March 2003
One superb newswoman and a soft touch for cats ...
MADELINE CRIMMINS WILLIAMS, 1915-2003
Madeline Williams was a tough interviewer and a fast writer. She was brash and pushy, pleasant and upbeat, raucous and sympathetic, fiercely competitive in pursuit of a story. She made an impression.
"She was everything you would expect in a woman who had to succeed in the man's world of post-World War II journalism. My respect grew for her every day," colleague Frank Perkins recalled of the Fort Worth journalist and historian, who died Feb. 3. Added AP/Star-Telegram writer Mike Cochran: "Madeline was simply a sweetheart, and a richly talented one to boot. She and Mack were two of those increasingly rare individuals who make journalism such fun."
That would be Mack Williams, her husband of 48 years. They met at the Star-Telegram, she a young UT Austin graduate covering City Hall and general assignments, he the Courthouse reporter. They honeymooned in New Orleans, a hurricane hit the city, and they immediately went to work covering the storm.
Writing about a hurricane proved good practice for owning the Fort Worth News Tribune, a highly respected and influential weekly that covered Tarrant County politics, government and business. The couple also wrote a column, "In Old Fort Worth," that was later compiled into a book that's still in print today.
After they sold the News Tribune in 1986, Mrs. Williams continued to freelance. The couple received TCU's Ethics in Journalism award in 1994, and the Tarrant County Historical Society honored Mrs. Williams in 2002 for contributions to the documentation of Tarrant County history.
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MEETINGS
Next at IABC/Fort Worth ...
Brand It: How to Make Your Company
Stand Out from the Competition
A strong corporate brand can better help a company present its offerings to the marketplace. Brand strategies specialist Mary Lynn Coyle, a former corporate communications vice president for the AMR subsidiary Sabre, will provide an overview of corporate branding at the March meeting and identify the components critical to creating communications that differentiate.
Coyle has directed projects in more than 20 countries, and her programs have won almost 50 international, national and local communications awards. After the luncheon, she will lead a 90-minute workshop on how to:
+ Identify what makes a company different.
+ Make branding decisions based on that differentiation.
+ Align communications with the branding decisions.
* Time, date: lunch 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., workshop 1:30-3 p.m. Tuesday, March 11
* 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: lunch $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students, workshop $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $12 students
* RSVP by noon March 7: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com
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Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ...
Prying Open the Box: the Power of Intelligence
Dee Smith, CEO of Fort Worth-based Strategic Insight Group, an intelligence company that works regionally, nationally and internationally, will provide a briefing this month on what intelligence is, how this "deep research" differs from standard research and how it can be applied to public relations. With so much information and data in the world today -- but less understanding -- he will explain ways to find patterns that can be applied to business strategies.
The emerging field of corporate intelligence utilizes the same tools and techniques as used by government intelligence agencies. Smith has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of research disciplines, and SIG clients range from Fortune 500 companies to private equity investors to the Defense Department.
* Time, date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, March 12
* 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: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students
* RSVP by noon March 10: Glenda Thompson, glendat@nawic.org
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Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...
Back by Popular Demand: Browsing Brows
Back by Popular Demand: Browsing Brows
and Perusing the Imperfect Smile
One of the most interesting presenters in chapter program history and a standing-room-only draw at the 2002 SPJ National Convention is back for more at the March meeting. Author and lecturer Mac Fulfer, a former trial lawyer who began studying faces for jury selection, will teach the basics of interpreting the real message behind the spoken word -- a vital skill for writers and anyone who does business face to face.
He will explain how the subtle differences between the right and left halves of a face can reveal a person's decision-making tendencies and whether she is likely to be swayed by emotion or fact. And that's just for starters. After the meeting, Fulfer and colleague Ann Marks will do personalized readings of faces in the crowd.
* Date: Thursday, March 13
* Time: mingling 5:30 p.m., dinner 6, program 6:30
* Place: Longhorn Room in the Stockyards Hotel, 109 E. Exchange Ave.
* Cost: $5 students, $11 members, $15 nonmembers; free valet parking
* Menu: choice of grilled rainbow trout, spit-roasted chicken, or 6-ounce sirloin with two enchiladas, all served with salad, bread and beverage; cash bar
* RSVP: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com
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STRAIGHT STUFF
All kinds of talent -- authors, teachers, editors, seasoned reporters and one certified word wizard -- will headline the joint SPJ Region 8 conference and Investigative Reporters and Editors workshop April 4 and 5 in Norman, Okla., on the university campus. Among the players: The Dallas Morning News and Quill magazine's Paula LaRocque (the aforementioned wizard), author of "Championship Writing: 50 Ways to Improve Your Writing"; Tony Hillerman, a former city editor and j-professor and author of more than 30 books; 25-year newspaperman Tim Morris, New Orleans Times-Picayune state/political editor; UT Austin senior lecturer Dave Garlock on the art of interviewing; journalism veteran Karen Dunlap, managing director of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies; and IRE head trainer Ron Nixon, formerly with The Roanoke (Va.) Times, who holds numerous reporting awards, including the public service award from the Virginia Press Association. More at geocities.com/oklahomaspj, or contact Sue Hinton, (405) 682-1611 ext. 7331 or spjregion8@netscape.net. ...
The PR Consultants Special Interest Group will delve into "How to Market Your Consulting Business" from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, March 21, at Bistro Louise, 2900 S. Hulen St. Cost is $15. The group meets the third Friday of each month and is open to anyone who has a PR, marketing, design or ad business or who's thinking about starting one. Reach Nancy Farrar at (817) 937-1557 or nancyh829@aol.com. ... University of Colorado integrated marketing communications (IMC) experts Tom Duncan and Sandra Moriarty will lead a morning workshop Wednesday, April 9, at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center on the TCU campus, 2820 Stadium Drive, on implementing an IMC program and how PR, advertising and marketing practitioners can work together effectively. Dr. Duncan, founder of the university's IMC graduate program, and Dr. Moriarty teach at UC and have authored several books, including one together, "Driving Brand Value: Using Integrated Marketing to Manage Profitable Stakeholder Relationships." The seminar, sponsored by the TCU Journalism Department, TCU Research and Creative Activities Fund, and Greater Fort Worth PRSA, precedes the PRSA monthly luncheon. Registration begins at 8 a.m.; costs are, for the seminar, $30 for members of PRSA, IABC, SPJ and the Ad Club, $35 nonmembers and $6 students; for the seminar and lunch combined, $50 members, $60 nonmembers and $17 students. RSVP: Glenda Thompson, (817) 877-5551, glendat@nawic.org. ... Also at the Kelly alumni center, PRSA members will judge the Central Michigan PRSA chapter's PACE awards from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 11. Contact Marc Flake by March 7 at (817) 884-2535 or mflake@tarrantcounty.com. For those with an APR, judging counts toward retaining accreditation. Categories and judging criteria are similar to the national PRSA Silver Anvil Awards; more at cmprsa.org. ...
Internationally known communications trainer Ann Wylie will explore "Revving Up Readership" and how to "Cut Through the Clutter" at a half-day workshop Tuesday, June 3, in College Station sponsored by IABC Brazos Valley. Wylie is a former editor of the executive magazine Ingram's and has written for publications ranging from Business Week to Chainsaw Age. A journalism master's graduate of the University of Kansas, she is the author of more than a dozen manuals and handbooks on writing and communication. More at iabc-bv.org or from Leanne South, ABC, lsouth@tamu.edu. ...
SPJ national update: Pulling the trigger on gun records, and refusing to play it even the first time, Sam. The $397.4 billion Treasury Department budget includes a tiny but volatile prohibition against disclosing gun owner data held by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The data has been ordered disclosed to the city of Chicago by the U.S. Court of Appeals there (7th Circuit) in a case that the federal government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and is scheduled for oral argument March 4. Chicago officials say they need the information to track guns used in crimes. The government insists that releasing it would interfere with law enforcement and, by identifying them, "intrude upon the privacy" of the gun sellers and owners. SPJ and other journalism groups have filed a friend-of-the-court brief pointing out that this information is used to show how illegal guns end up with criminals and that the public has a strong interest in keeping the databases open. ... The Defense Department has produced a 22-minute video on handling Freedom of Information Act requests. But don't ask for a screening; the video itself is secret. "It seems ironic, very ironic," says Mike Ravnitzky, a writer for American Lawyer magazine who sought the video in November. It contains excerpts from newscasts and movies, including "Casablanca," that cannot be shown without permission from their owners, said Henry McIntyre, FOIA director for the Defense Department, citing the act's trade secret exemption. According to a description on the scriptwriter's Web site, the video follows a character named Trench Coat through the ins and outs of FOI. The department has shown the video internally, McIntyre said, and is trying to get permission from copyright holders, "dotting our i's and crossing our t's." Charles Davis, executive director of the Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri: "This is just such a perfect anecdotal example of what goes on every day all over the country when people make requests for things that are so obviously not secret and then are rejected."
SPJ national update II: Lou Grant wouldn't stand for this, and roll Tide! The mayor of Minneapolis (a former journalist) is determined to approve all police contacts with the media, and that stifles dissent and impedes the flow of information to the public, SPJ asserts. Last month, he had the police public information officer begin reporting to city communications director Gail Plewacki rather than police chief Robert Olson, a change that spurred the police spokeswoman to resign. "Of all people, Mayor R.T. Rybak ought to know better," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune groused in an editorial. "An erstwhile reporter, publisher and activist, he certainly knows public institutions work best in the sunlight. ... Is the fellow who promised to throw open the doors of City Hall now scrambling to close all the shutters?" ... In contrast, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has told his Cabinet members that public records should be released promptly on request, with no need for approval from Riley's legal staff unless there are questions of law. "Governor Riley said he was going to start a new day in Alabama, and a new day begins with sunshine," press secretary David Azbell said Feb. 6. Under Riley's predecessor, Gov. Don Siegelman, media requests for public records were for a short time routed to Siegelman's press office for approval by his legal adviser. That policy followed an exchange in July 2001 between the press office and Mobile Register reporter Eddie Curran, whose investigative reporting raised questions about how Siegelman's administration handled state funds. The Republican Riley narrowly won last year following a campaign in which he targeted ethics questions surrounding Siegelman, a Democrat.
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It All Ads Up for GCG
GCG won Best of Show, a Special Judges Award and was the top winner overall -- 12 gold awards, eight silvers and seven bronzes -- in the 2002 Advertising Club of Fort Worth Addy Awards, the annual competition of the local advertising community. Blanchard Schaefer Advertising in Arlington also received a Special Judges Award, as well as six gold and four silver Addys.
Other top winners were Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations -- five gold, four silver, 10 bronze; Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. -- four gold, nine silver, two bronze; Circle R Group, the internal ad agency for RadioShack Corp. -- three gold, five silver, seven bronze; and Maverick Advertising and Public Relations -- three gold, three silver, five bronze. Twenty-one student awards were presented, selected from 53 entries. TCU's David Elizalde won a student Best of Show.
Also winning gold Addys: Immotion Studios, the LaChapelle Agency, Arlington Memorial Hospital, the Balcom Agency, BestFares.com, Concussion, Design Works Studio, Foreman & Resnick Advertising, Team Media & Marketing, fusion29/visual communication, Lockheed Martin, McCormick Co., Murray Brown Creative, Pinkerton Design, Robeegraffix Advertising Design, the Star-Telegram and TCU Publications.
In addition to the Best of Show and two Special Judges Awards, 168 Addys went to 31 agencies and companies in a variety of categories. There were 604 entries. Gold Addy winners go to the District 10 judging April 9-12 in Little Rock, Ark. Winners there advance to the national competition June 4-7 in Los Angeles.
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All the News That's Fit to Share
by Brenda Davis
The Bible preaches it. Moms teach it. Now newsrooms have discovered it. It's convergence, a high-tech word for sharing, that unites three news commodities -- television, newspapers and radio.
Citing competition from the Internet and other media sources, Dallas Morning News managing editor Stu Wilk told SPJ members in February that his newspaper and its Belo counterpart, WFAA-TV, began sharing information and resources three years ago. He noted that not every story warrants collaboration. "We continue to compete with Channel 8," he said. "We still want the exclusive."
In a lively exchange at the euphonious Booger Red's inside the H3 Ranch restaurant, DMN Fort Worth bureau reporter Laurie Fox said sharing with the TV station or the paper's Web operation makes her life easier, but she shares only enough to get a good story. "We are not about to hand over the Rolodex," she said. "We keep our sources. I guess it's really about respect."
WFAA-TV Fort Worth bureau chief Barbara Griffith said building a relationship between the television and print newsrooms took time. "When I started at WFAA, we didn't talk to people at the Morning News," she said. "The buildings share a parking lot, but we walked past each other without speaking."
John Silva, Star-Telegram deputy managing editor, said his newsroom's relationship with NBC affiliate Channel 5 is still evolving. They share budgets every afternoon, and he tries to give the station value-added information. "But we don't want to put a story out too early," he said. "Anything prior to 10 p.m. could give the competition a scoop."
Newsroom convergence is not problem-free. Wilk said sharing information on election night can be problematic because the systems are so different. NBC 5 news director Steve Moffett said TV is more concerned with the time element. Silva agreed.
"On election night this year, Channel 5 had a camera in our newsroom," Silva said. "The only problem was, they wanted to talk to our ace when we wanted him to be working on his story."
Wilk doesn't foresee an immediate merging of newsrooms. While future journalism students will need proficiency in both reporting styles, he said, specialized reporting is still necessary.
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PEOPLE & PLACES
Mike Wilie has been named chairman and chief executive officer at Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations. He formerly was executive vice president. A UT Austin graduate who also serves on the board of Kids Who Care, Wilie will continue to oversee the account service and media functions as well as spearhead the business and operations aspects of the agency. UTA graduate and 10-year Witherspoon veteran Debra Morrow, named agency president in 1999, will remain in charge of the agency's creative and brand development/ research services. Wilie joined Witherspoon in 1976 as a runner and rose through the ranks. He is the second chairman and CEO in the agency's 57-year history, following Roger Rienstra, who died in October. ...
Star-Telegram Arlington writer Tony Spangler has received an expenses-paid minority fellowship to the Investigative Reporters and Editors computer-assisted reporting boot camp at the University of Missouri, March 23-28. Painting with a different brush, Star-T Northeast staff photographer Jen Friedberg was a featured artist at the "Local Painters and Photographer Series" exhibit Feb. 22 at the Summit Climbing Gym in Grapevine. ...
David Porter, PR director at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, returned from Christmas break wearing a wedding ring. He married a longtime friend who lives in Idaho with her daughters, ages 10, 8, 6 and 4. The Porters may settle in Idaho, although he hopes Robyn and the girls can move to Fort Worth. They'll know in a few weeks. ... Proud second-time granddaddy Frank Perkins proclaims the arrival of Sarah Michelle Cox, born to daughter Laura and husband Steve Cox on Feb. 18. Little Sarah's sister Miranda is 4. Never one to shield his emotions, Frank reports that he's ecstatic: "I 'be quietly proud,' as Pogo would say." ...
Generation Ex legend Delbert Bailey (ex-Gridiron star/ ex-chapter prez/ex-Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo PR guy) sends his best from West, Texas, where he has a new address: P.O. Box 421, 76691-0421. He writes that he's establishing a museum and karaoke club in the yard of a retirement home. "Should be completed this spring. and there's gonna be a hell of a party. Will keep you posted." Suspiciously slipping into third person (Richard Nixon did the same thing), he adds: "Delbert also plans to complete a history book he's about half through with, and do some more. He is a history nut, you know." ...
Mahmoud Belhimer, a reporter for El-khabar, the first independent and largest-circulating newspaper in Algeria, is concluding his Star-Telegram stay as a Freedom House Visiting Fellow. Hosted by Kathy Vetter and members of the enterprise team, he has spent a month plumbing the nuances of investigative journalism, with emphasis on media ethics and how U.S. journalists cover human rights and civil liberty issues. Freedom House is a Washington-based nonprofit organization that promotes economic and political freedom worldwide.
Kudos & Contracts ... Scott Mitchell of the Star-Telegram Northeast copy desk won the Texas Daily Newspaper Association's prestigious John Murphy Award for 2002. The judges called Mitchell "an excellent copy editor, an across-the-board stalwart in behalf of his newspaper and its readers." Competition included copy editors from all the large newspapers in the state. Tim Sager, Star-Telegram Fort Worth copy desk chief, and Carmelita Bevill, now a part-time S-T FW copy editor, also have won the award. ... Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations has formed an alliance with NEXTMedia, a Dallas-based "best-of-breed" media planning and buying agency with clients in the restaurant, retail, pharmaceutical, industrial and automotive industries.
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COMINGS & GOINGS
Additions ... at the S-T: San Antonio native Matt Swartz, copy editor, previously with the Abilene Reporter-News ... Melissa McAdoo, originally from Austin, also new to the copy desk after serving in the Bush White House as an editor in the correspondence office ... Northwestern U. grad Heather Landy, business reporter covering the retail industry; she arrives from Bloomberg News, where she worked 5 1/2 years in Chicago and New York covering department stores and major discounters, corporate finance and the bond market
Exits ... at the S-T: Michelle Romonek, leaving to become accounting director for the Knight Ridder paper in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Promotions ... at the S-T: Stephanie Hensley, moving from the accounting department to editorial financial director ... Stephanie Owen, new editorial operations manager for the downtown newsroom
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GOOD READING
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" /
Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter, C.P.A. / Little, Brown
Personal-finance author and lecturer Kiyosaki developed his economic perspective from two very different influences. His father was highly educated but fiscally poor. His best friend's father was an eighth-grade dropout who became a self-made multimillionaire. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by Kiyosaki's "poor dad" pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad." Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad":
+ Explodes the myth that it takes a big income to be rich.
+ Challenges the belief that your house is an asset.
+ Defines once and for all an asset versus a liability
+ and what to teach your kids about money.
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RESOURCES
The Internet originated with the government -- mandated by the Defense Department in the late 1960s -- so it's only fitting, perhaps, that one of the best new portals for scientific data should come from Uncle Sam. Science.gov is a gateway to science information, including research results, provided by assorted federal agencies. A spin-off of the FirstGov.com site, Science.gov enables searches of technical reports, journal articles, press releases and more. A detailed, no-nonsense introductory page provides direct links to a dozen broad categories of material.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Patrick Grady, IABC/Fort Worth
Early-bird deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, April 4 (and the final deadline four days after that), for IABC/Fort Worth's signature competition, the Bronze Quill Awards. The trophy's been redesigned and is quite spiffy. Every entry earns a professional critique. What's not to like?
Pick a category, any category, from among special events/meetings, corporate identity program, writing, communication programs/campaigns, graphic design, magazines, Web site, photography, intranet, annual reports, best improved publication, one-time publications, direct mail campaigns, newsletters, advertising/public service announcements and e-newsletters. Check it out -- iabcfortworth.com/2003%20Call%20for%20Entries.pdf -- then send it in. We'll make you a star.
But first we'll make you smarter. Better networked, too. Come to the next meeting and learn everything you need to know about branding from communications expert Mary Lynn Coyle. We're not talking cattle here.
And the meeting would be when? March 11, IABC Tuesday! You knew it all along.
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Our March meeting with Mac Fulfer and Ann Marks is a tour-de-face of interest to everyone within range and not just newspeople. PRSA and IABC, you're especially invited. Maybe Mac will discuss the earmarks of a sociopath, illustrated by stunning before (yearbook photo) and after (shackled, with U.S. marshals) shots of Timothy McVeigh -- as the mass murderer's soul imploded, the shape of his face changed. Creepy, and fascinating. ... More serious (not to be confused with somber) business: First referenced in the December issue, the TCU-SPJ Fort Worth High School Journalism Workshop, set for late April, should be a doozy. SPJ's Larry Lutz, Gayle Reaves-King, Mark Horvit, Penny Cockerell, Kay Pirtle, Dorothy Estes, Dino Chiecchi, Gary Hardee and me; TCU's Tommy Thomason, Rix Quinn and Bill Slater; and five lively teachers -- Amy Nelson, South Hills; Crisa Renteria, Paschal; Megan Cox, Southwest; Susan Odette-Parma, Eastern Hills; and Rebecca Jozwiak, North Side -- bounced enough ideas around Joe T. Garcia's recently to fill a retreat, much less a Saturday. Details forthcoming. If you can't stand everyone else having all the fun, contact Larry (larrylutz@yahoo.com), and he'll put you to work. ...
Robert Leger's Jan. 18 "SPJ News / President's Report," e-mailed to everyone for whom national has an accurate address, is outstanding, a detailed update on FOI victories, stands taken, even a membership increase (the roster is approaching 10,000 again). Of reports like this, Robert writes: "Expect to see more." Send an e-mail to new membership coordinator Kevin Schweikher at kschweikher@hq.spj.org if you're not on the distribution list and you want to be. And you do. ...
Helen Thomas update. More outspoken with each passing millennium, the ageless White House reporter now terms George W. Bush the "worst president in all of American history" and gives her e-mail address (helent@hearstdc.com) so anyone can "call her out." A Hearst News Service columnist ("I censored myself for 50 years when I was a reporter"), she's equally passionate about passive journalists who by "capitulating" to the president's tactics are helping create a sense that war with Iraq is inevitable. "They're rolling over and playing dead, as are politicians," she said to applause from many in attendance at the 50th anniversary dinner of Louisville SPJ on Feb. 22. "It's not our role to be cheerleaders. Follow the truth wherever it leads us and let the chips fall where they may." There's more vintage Helen here and here and a robust joust with Ari Fleischer here. ...
Quote of the month, brothel division. In debt $700 million, Nevada may tax its houses of Viagra virtue. "What are the girls going to do?" asked Geoff Arnold, president of the Nevada Brothel Association. ''Have a calculator in the room? The girls aren't the best at math."