eChaser: July 2009 / p2

PRSA local update: Blue Marble Media president Lori De La Cruz, Star-Telegram media reporter Sandra Baker and Fort Worth Business Press editor Robert Francis will explore “Fame & Fortune 2.0: Positioning Yourself and Your Company for Success” at the Independent Practitioners SIG lunch and learn Wednesday, July 15, at Studio 121, 6125 Airport Freeway (five minutes east of downtown). This second segment of the Independent Practitioners SIG’s business development series will focus on how PR pros can gain prominence in their industry segment — De La Cruz has established her agency as a leader in the environmental niche — and how the media can help. One attendee will win a 30-second PSA compliments of Studio 121, including editing, postproduction and graphics but excluding original video production. The event is free to PRSA and PRSSA members, with guests paying $10. Bring your own lunch; Studio 121 will furnish drinks and snacks. Networking and studio tours begin at 11:15 a.m. prior to the noon seminar. RSVP by July 13. For more info and to register, contact Paul Sturiale, APR, 817-319-2852, paul@thepaologroup.com.

PRSA local update II: Deadline is July 17 to make nominations in the PRSA Individual Awards program for the Gold Anvil, considered a lifetime achievement award; the Outstanding Educator Award, for college and university teaching; the Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service, named in honor of the late Patrick Jackson, APR, Fellow PRSA, one of the industry’s most widely known and respected practitioners; the Paul M. Lund Public Service Award, named for the late Paul M. Lund, vice president of public relations and employee communications at AT&T in the early 1970s; and the Atlas Award for Lifetime Achievement in International Public Relations (recipient need not be a member of PRSA). The nomination form, criteria and procedures are here.

PRSA local update III: The May-June membership promotion has been extended to July 15. PRSA national is waiving the $65 initiation fee; mention the promotion code SPRING2009. New members pay $225 national dues; chapter dues are additional. Additional info: prsa.org/membership/staysmart.

PRSA local update IV: PRSA’s bylaws have not been thoroughly revised since they were ratified more than 60 years ago, but that’s about to change. Dan Keeney, APR, PRSA Assembly delegate, has an analysis.

PRSA local update V: Reminder. Nonprofit agencies still may submit a request for assistance to the chapter. A committee is in place to review proposals. More from Cindy Vasquez at cindydvasquez@yahoo.com.

SPJ national update: Journalism organizations, including SPJ, too cozy with drug industry? ... The Washington Post fired Dan Froomkin. ... Another credit rating downgrade for McClatchy. ... A Stars and Stripes reporter has been banned from returning to his embedded post with an Army unit in Mosul, Iraq, on the grounds that he refused to highlight good news about the war. Stars and Stripes editorial director Terry Leonard said the military approved an embedded position for the paper but with the caveat that the reporter could not be Heath Druzin, who followed the same unit on tours in February and March. Leonard cited claims that Druzin wrote imbalanced reports and misquoted people. More here and here. ... The Denver Post: Amateur web reporters shame networks.

SPJ national update II: A teacher who advises the West Fargo (N.D.) High School newspaper has been fired after officials objected to content in The Packer, particularly student-written columns. Jeremy Murphy said administrators cited a “difference in philosophy” over the adviser’s role. More here. ... The Columbia Journalism Review has published a whopping 727-story list of the best articles foreshadowing the financial crisis. The stories were written between 2000 and 2007. More here.

SPJ national update III: As she became the first U.S. governor to funnel taxpayer money into her state's ailing newspaper industry, Washington state's Chris Gregoire was hailed as a crusader for the survival of the press. More here. ... Would-be Woodwards and Bernsteins hiding out from the bad economy or learning new skills stormed the admissions offices of top-tier programs last fall. Columbia, Stanford and NYU applications increased 38 percent, 20 percent and 6 percent, respectively, from the previous year. Same thing at state schools. The University of Colorado (up 11 percent), University of North Carolina (up 14 percent) and University of Maryland (up 25 percent) all saw gains. More here.

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Is Shannon Running? It Shall be Revealed in the Fullness of Time

by Steve Knight

Tarrant County’s recently appointed district attorney told SPJ members at their June meeting that he has not yet committed to running for office when his term expires in 2010. Primaries will be in the spring.

“We will address that at the proper time,” said Joe Shannon Jr., a longtime Tarrant County assistant DA whom Gov. Rick Perry appointed in May to serve the remainder of Tim Curry’s term. Curry, who served as district attorney for 36 years, lost his battle with lung cancer in April.

In a far-ranging, relaxed talk, Shannon said he will operate the office of 156 lawyers much as Curry did. He expects that the office, with its $35 million annual budget, will grow because of an increase in white-collar crime.

“Mortgage fraud is up,” he said. “We have former IRS and FBI agents on these cases.” More than 400 properties in Tarrant County, worth about $50 million, are under investigation, he said, adding that fraudulent identification and paperwork are used to “steal real estate.”

Shannon said his office prosecutes more than 30,000 misdemeanors and 15,000 felonies a year. Attorneys also work civil cases, collecting millions of dollars in child support restitutions. “A prosecutor seeks truth, not victims,” he said, defining the prosecutor’s role as “to seek justice, not convictions.”

Concerning the stream of DNA-test exonerations in Dallas County, Shannon said that although DNA procedures have advanced in the last 10 years, only one case was overturned using DNA testing under Curry’s leadership. “We keep biological evidence. There is no indictment until lab results are complete. If he’s (the suspect) a crook, we’ll see him again.”

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PEOPLE & PLACES

Greater Fort Worth PRSA and SPJ member Kay Colley, assistant professor of mass communication at Texas Wesleyan University, co-authored an article in the PR Strategist spring 2009 issue titled "An Overlooked Social Media Tool? Making a Case for Wikis." The article link is actually located on a wiki that supports research on using wikis in public relations: kaycolley.wik.is/. ...

Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of “Face the Nation,” will address the annual Outstanding Citizen for Seniors award dinner Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Ridglea Country Club, benefiting Senior Citizen Services of Greater Tarrant County. More here.

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NEW MEMBERS

SPJ ... Chris Whitley, Tarrant County College Northeast

PRSA ... Megan Murphey (associate member)

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