eChaser: August 2013 / p3

GET A JOB

UTA Student Publications seeks an editorial adviser for The Shorthorn, the university’s award-winning, digital-first student news operation. The adviser is responsible for training and helping develop close to 60 student journalists in reporting, photography, design and online. Apply at http://www.uta.edu/jobs; applicants will receive instruction on submitting additional materials. All pieces, including letter of interest, résumé and five work samples, are required to be considered. Contact new SP director Beth Francesco Currie, bfrances@uta.edu, with questions. ...

The Gainesville Daily Register needs a versatile sports editor for county-wide coverage of high school sports and other events. Send résumé to publisher Jim Perry, The Gainesville Daily Register, 306 E. California St., Gainesville, TX 76240, or e- jperry@ntin.net. ...

The Temple Daily Telegram seeks a web-savvy, hands-on journalist to lead its digital news efforts. Send cover letter, résumé and work samples to Jerry Prickett at jprickett@tdtnews.com. ...

Tex Appeal, a monthly lifestyles magazine in Central Texas, seeks an experienced manager to guide the publication’s continued growth. Send cover letter and résumé to Tex Appeal, attn: Don Cooper, P.O. Box 6114, Temple, TX 76503, or e- dcooper@tdtnews.com. ...

LKR Social Media seeks a social media content creator and trainer (work from anywhere) to create video-based online training courses on social media marketing for the small business — everything from the nuts and bolts of how to send a message on twitter to creating advanced strategic campaigns. Description and application materials are here.

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Chris Smith, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

If you haven’t heard the big news, our chapter recently added another member to the national PRSA College of Fellows. PRSA announced July 17 that Greater Fort Worth’s Gigi Westerman, APR, was approved for recommendation to this prestigious community. With her October induction, that will make six fellows from our chapter. This is a huge accomplishment.

Consider just some of the criteria for becoming a fellow: a minimum of 20 years public relations experience; accredited in public relations (APR); demonstrated superior capability in the practice/teaching of public relations; contribution to the profession through service and leadership. Then there’s completing the application, a rigorous process that requires six letters of recommendation and an in-depth career summary. The applicant also must give five examples each in four criteria: Superior Professional Capability, Advancement of the Profession, Leadership and Service, and Role Modeling. When possible, the applicant must provide contact information for those involved in these examples. Gigi verifies that indeed these contacts are called.

All of this seems overwhelming. It didn’t faze Gigi. “Like anything worth doing, this requires a great deal of thoughtful effort,” she said. “Essentially, a candidate is demonstrating a career of strategic thinking and outcome-oriented work. It is a recognition of the value provided to clients, employers and others in our profession. The process is very difficult and time-consuming, but it is also a powerful retrospective.”

Congratulations, Gigi, on this impressive accomplishment, and thanks for your contributions to our profession and to our chapter. Thanks also to our other fellows — Carolyn Bobo, APR, Fellow PRSA (Class of 2001); Mary Dulle, APR, Fellow PRSA (Class of 2004); Bill Lawrence, APR, Fellow PRSA (Class of 2005); Dr. Doug Newsom, APR, Fellow PRSA (Class of 1990); and Dr. Amiso George, APR, Fellow PRSA (Class of 2010) — for their ongoing contributions.

Finally, one of our former presidents, Kristie Aylett, APR, was also named to the College of Fellows. Congratulations to Kristie and to all of our chapter members throughout history who played a part in our success.

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

Not much to say. Gannett lays off journalists at newspapers nationwide. ...

Helen Thomas kissed me on the forehead one afternoon in 2000 after I bought a dozen copies of her new book, “Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times,” to give as a thank you to the SPJ chapter board members (I was board president then). It was at a conference in Dallas, and her death last month, July 20, brought back the memory. You could challenge her politics — and SPJ did, tackily retiring its Helen Thomas Award — but nobody ever asked a better White House press corps question. Everyone needs a claim to fame, and this is mine. Helen Thomas never kissed you on the forehead. ...

The July installment of Jeff Rodriguez’s popular eChaser feature “This Month in PR/Marketing History” drew a response from attorney/SPJ member Perry Cockerell. Describing the infamous “Monkey Trial” of high school teacher John Scopes in 1925, Jeff wrote: “The jury, after talking less than 10 minutes in the hallway, convicted Scopes, even though he taught from a state-approved textbook. The conviction would be overturned on a technicality.” Perry replied: “My law professor said there were no technicalities, only law. I wondered what the technicality was. The court upheld the statute that forbid teaching evolution, but while the jury found Scopes guilty, it did not assess a fine against him. Under the Tennessee statute only the jury could impose a fine. Thus the trial court had no power to impose a fine above $50 and therefore exceeded its power in imposing a $100 fine. The court could not correct this error so it entered a nolle prosequi, meaning the indictment would be dismissed. It’s like there was no prosecution, so there was no conviction. This has always seemed like a fabricated case, with Scopes admitting to the statute in order to bring on the prosecution. The court should have dismissed the case at the beginning as an experiment. Laws on the books now prevent parties from bringing ‘experimental cases’ like this. I remember seeing ‘Inherit the Wind' and how dramatic the film was — almost real. Scopes was played by the man who played Darren Stevens on ‘Bewitched.' Maybe Hollywood and the world were bewitched by this trial."

Caught my eye. Texas SBOE vice chair rips senator again over CSCOPE. ... ABC News picks PR man to take Ted Koppel's chair. ... NASA House budget cuts renewable energy research. ... Map of climate change deniers in Congress. ... ‘You won't find climate change deniers on the fire line in the American West.’ ... Your Big Mac would only cost 68 cents more if McDonald’s doubled its pay. ... Gulf of Mexico dead zone to triple in size this year, NOAA Warns. ... National grid report challenges wind energy critics. ... Solar-powered aquaponics for apartments. ... Canadian schoolgirl creates Hollow Flashlight powered by body heat. ... Scientists create lithium-ion batteries the size of a grain of sand. ... Behold the world’s most beautiful street. ... Wood battery could be the future of large energy storage. ... Nano water chip could make desalination affordable.

Closing words: “My subject is the American Protestant small-town middle class. I like middles. It is in middles that extremes clash, where ambiguity restlessly lies.” — John Updike ... “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” — author Paul Theroux, who advised aspiring writers: “Leave home. Because if you stay home people will ask you questions that you can’t answer. They say, ‘What are you going to write? Where will you publish it? Who’s going to pay you? How will you make a living?’ If you leave home, no one asks you questions like that.”