eChaser: January 2006


	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 Balcom Agency Barr Printing Bass Performance Hall Business Wire The Collegian, Tarrant County College District DFW Printing Co. Fort Worth Business Press Fort Worth Transportation Authority Fort Worth Zoo Helping Restore Ability InterStar Marketing and Public Relations Jesse Hornbuckle Photography Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant Jubilee Theatre The Keller Citizen North Texas Daily Optimist, Abilene Christian University PR Newswire PRSA Creative Consultants SIG Reasons Group, Inc. Robert Hart Studio The Shorthorn, UTA Star-Telegram TCU Daily Skiff Trinity Railway Express The University of Texas at Arlington VMS Weber Shandwick Worldwide Wise County Messenger Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations January 2006 MEETINGS Next at IABC/Fort Worth ... 30 Ideas in 30 Minutes Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24 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 Jan. 20: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com ----- Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ... Focus on Visuals If a picture is worth a thousand words, then any Tarrant County organization needs pictures in the Star-Telegram. At this month's PRSA meeting, Star-Telegram photo director Max Faulkner and photographers Jill Johnson and Ron Jenkins will walk members and guests through the elements of a good photo and offer tips on working with field photographers and ways to enliven boring "talking head" press conferences. No photography panel would be complete without pictures, so the session will conclude with a slide show. Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets Cost: $25 members, $30 nonmembers, $20 students RSVP by noon Jan. 6: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org; members, watch your e-mail for a Cvent invitation ----- Next at Fort Worth SPJ ... As Timely as Today's Headlines ... What makes a high school student a mass murderer? Why do workers sometimes attack their colleagues? What drives suicide bombers to strap explosives on their body and blow up innocent people? Dan Korem has some answers, as well as advice on how to prevent these random acts of violence. Fort Worth SPJ will present Korem, an internationally known author and expert on behavioral profiling, in an important presentation Thursday, Jan. 19, on "The Art of Profiling the Random Actor." Note the location, Shady Oak Barbeque & Grill on Copeland Road in Arlington. Great food, great I-30 access. Friends and colleagues -- law enforcement personnel, educators, counselors -- they're invited, too. Korem has trained more than 15,000 educators and law enforcement professionals to identify without stereotyping a random-actor student, and he has developed an intervention program to defuse the rage that spurs random acts of violence. As a result of his training, authorities have been able to recognize troubled students and prevent many such tragedies. Korem is an independent investigative journalist, president of Korem & Associates and the author of "Rage of the Random Actor"; "The Art of Profiling: Reading People Right the First Time"; "Suburban Gangs: The Affluent Rebels"; and "Streetwise Parents, Foolproof Kids." (He also published "JFK: Breaking the News," Hugh Aynesworth's eyewitness account of the president's assassination.) In 1981, three years after the Jonestown massacre, Korem produced "Psychic Confession," a documentary on a suicidal cult-like leader. Time & date: mingling 5:30 p.m., eats around 6, then the program Thursday, Jan. 19 Place: Shady Oak Barbeque & Grill, 1600 E. Copeland Road, Arlington (south side of I-30 at the Nolan Ryan Expressway exit) Cost: $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 students Menu: brisket, sausage, chicken, plenty of sides, iced tea and corporate parent Spring Creek Barbeque's signature bread; cash bar RSVP: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com =================================================== STRAIGHT STUFF Applications are due Jan. 25 for the spring 2006 Jefferson Fellowships for Journalists, which will be honored April 30-May 28. This year's theme is "Powering the Future: Energy Sources and Alternatives." Twelve fellows will go to Honolulu; Houston; Sacramento, Calif.; Seoul, South Korea; and Beijing to study energy issues. Candidates with at least five years of experience are preferred. Covered costs include airfare, lodging, per diem and other program expenses. Details at eastwestcenter.org/Jefferson, or call (808) 944-7384. ... The Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU will host the Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy June 4-8 for up-and-coming mass communication professionals and academics interested in taking on leadership roles. An advisory committee will select up to 15 participants based on leadership potential and interest. See manship.lsu.edu/news/leadership_academy2.htm. ... The Education Writers Association and the Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism are offering an expenses-paid boot camp for education reporters to learn more about research and statistics. Applications are due Jan. 9. Contact Lori Crouch, (202) 452-9837 or lcrouch@ewa.org. PRSA local update: Deadline is 5 p.m. Jan. 26 to enter the 2006 Silver Spur/Best of Texas Awards competition. Greater Fort Worth PRSA members may enter at the member rate, and the chapter will receive a share of the proceeds. For the first time, those who enter can pay for their entries by credit card, or request an invoice, in advance. Also new for 2006 are categories for Corporate Identity and Investor Relations and a Best of Texas for webcast/webinar. The Texas Public Relations Association is recruiting communications pros to help judge Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Austin headquarters of National Instruments, starting at 8:30 a.m. Volunteer at awards@tpra.com, or contact contest coordinator Julie B. Fix, APR, at (281) 494-6097. "Although we ask our judges to give up all or part of a Saturday, we believe each receives valuable insight into the quality of public relations work being done in the state," Fix said. "And we do give them a free breakfast and lunch for their efforts." The Silver Spur/Best of Texas Awards competition is the only statewide contest for Texas PR practitioners and recognizes excellence in programs, projects and tactics. See tpra.com/compawards. PRSA local update II: If you joined or rejoined PRSA in 2005, then the new member luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant is for you. The luncheon had to be rescheduled from December, when it was iced out. Expect fajitas and the opportunity to meet other new and reinstated members and some current directors. An eVite should arrive soon. PRSA local update III: The Dallas and Fort Worth PRSA chapters will host approximately 250 communications pros at the Southwest District Conference in Fort Worth on March 2 and 3. Although communicators from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana and New Mexico are expected, most attendees will be from companies and nonprofit groups in Texas; the region has 2,000 members. Various sponsorship levels are available. More from Tracy Sturrock at tsturrock@fortworthzoo.org. PRSA local update IV: Organizers thank Gestures Marketing Communications for sponsoring the December PRSA luncheon. GMC's generosity made possible a PRSA donation to the Chisholm Trail chapter of the American Red Cross. ... A blueprint for the year's activities will take shape at the Independent Consultants SIG meeting Friday, Jan. 20, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at Central Market, I-30 and Hulen Street. RSVP to Sandra Brodnicki, sandra@brodnickipr.com, or Nancy Farrar, nancyh829@aol.com. SPJ national update: More spying than first thought?; no, Clinton and Carter didn't do the same thing; and press leak about bin Laden cellphone "urban myth." President Bush has acknowledged that several hundred Americans were wiretapped without warrants by the National Security Agency, but some U.S. officials and outside experts say the operation could be far broader. They note that with the high-tech tools at its disposal, the NSA could eavesdrop on a much larger cross-section of people in the United States. More here and here and here and here and here. ... Bush's spy program allows warrantless surveillance inside the United States. Executive orders by Presidents Jimmy Carter on May 23, 1979, and Bill Clinton on Feb. 9, 1995, did not do that. More here. ... The Washington Post refutes the president's continued assertion that the media published a leak in 1998 alerting al Qaeda to U.S. monitoring and causing Osama bin Laden to abandon his cellphone. A Post story Dec. 22 says bin Laden's use of a satellite phone had already been reported in 1996 and that the source of the information was another government, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time. More here and here. SPJ national update II: Columnist resigns, admits he was paid off; "a total waste of money" and crooked, too; and un-embedding the photojournalist. Doug Bandow, a senior scholar at the respected Cato Institute, resigned after revelations that he took payments from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing columns favorable to Abramoff's clients. Abramoff is at the center of a criminal investigation involving several members of Congress over whether the lawmakers took bribes in exchange for legislative help. More here and here. ... U.S. military officials in Iraq knew that a Pentagon contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive stories and made it clear that none of the stories should be traced to the United States, according to current and former employees of Lincoln Group, the Washington-based contractor. A number of Lincoln Group workers involved in a $20 million, two-month contract to sway public opinion describe a costly and ineffective campaign. "This stuff ... is a total waste of money," said a former employee, echoing the sentiments of several colleagues. "Every Iraqi can read right through it." More here and here and here and here. ... The expulsion of two embedded journalists in Kuwait, reportedly for photographing a shot-up military vehicle, prompted outrage from Military Reporters and Editors. MRE president Sig Christenson, a military writer with the San Antonio Express-News, said no rule barring photos of damaged vehicles existed when he embedded in 2003. More here. SPJ national update III: Riled at O'Reilly; riled over respect shown fallen soldiers; and, riled at Sinclair, TV reporter files countersuit. The Plano school district says talk show host Bill O'Reilly falsely accused the school of outlawing the colors of Christmas. O'Reilly told his television audience Dec. 9 that a Plano school informed students they could not wear red and green because those are Christmas colors, a decision he called "flat-out fascism." Richard Abernathy, an attorney for the school district, e-mailed O'Reilly that his "slur smacks of McCarthyism and represents yellow journalism at its best." More here. ... Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag and greeted by a color guard. But many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners, stuffed in the belly of a plane with suitcases and other cargo. San Diego residents John Holley and his wife, Stacey, were stunned when they learned that the body of their son would arrive at Lindbergh Field as freight. Matthew Holley, a medic with the 101st Airborne unit in Iraq, was killed Nov. 15. More here. ... Jonathan S. Leiberman, Washington bureau chief for the Sinclair Broadcast Group until his dismissal in October 2004, has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit. Leiberman had objected to Sinclair's plans to pre-empt programming at its 62 TV stations less than two weeks before the 2004 presidential election to air "an extremely one-sided and negative" piece on Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, "tricked out as news," the suit says. Leiberman was fired after he told The Baltimore Sun that the piece was "biased political propaganda." More here. SPJ national update IV: Lies that hurt the planet; Big 3 letting FOI go by; and reporter groups lose appeal in whistleblower case. The Bush administration skewed its analysis of pending legislation on air pollution to favor its bill over two competing proposals, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. The EPA's Oct. 27 analysis of its plan, along with those of Sens. Thomas Carper, D-Del., and James Jeffords, I-Vt., exaggerated the costs and underestimated the benefits of imposing more stringent pollution curbs, the independent, nonpartisan congressional researchers wrote in a Nov. 23 report. More here. ... A listing of all requests made of the Pentagon under the Freedom of Information Act since 2000 reveals that the law is broadly used -- more than 10,000 requests since 2000 -- but not by the nation's three largest papers. USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, all with daily circulations exceeding one million, made just 36 requests of the Pentagon between 2000 and February 2005. The AP, the nation's most widely used wire service, made 73 requests. More here. ... The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 28 declined to review a federal appeals court's dismissal of a whistleblower case on national security grounds, and whether the appellate court improperly closed oral arguments to the public when it reviewed that dismissal. A media coalition led by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking that closure be permitted only when it protects a compelling government interest. More here. SPJ national update V: Broad optimism in Iraq, but also deep divisions; someone got it wrong on how Marines died; and Al Gore just keeps inventing stuff. A wide-ranging poll finds optimism in Iraq, with living conditions improved, security more a national worry than a local one, and expectations high. But other views are less positive, and vast differences exist between disaffected Sunni areas and the Shiite and Kurdish provinces. More here. ... CNN reported Dec. 3 that, based on military reports, 10 Marines on a nighttime foot patrol near Falluja had been killed when a roadside bomb detonated. Three days later, the military said the deaths occurred in a disused flour mill following a promotion ceremony. As the ceremony ended, the military said, a Marine may have stepped on a buried pressure plate linked to explosives. The military blamed the confusion on misreporting up the chain of command. The death toll was the largest suffered by U.S. soldiers in Iraq in a single incident since August. More here. ... Smirks were evident when former Vice President Al Gore stood in front of a small crowd at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association conference in 2004 and announced he was launching a news network that would target viewers ages 18-34. Those smirks morphed into raised eyebrows this year when he and his business partner said they would program their new channel, Current, with viewer-produced content. Current has progressed further than many observers expected. More here. =================================================== PEOPLE & PLACES The Balcom Agency won second place in the Best Product Launch Advertisement in Business Press category of the 2005 Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) Awards. Judges said the use of lizards in Balcom's "Salex: Before, After" ad for Salex skin cream was "a simple, effective visual metaphor." One judge added, "It's better than another gorgeous face or hand shot." The campaign helped the brand exceed sales goals by more than 50 percent in less than a year. Balcom also was a finalist in the same category for "The Evolution of Easy," an ad launching Accuzyme Spray. MM&M received more than 500 entries in 23 categories from such national ad agencies as BBDO, Corbett Accel Healthcare Group, Euro RSCG, Grey Healthcare Group and Saatchi & Saatchi Consumer Healthcare, promoting such brands as Botox, Crestor, Imitrex and Lunesta. The awards ceremony was held Nov. 9 at the Tavern on the Green in New York City. The Balcom Agency was founded in 1993; its roster includes local, regional and national clients such as Justin Boots, Justin Original Workboots, Tony Lama, Texas Health Resources, Harris Methodist Hospitals, Alcon Laboratories and Colonial Savings. ... The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors rates the Star-Telegram features section among the 10 best in North America in 2005. The judges called the Fort Worth features section "fun, witty, creative and beautifully presented, and yet deep and poignant, when it [had] to be." The judging was done by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, the Poynter Institute and readers. ... Writers Gary Cartwright and Bud Shrake and actor/singer Betty Buckley, all alumni of TCU's Schieffer School of Journalism, were inducted in October into the school's Hall of Excellence. Baby daze! Felicia Pinkney and husband Matt are the proud new parents of Regan Gabrielle, born Dec. 8. Rumor has it she looks just like her older sister, Sierra. =================================================== GET A JOB AmeriCredit Corp., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in downtown Fort Worth, seeks a communication specialist. Requirements include newspaper or corporate communications experience, including internships, and a bachelor's degree in journalism, mass communications, PR, English or related discipline. Submit résumé through the Career Seekers section of the AmeriCredit web site, americredit.com. ... The Texas Daily Newspaper Association web site, tdna.org, has a new job bank where job seekers can post their name, contact information and a brief summary of their experience and educaton. There's no charge. E-mail résumé or job search particulars to Darla Thompson at dthompson@tdna.org. ... The Lewiston Tribune, a 20,000-circulation daily in beautiful north central Idaho, seeks an assistant city editor. Contact managing editor Paul Emerson at pemerson@lmtribune.com. ... Black Enterprise magazine's 2006 summer internship program begins June 5 and continues through Aug. 11. Send résumé, cover letter and writing samples to Natalie M. Hibbert, Director of Human Resources, Black Enterprise Magazine, 130 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011. Apply by Jan. 31. More at blackenterprise.com. =================================================== NEW MEMBERS IABC ... Deena Graves, bottomLINE Communications ... Andrea Scott, Brinker ... Jocelyn Janota, United Cooperative Services PRSA ... Charity Aughinbaugh, Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth ... Jennifer Hutcherson, CashAmerica ... Lauren Kwedar, Paige Hendricks Public Relations ... David Magana, DFW International Airport ... Liz Scott, Mansfield ISD =================================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Exits ... at the S-T: former copy editor/page designer/news editor/Hometown Star editor and, most recently, assistant metro editor Kristi Payne, leaving the Arlington newsroom after almost 10 years to spend more time with her kindergartener and to help her husband start a kayak rental business ... Bobby White, after covering telecommunications in business for two years, to The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau ... blogger extraordinaire Avery Holton, after a few months on the online desk, returning to his first love, Austin =================================================== PRESIDENT'S CORNER Holly Ellman, Greater Fort Worth PRSA Here we are with another brand new year in front of us, full of possibilities. As I take the president's reigns from Heather Senter, I realize how much she has done to advance our chapter. We shared many successes in 2005, and the new board is determined to continue the trend. The 2006 board of directors will hold a half-day retreat in early January to chart a strategic plan, something the chapter hasn't done in a while. We will work from this plan throughout the year and bring you the results in December. One of my goals is to increase involvement in chapter activities. Several years ago, our then-VP of programs asked me to meet with the committee and brainstorm ideas. Now numerous committees and board positions later, I am proud to serve as the chapter's president. Make 2006 the year you get involved in PRSA. Note the list of outstanding board chairs on our web site, fortworthprsa.org. If you're interested in working on one of these committees, please contact the person in charge. There's plenty of work (and fun) to go around! ----- PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Richard Maxwell, IABC/Fort Worth Happy New Year! As we begin a new year, let's reflect on the Fort Worth IABC chapter's accomplishments in 2005. Membership grew 10 percent, meeting attendance was up, and programming continued to deliver exceptional professional development content. I want to thank our dedicated volunteer board members for their commitment to IABC, and I look forward to working with them again this year. IABC international also continued to prosper. The 2006 International Conference is June 4-7 in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit IABC.com for details. It's not too early to begin preparing your 2006 Bronze, Silver and Gold Quill Award entries. The Fort Worth Bronze Quill Awards banquet will be Monday, June 26, and the Silver Quill Awards will be announced at the Southern Region Conference in the fall in Kansas City. The Gold Quill final deadline is Feb. 9, with the awards announced in April. Gold Quill entry information is at IABC.com. We appreciate Deena Graves (IABC/Dallas past president) with bottomLINE Communications, Brinker's Andrea Scott and Jocelyn Janota at United Cooperative Services for renewing their membership. Your chapter board intends to publish an updated directory soon that will make it easy to find these folks and all of your fellow chapter members. Thanks, Paul Sturiale, for coordinating this project. Our next luncheon meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the Petroleum Club, and the program will be "30 Ideas in 30 Minutes." Stay tuned for details. ----- OVER & OUT John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ "Revision Thing: A history of the Iraq war, told entirely in lies.""Who's Rewriting History?" No comment necessary. ... Welcome to yet another new advertiser, the Reasons Group. Back home in Indiana: Wendy Hoke is collecting the names of SPJ members who freelance and who want to be included in a database aimed at generating referrals. Send name, address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address and web address, specialties, markets and experience to wendyhoke@comcast.net. ... SPJ has urged Clear Channel radio group to stop allowing its stations to sell naming rights to their newsrooms. WIBA, a Clear Channel radio station in Madison, Wis., sold the naming rights for its newsroom to a local bank. ... Julie Grimes, one of those people you can't praise too much, has advanced from SPJ deputy executive director to Sigma Delta Chi Foundation associate executive director in charge of the foundation's development and administration. Good girls do finish first. ... SPJ added its name to a letter urging President Bush to shed light on how $62.3 billion in Hurricane Katrina relief is being spent. The letter states, in part: "We call on President Bush to post on the Internet copies of every contract, requisition, task/delivery order, agreement or order authorization for spending on Hurricane Katrina relief and reconstruction as soon as contracts are signed, checks are approved or money is disbursed. For such spending that has already occurred, we urge you to direct agencies to put such information online as soon as possible." Indviduals can add their name to the letter at OpenTheGovernment.org. ... The University of Florida Interactive Media Lab offers up Las Vegas convention highlights -- webcasts of former New York Times editor Bill Kovach on "The Next Journalism," "Drawing in Audiences with a High-Tech Approach," "How to Watchdog Charities," "Immigration in the Heartland: News You Need to Know" and more -- at http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/spj. SPJ's 2006 national meeting is in Chicago. White Sox fans may still be celebrating the '05 World Series. ... The University of Georgia's annual survey of journalism and mass communication includes salary information for recent graduates. See grady.uga.edu/annualsurveys. Surveys from 2005 through 2007 are funded in part by SPJ's Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. And to be more marketable in this age of newsroom job cuts, all sorts of professional development opportunities await at JournalismTraining.org, a site maintained by SPJ. Closing words: "I teach at the largest Baptist university in the world. I'm a religious person. And my basic perspective is intelligent design doesn't belong in science class." -- Derek Davis, director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor ... "Never assume the obvious is true." -- William Safire ... "The meaning of life is to go back to sleep and hope that tomorrow will be a better day." -- "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz Closing words II, consistency of thought division: "Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes." -- Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., in a 2002 Washington Times op-ed piece ... "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom." -- Santorum in August on National Public Radio Closing words III, time to thwack a blowhard: "Perhaps I'm particularly sensitive to religious hypocrites because I've spent a chunk of time abroad watching Muslim versions of Mr. (Bill) O'Reilly -- demagogic table-thumpers who exploit public religiosity as a cynical ploy to gain attention and money. ... I have a challenge for Mr. O'Reilly: If you really want to defend traditional values, then come with me on a trip to Darfur. I'll introduce you to mothers who have had their babies clubbed to death in front of them, to teenage girls who have been gang-raped and then mutilated -- and to the government-armed thugs who do these things. You'll have to leave your studio, Bill. You'll encounter pure evil. If you're like me, you'll be scared. If you try to bully some of the goons in Darfur, they'll just hack your head off. But you'll also meet some genuine conservative Christians -- aid workers who live the Gospel instead of sputtering about it -- and you'll finally be using your talents for an important cause." -- op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, writing Dec. 18 in The New York Times, taking note of Bill O'Reilly's focus on keeping the Christmas in Christmas and suggesting that O'Reilly might honor the season better by exposing the continuing genocide in Darfur, which Kristof says the Fox TV personality has "ignored" Closing words IV, G.W.B. & the Pharisees bracket: "If the president does it, it can't be illegal." -- Richard Nixon ... "I was in that battle from the very beginning to the very end. I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with al Qaeda. They were not leading. They were being led by the U.S. green beret special forces with them. Green berets who were following an American plan of attack who were advancing with these Iraqi units as and when they were told to do so by the American battle planners. The Iraqis led nothing." -- Time magazine reporter Michael Ware, concerning an assault on the city of Tal Afar that President Bush on Nov. 30 said Iraqi security forces "primarily led"; Bush highlighted the battle as an "especially clear" sign of the progress Iraq security forces were making in Iraq ... "This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture." -- William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, on this year's White House Christmas cards, which end with a generic end-of-the-year message, wishing 1.4 million of the president's close friends and supporters a happy "holiday season"

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then any Tarrant County organization needs pictures in the Star-Telegram. At this month's PRSA meeting, Star-Telegram photo director Max Faulkner and photographers Jill Johnson and Ron Jenkins will walk members and guests through the elements of a good photo and offer tips on working with field photographers and ways to enliven boring "talking head" press conferences.

Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11

Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor

Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets

Cost: $25 members, $30 nonmembers, $20 students

RSVP by noon Jan. 6: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org; members, watch your e-mail for a Cvent invitation

Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...

As Timely as Today's Headlines ...

Korem has trained more than 15,000 educators and law enforcement professionals to identify without stereotyping a random-actor student, and he has developed an intervention program to defuse the rage that spurs random acts of violence. As a result of his training, authorities have been able to recognize troubled students and prevent many such tragedies.

Korem is an independent investigative journalist, president of Korem & Associates and the author of "Rage of the Random Actor"; "The Art of Profiling: Reading People Right the First Time"; "Suburban Gangs: The Affluent Rebels"; and "Streetwise Parents, Foolproof Kids." (He also published "JFK: Breaking the News," Hugh Aynesworth's eyewitness account of the president's assassination.) In 1981, three years after the Jonestown massacre, Korem produced "Psychic Confession," a documentary on a suicidal cult-like leader.

Time & date: mingling 5:30 p.m., eats around 6, then the program Thursday, Jan. 19

Place: Shady Oak Barbeque & Grill, 1600 E. Copeland Road, Arlington (south side of I-30 at the Nolan Ryan Expressway exit)

Cost: $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 students

Menu: brisket, sausage, chicken, plenty of sides, iced tea and corporate parent Spring Creek Barbeque's signature bread; cash bar

RSVP: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com

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

Applications are due Jan. 25 for the spring 2006 Jefferson Fellowships for Journalists, which will be honored April 30-May 28. This year's theme is "Powering the Future: Energy Sources and Alternatives." Twelve fellows will go to Honolulu; Houston; Sacramento, Calif.; Seoul, South Korea; and Beijing to study energy issues. Candidates with at least five years of experience are preferred. Covered costs include airfare, lodging, per diem and other program expenses. Details at eastwestcenter.org/Jefferson, or call (808) 944-7384. ...

The Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU will host the Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy June 4-8 for up-and-coming mass communication professionals and academics interested in taking on leadership roles. An advisory committee will select up to 15 participants based on leadership potential and interest. See manship.lsu.edu/news/leadership_academy2.htm. ...

The Education Writers Association and the Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism are offering an expenses-paid boot camp for education reporters to learn more about research and statistics. Applications are due Jan. 9. Contact Lori Crouch, (202) 452-9837 or lcrouch@ewa.org.

PRSA local update: Deadline is 5 p.m. Jan. 26 to enter the 2006 Silver Spur/Best of Texas Awards competition. Greater Fort Worth PRSA members may enter at the member rate, and the chapter will receive a share of the proceeds. For the first time, those who enter can pay for their entries by credit card, or request an invoice, in advance. Also new for 2006 are categories for Corporate Identity and Investor Relations and a Best of Texas for webcast/webinar. The Texas Public Relations Association is recruiting communications pros to help judge Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Austin headquarters of National Instruments, starting at 8:30 a.m. Volunteer at awards@tpra.com, or contact contest coordinator Julie B. Fix, APR, at (281) 494-6097. "Although we ask our judges to give up all or part of a Saturday, we believe each receives valuable insight into the quality of public relations work being done in the state," Fix said. "And we do give them a free breakfast and lunch for their efforts." The Silver Spur/Best of Texas Awards competition is the only statewide contest for Texas PR practitioners and recognizes excellence in programs, projects and tactics. See tpra.com/compawards.

PRSA local update II: If you joined or rejoined PRSA in 2005, then the new member luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant is for you. The luncheon had to be rescheduled from December, when it was iced out. Expect fajitas and the opportunity to meet other new and reinstated members and some current directors. An eVite should arrive soon.

PRSA local update III: The Dallas and Fort Worth PRSA chapters will host approximately 250 communications pros at the Southwest District Conference in Fort Worth on March 2 and 3. Although communicators from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana and New Mexico are expected, most attendees will be from companies and nonprofit groups in Texas; the region has 2,000 members. Various sponsorship levels are available. More from Tracy Sturrock at tsturrock@fortworthzoo.org.

PRSA local update IV: Organizers thank Gestures Marketing Communications for sponsoring the December PRSA luncheon. GMC's generosity made possible a PRSA donation to the Chisholm Trail chapter of the American Red Cross. ... A blueprint for the year's activities will take shape at the Independent Consultants SIG meeting Friday, Jan. 20, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at Central Market, I-30 and Hulen Street. RSVP to Sandra Brodnicki, sandra@brodnickipr.com, or Nancy Farrar, nancyh829@aol.com.

SPJ national update: More spying than first thought?; no, Clinton and Carter didn't do the same thing; and press leak about bin Laden cellphone "urban myth." President Bush has acknowledged that several hundred Americans were wiretapped without warrants by the National Security Agency, but some U.S. officials and outside experts say the operation could be far broader. They note that with the high-tech tools at its disposal, the NSA could eavesdrop on a much larger cross-section of people in the United States. More here and here and here and here and here. ... Bush's spy program allows warrantless surveillance inside the United States. Executive orders by Presidents Jimmy Carter on May 23, 1979, and Bill Clinton on Feb. 9, 1995, did not do that. More here. ... The Washington Post refutes the president's continued assertion that the media published a leak in 1998 alerting al Qaeda to U.S. monitoring and causing Osama bin Laden to abandon his cellphone. A Post story Dec. 22 says bin Laden's use of a satellite phone had already been reported in 1996 and that the source of the information was another government, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time. More here and here.

SPJ national update II: Columnist resigns, admits he was paid off; "a total waste of money" and crooked, too; and un-embedding the photojournalist. Doug Bandow, a senior scholar at the respected Cato Institute, resigned after revelations that he took payments from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing columns favorable to Abramoff's clients. Abramoff is at the center of a criminal investigation involving several members of Congress over whether the lawmakers took bribes in exchange for legislative help. More here and here. ... U.S. military officials in Iraq knew that a Pentagon contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive stories and made it clear that none of the stories should be traced to the United States, according to current and former employees of Lincoln Group, the Washington-based contractor. A number of Lincoln Group workers involved in a $20 million, two-month contract to sway public opinion describe a costly and ineffective campaign. "This stuff ... is a total waste of money," said a former employee, echoing the sentiments of several colleagues. "Every Iraqi can read right through it." More here and here and here and here. ... The expulsion of two embedded journalists in Kuwait, reportedly for photographing a shot-up military vehicle, prompted outrage from Military Reporters and Editors. MRE president Sig Christenson, a military writer with the San Antonio Express-News, said no rule barring photos of damaged vehicles existed when he embedded in 2003. More here.

SPJ national update III: Riled at O'Reilly; riled over respect shown fallen soldiers; and, riled at Sinclair, TV reporter files countersuit. The Plano school district says talk show host Bill O'Reilly falsely accused the school of outlawing the colors of Christmas. O'Reilly told his television audience Dec. 9 that a Plano school informed students they could not wear red and green because those are Christmas colors, a decision he called "flat-out fascism." Richard Abernathy, an attorney for the school district, e-mailed O'Reilly that his "slur smacks of McCarthyism and represents yellow journalism at its best." More here. ... Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag and greeted by a color guard. But many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners, stuffed in the belly of a plane with suitcases and other cargo. San Diego residents John Holley and his wife, Stacey, were stunned when they learned that the body of their son would arrive at Lindbergh Field as freight. Matthew Holley, a medic with the 101st Airborne unit in Iraq, was killed Nov. 15. More here. ... Jonathan S. Leiberman, Washington bureau chief for the Sinclair Broadcast Group until his dismissal in October 2004, has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit. Leiberman had objected to Sinclair's plans to pre-empt programming at its 62 TV stations less than two weeks before the 2004 presidential election to air "an extremely one-sided and negative" piece on Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, "tricked out as news," the suit says. Leiberman was fired after he told The Baltimore Sun that the piece was "biased political propaganda." More here.

SPJ national update IV: Lies that hurt the planet; Big 3 letting FOI go by; and reporter groups lose appeal in whistleblower case. The Bush administration skewed its analysis of pending legislation on air pollution to favor its bill over two competing proposals, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. The EPA's Oct. 27 analysis of its plan, along with those of Sens. Thomas Carper, D-Del., and James Jeffords, I-Vt., exaggerated the costs and underestimated the benefits of imposing more stringent pollution curbs, the independent, nonpartisan congressional researchers wrote in a Nov. 23 report. More here. ... A listing of all requests made of the Pentagon under the Freedom of Information Act since 2000 reveals that the law is broadly used -- more than 10,000 requests since 2000 -- but not by the nation's three largest papers. USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, all with daily circulations exceeding one million, made just 36 requests of the Pentagon between 2000 and February 2005. The AP, the nation's most widely used wire service, made 73 requests. More here. ... The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 28 declined to review a federal appeals court's dismissal of a whistleblower case on national security grounds, and whether the appellate court improperly closed oral arguments to the public when it reviewed that dismissal. A media coalition led by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking that closure be permitted only when it protects a compelling government interest. More here.

SPJ national update V: Broad optimism in Iraq, but also deep divisions; someone got it wrong on how Marines died; and Al Gore just keeps inventing stuff. A wide-ranging poll finds optimism in Iraq, with living conditions improved, security more a national worry than a local one, and expectations high. But other views are less positive, and vast differences exist between disaffected Sunni areas and the Shiite and Kurdish provinces. More here. ... CNN reported Dec. 3 that, based on military reports, 10 Marines on a nighttime foot patrol near Falluja had been killed when a roadside bomb detonated. Three days later, the military said the deaths occurred in a disused flour mill following a promotion ceremony. As the ceremony ended, the military said, a Marine may have stepped on a buried pressure plate linked to explosives. The military blamed the confusion on misreporting up the chain of command. The death toll was the largest suffered by U.S. soldiers in Iraq in a single incident since August. More here. ... Smirks were evident when former Vice President Al Gore stood in front of a small crowd at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association conference in 2004 and announced he was launching a news network that would target viewers ages 18-34. Those smirks morphed into raised eyebrows this year when he and his business partner said they would program their new channel, Current, with viewer-produced content. Current has progressed further than many observers expected. More here.

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The Balcom Agency won second place in the Best Product Launch Advertisement in Business Press category of the 2005 Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) Awards. Judges said the use of lizards in Balcom's "Salex: Before, After" ad for Salex skin cream was "a simple, effective visual metaphor." One judge added, "It's better than another gorgeous face or hand shot." The campaign helped the brand exceed sales goals by more than 50 percent in less than a year. Balcom also was a finalist in the same category for "The Evolution of Easy," an ad launching Accuzyme Spray. MM&M received more than 500 entries in 23 categories from such national ad agencies as BBDO, Corbett Accel Healthcare Group, Euro RSCG, Grey Healthcare Group and Saatchi & Saatchi Consumer Healthcare, promoting such brands as Botox, Crestor, Imitrex and Lunesta. The awards ceremony was held Nov. 9 at the Tavern on the Green in New York City. The Balcom Agency was founded in 1993; its roster includes local, regional and national clients such as Justin Boots, Justin Original Workboots, Tony Lama, Texas Health Resources, Harris Methodist Hospitals, Alcon Laboratories and Colonial Savings. ...

The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors rates the Star-Telegram features section among the 10 best in North America in 2005. The judges called the Fort Worth features section "fun, witty, creative and beautifully presented, and yet deep and poignant, when it [had] to be." The judging was done by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, the Poynter Institute and readers. ...

Writers Gary Cartwright and Bud Shrake and actor/singer Betty Buckley, all alumni of TCU's Schieffer School of Journalism, were inducted in October into the school's Hall of Excellence.

Baby daze! Felicia Pinkney and husband Matt are the proud new parents of Regan Gabrielle, born Dec. 8. Rumor has it she looks just like her older sister, Sierra.

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AmeriCredit Corp., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in downtown Fort Worth, seeks a communication specialist. Requirements include newspaper or corporate communications experience, including internships, and a bachelor's degree in journalism, mass communications, PR, English or related discipline. Submit résumé through the Career Seekers section of the AmeriCredit web site, americredit.com. ...

The Texas Daily Newspaper Association web site, tdna.org, has a new job bank where job seekers can post their name, contact information and a brief summary of their experience and educaton. There's no charge. E-mail résumé or job search particulars to Darla Thompson at dthompson@tdna.org. ...

The Lewiston Tribune, a 20,000-circulation daily in beautiful north central Idaho, seeks an assistant city editor. Contact managing editor Paul Emerson at pemerson@lmtribune.com. ... Black Enterprise magazine's 2006 summer internship program begins June 5 and continues through Aug. 11. Send résumé, cover letter and writing samples to Natalie M. Hibbert, Director of Human Resources, Black Enterprise Magazine, 130 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011. Apply by Jan. 31. More at blackenterprise.com.

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IABC ... Deena Graves, bottomLINE Communications ... Andrea Scott, Brinker ... Jocelyn Janota, United Cooperative Services

PRSA ... Charity Aughinbaugh, Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth ... Jennifer Hutcherson, CashAmerica ... Lauren Kwedar, Paige Hendricks Public Relations ... David Magana, DFW International Airport ... Liz Scott, Mansfield ISD

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Exits ... at the S-T: former copy editor/page designer/news editor/Hometown Star editor and, most recently, assistant metro editor Kristi Payne, leaving the Arlington newsroom after almost 10 years to spend more time with her kindergartener and to help her husband start a kayak rental business ... Bobby White, after covering telecommunications in business for two years, to The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau ... blogger extraordinaire Avery Holton, after a few months on the online desk, returning to his first love, Austin

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Holly Ellman, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

One of my goals is to increase involvement in chapter activities. Several years ago, our then-VP of programs asked me to meet with the committee and brainstorm ideas. Now numerous committees and board positions later, I am proud to serve as the chapter's president. Make 2006 the year you get involved in PRSA. Note the list of outstanding board chairs on our web site, fortworthprsa.org. If you're interested in working on one of these committees, please contact the person in charge. There's plenty of work (and fun) to go around!

Richard Maxwell, IABC/Fort Worth

As we begin a new year, let's reflect on the Fort Worth IABC chapter's accomplishments in 2005. Membership grew 10 percent, meeting attendance was up, and programming continued to deliver exceptional professional development content. I want to thank our dedicated volunteer board members for their commitment to IABC, and I look forward to working with them again this year.

It's not too early to begin preparing your 2006 Bronze, Silver and Gold Quill Award entries. The Fort Worth Bronze Quill Awards banquet will be Monday, June 26, and the Silver Quill Awards will be announced at the Southern Region Conference in the fall in Kansas City. The Gold Quill final deadline is Feb. 9, with the awards announced in April. Gold Quill entry information is at IABC.com.

We appreciate Deena Graves (IABC/Dallas past president) with bottomLINE Communications, Brinker's Andrea Scott and Jocelyn Janota at United Cooperative Services for renewing their membership. Your chapter board intends to publish an updated directory soon that will make it easy to find these folks and all of your fellow chapter members. Thanks, Paul Sturiale, for coordinating this project.

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

Back home in Indiana: Wendy Hoke is collecting the names of SPJ members who freelance and who want to be included in a database aimed at generating referrals. Send name, address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address and web address, specialties, markets and experience to wendyhoke@comcast.net. ... SPJ has urged Clear Channel radio group to stop allowing its stations to sell naming rights to their newsrooms. WIBA, a Clear Channel radio station in Madison, Wis., sold the naming rights for its newsroom to a local bank. ... Julie Grimes, one of those people you can't praise too much, has advanced from SPJ deputy executive director to Sigma Delta Chi Foundation associate executive director in charge of the foundation's development and administration. Good girls do finish first. ... SPJ added its name to a letter urging President Bush to shed light on how $62.3 billion in Hurricane Katrina relief is being spent. The letter states, in part: "We call on President Bush to post on the Internet copies of every contract, requisition, task/delivery order, agreement or order authorization for spending on Hurricane Katrina relief and reconstruction as soon as contracts are signed, checks are approved or money is disbursed. For such spending that has already occurred, we urge you to direct agencies to put such information online as soon as possible." Indviduals can add their name to the letter at OpenTheGovernment.org. ...

The University of Florida Interactive Media Lab offers up Las Vegas convention highlights -- webcasts of former New York Times editor Bill Kovach on "The Next Journalism," "Drawing in Audiences with a High-Tech Approach," "How to Watchdog Charities," "Immigration in the Heartland: News You Need to Know" and more -- at http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/spj. SPJ's 2006 national meeting is in Chicago. White Sox fans may still be celebrating the '05 World Series. ...

The University of Georgia's annual survey of journalism and mass communication includes salary information for recent graduates. See grady.uga.edu/annualsurveys. Surveys from 2005 through 2007 are funded in part by SPJ's Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. And to be more marketable in this age of newsroom job cuts, all sorts of professional development opportunities await at JournalismTraining.org, a site maintained by SPJ.

Closing words: "I teach at the largest Baptist university in the world. I'm a religious person. And my basic perspective is intelligent design doesn't belong in science class." -- Derek Davis, director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor ... "Never assume the obvious is true." -- William Safire ... "The meaning of life is to go back to sleep and hope that tomorrow will be a better day." -- "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz

Closing words II, consistency of thought division: "Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes." -- Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., in a 2002 Washington Times op-ed piece ... "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom." -- Santorum in August on National Public Radio

Closing words III, time to thwack a blowhard: "Perhaps I'm particularly sensitive to religious hypocrites because I've spent a chunk of time abroad watching Muslim versions of Mr. (Bill) O'Reilly -- demagogic table-thumpers who exploit public religiosity as a cynical ploy to gain attention and money. ... I have a challenge for Mr. O'Reilly: If you really want to defend traditional values, then come with me on a trip to Darfur. I'll introduce you to mothers who have had their babies clubbed to death in front of them, to teenage girls who have been gang-raped and then mutilated -- and to the government-armed thugs who do these things. You'll have to leave your studio, Bill. You'll encounter pure evil. If you're like me, you'll be scared. If you try to bully some of the goons in Darfur, they'll just hack your head off. But you'll also meet some genuine conservative Christians -- aid workers who live the Gospel instead of sputtering about it -- and you'll finally be using your talents for an important cause." -- op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, writing Dec. 18 in The New York Times, taking note of Bill O'Reilly's focus on keeping the Christmas in Christmas and suggesting that O'Reilly might honor the season better by exposing the continuing genocide in Darfur, which Kristof says the Fox TV personality has "ignored"

Closing words IV, G.W.B. & the Pharisees bracket: "If the president does it, it can't be illegal." -- Richard Nixon ... "I was in that battle from the very beginning to the very end. I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with al Qaeda. They were not leading. They were being led by the U.S. green beret special forces with them. Green berets who were following an American plan of attack who were advancing with these Iraqi units as and when they were told to do so by the American battle planners. The Iraqis led nothing." -- Time magazine reporter Michael Ware, concerning an assault on the city of Tal Afar that President Bush on Nov. 30 said Iraqi security forces "primarily led"; Bush highlighted the battle as an "especially clear" sign of the progress Iraq security forces were making in Iraq ... "This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture." -- William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, on this year's White House Christmas cards, which end with a generic end-of-the-year message, wishing 1.4 million of the president's close friends and supporters a happy "holiday season"