November 2003
MEETINGS
Next at IABC/Fort Worth ...
The Best Publicity? Free Publicity
Emmy Award-winning Fox 4 reporter Jeff Crilley knows so much about free publicity that he wrote a book on it (titled "Free Publicity"), and he'll share at the November meeting select bits from it and from 20 years in TV news covering everything from presidential elections to Spam cooking at the State Fair.
Crilley has been recognized by his peers with dozens of national and regional honors, including the National Headliners Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Thurgood Marshall Award. The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors once named him the "Best TV Reporter" in the state.
* Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4
* Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
* Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket validated)
* Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students
* RSVP: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com
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Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ...
"Are We All We Can Be? Creating Our
Own Reality as Public Relations Professionals"
Thomas W. Hoog, one of PR Week's 100 most influential public relations practitioners of the 20th century, will address the monthly meeting Wednesday, Nov. 12. Chairman of Hill and Knowlton USA and of the PRSA Counselors Section, Hoog has been outspoken in the need for PR pros to become value-added counselors, moving beyond the familiar model of agents who merely execute strategies.
Hoog also is on the advisory board of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and is chairman of the board of the Wolf Trap Foundation, which operates the National Park for the Performing Arts as a public/private partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service. He is a frequent commentator on public relations issues.
* Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12
* Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
* Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket validated)
* Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students
* RSVP by noon Nov. 10: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org
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Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...
New Book, Timeless Tale: "JFK: Breaking the News"
New Book, Timeless Tale: "JFK: Breaking the News"
On the 40th anniversary, to the day, of John F. Kennedy's death in Dallas, an oft-decorated journalist who was there that pivotal afternoon will debut his latest book -- on how the media covered the assassination -- at a blockbuster SPJ meeting/book signing at legendary Joe T. Garcia's on Fort Worth's north side.
Advance-billed as a can't-put-it-down reference work, Hugh Aynesworth's "JFK: Breaking the News" offers the first detailed examination of how local journalists, using primitive technology, reported rapidly occurring events to a nation in despair. Aynesworth, an author or co-author of six books and a six-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, promises a fresh look at "who did what" as writers, photographers and editors mobilized to cover the biggest story of their lives.
"This is all new material, heavily anecdotal -- great stories on mom Oswald, Marina, even how the Star-Telegram beat the Morning News with a special edition for sale right on the streets of Dallas outside the Belo Building," he says. "I've known most of this stuff a long time, just never wrote about it."
Longtime AP/Star-Telegram writer Mike Cochran, a key player in the coverage over the years and heavily quoted in the book, will introduce Aynesworth and likely relate an experience or two.
Aynesworth, a veteran of The Dallas Morning News, UPI, Newsweek, ABC's "20/20" and The Washington Times, is believed to be the only person who was at the assassination -- he had looked away just for a moment when the shots were fired -- then present during the police chase and capture of Lee Harvey Oswald, and later was in the basement of the Dallas Police Department when Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald. He has devoted hundreds of hours to the story, resulting in a number of exclusives, including Oswald's minute-by-minute escape route, published less than a week after the assassination; acquisition of Oswald's "Russian diary," one of the biggest stories of 1964; and talking with Ruby by phone from his jail cell. Aynesworth was the only reporter invited inside the closed Ruby funeral in Chicago in 1967.
Aynesworth's research and rarely seen footage from The Sixth Floor Museum, located in the former Texas School Book Depository, served as principal source material for a companion KERA retrospective to premiere Nov. 19. Narrated by Jane Pauley (who was 13 in 1963), the documentary draws on archival broadcast reels, amateur films, images from Texas newspapers and accounts from eyewitnesses, including Jim Lehrer, then with the Dallas Times Herald, and Bob Schieffer, a young reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and now host of CBS's "Face the Nation."
Aynesworth's book is to be published the third week in November. If it's back from the printer, he will sign copies at the meeting.
* Time & date: mingling 1 p.m., eats 1:30, program at 2 Saturday, Nov. 22
* Place: ballroom cantina at Joe T. Garcia's Mexican food restaurant, 2201 N. Commerce St.
* Cost: $13 members, $18 nonmembers, $5 students; cash bar; just to hear the program -- free
* Menu: Joe T.'s family-style enchilada dinner
* RSVP: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com
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STRAIGHT STUFF
The Network of Hispanic Communicators, led by new officers Cynthia Lyons-Garcia, president; Krista Villareal, vice president-broadcast; Roxie Ramirez, secretary; and Carmen Garcia, treasurer, will hold its first planning committee meeting for the 2005 NAHJ convention in Fort Worth at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Star-Telegram Northeast office, 3201 Airport Freeway, Suite 108, Bedford. ... The Fort Worth and Dallas IABC chapters will link arms and yodel the night away at a mixer Thursday, Oct. 30, 6-8 p.m. at GameWorks at Grapevine Mills Mall. Register at dallasiabc.com. ...
It's not too late to get on board the Bob Schieffer bus at Abilene Christian University. The CBS "Face the Nation" anchor will speak at noon Tuesday, Nov. 4, in the Teague Special Events Center. Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of ACU's journalism and mass communication department, made the high bid at the 2002 SPJ National Convention in Fort Worth to have Schieffer drop by and chat. He will do a book signing and speak to classes, in addition to addressing the luncheon. Mail $15 per ticket to Box 27892, ACU, Abilene 79699. ...
Two free audio conferences in November run the interest range from women entrepreneurs to small businesses. "Getting Certified: The How's and Why's," taught for women business owners by Susan Bari, president of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5. "Highly Effective Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Small to Mid-Size Businesses" is at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20. Participants will be e-mailed a phone number and a pass code. More at principal.com/womeninbiz/teleclass_schedule.htm or from Michelle Swanda at swanda.michelle@principal.com. ...
Those of you who'd give anything to read just one more time of Sadie the Psycho Dog can acquire the whole catalog in "The Dog of My Nightmares: Stories by Texas Columnist Dave Lieber." You get 90 stories in 13 chapters on family, friends, foes, Sept. 11, education, unforgettable Texans and, yes, the signature pooch. Lieber will sign copies at the Grapevine Barnes & Noble on Saturday, Nov. 22. Part of each $12.95 goes to the Humane Society of North Texas. More at yankeecowboy.com.
SPJ national update: Cloudy FOI skies, and if you don't see it, it didn't happen. The Transportation Security Administration is muzzling debate of security initiatives by making too many policies and reports off-limits to the public, according to pilots, flight attendants and consumer advocates. The agency labels documents and details of programs as "security sensitive" far more often than the Federal Aviation Administration did. The FAA oversaw air security before the TSA, which was created after the terrorist attacks in 2001. More here. ... Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried about the public seeing the flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases. The Bush administration has a solution: don't let anything be seen. In March, on the eve of the Iraq war, a Pentagon directive banned news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings: "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base. ... " Ramstein and Dover are the major ports for the returning remains. More here.
SPJ national update II: Fair and jaundiced, and eek, another leak. Regular viewers of the Fox News Channel are nearly four times as likely to hold demonstrably untrue views on the war in Iraq as media consumers who rely on National Public Radio or the Public Broadcasting System, according to a study by a research center affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. "When evidence surfaces that a significant portion of the public has just got a hole in the picture ... this is a potential problem in the way democracy functions," said Clay Ramsay, research director for the Washington-based Program on International Policy Attitudes. ... Joseph L. Galloway and James Kuhnhenn, in the Oct. 16 Philadelphia Inquirer: Concerned about the appearance of disarray within his administration as well as growing resistance to his policies in Iraq, President Bush, living up to his recent declaration that he is in charge, told his top officials to "stop the leaks" to the media, or else. News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately.
SPJ national update III: Oh, those wacky college students. More than 3,000 copies of the Oct. 9 Exponent student newspaper disappeared from the University of Wisconsin at Platteville campus. And a Texas A&M at Kingsville student returned nearly 3,000 copies of that school's paper, the South Texan, after they were stolen from campus distribution points. An acquaintance of Melissa Diaz, the reigning Ms. Texas A&M University at Kingsville, allegedly took the papers to suppress a story about Diaz being charged with contributing to the intoxication of minors at a party. And for the second time in a week, the U. of Central Florida newspaper was swiped from campus racks. Brian Linden, publisher of The Future, let slide the incident Oct. 9. Then sports editor Ashley Burns witnessed the second theft Oct. 16, and the cops were called. ... Hampton U. and the editors of its student newspaper reached a compromise after the university confiscated the Oct. 23 issue of the Hampton Script because a letter from Acting President JoAnn Haysbert concerning cafeteria health code violations did not run on the front page as she had requested. "We didn't print something where they wanted it," said Hampton Script editor Talia Buford, "and they took the papers away." The editorial staff changed course Oct. 24 and agreed to print the disputed piece on p. 1. In exchange, university officials promised to abide by the recommendations of a task force that will be established to determine the role of the student newspaper at the school. At least two grant sources to Hampton's journalism school had considered withdrawing support over the incident. ... Allegations of sexual harassment among staffers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas paper resulted in the majority of Rebel Yell editors being put on probation. The angry students told the paper's advisory board that they have been kept in the dark about the investigation. Managing editor Ellen Kominsky said a former co-worker harassed her in late September. She said the incident started as a joke. ... After reading an article in the Virginia Tech paper about "Sex Talk Live," a popular campus talk show featuring those crowd pleasers the fake orgasm and sex-position charades, Virginia House of Delegates member Robert G. Marshall decided to investigate. He objected to the Sept. 24 show's contests and prizes, which included sex toys. The show was held in front of a live audience of about 500 students and was subsequently broadcast exclusively on the campus cable system -- after it was edited.
SPJ national update IV: FOI in the heartland, and police trickery in El Paso. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently signed two pieces of legislation designed to strengthen the state's FOI laws. The first requires that a verbatim record be kept of executive closed sessions. Only judges may review the record, and it is not subject to discovery in any proceedings other than those brought to enforce the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The other bill lets a court award costs and attorney fees to plaintiffs who prove that a public body illegally withheld materials sought by FOI Act requests. ... Perjury cases decided in August revealed details of how an El Paso internal affairs investigator tried to provoke the El Paso Times and KVIA-TV to use the state's Public Records Act to catch suspected police whistleblowers. Lt. David Norman arranged for the officers to learn of a fictitious investigation, hoping to provoke an FOIA request. The fake story triggered no requests, and the two officers were never charged with leaking information. The three-year investigation ended when a state appellate court judge ordered perjury charges against the officers dropped.
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College Journalism: Not Everyone Waits 'Til Noon to Call
by Tyler Tamplin
While some local j-programs are eager for new faces in their ranks, others barely have space to spare, four publications professionals told the October SPJ meeting in a wide-ranging discussion of the financial, political and educational issues facing college journalism.
Adviser Amy Keen said recruits are hard to come by at the Texas Wesleyan University Rambler, with students having to hold other jobs in a lackluster economy. Across town at TCU, restricted class sizes and a limited number of lab computers eliminate the need for vigorous recruiting. Even so, the program offers four -- full -- concentrations in journalism. Dr. Tommy Thomason, journalism department chair: "We are maxed out in everything we do right now in our sequences."
With his classes packed, Thomason took his show on the road. Aided by Fort Worth SPJ, TCU's Fort Worth Journalism Project assists high school newspaper students and their teachers. Few programs like it exist in the country. Likewise, at SMU, Tony Pederson said the program takes pride in emphasizing "convergence media" -- all of its journalism majors take print, radio and broadcast courses.
All well and good, thought UTA Student Publications director Lloyd Goodman, while knowing that in his car outside was the plaque from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association's 2003 convention in Corpus Christi proclaiming the UTA paper, The Shorthorn, "Best Overall Newspaper" in TIPA's Division I.
Energy and innovation are more in demand than ever after the recent state funding cuts in higher education. Goodman's program, which is separate from the academic side, receives student service fees but otherwise must be self-sustaining through ad sales. "We're looking for places to cut, like everyone else," he said.
Educationally, the panelists agreed that a balance between the craft of journalism and its academic study must be maintained, although grade slippage among their top workers is not uncommon. "I look at it that it's not just experience or a degree -- it's both," Goodman said.
Concerning administrator oversight of their product, the panelists took an anecdotal approach to explaining some of the pressure that can affect the student press. Goodman recalled how the former UTA president would read The Shorthorn early in the morning and often fire off a wake-up call with points of contention.
Keen related an instance where a press release was submitted with instructions that it appear in the Rambler in full, and she had to explain that the material would run based on merit, not edict. She predicted that a column criticizing a new Wesleyan billboard campaign would draw more administrative ire.
None of the panelists expressed concern with throughtful feedback. "The problem is not that I hear too much from the administration," Thomason said, "but that I hear too little."
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PEOPLE & PLACES
Working individually and in teams, 14 Star-Telegram staff members -- Jennifer Autrey, Jen Friedberg, Mark Horvit, Delia Jaloma, Ralph Lauer, Dave Lieber, Andrew Marton, Tim Madigan, Rodger Mallison, former staff writer Miles Moffeit, Tom Pennington, W. Matt Pinkney, Jeffery Washington and Steve Wilson -- took home 12 Katie Awards, including one for best major market newspaper, in the 45th annual Press Club of Dallas competition. Fort Worth Weekly staffers Gayle Reaves-King and Dan McGraw each snagged a Katie, and Betty Brink pocketed (briefcased?) two. Bill Thompson and Shannon Canard at the Fort Worth Business Press won a Katie, as did UTA Shorthorn exes Tom Fox and Dean Hollingsworth at The Dallas Morning News. ...
As the new secretary of the National Conference of Editorial Writers, Star-Telegram senior editorial writer and columnist J.R. Labbe is on track to be president of the organization in four years. Tommy Denton was president in 1995 while at the Star-T. Few papers have had two NCEW presidents. ... Opinions editor Bob Davis has been elected president of the Association of Opinion Page Editors. ... The Star-T's Sonny Bohanan has been accepted to the Hechinger Institute's November seminar for editors and supervisors. ...
Larry Fitzgerald has retired as public information manager at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and would return to Fort Worth for a bit of flackery with the right company. He helped develop many of TDCJ's media policies and represented the agency in countless high-stress situations. Before joining TDCJ in 1995, he was a partner in Texas Independent News, which produced video releases for state agencies such as the Texas Department of Commerce and the Texas Film Commission. He spent 12 years as communications director for the State Bar of Texas and was a reporter or news director at radio and TV stations in Fort Worth, Dallas, Waco and Austin. Reach him through jdycus@attbi.com. ...
Area journalism students and their advisers have major roles this month at the biggest college media convention in the world, the 2,500-attendees Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Advisers gathering at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion. In addition to chairing the critiques committee, TCU adviser Robert Bohler will lead a panel, "Ghosts of Advisers Past," on being compared to one's predecessors. UTA publications director Lloyd Goodman will lead or moderate six sessions and coordinate others planned by the CMA student leadership committee, which he chairs, while adviser Chris Whitley will head a session on goal-setting for new advisers. Ron Bland and Tom Ingram from the UTA Communication Department have been tapped for broadcast sessions. UTA Shorthorn exes on the program include Noel Gross, Tom Fox, Tom Pennington and Linda P. Campbell. UNT's Carmen Mitchell will be on a panel discussing state college journalism associations, ad coordinator Kay Colley will present "Creating Effective Sales Teams," and UNT Daily editor Brian Stimson is set to be on a newsroom leadership panel. More on the convention at studentpress.org/acpdallas/index.html.
Baby daze! Star-Telegram Northeast page designer Cheryl Neely and husband Chris welcomed brown-haired Hayden Henry Neely at 10:11 a.m. Oct. 17.
Kudos & Contracts ... They're all on the record at Witherspoon. The firm has been selected as marketing agency of record for the North Texas Lung & Sleep Clinic, an affiliate of Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas, and as advertising/PR agency of record for the redevelopment by TLC Realty Advisors of the former Bank One Tower into an upscale condominium community. The 35-story building is being trumpeted as the tallest mixed-use development in the area and one of the tallest in the Southwest. A prominent fixture on the downtown skyline, it was largely destroyed by a tornado in March 2000.
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GET A JOB
A communications manager is needed at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, for 36 years a major stop on the PGA Tour and the tour's most successful charity money-raiser. Big budget ($550,000+), big output (more than 40 printed pieces, including sponsor brochure, program, badges, tickets and parking passes), and you get to hang out (OK, even if it's just lunch) with a supreme gentleman, Byron Nelson. Every duty you think you'll have, you will. Every skill you think you need, you do. The 500-strong Salesmanship Club of Dallas supports programs for at-risk and troubled children and their families. Its major source of funds is the Nelson meet. Contact Janie Henderson at jhenderson@scdallas.org. ... A business writer is needed to analyze focus groups -- sizes from 600 to 6,000 -- on customer service, corporate communications, productivity, human relations and diversity. Send writing samples to jean@commsolvinc.com. ...
Belcan TechServices in Dallas needs two 14-month, $25-per-hour marketing contract hires to help launch a product. Marketing degree or 2-4 years experience required. Responsibilities/skills include e-newsletter preparation, entering Web tickets, Lotus Notes entry, survey execution and analysis, Web tracking, focus group recruiting and event planning. Contact Michele Wallace, (972) 239-0405 or mwallace@tech.belcan.com. ... Trinity Public Relations in Addison seeks a junior account executive, 1-3 years experience primarily with developing media lists, editorial calendars, etc. "Looking for someone who's comfortable doing that kind of work as well as some media pitching. No set salary -- depends on the candidate." Contact Tony Katsulos, katsulos@trinity-pr.com.
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NEW MEMBERS
PRSA ... Janice McCoy, UNT ... Sundee Christopher, Texas Bank
IABC ... Betsy Boyett, city of Southlake ... Viqui Litman, Tarrant Area Food Bank ... Julie Neal, Bedford Historical Foundation ... Denny Pelham, ExactTarget in Carrollton ... Laura Watkins, National Semiconductor, Arlington
SPJ ... Dawn Reiss, freelance writer
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COMINGS & GOINGS
Promotions ... Kristin Sullivan, to city editor in the Star-Telegram Northeast newsroom ... Josh Shaffer, who most recently wrote about the decline of showers in schools, to the Northeast features department ... also in the Northeast bureau, long-time music writer Dave Ferman to general assignments with a features emphasis
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RESOURCES
Indianz.com, based on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, covers Native American news. A frequently updated front page provides summaries and linked headlines to reports from federal agencies, the U.S. and assorted state legislatures, the court system and local reservations nationwide.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Roger Partridge, Greater Fort Worth PRSA
What a super year of programs we've had! And Heather Senter, APR, has pulled another great one out of her magician's hat by inviting Thomas W. Hoog for Nov. 12. Mr. Hoog also is chairman of PRSA's Counselors Section and has been recognized by PR Week as one of the 100 most influential PR practitioners of the 20th century. Don't miss the opportunity to hear this outstanding public relations leader.
As I write this, delegates Kim Speairs, APR, and Kristie Aylett, APR, are leaving for New Orleans for the PRSA Assembly. The annual business meeting will be Oct. 25, followed by the international conference. President-elect Pamela Smith will represent the chapter at the conference and Southwest district meeting.
More good times, wrapped in a flour tortilla. Approximately 20 members of Greater Fort Worth PRSA and students from the PRSSA chapter at TCU met for happy hour at Blue Mesa Grill on Oct. 16. Another mixer is planned for the spring.
The December meeting has a different look this year, and you'll be pleased. Instead of an evening party that's difficult for many to attend, the meeting will be a luncheon with a refreshing format. Same time and place as our regular meetings -- 11:30 a.m. at the Petroleum Club -- but instead of a presentation we will leisurely network and share PR stories. Remember to save Wednesday, Dec. 10, for this special time. More info next month.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Lori De La Cruz, IABC/Fort Worth
Have you been wanting to improve your networking skills, give your business card a workout, explore a new job opportunity? Try the Fort Worth and Dallas IABC speed-networking fetê. We'll stretch our networking muscles Thursday, Oct. 30, at GameWorks in Grapevine Mills Mall (across from the movie theater entrance) from 6 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to anyone wishing to cavort with the IABC crowd. RSVP at dallasiabc.com. Bring lots of business cards and/or resumés.
Then be sure to join us on IABC Tuesday, Nov. 4, as Jeff Crilley from Fox 4 News tells us how to get free publicity for an organization. Daily news-gathering has given Jeff special insight into what the press covers and why. And thank you to former Mayor Kenneth Barr for an insightful look last month into his tenure at City Hall.
Check out IABC/Fort Worth's Web site for up-to-date information and upcoming events. And remember, IABC Tuesday is now the first Tuesday of every month. Hope to see you there!
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Three cheers and some fried mozzarella to UNT's Tyler Tamplin for writing up the October meeting when the designated scribe didn't show. Somebody hire this guy when he graduates. And a long-stemmed glass of aged vino for the Zeqiri family -- Giovanni, Karen and their two sons -- for opening their restaurant for us on a Monday, when they're usually closed. Giovanni's Italian Restaurant, three-tenths of a mile north of I-30 in the Ridgmar Square shopping center, offers great food (if one night's a test) in a comfortable, elegant setting. The little place is hidden in plain sight beside a liquor store but worth the effort to find. ...
Our friend Frank Perkins is in rally mode after suffering a stroke Oct. 3 that impaired his ability to read and write. Following rehab, he expects to move into an apartment at Lakewood Village, 5100 Randol Mill Road, Fort Worth 76112. The food will be the best he has had in years, the workers think he's neat, and there should be a fresh round of folks to regale with his outrageous stories of combat and the human condition. This ain't a nursing home, it's Club Frank. Bill Teeter has dropped by; follow his lead. Saturdays are best for a visit, and call ahead. Or send Frank a card and tell him to hand-write you back. It'll be good for his brain. ...
The recent death of former County Commissioner B.D. Griffin brings to mind that he was the first non-journalist/SPJ member invited to perform in a Gridiron Show. He played "Orange Blossom Special," if Verlie Edwards' memory serves, on a fiddle held on top of his head. Thanks, Verlie. Thanks, B.D.
Closing words: "Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. ... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up." -- Rush Limbaugh on his short-lived TV show Oct. 5, 1995 ... "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that only happens every so often." -- Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss describing his over-the-shoulder, no-look lateral to teammate Moe Williams for a touchdown Oct. 19 in a game against Denver