eChaser: November 2009 / p2

PRSA local update IV: How important is accreditation? Diane Rhodes Bergman, GFW PRSA’s newest accredited PR professional, is sold on the idea: “Attaining the APR turned out to be one of the most rewarding endeavors I have undertaken. I have been practicing PR professionally for over 15 years and have always strived to stay informed and updated. As a result, I was astonished at how much I learned going through this process and the impact it has had on my daily practice of public relations. It’s true that much of the information you review in preparation for the APR covers topics you have learned before. The difference is that this process forces you to actively apply the details of this knowledge to your real-life practice of the profession, which takes your learning to a whole new level. Now that I’ve completed the process, I realize that the APR designation is much more than three letters after your name; it symbolizes a deeper level of commitment to the profession, the public and to your employers/clients.” Learn more about professional accreditation at the chapter web site.

PRSA local update V: Consumers are digesting media at an increasingly rapid pace. James Peters, associate director of the Atlanta-based PR agency Ketchum South, will discuss the blend of social and traditional media strategies at the Thursday, Nov. 12, Dallas PRSA monthly luncheon. Info here.

SPJ national update: Newspapers nationwide show steep circulation declines. ... U.S. communications regulators voted unanimously Oct. 22 to support a preliminary open internet rule that would prevent telecom network operators from blocking content based on the revenue it generates. Service providers AT&T, Verizon and Qwest lobbied intensely against the proposal, saying it would limit their ability to manage their networks and stifle competition. More here. ... A national sample of student-run print publications reveals optimism. Not all college newspapers are staring obsolescence in the face. They maintain a core of loyal student readers, and that audience remains attractive to advertisers wanting campus customers. More here.

SPJ national update II: When is big news not that big? Or even news? When it’s a hoax. At which point the news is that Reuters, The New York Times and The Washington Post all fell for it. More here. ... Tension between the White House and Fox News continued to mount after broadcast bureau chiefs in Washington refused to go along with the Obama administration’s attempt to squeeze Fox News out of an interview. Despite the administration’s earlier pledge to play nice, the White House tried to exclude Fox News from interviewing executive-pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, prompting a defense from ABC News’ Jake Tapper, who called Fox News “one of our sister organizations.” More here. ... For more than a decade, classes of students at Northwestern University’s journalism school have scrutinized the work of prosecutors and the police as part of the Medill Innocence Project. Now local prosecutors have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages of the journalism students themselves. The university is fighting the subpoenas. More here and here.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

The Weatherford Independent School District Board of Trustees received the 2009 State Outstanding School Board award Oct. 2 at the TASA/TASB convention in Houston, whch is relevant here because SPJ member Derik Moore, the WISD communications director, created the 75-page application — that’s 22.57 megabytes! — in 28 days. Weatherford previously won the award in 1994. Since the award’s inception in 1971, only six school districts in Region XI have won it.

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