The internal communications department at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport seeks a web designer/programmmer. The department produces "Connected Weekly," an online employee intranet publication that reaches about 1,700 people. More from Marisa Alvarado at 972-973-5768 or maalvarado@dfwairport.com. ...
A provider of global real-time news, information, research and media resources in San Francisco needs an editing director. Applicants should have at least five years in technical writing and editing, be comfortable talking with marketing professionals and product managers, understand the issues affecting developers, and have a track record of producing quality articles on IT matters. Send résumé, cover letter and salary requirements to amy@paladinstaff.com. ...
If you can put an ad on it, SPJ wants to sell it. SPJ national has an opening for an ad sales rep for Quill, The Journalist, the web site and other electronic communications. Contact SPJ executive director Terry Harper at 317-927-8000, ext. 220, or tharper@spj.org. ...
SPJ's online job bank is growing. The site features work in print, radio, TV and online journalism -- about 170 job openings, four internships, a cool fellowship and a freelance gig -- and it's updated frequently. Anyone can post a job for free, but only members can view the job bank with an SPJ membership ID and password. More at spj.org.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Marc Flake, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
We were reminded at our January chapter meeting about the changing communications environment in which we toil. Larry Lutz, Star-Telegram managing editor/development, showcased the upcoming proposed changes in the paper's look and feel.
It's no secret that newspapers face difficult decisions as a result of increasing competition from broadcast outlets, cable television and the internet. Larry offered a rare opportunity to see what the new product will look like. We also were briefed on how content will change.
The planned shift in how the Star-Telegram covers and presents stories will offer both an opportunity and a challenge. Larry noted that in some cases the newspaper might not report all the information it has on an event but instead provide a link to the sponsoring organization's web site, so readers can gather that information on their own.
The good news is we should have more control over what the public reads about our clients, businesses and organizations. The bad news is we will have to work harder to get all of that information posted on our web sites. A bonus is that, if you already have an attractive site for your client, business or organization, it might get added to a few "favorites" folders. If this results in frequent revisits from the web-surfing public, it's not too farfetched to think that the public will start getting information directly from our sites, without the media filter.
Therefore, by default, we will become the "reporters" for our own organizations and clients. It also means we will have greater responsibility to adhere to our profession's ethical standards. After all, the journalists always will be there to make sure the hyperbole doesn't outshine the facts. I found Larry's presentation very interesting and thought-provoking.
Expect another interesting and thought-provoking program Wednesday, Feb. 14, when chapter member Dan Keeney, APR, will present his media training program. Dan, who as a private practitioner has done work for NASA, among other large organizations, has so much knowledge to impart that we're spreading it over a morning and lunch program. Sign up for either or both. Go to p. 1 of the newsletter to respond to your Cvent invitation.
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Real reporting. This is what it looks like. ...
Mitch Land update: "The investigative work on the use of tasers by Texas law enforcement agencies (Dan Malone's Mayborn graduate students, working with the Light of Day Project at the FOIFT and SMU's students along with Tarleton students) has led to new legislation being proposed by state Rep. Lon Burnam that will better regulate the use of tasers. I was particularly proud when our students' bylines appeared in the front-page story on this in the Fort Worth Weekly, but I am overwhelmingly impressed when I see that their efforts may lead to positive change in Texas!" Dr. Land directs the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at UNT, and at this very moment, bet your house on this, he's polishing the silver for the next Mayborn literary writers conference, July 27-29. "Save the date" is a cliche, but this one you do save. Doing anything that weekend? Cancel it. This'll be better. ...
For the parents of a teen gone astray, a remarkable support group called StandUp Parenting provides education and strength through a network of local chapters, including one in Arlington. The goal is to empower parents and their young person, and to keep the family intact. A friend says the program works. I believe him. Should this be a need of yours. ...
Some you win, some you win later. The U.S. Army has dropped its subpoena of independent journalist Sarah Olson, who was ordered in December to testify against Lt. Ehren Watada, a military officer who publicly refused deployment to Iraq. When Olson interviewed Watada, he criticized the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. Supporting Olson in her belief that journalists should never become arms of law enforcement, SPJ president Christine Tatum sent a letter to Army prosecutors, condemning their actions. Additionally, SPJ issued an FOI alert to generate awareness. Good people do finish first sometimes. On another front, U.S. District Judge William Alsup has ruled against independent journalist Josh Wolf's grumbles motion, where his lawyers would have argued that Wolf's commitment to press freedom would forever prevent him from handing over the tape that federal prosecutors seek. Wolf remains in a federal prison in Dublin, Calif. ...
The digital Quill launched Feb. 1, with the drum beaters at HQ enthusiastic about "the same great content that you've come to expect in the print edition," plus with the ability "to click through interactive pages as you read the stories online." Direct comments to Joe Skeel at jskeel@spj.org. ...
SPJ's feelancer directory, now in the testing stages, will allow freelancers to enter contact information, provide details about their professional specialties and link hiring editors to examples of their work. The cost to showcase yourself? Nothing at all. SPJ members, start your info.
Closing words: "Remember you are just an extra in everyone else's play."-- Franklin Roosevelt
Closing words II, real troops, real war, no one in the White House can relate division: "I think some people in America don't want to know about all this violence, about all the killings. The people back home are shielded from it; they get it sugar-coated." -- Army 1st Lt. Antonio Hardy, 25, of Atlanta ... "What is victory supposed to look like? Every time we turn around and go in a new area there's somebody new waiting to kill us. Once more raids start happening, they'll [insurgents] melt away. And then two or three months later, when we leave and say it was a success, they'll come back." -- Sgt. 1st Class Herbert Gill, 29, of Pulaski, Tenn. ... "We can go get into a firefight and empty out ammo, but it doesn't accomplish much. This isn't our war -- we're just in the middle." -- Pvt. 1st Class Zach Clouser, 19, of York, Pa. ... "They can keep sending more and more troops over here, but until the people here start working with us, it's not going to change. All of our friends who have been killed by [roadside bombs] and snipers, it's like there's no justice for it -- it's just another body bag filled. The guys who died just trying to stay alive and get home, they'll be forgotten. No one will remember their stories." -- Sgt. Chance Oswalt, 22, of Tulsa ... "When we first got here it was, 'Let's put up schools, let's work on a power plant,' but you can't do that without security, and security here is crap. They keep trying different crap, and it doesn't work." -- 1st Lt. Tim Evers, 26, of Stockton, Calif.
