MEETINGS
And Now, the Voice of Your Texas Rangers
In the same mold as the Yankees' Bob Shepherd and every bit the local legend, Texas Rangers P.A. announcer Chuck Morgan will regale the room with stories of 27 years in professional baseball when he keynotes the World Series of Communication annual Bronze Quill Awards luncheon June 27 honoring area communicators' best work.
How does Morgan, inventor of the dot race (no wagering, please) and the marketing and entertainment VP for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, continue to generate creative ideas such as Wiffle Ball park, the mascot Rangers Captain and the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame? And what's his role on Acclaim Sports' All-Star Baseball video game (and how do you get a job like that)? Find out while hearing all about his cornfield appearances on "Hee Haw."
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, June 27
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: $30 members, $40 nonmembers, $20 students
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For that Special Challenge, a Different Approach
What is "issues management," and how is it different from traditional strategic communications and crisis management? How can public affairs professionals use issues management tools to protect their clients' interests and enhance their dialogue with key constituencies? A veteran government and public affairs executive will share insights and tactical tips in what promises to be an engaging session at the June GFW PRSA luncheon.
Ray Thompson is a principal at Houston-based Wixted Pope Nora Thompson & Associates. In an earlier life, he served as director of issues management at Amoco Corp. in Chicago.
Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, June 14
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: $25 members, $30 nonmembers, $20 students
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Blogging the Night Away
Blog. Ugly word. Does it clog your arteries? Your sink drain?
Actually, blogs (short for web logs) are close to clogging the internet -- they number in the hundreds of thousands -- and the phenomenon has journalists rethinking the way they deliver news and opinion.
Blogs not only make news, they report it and critique it -- the CBS goof on George W. Bush's National Guard service report, the exposure of an imposter among the White House press corps, response to news media coverage of Stephen Colbert's performance at the White House correspondents dinner. You get the idea.
Chris Kelley oversees The Dallas Morning News blogs. Jacque Lambiase has her journalism students blogging at UNT. Kelley and Lambiase will discuss the future of blogging at the June 21 SPJ meeting and why news media and journalism schools should get involved. Among the issues they'll address:
* What does the internet user need to know about the blogs that are out there? What's good and what's not so good? How can you tell?
* How can the news media participate? What should journalism schools be doing to prepare students for blogging?
* What does the future hold? Will blogs help or hurt news media credibility?
Time & date: mingling 5:30 p.m., eats around 6, then the program Wednesday, June 21
Place: Shady Oak Barbeque & Grill, 1600 E. Copeland Road, Arlington (south side of I-30 at the Nolan Ryan Expressway exit)
Cost: $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 students
Menu: brisket, sausage, chicken, plenty of sides, iced tea and corporate parent Spring Creek Barbeque's signature bread; cash bar
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STRAIGHT STUFF
RSVP by June 5 to attend a reception and preview of the Fort Worth Police and Fire Fighters Memorial on Wednesday, June 7, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Worthington National Bank, 500 Main St. in Sundance Square. The memorial will occupy approximately five acres of park land along West Seventh Street. More at cfwfallenheroes.org. ...
Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman will share stories, his journey and mayhap a political issue or two at the annual joint communicators luncheon in Dallas, Wednesday, June 7. More here. ...
Writers who should be yours heroes will populate the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest, July 14-16 at the Hilton DFW Lakes in Grapevine. Count 'em (not a complete list): Gay Talese, author of "The Kingdom and the Power," about the history and influence of The New York Times, and "Honor Thy Father," the inside story of a Mafia family; Hampton Sides, author of the nonfiction bestseller "Ghost Soldiers" and the new "Blood and Thunder," a narrative history about the controversial frontier hero Kit Carson and his role in the conquest of the West; Ron Powers, author of "Flags of Our Fathers," which Steven Spielberg developed into a movie that Clint Eastwood will direct, and "Mark Twain: A Life," a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award; Melissa Fay Greene, author of "Praying for Sheetrock," a National Book Award finalist, and "Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mine Disaster." New this year, the conference will feature a publishers panel, a session on the author-agent relationship, and small-group gatherings with editors and agents. For students on a budget, The Dallas Morning News is offering five minority student scholarships to the conference, sponsored by UNT's Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, and UNT faculty and staff are offering five general scholarships for any high school, college or university student. Details here. ...
The National Low Income Housing Coalition has started the Cushing Niles Dolbeare Media Awards to recognize print journalists who do an exemplary job of covering the crisis in affordable housing. Journalists publishing any time this year will be eligible to win $2,500 prizes. More at nlihc.org/cndma/index.htm. ... The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association is accepting entries for its annual competition in several print, broadcast, online and photojournalism categories. First-place winners receive cash. Details at nlgja.org/.
IABC local update: IABC Fort Worth has elected 2006-07 board members -- president, Ken Roberts; president-elect/program chair, Betsy Boyett; treasurer, Julie Trowbridge; secretary, Pam Fry; membership chair, Cheryl Hart; marketing/communications chair, Michael Agnello; webmaster, Colby Horton; Bronze Quill chair, Jeff Posey; accreditation chair, Deena Graves; and at-large members, Mike Long, Andrea Scott, Tim Tune, Jenny Walker and Amy Yancey. Richard Maxwell, as immediate past president, is senior delegate to the Southern Region.
