MEETINGS
Does Brainstorming Really Work? How to Get the Most
Out of the Creative Process in Groups
You have a difficult problem that begs for a creative solution, so you invite a
bunch of people to a brainstorming session. Will this produce the best possible
answers? Not likely, says Dr. Paul Paulus, dean of the UTA College of Science.
Decades of research show that group brainstorming is only half as effective as
brainstorming in more individualistic ways. Why? Blame it on the quagmire of “groupthink.”
Groupthink tends to occur when the group dynamics feature amiability; a
powerful, opinionated leader runs the group; group members operate under
stress; they are strongly influenced by a desire for social conformity; and
there is no explicit decision-making procedure.
Paulus has spent the past 15 years studying group creativity, and he will share
his views at the January meeting on achieving productive ideas from your teams
and stakeholders.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20 (online add $1)
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Brand This (Again): A Look Inside One PR Practitioner’s
Journey Through a National Re-branding Campaign
Emily Callahan oversees the communications and events teams for Susan G. Komen for the Cure,
the world’s largest breast cancer organization. She will walk attendees at the January
meeting through the nonprofit organization’s recent re-branding, with a focus on the research, planning and execution that
made the campaign a success.
She will also offer insights and best practices applicable to any organization.
In attendance will be members of the Tarrant affiliate for Komen for the Cure,
as well as Komen board members.
The meeting will be the third Wednesday this month.
Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20
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The ‘Roids of Summer: Drugs and Major League Baseball
Did your favorite baseball player turn up in the Mitchell Report on drug users,
both alleged and admitted? Did your best fantasy league slugger grace the pages
of Jose Canseco’s inject-all locker-room best-seller (it sold well at Jose’s house)?
Star-Telegram columnist Jim Reeves would rather be covering sports, but this is what professional sports has become — congressional hearings and finger-pointing and lawyered-up denials. How do Hall of Fame voters like Reeves keep from turning Cooperstown into the
Hall of Shame? It’s a question the 700-odd ‘Fame voters must ask as more and more suspected cheaters become eligible.
That’s the challenge: How much evidence is necessary to keep someone out of the Hall
who might, on the surface, deserve inclusion? Reeves will relate his own
struggle with the issue and how the Mitchell Report, because of the
restrictions it faced, barely scratched the surface of what was happening in
baseball.
Time & date: mingling 6 p.m., eats around 6:30, then the program Wednesday, Jan. 16
Place: Joe T. Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant, 2201 N. Commerce St.
Cost: $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 students
Menu: Joe T.’s famous family-style enchilada dinner
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STRAIGHT STUFF
The DFW Writers’ Workshop is celebrating its 30th anniversary with its biggest event ever, the
DFW Writers Conference, Feb. 23-24 at the Grapevine Convention Center. Candace Havens, author of the “Charmed” series (“Charmed & Dangerous,” “Charmed & Ready”) and entertainment critic for the Dorsey Gang on 96.3 KSCS, will keynote and
likely share a tale or two on her interviews with celebrities including Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon and George Clooney. Complementting her will be a full lineup of writers and agents: SPJ heavies Paula LaRocque, KERA commentator and former Dallas Morning News writing coach; Paul LaRocque, freelance writing coach; and Carmen Goldthwaite, writing instructor at SMU and TCU, plus Rosemary Clement-Moore, author of “Prom Dates From Hell”; A. Lee Martinez, author of “The Automatic Detective” and “Gil’s All Fright Diner”; Britta Coleman, author of “Potter Springs”; William Manchee, author of the Stan Turner mystery series, most recently “Act Normal”; Kara Lennox, author of more than 50 contemporary romance novels, most recently “One Stubborn Texan”; Shanna Swendson, author of “Damsel Under Stress,” “Once Upon Stilettos” and “Don’t Hex With Texas”; Sarah Mensinga, TV animator and illustrator; Dave Lieber, Star-Telegram columnist known as the “Yankee Cowboy”; the multimedia poets Threadbare Art Collective; Mitchel Whitington, author of “The Art of the Press Kit”; and literary agents Doris Booth, Paul Levine, Jim Donovan and Elaine Spencer. More at dfwwritersconference.org. The DFW Writers’ Workshop is a nonprofit organization devoted to helping writers get published. It meets
for read-and-critique sessions at 7 p.m. every Wednesday at the Ruth Millican
Center, 201 Cullum Drive, Euless. Visitors age 18 and up are welcome. ...
The Amy Foundation Writing Awards recognize writing that presents in a thought-provoking manner the biblical
position on issues affecting the world. Articles must have been published in a
secular, non-religious publication and must be reinforced with at least one
scripture passage. First prize is $10,000. Deadline: Jan. 31. ...
SPJ is accepting entries for the New America Award, which honors public service journalism collaborations with ethnic media that
explore an issue of importance to immigrant or ethnic communities. Entries must
have been published or broadcast in 2007, must be in English or provide English
translations, and be postmarked by March 3. Info from Heather Porter at (317) 927-8000, ext. 204, or hporter@spj.org. ...
Entries are being sought for the $75,000 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment, which is given for coverage produced and distributed in the United States or
Canada between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007. Postmark deadline is Jan. 14 for book
entries and Feb. 14 for all others. Send entries to the Grantham Prize
administrator at the Metcalf Institute, URI Graduate School of Oceanography,
Narragansett, R.I. 02882. Contact Sunshine Menezes, (401) 874-6499 or sunshine@gso.uri.edu.
IABC local update: IABC chair Todd Hattori, ABC, will discuss “Building Your Brand Using IABC Resources” at the Dallas IABC meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15. Info here.
PRSA local update: Mark this down — 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 21, professional development workshop and monthly meeting on
new media/social media with a noted author. Details next month.
PRSA local update II: Angela Jeffery, APR, the editorial research vice president at VMS, will discuss “PR Works: Linking Media Coverage to Business Outcomes” at the Dallas PRSA meeting Thursday, Jan. 10. Details here.
