Welcome to our newsletter ...
May 2007
MEETINGS
Next at IABC Fort Worth ...
You're Weird but Fathomable
Kent Dean has a question for you: Ever encountered a person who doesn't get it? You and she never seem to be on the same page. You probably go to great lengths to avoid each other. And because of this, your productivity soars? No, it tanks.
From low output and even lower morale, to employee turnover and communication sabotage, a failure to understand the motivations behind personality types can be devastating. But with just a little information and effort, Dean says, violent waves on the sea of communication can turn tranquil. The results: improved attitudes, atmosphere, performance and profitability.
Dean, a senior accounts manager for CVA Advertising & Marketing and the speaker at this month's IABC meeting, is a corporate trainer for True Colors, which has been hailed as a most entertaining method for recognizing -- and communicating with -- different personality types. True Colors, based on the Myers-Briggs and Dr. David Keirsey personality studies, has proven especially useful for organizational team building.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 22
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $20, nonmembers $25, students $18 (online sign-up add $1)
RSVP by noon May 18: Jenny Walker, j.walker@tarrantcouncil.org, or iabcfortworth.com/paypal.htm
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Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ...
El Futuro: Maximizing Hispanic PR
Living in Texas, most public relations professionals know of the nation's growing Hispanic population. One of the country's largest target audiences will be examined at the May 9 PRSA meeting in the program "From Media Relations to Measurement: Maximizing Your Hispanic PR Initiatives in 2007" with Hispanic PR Wire president and CEO Manny Ruiz.
The program will detail aspects of a successful Hispanic market public relations program with a concentration on media relations. Tips on setting goals and benchmarking Hispanic initiatives will be discussed. Attendees will receive ideas for pitching local media as well as handouts on Hispanic PR case studies and media profiles.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 9
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20
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Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...
What Can Journalists Do When Their Jobs Disappear?
You're a trained reporter or editor. Your career has depended on your knowledge of the language -- writing, editing, broadcasting, reporting, getting the news, etc. Then your job goes away. Whoa, what's next?
Well, there are other arenas for writers and editors: PR, corporate publications, freelancing, teaching, consulting. For a glimpse of life outside the newsroom, John Ostdick and Paige Hendricks will engage attendees at the May SPJ meeting in a dialogue on opportunities. Come and listen and ask questions.
Ostdick is a freelance journalist and former editor of American Way magazine. Hendricks is president of Paige Hendricks Public Relations in Fort Worth. She founded the firm in 1978, and clients include United Way of Tarrant County, Meridian Bank Texas, XGL, and the Covey Restaurant & Brewery. Writing coach and author Paula LaRocque, a former assistant managing editor of The Dallas Morning News, will moderate the discussion.
Time & date: mingling 6 p.m., eats around 6:30, then the program Wednesday, May 23
Place: Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant, 2201 N. Commerce St.
Cost: $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 students
Menu: Joe T.'s famous family-style enchilada dinner
RSVP: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Joyce Carol Oates, a three-time Nobel Prize nominee, will headline the 3rd Annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest, July 27-29 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine. She will be joined by humor writer Mary Roach and publisher Nan Talese; Burkart Bilger, an author and staff writer for The New Yorker whose work has been anthologized in "The Best American Science and Nature Writing"; William Nack, an author and senior writer at Sports Illustrated; Kevin Fedarko, an award-winning adventure and travel writer at Outside magazine; Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, American Indian author of the stirring memoir "Rock, Ghost, Willow, Deer"; and many other prominent authors, editors and literary agents. "I'm convinced that anyone who attends the Mayborn conference will leave with a new level of insights, storytelling skills and understanding of the aesthetic qualities and requirements of literary nonfiction," said legendary writer Gay Talese, who fully intends to be there. The conference will include a manuscript and article/essay writing contest; the manuscript winner will earn a provisional book publishing contract with UNT Press, and the 10 best articles or essays will appear in a literary journal jointly published by Hearst Newspapers and the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism. The best articles and essays will also compete for $12,000 in cash prizes. Students can register for $200, educators for $250 and the public for $275; the price includes meals. Seating is limited. To register or for more information, visit mayborninstitute.unt.edu or contact George Getschow, the conference's writer-in-residence, at 972-746-1633, or Nancy Eanes, conference coordinator, at 940-565-4778. ...
Janet White, author of "Secrets of the Hidden Job Market: Change Your Thinking to Get the Job of Your Dreams," will reveal six secrets of this hidden market -- billed as unlike any job hunting program you've ever heard -- at the American Society of Business Publication Editors meeting Wednesday, May 9, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Southern Recipes Grill, 2715 N. Collins St. in Arlington. Cost is $20 for the meeting and lunch. RSVP to Tonie Auer, 817-925-2013 or tonieauer@gmail.com. ...
Steve Neubauer, who with his wife, Joan, runs the "royalty publisher and author incubator" WordWright.biz, inc., in Alpine, Texas, will share what he knows with the Dallas chapter of the Writers' League of Texas at its meeting Monday, May 21, 7-8:30 p.m. in the Richardson Public Library. So how many people you know hold a master of science in the study of the future (from the University of Houston)? Neubauer does. That's your reason to go right there. The meeting is open to the public. More from Carol Woods at shurlock@flash.net.
IABC local update: How's your reputation? Warren Bickford, ABC, corporate communications director for the Vancouver (B.C.) Coastal Health Authority and past chair of IABC, will discuss "Reputation Management: Competitive Advantage and Measurement" at the Dallas IABC meeting Tuesday, May 8. Register here.
PRSA local update: Still looking for a summer intern? Metroplex students attending Abilene Christian U. are looking for you. Contact Dave Hogan, APR, with the ACU Journalism and Mass Communication Department, 325-674-2045 or dave.hogan@acu.edu.
PRSA local update II: If you were ever going to join, now's the time. PR pros who sign on in May and June receive their chapter membership free for a year. Complete an application by clicking the "Think Bigger" icon at prsa.org (the promotion code is CHAP2007). Applications also may be picked up at the May 9 and June 13 meetings, or e-mail Laura Van Hoosier at lauravanhoosier@gmail.com to have one sent to you.
PRSA local update III: So many ways to ship, so many ways to save. Through PRSA's partnership with DHL Express, members can save up to 25 percent on air express and ground shipping. Call 1-800-MEMBERS, or visit 1800members.com.
PRSA local update IV: He's everywhere, this Manny Ruiz. The Hispanic PR Wire president and CEO will reprise his May 9 program at Greater Fort Worth PRSA the next day, Thursday, May 10, at Dallas PRSA. More here.
SPJ national update: Imprisoned freelance journalist released; and Pentagon more concerned with sparing Bush embarrassment than leveling with dead soldier's family? Josh Wolf, the blogger whose record 7 1/2 months in federal prison stirred debate about who qualifies as a journalist and what legal protections they should receive, was freed April 3 after releasing video footage about a G-8 Summit protest he filmed July 8, 2005, in San Francisco's Mission District. Lawyers for Wolf, 24, who had been held in contempt by a federal judge last August for defying a grand jury subpoena, reached a compromise with federal prosecutors. Wolf posted the uncut video of a protest in San Francisco on his web site, gave prosecutors a copy and denied under oath that he knew anything about violent incidents at the July 2005 protest. In return, his lawyers said, prosecutors agreed not to summon him before the grand jury or ask him to identify any of the protesters shown on his video. More here. ... Just seven days after Pat Tillman's death, a top general warned there were strong indications that it was friendly fire and that the president might embarrass himself if he said the NFL star-turned-soldier died in an ambush, according to a memo obtained by the AP. It was not until a month later that the Pentagon told the public and grieving family members the truth -- that Tillman was mistakenly killed in Afghanistan by his comrades. More here and here.
SPJ national update II: The senator just loves Baghdad; and administration rebuked on climate change. A day after members of a congressional delegation led by Sen. John McCain cited their brief visit to Baghdad's central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city is working, the merchants there were incredulous about the Americans' conclusions. "What are they talking about?" said Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market. "They paralyzed the market when they came. This was only for the media. This will not change anything." Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, said the Shorja market was "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana." That would be a normal outdoor market with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees -- the equivalent of an entire company -- and attack helicopters circling overhead and with traffic redirected, and with sharpshooters on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit. More here and here. ... The Supreme Court on April 2 ordered the federal government to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from cars. Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the landmark environmental law, Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion. The court's four conservative justices dissented. Many scientists believe greenhouse gases, flowing into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, are leading to a warming of Earth, rising sea levels and other marked ecological changes. More here.
SPJ national update III: "Daily Show" viewers more aware than those of Fox News; and CBS producer fired for copying Wall Street Journal article. In a knowledgeability survey of 1,502 adults released April 15 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, regular watchers of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" scored the highest. They tied with regular readers of major newspapers in the top spot, with 54 percent of them getting 2 out of 3 questions correct. Watchers of the "Lehrer News Hour" on PBS followed just behind. Bringing up the rear were regular watchers of Fox News. Only one in three could answer 2 out of 3 questions correctly. Overall, only 69 percent knew that Dick Cheney is vice president, while 74 percent could identify Dan Quayle in that post in 1989. More here. ... A CBS News producer was fired and the network apologized after a Katie Couric video essay on libraries was found to be plagiarized from The Wall Street Journal. Essays are carried regularly on "Couric & Co.," the anchor's blog on the CBS News web site. Couric and producers meet once a week to decide on topics, and the producers write them for Couric to read on camera. More here.
SPJ national update IV: Indiana student's column draws support from press advocates; and president urged not to silence Voice of America. The column in the Woodburn, Ind., junior-senior high school newspaper merely advocated tolerance for people "different than you." But since sophomore Megan Chase's words appeared Jan. 19, the adviser has been suspended, reassigned and barred from teaching journalism. At issue is whether advocating tolerance of homosexuals is a suitable topic for a newspaper distributed to students in grades 7 through 12 and whether adviser Amy Sorrell followed protocol in allowing the column to be printed. The Student Press Law Center worked to find an attorney to help Sorrell. More here and here. ... U.S. lawmakers are urging the Bush administration to reconsider proposed budgetary reductions that would end all English-language radio programming by the Voice of America except for programs transmitted to Africa. Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, faced tough questioning from lawmakers who view the cuts as short-sighted and likely to undermine the ability of the U.S. to communicate abroad. More here.
SPJ national update V: Savannah paper moves Iraq column to op-ed page; and you want candidates to talk openly? bar the media. The Savannah (Ga.) Morning News sparked controversy in its newsroom April 10 for publishing a first-person piece by an Army commander in Iraq on the front page of the metro section. The paper's editor initially said subsequent stories by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch would run in the same location but the next day said they would move to the op-ed section. At least three newsroom staffers complained about the metro play. One e-mailed E&P: "Is this appropriate for a 50,000-reader newspaper that purports to be free from government influence? Staff members feel it has undermined the newspaper's credibility and independence." The paper serves a circulation area with some 20,000 residents linked to the military through nearby Fort Stewart Army Base. More here and here. ... During the Mortgage Bankers Association conference April 26, a banker expressed frustration with candidates who only talk in sound bites and wondered how that could be changed. Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party and once a presidential candidate, offered a solution: "I suggest you have candidates in to meetings like this and bar the press." The Democratic National Committee chairman criticized media coverage, arguing that networks such as CBS used to put content first and didn't mind losing money for the prestige of delivering a quality news report. In response later, National Press Club president Jerry Zremski said: "Has Dean read the First Amendment?" More here.
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So How Did George W. Bush Celebrate Sunshine Week? Sorry, That's Classified
by Susan Tallant
Too much secrecy. Too few accessible documents. Too many elected officials hiding their motives and their actions and their world-changing decisions from the people they were elected to serve.
Oh, and a threat to press freedom as palpable as the tornadoes the forecasters breathlessly proclaimed could strike at any minute.
Pete Weitzel's speech April 13 at Fort Worth SPJ's First Amendment Awards and Scholarship Dinner had it all, and if he didn't scare you, there was always the weather. Outside, powerful winds were tearing through Haltom City just a few miles west of the banquet site, Cacharel in Arlington. Inside, thoughts centered on concerns of a different sort.
"The fight for open government is a contest between competing values," said Weitzel, a former managing editor of The Miami Herald who helped launch the National Freedom of Information Coalition and served as its second president. "We are going to have to remain vigilant and proactive. The alternative is greater government secrecy. That would be disastrous for us as journalists and for our country."
Weitzel, now FOI coordinator of the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, told the SPJ members, award winners and guests that there is strong sentiment in the administration, supported by conservative voices in Congress, to take action against those who leak information. But he also said the media are more united than ever on open government issues.
He referenced recent bill amendments that would criminalize the leaking and publishing of classified information and said the whole issue of leaks is both fascinating and dangerous.
"What's important to remember and to explain to the American people is that leaking serves to level the Washington playing field, which would otherwise be even more heavily slanted in favor of any incumbent administration," he said.
This incumbent administration, he noted, has opposed four bills that would strengthen the Freedom of Information Act. "That opposition isn't really surprising. This is an administration that came into office determined to tightly control the flow of information."
Weitzel became involved in freedom-of-information issues with the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. He chaired FSNE's Freedom of Information Committee for 15 years and in 1984 helped found the Florida First Amendment Foundation, serving as president its first 11 years.
He has seen government secrecy in many forms, but never before the number of officials who use private e-mail accounts to conduct government business so the conversation is never part of the official archive.
"There's been an explosion in the classification of information," he said, "to the point where even those in the business of secrecy say it's gone too far and become counterproductive. And it is damaging to our security."
Thousands of people in government have the rank to classify information, but audits show one-third of these experts are not doing their job properly. Also, Weitzel said, the three million other government officials who make secondary decisions take the information from the already classified documents and incorporate it into a new document.
"Imagine how many times they get it wrong," he said.
The AP recently reported that more than a million documents have been removed from the national archives since 2001 in response to a Justice Department directive. Weitzel painted a picture: a stack as tall as the Capitol dome. "We've seen a great explosion in pseudo-classification," he said.
In closing, he urged the journalists in the room to tell the open government story. He said many of the nation's media organizations are aggressively engaging open governement issues.
And for that, he said, "we can thank the Bush administration."
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PEOPLE & PLACES
The TCU Board of Trustees has approved tenure for Schieffer School of Journalism faculty Julie O'Neil and Amiso George. O'Neil also was promoted and joins George as an associate professor. ...
In addition to being named the best daily college newspaper in the state by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors, The Shorthorn web site took first place recently in the Region 8 SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards. Among the students involved: Dominic Bracco, Mark Roberts, Samantha Nhema, Alicia Kania, Isaac Erickson, Tracie Morales, Heather Ann White and Princess McDowell. ...
For the second time in three years, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers has honored the Star-Telegram business section for excellence among newspapers with circulations of 250,000-350,000. The judges cited the paper's stories on RadioShack CEO Dave Edmondson misrepresenting academic credentials on his résumé and on the negotiations to change the Wright Amendment. And for the second year in a row, Mitchell Schnurman was lauded as a top business columnist. ...
Quorum Architects, an architectural and interior design firm, has hired the Balcom Agency to develop a branding campaign complete with product name, logo, tagline and creative platform, as well as a PR program to celebrate the firm's 15th anniversary this month. Quorum clients in the retail, corporate, medical, government and industrial sectors include Fossil, the United States Postal Service, Range Resources, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Tarrant County College District, Acme Brick and HealthSouth Corp. ...
Nelson Plant Food, which makes custom-mix fertilizer, has selected the Hondo Group to provide market analysis, sales organization and PR services. Julie and Dean Nelson founded the company in 1983 to develop and distribute quality fertilizer products in a limited market segment. The company has a presence in retail stores and with landscapers and growers throughout the Southeast. Meanwhile, just a road trip away, Badger Veterinary Hospital, an equine and small animal clinic in Janesville, Wis., has selected the Hondo Group to provide marketing and PR, including strategic planning and collateral design. The veterinary hospital will be assisted out of the Hondo Group's new Midwest office.
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GET A JOB
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History seeks a public affairs director. Requirements include a bachelor's degree in marketing, journalism, PR, public affairs, advertising or related field and 5-7 years of experience, preferably with a museum. Go here for more info. ...
The Marketing Department, a full-service marketing agency headquartered in Dallas, is looking for freelancers in print and web design, client services and web programming. Send an e-mail with qualifications to contactus@getsizzle.com. ...
C. Pharr & Co. in Addison seeks contract freelance assistance with several business-to-business projects, 20-30 hours a week total. At least three years agency or corporate PR or business journalism experience required, with experience in trade media relations and writing for technical, technology or industrial companies preferred. Must have home-office e-mail and internet connectivity and be able to work independently. Send background and salary requirements to cynthia@pharrpr.com. ...
Night Vision Systems in Dallas has a temporary position for a detail-orientated person with writing experience to help with trade show coordination, PR and channel management. Job requires travel and could extend through the end of the year. Submit a résumé, salary requirements and writing samples to marketing director Cindy Zebroski, 972-559-3239, czebroski@nightvisionsystems.com.
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NEW MEMBERS
SPJ ... Callie Cox, TCU
PRSA ... Hedish Connor, Idearc Media, Grapevine ... Abby Dozier, Texas Wesleyan U. (transfer from the New Mexico chapter) ... Gina Hethcock, American Diabetes Association ... Sarah McClellan-Brandt, Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations ... Linda Akins, freelance writer and PR consultant (transfer from the Southeastern Wisconsin chapter)
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Marc Flake, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
Those of you who attended the April meeting were both informed and entertained as humorist David Wilk taught us all a better way to approach new ideas. Instead of, "No, but," he encouraged us to say, "Yes, and." This is an excellent thought to keep in mind as I present the main point of this month's column.
The Board of Directors is studying ways to increase chapter revenues without impacting your pocketbook. As we reviewed this year's budget, we totaled the cost of everything we want to do for the chapter. To continue some of these things -- meeting at the Petroleum Club, providing scholarships, supporting the special interest groups -- we need more income. No one wants to increase member costs.
One idea would be to seek sponsors who would advertise their products/services at the monthly meetings. Businesses like PR Newswire have offered to sponsor our meetings in the past, but we don't have a policy to ensure that the corporate footprint on the meetings would be minimal. Now a task force is working on just such a policy.
We would like to begin offering sponsorships as early as June. If any of you have suggestions or concerns -- or if you or your company would like to sponsor a meeting -- e-mail me at mflake@tarrantcounty.com.
Another issue resolved during this year's budget process was the reinstatement of our RSVP policy. This change is necessary to cover increased costs associated with walk-ups and other meeting services. Beginning with the May meeting, online reservations are due by 5 p.m. the Friday prior to the luncheon, and cancellations must be made by 5 p.m. the day before the luncheon. Late cancellations and no-shows will be billed, or you may send a representative in your place at no additional charge. Walk-ups will be accepted for an additional $5 if space is available.
This month's meeting promises to be very informative. Hispanic PR Wire president and CEO Manny Ruiz will provide insights, tactics and tools to execute and measure an Hispanic market PR program with a concentration on media relations. Tips on setting goals and benchmarking Hispanic initiatives also will be discussed. For additional information and to register, check the meeting advance on p. 1 or respond to your Cvent invitation.
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
SPJ is collecting materials for a database that will help journalists present classes or seminars on a variety of topics for students and professionals. Submissions can be low-tech or high- (think PowerPoint, video and audio). More here. ...
One year ago, SPJ urged the National Football League to reverse a policy that banned some local television crews from filming the games. Now the NFL says it will allow more local television cameras to cover games from the sidelines, enabling more local game-day coverage. I love it when a plan comes together.
Closing words: "There are many people who are always anticipating trouble, and in this way they manage to enjoy many sorrows that never really happen to them." -- 19th-century humorist Josh Billings ... "I find it ironic that the flags were flown at half-staff for the young men and women who were killed at VT, yet it is never lowered for the death of a U.S. service member." -- Army Sgt. Jim Wilt at Bagram military base north of Kabul, Afghanistan, lamenting that his comrades' deaths lack the "shock factor" to be honored by the Stars and Stripes as were the deaths at Virginia Tech
Closing words II, when Republicans strike (each other): "Mr. [Alberto] Gonzales has presided over an unprecedented crippling of the Constitution's time-honored checks and balances. He has brought rule of law into disrepute, and debased honesty as the coin of the realm. ... He has engendered the suspicion that partisan politics trumps evenhanded law enforcement in the Department of Justice. ... Attorney General Gonzales has proven an unsuitable steward of the law and should resign for the good of the country. ... The President should accept the resignation, and set a standard to which the wise and honest might repair in nominating a successor." -- the American Freedom Agenda, a recently formed body designed to promote conservative legal principles
Closing words III, Baghdad bureau: "Of course I am going to misspeak, and I've done it on numerous occasions and I probably will do it in the future. I regret that when I divert attention to something I said from my message, but you know, that's just life. I'm happy, frankly, with the way I operate; otherwise it would be a lot less fun." -- John McCain, who thinks Americans should elect him to lead the most powerful nation in the world, acknowledging on "60 Minutes" that heavily armed troops and helicopter gunships accompanied him when he visited a Baghdad market and professed how safe the place was ... "It looks like a terrorist academy now. There's a huge number of these students. They study how they can kill in their camps. And we protect them, feed them, give them medical care. The Americans have no solution to this problem. This has been going on for a year or two, we have been telling them." -- Saad Sultan, the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry's liaison to U.S. and Iraqi prisons, on Camp Cropper, the main U.S. detention center at the Baghdad airport, where, three years after the abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison, the inmate population has soared to 18,000 and prisoners can languish as long as two years before getting a trial, despite the U.S. pledging to speed processing of detainees ... "The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going. So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, 'No, thanks.' " -- retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander and one of at least three retired four-star generals who declined a White House invitation to apply for war czar to oversee operations in Iraq and Afghanistan