SPJ national update IV: Only candidates who can afford guards have their names publicized; and guess that war wasn't necessary after all. Twenty Iraqi women who were candidates in the Jan. 30 elections told a congressional delegation last month that they were afraid to be identified as candidates. "One was kidnapped, one had her son killed trying to protect her, and one resigned from a candidate list after her husband and children were threatened," said Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., one of four lawmakers who met with the women in Amman, Jordan. "We heard it was a war zone but didn't realize how dangerous it is." More here. ... The hunt for exotic weapons in Iraq quietly ended nearly two years after President Bush ordered troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. Four months after Charles A. Duelfer, who led the weapons hunt in 2004, submitted an interim report to Congress that contradicted nearly every pre-war assertion about Iraq made by Bush, Vice President Cheney and other administration officials, a senior intelligence official said the findings will stand as the Iraq Survey Group's final conclusions and will be published this spring. More here.
SPJ national update V: Opposition to Gonzales growing; newspaper consolidation an "American tragedy"; and Republicans a bit uneasy around ethics. The first Latino Air National Guard officer appointed as an adjutant general in the United States, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Melvyn Montano, has joined retired Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others opposed to White House counsel Alberto Gonzales becoming attorney general. "Given Gonzales' record, senators who are afraid to vote against his confirmation for fear of being labeled anti-Hispanic are doing themselves and their constituents a grave disservice," said Montano, a Vietnam veteran who served 45 years in the military, including 18 years in a command position. A letter signed by a number of retired officers criticizes Gonzales for his role in approving memos arguing that the United States could ignore portions of the Geneva Conventions and that some forms of torture "may be justified" in President Bush's war on terror. "It is clear that these operations have fostered greater animosity toward the United States, undermined our intelligence gathering efforts and added to the risks facing our troops serving around the world," the officers wrote of the administration's detention and interrogation policies. More here and here. ... The possible sale of Pulitzer Inc., owner of the Arizona Daily Star, to a larger media chain has renewed an argument over what a newspaper amounts to in this country. "Newspapers are not just any other kind of business. They're about manufacturing journalism and democracy, not just computer chips or steel," notes Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Digital Democracy. More here. ... A day after backing off a rules change that would have allowed an indicted congressional leader to retain his post, the House of Representatives on Jan. 4 adopted a separate change that will make it harder to pursue ethics probes of members of Congress. The vote was 220-195 along party lines. Meanwhile, prosecutors investigating questionable campaign fundraising in Texas by political associates of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, have gained the cooperation of two contributors in their inquiry. More here and here.
-----
How Free is Our Information?
Fort Worth SPJ is looking for partners -- journalists at daily and weekly newspapers and the AP, freelancers, web writers -- to commemorate FOI Day, March 13. A team of local newsgatherers will conduct an FOI audit the following week to determine how well local government bodies comply with freedom of information laws.
The team will request documents that reflect basic governance -- who's locked up in jail? who's spending what money? -- documents that the public would clearly understand should be available. Participants will be trained beforehand, and forms will be created to assure that the inquiries are uniform and the responses accurately reported. News organizations that assist with the audit will receive the results and be encouraged to use the information as the basis for further reporting.
News outlets in Florida first observed FOI Day. Now a coalition of organizations has turned it into a national effort. "Open government and open records benefit all Americans and are not just a concern of journalists," said Northeast Star-Telegram editor Larry Lutz, immediate past president of the SPJ Fort Worth chapter. "We want our readers to know that access to information about government is being threatened." For more information or to sign on, contact Lutz at larrylutz@yahoo.com.
===================================================
PEOPLE & PLACES
The UTA newspaper, The Shorthorn, again is a finalist -- twice -- for the Gold Crown award given by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. In order to get detailed critiques for the academic year that ended last August, separate Crown entries for the fall '03 semester, editor Caren Penland, and spring '04 semester, editor Amber Tafoya, were submitted. The Shorthorn is a finalist for both semesters. Winners will be announced at the Spring National College Media Convention in New York in March. ...
Hand it to these people. Star-Telegram Stock Show editor Sonny Bohanan and correspondent Amanda Rogers placed second in the Stock Show's celebrity goat-milking competition, putting the squeeze on a number of radio-station favorites.
===================================================
GET A JOB
Partners Together for Health, the foundation for JPS Health Network, is in the market for a special events coordinator. Degree in communications, PR or marketing preferred, along with experience in special events and fundraising. Must be organized, a multi-tasker and immune to occasionally hectic environment. Contact Janet Neff, (817) 920-7305 or jneff1@jpshealth.org. ... Stanford U.'s Department of Communication seeks a journalist to teach graduate-level courses in the 2005-06 academic year. Send a cover letter, résumé and the names of three references by March 15 to Lokey Visiting Professor Search Committee, c/o Sarah Wilson, Department of Communication, Building 120, Room 110, Stanford, Calif. 94305-2050. ...
Contact Nicole Brock at (704) 367-1998, nb@ljausa.com, or Larry Polsky, lp@ljausa.com, for info on an internal communications manager position at a Dallas-area division of a worldwide company specializing in missile defense, homeland defense technology and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment. ... Author Sandra Kay Parker has written a book about corporate greed with plenty of twists and turns, and she's looking for a freelance editor (with a satirical sense of humor, she says) to review the manuscript. Contact her at tquigley@earthlink.net or (928) 445-5001. ...
The 50,000-circulation Joplin Globe in southwest Missouri seeks a county reporter and photographer. For the news position, contact metro editor Carol Stark, cstark@joplinglobe.com or (417) 627-7278; for the photo job, contact Gary Castor, gcastor@joplinglobe.com or (417) 623-3480, ext. 7266. Send materials to The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802. (Thanks to new Globe reporter and TCU grad Melissa DeLoach for the tip.) ... They're hiring at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel -- sports presentation editor, crime reporter, city beat reporter and page designers. Send a letter of interest, résumé and 8-10 work samples to Kathleen L. Pellegrino, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301, (954) 356-4536, kpellegrino@sun-sentinel.com.
===================================================
COMINGS & GOINGS
Exits ... at the S-T: Northeast reporter and Northeastern U. grad Leila Fadel, joining the Knight Ridder Iraqi bureau in mid-May; she'll be on the team there for about two months
====================================================
