eChaser: June 2009 / p2

The Writers’ Guild of Texas offers a WGT All-Stars Read-In at 7 p.m. Monday, June 15, at the Richardson Public Library, 900 Civic Center Drive. WGT third-Monday early-birds: 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 Publications Editors has created separate print and digital editorial conferences and Azbee Awards programs for 2009. The National Editorial Conference for print publications will be July 15-17 at the Marriott Washington in Washington, D.C. The Print Azbee Awards of Excellence banquet will take place during that conference. The National Digital Conference will be Nov. 5 in San Francisco. Digital Azbees will have an entry-submission deadline in late summer. Moe here or from local ASBPE organizer Tonie Auer at tonieauer@gmail.com.

IABC local update: Ann Matica writes in Prevention magazine that “when Finnish researchers tracked 22,000 municipal workers ages 19 to 62 during and after a nationwide recession, those who survived layoffs were five times more likely to die from heart disease or stroke in the 3 to 4 years after the cuts than employees whose workplaces weren’t rocked by downsizing.” Wilma Mathews, ABC, IABC Fellow, focuses on the survivors of difficult times and how to help them in “How to Make the Best of a Tough (Communication) Situation: Communicating with Survivors.” And Daria Steigman is convinced that small businesses have an advantage in this economy. Sound crazy? Read her article, “The Small Business Edge: Why Solopreneurs and Small Businesses Will Weather the Downturn.”

IABC local update II: Relentless networker Paul Maynard with Zachry Associates will present “Ten Rules of the Strategic Networker” at an IABC Dallas members-only breakfast Friday, June 5. Info here.

PRSA local update: Attention, nonprofits: PRSA wants to help. Nonprofit agencies are invited to submit a request for assistance to the chapter. A committee is in place to review proposals, which must be submitted by June 30. More from Cindy Vasquez at cindydvasquez@yahoo.com.

PRSA local update II: The next free webinar from national PRSA will be “Using Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery,” Tuesday, June 16, 2-3 p.m. Read about it and register here. The event earns 1.0 APR accreditation maintenance credits.

PRSA local update III: The PRSA Northeast District needs speakers for its annual conference Thursday, Oct. 8, in Rochester, N.Y. Programs should offer solid and authentic tactical and strategic insights and must not be a commercial for products or services. Presenters receive free registration to the conference. Send proposals by June 5 to conference co-chairs Heather Kowalczyk, hkowalczyk@sjfc.edu (585-899-3801), or Bethany Ryan, bethanyr@text100.com (585-697-2609). More at prsarochester.org/conference.html.

PRSA local update IV: A job listing at dfwcommunicators.com targeted to area communications professionals could stretch your recruitment dollars. The DFW Communicators Job Bank lists full-time, part-time and internship positions in PR, media affairs, advertising/sales, event planning, graphic design, marketing, and corporate and employee communications throughout North Texas. Employers who are members of the participating organizations may post a job listing for $50; the cost for nonmembers is $75. Nonprofits get a 50 percent discount. Each posting runs three weeks. Greater Fort Worth PRSA receives a portion of the proceeds when a member marks his or her membership status on the submission form. More from Jerrod Resweber at jresweber@webershandwick.com or 469-375-0216.

PRSA local update V: Writer and business consultant Jackie Huba, co-founder of the Society for Word of Mouth and co-author of two well-regarded business books, including “Citizen Marketers,” will profile “The One Percenters: Twitterers, Bloggers and Facebookers Who Influence Opinions About You” at a joint communicators luncheon Tuesday, June 16. Info here.

SPJ national update: The ACLU’s effort to get photos documenting the treatment of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan was halted by the Senate on May 21 in an amendment to the appropriations bill. The Senate also agreed to require new laws that exempt information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act to specifically reference the FOIA, making them easier for requesters to spot. More here. ... McClatchy Newspapers: Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s defense May 21 of Bush administration policies for interrogating suspected terrorists contained omissions, exaggerations and misstatements. ... Seymour Hersh on newspapers: “The model’s done, the game’s over.” ... Death row foes decry newsroom cuts.

SPJ national update II: Court rules that White House e-mails can be kept secret. SPJ and other groups have urged in a letter to President Obama that he reverse his predecessor’s position of secrecy and hiding its government business. More here and here. ... An excellent, if brief, look at Helen Thomas. ... For the heralded, esteemed, untouchable New York Times to steal from a blog seemed just downright bizarre.

SPJ national update III: What did Chevron do when it learned that “60 Minutes” was preparing a potentially damaging report about oil company contamination of the Amazon rain forest in Ecuador? It hired a former journalist to produce a mirror image of the report, but from the corporation’s point of view. More here. ... While every week brings fresh news of the demise of the newspaper industry — metro shutdowns, severe cuts, government curiosity — a new study suggests that newspapers do have a long-term future. More here. ... Rocky Mountain News veterans to launch online daily.

SPJ national update IV: Reasons to be optimistic about journalism in 2009. ... Next up: live mobile phone blogging. ... Time Inc. is putting more than 10 million images from Life magazine online using Google. Ninety-seven percent of the photos have never been seen by the public, Time says. In addition to images of the Kennedy assassination and Martin Luther King Jr., the collection includes the entire works left to the magazine from acclaimed Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. ... More signs of hope amid the chaos in journalism.