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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Marc Flake, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
What do you do when a nationally known television reporter intentionally misquotes the person you are representing? Pretty much all you can do is shake your head and wonder what journalism has become.
Anne Swanson, former press aide for then-Gov. George W. Bush and press secretary for first lady Laura Bush, told of that experience and many more at our chapter meeting in March. Ultimately, the reporter was disgraced for his coverage of another story and ended up the subject of presidential campaign jokes.
It's a great illustration of the "media filter" that colors the information we're trying to convey to the public. I wrote about the filter in the February eChaser and was somewhat chastised by an unsigned editorialist at Fort Worth Weekly. The columnist opined that the filter is better known "as 'journalistic pride' and 'work ethic' and 'devotion to truth.' " I wish that that were true.
While almost all local journalists do exhibit these traits, I have my doubts about some members of the national media. What news people may find surprising is that I have witnessed a considerable amount of journalistic pride, work ethic and devotion to truth in the practitioners of our own profession. We work hard to be accurate and honest in our dealings with reporters and the public. We know that if our reputations are sullied by our actions, our value to our employers and clients goes to zero.
The journalist/PR relationship does not have to be adversarial and should not be if both parties deal with each other honestly. We'll take a look at the lighter side of the relationship this month as humorist and motivational speaker David Wilk presents "Thinking on Your Feet," a treatise on how to remain cool with seven camera lenses shoved in your face.
It's also Pro-Am day, so all of you PR veterans need to think about staying after the meeting to give résumé/portfolio suggestions to students from Abilene Christian, TCU and UTA. The meeting is Wednesday, April 11; go back to p. 1 of this newsletter for more information and to register.
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Great food. Great view. Important message. The thrill of seeing students rewarded and hard work honored. Nice warm feeling at the end of the night. That's Fort Worth SPJ's First Amendment Awards and Scholarship Dinner, April 13 at Cacharel in Arlington. RSVP to mkpirtle@yahoo.com. Proceeds, at $50 a person, benefit journalism scholarships. Make check payable to SPJ and mail to P.O. Box 3212, Fort Worth 76113. We also can take money at the door but cannot guarantee a seat for unexpected walk-ins. Attendance was 95 last year. We could double that and still be comfortable. So let's do that. ...
I love the new Digital Quill. Love it. Slap it on a wide-screen monitor and "turn" the interactive pages (click in the corner) like you would if you were holding the print version. Have enough material for two more pages but not enough for four? If the thing was all digital all the time -- just add 'em! Type too small for aging eyes? Make it bigger. Printing and paper cost savings? Huge. This is a breakthrough. Congratulations to Quill editor Joe Skeel, SPJ honcho Terry Harper, et al. I understand that the current and next two issues will be available on the web site, then DQ gets tucked away as a member benefit. Another reason to join. ...
SPJ's freelancer directory launches April 9. No charge for members to enter contact info, provide details about their professional specialties and link hiring editors to examples of their work. See spj.org. ...
Follow this one. The House subcommittee on information policy approved HR 1309 to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act. The bill would create an ombudsman, located in the National Archives, to help requesters who run into agency delays or are denied information. It directs agencies to create tracking numbers for every request, improve their reporting on FOIA performance and waive fees if they fail to meet the 20-day limit for providing the requested records. It requires agencies to pay the legal fees for a requester if the agencies first deny a request but then release the information after being sued. The bill also establishes a presumption that government records are public and should be released if "the agency does not reasonably foresee that disclosure would be harmful." ...
More actual reporting from McClatchy: "Since 2005, McClatchy Newspapers has found, [President] Bush has appointed at least three U.S. attorneys who had worked in the Justice Department's civil rights division when it was rolling back longstanding voting-rights policies aimed at protecting predominantly poor, minority voters. Another newly installed U.S. attorney, Tim Griffin in Little Rock, Ark., was accused of participating in efforts to suppress Democratic votes in Florida during the 2004 presidential election while he was a research director for the Republican National Committee. ... Taken together, critics say, the replacement of the U.S. attorneys, the voter-fraud campaign and the changes in Justice Department voting rights policies suggest that the Bush administration may have been using its law enforcement powers for partisan political purposes." Read the story. ...
Next time someone mocks your concerns over climate change, show him this and this. Not that it'll change his mind. ...
"I don't have my glasses on." Presented without comment. OK, some comment. When this minnow of a man tries to talk and laugh at the same time, doesn't he remind you of Liberace?
Closing words: "You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth." -- Henrik Ibsen ... "Here we have singing, dancing, laugh, and merriment. ... When our king goes out, they fall down and kiss the earth where he has trodden; and then they go on kissing one another. They have as much happiness in one year as an Englishman in ten." -- Thomas Jefferson, newly appointed American ambassador to France, in a letter to Abigail Adams
Closing words II, special conservatives and idiots entry: "I think it's probably possible to be a conservative without appearing to be an idiot." -- U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., in what was seen as a dig at the anti-warming crowd following a verbal oust between Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, and former Vice President Al Gore during last month's high-profile House hearing on climate change
