MEETINGS
Back to Basics: Writing Across Media
Good writing lives, and today it lives across media. Find out why one sentence
packs a punch while another one fizzles — in speeches, in text, in social media and in videos — at the September IABC meeting with Dr. Kay Colley.
It all comes down to good writing and storytelling, something in great demand.
Colley, a communication assistant professor at Texas Wesleyan University, where
she also serves as student media director and adviser to Texas Wesleyan IABC,
promises a few basic tips to strengthen these areas and get back to basics.
Colley’s professional background includes stints in public relations, magazines, and
daily and weekly newspapers. She was named 2011 Teacher of the Year by the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Small Programs
Interest Group.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27
Place: City Club, 301 Commerce St.
Cost: $25 members, $30 nonmembers, $20 students (online add $1)
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PR Fallout from Ethical Breaches: Accused, Actual or Misperceived
Your organization is accused of a payoff in its selection of a contractor. A
reporter asserts that information obtained in an FOI request is incomplete and
appears doctored. An employee of your client, using a phony ID, attacks a
competitor in social media posts. What’s your response?
Pat Philbin, APR, former external affairs director at FEMA, will offer guidelines at the
September meeting to protect against charges of unethical conduct. In 2007 a
FEMA news conference was misconstrued as fake, creating a national media
frenzy. This is one of many experiences Philbin will share from dealing with
news media and social media on high-stakes issues nationwide.
Philbin is president and CEO of Crisis1, based near Washington, D.C., which
provides executive-level crisis management, communications and training. He has
more than 25 years in strategic communications, public affairs, organization
management and business development with military, government, business and
nonprofits.
Concussion is a Gold Sponsor of this event, with travel assistance from American
Airlines. PRSA celebrates Ethics Month in September.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14
Place: Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle
Cost: $25 members, $35 nonmembers, $20 students (walk-ups add $5)
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What are Local Media Missing in Ethnic News Coverage?
NBC 5 reporter Susy Solis, activist and author Eddie Griffin, and businesswoman Cindy Dao, with freelance journalist Rebecca Aguilar as panel moderator, will offer their firsthand take on reporting on minority
issues in Tarrant County at the September Fort Worth SPJ meeting.
From new chapter president Kim Pewitt-Jones: “This season-opening meet, greet and eat at one of our favorite places, Joe T.
Garcia’s, is just a taste of the exciting year to come. The always-well-attended career
conference, the popular Christmas party/JPS book benefit at Coors, more fun
times at Joe T.’s, the awards and scholarship dinner in April — all are on tap, plus probably a few things we haven’t thought of yet. Oh, and we will host the SPJ Region 8 Conference in March. We
hope to see you a lot this year! We are honored to serve you, our members and
colleagues.”
Time & date: mingling 6 p.m., eats 6:30, then the program Wednesday, Sept. 14
Place: Joe T. Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant, 2201 N. Commerce St., Fort Worth
Cost: $17 members, $25 nonmembers, $10 students, free if you join right then and there
Menu: Joe T.’s renowned family-style enchilada dinner; cash bar
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Los Angeles Times Pulitzer Prize winner Ruben Vives will keynote the Hispanic Communicators 30th Anniversary Celebration, 7-11 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 15, at Cityplace Conference Center in Dallas. WB 33 news anchor Amanda Salinas will emcee. Admission is $50 for members, $60 nonmembers. More at dfwhispanic.org/. To make a scholarship donation or contribute to the silent auction, e- Gary Piña at garyp329@gmail.com. Vives and colleague Jeff Gottlieb received the gold medal for public series, the most prestigious of the Pulitzer
Prizes. Their work exposed corruption in Bell, Calif., leading to the
indictment of eight city officials. ...
Hispanic Communicators – DFW is accepting scholarship applications from high school seniors and college
students interested in the communications field. Deadline is Sept. 24;
recipients will be recognized at a reception Oct. 15. Download the form. ...
A powerful panel — moderator Tod Robberson, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer at The Dallas Morning News; Seyom Brown, John Goodwin Tower Distinguished Chair in International Politics and National
Security at the SMU Tower Center for Political Studies; Robin Lovin, Cary M. Maguire Professor of Ethics at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology; Joe W. “Chip” Pitts III, lecturer in law at Stanford Law School and Oxford University and former chair
of Amnesty International USA; and J. Matthew Wilson, SMU associate professor of political science — will examine “The Legacies of 9-11 ... Ten Years Later” at a Press Club of Dallas public event Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the KERA studios,
3000 Harry Hines Blvd. Registration begins at 5 p.m., followed by the
discussion at 6:15. Admission is $10 for members of the press club, World
Affairs Council of DFW and the Dallas Producers Association, $15 for nonmembers
and free for full-time students. RSVP to
nikin@nikimccuistion.com or 214-750-5157. ...
Reminder. The Freelance Alliance will host Deanne Lachner and Annette Maxberry-Cararra with Wisdom House Books and Marika Flatt, owner of PR by the Book, at the Friday, Sept. 9, brown bag lunch meeting at
the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce. More from Pat Pape at patpape@yahoo.com. ...
Cynthia Stillar heads The Small Press, a division of Brown Books Publishing Group, but before
that she spent more than six years with McGraw-Hill, earning her a 360-degree
view of the publishing cycle — from publicity and marketing to sales. As publicist, she landed media coverage
for a roster of national and international authors. As marketing manager, she
developed campaigns for diverse publishing lines. As national sales key
accounts rep, she sold to big-box retailers Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart. All of which should make “Pros and Cons of Keeping vs. Selling Rights,” the topic at the next Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting (7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, Richardson Public Library),
right up her galley.
• WGT third-Monday schedule for the rest of the year: Oct. 17, Rex McGee, “Screenwriting: Getting Your Words on the Big Screen”; Nov. 21, Heather Wood, “E-Commerce, Your Online Selling Options”; Dec. 19, holiday open house. • Send calendar items to Carol Woods at carol.woods@verizon.net.
