MEETINGS
Speaker: John Kent, media relations specialist at Lockheed Martin
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 26
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Cost: members $25, nonmembers $30, students $20 (online add $1)
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@TheForefront: Successfully Navigating Social Media
Everyone’s doing it, but does that mean it’s right for you? Strategy underscores all methodologies for PR pros, so why
would social media be any different? For those waiting to take the
Facebook/Twitter plunge, the morning workshop and luncheon May 13 are the
perfect opportunity to learn best practices and how to get started. Organizers
vow that anyone already involved in social media will learn how to do it
better, more effectively and efficiently.
Twitter maven Beth Harte (@bethharte) will lead the workshop, with help from Richie Escovedo (@vedo) and Terry Morawski (@morate). Luncheon topic: ROI and measurement of social media strategies.
Time & date: workshop 8:30-11:45 a.m., lunch noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 13
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: workshop and lunch, members $95, nonmembers $115, students $55; workshop only,
members $65, nonmembers $85, students $35; lunch only, members $35, nonmembers
$55, students $25
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No May meeting scheduled, but you never know, that could change
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STRAIGHT STUFF
A diverse group of nonfiction storytellers from genres unexplored in previous
years — travel writing, broadcast, nature writing, documentary film — will highlight the 5th annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, July
24-26 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine.
American literary lion Paul Theroux will be on hand, as will Ira Glass, host and producer of NPR’s “This American Life”; Alma Guillermoprieto, Latin American correspondent for The New Yorker and The New York Review of
Books; humor writer Roy Blount Jr.; Stephanie Elizondo Griest, the “accidental memoirist” of Mexican-American society; Vogue narrative essayist Julia Reed; an authority on the assssination of Abraham Lincoln, Michael Kauffman; Gordon Grice, “the Stephen King of nature writers”; Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent Roger Thurow; and internationally acclaimed documentary filmmakers Allen Mondell and Cynthia Salzman Mondell. The conference features a book manuscript and essay writing contest, with the
manuscript winner receiving $3,000 cash and an option to sign a provisional
publishing contract with UNT Press. The article and essay writing contest
offers $12,000 in cash prizes. The 10 best articles or essays, including the
six cash award winners, will appear in a literary journal published by Hearst
Newspapers and the Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism. More at TheMayborn.unt.edu or from George Getschow at 972-746-1633. ...
Derringer Award winner Earl Staggs knows what makes a good tale. Like novels, no two short stories are exactly
alike, yet there are common threads: jump right in; keep it moving; bring it
home. Staggs will cover these and other elements of the fine-tuned short story at the Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18, at the Richardson Public
Library, 900 Civic Center Drive. WGT third-Monday early-birds: June 15, WGT
All-Stars Read-In; July 20, Nancy Robinson Masters, “10 Rules for Top Gun Writers”; Sept. 21, Cindy Valor on researching and writing the historical novel; Oct. 19, Melissa O’Neal and Carol Woods. More from writersguildoftexas.org/joomla/. ...
The American Society of Business Publication Editors refreshes its blog every Monday and Thursday with posts from industry leaders, updates on ASBPE
events and tips on how to increase productivity and become more marketable.
More from Tonie Auer, 817-925-2013 or tonieauer@gmail.com.
IABC local update: The Bronze Quill deadline has been extended to May 8. The
no-hassle entry process starts here.
IABC local update II: Brand expert and incoming IABC chair Mark Schumann, ABC, will discuss the “whys, whats and hows” of employer branding based on his 25 years in the business at the next Dallas
IABC luncheon, Tuesday, May 12. Register here.
IABC local update III: A new IABC site provides readings, definitions, survey results and interactive resources for
communicators new to social responsibility communication and seasoned pros
wishing to maximize their SR effectiveness. ... A recent archived CW Bulletin
focuses on anticipating a pandemic and how to develop a balanced communication
approach to address the situation before it develops. Go to http://bit.ly/u3sqc. Members can also see a free teleseminar by Paul Matalucci, ABC, ”Ten Vital Components of a Pandemic Communication Plan.”
PRSA local update: Three APRs are needed as panel volunteers for the chapter’s APR readiness review, to be held in early June. The review interview takes one
to two hours, plus discussion and judging time afterward. Panelists must commit
to go over the readiness review questionnaire and prepare questions (they will
receive the PRSA Readiness Review Guide and Materials). E- Lisa Starnes, APR, at lisastarnes@texashealth.org.
PRSA local update II: PRSA and the Financial Planning Association are now in the
advice business. PRSA members can access the “Ask a Financial Planning Question” e-mail hotline, search for a certified financial planner, listen to audiocasts,
read monthly perspectives and arrange free presenters for financial planning
seminars. In a related area, members receive exclusive rates on health, dental
and life insurance for themselves, their families and their businesses. More on
both programs at PRSA’s
MemberNet.
PRSA local update III: PRSA members who are unemployed or temporarily disabled
(such as from maternity leave) and have been members for at least five years
may receive a $115 one-year hardship national membership rate, a savings of $110. Everyone not in this category may
join national during May and June and have the $65 initiation fee waived; they
may join Greater Fort Worth PRSA for $45. Former PRSA members who have been
inactive for at least a year also are eligible for this offer, but those
joining as associate members are not. More at prsa.org/membership/StaySmart; enter promotion code spring2009 to receive the special offer.
PRSA local update IV: Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau president and CEO Phillip Jones will discuss how to create messages that sell Dallas as a tourist destination
at the Dallas PRSA meeting Thursday, May 14. Register here.
SPJ national update: A proposed shield law for journalists is headed to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk after unanimous approval April 30 in the Texas House. The House accepted
minor Senate changes, ending years of debate in both chambers. Similar
proposals were shot down in 2005 and 2007. More here and here. Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, who killed the bill in 2007 on a technicality, said April 1, when
the House gave preliminary approval, that she’s worried the bill gives privileges to journalists that only doctors, lawyers
and religious leaders have now. “If the pope came to America, he would not have the same privilege as these
journalists,” she said. More here and here. Meanwhile, SPJ president Dave Aeikens praised the U.S. House vote April 1 approving H.R. 985, the national Free Flow
of Information Act. “Today’s vote is fantastic news,” he said. “We are ready for the next step — getting the Senate to pass the bill and encouraging the Obama administration to continue its pledged support.” More here and here.
SPJ national update II: The Department of Veterans Affairs on April 7
confiscated the memory card from reporter David Schultz’s audio recorder as Schultz was interviewing a veteran with a terminal illness
who says he is receiving inadequate care at the VA Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Schultz is with Washington public radio station WAMU. More here and here. ... Airplane collisions with birds have more than doubled at 13 major U.S.
airports since 2000. Denver, Houston, Chicago O’Hare and New York’s Kennedy airport reported the most incidents, according to FAA data released
April 24. The FAA had proposed to keep secret from travelers its vast records
on where and how often commercial planes are damaged by hitting flying birds. More here.
