eChaser: October 2013 / p3

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PEOPLE & PLACES

Latino(a)s in Tech Innovation & Social Media named Fort Worth SPJ’s Rebecca Aguilar a LATISM 2013 Social Network Leader. Presentations were made last month at the organization’s annual conference in New York City.

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GET A JOB

UTA Shorthorn ex Joan Khalaf reports two job openings at D Custom: full-time multimedia managing editor (5+ years experience) and full-time contract social media coordinator (entry level). “D Custom is growing again!” she writes. “Exciting place to work. I love it here.” Info. ...

The Balcom Agency seeks a digital strategy self-starter with at least five years experience to work with a variety of clients, from local nonprofits to global corporations. Info here or from Lynne Swihart, lynne@balcomagency.com. ...

The Denton Record-Chronicle has an opening for city editor. Send résumé to managing editor Dawn Cobb at dcobb@dentonrc.com. ...

The Greenwood (SC) Index-Journal, a 12,000-circulation daily newspaper, seeks a talented, energetic, detail-oriented copy editor/page designer.

In the past three years the Index-Journal has collected 86 South Carolina Press Association awards — the most successful three-year honors haul in the paper’s history. Just the thought gets associate editor Scott Bryan all lathered up. “Want to work at a newspaper not tied to the corporate structure, endlessly slashing staff in hopes of generating more money for stockholders?” he writes. “Want to work at a newspaper where quality journalism — above all other things — is the paramount objective?” Send résumé, cover letter and page-design clips via regular mail or e-mail to Bryan at P.O. Box 1018, Greenwood, SC 29648, sbryan@indexjournal.com.

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NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

SPJ ... Jenna Duncan, Denton Record-Chronicle ... Paul Carr, Baylor University Student Publications

PRSA ... Sarah Covington, Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau ... Jessica Dowdy, Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Chris Smith, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” – Jerry Seinfeld

Where do you fit in here? Many communications professionals get their start by writing, and certainly this is a fundamental skill required of most practitioners. However, focus has shifted to oral and visual communications. Additionally, as you move up the management PR ladder, your presentation skills could make or break you.

So how would you rate your public speaking and presentation skills? My own self-assessment years ago motivated me to join Toastmasters, a program that gives practical experience to those who don’t speak every day for a living (and who frankly might not have been born extroverts). Getting feedback on voice projection, “um” pauses and eye contact proved invaluable.

But there’s another part of presentation best practices that even skilled communicators don’t come close to perfecting, and that’s the slide show. During a recent conference, I observed good and bad speaking styles, messaging and visual aids. Even the best communicators can benefit from some slide help. For example, never crowd a slide with loads of text. The audience can’t take it all in. Don’t weigh your presentation down with too many slides, and for pete’s sake, get someone to proofread your dog and pony show.

This is not a problem for our October speaker, who is immensely skilled at message delivery. Dr. Joe Trahan III, APR, Fellow PRSA, will help attendees learn how to deliver excellent presentations with power and substance using his “Understand, Create, Address and Navigate” Spicy Communication Method. Delivering with power. That’s an accurate description of Dr. Trahan. I promise, if you attend, you will not forget this captivating, humorous speaker.

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

East Fort Worth champion and longtime SPJ member Jim Conlin died Sept. 20. He was 54. Too young, too young. He and his mama were/are the force behind the Greater Meadowbrook News, a determined advocate for the revitalization of their swath of Tarrant County. Wanda Conlin served on the SPJ chapter board and has hosted some unforgettable summer backyard parties. Our thoughts are with Wanda and her family. ...

Well-funded journalism may be fading, but the SPJ national convention, Excellence in Journalism 2013, still drew a crowd. Have some numbers: 1,611 people attended; 991 attendees downloaded the mobile app; 1,151 pictures on Instagram included #EIJ13; 13,234 tweets included #EIJ13; 195 people attended the president’s installation banquet. ...

This isn’t going anywhere, but Region 3 director Michael Koretzky’s proposal to change the name to Society for Professional Journalism has merit. He floated the idea during the EIJ closing business session. He makes his case here and here. Talk to @spj_tweets about it — national wants to hear your thoughts. ...

Thanks to a grant from the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the SPJ Journalism Training Program is up and running. Choose from modules on teaching about social media or mobile newsgathering, or focus on the multimedia basics, including video storytelling and data visualization. Info here.

Caught my eye. How climate change contributed to the Colorado flooding. ... Humans bear blame for climate change in landmark IPCC report. ... CuBox-i mini-computer goes up for preorder. ... Congress is killing science in America. ... Obama administration cracks down on power plant emissions. ... New CDC report links factory farms to antibiotic resistance. ... Exxon cutting housing aid for Arkansas oil spill victims. ... University of Texas team takes control of a yacht by spoofing its GPS. ... Climate change happening 10 times faster than at any point in the past 65 million years. ... Honduran government returns one million hectares of rainforest to indigenous people. ... America’s first digital library opens in Texas. ... Ingraffea: Natural gas is a gangplank, not a bridge fuel. ... Why Kansas is running out of water. ... Texas A&M opens nation’s largest research and development solar farm. ... Texas town runs out of water after using it for fracking. ... Still more proof that bike lanes boost business.

Closing words, writers edition: “People forget years and remember moments.” — writer Ann Beattie ... “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of ‘The Elements of Style.’ The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.” — author Dorothy Parker ... “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” — Thomas Mann ... “Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark.” — Annie Dillard on writing

Closing words II, oratory knows no era: “He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression; and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbor without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy; and a man without guile. He was a Caesar, without his ambition; Frederick without his tyranny; Napoleon without his selfishness; and Washington without his reward.” — Georgia Sen. Benjamin Harvey Hill in 1874, honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who had died four years previous