eChaser: March 2010 / p2

“Getting published isn’t a selection process, it’s a survival process!” Terry Burns said that, and there’ll be more where that come from at the next Writers’ Guild of Texas meeting, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 15, at the Richardson Civic Center. Expect a lively Q&A. Burns has been with the Hartline Literary Agency for three years, has a substantial list of clients and a growing list of credits, and presents to conferences across the country. He’s No. 3 on the Publisher’s Marketplace list of agents helping debut authors to publish. A graduate of West Texas State, he runs a paperless office so no hard-copy submissions. Also this month: Saturday, March 27, workshop with Charlotte Lanham, multi-published “Chicken Soup” author, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Members $20, nonmembers $25. More at writersguildoftexas.org/joomla/. Third-Monday early-birds: April 19, John Tait, editor of American Literary Review; May 17, Rosemary Clement-Moore; June 21, WGT All-Stars Read-In. Send events calendar items to Carol Woods at shurlock@flash.net. ...

IABC local update: “You’re Already Doing It: What to Do When You Can’t NOT Communicate” with David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA and president of The Grossman Group, will fill the bill at the IABC Dallas luncheon meeting Tuesday, March 9. Register here.

PRSA local update: TPRA 2010 Leadership Day, March 5, will feature presentations by GFW PRSA’s own Doug Newsom, APR, Fellow, and Beth Ann Black and be headlined by some of Texas’ leading communications pros, including John McGrath, communications VP at GSD&M Idea City, and T.R. Reid, corporate communications VP at Dell. Click here to register online.

PRSA local update II: Get ready, all you public relations professionals with a mentoring spirit — Friday, April 9, is Pro-Am Day (and also the first luncheon meeting at Colonial Country Club after several years at the Petroleum Club). For anyone who wants to inspire young people to be passionate about PR, Pro-Am Day is the perfect way to get involved. Organizer Carroll Burney needs professionals to critique résumés and to conduct an interviewing workshop in the morning prior to the luncheon. E- cburney@girlsinctarrant.org to volunteer.

PRSA local update III: For those who have been preparing their APR Readiness Review questionnaire and portfolio but haven't taken the next step to the computerized exam, Houston PRSA is hosting an APR boot camp April 21-24. Prior organizers say the experience works best for senior practitioners with strong presentation skills who are ready to finish the APR process. Participants will receive a thorough overview of the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) that will be tested and go home with their questionnaire and portfolio ready for submission. Deadline to submit the APR application (and have payment turned in) is March 15.

PRSA local update IV: The 2010 PRSA Southwest District Conference, "Your Network, Your Net Worth," will be April 15-17 in Oklahoma City and feature a presentation by Alan Hilburg and GFW PRSA’s Margaret Ritsch on decision making and winning and keeping stakeholders’ trust. Hilburg is president and CEO of Hilburg and Associates and the author of two New York Times best-sellers. Ritsch is senior public relations director at the Balcom Agency in Fort Worth. More on the district conference at prsasw.org.

PRSA local update V: PRSA is giving away a free chapter membership with every new national membership in March and April — two memberships for the price of one. Any PR practitioner with at least two years in the field is eligible for membership in the world’s leading organization for PR professionals. Those with fewer than two years experience or who recently graduated from college and were active in PRSSA may join as an associate member. More from Carol Murray, APR, at cmurray@fwmsh.org.

PRSA local update VI: Panelists Ruth Fitzgibbons, The Richards Group; Maria May, the AT&T Center for the Performing Arts; and Omar Villafranca, KXAS-TV, will offer “A Diverse Look at Diversity: Managing Age Diversity in the Workplace” at the Dallas PRSA meeting Thursday, March 11, at the Park City Club. Info here.

Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas update: Forty-eight people attended a recent open government seminar in Farmers Branch co-sponsored by FOIFT and the Office of the Attorney General. Part of the session allowed attendees to meet the criteria for training in the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Public Information Act, as required by SB 286. Ironically, the same day the Texas Supreme Court handed down a ruling in a city of Dallas v. the attorney general case that resets the public information act’s 10-day deadline. Other open government seminars are scheduled this year in the Galveston/Clear Lake area, Corpus Christi and Abilene. The seminars are scheduled in off years when the Legislature is not in session.

SPJ national update: SPJ cautions journalists: Report the story, don’t become part of it. ...The Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images and other major news agencies refused to distribute a White House hand-out image of the Dalai Lama meeting with President Obama after the press was shut out of the event. AP editors said that its policy bars distribution of hand-out photos when the news organization believes that media access would have been possible, either as a group or through a pooled arrangement. “Government-controlled coverage is not acceptable in societies that promote freedom,” said AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll. Asked why the White House restricted press access, deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement: “Rather than restrict the president’s meeting with the Dalai Lama to a limited group of photographers, the White House has made available a photo of the meeting at flickr.com/whitehouse to allow any individual or news outlet around the world to view and download that photo free of charge.” More here and here. ... A newspaper editor against pay walls. ... Can investigate nonprofits sustain themselves?

SPJ national update II: Hoping to make Iceland a global home for freedom of speech, lawmakers asked the government to implement a journalist’s dream package of legislation — promising a haven for reporters who want to dig deep, hit hard and avoid being sued. The idea has found traction with Icelanders after last year’s devastating economic collapse, during which the public saw firsthand the drawbacks of a too-cozy relationship between government and news media. More here. ... Any journalist who cheerleads uncritically for Twitter is asking for his own destruction.