January 2000
UPCOMING
Next IABC meeting ...
High-profile Litigation: Sue You on TV
The PR counsel for Oprah Winfrey's victorious defense team in the Amarillo beef libel trial will discuss the case and other vagaries of a litigious society at the Tuesday, Jan. 11, IABC meeting.
David Margulies, a 1985 Gavel Award winner and head of The Margulies Communications Group, will examine such topics as how plaintiffs utilize media coverage to move cases toward settlement, defending against media pressure to influence litigation, and creating a strategy for dealing with interview requests.
* Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11
* Place: Petroleum Club, UPR Plaza, 777 Main St.
* Cost: members $15, students $11, nonmembers $20
* RSVP: 460-2609 or jgary@flash.net by noon Jan. 7
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Next PRSA meeting ...
Flying High with a Winning Formula
Frequent flyers are familiar with the in-flight announcement: "You will find a copy of the award-winning American Way magazine in the seat pocket in front of you." American Airlines Publishing's marketing director will outline how it got there, and why marketing professionals should care, at the PRSA luncheon meeting Wednesday, Jan. 12.
Sharon McGrath will update PRSA on the publications the group produces, including Southwest Airlines' Spirit magazine, Nexos, Landing Zone and Celebrated Weekends. McGrath, an 11-year marketing professional, has held public relations/marketing positions with La Quinta Inns and Haggar Clothing Co.
* Date: Wednesday, Jan. 12
* Time: lunch 11:45 a.m., program 12:30 p.m.
* Place: Dee J. Kelly Alumni Center, 2820 Stadium Drive across from the TCU Brown Lupton Student Center; use parking lots south or northwest of the building and enter from the patio area on the west
* Cost: members $16, students $15, nonmembers $19
* RSVP: 347-8649 by noon Jan. 10 (PRSA pays for all meals ordered, so no-shows will be billed)
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Next SPJ meeting ...
How 'Bout Them Humperdinks!
Incredibly for a football team so bumfoozled, the Cowboys still have a playoff shot at press time, but your 9-year-old knows they won't make the Super Bowl. No way this stops the traditional Super Bowl party for Fort Worth and Dallas SPJ members. Bring your spouse, your kids, your pals. Bring a game plan; we'll send it to Jerry Jones.
* Time & date: 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30
* Place: Humperdink's in Arlington, 700 Six Flags Drive
* Cost: pay as you go; only what you eat and drink
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STRAIGHT STUFF
PRSA Spring Accreditation Deadline a Month Away
Registration deadline for PRSA's spring accreditation exam is Feb. 7, with applications due at New York City headquarters by that date. Applicants must have a minimum of five years experience in public relations. The exam will be held in March.
The exam is a day-long written and oral test of PR principles, history, ethics and strategies. Cost is $225 plus study materials. About 450 people take the exam each year. Successful candidates may use APR -- accredited in public relations -- as a professional credential.
The exam also is available to members of other national PR groups. More information is available at (212) 460-1436, www.prsa.org, or call Carolyn Bobo, APR, at 885-4243.
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Skills Enhancement and Sixth Street, Too
The Region 8 SPJ convention will be held in Austin on May 13-14, for the second consecutive year in conjunction with the National Writers Workshop, an acclaimed program from the Poynter Institute. Watch your mail for details. Newly elected national secretary-treasurer Al Cross will represent the national board.
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Job Bank Records Impressive Year
Of 21 employers in 1999 who requested information about the Communicators' Job Bank, nine followed through and placed a listing. In addition, five Fort Worth employers listed with the hotline without needing information.
"Why is this important? It shows that employers believe job bank applicants are more qualified, better prepared and more professional," outgoing coordinator Jerrod Resweber said. "This makes the job bank a valuable and affordable tool."
Resweber, who is turning over the coordinator duties to Wendy Dunn, related a success story. A college graduate requested information about the job bank. After learning of the student's internship with a nonprofit agency while in school, the coordinator directed him to an entry-level position with a Fort Worth nonprofit organization. About a month later, the student was hired as communications assistant for the agency.
Resweber was that college student. The job bank coordinator was Kristie Aylett, APR.
"That one phone call by Kristie led me on a wonderful journey with Camp Fire Boys and Girls for the past 4 1/2 years," Resweber said. Today he is communications manager for the agency and beginning his fourth year on the board of directors of Greater Fort Worth PRSA.
"I challenge all of our members to not only use this wonderful resource for finding quality public relations professionals, but also to help a current job seeker or student get a foot in the door," he said. "The results could be more than you imagine."
The job bank can be reached at (972) 362-3301 or on the Internet at www.dallasiabc.com.
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Court to Consider Texas High School Religious Speech
Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to be scheduled for late March in a Texas case involving the right of students to pray publicly before high school football games. A decision is due in June.
The high court agreed in November to hear arguments in the case, which arose after two unnamed students challenged the Santa Fe School District's policy of allowing what the school calls "student-led, student-initiated" prayers prior to school football games. The students said the practice violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in February that the practice must stop.
The Student Press Law Center plans to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the court to allow students to cover religious topics in student media -- just as they would any newsworthy topic -- where it is shown that the speech was not the result of coercion or the direct effort of school officials.
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PERSONALITIES
by Brenda Davis
Dr. Warren Agee lives in Georgia, but you'll find his heart in Fort Worth. A cofounder of the Texas Gridiron Show and a champion for opening SPJ membership to women, he has retained affiliation with the Fort Worth professional chapter despite moving away years ago.
"I could have placed membership with other chapters," he said from his office at the University of Georgia, where he semiretired as a journalism professor in 1987. "However, I knew Fort Worth was the place I would always hold close to my heart."
A lot of people, from state and national politicians to Fort Worth high society, regarded likewise the irreverent Texas Gridiron Show, for 50 years Fort Worth SPJ's signature event, a slapdash song-and-dance scholarship raiser produced by the journalism community for an audience of well-heeled "suckers" eager to pay top dollar for a good-natured public waxing. The show's writers and actors considered all topics fair game (indeed, none too gamy). Agee was there at the beginning, on a stage at the old Blackstone Hotel, as was cofounder Willard Barr, who would go on to civic leadership, eventually serving as Cowtown mayor. Agee would become a teacher and author of journalism textbooks.
Upon graduation from TCU in 1937, Agee joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he remained until 1942 and the onset of World War II. He served as a combat correspondent with the Coast Guard. When the war ended in 1945, his wife was seven months pregnant. "We rushed back to Fort Worth," he said, "because we wanted our child to be a true Texan."
Women had become central figures in the newspaper industry, replacing men who had left to fight in the war. The Star-Telegram found a way to keep women on the staff and not penalize the men for defending their country. "The women knew they would be replaced when the men returned, but some of them, like Bess Stephenson and Mary Wynn, couldn't be replaced," Agee said. "James Record was managing editor at the time. He was smart. He kept them."
After earning master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Minnesota, Agee was named journalism department chair at TCU, a position he held until 1958. While at TCU, he became active in the Fort Worth chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, now the Society of Professional Journalists. His vitality and enthusiasm attracted the organization's national board of directors. In 1960, SDX president Don Carter lured him from the University of Virginia to become executive director.
"Apparently the organization was in chaos," said Sigma Delta Chi Foundation director Howard Dubin. "And according to Carter, Agee said he 'just couldn't let Sigma Delta Chi down.' "
Agee traveled 60,000 miles in 20 months promoting the organization. He left in 1962 to take a faculty position at the University of Kansas. He later served as Sigma Delta Chi's vice president for campus affairs. "The organization was in a membership slump," Dubin recalled. "Agee polled the membership of all the campuses, and his findings concluded that the majority felt women should be admitted to the organization."
The move was not without opposition. Agee said it was obvious that the all-male organization didn't want to break with tradition. "We needed members. The organization was dying. I felt it was time for women to be admitted."
Since leaving the national board, Agee has concentrated on teaching and writing. He joined the University of Georgia faculty in 1969. He still teaches a PR course and an introduction to communications course.
The sixth printing of his book, "Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics," was released last month. It received a four-star rating on Amazon.com's book list. Agee said he's delighted with the response but prouder of his first text, "Introduction to Mass Communications," which was the only book of its kind for almost 40 years. "The book embraced all areas of journalism and communications," he said. "I didn't limit the book to just newspapers. The book featured chapters on the movie industry, magazines, public relations and television broadcasting."
He noted that especially over the last 10 years, mass communications has changed, and not always for the better. He said he doesn't trust information disseminated on the Internet. "There is no accountability to anyone. Newspaper, TV and magazine writers are held accountable by editors, but the Web writers are not."
Agee's e-mail address is wagee@arches.uga.edu. He'd love to hear from old friends, many of whom he hopes to see on a trip to Fort Worth next year. "I have to go back every so often," he said.
After all, it's where his heart is.
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COMINGS & GOINGS
Promotions ... at the Star-Telegram: sports copy editor David Welham to night sports editor.
Shiftings ... Kristie Aylett, APR, to the Fort Worth Herd as a public education specialist ... Wendy Dunn, to BSMG Worldwide as a new account executive ... Tonie Auer, at the Business Press from May to October '98 covering healthcare and insurance before joining the University of North Texas public information office, now back at the Fort Worth Business Press (name expanded while she was gone) as a special sections writer.
Exits ... at the S-T: Steve Smith, formerly deputy sports editor in charge of high school sports, to Internet SportStations, a Web site covering amateur sports, as senior editor ... Mitch Krugel, formerly senior sports editor, to the San Antonio Express-News as sports editor ... Paige Sanders to The Dallas Morning News universal copy desk, not design desk, as reported last month.
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Kim Speairs / PRSA
I must confess (can't help it, I'm Catholic): I'm not a fan of lengthy newsletter messages from the president. I simply don't have time to read them. So I plan to make it easy for you (and me) this year by writing short columns with subheads. A lot of news awaits this month, so just scan the bullets if you're hurting for time.
* Holiday party collects 219 books and $1,615 *
Thanks to the hard work of volunteers Kristie Aylett, Arden Dufilho, Eliz Hopkins, Moiri Brown, Gravely Carter, Kay Pirtle and countless others, our annual holiday party with SPJ, IABC and the Ad Club was a resounding winner. The lively libations and mouth-watering Spring Creek Barbeque, donated by Cliff Amos and the Miller Marketplace and Brew Kettle Museum, ensured a good time. The money raised -- $840 in attendance and $775 in raffle ticket sales -- will be used to buy more children's books for JPS Health Network.
* Leadership energizes chapter *
A strong Board of Directors and chairs for 2000 stand ready to implement fresh, exciting programs. They also want to hear your ideas, so please complete the member survey that's coming your way.
* Local dues hold steady, luncheon prices drop *
We can thank 1999 treasurer Roger Partridge and the thrifty '99 board for this good news. Local dues remain $45, and luncheon prices, as noted on p. 1, decreased in all categories to $16 for members, $15 students and $19 nonmembers. Don't forget, our luncheons are now at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni Center on the TCU campus.
* January meeting heralds special announcement *
Hint: Our dream of establishing scholarships for public relations students may soon become reality. Be at the meeting and find out how.
* National dues increase reaps immediate benefits *
The national dues increase has led to implementation of the chapter president leadership training program. At the end of January, chapter presidents will travel to New York to visit the national offices, meet the administrative staff and national officers, and attend leadership training.
* Southwest district conference gets 'out' *
Mark Feb. 17 and 18 as dates you'll be out of the office attending the district conference at the Grapevine Embassy Suites, next to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. The Friday luncheon will serve as our February chapter meeting. Registration materials will be sent soon.
This still ran longer than I anticipated. There's more to share, so expect the following via snail mail: the member survey, directions to our new meeting location, our 2000 board and chairs, dues notices and a calendar of PRSA dates for 2000. Thanks for reading my first column. I look forward to serving as your PRSA president throughout 2000.
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OVER & OUT John Dycus / SPJ
How much e-mail is too much e-mail? Have we become so reliant on electronic communication that we're losing the desire (and maybe the ability) to interact face-to-face? What effect is this having on the noble task of news gathering? An Internet futurist and a populist city planner will offer insight at the February SPJ meeting.
Vital reading: SPJ national president Kyle Niederpruem has filed a 1,000-word report on the state of the organization, and the Student Press Law Center's latest "LegalAlert" is considerably longer. I will send either on request. ... The December Southern Living, on page 38 of its special "Texas Section," pays tribute to Jerry Flemmons in the form of a letter to Saint Peter by 30-year Flemmons friend Les Thomas, who writes that "heaven might be a swell place, but as Jerry has probably told you, it isn't Fort Worth." And there Jerry is, standing in front of Massey's.