organization said the death of Reuters TV sound technician Waleed Khaled on Aug. 28 brought to 18 the number of journalists and other members of the media killed by U.S. troops since the invasion. More here. ... CBS News is starting its own blog, Public Eye, which will wade into controversies over how CBS covers the news. And the AP has published a new FAQ on its About AP/What's New site that includes one question related to the criticism that it does not report enough "positive" news from Iraq, and others addressing charges that reports from there are not always full or accurate because of travel restrictions caused by constant violence. More here and here. ... The former chairman of Air America Radio -- whom former colleagues said engineered transfers of more than $800,000 to the liberal radio network from a boys and girls club in the Bronx -- was missing in late August, according to a lawyer who was trying to have him served with legal papers. More here. SPJ national update IV: Cue the grief; call the movers; Iraqi reporters get tough; and UT Austin paper criticizes SPJ. In a White House that choreographs the president's appearances days ahead, the flubbed post-Hurricane Rita photo op in San Antonio -- it was too sunny to convey tragedy -- was a reminder that the new strategy of putting George W. Bush close to the action has its risks. More here. ... As Galveston County prepared to evacuate ahead of Rita, The Galveston County Daily News was packing up to head north while also staying very much in business. "I suspect I will have to deliver some papers," said publisher Dolph Tillotson. "I've done it before." More here. ... In today's hurly-burly Iraq, dozens of media outlets have created something approximating a Western-style environment in which newly minted politicians tirelessly spin journalists. Mosques have their own media centers, insurgents have web sites, all while the government struggles to control the message that reaches the public. More here. ... The Daily Texan nicked SPJ national for giving Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan its Sunshine Award for contributions to open government. While Madigan's public-access accomplishments are substantial, she also is "responsible for a court case that makes the jobs of student journalists much more difficult." More here. SPJ national update V: The people have no right to know; the president's pornorities; DPS challenges pro-journalists ruling; and when reporters report, and when they don't. Federal databases tracking gun sales are no longer public, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago (7th Circuit) ruled Sept. 12, citing a new law that makes the data "immune from the judicial process" and therefore exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Meanwhile, where are dangerous chemicals leaking as a result of Hurricane Katrina? The New Orleans Times-Picayune's lead hurricane reporter, Mark Schleifstein, had asked the EPA that for days without an answer. So he filed a request under FOIA. More than a week later, he still didn't have an answer. More here and here and here. ... The Bush administration's War on Porn has diverted eight FBI agents, a supervisor and support staff to gather evidence against "manufacturers and purveyors" of pornography -- not the kind exploiting children, but the kind that depicts, and is legally marketed to, consenting adults. "I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated agent. More here. ... The Texas Department of Public Safety has filed a lawsuit fighting Attorney General Greg Abbott's decision in favor of a journalist requesting access to videos taken by Capitol security cameras. The Texas Observer had sought video taken of the hallway behind the Texas House on May 23, the day lawmakers rejected a proposal to allow some low-income students to attend private schools with state funding amid speculation that James Leininger, a proponent of the plan, was secretively leaning on members. More here. ... The last time reporters were so personally involved in a story was early in the invasion of Iraq, when embedded journalists became drumbeaters for the mission. Hurricane Katrina had a similar but opposite effect: After spending time in the Superdome and the convention center in New Orleans, normally poised TV reporters openly deplored the government's failure to help the victims. But just a few days earlier, about 50 members of the White House press corps accepted the president's invitation to drop by the ranch, hang around the pool and shmooze -- while promising not to tell anyone what he said. More here and here and here. =================================================== GET A JOB The Tarrant County College District has two public information officer positions open, one of them half time. Requirements for both include a bachelor's degree in communications or design. Pay $37,381 and $17.97 per hour. Apply online at tccd.edu. ... Irving-based Valor Telecom seeks a corporate communications manager. Requirements include 8-10 years writing experience, knowledge of AP style and full software skill set. Valor is one of the largest providers of telecommunications services in primarily rural communities in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arkansas. Info at valortelecom.com. ... Blanchard Schaefer Advertising & Public Relations seeks an account coordinator. Must have 2-3 years PR experience. Send résumé to jobs@bsapr.com. ... The Denton County Transportation Authority has an opening for a communications and marketing specialist. Required: bachelor's degree with major study in marketing, journalism and communications and three years experience. Salary $44,044-$62,983. Return application and résumé to DCTA, 1660 S. Stemmons, Suite 250, Lewisville 75067. For additional information, job description and application, see dcta.net/employment.htm. ... The Star-Telegram has openings for a religion writer -- knowledgeable about Christian denominations, Islam and Judaism -- and a reporter to cover immigration and the immigrant community (fluency in Spanish preferred). In both cases, looking for five years experience and an ability to work in a variety of journalism forms, from online and deadline reporting, to in-depth profiles and trend pieces. Send a résumé and clips to Jean Marie Brown, S-T managing editor/eastern Tarrant County, P.O. Box 915007, Fort Worth 76115. =================================================== NEW MEMBERS PRSA ... Cathy Walensky ... Holly Cross, Alcon Labs ... Lisa Lankes, Justin Brands ... Laura Squires, Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations ... Jill Eastman, Weaver and Tidwell ... Mark Johnson, Barnes & Noble ... Amiso M. George, APR, Ph.D. =================================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Exits ... investigative reporter Jennifer Autrey, joining her husband, John Forsyth, in New York, where he's on The New York Times copy desk ... page designer and Abilene Christian U. grad Amanda Reiter, to the Ventura (Cal.) County Star ... longtime part-time copy editor John Dycus, who was just really tired of working Friday nights =================================================== READING MATTERS For those at opposite ends of the spectrum ... "The Exception to the Rulers" / Amy Goodman / Hyperion Books / In "Exception to the Rulers," award-winning journalist Goodman exposes the lies, corruption and crimes of the power elite -- an elite, she asserts, that's bolstered by large media conglomerates that obscure the truth. Her goal is "to go where the silence is, to give voice to the silenced majority," and she's fond of quoting Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Goodman hosts the national radio and TV show Democracy Now!, which began in 1996 and is said to be the largest media collaboration in public broadcasting in North America. "Do As I Say (Not As I Do)" / Peter Schweizer / Doubleday / Liberals talk a good game -- progressive taxes, affirmative action, greater regulation of corporations, increasing the inheritance tax, stricter environmental safeguards, consumer rights -- but do they practice what they preach? Author Schweizer looked at the tax returns, real estate documents, business and investment patterns, court depositions, and hiring practices of everyone from Michael Moore and Al Franken to George Soros and Barbra Streisand, and all, he says, are adept at avoiding taxes, invest in the very industries they denounce, and abandon environmental causes when those causes impinge on their own property rights. Schweizer's conclusion: Liberal principles that don't work for individuals have no place in shaping national policy. ==================================================== RESOURCES Add Powerreporting.com, edited by Bill Dedman, to the journalist's toolbox. Several individuals from Columbia Journalism Review helped compile a portion of the site's links to reporting resources. Example: Under "Top 100 Sites," you'll find information about ordering "A Journalist's Guide to Covering Bioterrorism," a Radio and Television News Directors Foundation publication. The site is a collection of information and tools from many sources, including individuals, companies and the government. ==================================================== PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Richard Maxwell, IABC/Fort Worth Want your organization to go from good to great? Then I hope you were with us last month when management consultant and Amazon.com book reviewer Robert Morris reviewed "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. Now on to this month -- Oct. 25, to be exact -- when IABC/Fort Worth past president Robin McCasland from Texas Instruments will speak on "Strategic Planning for Dummies." Join us at the Petroleum Club at 11:30 a.m. for networking and an informative professional development program. Here's a contest you can sink your teeth into. If you're an IABC member and you refer someone who submits a membership application in October, you will receive a $25 gift certificate for an area restaurant and be entered in a drawing to win a free year's IABC membership or the cash equivalent. Visit membership VP Paul Sturiale at paulsturiale@yahoo.com for details. We want to welcome IABC past international chair and Hurricane Katrina survivor Charles Pizzo to the area. To help Charles and other IABC members affected by the disaster, IABC international established a relief fund. If you donate during October, IABC/Fort Worth will match your contribution. We'll be taking donations at the October meeting, or send checks to IABC/Fort Worth, P.O. Box 17033, Fort Worth 76102. ----- OVER & OUT John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ Mike Cochran, no stranger to fun, rated the '02 chartered-bus excursion to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas one of the chapter's best meetings ever. Think we can't boil up that much enjoyment one more time? Just watch. The bus holds 43, and more than half the spaces are already taken for the junket Oct. 22 (and that's with no publicity). When the bus is full, it's full. You don't want to run along beside. E- executive secretary Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com -- she'll save a seat for you. ... SPJ added its name to a letter sent to the chairman and ranking minority members of the House Intelligence Committee, who will hold meetings to discuss "leaks legislation." The letter states in part: "Media organizations are keenly interested in preserving free discussion of important public issues of the day, while preventing legitimate harm to national security. We want to continue the dialogue with you and your colleagues and with the intelligence community to explore remedies to the problems and challenges." Closing words: "We're talking about a couple thousand of the brightest minds on the planet now warning about global warming. What will be the big event that is going to test the theory? Are we going to wait for that occurrence? Isn't there a point that we don't want to test the theory against? Governments today have access to remarkably good scientific advice. They ignore it at the peril of their own populations." -- Sir David King, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser Closing words II, G.W.B. & the Pharisees bracket: "Louisiana is a city that is largely under water." -- Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff ... "Of course it will. It's a blot. I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and [it] will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now." -- former Secretary of State Colin Powell to Barbara Walters on whether his assertions to the United Nations about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction -- assertions that were untrue -- will tarnish his reputation ... "I don't know how many innocents I killed with my mortar rounds. In Baghdad, I had days that I don't want to remember. I try to forget." -- Hart Viges, formerly with the 82nd Airborne Division, at a presentation at American University in Washington ... "Maybe you know something I don't know. I've been working." -- President Bush to reporters when asked to comment on FEMA director Michael Brown's abrupt resignation ... "The time has come that the American people know exactly what their representatives are doing here in Washington. Are they feeding at the public trough, taking lobbyist-paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special interest groups? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? The people, the American people, have a right to know. ... I say the best disinfectant is full disclosure, not isolation." -- Tom DeLay, Nov. 16, 1995

From the July 2002 eChaser: "That was a jolly band, 30 strong, of drinkers, grazers, gazers and near-geezers who made the excursion June 22 to peruse the Pulitzers at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. It was like the senior trip to play Odessa Permian, except the tuba section didn't grope the color guard. Instant charter-bus chums, the riders drank most of the soft drinks and bottled water and ... beer on board, ate all the pretzels and Goldfish that Kay Pirtle packaged in little Ziploc bags, uniformly pronounced the pictures stunning and still were back at their cars with two hours of daylight left. What a time. Surely we will do this again."

"Covering Chaos" packages historic film, artifacts, two videos and highlights of the museum's oral history collection to painstakingly narrate the four days of continuous coverage of the Kennedy assassination, Nov. 22-25, 1963. It gives voice to the more than 300 reporters present in 1963, among them Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer. An interesting angle compares the technologies of 1963 and today, helping visitors visualize the Stone Age nature of the bulky equipment -- a medium in its infancy.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 22

Times: bus leaves promptly at 1 p.m. from Pappasito's on I-30 and the Trinity River (park near the Pappasito's sign on the south side of the lot) and approximately 30 minutes later from Shady Oak Barbeque and Grill in Arlington on Copeland Road and Nolan Ryan Expressway (park near the access road, Copeland, between the big Shady Oak and Mexican Inn signs) -- be on time!

Place: up and down I-30 and at the Sixth Floor Museum, downtown Dallas

Cost: $15 cash at the bus door

RSVP by noon Sept. 7: mkpirtle@yahoo.com

===================================================

A passel of Texas Radio Hall of Fame 2005 inductees -- Ann Arnold, Vesta Brandt, Al Caldwell, George Carlin, Caroline Devine, Sam Donaldson, Milo Hamilton, Vann Kennedy (deceased), Ken Knox (deceased), Hugh Lampman (deceased), Steve Lundy (deceased) and Wes Wise -- will be honored Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria. Also recognized will be 2005 Hall of Honor instatees Bill Bradford, Bob Bruton and Bill Enis (deceased). More at texasradiohalloffame.com. ...

The East-West Center is accepting applications for the winter 2006 Jefferson Fellowships, which will bring Asia-Pacific journalists to the U.S. and send American journalists to India and Pakistan. Both groups will convene in Honolulu to share impressions and ideas. Applications are due Oct. 21. Fellows will be expected to travel Feb. 5-26. Go to eastwestcenter.org/Jefferson. ... Applications are due Oct. 7 for the expenses-paid seminar "Finding Hidden Secrets in Financial Documents" at the University of California, Berkeley's Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, wkconline.org. The seminar will be Nov. 15-18.

IABC local update: It's not too late to register for the IABC Southern Region Conference, "005: Communication -- Shaken, Not Stirred," Oct. 16-18 in College Station. Organizers vow that participants will be inspired by Rudy Ruettiger, subject of the movie "Rudy," and learn from CNN Headline News senior VP Rolando Santos about connecting with an international audience; from Jane Cook, former White House webmaster, on communication secrets from presidential shake-ups; and from, well, a real-life spy, Dudley Latimer, on clandestine communications. More at iabc-bv.org/2005conference/index.html.

IABC local update II: IABC/Dallas has blocked an entire day -- Friday, Oct. 7 -- to clebrate its Bronze Quill Awards and 35th reunion at the Renaissance Hotel and adjacent Eisemann Center in Richardson. "From Cacophony to Clarity" is the theme, and it's all about creating simplicity out of complexity -- taming chaos -- what great communicators do when they're at the top of their game. Communicator heavyweights Charles Pizzo, Charles Pizzo Public Relations; Jeff Herrington, Jeff Herrington Communications; Mitch McCasland, Moroch Partners Advertising; and Dusty Crocker, TCU professor and professional trainer, will lead four 2 1/2-hour seminars on strategy and tactics, sandwiched around the Bronze Quill presentation and address by Southwest Airlines senior VP Ginger Hardage. More here.

PRSA local update: Have a project? Need some help? Rent a TCU PRSSA student. He or she can stuff media kits, work special events, do research, write media releases, etc., in exchange for a donation to the TCU PRSSA chapter. E- chapter chief Kina Garrison at k.d.garrison@tcu.edu. ... Starting this month, PRSA is implementing Cvent, an online event management and registration program. It should simplify the process, even allowing members to pay online using a credit card.

PRSA local update II: Nancy Farrar, president of Farrar Public Relations and co-chair of the PRSA Independent Consultants Special Interest Group, spoke at a PRSA Arkansas professional development seminar Sept. 30 on "Going It Alone: Success Stories from PR Consultants." ... Postmark deadlines are Oct. 3 and 10 for the Spokesperson of the Year Awards, "honoring the masters in messaging," sponsored by PR News and CCG. More here.

PRSA local update III: Greater Fort Worth PRSA will hold its annual meeting during the November chapter meeting and luncheon. A vote will be taken on the 2005-06 slate of officers: president, Holly Ellman; president-elect, Marc Flake; vice president programs, Lyndsay Nantz; treasurer, Laura Van Hoosier; treasurer-elect, Krista Brown; and secretary, Chris Smith. June Norman, APR, is the 2007 assembly delegate and past-president Heather Senter, APR, the '08 delegate. Joining new director Carol Murray, APR, will be returning directors Tom Burke, APR, 2006, and Tracy Sturrock, 2007. Directors serve for three years and leave the board in the year indicated. Chair Susan Schoolfield, APR, Hope Caldwell, Joy Rich, Heather Senter and Holly Ellman served on the nominating committee.

PRSA local update IV: Renay San Miguel, weekend anchor for CNN Headline News, will keynote Dallas PRSA Media Day on Friday, Oct. 28, featuring issues-oriented strategy sessions, tactical updates from local and regional media panels, training time for APR candidates and an opportunity to meet the industry's leading resource companies. Reservations deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 24. More here.

SPJ national update: End the world now, ask questions later; incompetence and deceit; and the killing of journalists. The Pentagon has drafted a doctrine that foresees commanders requesting presidential approval to use nuclear weapons to preempt an attack by weapons of mass destruction. The draft includes the option of using nuclear arms to destroy enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. More here. ... From U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.: "I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims -- far more efficiently than buses -- FEMA again dragged its feet. Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency. But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday (Sept. 2) with the president, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment." More here. ... Reuters in a letter Sept. 28 called on Virginia Sen. John Warner, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to raise widespread concern about the conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq. Reuters' David Schlesinger referred to "a long parade of disturbing incidents whereby professional journalists have been killed, wrongfully detained, and/or illegally abused by U.S. forces in Iraq." More here.

SPJ national update II: Ronnie Earle, God's prosecutor; and life on the edge at the Times-Precarious. A new film featuring Travis County prosecutor Ronnie Earle as he pursued the investigation that led to the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay portrays Earle less as a partisan figure than as a Bible-quoting crusader. "The root of the evil of the corporate and large-monied interest domination of politics is money," Earle says in the still-unfinished film, entitled "The Big Buy." "This is in the Bible. This isn't rocket science. The root of all evil truly is money, especially in politics. People talk about how money is the mother's milk of politics. Well, it's the devil's brew. And what we've got to do, we've got to turn off the tap." More here. ... The New Orleans paper went on an odyssey for a new home while still managing to publish, first online and eventually in print. The paper had to report the biggest story in its history with no electricity, no phone access and no place to work. More here.

SPJ national update III: GAO says administration acted improperly; troops still killing journalists; a hard look in the mirror; and they call it Airhead America. Federal auditors said Sept. 30 that the Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of the president's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a PR company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party. In a blistering report, the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said the administration disseminated "covert propaganda" in the United States, in violation of a statutory ban. There is no penalty for violation of this law. More here. ... The International Federation of Journalists has urged the United Nations to investigate media deaths at the hands of coalition forces in Iraq. The organization said the death of Reuters TV sound technician Waleed Khaled on Aug. 28 brought to 18 the number of journalists and other members of the media killed by U.S. troops since the invasion. More here. ... CBS News is starting its own blog, Public Eye, which will wade into controversies over how CBS covers the news. And the AP has published a new FAQ on its About AP/What's New site that includes one question related to the criticism that it does not report enough "positive" news from Iraq, and others addressing charges that reports from there are not always full or accurate because of travel restrictions caused by constant violence. More here and here. ... The former chairman of Air America Radio -- whom former colleagues said engineered transfers of more than $800,000 to the liberal radio network from a boys and girls club in the Bronx -- was missing in late August, according to a lawyer who was trying to have him served with legal papers. More here.

SPJ national update IV: Cue the grief; call the movers; Iraqi reporters get tough; and UT Austin paper criticizes SPJ. In a White House that choreographs the president's appearances days ahead, the flubbed post-Hurricane Rita photo op in San Antonio -- it was too sunny to convey tragedy -- was a reminder that the new strategy of putting George W. Bush close to the action has its risks. More here. ... As Galveston County prepared to evacuate ahead of Rita, The Galveston County Daily News was packing up to head north while also staying very much in business. "I suspect I will have to deliver some papers," said publisher Dolph Tillotson. "I've done it before." More here. ... In today's hurly-burly Iraq, dozens of media outlets have created something approximating a Western-style environment in which newly minted politicians tirelessly spin journalists. Mosques have their own media centers, insurgents have web sites, all while the government struggles to control the message that reaches the public. More here. ... The Daily Texan nicked SPJ national for giving Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan its Sunshine Award for contributions to open government. While Madigan's public-access accomplishments are substantial, she also is "responsible for a court case that makes the jobs of student journalists much more difficult." More here.

SPJ national update V: The people have no right to know; the president's pornorities; DPS challenges pro-journalists ruling; and when reporters report, and when they don't. Federal databases tracking gun sales are no longer public, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago (7th Circuit) ruled Sept. 12, citing a new law that makes the data "immune from the judicial process" and therefore exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Meanwhile, where are dangerous chemicals leaking as a result of Hurricane Katrina? The New Orleans Times-Picayune's lead hurricane reporter, Mark Schleifstein, had asked the EPA that for days without an answer. So he filed a request under FOIA. More than a week later, he still didn't have an answer. More here and here and here. ... The Bush administration's War on Porn has diverted eight FBI agents, a supervisor and support staff to gather evidence against "manufacturers and purveyors" of pornography -- not the kind exploiting children, but the kind that depicts, and is legally marketed to, consenting adults. "I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated agent. More here. ... The Texas Department of Public Safety has filed a lawsuit fighting Attorney General Greg Abbott's decision in favor of a journalist requesting access to videos taken by Capitol security cameras. The Texas Observer had sought video taken of the hallway behind the Texas House on May 23, the day lawmakers rejected a proposal to allow some low-income students to attend private schools with state funding amid speculation that James Leininger, a proponent of the plan, was secretively leaning on members. More here. ... The last time reporters were so personally involved in a story was early in the invasion of Iraq, when embedded journalists became drumbeaters for the mission. Hurricane Katrina had a similar but opposite effect: After spending time in the Superdome and the convention center in New Orleans, normally poised TV reporters openly deplored the government's failure to help the victims. But just a few days earlier, about 50 members of the White House press corps accepted the president's invitation to drop by the ranch, hang around the pool and shmooze -- while promising not to tell anyone what he said. More here and here and here.

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The Tarrant County College District has two public information officer positions open, one of them half time. Requirements for both include a bachelor's degree in communications or design. Pay $37,381 and $17.97 per hour. Apply online at tccd.edu. ... Irving-based Valor Telecom seeks a corporate communications manager. Requirements include 8-10 years writing experience, knowledge of AP style and full software skill set. Valor is one of the largest providers of telecommunications services in primarily rural communities in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arkansas. Info at valortelecom.com. ...

Blanchard Schaefer Advertising & Public Relations seeks an account coordinator. Must have 2-3 years PR experience. Send résumé to jobs@bsapr.com. ... The Denton County Transportation Authority has an opening for a communications and marketing specialist. Required: bachelor's degree with major study in marketing, journalism and communications and three years experience. Salary $44,044-$62,983. Return application and résumé to DCTA, 1660 S. Stemmons, Suite 250, Lewisville 75067. For additional information, job description and application, see dcta.net/employment.htm. ...

The Star-Telegram has openings for a religion writer -- knowledgeable about Christian denominations, Islam and Judaism -- and a reporter to cover immigration and the immigrant community (fluency in Spanish preferred). In both cases, looking for five years experience and an ability to work in a variety of journalism forms, from online and deadline reporting, to in-depth profiles and trend pieces. Send a résumé and clips to Jean Marie Brown, S-T managing editor/eastern Tarrant County, P.O. Box 915007, Fort Worth 76115.

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PRSA ... Cathy Walensky ... Holly Cross, Alcon Labs ... Lisa Lankes, Justin Brands ... Laura Squires, Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations ... Jill Eastman, Weaver and Tidwell ... Mark Johnson, Barnes & Noble ... Amiso M. George, APR, Ph.D.

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Exits ... investigative reporter Jennifer Autrey, joining her husband, John Forsyth, in New York, where he's on The New York Times copy desk ... page designer and Abilene Christian U. grad Amanda Reiter, to the Ventura (Cal.) County Star ... longtime part-time copy editor John Dycus, who was just really tired of working Friday nights

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For those at opposite ends of the spectrum ...

"The Exception to the Rulers" /

Amy Goodman / Hyperion Books /

In "Exception to the Rulers," award-winning journalist Goodman exposes the lies, corruption and crimes of the power elite -- an elite, she asserts, that's bolstered by large media conglomerates that obscure the truth. Her goal is "to go where the silence is, to give voice to the silenced majority," and she's fond of quoting Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Goodman hosts the national radio and TV show Democracy Now!, which began in 1996 and is said to be the largest media collaboration in public broadcasting in North America.

"Do As I Say (Not As I Do)" /

Peter Schweizer / Doubleday /

Liberals talk a good game -- progressive taxes, affirmative action, greater regulation of corporations, increasing the inheritance tax, stricter environmental safeguards, consumer rights -- but do they practice what they preach? Author Schweizer looked at the tax returns, real estate documents, business and investment patterns, court depositions, and hiring practices of everyone from Michael Moore and Al Franken to George Soros and Barbra Streisand, and all, he says, are adept at avoiding taxes, invest in the very industries they denounce, and abandon environmental causes when those causes impinge on their own property rights. Schweizer's conclusion: Liberal principles that don't work for individuals have no place in shaping national policy.

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Add Powerreporting.com, edited by Bill Dedman, to the journalist's toolbox. Several individuals from Columbia Journalism Review helped compile a portion of the site's links to reporting resources. Example: Under "Top 100 Sites," you'll find information about ordering "A Journalist's Guide to Covering Bioterrorism," a Radio and Television News Directors Foundation publication. The site is a collection of information and tools from many sources, including individuals, companies and the government.

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Richard Maxwell, IABC/Fort Worth

Want your organization to go from good to great? Then I hope you were with us last month when management consultant and Amazon.com book reviewer Robert Morris reviewed "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. Now on to this month -- Oct. 25, to be exact -- when IABC/Fort Worth past president Robin McCasland from Texas Instruments will speak on "Strategic Planning for Dummies." Join us at the Petroleum Club at 11:30 a.m. for networking and an informative professional development program.

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

Mike Cochran, no stranger to fun, rated the '02 chartered-bus excursion to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas one of the chapter's best meetings ever. Think we can't boil up that much enjoyment one more time? Just watch. The bus holds 43, and more than half the spaces are already taken for the junket Oct. 22 (and that's with no publicity). When the bus is full, it's full. You don't want to run along beside. E- executive secretary Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com -- she'll save a seat for you. ...

SPJ added its name to a letter sent to the chairman and ranking minority members of the House Intelligence Committee, who will hold meetings to discuss "leaks legislation." The letter states in part: "Media organizations are keenly interested in preserving free discussion of important public issues of the day, while preventing legitimate harm to national security. We want to continue the dialogue with you and your colleagues and with the intelligence community to explore remedies to the problems and challenges."

Closing words: "We're talking about a couple thousand of the brightest minds on the planet now warning about global warming. What will be the big event that is going to test the theory? Are we going to wait for that occurrence? Isn't there a point that we don't want to test the theory against? Governments today have access to remarkably good scientific advice. They ignore it at the peril of their own populations." -- Sir David King, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser

Closing words II, G.W.B. & the Pharisees bracket: "Louisiana is a city that is largely under water." -- Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff ... "Of course it will. It's a blot. I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and [it] will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now." -- former Secretary of State Colin Powell to Barbara Walters on whether his assertions to the United Nations about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction -- assertions that were untrue -- will tarnish his reputation ... "I don't know how many innocents I killed with my mortar rounds. In Baghdad, I had days that I don't want to remember. I try to forget." -- Hart Viges, formerly with the 82nd Airborne Division, at a presentation at American University in Washington ... "Maybe you know something I don't know. I've been working." -- President Bush to reporters when asked to comment on FEMA director Michael Brown's abrupt resignation ... "The time has come that the American people know exactly what their representatives are doing here in Washington. Are they feeding at the public trough, taking lobbyist-paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special interest groups? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? The people, the American people, have a right to know. ... I say the best disinfectant is full disclosure, not isolation." -- Tom DeLay, Nov. 16, 1995