PRSA local update II: If you were ever going to join, now's the time. PR pros who sign on in May and June receive their chapter membership free for a year. Complete an application by clicking the "Think Bigger" icon at prsa.org (the promotion code is CHAP2007). Applications also may be picked up at the May 9 and June 13 meetings, or e-mail Laura Van Hoosier at lauravanhoosier@gmail.com to have one sent to you.
PRSA local update III: So many ways to ship, so many ways to save. Through PRSA's partnership with DHL Express, members can save up to 25 percent on air express and ground shipping. Call 1-800-MEMBERS, or visit 1800members.com.
PRSA local update IV: He's everywhere, this Manny Ruiz. The Hispanic PR Wire president and CEO will reprise his May 9 program at Greater Fort Worth PRSA the next day, Thursday, May 10, at Dallas PRSA. More here.
SPJ national update: Imprisoned freelance journalist released; and Pentagon more concerned with sparing Bush embarrassment than leveling with dead soldier's family? Josh Wolf, the blogger whose record 7 1/2 months in federal prison stirred debate about who qualifies as a journalist and what legal protections they should receive, was freed April 3 after releasing video footage about a G-8 Summit protest he filmed July 8, 2005, in San Francisco's Mission District. Lawyers for Wolf, 24, who had been held in contempt by a federal judge last August for defying a grand jury subpoena, reached a compromise with federal prosecutors. Wolf posted the uncut video of a protest in San Francisco on his web site, gave prosecutors a copy and denied under oath that he knew anything about violent incidents at the July 2005 protest. In return, his lawyers said, prosecutors agreed not to summon him before the grand jury or ask him to identify any of the protesters shown on his video. More here. ... Just seven days after Pat Tillman's death, a top general warned there were strong indications that it was friendly fire and that the president might embarrass himself if he said the NFL star-turned-soldier died in an ambush, according to a memo obtained by the AP. It was not until a month later that the Pentagon told the public and grieving family members the truth -- that Tillman was mistakenly killed in Afghanistan by his comrades. More here and here.
SPJ national update II: The senator just loves Baghdad; and administration rebuked on climate change. A day after members of a congressional delegation led by Sen. John McCain cited their brief visit to Baghdad's central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city is working, the merchants there were incredulous about the Americans' conclusions. "What are they talking about?" said Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market. "They paralyzed the market when they came. This was only for the media. This will not change anything." Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, said the Shorja market was "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana." That would be a normal outdoor market with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees -- the equivalent of an entire company -- and attack helicopters circling overhead and with traffic redirected, and with sharpshooters on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit. More here and here. ... The Supreme Court on April 2 ordered the federal government to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from cars. Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the landmark environmental law, Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion. The court's four conservative justices dissented. Many scientists believe greenhouse gases, flowing into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, are leading to a warming of Earth, rising sea levels and other marked ecological changes. More here.
SPJ national update III: "Daily Show" viewers more aware than those of Fox News; and CBS producer fired for copying Wall Street Journal article. In a knowledgeability survey of 1,502 adults released April 15 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, regular watchers of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" scored the highest. They tied with regular readers of major newspapers in the top spot, with 54 percent of them getting 2 out of 3 questions correct. Watchers of the "Lehrer News Hour" on PBS followed just behind. Bringing up the rear were regular watchers of Fox News. Only one in three could answer 2 out of 3 questions correctly. Overall, only 69 percent knew that Dick Cheney is vice president, while 74 percent could identify Dan Quayle in that post in 1989. More here. ... A CBS News producer was fired and the network apologized after a Katie Couric video essay on libraries was found to be plagiarized from The Wall Street Journal. Essays are carried regularly on "Couric & Co.," the anchor's blog on the CBS News web site. Couric and producers meet once a week to decide on topics, and the producers write them for Couric to read on camera. More here.
SPJ national update IV: Indiana student's column draws support from press advocates; and president urged not to silence Voice of America. The column in the Woodburn, Ind., junior-senior high school newspaper merely advocated tolerance for people "different than you." But since sophomore Megan Chase's words appeared Jan. 19, the adviser has been suspended, reassigned and barred from teaching journalism. At issue is whether advocating tolerance of homosexuals is a suitable topic for a newspaper distributed to students in grades 7 through 12 and whether adviser Amy Sorrell followed protocol in allowing the column to be printed. The Student Press Law Center worked to find an attorney to help Sorrell. More here and here. ... U.S. lawmakers are urging the Bush administration to reconsider proposed budgetary reductions that would end all English-language radio programming by the Voice of America except for programs transmitted to Africa. Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, faced tough questioning from lawmakers who view the cuts as short-sighted and likely to undermine the ability of the U.S. to communicate abroad. More here.
SPJ national update V: Savannah paper moves Iraq column to op-ed page; and you want candidates to talk openly? bar the media. The Savannah (Ga.) Morning News sparked controversy in its newsroom April 10 for publishing a first-person piece by an Army commander in Iraq on the front page of the metro section. The paper's editor initially said subsequent stories by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch would run in the same location but the next day said they would move to the op-ed section. At least three newsroom staffers complained about the metro play. One e-mailed E&P: "Is this appropriate for a 50,000-reader newspaper that purports to be free from government influence? Staff members feel it has undermined the newspaper's credibility and independence." The paper serves a circulation area with some 20,000 residents linked to the military through nearby Fort Stewart Army Base. More here and here. ... During the Mortgage Bankers Association conference April 26, a banker expressed frustration with candidates who only talk in sound bites and wondered how that could be changed. Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party and once a presidential candidate, offered a solution: "I suggest you have candidates in to meetings like this and bar the press." The Democratic National Committee chairman criticized media coverage, arguing that networks such as CBS used to put content first and didn't mind losing money for the prestige of delivering a quality news report. In response later, National Press Club president Jerry Zremski said: "Has Dean read the First Amendment?" More here.
