No meeting this month, but stay on the line — website, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. An operator will be with you shortly.
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Media Panel: State of the Newsroom
How can PR professionals better pitch in the evolving landscape? How are stories
being prioritized? How can seasoned PR practitioners stay up-to-date with the
ever-changing newsroom?
A panel of print, online and TV journalists — Bud Kennedy, Bob Francis, Deborah Ferguson and Lori Conrad, with moderator Charlie Hodges — has answers at the ready for this month’s PRSA meeting.
(But the room is maxed out — no more registrants can be squeezed in, no walk-ups. To add your name to a
waiting list, e- hospitality chair Tracy Greene at tracy.greene@cartermuseum.org.)
Kennedy, a Fort Worth native, has been a Star-Telegram columnist for nearly 34
years. Since 1981, he has written more than 1,500 weekly dining columns and
more than 3,000 news, political and human interest articles. A social media
whizzeroo, he has nearly 20,000 followers on two Twitter accounts (@BudKennedy and @EatsBeat) and 13,000 “likes” on two Facebook accounts.
Ferguson co-anchors “NBC 5 Today” weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m. She joined the station in 1991 after starting her
journalism career as a reporter/anchor for WBAP Radio in Fort Worth. Among her
honors is a regional Edward R. Murrow Award and a Gracie Award for Outstanding
Anchor – News presented by American Women in Radio and Television.
Francis has been editor of the Fort Worth Business Press since 2008 and has
received three Katie Awards from the Dallas Press Club. He also is editor of
Research Texas and the Energy Report and has served as a freelance writer for
numerous publications, including American Way, Brand Week and Manufacturing
Automation.
Conrad has more than 20 years of PR, marketing and public affairs experience in
the Fort Worth-Dallas market and in 2010 received a Lone Star Emmy for
co-writing and co-producing a half-hour television special about a local equine
therapy program.
Hodges is a GFW PRSA member and former news reporter at NewsRadio 1080 KRLD and
the Texas State Network.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11
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Get Out on a Saturday Morning, Change Your Life
Students will obtain firsthand advice from journalism, advertising and PR
professionals Saturday, Feb. 21, at Fort Worth SPJ’s annual Student Careers Conference at the Tarrant County College Trinity River
Campus in downtown Fort Worth.
More than 20 media professionals from throughout Fort Worth-Dallas will be
available for one-on-one discussions about career interests, how they found and
fought for their jobs, and creating a plan that will strengthen the job search
after graduation.
Meda outlets represented include WFAA, The Dallas Morning News, Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Weekly, Dallas Voice, KERA-FM, Idea Grove, Concussion, Moroch,
MultiView, GCG Marketing, the Graham Leader and Telemundo.
Organizers’ advice to student participants: Bring your résumé, work samples and plenty of questions. Dress is business professional — this is a career conference, and you could be talking to a future employer.
Several students have landed jobs and internships because of connections they
made at the conference.
Keynote speaker is SMU assistant professor Jake Batsell, author of "Engaged Journalism: Connecting with Digitally Empowered News
Audiences." The book, recently published by Columbia University Press, analyzes
the changing relationship between journalists and their audiences.
The conference is free, but lunch (optional) costs $7.50. Parking is free.
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Deadline is March 15 to enter the 17th annual contest for collegiate newspaper
columnists sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education
Foundation. The winner receives a $1,000 scholarship and expenses paid
(airfare, hotel, shuttle, registration) to the 2015 NSNC conference in
Indianapolis, June 25-28. The scholar also will be listed in the NSNC’s College Columnist Hall of Fame. The Jeff Zaslow College Columnist Award is
open to undergraduates, including seniors, who write bylined general interest,
editorial-page or specialized (humor, sports, business, arts, culture, etc.)
columns published in the print or online editions of college newspapers. There
is no entry fee. Judges are professional news media columnists. Info
here. ...
Are you stuck with a mind that refuses to settle down? Join author Ginnie Bivona at the next Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting (7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, Richardson Public Library) for
a conversation about the creative mind and how the creative urge never seems to
go away. After beginning her writing career doing restaurant reviews and
cooking columns, Bivona has written numerous books, including the novel “Ida Mae Tutweiler and the Traveling Tea Party,” which became the Hallmark movie “Bound by a Secret.”
IABC local update: Alan Lewis, chief strategist and vice president of cllient engagement at JCS Consulting,
will discuss “Emerging Technologies for Communicators” at the IABC Dallas meeting Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Maggiano’s NorthPark. Info.
PRSA local update: Chapter members delved into the strategic plan at the January luncheon. Called
Vision 2015, it starts with four guiding principles — lifelong learning; vibrant, diverse and welcoming professional community;
recognition of capabilities and accomplishments; thought leadership, ethics and
professional excellence — and has several goals, including:
• Increase chapter membership by 10 percent and chapter participation by 10
percent.
• Recommend one or two initiatives the chapter should undertake to help awareness
of key legislative issues.
• Finish readiness reviews and online exams for those who expressed interest in
becoming accredited as APRs during 2014; provide mentors for APR candidates.
• Implement quarterly opportunities for members to participate in a community
service project.
• Increase social media engagement by 20 percent.
• Increase the number of Worthy Award entries by 20 percent.
PRSA local update II: Robert Hastings, the Department of Defense’s chief public affairs and communications officer in the Bush administration, will present “War Stories: Rebuilding Confidence in America’s Military Institutions” at the PRSA Dallas monthly luncheon Thursday, Feb. 12, at Seasons 52 at
NorthPark Center. Info here.
