November 2014

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MEETINGS

Next at
IABC Fort Worth ...
Social Media Listening  | Real-Time Intelligence | Compelling Content

Trends researcher Kevin Walker will update on tech trends and developments in social listening, plus provide insight on how Gen Z and millennials are impacting the communications world. Organizers vow that he brings passionate thought leadership from both client/corporate and agency perspectives to the understanding of technological disruption.

Walker founded a boutique research/communications agency, CultureLab, in 2006. It was among the first agencies in the Southwest to recognize the emerging notion of a “new” more diverse general market and to promote how technology and research can aid in understanding youth lifestyle and media habits. His CultureLab 10 Trends to Watch in 2014 has gotten more than 13,000 views on Slide Share.

Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18
Place: Texas Star Conference Centre, 1400 Texas Star Parkway, Euless (map)
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20; online add $1,
walk-ins without a reservation add $5; lunch included

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Diversity Month: How Brands Are Creating LGBT Communication Strategies

L. Michelle Smith leads diversity corporate communications for AT&T, including eight multicultural and emerging segments, which puts her in prime position to discuss how brands are developing next-step LGBT marketing strategies.

As support for the LGBT community continues to grow, brands more and more reflect this in mainstream marketing. Smith will share how AT&T turned around its net promoter score with the LGBT community and offer a case study on AT&T’s launching a social media campaign to celebrate LGBT History Month.

A former television news writer/producer, Smith has more than 20 years in advertising/marketing and has led teams of PR professionals for some of the world’s largest public relations agencies, as well as her own agency, to award-winning results.

Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12
Place: Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle, Fort Worth (map)
Cost: chapter members $25, national members $30, nonmembers $35, students $20; walk-ups add $5

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Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...
This month’s program will be announced soon, but in the meantime, note the splashy graphic above heralding the JPS Book Benefit and Splendiferous Gift Drawing, Wednesday, Dec. 3, in a new home in the heart of the Cultural District. Info and RSVP.

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STRAIGHT STUFF

Whether you write novels, screenplays or nonfiction, it’s not enough to just have a great story. You also have to tell the story in a way that jumps off the page. That means learning techniques for writing visually, grabbing the reader in the first few pages, revealing character through action instead of dialogue, creating scene structure, engaging all of the reader’s senses, and finishing up with a bang. In his presentation at the next Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting (7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, Richardson Public Library), Michael Farris will offer eight steps to better storytelling. Farris is an attorney and literary agent, website http://farrisliterary.com/. More on the Writers’ Guild of Texas at writersguildoftexas.org. ...

Application deadline is Nov. 10 for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting’s 2015 Reporting Fellowship. The center trains beginning journalists in the methods and disciplines of evidence-based investigative reporting. Qualifications: degree in journalism or related subject; one to two years professional experience; demonstrated skills in data reporting, document research and freedom of information filings; ability to translate complex material for a general readership; and multimedia skills. The fellowship runs January through October 2015 (flexible) and pays $25,000. Send brief cover letter, résumé, clips and references to editor-in-chief John Christie at mainecenter@gmail.com.

IABC local update: Identifying a charitable cause that aligns with your company’s mission and also engages employees requires thoughtful research and solid communications strategy. Communities Foundation of Texas philanthropy director Monica Egert Smith will share her strategies and insights for this highly relevant aspect of communications at the IABC Dallas meeting Tuesday, Nov. 11, at Maggiano’s NorthPark. Info.   

PRSA local update: Hail to the chiefs, the 2015 officers, as voted in by the members present at the annual business meeting last month: president, Michelle Clark, APR; VP membership/president-elect, Liz Heck; VP programs, Claire Bloxom Armstrong; treasurer, Lisa Albert; treasurer-elect, Beth Lamb; secretary, Lesley Dupre; director, Julie O’Neil, Jahnae Stout and Kay Barkin, APR; Assembly delegate, Carol Murray, APR, and Gigi Westerman, APR, Fellow PRSA. Past president Chris Smith chaired the nominations committee.

PRSA local update II: Standing reminders. A job listing can be created, edited and removed directly on the DFW Communicators Job Bank site, and page view counts show the level of interest. And job seekers can push alerts for specific keywords to their personal e-mails. The job bank lists full-time, part-time and internship positions in PR, media affairs, advertising/sales, event planning, graphic design, marketing, and corporate and employee communications throughout North Texas. Employers who are members of the participating organizations may post a job for $75; the cost for nonmembers is $100, for nonprofits $50. Each posting runs a month. Greater Fort Worth PRSA receives a portion of the proceeds when a member marks his or her membership status on the submission form. More from Jerrod Resweber, GFW PRSA job bank chair, at jresweber@webershandwick.com or 469-375-0216.

PRSA local update III: PRSA Dallas’ annual Communications Summit, themed “Elevate! Engage! Evolve!,” will be Friday, Nov. 7, at the Irving Convention Center. Details. 

THIS MONTH IN PR/MARKETING HISTORY   BY JEFF RODRIGUEZ
An irreverent look at the people and events that keep us up at night

Pardon Me
When Sarah Palin Visited a Turkey Farm, It Set Feathers Flying

Politicians know that pardoning someone can be controversial. What they don't typically consider is that it can be just as problematic to pardon a bird. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin discovered this Nov. 20, 2008, when she went home to Wasilla to pardon a turkey before Thanksgiving and ended up walking into a buzz saw of media criticism.

Palin first went to a hatchery, where, surrounded by heedless gobblers, she read her pardon. She said Alaska did not have a death penalty, the bird had not received a fair trial, and “turkey” was now considered a term of endearment.
Then she described herself as a "friend to all creatures great and small,” a line that would hurt her worse than bad giblets later.

After pardoning a bird, Palin stepped outside the hatchery to take questions from reporters, on camera. In the background, a farmer toiled away at the seasonal slaughter, placing turkeys one by one in a "killing cone," which decapitates the bird, filling a trough with blood. It was not the best juxtaposition (especially for the turkeys).

The media flocked to the story, highlighting it as further proof that the former vice presidential candidate lacked astuteness. The Washington Post incorrectly reported that the birds were being put into a grinder, and The New York Times posted on a blog, “A Sarah Palin Thanksgiving”: “You don’t have to be a huge animal lover to question why Governor Palin chose to be interviewed — while issuing a traditional seasonal pardon of a turkey — while turkeys were being executed in the background.” (You don't have to be a huge vegetarian to wonder why the Times used the word executed.)

It also was reported that Palin had been asked about being interviewed in front of the proceedings, and had agreed to it. Indeed, while the camera was rolling, it appears that she does glance back at the farmer, but perhaps she just wanted to place her order.

While liberal media basted — rather, lambasted — Palin, conservative writers came to her defense. Columnist Michelle Malkin wrote, “You’d think Palin was standing in front of the camera soaked in blood like Sissy Spacek in ‘Carrie.’ ” Another positive for Palin was that the background activity drew attention from what she was actually saying. Asked for her plans now that the presidential campaign was over, she responded:

“Plans just include getting through the budget process that we’re going through right now, building the state’s budget based on the price of oil that has plummeted so greatly, and reigning in the growth of government, and plans like that, that have to do with helping to govern this state, and building this team that is continually being built to provide good service to Alaskans. So in my role as a governor, that’s what my plans are all around.”

Even easier to miss is what happened next, when the reporter, asking a follow-up question about potential budget cuts, innocently used the term “chopping block.” Who says subliminal advertising doesn't work?

So was Palin being a birdbrain, or did the media lose their heads over nothing? How someone answers that question will probably reflect on his politics. But regardless of which wing you associate with, one thing is certain: In public relations, it’s all too easy to fowl up.

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Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas update: A Temple resident who witnessed an accident Oct. 9 in which two men died said a Temple police officer threatened to take his cellphone away because he was taking photographs and video. Sean Ramirez said he stopped and started recording instead but the officer kept yelling at him. Ramirez said he was afraid when the officer threatened a second time to take his phone. According to federal rulings, people have the right to record officers in public places as they do their duties. Details. ... In an effort to protect the safety of officers and their families, Lubbock Police Department officials are moving away from a blanket policy of identifying officers involved in a shooting. Greg Stevens, Lubbock police assistant chief, said the decision was made after asking police officials from other Texas cities about their policies regarding identifying officers.“The leading answer was: We don’t identify the officer unless there is wrongdoing on the officer’s part, and of course then they do,” he said. Open government advocates believe the move goes against the principles of government transparency. Details.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

The College Media Association presented Eddye Gallagher, Tarrant County College’s longtime director of student publications, with its Distinguished Two-Year Newspaper Adviser of the Year award Oct. 30 at the national convention in Philadelphia. Her predecessor, Joe Norton, won the award in 1975. Gallagher has taught at TCC since 1970 and has directed the college’s student publications unit since 1999. Her staffs have won numerous national, regional and state awards. More importantly, she has seen a number of students go on to become successes in various media. ...

UT Arlington’s theshorthorn.com was named the top student news website in the country Nov. 2 at the College Media Association/Associated Collegiate Press Association's national convention in Philadelphia. The Best of Show honor was announced during the closing ceremony of the five-day conference, which drew about 2,500 student journalists from around the country. It is one of 13 national awards, including two other first places (best online ad, best social media presence) that The Shorthorn and UTA Student Publications received. Skye Leung took second place in rate card from the Associated Collegiate Press. News editor Rafael Sears, associate news editor Kenney Kost, sports editor Grant McKinley, design editor Laura Woodside and sports reporter Kevin Cushingberry Jr. represented the university at the convention. Cushingberry’s two-year newspaper, The Et Cetera at Eastfield College, received a Pacemaker, considered the highest award in student journalism, for publications produced under his leadership in 2013-14. Kost's two-year newspaper, The Collegian at Tarrant County College, was a Pacemaker finalist. In addition, Kost earned second place for two-year Reporter of the Year and fifth place in best diversity story for his work at The Collegian. ...

Fort Worth SPJ scholarships VP Gayle Reaves, editor of the Fort Worth Weekly, will take part in the 2014 Symposium on Emerging Issues, an outreach of the Women's Policy Forum of Tarrant County and the Women's Policy Forum Foundation, Nov. 14 at the City Club in downtown Fort Worth. Ann Beeson, executive director for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, will deliver the keynote address on "The Future of Texas and the Path to Opportunity." Three one-hour, repeating panel discussions will follow on technology, healthy communities and open government. Cost is $35 per person. Register here.

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GET A JOB

The Winchester Star, a 20,000-circulation daily in Winchester, Va., seeks a reporter to cover police and courts — breaking news, enterprise stories, web updates. Send cover letter, résumé and clips to managing editor Maria Montgomery at mmontgomery@winchesterstar.com. ... The Palestine Herald-Press needs a layout/news editor (mostly layout, strong in Quark and/or InDesign). Contact editor Nate Smith, 903-729-0281, @NateSmithPHP. ... Cover crime and courts in a hotbed of malfeasance, Muskogee, Okla. The Muskogee Phoenix wants 10 stories a week, video or photos, and social media skills. E- six clips (news, features), résumé and cover letter to echoate@muskogeephoenix.com. Recent graduates preferred. ... The Trentonian seeks a reporter to help cover greater Mercer County, New Jersey. Digital reporting deadlines and social media savvy required. E- résumé and samples of writing, photos and video to John Berry, jberry@trentonian.com.

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NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

SPJ ... Chelsea Henderson, The Port Arthur News

PRSA ... Decima Cooper, Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Richie Escovedo, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

When communication missteps occur, it's common to sit back, ridicule and say we're learning from the actions of others (read: case studies). But do you ever consider the individuals actually dealing with these challenges? Do you ever think about the professionals responsible for cleaning up PR messes? Real people constantly monitor public speech for misguided, incorrect or inflammatory statements. One always hopes for the best but must prepare senior leadership for the worst.

Among the reasons I remain a PRSA member is the opportunity to foster professional relationships. Some call this networking, but it goes deeper. Being connected to other professionals who have gone through similar communication challenges creates shared experience, understanding and encouragement. Can this be done outside of PRSA or any other professional organization? Of course it can. But in my experience, working alongside dedicated volunteers is the perfect way to ripen relationships.

People matter. Their stories matter. Yes, you can learn from the mistakes of others, but you can also learn from teaching and encouraging. My hope this year in PRSA is that not only have we provided quality programming to help with members' professional development and award-worthy work, but also moments for relationships.

And we're not finished. Just like people, Greater Fort Worth PRSA is a work in progress. I encourage each member to look for ways to plug in through volunteerism and to lean in, talk and listen to one another.

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STAYING CONNECTED
Tim Tune, IABC Fort Worth

What a fine session Robin McCasland, past chair of IABC international, did for us in October on global communication trends. Couldn’t have done it without Studios 121, which provided the venue and technical support for the presentation, which was webcast live. Student groups from Texas Wesleyan University and UT Arlington, as well as IABC chapter members in Orlando, Nashville, Minnesota and Los Angeles, participated online.

McCasland compiled key developments of interest to marketing, public relations and corporate communication professionals. She also offered numerous tips and tactics for taking advantage of trends.

To view the recorded webcast on demand, go here. Snazzy, huh? Share the link with others who might be interested and could benefit from this relevant communication insight and tips for action.

IABC Fort Worth thanks Studios 121, our host and production partner, for its support of the live webcast and video-on-demand service. We especially appreciate the hard work and creative energies of Will Raymond, Studio 121's vice president-technical services.

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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

Congratulations to SPJ Region 8 director and Tarrant County College student publications leader Eddye Gallagher on being recognized for all-purpose wonderfulness by the College Media Association. She’s GREAT, the CMA said. We knew that. ...

We keep losing our breweries, but the Christmas party, a.k.a. JPS Book Benefit and Splendiferous Gift Drawing, shall proceed with all due vigor unabated and top rated. First, Miller changed hands, and there went that delightful little museum/party room. Then Coors sold, and the party setting there likely is a warehouse now. It’s trying times like these that you need a Kay Pirtle. With a little help from Danny Jensen, she secured a handsome space in the “Glass Front” Building at UNT Health Science Center on Camp Bowie Boulevard. Slight increase in admission (to cover additional expenses), but otherwise it’s still everything you’ve come to know and love. Here’s the evite and RSVP. See you Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the party with the best cost-to-fun ratio in town!


Closing words: "Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon." — author William Zinsser