eChaser: April 2011 / p3

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Carol Murray, APR, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

Most of us in the public relations/communications realm lack a knack for numbers. We prefer the written or the spoken word, the bachelor of “arts” versus the bachelor of “science.” Must be that left brain, right brain thing. Which explains why the word “research” can send PR practitioners running for the doors as if they’d just heard of free burgers at the In-N-Out. (We can dream, can’t we?)

Even so, I encourage you to embrace research and attend our April 13 luncheon. Barring any snowstorms this time, UNT’s Dr. Paul Ruggiere will help us better understand the role research plays in developing a communications campaign and gauging its — and our — effectiveness. He also will provide tips for finding inexpensive research sources. In the grand scheme, this is better than a free burger, wouldn’t you say?

The meeting will serve as our annual PRSSA Pro-Am event. Students from UTA, TCU and ACU will attend a workshop with Dr. Ruggiere before mingling with us over lunch. The students are coming to mine us for advice and wisdom, and I hope you will join me in representing our organization. And if I do hear of any free double-doubles, I’ll let you know!

-----

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Laura Hanna, IABC Fort Worth

Anybody who has bought the latest and greatest electronic gear recently knows just how fleeting the “latest” part of that can be. Fortunately, a trusted old friend, the audio podcast, is still kicking. In fact, it is staking out a surprisingly vibrant position in today’s communications world.

The April 26 IABC program at the City Club in Sundance Square shows how powerful a kick the audio podcast can add to our arsenal and how easy it is to create. Dr. Christine Hubbard, English professor and audiopodcastologist extraordinaire at the TCC Northwest Campus, will lead the discussion. Check our website for reservations and more information.

At the March luncheon, Bronze Quill chair Tim Tune teased us with details of the 2011 edition. Tim sprinkled in a few surprises, but he kept us guessing on the guest who will make this year’s awards ceremony so “SUPER.”

As the only local awards competition for professional communicators, Bronze Quill is eagerly awaited. The 2011 theme is “Communications to the Nth Degree,” and organizers promise to take a radical look at the entries and to reward the best of the best with well-deserved recognition.

Tim has moved the awards ceremony from its traditional June time slot to Tuesday, July 26. Deadline for entries is May 6. Be sure your entries are ready to go long before the last minute. Details are at bronzequill.com.

Meanwhile, mark your calendars for noon Tuesday, April 26, at the City Club for the April member luncheon. See you there!

-----

OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

You’re coming to the awards dinner Friday, April 15, right? Killer food, killer view, killer company, plus an address by Shawn Williams, publisher/editor of the nationally acclaimed hyperlocal news site dallassouthblog.com. In 2008 Dallas South was among a select number of blogs to land credentials for the Democratic National Convention. In 2010 Williams received the Austin American-Statesman’s Texas Social Media Award, which recognizes the top 25 social media users in the state. A guest columnist for The Dallas Morning News and frequent contributor to D Magazine, he also provides monthly commentary for WFAA Channel 8’s “Inside Texas Politics.” So click back to p. 1 and RSVP before you get distracted. ... Up the road apiece, renowned journalist John Seigenthaler headlines a stellar lineup at the SPJ Region 8 Spring Conference, April 8-9 at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Get the scoop on everything from “Covering Violent Weather” to “How Tweet It Is.” E- questions to Scott Cooper or Carol Cole-Frowe. ...

What are the stories someone should be doing now that would clarify the overhaul of the nation’s health care system? In a free web chat Wednesday, April 6, the Reynolds Center will offer ideas and links; questions can be posed and answers received in real time. Learn more. A session Tuesday, April 19, will explore how local and federal public policy shapes today’s green energy industry. Learn more. ...

Less than three weeks after passing a severe anti-transparency bill, the Utah Legislature voted March 25 to repeal the law that would have stripped the state’s open records act of key provisions. The unpopular HB477 was quickly passed at the end of the regular legislative session, leading journalists, open government advocates and regular Utahans to flood legislators and the governor’s office with complaints. ...

Application deadline is May 2 for the Scripps Howard Immigration Program, which will bring together 12 leading journalists from U.S. media, Spanish- as well as English-language outlets, for training July 11-15 in Washington, D.C., on how to bolster immigration coverage and use of new digital reporting tools. Expenses will be paid by the program. ...

The Maynard Institute’s Multimedia Editing Program, June 1-30, provides hands-on instruction covering the breadth of digital media tools, including video, audio, blogging, slideshows, tagging, databases, basic HTML and analyzing the success of a web strategy. Strong copy editing skills and design are emphasized. Fellowships are available to journalists at U.S.-based newspapers with a circulation under 50,000. Application deadline is April 15. ...

Since 2007, SPJ has held its Reporters Institute to benefit early-career journalists. Funded by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the program brings 36 reporters together for three days of training and camaraderie. Those in the first to third years of their career should apply for the June 12-15 (broadcast and video) or July 10-13 (writing) programs.

Caught my eye. The clumsy bungling that is Helengate: How Helen Thomas reacted to news that SPJ retired the award in her name. ... Obama-appointed officials “meddling” in FOIA requests. ... Government requests to withhold information from public rise sixfold since 1998. ... Ken Salazar announces more public land in Wyoming to be auctioned for coal mining. ... On the one-year anniversary of health care reform, the falsehoods continue. ... Sunshine Week shame: 10 ways the government is opaque. ... Rick Perry blocks media from his Twitter account,, but TCU j-guy and FW SPJ director helps Dallas reporter get Perry’s tweets. ... Editorial writers group slams Perry for not taking questions. ... Another campaign promise shot: Obama DOJ “more aggressive than the Bush administration” in hounding journalists to reveal their sources. ... Straight to the source: Better know Epiphany Farms. ... Supreme Court: No privacy exemption for businesses in FOIA. ... Short-term budget bill slashes education. ... Conservative cities prepare for rising sea levels. ... Eight ways the GOP is trying to dismantle environmental protections. ... Before Japan meltdown, GOP mocked concerns about nuclear safety. ... Reporters Committee applauds Supreme Court ruling that even repugnant speech must be afforded protection. ... What scientists told the Senate about the Japan nuclear crisis. ... Is journalism’s future in hyperlocal news sites? ... Justices reject broad use of FOIA exemption. ... Rooftop supermarket garden provides produce to shoppers below. ... House panel votes to repeal new FCC internet rules. ... Online readership and ad revenue overtake newspapers. ... Rats approved as serivce animals amid protest from Tea Party and Feds. ... Reporter imprisoned in a closet at Biden fund-raiser.

Closing words: “These standards and the way they were developed just don’t pass the common-sense test. The law has a process laid out for how to write our state’s curriculum, and they (State Board of Education) thumbed their nose at it and wrote standards themselves.” — Texas House Administration chair Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, on why he thinks the social studies curriculum standards passed by the SBOE last year should be revisited ... “There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.” — Newt Gingrich on the Christian Broadcasting Network discussing cheating on his two previous wives with their eventual successors and partially blaming his conduct on his love for America

Closing words II: “The power of the people is much stronger than the people in power.” — Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who helped jumpstart Egypt’s democratic revolution with a Facebook page memorializing a victim of the regime, speaking at TEDxCairo ... “If we can’t tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may, how do we even have a First Amendment in this country?” — Minneapolis blogger John Hoff on a jury’s verdict that he pay $60,000 in damages for posting online comments that got an ex-community leader fired, even though the verdict noted that Hoff truthfully blogged that Jerry Moore was linked to a fraudulent mortgage

Closing words III, priorities division: “The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll, and we can be grateful for that.” — CNBC’s Larry Kudlow on Japan’s earthquake