Welcome to our newsletter ...
July 2007
Party? Or meet? Meet? Or party? Like it's much of a choice.
Fun in the sunset! FW SPJ's summer splash party returns to the Fort Worth Boat Club on Saturday, July 21, and the menu is full indeed: Swimming, cruising the lake on Amon Carter's fabled West-Texan party boat, and sailing with Gayle Reaves and Paul King on the (less fabled, less teak) Cassiopeia. Relaxing at Carolyn Poirot and Jack Strickland's cabaña, followed by a super Mexican buffet -- and an encore appearance of those brownies -- with tunes from SPJ's own (somewhat fabled) Jeff Prince, whose third album has just been released.
Start times: swimming 4:30 p.m.; mingling and libations at the Strickland cabaña 5:30; boat club cash bar opens at 6; dinner on the patio at 7; rides on the West-Texan at 7:30
Cost: $22 members, $25 nonmembers, $15 for kids under 13
Boat club rules: Hit the check-in table first, before tromping over the grounds. Only board a boat with the owner's permission. Do not take any alcoholic beverages past the TABC signs on the clubhouse lawn (violate this, and the party never happens here again). Wear non-skid shoes if you're boating.
Directions: Take I-35W north to Loop 820N and go west to Azle Avenue exit. At the light, go right, and right again at the second light, on to Boat Club Road. About 10 miles later, after the light at Bailey Boswell, the road curves left. Go past Harbor One marina and the small Trading Post convenience store, both on your left. Turn left just past the animal hospital (that's Eagle Mountain Elementary School on your right). See the boat club sign on the fence; you're still on Boat Club Road, which dead-ends at the club. In the parking lot, as you face the water, the clubhouse is at the top of the lawn on your right. Signs will direct you to the check-in table.
RSVP by 5 p.m. July 19: mkpirtle@yahoo.com
MEETINGS
Next at IABC Fort Worth ...
No meeting in July.
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Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ...
Valuing and Managing Diversity
What is diversity, and why is it important? Estrus Tucker, chairman of the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission, says PR practitioners play important roles in valuing and managing diversity, and he will elaborate at the July PRSA meeting.
Tucker is president and CEO of Liberation Community, a faith-based community development corporation, and a former president of the Fort Worth/Tarrant County Minority Leaders and Citizens Council. Under his leadership, the MLCC established the annual Women's History Month; cultivated partnerships with the Fort Worth Public Library and UNT Health Science Center; hosted forums honoring outstanding educators; and established programming that celebrates the contributions of Hispanics, African-Americans and Native Americans.
Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, July 11
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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STRAIGHT STUFF
Last call. Writers you never thought you'd meet -- UTA Shorthorn ex Christine Wicker, Joyce Carol Oates, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Nan Talese, Mary Roach, Kevin Fedarko, Burkart Bilger, William Nack -- will be at the 3rd Annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest, July 27-29 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine. See mayborninstitute.unt.edu. ...
Why is a synopsis so hard to write, and why do you need one? What should it include? And what might a "spiritual push-up" be? Author Robyn Conley, the "Book Doctor," will answer these questions and more at the Monday, July 16, meeting of the Greater Dallas Writers' League of Texas at the Richardson Public Library, 900 Civic Center Drive. Starts at 7 p.m.; the public is invited. Conley has counseled hundreds of writers in one-on-one critiques and lectured at workshops and conferences across the United States. She has taught courses at TCU, UTA and Howard County Junior College on the mechanics and business of writing; how writing exercises can help heal emotional wounds; and for senior citizens, how to write your life story. Her books include "What Really Matters to Me: A Guided Journal" and "Living the Rapture." More on the Writers' League of Texas from Carol Woods at shurlock@flash.net. ...
Get hands-on experience through the second annual fellowship program for minority broadcast journalism students hosted by Meredith Corp., KPHO CBS 5 and Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Participants will spend Jan. 6-12 working with ASU profs and KPHO reporters, producers, editors and videographers to create a 30-minute newscast. Minority students majoring in broadcast journalism at a U.S. college or university and within 12 months of graduation are eligible. Deadline: Oct. 1. A stipend will cover travel, lodging and meals. See the Cronkite web site. ...
Applications deadline is Aug. 31 for the Milena Jesenská Fellowships for North American Journalists, sponsored by the Institute for Human Sciences at Boston University. Two U.S. or Canadian journalists will spend up to three months in Europe working on a European topic of their choice. Each recipient gets a $12,500 stipend, an office, a computer, travel money and access to the research services and programs of the institute's sister institution in Vienna, where the journalists will be based. Duration of the fellowships and start dates are negotiable for between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008.
IABC local update: Linda Mastaglio, ABC, principal, Thoughts, Words & Images PR in Van, Texas, and Steve Freeman, an adjunct professor at Marymount University in Washington, D.C., will present "Vital Connections: Building Relationships with Key Stakeholders" at the Dallas IABC meeting Tuesday, July 10. Register here.
PRSA local update: New location, new time. The August meeting won't be on the usual second Wednesday, nor will it be in Fort Worth. GFW PRSA will meet with Dallas PRSA on Thursday, Aug. 9, at the Las Colinas Country Club to plumb the intricacies of "Five Simple Steps to Effective Word of Mouth Marketing" with Andy Sernovitz, author of "How Smart Companies Get People Talking." Details next month. Register here. The regular date and time return in September with TCU professors Will Powers and Melissa Schroeder on "The Complexity and Consequences of Misunderstanding(s)."
PRSA update II: Marlene Neill, APR, of Waco is researching how well universities prepare PR students to achieve managerial positions. She intends to interview 10 practitioners with 5-10 years experience who have advanced to management -- what barriers did they face, and how were the obstacles overcome? She also wants to know what managerial skills new practitioners lack and what types of training are available. Reach Neill at marlenen@ci.waco.tx.us or 254-750-5638.
PRSA local update III: Landing a dream job in PR may seem more within reach after chapter president Marc Flake offered tips on the interview process to members of the NuPros group June 22. Flake, the public information officer for Tarrant County, also shared his experiences in job interviews. The group met at the Four Star Coffee Bar to learn about preparing a winning portfolio, anticipating the questions likely to be asked in an interview, and whether to tell your employer that you're looking for a new job. For future meeting times, check the NuPros web page, or e- Linda Jacobson at ljacobson@quepr.com.
PRSA local update IV: The Health Care SIG will tap into the Health Industry Council's marketing and development network with a free seminar Tuesday, July 31. Time is 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., with location and other details forthcoming. Participants will learn tips on the ever-changing status of business etiquette and meet others who need PR services. The Health Industry Council includes professionals in a variety of health care areas, including architecture, practice management, consulting, construction, human resources and hospital administration. Another seminar Friday, Sept. 14, will center on "Physician Marketing: Successful Case Studies."
SPJ national update: Circuit court sides with newspapers in FEMA aid case. The public's right to know triumphed over government secrecy June 22 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ordered to make public the addresses of more than 600,000 households that received $1.2 billion in aid after the 2004 hurricane season. The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal and Florida Today newspapers, all owned by Gannett, sued FEMA for the names and addresses after the agency denied their public-information request. More here.
SPJ national update II: Presumably you wouldn't consider just answering the question? At the military hearings probing the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha in November 2005, a Marine officer testified about his view of the initial questions about the incident, and possible coverup, raised by the Time magazine reporter who broke the case. Tim McGirk's questions clearly provoked more rage than a determination to investigate the evidence offered by eyewitnesses. First Lt. Adam Mathes, then the executive officer of Company K, said the other officers had dismissed the reporter's queries, feeling they were "sensational" and politically inspired; McGirk clearly had an "antiwar agenda," he alleged. Details on that view of McGirk surfaced last month when the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times published excerpts from a five-page memo produced by Mathes and three other officers in January 2006 in response to McGirk's questions. Here's one of those questions: How many Marines were killed and wounded in the IED attack that morning? The memo response: "If it bleeds, it leads. This question is McGirk's attempt to get good bloody gouge on the situation. He will most likely use the information he gains from this answer as an attention gainer." Question: Were there any officers? Memo: "By asking if there was an officer on scene the reporter may be trying to identify a point of blame for lack of judgment. If there was an officer involved, then he may be able to have his My Lai massacre pinned on that officer's shoulders." Stonewalling by the military contributed to the Haditha story remaining largely unexplored by the press for several weeks after the sketchy revelations by McGirk in Time. Extensive coverage only ensued after Rep. John Murtha raised the issue in interviews in May 2006. The Marine Corps eventually charged three enlisted men with murder and four officers with dereliction of duty for failing to determine how and why the Iraqis were killed. More here.
SPJ update III: Private security, public concern; and PBS jumps the network gun with "Exposé" on internet. Exactly how many Americans are serving in Iraq and what they are doing there might not seem like complicated questions. But the stated 150,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq do not include some 30,000 employees of U.S. and European-based private security companies who work in some of Iraq's most dangerous areas. These PSC employees are not like other contractors in Iraq. Many of them carry weapons and are hired to protect important people, facilities and convoys. They have been involved in firefights, and scores of them have died. So what does the American public know about them? And how well are the American news media covering the story? More here. ... Many networks have streamed first episodes of series online before their broadcast or cable premieres to generate buzz, but putting an entire series online has been largely limited to reruns. Then along comes a fresh 20-week run of "Exposé: America's Investigative Reports" on PBS -- and also on the internet, where viewers will be able to watch each new episode beforehand in streaming video. The experiment gives the series a way to get around a chronic problem in public broadcasting: Unlike a commercial network, PBS has its local affiliates run programs on different days and at different times, making it difficult to promote viewing beyond saying, "Check local listings." More here.
SPJ national update IV: Journalists dole out cash to politicians (quietly); and upbraided by prime minister, British press bites back. MSNBC.com has identified 144 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes, while 17 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties. More here and here and here. ... Departing British Prime Minister Tony Blair's likening the British media to a "feral beast" evoked angry reactions from the accused. Most British commentators said that Blair's attack, which came during one of his last speeches before leaving office, was pure hypocrisy. For a man whose "administration will always be synonymous with spin, to question the system he has so often exploited seems a bit rich," wrote The Economist. The Daily Telegraph listed 10 examples of what it called media spin by Blair's Labor Party, and The Independent, which Blair singled out as mixing "opinion and fact," had editor Simon Kelner ask on the front page, "Would you be saying this, Mr. Blair, if we supported your war in Iraq?" More here.
SPJ national update V: White House stays the course against shield law; and secret surveillance evidence unsealed in AT&T spying case. The Bush administration still opposes a bill to shield reporters from federal efforts to force them to reveal their sources. The bill's sponsors added exceptions for imminent threats to national security and bodily harm, among others, to make it more palatable to the administration. The legislation, said Mike Pence, R-Ind., "is not about protecting reporters. It is about protecting the public's right to know." The measure, HR 2102, would write into federal law a policy already enacted by 32 states and the District of Columbia. More here and here. ... More documents detailing secret government surveillance of AT&T's internet traffic have been released as part of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's class-action lawsuit against the telecom giant. Some of the unsealed information was previously made public in redacted form. The new documents describe a secret, secure room in AT&T's facilities that gave the National Security Agency direct access to customers' e-mails and other internet communications. More here.
SPJ national update VI: Judge rejects Libby lawyers' "bloggers can be mean" defense; and now's the time to hit up Big Bird for a raise. Before federal Judge Reggie Walton sentenced Bush administration insider I. Lewis Libby Jr. to 30 months in prison, he rejected a plea that support letters from the likes of Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz not be released because they might be published on the internet and their authors "discussed, even mocked, by bloggers." More here. ... A House bill approved June 7 gives the Corporation for Public Broadcasting an advance appropriation of $420 million in fiscal year 2010, a 5 percent increase over 2009. Under Republican congressional and administration leadership, funding for various projects had been threatened. Public broadcasters argue that forward funding helps insulate the service from politics. More here.
SPJ national update VII: Appeals court throws out FCC indecency finding. In a major victory for TV networks, an appeals court on June 4 overruled federal regulators who decided that expletives uttered on broadcast television violated decency standards. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York called "arbitrary and capricious" the FCC's policy sanctioning what the court called "fleeting expletives." The FCC had ruled in March 2006 that News Corp.'s Fox television network had violated decency regulations when singer Cher and actress Nicole Richie blurted profanities during the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards shows. More here.
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Another Legislative Session, Another Shield Law Bust
by Katie Martinez
None of what transpired in the 80th Legislature is good news for Texas journalists. That was the message Paul Watler and SPJ board member Tom Williams, both directors of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, had for SPJ members and guests at the June meeting.
Watler, an attorney with Jackson Walker L.L.P., chronicled the death of a dream when he described how SB 966, the Texas Free Flow of Information Act, was undermined in the final hour on the House floor.
The bill, often called a shield law, would have offered limited protection to journalists against compelled court testimony or the disclosure of confidential informants. District attorneys across the state opposed the bill, arguing that losing access to journalists' files could hinder prosecutions.
"Texas is in the distinct minority of states without any protection for journalist confidentiality," Watler said. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia all have some form of a shield law, while Texas journalists still cannot offer any protection to whistleblowers and confidential sources.
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, the bill's sponsor, fought to get it to the floor, only to see it be derailed on what he called "the most trivial of technicalities." When a single sentence left out of a paraphrased copy of the bill was discovered, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, raised a point of order. The point of order was upheld, ending the fight until the next legislative session in 2009.
"To move this bill so far and have it snatched away on something that is completely non-substantive is neither good government nor good for the people of Texas," Ellis said in a press release. "The public's right to know has been compromised by this action."
Williams, a libel specialist with Haynes and Boone LLP, discussed what did pass, including HB 991, which restricts access to information about concealed handgun license holders in Texas. The bill was supported by the NRA and signed into law within weeks by Gov. Rick Perry, who declared the law "effective immediately."
Another passed bill restricts access to affidavits pertaining to criminal warrants for up to 60 days. This information has always been public record once the warrant had been served. Now prosecutors may request that the records be sealed to protect witnesses, confidential informants or wiretaps that are still in place.
"The problem comes in that there will be no one there to oppose it; it is basically an ex parte communication between prosecutor and judge," Williams said. "We will just have to wait and see how often it is used, or if it is abused."
Then there's HB 2564, the so-called "frequent flyer bill," which places "reasonable" limits on the amount of time government employees spend responding to requests for information. The limits do not apply to professional journalists, who the bill defines as persons who work for a news organization licensed by the FCC, or a newspaper qualified to publish legal notices, or a free newspaper of general circulation published at least once a week. Left out are bloggers, magazines and college newspapers.
Williams said the bill was born out of a situation between a school and parents who were abusing the Freedom of Information Act by excessively requesting records.
"Hard cases," he said, "make bad law."
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PEOPLE & PLACES
Theresa Davis, the force behind Vibrant PR, has landed new clients SpeedSoft.com and Sarah Zink Business Training (plus "Think Zink" on BizRadio). ...
Angela Neville, Marc Barrera and Tom Domine, all members of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the American Society of Business Publication Editors, are regional winners in the Azbee Awards of Excellence. ...
Cowboy chef Grady Spears and Austin restaurateur Lou Lambert have selected the Hondo Group to develop a PR strategy and the brand and logo design for their latest venture, Dutch's, formerly the site of Jon's Grille on the TCU campus. Spears was the founding chef of the Reata restaurants in Alpine, Fort Worth and Beverly Hills. Lambert, a graduate of both TCU and the Culinary Institute of America in New York, worked under Wolfgang Puck at the prestigious Postrio restaurant in San Francisco.
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GET A JOB
Partners Together for Health, the foundation for JPS Health Network, yearns for a talented, hard-working volunteer one day a week who doesn't mind depleting stacks of filing (must know alphabet A-Z), sorting mail (must be able to read), running errands (must be directionally empowered) and other office-related tasks. In return, the Partners staff will provide free entertainment, camaraderie and a lunch or two. Call 817-920-7305 to discuss this opportunity to serve Partners, JPS and mankind. ...
Dallas-based Brighter Tomorrows seeks a brochure graphic designer and a printer, perhaps pro bono, to help proclaim its message of empowerment of survivors of domestic and sexual violence. More from development director Nancy Swartz, nancyswartz@brightertomorrows.net, 972-263-0506. Brighter Tomorrows re-branded last fall and has expanded. ...
Stephen F. Austin State University seeks a coordinator to manage the Office of Student Publications and advise the student-produced yearbook. A bachelor's degree in communication or a related field or equivalent experience is required, along with experience in monitoring budgets and knowledge of Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Creative Suite 2 and other layout software. E-mail résumé and cover letter to pinelogads@sfasu.edu.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Marc Flake, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
One recent Friday, I spent a pleasant lunch with the future leaders of our chapter. It was my privilege to speak to the NuPros special interest group. Over the years, I have sought the counsel of members who have more experience or just a different perspective, and advising younger PRSA members and PRSSA members is a most enjoyable way for me to give something back.
It's so enjoyable, maybe we all should do it. One of the goals for my presidency is to create a program where seasoned pros can help further a younger member's career. Say "mentor program," though, and time constraints come to mind. None of us has enough hours in the day. Let me propose, instead, a mentor lite effort that I call the Sensei Program.
Sensei is a Japanese title of respect for teachers, professionals, politicians and other authority figures. It is also used to acknowledge someone who has achieved mastery in her field. Continuing with the Japanese terminology, a kohai is considered a junior learner.
All I ask of our seasoned professionals (senseis) is that they meet with a NuPro (kohai) at the chapter meeting lunches. Spend 30-45 minutes on things like the rainy weather, or how awful the last season of "24" was, or how things are going at work. Since you will be sitting with your peers, your kohai will have access to their wisdom, too. If you have a few minutes to keep talking after lunch, that's even better.
Now I don't expect a NuPro to address a seasoned professional as "sensei," nor a PR lifer to call a recent college grad a "kohai" (although these handles do possess a certain Hollywood snap lacking in "mentor" and "mentee"). Make it first names, please.
Donna Darovich, chair of our Masters special interest group, will compile a list of potential senseis. Linda Jacobson, who heads the NuPros SIG, will identify the kohais. By the September chapter meeting, let's get both groups together for some meaningful conversation.
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Betsy Boyett, IABC Fort Worth
IABC Fort Worth celebrated the Bronze Quill awards last month with a fantastic program created by Jeff Posey. As award winners stepped to the podium, Jeff interviewed each about his or her entry in the competition and what made it unique. He elicited tips and tricks from the winners for all of us to use. What an enlightening and informative program.
Board members were elected following the BQ luncheon. We have extraordinary board members in IABC, incredibly generous folks who donate their time and energy to every project that we work on.
I'm so proud to have a great team to work with this year and can't wait to get started. Here are the shining stars of the IABC board: past president (the best job on the board!) Ken Roberts, Freese and Nichols; president Betsy Boyett, City of Euless; secretary Pam Fry, Freese and Nichols; treasurer Tim Tune, City of Fort Worth; membership VP Cheryl Hart, Hart Marketing; marketing VP Jeff Posey, Carter & Burgess; publicity Mike Agnello; and webmaster Colby Horton. Mike Long, Amy Yancey and Betsy Black serve on the Bronze Quill Committee.
IABC traditionally takes July off, so enjoy the break and plan on visiting us at the Aug. 28 meeting. See you there!
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Hope you like the leadoff Eagle Mountain sailboat picture and the phrase "Fun in the sunset" (Kay Pirtle gets credit for both), as you will likely see them every summer when we advance the all-are-invited, how-can-you-miss-this? lake party. For your delight we offer good food, majestic views, wafting breezes, guitar strumming and a ride on Amon Carter's boat, plus this year the lake actually has water in it. SPJ members, PR folks, the fun is yours for the taking. ...
Tough business, scary business. The Committee to Protect Journalists says that more than 240 journalists have fled their country to escape violence, imprisonment or harassment in the past six years. Few ever return. That's an average of three exiled journalists a month. They came from 36 countries, but more than half were from just five nations: Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
Closing words, Bob, Bob, Bob, too little, too late division: "I think the press and I in particular should have been more aggressive in looking at the run-up to the Iraq war, and specifically the alleged intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction stockpiles. To answer the WMD question before the March 2003 invasion would have been a monumental task, but one that we should have undertaken more systematically." -- Bob Woodward