SPJ national update: Unthinkable and resilient and personal and arguably criminal; web coverage of Katrina blew away TV news; the strain of Miller time; WaPo frees itself from Freedom Walk; and 21 administration officials involved in Plame leak. Ever since Dan Rather put his body between Hurricane Carla and mainland Galveston in 1961, television and Mother Nature have enjoyed a tempestuous relationship. But with all-day coverage of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, severe weather has a new suitor: the internet. As TV cameras struggled to capture video, web news sites and amateur blogs offered snapshots and analysis that may have been better. More here. ... Numerous New York Times staffers say jailed reporter Judith Miller's legal saga has become a burden, and not just for the paper's 12-person in-house legal team. A cloud of unanswered questions hovers over Miller's reporting and role in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Many of Miller's colleagues are unclear about exactly whom or what Miller is protecting. More here. ... The Washington Post won't co-sponsor the Pentagon-organized Freedom Walk, following internal dissent from Newspaper Guild members and the contention from anti-war groups and others that participating in a pep rally for the Bush administration might be, well, partial somehow. There went the free ads, too. More here and here and here. ... The cast of administration characters with known connections to the Plame outing is here.
SPJ national update II: Bob, Bob, Bob, feeling a little tight?; urban students more aware of First Amendment importance; and when journalism and evidence collide. CNN suspended Robert Novak after he swore and left the set Aug. 4 during an exchange with Democratic gadfly James Carville on the network's "Inside Politics" show. A CNN spokeswoman, Edie Emery, called Novak's behavior "inexcusable and unacceptable." Ten days later, the Denver Post, in an editorial posted on its web site, urged Novak "to give a public accounting" of what led to his 2003 column identifying Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. Columnist Cal Thomas said in response to an Editor & Publisher survey: "You can't be a 'partial virgin.' Now that he has spoken about one aspect of the case, he should talk about the rest of it." Thomas was referring to the Aug. 1 Novak column in which he disputed an ex-CIA spokesman's statement about the Plame case. More here and here. ... In a recent study, University of Connecticut researchers found that a lack of awareness and appreciation for the First Amendment is most prevalent in suburban schools. Urban students (86 percent) were more likely than suburban students (81 percent) or rural students (82 percent) to think that people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions. More here. ... Photos taken by survivors of the London bombings and the plane crash in Toronto on Aug. 2 are prompting concerns by safety investigators and journalism scholars. At issue: Whether as camera phones and digital cameras multiply, so do the odds that victims will put themselves and others at risk by pausing to take pictures. Questions are also being raised about whether the media may encourage risky behavior by broadcasting the images. On the other side of the debate, such photos may aid investigators. More here.
SPJ national update III: Peter Jennings' former brother-in-law has a few kind words; and the ABA backs embattled journalists and the U.S. Constitution. The Star-Telegram's Andrew Marton was a carefree college student in Paris in December 1977 about to embark on one of the most nerve-racking moments of his life: meeting his future brother-in-law, Peter Jennings. "I remember opening the door and hearing him utter my name in that burled-wood voice that had delivered the world to me from faraway datelines like Saigon, Beirut and Munich. And then I remember stammering for the rest of the evening, a jittery fan in the presence of a journalistic hero. ... " More here and here and here. ... The American Bar Association voted to endorse federal protection for journalists refusing to reveal their sources to prosecutors. The nation's largest lawyers group overwhelmingly approved the measure on voice vote at its annual meeting last month. Also at the meeting, ABA president-elect Michael Greco said some of the federal government's investigative powers included in the Patriot Act threaten constitutional rights. He criticized exceptions that the law makes to the Constitution's privacy protections, specifically law enforcement agencies having the power to search a home without the homeowner's knowledge and a judge-approved search warrant. More here and here.
SPJ national update IV: Katherine, we hardly knew you; not too proud to change; and no permission, no interview. Infamous former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, now a U.S. Senate candidate, told Sean Hannity on the air Aug. 1 that some newspapers have "colorized" her photographs. "I'm actually very sensitive about those things, and it's personally painful," she said. Asked later to point to an altered photograph, Harris and her staff could not. Her response to the question, a spokesman said, was, "I haven't worn blue eye shadow since the seventh grade when I was in the Girl Scouts." More here. ... The New York Times will combine the news staffs of its print and digital arms, a significant step in an industry struggling with big changes in the way people get their news. The Times web site crew, about 40 people, will merge with the far larger print newsroom. Other newspapers, such as The Tampa Tribune, have gone even further, adding television to a portfolio of news operations managed from a single building. More here. ... Student journalists at South Side High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., will need the principal's permission to call school district employees for interviews. The students said they believe the new policy stems from lingering resentment Robinson has over a story on athletic recruitment that exposed the district to negative press. More here.
SPJ national update V: A soldier's story; and so much money, so little progress in Iraq rebuilding. Terry Rodgers came back from Iraq a changed man, and it's not just because of the bomb. "So we're driving down the road and it's midnight, so it's pitch-black, and when you're driving at night you don't use any lights, but we can see fine because we've got night-vision goggles." He's sitting in the living room of his mother's townhouse in Gaithersburg, Md., telling the story of his last night in Iraq. He's still got his Army crew cut, and he's wearing a t-shirt with an American flag on the chest. ... Despite pouring more than $9 billion into rebuilding Iraq over the past two years, the United States apparently has made only limited progress in key areas such as oil and power. Three U.S. government reports released the last week in July say ambitious reconstruction goals are falling short. The Government Accountability Office said power generation in Iraq is at a lower level than before the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Likewise Iraq's oil output has also dropped in the past two years, according to the GAO. More here.
===================================================
PEOPLE & PLACES
Baby daze! Cindy Mendez (La Estrella) and her husband, Carlos (Star-Telegram sports), have a son, Samuel Alexander, born at 10:45 p.m. Aug. 22. ... Jason Hoskins (what's going on in S-T sports?) and wife Chelse's son, Roen, was born at 6:43 a.m. July 20.
Bill Lawrence has been elected to the PRSA College of Fellows, joining the chapter's Doug Newsom, Carolyn Bobo and Mary Dulle. Fellows must be accredited and have 20 or more years in PR. There are only about 400 in the whole world. Go to Media Room inside News at prsa.org for more. ... Kelly Strzinek has been promoted at the American Heart Association to vice president of communications for the Texas affiliate. "I'm absolutely thrilled," she says. "The new position will be an exciting opportunity and challenge. I'll continue to office in Fort Worth but will be a frequent visitor to our offices across the state."
===================================================
