eChaser: June 2010 / p2

PRSA local update V: PRSA national’s one-day T3PR: Theory, Tactics & Technology for High-Tech Public Relations Conference, June 11 in New York, promises robust networking, panel discussions and presentations targeting business and consumer technology. The conference is dedicated to helping PR pros stand out in the crowded space that is social media. Organizers say participants will take away new skills, tips and techniques, key contacts and the latest tools to create successful PR campaigns. Info here.

PRSA local update VI: With the recent addition of Margaret Ritsch, Gigi Westerman and Sandra Brodnicki, Greater Fort Worth PRSA now has 29 accredited members and four PRSA Fellows. Established in 1964, PRSA’s post-graduate certification measures a practitioner’s knowledge of communications theory and its application; establishes advanced capabilities in research, strategic planning, implementation and evaluation; and demonstrates a commitment to professional excellence and ethical conduct. For additional information e- accreditation chair Lisa Starnes, APR, at lisastarnes@texashealth.org.

PRSA local update VI: Standing reminder. 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.

PRSA local update VII: Janeice Weinand of King Chapman & Broussard, a specialist in performance-based leadership development and change management, will discuss all of that at the Dallas PRSA luncheon meeting Thursday, June 10. Register here.

SPJ national update: Times Square bomb scare: Reporters stumble out of theater, into major story. ... Dynamic data: Texas Tribune looking good after six months. ... The Senate voted unanimously May 5 to pass an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act that is designed to speed public records requests and investigate the sizable backlog of those still pending. The bipartisan Faster FOIA Act, co-sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would establish a commission to investigate FOIA backlogs and recommend how to expedite future requests. More here. ... Reporters Committee releases summary of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's media law background.

SPJ national update II: Growing role for newspapers is separating good campaign info from bad. ... The Pentagon on March 4 banned four reporters, including one from McClatchy Newspapers, from covering future military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, charging that they violated ground rules by publishing the name of a former Army interrogator who was a witness at a hearing there. The news organizations — McClatchy, the Toronto Star, the Toronto Globe and Mail, and CanWest Newspapers of Canada — said their reporters did nothing wrong. Col. David Lapan, the director of defense press operations, said the ban affects only the individual reporters and that their organizations will be allowed to send others to future hearings. More here and here and here. ... Toronto’s OpenFile.ca hopes to redefine online journalism. ... For U.S. newspaper industry, an example in Germany?

SPJ national update III: The death watch began in March 2009. That was when Time magazine published its scary-sounding list: The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America. Of the top 50 papers, the magazine speculated, at least eight would be gone in 18 months. Big names were on the list: The Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Miami Herald. As the 18-month mark approaches, Time is not exactly batting 1.000. More like zero. More here. ... ”True journalism will survive despite all odds.” ... “Journalism's crisis is public media's opportunity.”

SPJ national update IV: How the iPad could kill newspapers. ... The future of journalism: online, youthful and unafraid. ... What will save journalism? Apparently not advertising. ... The real estate market is expected to remain weak for at least another three years, but the category’s ad spending could see a small recovery this year. However, as a report from ad analyst Borrell Associates shows, any uptick will be unevenly spread across specific kinds of media outlets and regions. More here.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

TCU student journalists Julieta Chiquillo and Ronald Villegas are national finalists — which ranks them among the top three winners in their categories — in the 2009 SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards. Chiquillo, a spring 2010 graduate, was editor in chief of the Daily Skiff for the past semester. Villegas, a graphic arts major, graduated in 2009. Finalists were previously recognized by receiving first place in one of SPJ’s 12 regional competitions. Each regional winner advanced to the national competition. ...

Greater Fort Worth PRSA president Tom Burke, APR, will be deployed overseas for a month as a 2011 member of IBM’s Corporate Service Corps. Begun in 2008, the program is designed to strengthen leadership skills in high- performing and high-potential IBM employees. About 250 are selected each year from 5,000 applications for assignments with selected nonprofits, government agencies, universities and entrepreneurs in strategic IBM growth markets. Corporate Service Corps members have gone to Brazil, Romania, Ghana, South Africa, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, China, Turkey, Vietnam, Nigeria, Tanzania and Egypt. ...

UTA Shorthorn grad Susan Stephens is now the branding manager for Xomba.com, a community of writers who share their work and make a little money at the same time. “We are raising the online bar as far as quality goes, and we’re looking for some new featured writers for our site,” she reports. “Xomba.com is almost four years old, and we are taking off like a comet! Over the next few weeks we are implementing some new features, including a chat function, where you can chat not only with friends on Xomba, but you can access your Facebook friends and those from other networks you may be a part of. It’s really quite exciting because there are very few sites with that sort of capability. We are all about being a social community-minded site, encouraging our writers to develop their gifts and to share their tips/tricks with other writers. We are also developing Xomba University, our very own style guide.” So write something. Susan, not unlike Uncle Sam (OK, unlike) wants you. Reach her at susan@xomba.com.