eChaser: July 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 Immotion Studios 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 July 2005 MEETINGS Next at IABC/Fort Worth ... E-Marketing: Interactive Innovations Keep Customers Coming Back Imagine: No more e-mails blasted into web oblivion. No more 3 percent return on direct mail. Now that the internet is infused with successful marketing strategies, communication pros must leverage them to maximum advantage. Blue Marble Media principal (and ex-IABC chapter president) Lori De La Cruz promises a spirited presentation at the July meeting -- note the new day -- on how to utilize interactive features and e-mail to not only drive viewers to your web site, but keep them there. And all the while you're perfecting that e-mail marketing program. De La Cruz develops marketing initiatives for print and web applications. Down a completely different path, she also is an environmental consultant specializing in waste minimization strategies. She earned her Recycling Systems Manager certification from the Solid Waste Association of North America in April. Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, July 26 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 July 22: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com ----- Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ... More Ruffles! More Flourishes! And Everywhere the Republicans Former deputy press secretary Peter Roussel, author of "Ruffled Flourishes," a behind-the-scenes novel about the White House, will recount his D.C. experiences at the July meeting and show that solid PR practices still work -- even at the lofty levels of national government. Roussel has more than 30 years experience in business, government, politics and the media, including two White House tours of duty and service as an assistant to Presidents Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He is now a communications consultant, public speaker and television commentator based in Houston. Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, July 13 Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students RSVP by noon July 8: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org ----- Next at Fort Worth SPJ ... Anchors Aweigh Think of the best time you ever had at one of those SPJ bashes in Max Faulkner or Gary Hardee's back yard, then add "underground Texana" singer/guitarist Jeff Prince for dinner music, a beautiful setting with a green hill for kids to roll down, and water. Enough water to swim in (tree-shaded pool by the Fort Worth Boat Club patio), fish in (off the dock) or breeze around in on Amon Carter's still-sleek 38-foot cabin cruiser -- wait, did he say Amon Carter's boat? -- and there you have the SPJ season-ending come one, come all aqua-soirée. The legendary publisher's legendary Chris-Craft, on which he entertained a young politician named Lyndon Johnson, show-biz types Sid Caesar and Victor Mature and top military brass such as Gen. Dwight Eisenhower -- Eisenhower appeared to first contemplate a bid for the White House while on the West Texan; "Ike," Carter said, "you'd make a damn good president" -- will be SPJ's from 7 to 10 p.m., thanks to arrangements made by current publisher Wes Turner. Put on the memory shades and the time-warp 'phones, feel that lake spray in your face and pretend you're Somebody. Time & date: 5:30 p.m. 'til sometime later, Saturday, July 23; eat at 6:30 Place: Fort Worth Boat Club on Eagle Mountain Lake Cost: $20 What to do: first, sign in on the covered patio at the one-story building adjacent to the parking lot (down the hill from the clubhouse); then fish off the dock, enjoy the pool, get a ride on Amon Carter's boat or go sailing with Paul King and Gayle Reaves-King -- wear non-skid shoes -- relax at Carolyn Poirot and Jack Strickland's cabana, etc. Dinner: fajita buffet, soft drinks and tea, music by Jeff Prince, all on the upper patio between the pool and clubhouse dining room Drinking rules: cash bar at the clubhouse, SPJ-provided beer at the cabana, and never the twain shall meet; due to TABC statutes, alcoholic beverages may not be brought on clubhouse grounds, which includes the lawn, so ... beer/wine/mixed drink with dinner, buy it at the clubhouse bar ... beer before and after, free at the cabana, to be consumed there RSVP by 5 p.m. July 21: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com =================================================== STRAIGHT STUFF Covering Chaos, the story of reporters who reported on the Kennedy assassination, opened the first week in July at the Sixth Floor Museum in downtown Dallas. Historic film footage, photos, artifacts and highlights of the museum's oral history collection painstakingly narrate the four days of continuous news coverage, Nov. 22-25, 1963. Featuring two videos specifically designed for the exhibit, Covering Chaos gives voice to the more than 300 reporters present in 1963, among them Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer. Another segment of the exhibit compares the technologies of 1963 and today, helping visitors visualize the amazing feat that these journalists undertook with large bulky equipment that took time to warm up and use. ... The annual conference of Capitolbeat, the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, will be Aug. 19-21 in Seattle. The meeting overlaps with the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the groups will share facilities and speakers, including Randall Pinkston of CBS News, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Spokane Spokesman-Review editor Steven Smith. See capitolbeat.org. PRSA local update: The Education SIG purely-for-fun social happens from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 26. Expect such discussion topics as: Is summer really a slower time in education communications offices? Buy lunch downstairs at Central Market, Hulen Street and I-30, then gather upstairs in the nonprofit meeting room. More from chris.smith@tccd.edu. PRSA local update II: Members and associate members who join a professional interest section during July and August save $20 off first-year dues of $60. More here and here. Offer is limited to one bonus-priced section per member and may not be used to renew an existing section membership. Still want someone to beg you to get involved? Starting June 5, a telemarketing company will phone members who dropped out in 2003 with an offer to rejoin and get their chapter dues covered by national. SPJ national update: Karl? Surely not Karl; think how much good this could buy; hiding the truth; and are you better off? With one of its writers facing jail, Time magazine handed over documents concerning his sources to a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame. The Supreme Court on June 27 rejected appeals by the magazine and its reporter, Matthew Cooper, as well as New York Times reporter Judith Miller. Among the items surrendered are e-mails that apparently show that Cooper's sources included White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove. More here and here. ... The world's wealthiest people have $11.5 trillion -- 10 times Britain's GDP -- in tax havens offshore, concludes a study conducted by Tax Justice Network, a group of international accountants and economists. According to the study, these mega-rich earn $860 billion a year from their assets and avoid paying at least $255 billion a year in taxes. More here. ... David Sirota lists some of the government info President Bush has scrubbed. If it looks bad, don't publish it. More here. ... U.S. real wages are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times. In the last three months of 2004, real wages fell 0.9 per cent. The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991. More here. SPJ national update II: The Downing Street Memo; it's still not libelous; and unseen pictures, untold stories. Ministers were told in July 2002 that Britain was committed to being part of an American-led invasion of Iraq and that they had no choice but to find a way to make it legal. The warning, in a leaked Cabinet Office briefing paper, said Prime Minister Tony Blair had agreed with President Bush three months earlier to back military action against Saddam Hussein. More here and here and here and here and here. ... The Supreme Court declined to consider whether a fictional Dallas Observer article about a 6-year-old girl getting arrested over a book report libeled two Denton County officials. The Texas Supreme Court had labeled the article clearly satire. More here. ... U.S. newspapers and magazines print few photos of American dead and wounded, the Los Angeles Times asserts. Six prominent papers and the nation's two most popular newsmagazines ran almost no pictures from the war zone of Americans killed in action in a recent six-month period, although 559 Americans and Western allies died during that time. More here. SPJ national update III: Can't say that in U.S. colleges; can't say that in Iran; and can't say that in China. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled June 20 that a 1988 Supreme Court decision that lets high schools restrict free speech in student newspapers may also apply to public college and university papers. The case, Hosty v. Carter, involved Governors State University in Illinois. Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center: "I fear it's just a matter of time before a university prohibits a student group from bringing an unpopular speaker to campus or showing a controversial film based on the Hosty decision." More here and here and here. ... Clerics in Iran on June 21 suspended publication of three newspapers because their editors criticized the presidential elections. Three rival campaigns charged that ultraconservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's unexpectedly strong showing of 19.5 percent was orchestrated by Iran's military in concert with a group controlled by hard-line clerics that counted the votes. More here. ... Microsoft's new Chinese internet portal bans some words from parts of its web site to avoid offending Beijing censors. Typing in "democracy" and "freedom" prompts the message: "This item contains forbidden speech. Please delete the forbidden speech from this item." More here. SPJ national update IV: Patriot pruned; K-State adviser no doubt peeved; and Republicans on the loose at the CPB. Despite a veto threat from President Bush, the House voted 238-187 on June 15 to block the Justice Department and the FBI from using the Patriot Act to see library records and bookstore sales slips. More here. ... A federal judge has dismissed a j-prof's lawsuit charging that administrators fired him as adviser of the Kansas State Collegian because they were unhappy with its content. Ron Johnson was dismissed in May 2004 following campus protests over a perceived lack of coverage of diversity issues. More here. ... Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are examining $15,000 in payments to two Republican lobbyists that were not disclosed to the CPB board. The investigators are also examining $14,170 paid to a man who provided the corporation's Republican chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, with reports about the political leanings of guests on the "Now" program when Bill Moyers hosted it. And an association of news ombudsmen has rejected an attempt by two CPB ombudsmen to join as full members, questioning their independence. More here and here. SPJ national update V: Tighter ownership rules withheld; the two Deep Throat stories you missed; and standing up forces standdown. The Supreme Court on June 13 rejected media groups' appeals that sought to restore new federal rules easing ownership restrictions. The proposed changes would allow a single company to own TV stations and a newspaper in the same area, and to own more TV and radio stations in a single market. More here. ... FBI agent Mark Felt was, at heated moments during the scandal, in charge of finding the source of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Watergate scoops. In a twist worthy of John le Carré, Deep Throat was assigned the mission of unearthing Deep Throat. And Paul Daly, who joined the bureau in 1965, says he learned in 1978 that Felt was Deep Throat and that at least three other FBI officials helped him secretly disclose information about the Watergate investigation to The Washington Post. More here and here. ... The fallout from an Arvada, Colo., teen's investigative piece for his school paper is one reason Army recruiters nationwide decided to "stand down" for a refresher class in ethics. David McSwane never thought his story would get so big when he gave his 15-year-old friend a camcorder, his 11-year-old sister a still camera and enlisted his mother to keep him out of legal hot water. When McSwane was finished, Army recruiters in Golden had been caught encouraging him to make a fake high school diploma and accompanying him to a head shop to buy him a drug detox kit. More here and here. ----- Loose the Hounds by Christine Stanley Backroom deal makers and government shysters, beware. They're training bigger and better hounds around here. Forty-eight people attended the two-day Better Watchdog Workshop in May put on by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Star-Telegram and Fort Worth SPJ and hosted by the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism. David Donald of IRE and NICAR led the information-packed workshop, which drew professional and student journalists from as far away as Corpus Christi, Albuquerque and Oklahoma. The May 21 program featured sessions by Pat Stith of the Raleigh News & Observer on cultivating sources and interviewing, and a session, with help from Star-Telegram government editor Dianna Hunt, on juggling a beat and investigative work. Donald and the Star-T's David Wethe presented ways to follow paper and database trails. IRE trainer Jodi Upton provided excellent tips on using the internet to find information, then led a session on dissecting businesses. Jennifer LaFleur of The Dallas Morning News and Marshall Searcy of Fort Worth's Kelly, Hart & Hallman law firm explored the latest developments on open records and open meetings. Paula Lavigne of the News showed how to pull stories out of census data. Two training sessions May 22 in computer-assisted reporting gave participants a taste of the power of database analysis in investigative journalism. Next year, the whole watchdog kennel hits Cowtown. IRE's national conference is scheduled for June 15-18 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel downtown. =================================================== PEOPLE & PLACES "I thought I'd read all the stories," former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw said in announcing one of this year's three winners of the Livingston Award, "but Reese took us to other places." UTA Shorthorn ex and six-year Dallas Morning News writer Reese Dunklin is the 2004 winner of the Livingston Award for national reporting. Accompanied by his wife, Mary, who's also a Morning News writer and editor (they met in the UTA newsroom), Dunklin accepted the award and accompanying $10,000 token of esteem at a ceremony June 14 at the Yale Club in New York. "This series posed significant reporting challenges," noted Morning News VP/managing editor George Rodrigue, "but Reese did a superb job and brought our readers some of the most significant and original reporting done on this subject." The Livingston Awards are the largest all-media, general-reporting prizes in the country and are unusual in judging print, broadcast and online entries against one another. The awards are limited to journalists under 35; Dunklin is 31. From 500 entries, around 60 finalists emerged. Dunklin was the first Morning News writer to win a Livingston, and he did so on his first try. The stories he submitted, part of the DMN's "Runaway Priests: Hiding in Plain Sight" series, are here and here and here. Brokaw, who with Ken Auletta of The New Yorker and Ellen Goodman of The Boston Globe judged the contest, said Dunklin's efforts exposed a previously uncovered dimension of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis. He particularly praised Dunklin's work in Rome, where the reporter found several abusers sheltered near the Vatican. ... The Fort Worth Zoo earned a PRSA Bronze Anvil for its "By the Numbers" annual report. Designed by Madhouse Ideas, the report employs a format that communicates with, well, numbers. Little-known zoo facts, such as number of birds hatched (31), fill the piece, as do illustrations of zoo animals that were designed using numbers. The zoo is home to more than 400 animal species and supports more than 20 conservation projects worldwide. ... InterStar Marketing & Public Relations has been selected by New York-based Lifestyle Media to provide public and media relations for ZestFest 2005. InterStar will coordinate media relations, provide community relations support and identify sponsorship opportunities. ... UTA Shorthorn photographers Mark Roberts and Brandon Wade are finalists in the SPJ Mark of Excellence awards to be announced at the SPJ National Convention, Oct. 16-18 in Las Vegas. UTA's Renegade magazine is one of three national finalists for best magazine. =================================================== GET A JOB The Fort Worth Transportation Authority seeks a communications manager. Must have a bachelor's degree in marketing, PR, journalism, business or related field and four years of progressively responsible work in media relations, writing, editing and reporting; experience promoting a nonprofit or public agency is preferred. Starting salary $46,556-$58,195. E- résumé to adevaull@the-t.com. ... MPR Source in Dallas needs a marketing consultant who can help a couple of clients develop and implement marketing strategies. Contact Veronica Thomison, (972) 396-5111, ext. 111, or info@mprsource.com. ... Blog from your bedroom for bucks. MSN is hiring freelancers to generate blogs on music, TV, technology, sports and fashion/food/style. Contributors will work approximately 15 hours per week and produce up to 10 daily posts, drawing material from user submissions, MSN itself and the internet. Send five sample posts, reflecting a variety of sources, written over a single day; a résumé, list of favorite sites and a paragraph explaining your vision for the project to filtered@microsoft.com. State in the subject heading which blog you're applying for. The blogs will not be targeted to Beijing, so using words like "democracy" and "freedom" will be allowed. ... The Arlington YMCA seeks a development VP. Bachelor's degree required, along with at least five years in fund-raising and a track record in campaign design, strategy and success. Full benefits package and paid 12 percent retirement. Résumés accepted through July 15. Contact human resources director Jennifer Kelly, YMCA of Arlington, 1148 W. Pioneer Parkway, Suite H, Arlington 76013; (817) 299-9629, ext. 14. ... Owner Jennifer Henderson needs a part-time graphic artist at JODesign. Extensive experience not required. E- jodesign@sbcglobal.net. ... A Dallas top 25 publicly held company seeks a corporate communications VP. Must have at least five years senior-level experience with a publicly held company, 15 years minimum PR work and a bachelor's degree in communications, journalism or related. Call (972) 931-7576, ext. 21, to discuss the company confidentially before submitting a résumé. Send résumé and salary history to executive recruiter, resumes@pharrpr.com. ... IA Interior Architects' Dallas office seeks a marketing coordinator. Requirements include a B.A. in marketing, at least two years experience and a familiarity with graphic design, production and design software. Send résumé to Jennifer Hatton, j.hatton@interiorarchitects.com. ... Two from Mantra Brand Consulting: a freelance account executive and a Hispanic marketing expert, needed by a retail health care company. Send résumé to jrice@mantrabrand.com. =================================================== NEW MEMBERS SPJ ... Melissa Winn, WBAP and The Shorthorn, UTA =================================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Promotions ... at the S-T: Mark Rogers to assistant managing editor for photo Additions ... at the S-T: intern Christina Lane, a Sherman native and student at TCU, where she works on the yearbook staff and has written for the Daily Skiff ... UTA assistant j-prof Ivana Segvic, doing a six-week fellowship through the ASNE Institute for Journalism Excellence Exits ... at the S-T: raconteur/cartographer John Forsyth, an S-T paperboy in the late '60s, then reporter and copy editor from 1972-76 and for the past two years director of enhanced coverage in the suburbs south and southwest of Fort Worth, to The New York Times copy desk; one of his dream jobs would be to edit maps for the Times, and this move sets him on course for that ... award-winning (Headliner Award, Texas APME first place and sweepstakes) photographer Alison Woodworth, after seven years at the paper, returning to SMU to pursue an M.B.A. ... Rice U. grad Cynthia Garza, going home to the Houston Chronicle after covering education and the Fort Worth school district for the past year =================================================== PRESIDENT'S CORNER Heather Senter, Greater Fort Worth PRSA Summer is in full swing, and the pace has slowed just enough for everyone to catch a breath and maybe even enjoy a few vacation days. The PRSA board is taking a break from meeting this month, but programs VP Marc Flake hasn't slowed down a bit. He booked an incredible speaker who's sure to draw a crowd at the regular July meeting. Peter Roussel is a former White House deputy press secretary and served under Presidents Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush. I hope to see everyone at the July luncheon -- and bring a friend! ----- PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Richard Maxwell, IABC/Fort Worth Happy New Year! "But it's only July." Ah, but each July begins the IABC/Fort Worth fiscal year, and it invariably ushers in change. Due to popular demand, we will now meet the fourth Tuesday, starting with this month's luncheon and program on the 26th. Hopefully this schedule won't conflict with as many holidays. Also, I would like to introduce our 2005-06 board: Ken Roberts, VP programming/director of professional development and president-elect; past-president Tim Tune, District 5 senior delegate; Julie Trowbridge, treasurer; Michael Agnello, marketing and communication chair; Paul Sturiale, membership chair; Betsy Boyett, Bronze Quill chair/webmaster; and Denny Pelham, e-newsletter chair. In addition to being your president, I am District 5 junior delegate. I am excited about this blend of returning veterans and newcomers. We all look forward to another great year. Please let us know how we can make your chapter better. Some ideas should emerge from the recently completed online member survey. Our goals for 2005-06 are to increase both membership and meeting attendance. If you know folks who might be interested in IABC, give their name to membership chair Paul Sturiale, or better yet, bring them to a meeting. A special thanks to Star-Telegram columnist Jim Reeves for his keynote presentation at the annual Bronze Quill luncheon June 7. Those of you who were there know what a great time we had. The winners are here. And don't forget that Silver Quill entries are due Monday, July 11. For details go to iabcusd5.com and click "Enter Silver Quill." Lastly, couldn't make it to the International IABC Conference in D.C.? Incoming chairman Warren Bickford, ABC, assembled a team of bloggers that reported directly from the conference. Dubbed the coffee press corps, the bloggers offered session summaries, event highlights and loose talk from the hallways at IABC's biggest event in years. Check it out at blogs.iabc.com/chair/. ----- OVER & OUT John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ How soft has journalism gotten? This soft. ... Thanks, Wes Turner, for letting us borrow Amon Carter's boat for Splash Day, July 23. You know you're invited to join us on the Eagle Mountain bounding main. And good work, Richard Maxwell, who just became IABC/Fort Worth president and already has brought in an eChaser ad from the T. I do admire people who make good things happen. ... One more: How do we love Julie Grimes? Let us count the ways. The SPJ deputy executive director is the best thing to happen to the society, ever, and on June 14 she celebrated 10 years at national headquarters. You have a question, she has the answer. Some little detail is off-kilter, she'll fix it. Her patience, grasp of logistics and understanding of the human condition were invaluable when Fort Worth hosted the convention in the challenging summer of 2003. Let's hear it, loud and long, for Julie. ... One was a prominent educator and textbook author in his eighth decade, a TCU graduate ('37) and former Star-Telegram reporter, SPJ executive officer 1960-62 and journalism chairman successively at TCU, West Virginia U., the University of Kansas and University of Georgia; the other was an athletic, vibrant makeup and wig specialist, 31 and eager for tomorrow. Both died last month, he in an Athens, Ga., hospital and she of apparent heart failure soon after beginning her three-mile morning walk in St. Louis. Dr. Warren Agee, 88, "was passionate about everything, but especially journalism," said granddaughter Kelly Stimpert. "He felt that if you live on this Earth, you should do something to pay it back." Likewise, Janet Dromgoole, the daughter of former Star-T staffers Glenn Dromgoole and Dr. Maggie Thomas, chose not to coast through life. A business/journalism Baylor graduate, she traveled with theatrical productions on and off Broadway and opera companies in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Fort Worth. She completed the New York Marathon in 2000. She was to be wed Aug. 6. Surely the accolades awaited Janet, as they had already found Dr. Agee. SPJ awarded him its highest honor, the Wells Key, in 1973 and in 1987 gave him its Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award. He received the 2001 Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, of which he was president in 1958. Late in his career, he helped establish two newspapers in Nigeria. Always we want more time, and always, I suppose, we get precisely the amount allotted. Warren Agee and Janet Dromgoole -- they strode purposefully into each new day. They filled their time exceedingly well. ... Good for us. The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation last year gave $23,243 to support the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists, spearheaded by the Chicago Headline Club and Loyola University Chicago's Center for Ethics and Social Justice. Among the things the AdviceLine and its leaders accomplished in 2004: a mailing to 5,275 newspapers that included a poster and 16 copies of AdviceLine wallet cards, and an updated web site allowing journalists to download posters and wallet cards. The mailing generated requests for 84,400 additional cards. ... Also at SPJ national, Quill magazine has introduced a "Generation J" column for young professionals. Contact Holly Fisher at hfisher@spj.org for guidelines and deadlines. ... And SPJ helped design an online course on freedom of information laws featured at the recently launched News University. NewsU is an e-learning center that helps journalists through self-directed training. It's a project of the Poynter Institute and funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Closing words: "If her name is Carol Keeton Rylander Strayhorn, where did the four sons named McClellan come from?" -- Lloyd Goodman, UTA Sudent Publications ... "I am really baffled by [Chuck] Colson and Gordon Liddy lecturing the world about public morality. Both of them went to jail after being convicted of misbehavior surrounding the Watergate cover-up. ... As far as I'm concerned, they have no standing in the morality debate. [Pat] Buchanan is a little different because he hasn't done time, but I'm not ready to be part of his indignation." -- Ben Bradlee Closing words II, G.W.B. & the Pharisees bracket: "I know the party line. You know, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, five-star generals, four-star generals, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld: The Iraqis will be ready in whatever time period. But from the ground, I can say with certainty they won't be ready before I leave. And I know I'll be back in Iraq, probably in three or four years. And I don't think they'll be ready then." -- 1st Lt. Kenrick Cato of Long Island, N.Y., who sold his share in a database firm to join the military full time after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks ... "President Bush welcomed Vietnam's prime minister to the White House today. He promised the prime minister he would travel to Vietnam next year. That is, unless his dad can get him out of it." -- Jay Leno

Imagine: No more e-mails blasted into web oblivion. No more 3 percent return on direct mail. Now that the internet is infused with successful marketing strategies, communication pros must leverage them to maximum advantage. Blue Marble Media principal (and ex-IABC chapter president) Lori De La Cruz promises a spirited presentation at the July meeting -- note the new day -- on how to utilize interactive features and e-mail to not only drive viewers to your web site, but keep them there. And all the while you're perfecting that e-mail marketing program.

De La Cruz develops marketing initiatives for print and web applications. Down a completely different path, she also is an environmental consultant specializing in waste minimization strategies. She earned her Recycling Systems Manager certification from the Solid Waste Association of North America in April.

Think of the best time you ever had at one of those SPJ bashes in Max Faulkner or Gary Hardee's back yard, then add "underground Texana" singer/guitarist Jeff Prince for dinner music, a beautiful setting with a green hill for kids to roll down, and water. Enough water to swim in (tree-shaded pool by the Fort Worth Boat Club patio), fish in (off the dock) or breeze around in on Amon Carter's still-sleek 38-foot cabin cruiser -- wait, did he say Amon Carter's boat? -- and there you have the SPJ season-ending come one, come all aqua-soirée.

The legendary publisher's legendary Chris-Craft, on which he entertained a young politician named Lyndon Johnson, show-biz types Sid Caesar and Victor Mature and top military brass such as Gen. Dwight Eisenhower -- Eisenhower appeared to first contemplate a bid for the White House while on the West Texan; "Ike," Carter said, "you'd make a damn good president" -- will be SPJ's from 7 to 10 p.m., thanks to arrangements made by current publisher Wes Turner. Put on the memory shades and the time-warp 'phones, feel that lake spray in your face and pretend you're Somebody.

What to do: first, sign in on the covered patio at the one-story building adjacent to the parking lot (down the hill from the clubhouse); then fish off the dock, enjoy the pool, get a ride on Amon Carter's boat or go sailing with Paul King and Gayle Reaves-King -- wear non-skid shoes -- relax at Carolyn Poirot and Jack Strickland's cabana, etc.

Drinking rules: cash bar at the clubhouse, SPJ-provided beer at the cabana, and never the twain shall meet; due to TABC statutes, alcoholic beverages may not be brought on clubhouse grounds, which includes the lawn, so ... beer/wine/mixed drink with dinner, buy it at the clubhouse bar ... beer before and after, free at the cabana, to be consumed there

Covering Chaos, the story of reporters who reported on the Kennedy assassination, opened the first week in July at the Sixth Floor Museum in downtown Dallas. Historic film footage, photos, artifacts and highlights of the museum's oral history collection painstakingly narrate the four days of continuous news coverage, Nov. 22-25, 1963. Featuring two videos specifically designed for the exhibit, Covering Chaos gives voice to the more than 300 reporters present in 1963, among them Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer. Another segment of the exhibit compares the technologies of 1963 and today, helping visitors visualize the amazing feat that these journalists undertook with large bulky equipment that took time to warm up and use. ...

The annual conference of Capitolbeat, the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, will be Aug. 19-21 in Seattle. The meeting overlaps with the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the groups will share facilities and speakers, including Randall Pinkston of CBS News, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Spokane Spokesman-Review editor Steven Smith. See capitolbeat.org.

PRSA local update: The Education SIG purely-for-fun social happens from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 26. Expect such discussion topics as: Is summer really a slower time in education communications offices? Buy lunch downstairs at Central Market, Hulen Street and I-30, then gather upstairs in the nonprofit meeting room. More from chris.smith@tccd.edu.

PRSA local update II: Members and associate members who join a professional interest section during July and August save $20 off first-year dues of $60. More here and here. Offer is limited to one bonus-priced section per member and may not be used to renew an existing section membership. Still want someone to beg you to get involved? Starting June 5, a telemarketing company will phone members who dropped out in 2003 with an offer to rejoin and get their chapter dues covered by national.

SPJ national update: Karl? Surely not Karl; think how much good this could buy; hiding the truth; and are you better off? With one of its writers facing jail, Time magazine handed over documents concerning his sources to a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame. The Supreme Court on June 27 rejected appeals by the magazine and its reporter, Matthew Cooper, as well as New York Times reporter Judith Miller. Among the items surrendered are e-mails that apparently show that Cooper's sources included White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove. More here and here. ... The world's wealthiest people have $11.5 trillion -- 10 times Britain's GDP -- in tax havens offshore, concludes a study conducted by Tax Justice Network, a group of international accountants and economists. According to the study, these mega-rich earn $860 billion a year from their assets and avoid paying at least $255 billion a year in taxes. More here. ... David Sirota lists some of the government info President Bush has scrubbed. If it looks bad, don't publish it. More here. ... U.S. real wages are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times. In the last three months of 2004, real wages fell 0.9 per cent. The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991. More here.

SPJ national update II: The Downing Street Memo; it's still not libelous; and unseen pictures, untold stories. Ministers were told in July 2002 that Britain was committed to being part of an American-led invasion of Iraq and that they had no choice but to find a way to make it legal. The warning, in a leaked Cabinet Office briefing paper, said Prime Minister Tony Blair had agreed with President Bush three months earlier to back military action against Saddam Hussein. More here and here and here and here and here. ... The Supreme Court declined to consider whether a fictional Dallas Observer article about a 6-year-old girl getting arrested over a book report libeled two Denton County officials. The Texas Supreme Court had labeled the article clearly satire. More here. ... U.S. newspapers and magazines print few photos of American dead and wounded, the Los Angeles Times asserts. Six prominent papers and the nation's two most popular newsmagazines ran almost no pictures from the war zone of Americans killed in action in a recent six-month period, although 559 Americans and Western allies died during that time. More here.

SPJ national update III: Can't say that in U.S. colleges; can't say that in Iran; and can't say that in China. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled June 20 that a 1988 Supreme Court decision that lets high schools restrict free speech in student newspapers may also apply to public college and university papers. The case, Hosty v. Carter, involved Governors State University in Illinois. Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center: "I fear it's just a matter of time before a university prohibits a student group from bringing an unpopular speaker to campus or showing a controversial film based on the Hosty decision." More here and here and here. ... Clerics in Iran on June 21 suspended publication of three newspapers because their editors criticized the presidential elections. Three rival campaigns charged that ultraconservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's unexpectedly strong showing of 19.5 percent was orchestrated by Iran's military in concert with a group controlled by hard-line clerics that counted the votes. More here. ... Microsoft's new Chinese internet portal bans some words from parts of its web site to avoid offending Beijing censors. Typing in "democracy" and "freedom" prompts the message: "This item contains forbidden speech. Please delete the forbidden speech from this item." More here.

SPJ national update IV: Patriot pruned; K-State adviser no doubt peeved; and Republicans on the loose at the CPB. Despite a veto threat from President Bush, the House voted 238-187 on June 15 to block the Justice Department and the FBI from using the Patriot Act to see library records and bookstore sales slips. More here. ... A federal judge has dismissed a j-prof's lawsuit charging that administrators fired him as adviser of the Kansas State Collegian because they were unhappy with its content. Ron Johnson was dismissed in May 2004 following campus protests over a perceived lack of coverage of diversity issues. More here. ... Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are examining $15,000 in payments to two Republican lobbyists that were not disclosed to the CPB board. The investigators are also examining $14,170 paid to a man who provided the corporation's Republican chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, with reports about the political leanings of guests on the "Now" program when Bill Moyers hosted it. And an association of news ombudsmen has rejected an attempt by two CPB ombudsmen to join as full members, questioning their independence. More here and here.

SPJ national update V: Tighter ownership rules withheld; the two Deep Throat stories you missed; and standing up forces standdown. The Supreme Court on June 13 rejected media groups' appeals that sought to restore new federal rules easing ownership restrictions. The proposed changes would allow a single company to own TV stations and a newspaper in the same area, and to own more TV and radio stations in a single market. More here. ... FBI agent Mark Felt was, at heated moments during the scandal, in charge of finding the source of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Watergate scoops. In a twist worthy of John le Carré, Deep Throat was assigned the mission of unearthing Deep Throat. And Paul Daly, who joined the bureau in 1965, says he learned in 1978 that Felt was Deep Throat and that at least three other FBI officials helped him secretly disclose information about the Watergate investigation to The Washington Post. More here and here. ... The fallout from an Arvada, Colo., teen's investigative piece for his school paper is one reason Army recruiters nationwide decided to "stand down" for a refresher class in ethics. David McSwane never thought his story would get so big when he gave his 15-year-old friend a camcorder, his 11-year-old sister a still camera and enlisted his mother to keep him out of legal hot water. When McSwane was finished, Army recruiters in Golden had been caught encouraging him to make a fake high school diploma and accompanying him to a head shop to buy him a drug detox kit. More here and here.

Backroom deal makers and government shysters, beware. They're training bigger and better hounds around here.

Forty-eight people attended the two-day Better Watchdog Workshop in May put on by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Star-Telegram and Fort Worth SPJ and hosted by the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism. David Donald of IRE and NICAR led the information-packed workshop, which drew professional and student journalists from as far away as Corpus Christi, Albuquerque and Oklahoma.

The May 21 program featured sessions by Pat Stith of the Raleigh News & Observer on cultivating sources and interviewing, and a session, with help from Star-Telegram government editor Dianna Hunt, on juggling a beat and investigative work. Donald and the Star-T's David Wethe presented ways to follow paper and database trails.

IRE trainer Jodi Upton provided excellent tips on using the internet to find information, then led a session on dissecting businesses. Jennifer LaFleur of The Dallas Morning News and Marshall Searcy of Fort Worth's Kelly, Hart & Hallman law firm explored the latest developments on open records and open meetings. Paula Lavigne of the News showed how to pull stories out of census data. Two training sessions May 22 in computer-assisted reporting gave participants a taste of the power of database analysis in investigative journalism.

Next year, the whole watchdog kennel hits Cowtown. IRE's national conference is scheduled for June 15-18 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel downtown.

"I thought I'd read all the stories," former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw said in announcing one of this year's three winners of the Livingston Award, "but Reese took us to other places." UTA Shorthorn ex and six-year Dallas Morning News writer Reese Dunklin is the 2004 winner of the Livingston Award for national reporting. Accompanied by his wife, Mary, who's also a Morning News writer and editor (they met in the UTA newsroom), Dunklin accepted the award and accompanying $10,000 token of esteem at a ceremony June 14 at the Yale Club in New York. "This series posed significant reporting challenges," noted Morning News VP/managing editor George Rodrigue, "but Reese did a superb job and brought our readers some of the most significant and original reporting done on this subject." The Livingston Awards are the largest all-media, general-reporting prizes in the country and are unusual in judging print, broadcast and online entries against one another. The awards are limited to journalists under 35; Dunklin is 31. From 500 entries, around 60 finalists emerged. Dunklin was the first Morning News writer to win a Livingston, and he did so on his first try. The stories he submitted, part of the DMN's "Runaway Priests: Hiding in Plain Sight" series, are here and here and here. Brokaw, who with Ken Auletta of The New Yorker and Ellen Goodman of The Boston Globe judged the contest, said Dunklin's efforts exposed a previously uncovered dimension of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis. He particularly praised Dunklin's work in Rome, where the reporter found several abusers sheltered near the Vatican. ...

The Fort Worth Zoo earned a PRSA Bronze Anvil for its "By the Numbers" annual report. Designed by Madhouse Ideas, the report employs a format that communicates with, well, numbers. Little-known zoo facts, such as number of birds hatched (31), fill the piece, as do illustrations of zoo animals that were designed using numbers. The zoo is home to more than 400 animal species and supports more than 20 conservation projects worldwide. ...

InterStar Marketing & Public Relations has been selected by New York-based Lifestyle Media to provide public and media relations for ZestFest 2005. InterStar will coordinate media relations, provide community relations support and identify sponsorship opportunities. ... UTA Shorthorn photographers Mark Roberts and Brandon Wade are finalists in the SPJ Mark of Excellence awards to be announced at the SPJ National Convention, Oct. 16-18 in Las Vegas. UTA's Renegade magazine is one of three national finalists for best magazine.

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority seeks a communications manager. Must have a bachelor's degree in marketing, PR, journalism, business or related field and four years of progressively responsible work in media relations, writing, editing and reporting; experience promoting a nonprofit or public agency is preferred. Starting salary $46,556-$58,195. E- résumé to adevaull@the-t.com. ... MPR Source in Dallas needs a marketing consultant who can help a couple of clients develop and implement marketing strategies. Contact Veronica Thomison, (972) 396-5111, ext. 111, or info@mprsource.com. ...

Blog from your bedroom for bucks. MSN is hiring freelancers to generate blogs on music, TV, technology, sports and fashion/food/style. Contributors will work approximately 15 hours per week and produce up to 10 daily posts, drawing material from user submissions, MSN itself and the internet. Send five sample posts, reflecting a variety of sources, written over a single day; a résumé, list of favorite sites and a paragraph explaining your vision for the project to filtered@microsoft.com. State in the subject heading which blog you're applying for. The blogs will not be targeted to Beijing, so using words like "democracy" and "freedom" will be allowed. ...

The Arlington YMCA seeks a development VP. Bachelor's degree required, along with at least five years in fund-raising and a track record in campaign design, strategy and success. Full benefits package and paid 12 percent retirement. Résumés accepted through July 15. Contact human resources director Jennifer Kelly, YMCA of Arlington, 1148 W. Pioneer Parkway, Suite H, Arlington 76013; (817) 299-9629, ext. 14. ...

A Dallas top 25 publicly held company seeks a corporate communications VP. Must have at least five years senior-level experience with a publicly held company, 15 years minimum PR work and a bachelor's degree in communications, journalism or related. Call (972) 931-7576, ext. 21, to discuss the company confidentially before submitting a résumé. Send résumé and salary history to executive recruiter, resumes@pharrpr.com. ...

IA Interior Architects' Dallas office seeks a marketing coordinator. Requirements include a B.A. in marketing, at least two years experience and a familiarity with graphic design, production and design software. Send résumé to Jennifer Hatton, j.hatton@interiorarchitects.com. ... Two from Mantra Brand Consulting: a freelance account executive and a Hispanic marketing expert, needed by a retail health care company. Send résumé to jrice@mantrabrand.com.

Exits ... at the S-T: raconteur/cartographer John Forsyth, an S-T paperboy in the late '60s, then reporter and copy editor from 1972-76 and for the past two years director of enhanced coverage in the suburbs south and southwest of Fort Worth, to The New York Times copy desk; one of his dream jobs would be to edit maps for the Times, and this move sets him on course for that ... award-winning (Headliner Award, Texas APME first place and sweepstakes) photographer Alison Woodworth, after seven years at the paper, returning to SMU to pursue an M.B.A. ... Rice U. grad Cynthia Garza, going home to the Houston Chronicle after covering education and the Fort Worth school district for the past year

Summer is in full swing, and the pace has slowed just enough for everyone to catch a breath and maybe even enjoy a few vacation days. The PRSA board is taking a break from meeting this month, but programs VP Marc Flake hasn't slowed down a bit. He booked an incredible speaker who's sure to draw a crowd at the regular July meeting. Peter Roussel is a former White House deputy press secretary and served under Presidents Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

I hope to see everyone at the July luncheon -- and bring a friend!

Happy New Year! "But it's only July." Ah, but each July begins the IABC/Fort Worth fiscal year, and it invariably ushers in change. Due to popular demand, we will now meet the fourth Tuesday, starting with this month's luncheon and program on the 26th. Hopefully this schedule won't conflict with as many holidays. Also, I would like to introduce our 2005-06 board: Ken Roberts, VP programming/director of professional development and president-elect; past-president Tim Tune, District 5 senior delegate; Julie Trowbridge, treasurer; Michael Agnello, marketing and communication chair; Paul Sturiale, membership chair; Betsy Boyett, Bronze Quill chair/webmaster; and Denny Pelham, e-newsletter chair. In addition to being your president, I am District 5 junior delegate.

I am excited about this blend of returning veterans and newcomers. We all look forward to another great year. Please let us know how we can make your chapter better. Some ideas should emerge from the recently completed online member survey. Our goals for 2005-06 are to increase both membership and meeting attendance. If you know folks who might be interested in IABC, give their name to membership chair Paul Sturiale, or better yet, bring them to a meeting.

A special thanks to Star-Telegram columnist Jim Reeves for his keynote presentation at the annual Bronze Quill luncheon June 7. Those of you who were there know what a great time we had. The winners are here. And don't forget that Silver Quill entries are due Monday, July 11. For details go to iabcusd5.com and click "Enter Silver Quill."

Lastly, couldn't make it to the International IABC Conference in D.C.? Incoming chairman Warren Bickford, ABC, assembled a team of bloggers that reported directly from the conference. Dubbed the coffee press corps, the bloggers offered session summaries, event highlights and loose talk from the hallways at IABC's biggest event in years. Check it out at blogs.iabc.com/chair/.

How soft has journalism gotten? This soft. ...

Thanks, Wes Turner, for letting us borrow Amon Carter's boat for Splash Day, July 23. You know you're invited to join us on the Eagle Mountain bounding main. And good work, Richard Maxwell, who just became IABC/Fort Worth president and already has brought in an eChaser ad from the T. I do admire people who make good things happen. ...

One more: How do we love Julie Grimes? Let us count the ways. The SPJ deputy executive director is the best thing to happen to the society, ever, and on June 14 she celebrated 10 years at national headquarters. You have a question, she has the answer. Some little detail is off-kilter, she'll fix it. Her patience, grasp of logistics and understanding of the human condition were invaluable when Fort Worth hosted the convention in the challenging summer of 2003. Let's hear it, loud and long, for Julie. ...

One was a prominent educator and textbook author in his eighth decade, a TCU graduate ('37) and former Star-Telegram reporter, SPJ executive officer 1960-62 and journalism chairman successively at TCU, West Virginia U., the University of Kansas and University of Georgia; the other was an athletic, vibrant makeup and wig specialist, 31 and eager for tomorrow. Both died last month, he in an Athens, Ga., hospital and she of apparent heart failure soon after beginning her three-mile morning walk in St. Louis. Dr. Warren Agee, 88, "was passionate about everything, but especially journalism," said granddaughter Kelly Stimpert. "He felt that if you live on this Earth, you should do something to pay it back." Likewise, Janet Dromgoole, the daughter of former Star-T staffers Glenn Dromgoole and Dr. Maggie Thomas, chose not to coast through life. A business/journalism Baylor graduate, she traveled with theatrical productions on and off Broadway and opera companies in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Fort Worth. She completed the New York Marathon in 2000. She was to be wed Aug. 6. Surely the accolades awaited Janet, as they had already found Dr. Agee. SPJ awarded him its highest honor, the Wells Key, in 1973 and in 1987 gave him its Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award. He received the 2001 Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, of which he was president in 1958. Late in his career, he helped establish two newspapers in Nigeria. Always we want more time, and always, I suppose, we get precisely the amount allotted. Warren Agee and Janet Dromgoole -- they strode purposefully into each new day. They filled their time exceedingly well. ...

Good for us. The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation last year gave $23,243 to support the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists, spearheaded by the Chicago Headline Club and Loyola University Chicago's Center for Ethics and Social Justice. Among the things the AdviceLine and its leaders accomplished in 2004: a mailing to 5,275 newspapers that included a poster and 16 copies of AdviceLine wallet cards, and an updated web site allowing journalists to download posters and wallet cards. The mailing generated requests for 84,400 additional cards. ... Also at SPJ national, Quill magazine has introduced a "Generation J" column for young professionals. Contact Holly Fisher at hfisher@spj.org for guidelines and deadlines. ... And SPJ helped design an online course on freedom of information laws featured at the recently launched News University. NewsU is an e-learning center that helps journalists through self-directed training. It's a project of the Poynter Institute and funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Closing words: "If her name is Carol Keeton Rylander Strayhorn, where did the four sons named McClellan come from?" -- Lloyd Goodman, UTA Sudent Publications ... "I am really baffled by [Chuck] Colson and Gordon Liddy lecturing the world about public morality. Both of them went to jail after being convicted of misbehavior surrounding the Watergate cover-up. ... As far as I'm concerned, they have no standing in the morality debate. [Pat] Buchanan is a little different because he hasn't done time, but I'm not ready to be part of his indignation." -- Ben Bradlee

Closing words II, G.W.B. & the Pharisees bracket: "I know the party line. You know, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, five-star generals, four-star generals, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld: The Iraqis will be ready in whatever time period. But from the ground, I can say with certainty they won't be ready before I leave. And I know I'll be back in Iraq, probably in three or four years. And I don't think they'll be ready then." -- 1st Lt. Kenrick Cato of Long Island, N.Y., who sold his share in a database firm to join the military full time after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks ... "President Bush welcomed Vietnam's prime minister to the White House today. He promised the prime minister he would travel to Vietnam next year. That is, unless his dad can get him out of it." -- Jay Leno