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September 2006
 
MEETINGS
 
Next at IABC Fort Worth ...
The Network: How to Create It, Maintain It and Make It Pay
 
Everyone needs a network. It can help you get new business for your firm, and it can help you cope with the stress of life. Laurin McCracken, an architect, interior designer and chief marketing officer for Carter & Burgess, will explain "How to Build and Use an Effective Network" at the September IABC meeting.
 
McCracken has nearly 30 years experience in marketing professional services, but in the context of a career as an architect. He holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from Rice University and a master's in architecture and urban planning from Princeton University, and he's a registered architect in New Jersey and Texas, and a registered interior designer in Texas. He has extensive experience in the delivery and marketing of professional services for firms such as RTKL Associates, HNTB Architecture, McClier and the Global Design Alliance.
 
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26
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, $17 students (online sign-up add $1)
 
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Ethics: Responsible Advocacy
 
Is ethics what you can get away with and still keep the public quiet? Is it mere respect for civil law? Answer: none of the above. But the practice of responsible advocacy -- ethics -- in PR, journalism, corporate America, nonprofits and even academia is being carefully scrutinized.
 
How you respond to an ethical dilemma will be judged by your peers, your boss, the court of public opinion and even yourself. The public, in particular, is becoming more and more savvy. The ethics police are looking hard for conflicts of interest, improprieties, a slip-up. They're itching for a fight, and they're waiting to pounce.
 
How can PR professionals better navigate the mine-filled waters of misleading information, poor management decisions, the promotion of inferior products, discrimination, political influence, pay inequities and gains at the expense of others? A panel of experts from PR, journalism and corporate America take on a scenario at the September PRSA meeting that would have most professional communicators sweating bullets, then they will offer an approach to resolving the issue ethically.
 
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13; lunch at noon
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
 
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Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...
Rights in Conflict
 
What happens when the public's right to know and the public's right to privacy collide? Fort Worth attorney Tom Williams will moderate a discussion of the topic with Tom Wilder, Tarrant County district clerk, and Cynthia Figueroa Calhoun, Dallas County district clerk, at the September SPJ meeting.
 
For years public documents were buried in dusty files in courthouses and other public facilities. Now they've been ported from the depths of public buildings into our homes and offices via the internet. Some say great, more open government. Others say whoa, what about our privacy?
 
SPJ promises an informative look at these rights in conflict. Also, handouts will be available on a pending "official secrets act," S. 3774, legislation identical to a bill President Clinton pocket-vetoed in 2000.
 
Time & date: mingling 5:30 p.m., eats around 6, then the program Wednesday, Sept. 20
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
 
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STRAIGHT STUFF
 
The TCU Guild will hold its first meeting of the semester, an English tea, at the home of arts patron Rosalyn Rosenthal, 2-4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14. Internationally known pianist Jose Feghali will perform for members and guests. For reservations, contact Lois Powers at 817-249-7409 or lfp@spowers.net. Guild activities provide scholarships to TCU students in radio/TV/film and the arts. ...
 
The National Asociation of Hispanic Communicators will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at The Dallas Morning News in downtown Dallas. More from Michael Vega, mvega@uta.edu.
 
IABC local update: John Korinek, principal, will discuss "The Midas Touch -- Communicating for Results" at the Dallas/IABC luncheon Tuesday, Sept. 12. Learn more and register here.
 
PRSA local update: GFW PRSA celebrates 20 years as an organization this year and will mark the occasion with a meet-and-greet the evening of Thursday, Oct. 19. Invitations will be sent to former and current members, but anyone interested in attending may RSVP through fortworthprsa.org, or call Laura Squires at 817-773-7424. ... Jamie Worflar from Abilene Christian U.; Amy Deaton, UTA; and Tyler Cockran, TCU, are the chapter's scholarship recipients for 2006-07. They will be recognized at the September luncheon.
 
PRSA local update II: CBS 11 community affairs director A'Lisha Williams will tell how PR pros can best engage the station in special events and sponsorships at the PRSA Independent Practitioners SIG meeting Friday, Sept. 15, at the Four Star Coffee Bar, 3324 W. Seventh St. To RSVP or for more information, contact Nancy Farrar at Farrar Public Relations, nancyh829@aol.com, or Sandra Brodnicki at sandra@brodnickipr.com. ... GFW PRSA recruited five members during the recent "Spring Ahead" promotion, bringing the roster to 177. Led by president-elect/membership chair Marc Flake, the chapter recruited more members than any other medium-sized PRSA chapter in the nation. During the campaign, held May 1-July 31, PRSA national paid each new member's first-year chapter dues.
 
PRSA local update III: Organizers wish to thank Holly Ellman, Catherine Carlton, Jenny Walker, Carolyn Bobo, Joan Hunter, Drenda Witt, Catherine Barney, Mark Johnson, Dan Kenney, Linda Jacobson, Viqui Litman, Lisa Orr, Andra Bennett, Tom Burke, Marc Flake, Jerrod Resweber, Kelly Schafer, Amiso George, Chris Smith and Laura Van Hoosier for judging the Kansas City PRISM awards. Over four days, they assessed 180 entries ranging from media relations to special programs. Many of the volunteers walked away with new friends and new marketing ideas for their company.
 
PRSA local update IV: Mike Lake, chairman, Southwest Region Burson-Marsteller, will discuss "Maximizing Corporate Reputation: How to Build and Manage Reputation" at the Dallas PRSA luncheon Thursday, Sept. 14. More here.
 
SPJ national update: Recipients of leaks may be prosecuted, court rules; and documents unsealed in librarian case. In a expansion of the authority to regulate disclosure of national security information, a federal court ruled that even private citizens who do not hold security clearances can be prosecuted for unauthorized receipt and disclosure of classified information. The ruling by Judge T.S. Ellis III denied a motion to dismiss the case of two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who were charged with illegally receiving and transmitting classified information. The decision is a major interpretation of the Espionage Act with implications that extend far beyond this case. More here. ... Supreme Court filings and documents related to a group of Connecticut librarians targeted by an FBI national security investigation were unsealed in August under order by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The order allowed the ACLU to post on its web site documents containing information that the government forced the organization to file under seal in the nation's highest court, which last fall declined to hear the case between the FBI and the librarians. The unsealed documents illustrate "the absolute absurdity of the government's position," said Melissa Goodman, an ACLU attorney. The documents include ACLU legal filings in which the government redacted direct quotes from Supreme Court opinions and statements like "the cat is out of the bag." More here.
 
SPJ national update II: Judge bars warrantless surveillance; everything's a secret; and politicians beware, you live in YouTube's world. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor on Aug. 17 ordered the government to stop warrantless wiretapping of international phone calls between suspected terrorists and their U.S.-based affiliates, ruling that the eavesdropping violates federal law. By not seeking court permission for the surveillance, Taylor said, President George W. Bush violated the Constitution's separation of powers providing for the three branches of government to act as checks on each other. "It was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights," the judge wrote in a 43-page opinion. More here. ... In an ironic twist, legislation that would open the murky world of government contracting to public scrutiny has been derailed by a secret parliamentary maneuver. A senator, later identified as Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, placed a "secret hold" on legislation that would create a searchable database of government contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance worth $2.5 trillion last year. The database would bring transparency to federal spending and be as simple to use as conducting a Google search. The measure had been unanimously passed in a voice vote last month by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and was on the fast track for floor action before Congress recessed Aug. 4. "It really is outrageous to do this in the dead of night as Congress is recessing," said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, a budget watchdog group based in Washington. "The public has a right to know how the government spends money." More here and here. ... S.R. Sidarth never imagined his 15 minutes of fame would come from a sleepy campaign stop in the southwest Virginia town of Breaks. Or that his handiwork with a camcorder would catapult to the list of most-watched videos on the web's most-trafficked video site. And Sen. George Allen, R-Va., surely never imagined that the young man assigned to track his appearances would cause him days of grief simply by recording a comment that critics call racist or, at best, insensitive. But in the brave new world of YouTube politics, almost anything is possible. And just 18 months after its launch, the web site is already playing an integral role in campaigns. More here.
 
SPJ national update III: Digital a hit at NYT; let's see the money; and the story that won't go away. Amid uninspiring second-quarter results, The New York Times' internet revenue soared from $49 million to $66 million. The Times may have become the most web-savvy newspaper in America. It's "like a battleship," observed Martin Nisenholtz, senior VP for digital operations. "It turns very slowly, but once it turns, look out!" More here. ... The Sunlight Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based organization seeking transparency in government, has made tracing House members' spending easier. Its "Exposing Earmarks" project includes a map of locales where the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education plan to spend $495,435,100. The web site also features a downloadable spreadsheet. More here. ... Despite the Pentagon's best efforts, the story of Able Danger -- the secret military intelligence program that purportedly identified five al Qaeda cells and four of the hijackers more than a year before 9-11 -- continues to make news. Former ABC News Emmy-winning reporter/producer Peter Lance in his new book "Triple Cross" accuses law enforcement officials of negligence in tracking down Ali Mohamed, an alleged al Qaeda agent in the United States for years before Sept. 11, 2001. The book says Mohamed was hired by the CIA and worked for the FBI, all the while feeding information to the terrorists. The book also contains, Lance says, "a major new insight" into why the Pentagon killed the Able Danger operation in April 2000. More here.
 
SPJ national update IV: California Senate passes college press freedom bill; and Santa Barbara publisher sought to derail SPJ award. A bill that would prohibit prior restraint of the college press passed the California Senate by a 31-2 vote Aug. 10 after unanimous passage in the Assembly in May. Assembly Bill 2581 was drafted in response to the Hosty v. Carter decision from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the Supreme Court's 1988 Hazelwood decision limiting high school student free expression rights could extend to higher-education campuses in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Supreme Court decided in February not to hear the Hosty case, letting stand the June 2005 7th Circuit decision. More here and here. Meanwhile, federal Judge Stanley Chesler issued a preliminary injunction Aug. 1 that reinstates a newspaper adviser at Ocean County College in Toms River, N.J., who was removed for what students call retaliation for stories they printed. Chesler wrote that removing Karen Bosley violated the students' First Amendment rights. More here and here. ... Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press publisher Wendy McCaw challenged an SPJ ethics prize to nine of her former employees who quit recently. She wrote a stinging letter to SPJ ethics committee chair Gary Hill that called the recognition "a smokescreen to hide their [committee members'] personal agendas." Hill said the letter did not offer a compelling reason to withhold the awards: "We didn't think that most of the response was germane to the ethical issues and went off on tangents and general matters we weren't necessarily concerned with." More here.
 
SPJ national update V: Americans mixed on "banking records" scoop; j-profs protest anti-press policies; and what's this, they're hiring? More people, by 50 percent to 34 percent, believe that news organizations hurt more than helped American interests by revealing the Bush administration's secret bank records monitoring program, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. But at the same time, an even larger majority believe such news reports "told citizens something they should know." More here. ... The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication adopted a resolution at its annual convention in August identifying 10 troubling White House practices involving secrecy, propaganda and the control of information. AEJMC director Jennifer McGill said this is the first major statement against the policies of a president since the Vietnam War. More here. ... Newsrooms across the country may echo with gloom, but journalism graduates report better job prospects than at any time since the 2000 peak of the dot.com boom, according to a study by the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research at the University of Georgia. "These students see web development, they see podcasting, they see all these technological developments as the way to the future," said Lee Becker, a journalism professor who oversaw the survey. "They are not obsessed with worrying about the fate of one segment of the media." More here.
 
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Can This Government Get More Secret? Yes, It Can
 
opinion by Paul Weitzel
Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
 
We're headed for our most important and toughest fight in several years.
 
The equivalent of an Official Secrets Act -- a bill that would criminalize unauthorized disclosure of classified information -- has been filed by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. It is identical in wording to legislation approved in Congress in 2000 and then pocket-vetoed by President Clinton after a strong lobbying effort by the media and others.
 
There are 11 co-sponsors, all Republicans: Trent Lott, Miss.; Saxby Chambliss, Ga.; Ted Stevens, Ark.; Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett, Utah; Rick Santorum, Pa.; John Cornyn, Texas; Pete Domenici, N.M.; and Lamar Alexander, Tenn.
 
Have no doubt, this bill would shut down any semblance of a free flow of information in Washington. It is certain to create an icy chill, if not a freeze, among sources and potential sources other than those engaged in official, sanctioned leaking. It will further tilt the playing field in favor of executive branch control of information. It is also likely to bring whistle-blowing to a screeching halt. The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition has already come out strongly against it.
 
While the bill does not directly criminalize the receipt of classified information -- indeed, Sen. Bond made a point of proclaiming that the bill does not directly affect the media, businesses or private citizens -- it is evident from recent events that federal prosecutors would move quickly with subpoenas for reporters and their phone records in any prosecution of a government employee under the bill. And even if we had a federal shield law, at least the one under consideration, it would not protect a reporter in a national security/classified information case.
 
Moreover, the bill is overly broad in its definition of classified information: "information or material properly classified and clearly marked or represented, or that the person knows or has reason to believe has been properly classified."
 
See the CJOG web site for an extensive collection of stories on the broad subject of leaks.
 
The newly formed Coalition of Journalists for Open Government is an alliance of journalism organizations working to limit government secrecy and fight for citizens' rights of access to government records and meetings. Coordinator Pete Weitzel will discuss the challenges facing journalists and the nation at Fort Worth SPJ's 4th annual First Amendment Awards and Scholarship Dinner, April 13. A former managing editor of The Miami Herald, 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 for its first 11 years. He also helped launch the National Freedom of Information Coalition and served as its second president. As president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, Weitzel helped draft an amendment to the Florida Constitution that guarantees citizens a right of access to both records and governmental meetings. In 1997 he was an initial inductee into Florida's Freedom of Information Hall of Fame.
 
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PEOPLE & PLACES
 
Laura Squires, APR, formerly of Witherspoon, has moved to Methodist Mansfield Medical Center as director of marketing, community relations and public relations. The new hospital will open in December. ...
 
GFW PRSA member Kristie Aylett, APR, has been named a senior practitioner by the Southern Public Relations Federation. Aylett owns The KARD Group, a PR firm based in south Mississippi. Prior to opening her consulting business, she led PR activities for the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She is an adjunct instructor at Tulane University, teaching classes in public relations at its Biloxi campus, and also is the PRSA national membership chair. ...
 
FW SPJ immediate past president Gayle Reaves-King, editor of the Fort Worth Weekly; SMU j-prof Craig Flournoy; and Dan Malone, formerly with the Weekly and now a journalism instructor at Tarleton State U. -- Pulitzer Prize winners, all -- have received the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas' 2006 James Madison Award for their work with the FOIFT-sponsored Light of Day project. J-students from across Texas joined forces on Light of Day to learn how to use the state's public information laws, with the 2004-05 theme focusing on campus crime and the Clery Act. Nineteen articles, five published in the Weekly, examined the failure of many Texas colleges to fully comply with Clery; the articles won first and second prizes in regional and statewide journalism competitions, including the SPJ chapter's First Amendment Awards. The stories prompted an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. The 2005-06 theme, on law enforcement officers' use of force, has proved to be such an undertaking that it has been extended a year. The project thus far has spurred three articles, two published in the Weekly and one in the North Texas Daily. The awards will be presented Friday, Sept. 8, at the John Henry Faulk Awards Luncheon at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown. The luncheon is part of the 2006 Bernard and Audre Rapoport FOI State Conference, "Partners for Democracy: Working Together for Government Access." For info call 214-977-6658 or see foift.org.
 
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GET A JOB
 
The Star-Telegram, Al Dia and The Dallas Morning News are sponsoring an ASNE regional job fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Radisson Hotel DFW South, 4600 W. Airport Freeway in Irving. Students to seasoned pros, all are invited. Direct questions to Claudia Delgado at cdelgado@aldiatx.com or 469-977-3608, or Larry Lutz, 817-390-7121. ...
 
The UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth seeks a continuing education coordinator. Must have a high school diploma or GED and five years experience in needs assessment, program development, marketing or outside revenue generation. Must be able to travel locally and nationally on short notice, plus have experience in Microsoft Office and database management, hotel negotiation, and site and vendor selection. Go to unthscjobs.com and search for "CE Coordinator." More from Andrew Crim at 817-735-2644.
 
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NEW MEMBERS
 
PRSA ... Lori Soderbergh, American Cancer Society ... Jahnae Stout, North Central Texas Council of Governments
 
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COMINGS & GOINGS
 
Promotions ... at the S-T: Phil Beckman, to promotions manager in the circulation department; he recently received his 10-year service pin
 
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Holly Ellman, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
 
It's not a sexy topic, but in today's world of corporate scandals and questionable practices, ethics must be discussed. September is ethics month at PRSA, highlighted by a 90-minute teleseminar, "Resolving Bad Ethical Practice Situations," to be shown at 11 a.m. Sept. 5, noon Sept. 12 and 2 p.m. Sept. 26. Cost is $190 for members, $290 nonmembers. If you have a site with an audio hook-up and can host a group on one of those dates, let membership chair Marc Flake know and he'll help with arrangements.
 
Three senior members of the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards will serve on the panel, and senior BEPS member James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, will moderate. The panelists will take questions during the last 20 minutes.
 
Keeping with the theme, the chapter will host an ethics panel at its monthly luncheon Wednesday, Sept. 13. The panel will involve experts from PR, journalism and corporate America and will feature an interactive portion where you can weigh in on what's right and what's wrong. At this writing, Carolyn Bobo, APR, Fellow PRSA, will speak from the public relations perspective, and David House, Star-Telegram senior editor/reader advocate, will discuss ethics in the media.
 
These are strong opportunities to learn how experts have faced ethical challenges and come out on top. I hope to see you there.
 
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Ken Roberts, IABC Fort Worth
 
The IABC Fort Worth board is working to ensure that our monthly meetings offer something practical and valuable. We recognize that making time to attend represents perhaps a sacrifice and certainly a commitment, and if you show up, it better be good. We think it is.
 
Case in point No. 1: The August speaker, Lori De La Cruz, principal of Blue Marble Media, provided pointers on dealing with printers and getting the most out of your print jobs. Many of us have no formal training in printing and print buying but nevertheless must work with commercial printers. I left last month's meeting with several ideas and a bid sheet to help me cover all aspects of a print job, from pre-press to bindery and delivery, when developing projects and working with printers on bidding, scheduling, printing and delivering my projects.
 
Case in point No. 2: IABC's September speaker will be achitect/marketer Laurin McCracken on "How to Build and Use an Effective Network." Whether for personal or professional reasons, every communicator can benefit from having a well-established network. Read more about Lauren's presentation in this issue of the eChaser.
 
Member or guest, we look forward to providing you worthwhile information at our next IABC meeting, 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26. And the one after that. And the next ...
 
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
 
 
You do not want to miss Curry-Moore II with district attorney candidates Tim Curry and Terri Moore, Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Joe T. Garcia's (in the remodeled church, La Puertita, south of the main building). Incumbent Curry and challenger Moore jousted spiritedly four years ago at Joe T.'s, and expect more of the same this time. Other meeting dates already secure: Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Joe T.'s, with arts critics (what in the world are they thinking?), and Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Christmas party/JPS book benefit, at Coors. You are on notice. ...
 
Good job, Gayle Reaves-King, Craig Flournoy, Tony Pederson and Steve McGonigle, but most of all Bob Berg and his cohorts at Carter Financial Management for the hastily arranged but thoroughly successful financial advice session for the Belo buyout people. Belo used to be where you wanted to go when you died, but now, less than two years after a major layoff, The Dallas Morning News is cutting at least 85 newsroom jobs, 17 percent of the 500 employees in editorial, including interactive (for the latest, check out D Magazine's Frontburner or the Dallas Observer's Unfair Park blogs). That's a lot of talent and experience marching out the door -- like finding friends' names on a wartime casualty list. ...
 
And we wonder why they don't trust us. One in a continuing series. At the moment that serial confessor and child-porn pervert John Mark Karr's DNA tests cleared him of killing JonBenet Ramsey, a Google search for his name with "Ramsey" added produced 6.7 million returns (7.8 million four days later). Yet we're still killing and being killed, maiming and being maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan; the Cost of Iraq War calculator is set to reach $318.5 billion on the last day of this month; TXU will succeed in resisting efforts to clean up its 11 new coal-fired power plants; the water table has dropped precipitously in Parker County, coincidentally ground zero of the Barnett Shale drilling frenzy; parts of East Texas will soon be flooded to provide the water so the drilling can accelerate; and -- where's the reportorial intensity? Who's holding our "leaders" accountable? Who's telling these stories again and again until someone listens? I'd be happy if they got the same news attention as Brad Pitt's sperm. ...
 
The old Fort Worth Press was right. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times -- they're all broadsheets, in keeping with the tradition that a broadsheet connotes seriousnessness, while a tabloid is sensational. That view was long held in the United Kingdom as well, but last year several "serious" newspapers became tabs -- and circulation shot up. More here.
 
Closing words: "Reporters and editors are Americans, too. We believe it is our duty to inform Americans of how the government is using its power, and how that use affects the people's rights. Reporters and editors are not always going to agree with the government on what information is vital for Americans to know. Americans are not always going to agree on what's good for the nation. That's the beauty of our form of government. Having divergent opinions and being able to express them is at the root of democracy." -- outgoing SPJ president David Carlson on a House of Representatives resolution condemning news organizations that wrote about the Bush administration's surveillance of international bank records ... "By the time we are 40 we wear the faces we have earned. No amount of plastic surgery can hide a countenance buffeted by years of anger or self-absorption, and no surgery can create the beauty of a face nurtured by compassion or kindness." -- fine-art photographer Phil Borges in American Photo, July/August 2006
 
Closing words II, jocks and socks division: "When I played, there was a young lady that every time I walked in [at Boston], she'd holler, 'You're a chump, Dawkins!' The whole time she'd be screaming this in a game. So finally I walked over to her and said: 'That's it, I'm not bringing no more guys over to see your mother.' After the game she came down by the bench and said: 'Can we talk? Can we have a drink?' And we became friends." -- ex-76ers center Darryl Dawkins (from Don Steinberg, Knight Ridder)