eChaser: October 2010 / p3

SPJ national update IV: The FCC would not have rulemaking authority under a network neutrality bill that key House Democrats reportedly plan to introduce. Instead, the commission would deal with enforcement case by case. More here. Also, the FCC is opening up unused airwaves between television stations for wireless broadband that will be more powerful than today’s Wi-Fi hotspots. The agency is calling the technology “super Wi-Fi” and hopes to see devices utilizing it within a year. More here.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

In the hip-hip-huzzahs category, Fort Worth SPJ is one of three top large chapters for 2010. It was recognized Oct. 5 during the president’s installation banquet at the SPJ National Convention and Journalism Conference in Las Vegas. Also at the banquet, 36-year chapter member and former two-term president John Dycus received the 2010 Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Professional Member Award. “Everything I know about Mr. Dubin bespeaks a man of integrity and business savvy. Generosity. Philanthropy. A man who loves the profession, loves SPJ very much,” Dycus said in his acceptance speech. “That his name and my name are now linked in the archives is breathtaking.” ...

Professor Emeritus Doug Newsom and Steve Buttry, recently appointed director of community engagement for TBD, a Washington, D.C.-based internet and cable news operation, will be inducted into the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism Hall of Excellence at a program Oct. 12 at Colonial Country Club. Info at 817-257-4908 or schiefferschool@tcu.edu. Dr. Newsom is the longest serving faculty member in the more than 80-year history of the TCU journalism school and, among her copious accomplishments, the second female president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to his appointment at TBD, Buttry was editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, both print and online. Two days after becoming editor, Cedar Rapids experienced the worst natural disaster in Iowa history: the overwhelming flood of 2008. Despite the Gazette building losing power, the newspaper never missed an edition. Recognizing this, SPJ conferred on Buttry and his staff the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Deadline Reporting. ...

Greater Fort Worth PRSA member Andrea Phillips has earned her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). She recently moved to Fort Worth from Arkansas, where she was a member of PRSA’s Northwest Arkansas chapter. And GFW PRSA president Tom Burke has begun his IBM Corporate Service Corps blog for his upcoming trip to Turkey. Access the site at https://www-146.ibm.com/corporateservicecorps/user/3129. Click on “Track” to follow posts through at least the middle of November.

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GET A JOB

Justin Brands has a pro bono opening for a PR intern. No experience required. Must have at least a high school diploma, be enrolled in university classes (preferably basic news writing) and have advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Publisher, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. E- résumé and a cover letter to Megan Force, megan.force@justinbrands.com.

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NEW MEMBERS

SPJ ... Harriet Blake, greenrightnow.com ... Johnell Kelley, JPS Health Network ... Rhealene Mar, in the attic ... Jim Domke, Tex Pix Publishing

PRSA ... Anna Masters, Dow Jones ... Nicole Lyons, UNT Health Science Center ... Caresse Hoopman ... Dustin Van Orne, Modern Art Museum ... Lauren Venegas, C. Pharr & Co.

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Tom Burke, APR, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

The arrival of autumn has brought a flurry of activity for Greater Fort Worth PRSA and its members.

Our annual meeting and fall professional development event will be Wednesday, Oct. 13. Margaret Ritsch, APR, has put together a morning workshop entitled “Leadership: How to Get a Seat at the C-suite Table.” A crowd is expected for the workshop and the luncheon that follows. A large turnout of members is necessary to obtain a quorum and enable voting on bylaws changes. Officers for 2011 also will be elected.

Under the guidance of Cindy Vasquez, our chapter’s awards committee chair, several of our accredited members judged a recent competition held by the Las Vegas chapter, even though they didn’t get to go to Vegas! Cindy arranged for us to judge the competition as a fund-raiser. Joan Hunter and Andra Bennett House, APR, assisted at various stages of the process and during the judging weekend in downtown Cowtown, especially since yours truly was flat on his back in bed the whole time with the stomach flu.

Several chapter members will attend the PRSA international conference Oct. 16-19 in Washington, D.C. Andra and Laura Van Hoosier, APR, are our assembly delegates.

Even our Education and Social Media SIGs are getting in on the action with a luncheon workshop Wednesday, Nov. 3, featuring Richie Escovedo, Chip Stewart and Chip Hanna. Details soon.

With all of this activity heating up things, good thing the weather has cooled down!

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Laura Hanna, IABC Fort Worth

As IABC president, I hear from members all the time who say they’d like to get involved but don’t know how to squeeze the most out of their limited volunteer hours. I always tell them: Pick what you want to do, and we’ll make a place for you. Whether it’s contributing to programming, working with our student chapter, allocating scholarships or heading a committee, there is a place for everyone. Contact me at 817-531-5810 or lhanna@txwes.edu to let us know how the chapter can work with you.

A great start might be in helping with our annual communicators holiday party supporting the readers library at John Peter Smith Hospital. The party is set for Dec. 1, so we have time to canvass our members and friends for attractive auction items and suitable books (used magazines, too), especially material for children and teens.

I’d like this year’s donation drive be the best ever from IABC. This always seemed like a pleasant way to spend an evening and serve a worthwhile cause, then I saw firsthand how much the books really mean to kids at the hospital. The children so appreciate even a few minutes of diversion from battling their illnesses. These books — and this event — mean a lot more than I imagined. I hope that everyone will dig deep this year to help improve this experience at JPS. I know that I can count on IABC members to do their share.

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

SPJ digital media committee (and Fort Worth SPJ) member Rebecca Aguilar has a spot for guest bloggers who would like to contribute any information that could help SPJ members learn more about journalism-applicable software, hardware and freeware. E- her at aguilar.thereporter@yahoo.com.

The 2011 Kiplinger Fellowship is all about social media. Fifteen journalists will spend March 9-16 at Ohio State University honing their skills and experiencing the joys of strategic tweeting and other wonders of the web. Everything’s free, even travel and lodging. File the online application by Nov. 30. ...

The Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates reports that the number of spring 2009 j and mc bachelor’s degree recipients who had at least one job offer when they graduated dropped nearly 10 percentage points compared to 2008. Four in 10 of the graduates said there were specific things they wish they had received as part of their studies, chief among them technological skills. The data did suggest that the job market is improving. Of the graduates returning the survey in November 2009, only 46.5 percent had a full-time job. In May 2010 the rate was 62.8 percent. The survey details the experiences of 2,534 bachelor’s and 215 master’s degree recipients from 84 journalism and mass communication programs in the United States. It was conducted by the Cox Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research at the University of Georgia and sponsored by 14 media organizations, including the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, SPJ’s associated educational foundation. More here. ...

Closing words: “Writing a novel is like making love, but it’s also like having a tooth pulled. Sometimes it’s like making love while having a tooth pulled.” — Dean Koontz ... “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” — John Adams biographer David McCullough ... “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” — essayist and children’s writer E.B. White