eChaser: February 2010 / p3

SPJ national update IV: Reporters feel jilted by Obama. ... Three judges on a federal appeals court seem ready to toss out a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live TV. The judicial panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan kept a government lawyer on the defensive with dozens of questions suggesting that the policy violates the First Amendment. Judge Rosemary Pooler said she understood broadcasters' argument that the threat of fines would have a chilling effect on live coverage. "You know what a good lawyer would say: 'If in doubt, don't run it,’ ” she said. "And that's the chill." More here. ... Panorama: a newspaper to inspire you all over again.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

Those West Texas aggressives at Abilene Christian University’s The Optimist vow to produce the first student newspaper for Apple’s new iPad. “This is yet another opportunity for our students to make use of a cutting-edge delivery system — the third version of mobile media delivery we have pioneered,” Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of ACU’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, says, citing the dissemination of The Optimist via iPhone in fall 2007 and the adoption of an updated iPhone application a year later. Bacon believes the iPad could revive publishing as a whole and newspaper publishing specifically: “The news business must find a way to keep news delivery profitable. Remaking the model for news delivery is the single most important discussion in journalism under way today. If our students and faculty, by being in the middle of that discussion, can help devise a profitable new delivery system, we will have accomplished something extraordinary.” For more on ACU’s mobile learning initiative, visit acu.edu/connected. ...

Rolando Guerrero and Megan Murphey have joined Fort Worth-based GCG Marketing as junior art director and account coordinator, respectively. Guerrero’s move follows an eight-month internship at Zag Integrated Marketing Communications, GCG’s professionally managed and student-run sister agency. Murphey had been an intern in GCG’s account services department. Both graduated from the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism. ...

The Southern Public Relations Federation recently presented its highest honor, the Professional Achievement Award, to Kristie Aylett, APR. Aylett, Greater Fort Worth PRSA’s president in 2002 and the current chair of the six-state PRSA Southwest District, was nominated by the Public Relations Association of Mississippi. The selection is based on professional activities, community service, career achievement and work examples.

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NEW MEMBERS

SPJ ... Kristin Hawkins, The Cattleman, Texas Cattle Raisers Association ... Jocelyn Tatum, Tarrant County College ... Diana Radspinner ... Libby Afflerbach ... John Lumpkin, TCU Schieffer School of Journalism

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Tom Burke, APR, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

It was morning. Early Monday morning. A pre-coffee, pre-newspaper, very early Monday morning. The boss was on the phone. She had just been told to be in an 8 a.m. meeting, and she needed a presentation. A presentation I had to put together, and fast. I thought this was a crisis. The next day I learned what a crisis really is.

An earthquake is a crisis. Especially an earthquake that pummels an already reeling country, delivering a cruel sucker punch to hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. Was this young boy’s mother or father alive? Any of his family members? What would these people eat or drink? Who would tend to their broken bones? Where would they live? One huge crisis after another. Minute by minute. Hour by hour.

As the situation unfolded before me on CNN, I was heartened that millions of us would do what we could to assist. I also was filled with pride that many local public relations and communications professionals are associated with organizations that assist in times of need — the American Red Cross, United Way, the Salvation Army, food banks, hospitals, emergency responders, women’s shelters, shelters for the homeless. What would we do without these groups and the public relations and communications professionals who help them fulfill their mission?

Think, too, about the dedicated communications professionals who staff critical positions at local corporations and organizations, school districts and government entities. They handle the crisis message on a regular basis, to the benefit of us all. Think H1N1 or the swine flu, and recall the superb job done recently by the Fort Worth Independent School District and Tarrant County. And be thankful for the media people who partner at times with PR departments to inform, educate and protect our community. It’s a partnership that lets us know that no matter what happens, day or night, helping hands are near.

Helping hands. Comfort. Hope. These things, and so much more, are needed by the people of Haiti. For they are the ones who experienced the real crisis.

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Cheryl Hart, IABC Fort Worth

February at IABC Fort Worth means more than valentines and roses. Big benefits will come from several events, beginning with the luncheon, which should be especially helpful for communicators who have faced a crisis or could be caught in one.

Presenter Jamie Brown, head of Jamie Brown Public Relations, is among the area’s most polished independent practitioners — especially in crisis situations. As a PR leader in Tarrant County, including being chief PR counsel for John Peter Smith Hospital, she is seasoned at handling a variety of emergency situations in the public and private arenas. Her presentation will be educational as well as engaging. Join us Tuesday, Feb. 23, between 11:30 am. and 1 p.m. in our spacious, new rooms at City Club, 301 Commerce St. in downtown Fort Worth. Check iabcfortworth.com for all things chapter related.

For would-be or lapsed members, IABC international is offering an incentive: Save $40 this month when you join or rejoin, as the application fee has been waived. Contact membership VP Sara Reynolds, sreynolds@crescent.com.

February marks the start of preparations of our annual Bronze Quill Awards. Bronze Quill is the only local competition specifically for public relations, public information and internal communications professionals in Fort Worth, with the winners recognized at the June luncheon. Entry deadline is April 20, so start planning your entries now. And if you’re looking for a way to get involved in the chapter, the Bronze Quill committee always needs sharp contributors. Contact me at Hart Marketing, 972-691-3209 or cheryl@hartmarketing.biz, to explore ways you can share in the fun.

Some IABC members are starting boot camp this month. Those seeking IABC’s Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) designation begin the chapter’s 2010 Accreditation Boot Camp on Feb. 2. They will meet the first Tuesday of each month, noon-1 p.m., to cover items such as preparing portfolios and studying for the oral and written exams. Lori De La Cruz, ABC, 817-233-4093 or lori@bluemarblemedia.net, has details.

On behalf of the 65-plus friendly members of IABC Fort Worth, happy Valentine’s Day!

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

Things to do, things to see. Things to experience. Like you needed an excuse to visit Austin in the spring, the SPJ Region 8 Conference unfolds March 5 and 6. Closer to home, RSVP deadline is Feb. 3 for the Careers in Mass Media Communications Conference, Saturday, Feb. 6, in the UTA Fine Arts Building. For the college students and young professionals of your acquaintance, this is for them. And if you’re an investigative reporter, the postmark deadline is approaching (Feb. 12) to enter Fort Worth SPJ’s First Amendment Awards. Sign on, sign up, make something happen. ...

New jobs continue to be posted to the SPJ Job Bank. If you haven’t already created a profile, consider putting your résumé there. Employers can browse these profiles whether they post a job or not.

Closing words: “TV and the internet are good because they keep stupid people from spending too much time out in public.” — author Douglas Coupland, who coined the concept of Generation X ... “A conservative is a man who sits and thinks, mostly sits.” — the 28th U.S. president, Woodrow Wilson, who also said, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” ... “Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted.” — Fred Allen ... “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.” — Jane Austen ... “Here’s the bottom line, or maybe the punch line: In Houston, it is now harder for a lawyer to be elected mayor than a lesbian.” — Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey on Houston’s recent mayoral election

Closing words II, wonder where that came from division: “There is something uncanny about these new-fangled vehicles. They are all unutterably ugly and never a one of them has been provided with a good, or even an endurable, name. The French, who are usually orthodox in their etymology if in nothing else, have evolved ‘automobile,’ which, being half Greek and half Latin, is so near to indecent that we print it with hesitation.” — New York Times editorial, Jan. 3, 1899, wherein appeared the first known use in English of “automobile”