May 2008
“A talented and wise professional, the top of his field” ...
JOHN OHENDALSKI, 1928-2008
They’re still talking about John Ohendalski’s passion for ideas, the arts and lifelong learning. Mr. Ohendalski, an Army
veteran, devout Presbyterian and all-around TCU Frog — master’s degree, science writer, editorial services director, editor of The TCU
Magazine — died April 1. Let TCU Vice Chancellor Larry Lauer fill in the blanks ...
He was John O to most everyone. That was because no one could spell his last
name.
He came to TCU as a science writer from the Fort Worth Press even before I came
to TCU as a young professor in 1966. Years later when I became head of
university communications, John was still on that team, and thankfully he
stayed. By then he had become editor of The TCU Magazine and made it an award
winner, and clearly he had the reputation at TCU and beyond of being a
brilliant writer and editor.
John could edit for style, for grammar and for content. He was an encyclopedia
of TCU facts. I wanted anything official to go under his eyes before it went
out. I could rest easy only if John proofed it.
He also was a counselor to many, including me. Whenever I faced serious issues I
always consulted with John. He was a wealth of experience and approached every
situation with deep sensitivity and true humanity. Without exception, doing the
right thing was always his top priority.
It follows that John was very interested in his church. I remember the time he
roped me into teaching a course on a Wednesday night on religion and the mass
media. I hesitated to give up still another evening, but it turned out to be an
incredible experience that I have always treasured.
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MEETINGS
Program to be announced.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 27
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20 (online add $1)
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It’s All About the Media on Media Day
Do we really need a fine expository paragraph here? The players tell you all you
need to know: Lauren Vargas, a local social media creator who has helped PR practitioners implement social
media techniques. Giovanni Gallucci, sharing real-life successes in social media and explaining how to measure
results via social networks. Gary Hardee, the man behind the transformation of the Star-Telegram web site, overviewing
how web sites are affecting news delivery. La Estrella publisher David Sedeño, exploring the growing role of media for specific audiences.
Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 14
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20
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No meeting this month. Next month? Absolutely.
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Fiction and fantasy novelist turned screenwriter Jeffrey Turner will describe “Three Essentials of the Screenwriting Trade” at the Writers’ Guild of Texas third-Monday meeting at 7 p.m. May 19 at the Richardson Public
Library, 900 Civic Center Drive. Turner in 2002 was a finalist in the Hollywood
Symposium screenwriting competition and since then has optioned seven
screenplays to independent film companies. More from organizer Carol Woods. ...
Worth a repeat from last month: Radio personality and high-energy author Bryan Dodge will detail “How to Build a Better You” at the American Society of Business Publication Editors meeting Wednesday, May
14, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Southern Recipes Grill, 2715 N. Collins St.,
Arlington. Cost (includes lunch): $20 ASBPE members, $25 nonmembers. RSVP: Tonie Auer, 817-925-2013 or tonieauer@gmail.com. ...
Entry deadline is June 30 for the Bastiat Prize for Journalism, sponsored by the International Policy Network, a London-based think tank.
Three authors whose published articles “eloquently and wittily explain, promote and defend the principles of the free
society, including property rights, free markets, sound science, limited
government and the rule of law” will share the $15,000 prize.
IABC local update: IABC Fort Worth’s Summer Seminar Series debuts at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at Euless City Hall with “Brains on Fire” blogger Geno Church fronting a 90-minute webinar on how to spark a word-of-mouth revolution for a PR
campaign. Cost is $25 for chapter members, $30 nonmembers. IABC members, watch
your inbox for registration info.
IABC local update II: “Internal communication without paper at eBay.” It’s what Peter Vogt does, but it’s also the topic of his talk at the Dallas IABC meeting Tuesday, May 13. Info here.
PRSA local update: Chapter members will work the first More Life Festival, May
10-June 7, as part of PRSA’s yearlong volunteer push. A collaboration of the AIDS Outreach Center, Fort
Worth Opera, Samaritan House Tarrant County, AIDS Interfaith Network and more
than 20 arts, science and education organizations, the festival will educate
the community, boost awareness of resources and reduce the stigma associated
with HIV/AIDS. More from organizer Glenda Thompson at glenda@gesturesmarketing.com.
PRSA local update II: An information session on earning the APR, open to public
relations and communications professionals, will precede the monthly meeting
Wednesday, May 14, 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Petroleum Club. RSVP to kim@balcomagency.com.
PRSA local update III: Save 5:30 p.m. May 29 for a special event at Rassi
Interactive presented by the GFW PRSA President’s Council and the Masters SIG. Details soon.
PRSA local update IV: Congratulations to Kristen and Richie Escovedo on the April 5 birth of their son, Ryan Gregory Escovedo. You want to see pictures, you know you do.
PRSA local update V: Join PRSA national in May or June, and get a year of
chapter dues ($45) free. New members, note promotional code CHAP2008 on the application. ... Web chair Richie Escovedo has updated the site. Shoot those comments to richie.escovedo@gmail.com. ... The Independent Practitioners SIG meets monthly. E- Nancy Farrar at nancyh829@aol.com. ... And for facts and figures on that new special interest group for PR pros in the nonprofit sector, e- Nancy O’Malley at nomalley@UWMTC.org.
PRSA local update VI: Teresa Henderson with Edelman Southwest will present “The 2008 Trust Barometer: Who Do You Trust?” at the Dallas PRSA meeting Thursday, May 8. Details here.
SPJ national update: The Pentagon says it has suspended a propaganda program
featuring “analysts” who have ties to military contractors vested in the very policies they are
assessing on air. These business relationships were rarely disclosed to
viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks. More here and here. ... The Senate Commerce Committee voted April 24 to reverse a federal rule
that lets media companies like the Tribune Co. and News Corp. own a broadcast
station and daily newspaper in the 20 largest markets. The FCC’s Republican majority voted in December to allow such combinations. The sponsor,
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., says the resolution has enough support to pass the Senate and likely
the House. It won the committee’s support on a unanimous voice vote with members of both parties present. Asked
about a possible presidential veto, Dorgan said George W. Bush “makes a lot of threats. I would hope that he’d probably stand on the side of the American people, for a change.” More here.
SPJ national update II: Facing a possible White House veto, the Senate on April 23 passed legislation that would protect government watchdogs. Lawmakers say the measure, though watered down, shields inspectors general from undue influence by the government agencies they investigate and makes reports more accessible to the public. More here. ... Federal subpoenas demanding confidential information from journalists are more widespread than five years ago and aren’t limited to cases involving national security, according to the author of a survey of major TV stations and daily papers. “I want the study to be helpful, and now is the time that it can be helpful,” University of Arizona law professor RonNell Andersen Jones says, noting the shield law pending in the Senate, similar legislation passed in the House and harsh fines assessed recently against journalist Toni Locy for refusing to name her sources in stories she wrote for USA Today in 2003 about the post-9-11 anthrax attacks. More here.
SPJ national update III: The FCC and FEMA have won 2008 Jefferson Muzzles,
awards the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression gives
to those it considers the year’s most egregious First Amendment violators. The FCC even won a Lifetime Muzzle,
only the second time the honor has been bestowed in the award’s 17-year history (Rudy Giuliani, then-mayor of New York City, won the first in 1999). More here. ... The 10,000-circulation Vail (Colo.) Daily favors the fake tale or two
every April 1, but this year it published eight pages of phony stories around
the regular edition and placed even more made-up reports on its web site. The “Stale Daily” boasted numerous ads, too, including two full-pagers. More here. ... With print revenue down and online revenue growing, newspaper executives
are anticipating the day when big city dailies and national papers will abandon
their print versions. That day has arrived in Madison, Wis. More here.
SPJ national update IV: Web site news audiences are expanding, Scarborough
Research reports. The newspaper audience ratings service studied the top 50
local markets and discovered that a growing online presence is compensating in
part for the precipitous decline in print readership. More here. ... On the other hand, internet advertising may be more vulnerable to a
consumer slowdown than the industry had hoped. Search-ad data from the research
firm comScore shows a decline in the number of consumer clicks on Google search
ads in January. More here. ... Then there’s this. The newspaper industry has experienced the worst drop in ad revenue in
more than 50 years, according to data released by the Newspaper Association of
America. Print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4 percent (to $42 billion)
compared to 2006, the NAA says — the most severe percent decline since the association started measuring
advertising expenditures in 1950. More here.
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PEOPLE & PLACES
The Black Cow at Westlake Academy won more prizes at the 2008 Texas
Interscholastic Press Conference spring meeting than any other school newspaper
in the state, including 14 first-place finishes plus a state championship in
the artist category for seventh-grader Sarah Malik, who beat all high school students entered. Twenty students — Malik, Nick Ford, Margaret Ledak, Taylor Braun, Kelly Moran, Sarah Titus, Carrie Crossley, Taylor Jolissaint, Riley Rennhack, Brooke Awtry, Erik Herbst, Tyler Springer, Josh Frey, Katie Forbes, Nigel LaRue, Corey Timmerman, Anisha Chandra, Clementine Cosyns, Kent Bordelon and Alex Champagne — won for their work on the monthly paper, which gets mailed, at the paper’s expense, to every household in Westlake. “We are bursting with pride,” volunter adviser Dave Lieber said. “These wonderful and talented student journalists prove that age is no barrier
when it comes to doing great work for their community.” The paper also received the Merit Award from the ILPC. ...
UTA Shorthorn exes Tom Fox and Reese Dunklin received the Headliner Award (Star Photojournalist of the Year) and the
Community Service Award, respectively, at the Texas Associated Press Managing
Editors convention March 30 in Galveston. Both work for The Dallas Morning
News. ...
Rita Parson has joined the Tarrant County College District’s PR/marketing staff, reuniting with director Donna Darovich, with whom she worked on the Star-Telegram evening edition in the late 1970s.
...
UTA Shorthorn writers/photographers/editors/page designer/ad designer Daniel Johnson, Gabriel DeWitt, Cliff Hale, Rasy Ran, Megumi Rooze, Robert Rodriguez, John Henderson, Matt Raney, Alexa Garcia-Ditta, Caleb Gremmer, Dominic Bracco, Joe Wilkins, Anthony Williams and Kyle Clothier brought home 26 awards and one scholarship (Ray Buffington) from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention last month in
College Station. The Shorthorn won Best of Show in the newspaper category and
first place in student-produced web site.
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NEW MEMBERS
SPJ ... Mary Gladstone, The Dallas Morning News
PRSA ... Lacey Douglas, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County ... Megan Knight, Justin Brands ... Kelly Drawdy, Arlington Parks and Recreation ... Carroll Burney, Girls Inc. of Tarrant County ... Jerri Robbins, Chesapeake Energy ... Rita Parson, Tarrant County College District ... Ashliegh Whiteman, city of Hurst
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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Laura Van Hoosier, APR, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
Ever wanted something so much, but the unexpected or unknown kept you from going
after it or learning more about it? In April, I joined PRSA colleague Bruce Trimble, APR, from Little Rock in helping present an APR educational session. The title
was so appropriate for what I know many feel when starting this journey: “Face the fear and earn it anyway.”
At 10:30 a.m. May 14 at the Petroleum Club, prior to our chapter meeting, Kim Speairs, APR, will walk interested professionals through the process, from the
application, to readiness review (questionnaire and portfolio), to preparing
for the computerized exam. Attendees will get their questions answered and be
well on the way to knowing how to prepare for test day. Sign up. If you’ve thought about earning your APR, now is the perfect time.
Enjoy your May.
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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Betsy Deck, IABC Fort Worth
If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that spring is fast and furious. I know that you’re working overtime to engage and inspire your audiences. As always, we are
thrilled to offer a variety of programs to support your efforts.
Bronze Quill entries are due May 5, and I’ve included some tips for completing your entry. Online registration is new this year, with the
option of paying with your purchasing card. Completely paperless! Visit bronzequill.com for details.
Two judges will assess each entry and write comments. To be considered for an
Award of Excellence, you must score at least a 60. Be as complete as possible
on your entry. And if you skip any questions in the Work Plan, you could miss
out on a BQ. Keep these things in mind when completing your entry statement,
and good luck!
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
If you couldn’t get enough of the food and the good times and the gleeful scholarshp winners
and National Security Archive director Tom Blanton and Open Doors Award winner Diane Wilson at Fort Worth SPJ’s awards banquet in April, go here and here and relive the moment. And thanks, Kay Pirtle and Karen Scott at the Wedgwood News in Fort Worth and Paul Knudsen in Arlington, for providing the photos that will keep the evening forever fresh.
...
O.K. Carter insists he wasn’t forced out, and the grin on his face says he’s telling the truth. But his retirement is a crushing blow at the slow-motion
assisted suicide that is the Star-Telegram. Carter knows and loves Arlington,
and access to his insights was a major reason we subscribers subscribe. Now
that’s just another thing we miss. Jim Wright’s column? Gone. Minnesota grammarian Stephen Wilbers? Gone. Reader advocate and columnist David House, the paying customer’s calm, reassuring, empathetic connection to the newsroom? Gone. And we wring
our hands in circulation and wonder why we can’t sell more papers. ...
A freelance writer shares her struggles with creating her own Web site on The Independent Journalist blog. See how SPJ member Kathy Ehrich Dowd dealt with self-promotion, decided what clips to use and designed the site. ...
Hundreds of U.S. Marines have been killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq because Marine Corps bureaucrats refused an urgent
request in 2005 from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles, an
internal military study concludes. The study, written by a civilian Marine
Corps official and obtained by the Associated Press, accuses the service of “gross mismanagement” that delayed deliveries of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks for more
than two years. Support the troops, indeed.
Closing words: “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” — Douglas Adams, notoriously unpunctual writer ... “Mike Hammer drinks beer, not cognac, because I can’t spell cognac.” — Mickey Spillane ... “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” — Robert Frost ... “Never eat at a place called Mom’s, never play cards with a guy named Doc, and never go to bed with anyone who
has more troubles than you.” — Nelson Algren
Closing words II, tragicomic Star-Telegram division: “If it wasn’t for all the sucking up in here, there wouldn’t be any breeze at all.” — overheard at O.K. Carter’s April 24 retirement party in downtown Arlington at J. Gilligan’s, which was packed to the walls with city leaders and pretenders, candidates
and kingmakers, and not much air conditioning ... “I had hoped to get laid on my birthday, not laid off.” — a Star-T worker who last month became a year older and unemployed, both on the
same day