eChaser: August 2003


	Society of Professional Journalists, Fort Worth Professional Chapter Public Relations Society of America, Greater Fort Worth Chapter International Association of Business Communicators, Fort Worth Chapter eChaser archive [graphics format] August 2003 MEETINGS Next at IABC/Fort Worth ... The Aftermath: What Your Crisis Plan Won't Tell You All crisis communication plans address how to respond when trouble strikes, but after the emergency's over, then what? In an encore of his presentation to the IABC International Conference in June, Gus Whitcomb, acting managing director of corporate communications at American Airlines, will share what happens months after the initial shock of a corporate crisis. Whitcomb will provide tips on how to prepare "Part B" for the days after; how to anticipate needs that can easily be overlooked; and simple steps to ensure ongoing communication with key audiences. This month's meeting will be on the 40th floor of Carter-Burgess Plaza and feature a table-served meal of salad, cornmeal-crusted trout entree and fruit tart for dessert. A vegetarian option is available, and that preference should accompany the RSVP. * Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5 (new first-Tuesday schedule begins) * Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St.. (40th floor for this meeting only) * Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket validated) * Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students * RSVP by noon Aug. 4: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com ----- Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ... Managing the Madness: What to Do When You're the Lead Story Across the Country "Be careful what you wish for," the adage warns, "because you might get it." Just ask Dennis Roberson and David Walker, two of the masterminds behind the media coverage of the Bank of America Colonial in May. Tournament manager Roberson, Fellow PRSA, worked with volunteer media chairman Walker to manage the onslaught of reporters covering Annika Sorenstam's history-making PGA appearance. Roberson and Walker will detail how they kept their cool in the spotlight and met the logistical demands of more than 600 local, national and international reporters. They'll also discuss their secrets for supervising a staff of volunteers. * Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13 * 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 Aug. 11: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org ----- Next at Fort Worth SPJ ... No meeting this month. Taking nap. ================================================= STRAIGHT STUFF The Silver Quill entry deadline for professional communicators' best work has been extended to Friday, Aug. 8; early-bird rates ($50 for members, $60 for nonmembers) still apply. Ask questions: Lori De La Cruz, (817) 685-1821, ldelacruz@ci.euless.tx.us. Sign up: iabcusd5.com/iabcd5silverquill.htm. ... The Dallas chapters of IABC and PRSA are promoting a spot of summer networking at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, at Trinity Hall Pub & Restaurant at Mockingbird Station. More at dallasiabc.com/. ... Southwest Airlines' Melanie Jones will draw a bead on the "Synerygy of Advertising, Marketing and PR" at the Dallas PRSA luncheon Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Park City Club, 5956 Sherry Lane. Cost is $25 for members with reservations, $35 for walk-ups and guests with reservations, $20 students. Information at prsadallas.org/calendar.html. ... Mark 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, in the Central Market community room for a discussion of "Accounting Needs for the Small Business" at the next PR Consultant's Special Interest Group meeting. The group meets the third Friday of the month; there's no charge when the meeting is at Central Market and a lunch charge otherwise. Format varies from interactive examinations of a specific topic to guest speaker presentations. To be added to the e-mail invitation list, contact Nancy Farrar at nancyh829@aol.com or (817) 937-1557. ... Application deadline is Sept. 26 for the the Soros Justice Media Fellowship to help print, radio, photography and documentary film journalists improve the coverage of incarceration and criminal justice issues. As a program of the Open Society Institute's Criminal Justice Initiative, the fellowship funds projects that further CJI's mission of reducing the over-reliance on policies of punishment and incarceration in the United States and restoring fairness to the U.S. criminal justice system. Fellows devote up to one year to research, write, produce and widely disseminate stories. Awards may hit $45,000 for full-year projects; shorter projects will be pro-rated. More at soros.org/crime. Contact program officer Kate Black at (212) 548-0170 or kblack@sorosny.org. ... The dean of liberal arts at Texas A&M has abolished the journalism department, but it will continue to function until freshman journalism majors who enroll this fall graduate. The master of science in science and technology journalism will be moved to another department. Dean Charles Johnson promised that no faculty or staff will lose their jobs and that A&M will continue to teach journalism. The department will become a program. SPJ national update: Free William Nessen. SPJ is urging the release of an American freelance journalist who was recently imprisoned in Indonesia's Aceh province. Nessen, who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe, traveled with rebels for a month before surrendering to government troops; he went on trial July 23 charged with violating immigration laws by allegedly misstating his intentions for living in the country and failing to notify authorities before traveling to conflict areas. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail. According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the prosecution says that Nessen "acted illegally by covering the guerrilla's side of the war." More at spj.org/spj_programs_intjourn.asp. SPJ national update II: FCC ruling hits roadblock. The decision likely won't survive intact, but the House on July 23 approved, 400-21, a spending bill with language blocking an FCC decision to let companies own TV stations serving up to 45 percent of the country's viewers. The current ceiling is 35 percent. The fight now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers of both parties may seek a similar provision in their version of the bill. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chief sponsor of the provision that would derail the new FCC rules, declared victory, for now. "It's extremely rare to be able to reverse a regulatory decision that gives away the store to the big boys," he said. GOP leaders in the House didn't try removing the language from the bill. Instead, they said they will try to kill it when House-Senate bargainers craft a compromise bill later this year. The White House budget office has said it will recommend that President Bush veto the fiscal 2004 spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments unless the Obey amendment is deleted. SPJ national update III ... a settlement out of court (and out of earshot), missing half the story, and high schools take a hit. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and a public television network agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming that the Republican governor's office pressured the network to cancel a talk show hosted by a Democrat, an attorney for the talk-show host said. Arkansas Educational Television Network officials told talk-show host Roby Brock in April 2002 that his business talk show would not be aired until after the election. The cancellation announcement came three days after Brock told a group of Young Democrats that he couldn't "stomach" another four years of Huckabee and urged the group to support the governor's Democrat challenger. A newspaper published the statements by Brock, a former YD president. The settlement included a guarantee that Brock's show will continue through September 2004. ... Updates on the number of soldiers who have died in Iraq since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting tend to underreport the loss. Military records on July 27 put the number of U.S. deaths since May 2 at 105, which includes noncombat deaths; 11 British troops have died in the same period. Soldiers who lose their life in a non-hostile action are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved. Two hundred eighty-eight troops have died since the war began March 20. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count derives its figures from Department of Defense and CENTCOM press releases, the British Ministry of Defense, the Army Times, CNN and the Venik's War in Iraq Web site. More at lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx. Iraqi civilian deaths according to iraqbodycount.net/ are estimated at between 6,076 and 7,787. ... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed June 25 to rehear a case involving Governors State University in front of the entire court, thus nullifying a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel that prior review of college papers is unconstitutional. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan argued that the panel overlooked cases that demonstrate that the law defining college journalists' free-speech rights is not "clearly established." The ruling vacates the April decision that reaffirmed 35 years of college precedents. Mark Goodman at the Student Press Law Center asked advocates to urge Madigan to reject the position that the Supreme Court's high school Hazelwood decision applies to colleges. In a campaign appearance before she was elected last fall, Madigan professed her strong support for college press freedom. SPJ national update IV: Secure this. The controversial Terrorism Information Awareness program may face the same fate Congress meted out to John Ashcroft in his attempt to create a corps of volunteer domestic spies: death by legislation. The Senate's $368 billion version of the 2004 defense appropriations bill, released to the full Senate from committee July 9, contains a provision that would deny all funds to, and thus effectively kill, TIA, which has a 2004 projected budget of $169 million. The brainchild of John Poindexter, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal, TIA would seek patterns of terrorist activities in electronic data trails left behind by everyday life. The provision's fate ultimately will be decided by a joint committee that will reconcile the Senate's bill with a House version. The House version contains no denial of funds to TIA, but Congress watchers say TIA opponents likely will succeed in killing it. ... Under a state Homeland Security law enacted in June, Texas public officials cannot disclose the locations of certain security cameras on private and public property. Applied retroactively, the provision could quash an open-records request filed last fall by the UT Austin student newspaper that sought information about cameras on campus and in the city. SPJ national update V: Filtering in the carrels, opening up in Wisconsin. A divided Supreme Court ruled June 23 that Congress can force the nation's public libraries to equip computers with antipornography filters. The technology, intended to keep adult material from children, does not violate the First Amendment even though it shuts off some legitimate Web sites, the court held. Because libraries can disable the filters for patrons who ask, the court said, the system is not burdensome. The 6-3 ruling reinstates a law that told libraries to install filters or surrender federal money. Four justices said the law was constitutional, and two others said it was allowable as long as patrons were not denied Internet access. ... A bill designed to rejuvenate Wisconsin's open records law won the legislature's approval June 24. The legislation is a reaction to two state Supreme Court decisions that required record keepers to notify employees if they planned to release records that would harm privacy or reputation. The bill requires notification to public employees when records involving disciplinary matters are about to be released or obtained by a search warrant. The disclosure of any other records would be determined by balancing the public interest in the record with several factors, including the employee's privacy interest. ================================================= PEOPLE & PLACES Long-time area newsman John Miller will serve as a broadcast journalism professional-in-residence at TCU this fall after teaching part time in the journalism department the last two years. "John will give TCU students the competitive edge that comes from exposure to exacting, real-world professional standards," said department chair Tommy Thomason. Added Tracy Rowlett, managing editor and anchor at KTVT-Channel 11: "John is a rare person who can teach theory and apply it in a practical sense." Miller, a graduate of TCU and the training of the legendary Margaret Caskey at Paschal High School, was news director at KTVT and WFAA-Channel 8. He led WFAA to 30 consecutive sweeps wins for newscasts in the Fort Worth-Dallas market and supervised reporting that won two duPont Awards, one Peabody and several other national and regional awards. ... Star-Telegram features copy editors Amber Nimocks and Sandy Guerra-Cline both received honorable mention in the recent nationwide American Association of Sunday and Features Editors competition. ... Texas Wesleyan University communications director Lisa Fellers has been selected to join the Leadership Fort Worth class of 2004. ... UTA's Beth Francesco and TCU's Brandon Ortiz are among a dozen interns chosen to staff the 2003 Working Press, the daily newspaper of the SPJ National Convention scheduled for Sept. 11-14 in Tampa, Fla. (More on the convention at spj.org/convention.asp.) Baby daze! In true diva fashion, Alejandra Paola Ramos entered the limelight fashionably late, but to substantive acclaim nonetheless. La Estrella editor Juan Antonio Ramos and wife Indira welcomed their daughter into the world at 10:38 p.m. July 23. Kudos & Contracts ... Chile Pepper magazine has picked Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations for regional promotion of its 2003 International Zesty Foods Show in September. The IZFS will kick off with a trade show Friday, Sept. 26, followed by two days of food tastings, cookbook signings, cooking demonstrations and perusing new cooking gadgets and more at more than 175 exhibits. Chile Pepper, published in Fort Worth, is in its 15th year. ... Bedford has chosen Envision Works as its consultant to provide marketing surveys for Bedford 4th Fest and the Bedford Labor Day's Blues Fest. An EW community survey will detail demographics for the city and event sponsors. And Southlake Town Square has chosen the Bedford-based EW to redevelop its Web site. EW will provide content management, programming solutions, design and development and on-line marketing services. ================================================= GET A JOB Need someone to fill in the gaps while you find a full-time worker? The Dallas IABC freelance directory at dallasiabc.com/findafreelancer/findafreelancer.htm lists writing, editing, design and marketing professonals. Related info -- jobs offered, jobs sought -- are just a few clicks away at dallasiabc.com/jobbank.html, a job bank sponsored by Dallas IABC, Dallas PRSA, the Dallas Press Club, the National Investor Relations Institute and the Association of Women in Communications, Dallas Chapter. Call the job bank at (972) 684-8301. ================================================= NEW MEMBERS SPJ ... Tracy Syler-Doctson, TCU communications director ================================================= COMINGS & GOINGS Promotions ... Long-laboring (five years) City Hall reporter Ginger Richardson to covering jobs/economic development for the Star-Telegram business desk ... Yamil Berard, a nine-year Star-Telegram education-beat veteran with a Dallas Press Club Katie and top awards from the APME and Houston Press Club to her credit, joining the paper's enterprise team Exits ... Star-T national/international editor John Yearwood to The Miami Herald as its world editor ================================================= READING MATTERS "Who's Your Caddy? Looping for the Great, Near Great and Reprobates of Golf" / Rick Reilly / Doubleday Who knows a golfer best? Who's with him every minute of every round, hears him muttering, knows whether he cheats? His caddy, of course. So jock chronicler Reilly figured he could learn a lot about golfers and their games by caddying, even though he had no idea how. Amazingly, when the funniest sportswriter in America asked to carry their bags at PGA and LPGA events, Jack Nicklaus, David Duval, John Daly, Tom Lehman, Casey Martin and Jill McGill said yes. This is laugh-out-loud material -- motivational speaker Deepak Chopra decomposing on the green, for instance -- in the same style that energizes Reilly's back-page column for Sports Illustrated. Oh, and he's a lousy caddy. That's funny, too. ================================================= RESOURCES Its online presence in the early 1980s established the Census Bureau as the most Internet-savvy agency in the federal government. Now a site called Uncle Sam's Reference Shelf comes along with official population and housing data from the 2000 Census, along with business and other data for all counties in the nation, cities with 25,000 or more inhabitants, and places of 2,500 or more inhabitants. Go to census.gov/statab/www/ccdb.html. ... Yahoo programmer Bill Turner provides "a one-stop shop to find all the 'best of' books, music and movie lists" at listsofbests.com. The material is collected from various sources and added to several lists created especially for the site. ... A former dot-commer working a McJob was listening to some headbangers while laying out the last of his dead presidents for longnecks and some less than heart-healthy Frankenfood. Confused? Consult the 11th edition of the Collegiate Dictionary from Merriam-Webster, which includes such pop culture additions as "headbanger" (a hard-rock musician or a fan), "dead presidents" (paper currency), "McJob" (low-paying, dead-end work) and "Frankenfood" (genetically engineered). Longnecks you know. Once a decade, Merriam-Webster updates its best-seller. This one features 10,000 new words and more than 100,000 new meanings and revisions among its 225,000 definitions. ================================================= PRESIDENT'S CORNER Roger Partridge, Greater Fort Worth PRSA Plans are underway for a reception/happy hour for PRSA members and PRSSA students. The PRSA board of directors will be working on details at our next meeting, so stay tuned. Word is out that Greater Fort Worth PRSA has the best food in the district, especially the desserts. Come taste what all the talk is about Wednesday, Aug. 13. Have a great lunch, visit with interesting public relations professionals and hear an inspiring speaker. What a deal! ----- PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Lori De La Cruz, IABC/Fort Worth It's a scorcher, all right, but it's cool in the Petroleum Club -- especially the first Tuesday in August when we gather for great networking, great programming and great food. We'll welcome American Airlines' Gus Whitcomb, who has a plan for when your crisis plan gets out of hand. A 15-year PR veteran, he knows how to respond when the lava cools and you're left with the clean-up. The only crisis at this meeting will be if you miss it. You don't want to miss Scott Cytron, ABC, either. He'll be the guest speaker Sept. 2 (the day after Labor Day, so you should be rested and ready to hit the ground running). Cytron and Co. in Dallas is skilled at interpreting business topics in straightforward language for clients in the accounting, medical, financial planning, collections and debt, high-tech, and food and beverage industries. So that makes his topic, "Writing for Your Audience," all the more valuable to our members (and guests!). Then, Sept. 16, IABC/Fort Worth is proud to present the full-day seminar "Influence: Use It or Lose It" by Connie Hurn, president of Connie Hurn Consulting Services. The seminar is in response to the overwhelming reception Connie received for her program in May. Want more? Exciting improvements are in the works -- updated logo, improved Web site and opportunities for members to sponsor luncheons. Keep up with the changes at iabcfortworth.com, and don't forget to RSVP for IABC Tuesday, Aug. 5. The meeting will be on the 40th floor of the Petroleum Club just this once. See you there! ----- OVER & OUT John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ It was great seeing national president Robert Leger, who flew in from Springfield, Mo., and former executive secretary Lou Brooks, now living in Houston, at the SPJ Summertime Beer Bust, Grape Gala and Burnt & Barbecued Ribfest Overlooking the Nude Beach II. Thanks, too, to George and Kathy Stumpel, Tricia Hinds and everyone with the Yellow Rose band, to Ron Holcomb for outdoor food like it oughtta be, to Larry Anfin at Coors Distributing for a hearty suds donation and of course to our hosts, without whose lovely back yard this would have been a virtual event, Max and Helena Faulkner. It was our second year at the Faulkners', and you have to wonder how long we can fool them into letting a passel of us just drop by for dinner. Thank you, Max and Helena (and adorable daughter Katherine, 3), for a wonderful time. ... This back-patting feels so good, no sense stopping yet. The June program, a high-energy affair with the BBC's David Willis, KTVT's Sarah Dodd and TCU grad Ed Timms of The Dallas Morning News, attracted Kim Svatek, Holli Estridge and Kathy Williams from the Sherman Herald Democrat; Ken Foote, program director at KDFW-FOX 4 and kdfi27; IABC/Fort Worth prez Lori De La Cruz; UTA students Jennifer Lucas and Matt Olinger; and the Star-T's Brian Baresch and Tom Uhler -- all first-time participants -- and 43 others. It was the best-attended regular meeting all year (with 11 regulars out of town!). The season is ending strong, the way it began, and to see how strong there's chapter prez Larry Lutz's recap written for the national annual report (filed before the aforementioned June meeting or Maxfest, about which he would've crowed some more). This is one live crowd. ... Closing words: "President Bush made a comment a week ago, and he said 'bring it on.' Well, they brought it on, and now my nephew is dead." -- Mary Kewatt, aunt of a soldier killed in Iraq, Minnesota Public Radio, July 17 ... "Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." -- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Society of Professional Journalists, Fort Worth Professional Chapter

Public Relations Society of America, Greater Fort Worth Chapter

International Association of Business Communicators, Fort Worth Chapter

eChaser archive [graphics format]

MEETINGS

Next at IABC/Fort Worth ...

The Aftermath: What Your Crisis Plan Won't Tell You

All crisis communication plans address how to respond when trouble strikes, but after the emergency's over, then what? In an encore of his presentation to the IABC International Conference in June, Gus Whitcomb, acting managing director of corporate communications at American Airlines, will share what happens months after the initial shock of a corporate crisis.

Whitcomb will provide tips on how to prepare "Part B" for the days after; how to anticipate needs that can easily be overlooked; and simple steps to ensure ongoing communication with key audiences.

This month's meeting will be on the 40th floor of Carter-Burgess Plaza and feature a table-served meal of salad, cornmeal-crusted trout entree and fruit tart for dessert. A vegetarian option is available, and that preference should accompany the RSVP.

* Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5 (new first-Tuesday schedule begins)

* Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St.. (40th floor for this meeting only)

* Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket validated)

* Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students

* RSVP by noon Aug. 4: Julie Trowbridge at trowbridgeja@c-b.com

-----

Next at Greater Fort Worth PRSA ...

Managing the Madness: What to Do When You're the Lead Story Across the Country

"Be careful what you wish for," the adage warns, "because you might get it." Just ask Dennis Roberson and David Walker, two of the masterminds behind the media coverage of the Bank of America Colonial in May. Tournament manager Roberson, Fellow PRSA, worked with volunteer media chairman Walker to manage the onslaught of reporters covering Annika Sorenstam's history-making PGA appearance.

Roberson and Walker will detail how they kept their cool in the spotlight and met the logistical demands of more than 600 local, national and international reporters. They'll also discuss their secrets for supervising a staff of volunteers.

* Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13

* 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 Aug. 11: rsvp@fortworthprsa.org

-----

Next at Fort Worth SPJ ...
No meeting this month. Taking nap.

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STRAIGHT STUFF

The Silver Quill entry deadline for professional communicators' best work has been extended to Friday, Aug. 8; early-bird rates ($50 for members, $60 for nonmembers) still apply. Ask questions: Lori De La Cruz, (817) 685-1821, ldelacruz@ci.euless.tx.us. Sign up: iabcusd5.com/iabcd5silverquill.htm. ... The Dallas chapters of IABC and PRSA are promoting a spot of summer networking at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, at Trinity Hall Pub & Restaurant at Mockingbird Station. More at dallasiabc.com/. ... Southwest Airlines' Melanie Jones will draw a bead on the "Synerygy of Advertising, Marketing and PR" at the Dallas PRSA luncheon Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Park City Club, 5956 Sherry Lane. Cost is $25 for members with reservations, $35 for walk-ups and guests with reservations, $20 students. Information at prsadallas.org/calendar.html. ...

Mark 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, in the Central Market community room for a discussion of "Accounting Needs for the Small Business" at the next PR Consultant's Special Interest Group meeting. The group meets the third Friday of the month; there's no charge when the meeting is at Central Market and a lunch charge otherwise. Format varies from interactive examinations of a specific topic to guest speaker presentations. To be added to the e-mail invitation list, contact Nancy Farrar at nancyh829@aol.com or (817) 937-1557. ...

Application deadline is Sept. 26 for the the Soros Justice Media Fellowship to help print, radio, photography and documentary film journalists improve the coverage of incarceration and criminal justice issues. As a program of the Open Society Institute's Criminal Justice Initiative, the fellowship funds projects that further CJI's mission of reducing the over-reliance on policies of punishment and incarceration in the United States and restoring fairness to the U.S. criminal justice system. Fellows devote up to one year to research, write, produce and widely disseminate stories. Awards may hit $45,000 for full-year projects; shorter projects will be pro-rated. More at soros.org/crime. Contact program officer Kate Black at (212) 548-0170 or kblack@sorosny.org. ...

The dean of liberal arts at Texas A&M has abolished the journalism department, but it will continue to function until freshman journalism majors who enroll this fall graduate. The master of science in science and technology journalism will be moved to another department. Dean Charles Johnson promised that no faculty or staff will lose their jobs and that A&M will continue to teach journalism. The department will become a program.

SPJ national update: Free William Nessen. SPJ is urging the release of an American freelance journalist who was recently imprisoned in Indonesia's Aceh province. Nessen, who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe, traveled with rebels for a month before surrendering to government troops; he went on trial July 23 charged with violating immigration laws by allegedly misstating his intentions for living in the country and failing to notify authorities before traveling to conflict areas. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail. According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the prosecution says that Nessen "acted illegally by covering the guerrilla's side of the war." More at spj.org/spj_programs_intjourn.asp.

SPJ national update II: FCC ruling hits roadblock. The decision likely won't survive intact, but the House on July 23 approved, 400-21, a spending bill with language blocking an FCC decision to let companies own TV stations serving up to 45 percent of the country's viewers. The current ceiling is 35 percent. The fight now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers of both parties may seek a similar provision in their version of the bill. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chief sponsor of the provision that would derail the new FCC rules, declared victory, for now. "It's extremely rare to be able to reverse a regulatory decision that gives away the store to the big boys," he said. GOP leaders in the House didn't try removing the language from the bill. Instead, they said they will try to kill it when House-Senate bargainers craft a compromise bill later this year. The White House budget office has said it will recommend that President Bush veto the fiscal 2004 spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments unless the Obey amendment is deleted.

SPJ national update III ... a settlement out of court (and out of earshot), missing half the story, and high schools take a hit. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and a public television network agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming that the Republican governor's office pressured the network to cancel a talk show hosted by a Democrat, an attorney for the talk-show host said. Arkansas Educational Television Network officials told talk-show host Roby Brock in April 2002 that his business talk show would not be aired until after the election. The cancellation announcement came three days after Brock told a group of Young Democrats that he couldn't "stomach" another four years of Huckabee and urged the group to support the governor's Democrat challenger. A newspaper published the statements by Brock, a former YD president. The settlement included a guarantee that Brock's show will continue through September 2004. ... Updates on the number of soldiers who have died in Iraq since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting tend to underreport the loss. Military records on July 27 put the number of U.S. deaths since May 2 at 105, which includes noncombat deaths; 11 British troops have died in the same period. Soldiers who lose their life in a non-hostile action are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved. Two hundred eighty-eight troops have died since the war began March 20. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count derives its figures from Department of Defense and CENTCOM press releases, the British Ministry of Defense, the Army Times, CNN and the Venik's War in Iraq Web site. More at lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx. Iraqi civilian deaths according to iraqbodycount.net/ are estimated at between 6,076 and 7,787. ... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed June 25 to rehear a case involving Governors State University in front of the entire court, thus nullifying a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel that prior review of college papers is unconstitutional. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan argued that the panel overlooked cases that demonstrate that the law defining college journalists' free-speech rights is not "clearly established." The ruling vacates the April decision that reaffirmed 35 years of college precedents. Mark Goodman at the Student Press Law Center asked advocates to urge Madigan to reject the position that the Supreme Court's high school Hazelwood decision applies to colleges. In a campaign appearance before she was elected last fall, Madigan professed her strong support for college press freedom.

SPJ national update IV: Secure this. The controversial Terrorism Information Awareness program may face the same fate Congress meted out to John Ashcroft in his attempt to create a corps of volunteer domestic spies: death by legislation. The Senate's $368 billion version of the 2004 defense appropriations bill, released to the full Senate from committee July 9, contains a provision that would deny all funds to, and thus effectively kill, TIA, which has
a 2004 projected budget of $169 million. The brainchild of John Poindexter, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal, TIA would seek patterns of terrorist activities in electronic data trails left behind by everyday life. The provision's fate ultimately will be decided by a joint committee that will reconcile the Senate's bill with a House version. The House version contains no denial of funds to TIA, but Congress watchers say TIA opponents likely will succeed in killing it. ... Under a state Homeland Security law enacted in June, Texas public officials cannot disclose the locations of certain security cameras on private and public property. Applied retroactively, the provision could quash an open-records request filed last fall by the UT Austin student newspaper that sought information about cameras on campus and in the city.

SPJ national update V: Filtering in the carrels, opening up in Wisconsin. A divided Supreme Court ruled June 23 that Congress can force the nation's public libraries to equip computers with antipornography filters. The technology, intended to keep adult material from children, does not violate the First Amendment even though it shuts off some legitimate Web sites, the court held. Because libraries can disable the filters for patrons who ask, the court said, the system is not burdensome. The 6-3 ruling reinstates a law that told libraries to install filters or surrender federal money. Four justices said the law was constitutional, and two others said it was allowable as long as patrons were not denied Internet access. ... A bill designed to rejuvenate Wisconsin's open records law won the legislature's approval June 24. The legislation is a reaction to two state Supreme Court decisions that required record keepers to notify employees if they planned to release records that would harm privacy or reputation. The bill requires notification to public employees when records involving disciplinary matters are about to be released or obtained by a search warrant. The disclosure of any other records would be determined by balancing the public interest in the record with several factors, including the employee's privacy interest.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

Long-time area newsman John Miller will serve as a broadcast journalism professional-in-residence at TCU this fall after teaching part time in the journalism department the last two years. "John will give TCU students the competitive edge that comes from exposure to exacting, real-world professional standards," said department chair Tommy Thomason. Added Tracy Rowlett, managing editor and anchor at KTVT-Channel 11: "John is a rare person who can teach theory and apply it in a practical sense." Miller, a graduate of TCU and the training of the legendary Margaret Caskey at Paschal High School, was news director at KTVT and WFAA-Channel 8. He led WFAA to 30 consecutive sweeps wins for newscasts in the Fort Worth-Dallas market and supervised reporting that won two duPont Awards, one Peabody and several other national and regional awards. ...

Star-Telegram features copy editors Amber Nimocks and Sandy Guerra-Cline both received honorable mention in the recent nationwide American Association of Sunday and Features Editors competition. ... Texas Wesleyan University communications director Lisa Fellers has been selected to join the Leadership Fort Worth class of 2004. ... UTA's Beth Francesco and TCU's Brandon Ortiz are among a dozen interns chosen to staff the 2003 Working Press, the daily newspaper of the SPJ National Convention scheduled for Sept. 11-14 in Tampa, Fla. (More on the convention at spj.org/convention.asp.)

Baby daze! In true diva fashion, Alejandra Paola Ramos entered the limelight fashionably late, but to substantive acclaim nonetheless. La Estrella editor Juan Antonio Ramos and wife Indira welcomed their daughter into the world at 10:38 p.m. July 23.

Kudos & Contracts ... Chile Pepper magazine has picked Witherspoon Advertising and Public Relations for regional promotion of its 2003 International Zesty Foods Show in September. The IZFS will kick off with a trade show Friday, Sept. 26, followed by two days of food tastings, cookbook signings, cooking demonstrations and perusing new cooking gadgets and more at more than 175 exhibits. Chile Pepper, published in Fort Worth, is in its 15th year. ... Bedford has chosen Envision Works as its consultant to provide marketing surveys for Bedford 4th Fest and the Bedford Labor Day's Blues Fest. An EW community survey will detail demographics for the city and event sponsors. And Southlake Town Square has chosen the Bedford-based EW to redevelop its Web site. EW will provide content management, programming solutions, design and development and on-line marketing services.

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GET A JOB

Need someone to fill in the gaps while you find a full-time worker? The Dallas IABC freelance directory at dallasiabc.com/findafreelancer/findafreelancer.htm lists writing, editing, design and marketing professonals. Related info -- jobs offered, jobs sought -- are just a few clicks away at dallasiabc.com/jobbank.html, a job bank sponsored by Dallas IABC, Dallas PRSA, the Dallas Press Club, the National Investor Relations Institute and the Association of Women in Communications, Dallas Chapter. Call the job bank at (972) 684-8301.

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NEW MEMBERS

SPJ ... Tracy Syler-Doctson, TCU communications director

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COMINGS & GOINGS

Promotions ... Long-laboring (five years) City Hall reporter Ginger Richardson to covering jobs/economic development for the Star-Telegram business desk ... Yamil Berard, a nine-year Star-Telegram education-beat veteran with a Dallas Press Club Katie and top awards from the APME and Houston Press Club to her credit, joining the paper's enterprise team

Exits ... Star-T national/international editor John Yearwood to The Miami Herald as its world editor

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READING MATTERS

"Who's Your Caddy? Looping for the Great,

Near Great and Reprobates of Golf" /

Rick Reilly / Doubleday

Who knows a golfer best? Who's with him every minute of every round, hears him muttering, knows whether he cheats? His caddy, of course. So jock chronicler Reilly figured he could learn a lot about golfers and their games by caddying, even though he had no idea how. Amazingly, when the funniest sportswriter in America asked to carry their bags at PGA and LPGA events, Jack Nicklaus, David Duval, John Daly, Tom Lehman, Casey Martin and Jill McGill said yes. This is laugh-out-loud material -- motivational speaker Deepak Chopra decomposing on the green, for instance -- in the same style that energizes Reilly's back-page column for Sports Illustrated. Oh, and he's a lousy caddy. That's funny, too.

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RESOURCES

Its online presence in the early 1980s established the Census Bureau as the most Internet-savvy agency in the federal government. Now a site called Uncle Sam's Reference Shelf comes along with official population and housing data from the 2000 Census, along with business and other data for all counties in the nation, cities with 25,000 or more inhabitants, and places of 2,500 or more inhabitants. Go to census.gov/statab/www/ccdb.html. ... Yahoo programmer Bill Turner provides "a one-stop shop to find all the 'best of' books, music and movie lists" at listsofbests.com. The material is collected from various sources and added to several lists created especially for the site. ... A former dot-commer working a McJob was listening to some headbangers while laying out the last of his dead presidents for longnecks and some less than heart-healthy Frankenfood. Confused? Consult the 11th edition of the Collegiate Dictionary from Merriam-Webster, which includes such pop culture additions as "headbanger" (a hard-rock musician or a fan), "dead presidents" (paper currency), "McJob" (low-paying, dead-end work) and "Frankenfood" (genetically engineered). Longnecks you know. Once a decade, Merriam-Webster updates its best-seller. This one features 10,000 new words and more than 100,000 new meanings and revisions among its 225,000 definitions.

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Roger Partridge, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

Plans are underway for a reception/happy hour for PRSA members and PRSSA students. The PRSA board of directors will be working on details at our next meeting, so stay tuned.

Word is out that Greater Fort Worth PRSA has the best food in the district, especially the desserts. Come taste what all the talk is about Wednesday, Aug. 13. Have a great lunch, visit with interesting public relations professionals and hear an inspiring speaker. What a deal!

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Lori De La Cruz, IABC/Fort Worth

It's a scorcher, all right, but it's cool in the Petroleum Club -- especially the first Tuesday in August when we gather for great networking, great programming and great food. We'll welcome American Airlines' Gus Whitcomb, who has a plan for when your crisis plan gets out of hand. A 15-year PR veteran, he knows how to respond when the lava cools and you're left with the clean-up. The only crisis at this meeting will be if you miss it.

You don't want to miss Scott Cytron, ABC, either. He'll be the guest speaker Sept. 2 (the day after Labor Day, so you should be rested and ready to hit the ground running). Cytron and Co. in Dallas is skilled at interpreting business topics in straightforward language for clients in the accounting, medical, financial planning, collections and debt, high-tech, and food and beverage industries. So that makes his topic, "Writing for Your Audience," all the more valuable to our members (and guests!).

Then, Sept. 16, IABC/Fort Worth is proud to present the full-day seminar "Influence: Use It or Lose It" by Connie Hurn, president of Connie Hurn Consulting Services. The seminar is in response to the overwhelming reception Connie received for her program in May.

Want more? Exciting improvements are in the works -- updated logo, improved Web site and opportunities for members to sponsor luncheons. Keep up with the changes at iabcfortworth.com, and don't forget to RSVP for IABC Tuesday, Aug. 5. The meeting will be on the 40th floor of the Petroleum Club just this once. See you there!

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

It was great seeing national president Robert Leger, who flew in from Springfield, Mo., and former executive secretary Lou Brooks, now living in Houston, at the SPJ Summertime Beer Bust, Grape Gala and Burnt & Barbecued Ribfest Overlooking the Nude Beach II. Thanks, too, to George and Kathy Stumpel, Tricia Hinds and everyone with the Yellow Rose band, to Ron Holcomb for outdoor food like it oughtta be, to Larry Anfin at Coors Distributing for a hearty suds donation and of course to our hosts, without whose lovely back yard this would have been a virtual event, Max and Helena Faulkner. It was our second year at the Faulkners', and you have to wonder how long we can fool them into letting a passel of us just drop by for dinner. Thank you, Max and Helena (and adorable daughter Katherine, 3), for a wonderful time. ...

This back-patting feels so good, no sense stopping yet. The June program, a high-energy affair with the BBC's David Willis, KTVT's Sarah Dodd and TCU grad Ed Timms of The Dallas Morning News, attracted Kim Svatek, Holli Estridge and Kathy Williams from the Sherman Herald Democrat; Ken Foote, program director at KDFW-FOX 4 and kdfi27; IABC/Fort Worth prez Lori De La Cruz; UTA students Jennifer Lucas and Matt Olinger; and the Star-T's Brian Baresch and Tom Uhler -- all first-time participants -- and 43 others. It was the best-attended regular meeting all year (with 11 regulars out of town!). The season is ending strong, the way it began, and to see how strong there's chapter prez Larry Lutz's recap written for the national annual report (filed before the aforementioned June meeting or Maxfest, about which he would've crowed some more). This is one live crowd. ...

Closing words: "President Bush made a comment a week ago, and he said 'bring it on.' Well, they brought it on, and now my nephew is dead." -- Mary Kewatt, aunt of a soldier killed in Iraq, Minnesota Public Radio, July 17 ... "Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." -- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)