eChaser: October 2000


	Society of Professional Journalists, Fort Worth Professional Chapter Public Relations Society of America, Greater Fort Worth Chapter International Association of Business Communicators, Fort Worth Chapter eChaser archive [graphics format] October 2000 MEETINGS Next at IABC ... Good Media Relations: It's How the Bills Get Paid "Media relations is like a bank account. Every time you do something well, a penny goes into your account. Every time you do something negative, a nickel is withdrawn. Media relations is maintaining a positive balance in the mind of the public." Long-time area newsman Alex Burton said that, and there'll be more where it came from as he speaks at the October IABC luncheon and then leads an afternoon workshop on sharpening media skills. An author ("Establishing News Media Relations: Getting Along with the Fourth Utility," http://1stbooks.com) and media consultant, Burton will discuss why the Internet should be included in a company's public information policy, with emphasis on monitoring chat rooms; why feature stories are good for the bottom line; and why thoughtful effort is a precursor to good media relations. Burton is heard daily on 500 radio stations nationwide and writes for Senior News Source. * Date: Tuesday, Oct. 10 * Time: lunch 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., workshop 1:30-3:30 * Cost: lunch and workshop $45 members, $50 nonmembers, $41 students; lunch only $15 members, $20 nonmembers; workshop only $30 * Place: Petroleum Club, UPR Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor; garage is at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket stamped for special rate) * RSVP by noon Oct. 6: (817) 735-6157, fax (817) 735-6118 or mailto:frostdg@c-b.com ----- Next at PRSA ... No Pictures, No Zip: Enlivening a Report with Photos Photojournalists Max Faulkner and Glen Ellman know how to use pictures to best effect in annual reports and publications. They know how to develop photo news angles and how to obtain Click coverage. What they know, they'll share, at the PRSA meeting this month. A 16-year photo veteran of the Star-Telegram and director of photography since 1994, Faulkner headed the paper's photo coverage of the Branch Davidian standoff, the Oklahoma City bombing, three Super Bowls and most recently the Wedgwood Baptist Church shootings and the March 28 tornado. He is president-elect of the Fort Worth SPJ chapter. Long before he graduated from Syracuse University, Ellman as a boy would chase fire trucks through the streets of Long Island on his bike, wanting to be a firefighter. Then he sold his first photograph. Now a freelancer well-known among area advertising agencies, his career has taken him to the Associated Press (photo editor) and Star-Telegram (13 years chief photographer). He publishes a calendar, "Fire Showing," featuring the Fort Worth Fire Department in action. * Time & date: noon Wednesday, Oct. 11 * Place: Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center, 2820 Stadium Drive across from the TCU student center * Cost: $16 members, $19 guests, $15 students * RSVP by noon Oct. 9: (817) 347-8649 or mailto:carolyn.c.hodge@lmco.com ----- Next at SPJ ... Will Corporate Ownership Make Weeklies Meeklies? Alternative weeklies have long been the pesky nemesis of daily newspapers, but can alternatives keep their rogue edge while being bought out by big-chain corporations? Fort Worth gets the vote next, as FW Weekly has been acquired by New Times, a Phoenix-based conglomerate that owns alternative weeklies in Dallas (the Observer), St. Louis, San Francisco and Miami. John Forsyth and Peter Elkind have opinions, and they will highlight the October meeting. Forsyth, a degreed map maker who knows how to eat -- he wrote the two-volume "Best Country Cafes in Texas" -- has been FW Weekly editor since the paper's inception in April 1996. Prior to that, he spent 14 years in daily journalism at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Austin American-Statesman and The Houston Post. Elkind, for the last three years a senior writer for Fortune magazine, was editor of the Dallas Observer for four years in the mid-1990s and is a former staff writer for Texas Monthly. The panel also will feature Bruce Brugmann, founder of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which competes with New Times' SF Weekly. Brugmann has stout thoughts about New Times, and he will voice them, if from afar. * Date: Thursday, Oct. 12 * Time: mingling 5:45 p.m., dinner 6:45, program 7:45 * Place: "on the bridge," Renaissance Worthington Hotel * Cost: free for the program; to eat, $16 members, $25 nonmembers, $8 students * Menu: fresh garden salad, roasted chicken with tomato basil, raspberry sorbet for dessert; cash bar * RSVP: (817) 877-1171 or mailto:doti1@aol.com ======================================== STRAIGHT STUFF The M.J. Neeley Center for Productive Communication will present the fourth annual Corporate Communication Workshop, "Communicating in a Changing World," Feb. 22-23 at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center on the TCU campus. Topics will include giving winning presentations, interviewing effectively and communicating from a leadership perspective. The $100 registration -- $75 if received by Feb. 9 -- covers all meals and activities; Neeley alumni receive one-third off, and students two-thirds off. Cost for the keynote lunch only is $25 for professionals, $20 Neeley alumni and $10 students. The Center for Productive Communication is at (817) 257-7539 or mailto:cpc@tcu.edu. ... After debating the excitement levels of San Angelo vs. New Orleans (really, they did that), Region 8 director Todd Gillman and state SPJ leaders guided the next Region 8-Region 12 conference to, drum roll, the Louisiana fun capital. Dates: March 16-18, 2001. Rooms are $119/night at the Queen & Crescent Hotel (http://queenandcrescent.com), just outside the French Quarter. This is prime time in New Orleans: pre-summer, post-Mardi Gras, plenty of jazz and gumbo and, of course, all the writing and professional development associated with an SPJ National Writers Workshop. "A huge, huge thanks to the folks at the West Texas pro chapter," Gillman says, "for hanging in there with us as this came together." ... Gary Hardee and Kay Pirtle will represent Fort Worth SPJ at the national convention in Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 26-28, gathering tips for when Fort Worth hosts the 2002 convention. More convention info at http://spj.org. ... As stipulated in its bylaws, the Greater Fort Worth PRSA Board of Directors is making a second announcement of the chapter's slate of officers for 2001, to be offered for vote at the annual meeting Oct. 11: president, Mary Dulle; president-elect, Kristie Aylett, APR; vice president, Laura Squires, APR; secretary, Julie Neal; treasurer, Jade Hoffman; treasurer-elect, Pamela Smith; directors, Roger Partridge, Carolyn Bobo, APR, and Carolyn Hodge, APR; and delegates, Paul Sturiale, APR, and Beth Park, APR. Immediate past president will be Kim Speairs, APR. Nominations may be made in advance of the meeting in writing to nominating committee chair Sturiale, 5121 Turtle Creek Court, Fort Worth 76116 or mailto:pauls2@home.com. Nominations also will be accepted from the floor. Nominators and nominees must be registered members in good standing with the chapter. Members may nominate themselves. ----- Authors of SPJ Ethics Handbook Apologize to Snyder The authors of "Doing Ethics in Journalism," an SPJ ethics handbook, apologized to KXAS-TV anchor Mike Snyder for errors in a case study in the handbook's third edition. In a settlement reached last month, SPJ agreed to post the apology on its Web site for 120 days and print it in the Quill magazine and to pay Snyder's $17,884 legal fees. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies referenced the apology on its site. Bob Steele, director of the Poynter's ethics program and one of the handbook's three authors, acknowledged to Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Max Baker "a couple of factual errors." A statement filed in Tarrant County District Court and signed by Steele and professors Jay Black of the University of South Florida and Ralph Barney of Brigham Young University lists half a dozen substantive mistakes, including attributing actions to Snyder that he did not take and citing interviews with Snyder that were never conducted. The case study states that Snyder "acted as master of ceremonies during rallies for (George W.) Bush at several campaign stops" and "often introduced Bush as 'the next governor of Texas,' " neither of which, according to the authors' statement, is true. The case study states: "In interviews, Snyder said since he's an anchor who doesn't actively report on campaign issues, he should be allowed to do as he pleases during his time off. Snyder also said the Bush campaign never paid him for his work. He was a volunteer." No such interviews exist, the authors' statement admits, and Snyder never spoke the paraphrased quotes. "I'm satisfied that this was settled. It was never over money," Snyder said. "This case, with these facts ... this is a $10 million settlement case if we had gone to trial." ----- A Lesson in Faith: Survivors of Shootings at Wedgwood Baptist Credit God as Healing Continues by Brenda Davis On Sept. 15, 1999, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Rebeca Rodriguez was listening to a police scanner when she realized something big was happening at a Fort Worth church. She became concerned when dispatchers issued calls for ambulances and additional police squads. "Then they said possible fatalities," she said. "I just grabbed a notebook and ran." During a youth rally at Wedgwood Baptist Church, gunman Larry Ashbrook had entered the sanctuary and begun a 22-minute assault that ended when he took his life. Seven others died, and seven were wounded. Speaking at the September SPJ meeting, Rodriguez, Wedgwood youth minister Jay Fannin; Judy Stegner, mother of shooting victim Justin Ray; and Martin Coleman, programming vice president for the Southern Baptist radio-TV wing, FamilyNet, described the minutes and days following the massacre. Fannin, who was injured in the shooting, praised the media but encouraged reporters to allow the victims and families to express their faith. "God is helping us to recover," he said. "The story wasn't just about the shooting, but the recovery as well." While Stegner expressed admiration for the media, she expressed concern that the story about her son videotaping the shooting was not entirely accurate. He was there to tape a concert, she said. "He didn't just pick up a camera and start taping the shooting. Had he known what was happening, he would have thrown down the camera and helped his friends." Stegner said that members of the media treated her family well. At one point, a reporter helped her mother find her at the hospital. Then there was the photographer who took her picture while she was standing beside her son's casket. "He was just doing his job," she said. Coleman, who is also a member at Wedgwood Baptist, said the past year has been one of healing for the church and the community. He produced a video focusing on the families of the shooting victims. "I wanted to do a video that was relevant to nonbelievers and believers alike," he said. "The story is about the healing process and the continued faith in God." ======================================== GET A JOB The TCU Office of Admissions seeks a director of admissions marketing. Bachelor's degree and at least 3 years in PR or marketing required. Desktop publishing a must. Duties: oversee the creation of recruiting materials; participate in the university's integrated marketing efforts with an eye toward the teen market; manage photo and video shoots; maintain relationships with campus departments. Fax that resume to Larry Lauer at (817) 257-7272. ... It's not the communications industry, but it might be a job. Reach the UTA jobline at (817) 272-3455. ... You're needed in Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Bethel, Alaska; and Owensboro, Ky. Newspaper jobs there dominate recent Pew Center for Civic Journalism postings. See http://pewcenter.org/doingcj/jobboard.php3. ======================================== PEOPLE & PLACES Star-T deputy sports editor Kevin Lyons and fiancé Kim Shuler eloped to San Francisco the second weekend in September. The S-T's Adrienne Jones, or was it Bob Kowalski, suggested that Kevin may have picked the date -- near the start of football season -- to help him in the future remember his anniversary. ... Baby daze! Jennifer Hensley resigned as an investor relations specialist with Range Resources to tackle a greater challenge, caring for Blake Reynolds Hensley, born to Jennifer and husband Shane on Aug. 29, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Mother and son are well, and she will begin freelance IR/PR work in early 2001. E-mail her at mailto:freedomhensley@hotmail.com. Clara Faith Friedlander was added to the Star-Telegram family about 6 a.m. Aug. 14. She weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and apparently couldn't stand to miss one more day of football season. Parents are Andy and Glenda Friedlander. Meanwhile, Arlington Star-T page designer Diana Andro and husband Anthony, an S-T Northeast sports writer, welcomed son Patrick Anthony at 9 a.m. Aug. 12; he weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces. Kudos & Contracts ... Star-Telegram editorial writer J.R. Labbe has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Editorial Writers. ... It was a busy summer at Stuart Bacon. The advertising PR firm was selected to launch a campaign heralding the inaugural exhibition in the spring of the Meadows Museum in Dallas; redesign All Saints Health System's Web site (http://allsaints.com); and develop campaigns for two restaurants, the Japanese Palace and The Jubilee Cafe, and for Interactive Associates, a Fort Worth Web development company. ======================================== NEW MEMBERS, WELCOME SPJ ... UNT journalism senior Marilee McInnis, who recently moved to Fort Worth from Los Angeles, where she worked as an advertising and marketing manager in the real estate and restaurant industries; after graduating in December 2001, she wants to report on the arts. ======================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Additions ... at the S-T: U. of Montana grad Bill Miller, formerly editor of the Cleburne Times-Review with stints in San Angelo, Alamogordo, N.M., and Washington, D.C.; assistant city editor in Arlington supervising the police reporters ... UT Austin master's candidate Rocío Ortega, with extensive experience (covering the visit of Pope John Paul II to Mexico in 1990 and the meeting of Latin American presidents in Quito, Ecuador, in 1995; reporting on theater, music and the arts) at two of Mexico's leading newspapers, El Norte and Reforma; covering Dallas County for La Estrella ... 10-year AP newswoman Theresa Humphrey (the lady with the big bucket of candy on her desk), formerly assistant metro editor at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky.; city editor in Arlington ... U. of North Carolina grad Amber Nimocks, formerly a multi-threat (editor of weekly entertainment section, columnist, assistant editor of zoned news section, education reporter, county beat reporter) at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer; features copy editor. Promotions ... at the S-T: former copy editor and page designer Kristi Payne; from news editor to editor, Arlington Hometown Star ... Cynthia Mendez, former page designer for La Estrella, the features department and the Northeast bureau; to news editor, Arlington Hometown Star ... Northwestern grad Crystal Yednak, with night general assignments experience on various topics, from forest fire fighters to European twister-chasers; to higher education reporter ... SMU grad Peyton Woodson, leaving a yearlong rotating internship with Knight Ridder to take the night GA job ... Toni Heinzl, picking up civil courts coverage. Shiftings: Susan Scott Wilson, from content manager at dfw.com/Star-Telegram.com to Web content developer at Verizon Communications in Las Colinas ... Tom Urquhart, from account executive at Type Case Digital Imaging to account executive at the high-speed Web hosting company Verio Texas in Dallas ... Donald Ray, from the Dallas Arboretum to deputy public affairs officer for the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth. ======================================== FROM THE PRESIDENT Kim Speairs / PRSA Just as the national political scene has gotten interesting, the PRSA political machine is progressing smoothly, both locally and nationally. * Local elections/annual meeting * A full house would be appropriate Oct. 11 for the annual meeting and officer elections. (Speaking of leaders, be sure to welcome Carroll Cole as our student liaison chairperson for 2000-2001. She's already established excellent rapport with our PRSSA chapters.) We've enjoyed wonderful turnouts of more than 80 the past two months, and we expect the trend to continue. * National elections/PRSA Assembly * Fearless delegates Beth Park, APR, and Paul Sturiale, APR, will represent our chapter Oct. 21 at the National PRSA Assembly in Chicago. The Assembly reviews the association's activities, opens the 2000 Public Relations World Congress and selects national officers. As of press time, no one had challenged the slate of candidates, so we expect this year's Assembly to be much calmer than last year. * Scholarship program * Thanks to the hard work of awards/scholarship chair Henry Stewart, APR, and approval of our board, our scholarship program is in place. A $500 scholarship will be given annually at TCU, Abilene Christian University and Hardin Simmons University, with the first awards in fall 2001. A recipient must be studying public relations and be a member of PRSSA. We all should be proud that our chapter has achieved such stability and that we can contribute financially to the future of our industry. * Holiday party * Christmas decorations are already up at the mall, so it must be time to begin crafting our holiday party. We'll celebrate with SPJ and IABC at the Miller Marketplace and Brew Kettle Museum on Wednesday evening, Dec. 13. I'm looking for a few good volunteers to help plan the festivities; e-mail me at mailto:kim@stuartbacon.com. Or if you can't commit the time, please consider donating a fun, interesting item for the silent auction. ----- PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Arden Dufilho / IABC If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, then it's also a terrific thing to share. As I write this, I am packing for the District 5 MindShare conference in Tulsa. I've been talking up the value of these meetings, and now I hope to learn firsthand. Jan Gary and Pat McCombs will also be there. I expect everything -- the seminars and Silver Quill Awards, a mini-Chapter Leaders Institute and D5 board meetings -- to be eye-opening. I have attended an IABC Chapter Leaders Institute and an International Conference and been most impressed, not only with the programming, but the people. I would encourage more of our membership, especially anyone with aspirations of moving up the IABC food chain (perhaps to a board position), to take advantage of these fabulous learning opportunities. The next Chapter Leaders Institute is Nov. 9-11 in Tampa; the next International Conference will be in New York in June. These are opportunities not to be missed. IABC is a great way to improve yourself as well as your career. I've been in the communications racket more than 20 years, and I'm not ready to stop learning. Our business changes daily, and keeping up with technology is a challenge we all face. If I accomplish nothing else this year, I hope to make the Fort Worth chapter more active both locally and nationally. If this happens, I will consider my year a tremendous success. ----- OVER & OUT John Dycus / SPJ The Sept. 29 Chicago Sun-Times front-page lead headline, in about 144-point type, reads "AMERICANS GET ABORTION PILL." Directly below it is a 4-column photo of Olympian Marion Jones, an American flag draped around her shoulders. That headline? "MARION TAKES TWO." ... That's chapter president-elect Max Faulkner, hand to noble chin, in the September Quill (special section, p. 10) at the recent Ted Scripps Leadership Training at DePauw University. He does look presidential, don't you think? ... For reporting at street level, note the Pew Center for Civic Journalism (http://pewcenter.org). Example: Four in 10 journalists say they have avoided stories or softened the tone to benefit their own news organizations, according to a poll by the Pew people and Columbia Journalism Review. The reason, the poll says, is market pressure. While media independence, Austin American-Statesman editor Richard Oppel, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, says the problem may be more perception than reality: "You're probably more immunized in big operations than the smaller ones. Journalists ought to ignore all that stuff and chase the story." (source: AP via The Washington Post) ... This is all over the Internet. OK, OK, one last time: The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country. The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country. The Washington Post is read by people who think they ought to run the country. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't understand The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country, if they could spare the time. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country, as long as he does something scandalous. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country, or that anyone is running it.

Long-time area newsman Alex Burton said that, and there'll be more where it came from as he speaks at the October IABC luncheon and then leads an afternoon workshop on sharpening media skills. An author ("Establishing News Media Relations: Getting Along with the Fourth Utility," http://1stbooks.com) and media consultant, Burton will discuss why the Internet should be included in a company's public information policy, with emphasis on monitoring chat rooms; why feature stories are good for the bottom line; and why thoughtful effort is a precursor to good media relations. Burton is heard daily on 500 radio stations nationwide and writes for Senior News Source.

* Date: Tuesday, Oct. 10

* Time: lunch 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., workshop 1:30-3:30

* Cost: lunch and workshop $45 members, $50 nonmembers, $41 students; lunch only $15 members, $20 nonmembers; workshop only $30

* Place: Petroleum Club, UPR Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor; garage is at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket stamped for special rate)

* RSVP by noon Oct. 6: (817) 735-6157, fax (817) 735-6118 or mailto:frostdg@c-b.com

No Pictures, No Zip: Enlivening a Report with Photos

A 16-year photo veteran of the Star-Telegram and director of photography since 1994, Faulkner headed the paper's photo coverage of the Branch Davidian standoff, the Oklahoma City bombing, three Super Bowls and most recently the Wedgwood Baptist Church shootings and the March 28 tornado. He is president-elect of the Fort Worth SPJ chapter.

Long before he graduated from Syracuse University, Ellman as a boy would chase fire trucks through the streets of Long Island on his bike, wanting to be a firefighter. Then he sold his first photograph. Now a freelancer well-known among area advertising agencies, his career has taken him to the Associated Press (photo editor) and Star-Telegram (13 years chief photographer). He publishes a calendar, "Fire Showing," featuring the Fort Worth Fire Department in action.

* Time & date: noon Wednesday, Oct. 11

* Place: Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center, 2820 Stadium Drive across from the TCU student center

* Cost: $16 members, $19 guests, $15 students

* RSVP by noon Oct. 9: (817) 347-8649 or mailto:carolyn.c.hodge@lmco.com

Will Corporate Ownership Make Weeklies Meeklies?

Alternative weeklies have long been the pesky nemesis of daily newspapers, but can alternatives keep their rogue edge while being bought out by big-chain corporations? Fort Worth gets the vote next, as FW Weekly has been acquired by New Times, a Phoenix-based conglomerate that owns alternative weeklies in Dallas (the Observer), St. Louis, San Francisco and Miami. John Forsyth and Peter Elkind have opinions, and they will highlight the October meeting.

Forsyth, a degreed map maker who knows how to eat -- he wrote the two-volume "Best Country Cafes in Texas" -- has been FW Weekly editor since the paper's inception in April 1996. Prior to that, he spent 14 years in daily journalism at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Austin American-Statesman and The Houston Post. Elkind, for the last three years a senior writer for Fortune magazine, was editor of the Dallas Observer for four years in the mid-1990s and is a former staff writer for Texas Monthly. The panel also will feature Bruce Brugmann, founder of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which competes with New Times' SF Weekly. Brugmann has stout thoughts about New Times, and he will voice them, if from afar.

* Date: Thursday, Oct. 12

* Time: mingling 5:45 p.m., dinner 6:45, program 7:45

* Place: "on the bridge," Renaissance Worthington Hotel

* Cost: free for the program; to eat, $16 members, $25 nonmembers, $8 students

* Menu: fresh garden salad, roasted chicken with tomato basil, raspberry sorbet for dessert; cash bar

* RSVP: (817) 877-1171 or mailto:doti1@aol.com

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The M.J. Neeley Center for Productive Communication will present the fourth annual Corporate Communication Workshop, "Communicating in a Changing World," Feb. 22-23 at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center on the TCU campus. Topics will include giving winning presentations, interviewing effectively and communicating from a leadership perspective. The $100 registration -- $75 if received by Feb. 9 -- covers all meals and activities; Neeley alumni receive one-third off, and students two-thirds off. Cost for the keynote lunch only is $25 for professionals, $20 Neeley alumni and $10 students. The Center for Productive Communication is at (817) 257-7539 or mailto:cpc@tcu.edu. ... After debating the excitement levels of San Angelo vs. New Orleans (really, they did that), Region 8 director Todd Gillman and state SPJ leaders guided the next Region 8-Region 12 conference to, drum roll, the Louisiana fun capital. Dates: March 16-18, 2001. Rooms are $119/night at the Queen & Crescent Hotel (http://queenandcrescent.com), just outside the French Quarter. This is prime time in New Orleans: pre-summer, post-Mardi Gras, plenty of jazz and gumbo and, of course, all the writing and professional development associated with an SPJ National Writers Workshop. "A huge, huge thanks to the folks at the West Texas pro chapter," Gillman says, "for hanging in there with us as this came together." ... Gary Hardee and Kay Pirtle will represent Fort Worth SPJ at the national convention in Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 26-28, gathering tips for when Fort Worth hosts the 2002 convention. More convention info at http://spj.org. ...

As stipulated in its bylaws, the Greater Fort Worth PRSA Board of Directors is making a second announcement of the chapter's slate of officers for 2001, to be offered for vote at the annual meeting Oct. 11: president, Mary Dulle; president-elect, Kristie Aylett, APR; vice president, Laura Squires, APR; secretary, Julie Neal; treasurer, Jade Hoffman; treasurer-elect, Pamela Smith; directors, Roger Partridge, Carolyn Bobo, APR, and Carolyn Hodge, APR; and delegates, Paul Sturiale, APR, and Beth Park, APR. Immediate past president will be Kim Speairs, APR. Nominations may be made in advance of the meeting in writing to nominating committee chair Sturiale, 5121 Turtle Creek Court, Fort Worth 76116 or mailto:pauls2@home.com. Nominations also will be accepted from the floor. Nominators and nominees must be registered members in good standing with the chapter. Members may nominate themselves.

Authors of SPJ Ethics Handbook Apologize to Snyder

The authors of "Doing Ethics in Journalism," an SPJ ethics handbook, apologized to KXAS-TV anchor Mike Snyder for errors in a case study in the handbook's third edition. In a settlement reached last month, SPJ agreed to post the apology on its Web site for 120 days and print it in the Quill magazine and to pay Snyder's $17,884 legal fees. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies referenced the apology on its site.

Bob Steele, director of the Poynter's ethics program and one of the handbook's three authors, acknowledged to Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Max Baker "a couple of factual errors." A statement filed in Tarrant County District Court and signed by Steele and professors Jay Black of the University of South Florida and Ralph Barney of Brigham Young University lists half a dozen substantive mistakes, including attributing actions to Snyder that he did not take and citing interviews with Snyder that were never conducted.

The case study states that Snyder "acted as master of ceremonies during rallies for (George W.) Bush at several campaign stops" and "often introduced Bush as 'the next governor of Texas,' " neither of which, according to the authors' statement, is true. The case study states: "In interviews, Snyder said since he's an anchor who doesn't actively report on campaign issues, he should be allowed to do as he pleases during his time off. Snyder also said the Bush campaign never paid him for his work. He was a volunteer." No such interviews exist, the authors' statement admits, and Snyder never spoke the paraphrased quotes.

A Lesson in Faith: Survivors of Shootings at

Wedgwood Baptist Credit God as Healing Continues

On Sept. 15, 1999, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Rebeca Rodriguez was listening to a police scanner when she realized something big was happening at a Fort Worth church. She became concerned when dispatchers issued calls for ambulances and additional police squads. "Then they said possible fatalities," she said. "I just grabbed a notebook and ran."

Speaking at the September SPJ meeting, Rodriguez, Wedgwood youth minister Jay Fannin; Judy Stegner, mother of shooting victim Justin Ray; and Martin Coleman, programming vice president for the Southern Baptist radio-TV wing, FamilyNet, described the minutes and days following the massacre. Fannin, who was injured in the shooting, praised the media but encouraged reporters to allow the victims and families to express their faith. "God is helping us to recover," he said. "The story wasn't just about the shooting, but the recovery as well."

While Stegner expressed admiration for the media, she expressed concern that the story about her son videotaping the shooting was not entirely accurate. He was there to tape a concert, she said. "He didn't just pick up a camera and start taping the shooting. Had he known what was happening, he would have thrown down the camera and helped his friends."

Coleman, who is also a member at Wedgwood Baptist, said the past year has been one of healing for the church and the community. He produced a video focusing on the families of the shooting victims. "I wanted to do a video that was relevant to nonbelievers and believers alike," he said. "The story is about the healing process and the continued faith in God."

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The TCU Office of Admissions seeks a director of admissions marketing. Bachelor's degree and at least 3 years in PR or marketing required. Desktop publishing a must. Duties: oversee the creation of recruiting materials; participate in the university's integrated marketing efforts with an eye toward the teen market; manage photo and video shoots; maintain relationships with campus departments. Fax that resume to Larry Lauer at (817) 257-7272. ... It's not the communications industry, but it might be a job. Reach the UTA jobline at (817) 272-3455. ... You're needed in Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Bethel, Alaska; and Owensboro, Ky. Newspaper jobs there dominate recent Pew Center for Civic Journalism postings. See http://pewcenter.org/doingcj/jobboard.php3.

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Star-T deputy sports editor Kevin Lyons and fiancé Kim Shuler eloped to San Francisco the second weekend in September. The S-T's Adrienne Jones, or was it Bob Kowalski, suggested that Kevin may have picked the date -- near the start of football season -- to help him in the future remember his anniversary. ...

Baby daze! Jennifer Hensley resigned as an investor relations specialist with Range Resources to tackle a greater challenge, caring for Blake Reynolds Hensley, born to Jennifer and husband Shane on Aug. 29, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Mother and son are well, and she will begin freelance IR/PR work in early 2001. E-mail her at mailto:freedomhensley@hotmail.com. Clara Faith Friedlander was added to the Star-Telegram family about 6 a.m. Aug. 14. She weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and apparently couldn't stand to miss one more day of football season. Parents are Andy and Glenda Friedlander. Meanwhile, Arlington Star-T page designer Diana Andro and husband Anthony, an S-T Northeast sports writer, welcomed son Patrick Anthony at 9 a.m. Aug. 12; he weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

Kudos & Contracts ... Star-Telegram editorial writer J.R. Labbe has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Editorial Writers. ... It was a busy summer at Stuart Bacon. The advertising PR firm was selected to launch a campaign heralding the inaugural exhibition in the spring of the Meadows Museum in Dallas; redesign All Saints Health System's Web site (http://allsaints.com); and develop campaigns for two restaurants, the Japanese Palace and The Jubilee Cafe, and for Interactive Associates, a Fort Worth Web development company.

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NEW MEMBERS, WELCOME

SPJ ... UNT journalism senior Marilee McInnis, who recently moved to Fort Worth from Los Angeles, where she worked as an advertising and marketing manager in the real estate and restaurant industries; after graduating in December 2001, she wants to report on the arts.

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Additions ... at the S-T: U. of Montana grad Bill Miller, formerly editor of the Cleburne Times-Review with stints in San Angelo, Alamogordo, N.M., and Washington, D.C.; assistant city editor in Arlington supervising the police reporters ... UT Austin master's candidate Rocío Ortega, with extensive experience (covering the visit of Pope John Paul II to Mexico in 1990 and the meeting of Latin American presidents in Quito, Ecuador, in 1995; reporting on theater, music and the arts) at two of Mexico's leading newspapers, El Norte and Reforma; covering Dallas County for La Estrella ... 10-year AP newswoman Theresa Humphrey (the lady with the big bucket of candy on her desk), formerly assistant metro editor at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky.; city editor in Arlington ... U. of North Carolina grad Amber Nimocks, formerly a multi-threat (editor of weekly entertainment section, columnist, assistant editor of zoned news section, education reporter, county beat reporter) at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer; features copy editor.

Promotions ... at the S-T: former copy editor and page designer Kristi Payne; from news editor to editor, Arlington Hometown Star ... Cynthia Mendez, former page designer for La Estrella, the features department and the Northeast bureau; to news editor, Arlington Hometown Star ... Northwestern grad Crystal Yednak, with night general assignments experience on various topics, from forest fire fighters to European twister-chasers; to higher education reporter ... SMU grad Peyton Woodson, leaving a yearlong rotating internship with Knight Ridder to take the night GA job ... Toni Heinzl, picking up civil courts coverage.

Shiftings: Susan Scott Wilson, from content manager at dfw.com/Star-Telegram.com to Web content developer at Verizon Communications in Las Colinas ... Tom Urquhart, from account executive at Type Case Digital Imaging to account executive at the high-speed Web hosting company Verio Texas in Dallas ... Donald Ray, from the Dallas Arboretum to deputy public affairs officer for the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth.

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FROM THE PRESIDENT Kim Speairs / PRSA

A full house would be appropriate Oct. 11 for the annual meeting and officer elections. (Speaking of leaders, be sure to welcome Carroll Cole as our student liaison chairperson for 2000-2001. She's already established excellent rapport with our PRSSA chapters.) We've enjoyed wonderful turnouts of more than 80 the past two months, and we expect the trend to continue.

Fearless delegates Beth Park, APR, and Paul Sturiale, APR, will represent our chapter Oct. 21 at the National PRSA Assembly in Chicago. The Assembly reviews the association's activities, opens the 2000 Public Relations World Congress and selects national officers. As of press time, no one had challenged the slate of candidates, so we expect this year's Assembly to be much calmer than last year.

Thanks to the hard work of awards/scholarship chair Henry Stewart, APR, and approval of our board, our scholarship program is in place. A $500 scholarship will be given annually at TCU, Abilene Christian University and Hardin Simmons University, with the first awards in fall 2001. A recipient must be studying public relations and be a member of PRSSA. We all should be proud that our chapter has achieved such stability and that we can contribute financially to the future of our industry.

Christmas decorations are already up at the mall, so it must be time to begin crafting our holiday party. We'll celebrate with SPJ and IABC at the Miller Marketplace and Brew Kettle Museum on Wednesday evening, Dec. 13. I'm looking for a few good volunteers to help plan the festivities; e-mail me at mailto:kim@stuartbacon.com. Or if you can't commit the time, please consider donating a fun, interesting item for the silent auction.

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Arden Dufilho / IABC

If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, then it's also a terrific thing to share. As I write this, I am packing for the District 5 MindShare conference in Tulsa. I've been talking up the value of these meetings, and now I hope to learn firsthand. Jan Gary and Pat McCombs will also be there. I expect everything -- the seminars and Silver Quill Awards, a mini-Chapter Leaders Institute and D5 board meetings -- to be eye-opening.

I have attended an IABC Chapter Leaders Institute and an International Conference and been most impressed, not only with the programming, but the people. I would encourage more of our membership, especially anyone with aspirations of moving up the IABC food chain (perhaps to a board position), to take advantage of these fabulous learning opportunities. The next Chapter Leaders Institute is Nov. 9-11 in Tampa; the next International Conference will be in New York in June. These are opportunities not to be missed.

IABC is a great way to improve yourself as well as your career. I've been in the communications racket more than 20 years, and I'm not ready to stop learning. Our business changes daily, and keeping up with technology is a challenge we all face. If I accomplish nothing else this year, I hope to make the Fort Worth chapter more active both locally and nationally. If this happens, I will consider my year a tremendous success.

OVER & OUT John Dycus / SPJ

The Sept. 29 Chicago Sun-Times front-page lead headline, in about 144-point type, reads "AMERICANS GET ABORTION PILL." Directly below it is a 4-column photo of Olympian Marion Jones, an American flag draped around her shoulders. That headline? "MARION TAKES TWO." ... That's chapter president-elect Max Faulkner, hand to noble chin, in the September Quill (special section, p. 10) at the recent Ted Scripps Leadership Training at DePauw University. He does look presidential, don't you think? ... For reporting at street level, note the Pew Center for Civic Journalism (http://pewcenter.org). Example: Four in 10 journalists say they have avoided stories or softened the tone to benefit their own news organizations, according to a poll by the Pew people and Columbia Journalism Review. The reason, the poll says, is market pressure. While media independence, Austin American-Statesman editor Richard Oppel, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, says the problem may be more perception than reality: "You're probably more immunized in big operations than the smaller ones. Journalists ought to ignore all that stuff and chase the story." (source: AP via The Washington Post) ...