eChaser: March 2001


	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] March 2001 MEETINGS Next at IABC ... Face the Facts: They're All There, Waiting to be Read Mac Fulfer doesn't say that attending the March IABC/Fort Worth meeting will overnight make you adept at "reading" faces, but he does promise fresh insight into those around you. "You will never look at people the same way again," he says. "You'll walk out with an enhanced ability to see and understand people." Face reading, he explains, helps eliminate bias in interpersonal and professional dealings because people no longer appear in stereotypical "boxes," but it's not about expressions and it's not mind reading. It taps into the "innumerable cues and clues" to personality and character that are reflected in the face. An attorney (UT Law School, '76) with too many speaking engagements worldwide to still practice law, Fulfer intends to make his points using faces in the crowd. "After the first bunch of volunteers," he says, "everybody in the audience will want his face read." * Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, March 13 * Place: Petroleum Club, Continental Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor; garage is at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket stamped for discount) * Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students * RSVP: (817) 735-6157 or mailto:frostdg@c-b.com ----- Next at PRSA ... The Hispanic Market: Learn It, Nurture It, Sell It Mario Flores, director of BSMG Worldwide's Latino division, will provide tips, including a case study, for how to approach the burgeoning U.S. Hispanic market at the GFW PRSA March meeting. Flores has nearly a decade of Hispanic marketing experience and has executed several award-winning campaigns. Prior to joining BSMG Worldwide, he was media director at Durazo Communications in Los Angeles, where he counseled corporate and government clients on reaching the Hispanic market. His work has received numerous awards, including a PRISM from the PRSA Los Angeles chapter and a CIPRA from Inside PR magazine. * Time & date: 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 14 * Place: Ridglea Country Club, 3700 Bernie Anderson Blvd., just off Camp Bowie near Bryant Irvin * Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students; parking free * RSVP by noon March 12: (817) 551-8058 or mailto:elizabeth@stuartbacon.com ----- Next at SPJ ... Defending Press Freedom: African Journalist Speaks Out Not often do U.S. journalists get to sit down and compare notes with their international compatriots. If they did, what they learned might stir even the most cynical. Pius Njawe, editor-in-chief of Le Messenger in Cameroon, Africa, is one of those compatriots. Named one of 50 "Press Freedom Heroes" by the International Press Institute, he has been arrested, shot at and even kidnapped in the daily task of reporting the news. He has tales to tell, and he will do so at the March meeting. Njawe has been arrested more than 30 times since 1990 and jailed three times on charges ranging from defaming Cameroon's head of state to publishing "false information." The government once disciplined him for running part of the Bible's chapter of Jude as an editorial. His determination has made him one of Africa's leading journalists -- and one of its heroes. He is a guest lecturer this semester at the University of North Texas, in close proximity to reveal what journalism is like on the dark and fragile side of a free press. He will be accompanied by UNT's Dr. Mitchell Land. * Date: Monday, March 26 * Time: mingling 5:30 p.m., dinner 6:15, program at 7 * Place: Water Street Seafood, 1540 S. University Drive * Cost: $13 members, $17 nonmembers, $5 students * Menu: choice of mesquite-grilled chicken breast, fried catfish, brandy mushroom trout or shrimp-k-bob, all served with a salad, vegetable and seasoned rice; grilled chicken caesar salad or Gulf shrimp salad; fresh-baked bread and tea, soft drink or coffee; cash bar * RSVP: (817) 877-1171 or mailto:doti1@aol.com ======================================= STRAIGHT STUFF The PRSA Southwest District Professional Development Conference will be May 10-12 in Oklahoma City, with the district board meeting the evening of May 10 and the professional development seminar beginning May 11. Specifics will be relayed to GFW PRSA members as it is received from the Oklahoma City chapter. ... A Dallas Bar Association-sponsored "Free Press, Fair Trial" panel discussion with federal and state judges will be April 19 at the Belo Mansion in Dallas, 2101 Ross Ave. Call Sue Cady, (214) 220-7477. ... Washington Post writer Anne Hull, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg of The New York Times, syndicated columnist Clarence Page and Lone Star rabble rouser Jim Hightower will front another dozen or so word wizards at the Poynter Institute/Austin American-Statesman's National Writers' Workshop, April 28-29 at the Hyatt on Town Lake. Info: http://insidestatesman.com/NWW/nwwhome.html. ... Ellen Castro, author of "Spirited Leadership: 52 Ways to Build Trust on the Job," will keynote a work force diversity conference April 18 at CityPlace Conference Center, 2711 Haskell Ave. in Dallas. Sessions range from recruiting and retaining minorities to ADA issues. Info at (972) 864-5516 or http://diversityspeakers.com. ... Dallas Morning News syntax siren Paula LaRocque has compiled 50 of her Quill columns into "Championship Writing: 50 Ways to Improve Your Writing." The 216-page soft-cover book is $18.95, 25 percent of which goes to the purchaser's chapter and 25 percent to the Quill endowment, a fund established 50 years ago to support the SPJ's signature magazine. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll never use "whom" wrong again. Sample chapters are available at http://marionstreetpress.com. To buy a copy, click on the banner ad at the Fort Worth SPJ Web site, http://spjfw.org/legacy, and proceed accordingly. ... The National Association of Hispanic Journalists holds its 19th annual convention in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 20-23 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. Call (888) 346-NAHJ or go to http://nahj.org. The National Association of Black Journalists has a similar gig, its 26th annual convention and career fair (http://nabj.org), Aug. 22-26 in Orlando, Fla. ... Network of Hispanic Communicators news: Next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at Calle Doce, 1925 Skillman St. in Dallas. Scholarship apps are due Monday, March 5; call Manuel Vasquez, (214) 796-3090, or go to http://dfwhispanic.org. The awards banquet will be Saturday, April 21. More info from Elena Cortez, (214) 941-2269 or mailto:emmcortez65@hotmail.com. ----- Pro-Am Day Promises Rich Experience for Students A slightly different format is expected to yield the same positive "real world" results at Pro-Am Day on Friday, April 20. Participating students will begin the day with professional development sessions held at the American Cancer Society, 3301 West Freeway, targeted toward their individual career needs. At noon, they will attend the monthly chapter meeting with Cindy Lawson, Texas A&M director of university relations, discussing the bonfire collapse in 1999. That afternoon, each student will make on-the-job rounds with a PR practitioner. "Professionals are needed from a variety of venues -- agency, nonprofit, corporate, government, etc.," says organizer Carroll Cole. "Remember, we sponsor student chapters from TCU, Abilene Christian and Hardin-Simmons, and their PR students have already been invited. We would also like to involve UTA and other area schools, but we need a bounty of pros to volunteer before we do so." Also, employers with job and internship openings should send their company name and address, phone, e-mail, the job title and a description (25 words or less), salary, application deadline and where to send inquiries to mailto:ccole@hsc.unt.edu or call (817) 735-5152, for distribution to the students. That's the same e-mail and phone number to volunteer as a "pro" in Pro-Am Day. ----- Court Decisions Draw SPJ Response SPJ president Ray Marcano reports (http://spj.org) that the organization took strong stands in January on issues important to the profession. -- In a friend-of-the-court legal brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, SPJ says the court should uphold an appeals court decision that limits a government agency's ability to claim the "intra-agency" exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. -- SPJ asked a Philadelphia judge to reverse her decision to fine two reporters in that city $40,000 each. Inquirer writer Mark Bowden and Tribune reporter Linn Washington Jr. had refused to turn over their interview notes to the court in the murder trial of Brian Tyson. -- SPJ spoke out against new privacy rules that shield individuals' medical records but fail to address the public's need to know the impact from crimes or accidents that must be reported to government health, law enforcement or regulatory agencies. -- SPJ applauded an appeals court decision that free-speech restrictions applied to high school students have no business on college campuses. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled in Kincaid vs. Gibson that Kentucky State University officials could not confiscate and censor about 2,000 copies of the 1993-94 university yearbook. SPJ had filed a brief in the case and presented the two students involved with national Sunshine Awards. "When we win cases like this, we have a lot of people to thank, but most of all we have to thank our chapters and members," Marcano said. "Without them, we couldn't do this kind of work." ----- Quick Thinking Leads Reporter to Copyrighted Story, 8 Minutes of Fame, Then Down Elevator Shaft by Brenda Davis Young reporters fantasize about covering nationwide page one stories. Darren Barbee lived the dream. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff writer, only on the job four months, was the first to interview Texas jail escapee George Rivas, just hours after the man was captured near Woodland Park, Colo. Rivas and six other inmates had eluded police since a December escape from a prison facility near San Antonio. They were wanted for questioning in the death of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins on Christmas Eve outside an Oshman's sporting goods store. Six of the escapees were captured; the seventh killed himself. Speaking at the February SPJ meeting, Barbee said he had wondered what he would ask a news source if he ever got a chance at the big story. " 'Hi, how are you?' wasn't what I thought my first question would be," he said. Turns out it was. Barbee, a graduate of UTA's hands-on newspaper program, was the first Star-Telegram reporter to arrive in Colorado. "He was in the newsroom when the story broke," said Northeast deputy metro editor Judy Wiley, who also addressed the meeting. "I sent him to Colorado in freezing weather without a coat or gloves." Writing on a laptop in his car outside the Divide, Colo., jail, Barbee said instinct told him to go inside. That and self-preservation. "I was really just wanting to get warm," he said. Once inside, while discussing Great Danes with the deputy sheriff, Barbee talked his way into an interview. Before entering the visitation area, jailers confiscated his tape recorder, notebook and other reporting tools, but not his pen. He took notes on a piece of paper he found in his pocket. Confronted with the prisoner across a glass partition, Barbee had no time to analyze his interview style or questions. "I asked him, 'What happened in Irving?' " Fifteen minutes later, Barbee had the story, but his own story was just beginning. Television networks hounded him for interviews. He was giddy from lack of sleep when he appeared on national television. "I guess I did OK," he said. "People who saw it say I made Bryant Gumbel laugh, but I don't remember it." Once back in Fort Worth, the routine quickly reestablished itself. His first article after the copyrighted Rivas story? About an elevator breaking down. ======================================== GET A JOB Web sites of the month: http://employment911.com and http://journalismjobs.com. ... Hispanic students will cover the Billboard Magazine International Latin Music Awards in Miami on April 23-27. Heineken "On Assignment" and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists seek nine students to travel (expenses paid) and report. Applications deadline March 10. See http://nahj.org. ... This bears repeating. The Communicators' Job Bank Hotline -- (972) 684-8301, http://dallasiabc.com -- is a 24-hour recording of jobs in PR, advertising, corporate communications and related fields. The hotline is updated Monday and Thursday evenings; most positions listed are in North Texas. Job seekers who belong to any of the administering groups -- PRSA, IABC, Dallas Press Club or Association for Women in Communications -- may submit a resume for $10; for nonmembers the cost is $20. The check and the resume go to Job Bank, P.O. Box 27, Bedford 76095. Resumes remain on file three months. See the Web site, or contact Ann Genett-Schrader, GFW PRSA job bank coordinator, (817) 412-5353 or mailto:aschrader@carterbloodcare.org. ... If you need to leave town, http://pewcenter.org/doingcj/jobboard.php lists openings at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Minnesota Public Radio and KMUW-FM in Wichita, Kan., to name three Mapsco points. ======================================== PEOPLE & PLACES The Writer's Garret, a nonprofit group that publishes aspiring Texas wordsmiths, needs sponsors, corporate or otherwise, to defray the costs of its annual newsprint tab, scheduled for publication in April. DFW Printing Co. did the production last year, and The Dallas Morning News inserted the piece, which ensured a healthy distribution. Call Thea Temple, (972) 222-3964. ... Baby daze! LaTonyie Jarrett-Taylor and husband Tyson debuted 9-pound, 1-ounce Davon Caelan Taylor on Jan. 29. Still in the GFW PRSA chapter, Holly and Glen Ellman welcomed 7-pound, 9.5-ounce Rachael Morgan Ellman into their family Feb. 12. And Star-Telegram obituaries supervisor Dwight Greene and his wife, Sheila, have a new daughter, Alexandria Ossian Greene, born at 1:01 p.m. Jan. 25 and weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Kudos & Contracts ... Despite working full time and caring for a husband and three sons, Beth Solomon -- make that Beth Solomon, APR -- studied hard, took the tests and is now "accredited in public relations." From GFW PRSA: The designation is a true sign of professionalism. Congratulations, Beth. ... The Star-Telegram's Tim Sager has received the most prestigious honor a copy editor in Texas can win, the Texas Daily Newspaper Association's John Murphy Award for Excellence in Copy Editing. Copy editors from larger newspapers get one shot at it every two years. ======================================== NEW MEMBERS, WELCOME IABC ... Lori De La Cruz, communications/marketing manager, city of Euless PRSA ... Tracy Jones, marketing communications coordinator with Alcon Labs ... Lyndsay Nantz, communications coordinator with the Fort Worth Zoo SPJ ... UNT communications grad Melissa Thornton, southwest media relations manager at PR Newswire in Dallas ... UTA grad Alexis Burt, with experience at the UTA newspaper, KTVT-TV and in the UTA Public Affairs Office, now fielding information about job openings at supercollide@hotmail.com ======================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Additions ... at the S-T: Trae Thompson, for 18 months a correspondent in the Northeast office, to Arlington high school sports ... intern Janey Adams, a U. of Virginia grad with newspaper experience in Kansas City and Belleville, Ill., on the copy desk for a couple of months before going to the design or news desk Promotions ... at the S-T: enterprise team standout Rebeca Rodriguez, with a wealth of experience covering Texas-Mexico issues, to the state desk Exits ... Andra Bennett, APR, has left Camp Fire Boys and Girls after six years as marketing communications director to assist her husband with his sales territory and to freelance in public relations ... at the S-T: Darren Scheid, formerly with Arlington sports, and wife Paula Caballero, formerly a Northeast reporter, to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, he to cover Texas A&M Corpus Christi and she the Corpus Christi school district ... Barbara Powell, leaving the Arlington newsroom for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale ... polyzonal Jeff Prince, a former reporter in southwest Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas, to FW Weekly ======================================== A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT Mary Dulle, GFW PRSA I can feel it in my bones -- spring is about to pop, and not one minute too soon for this long-term Texan. I'll be singing a different tune in August, no doubt. Our chapter has congratulations going out to three members this month: Beth Solomon, APR, who just passed the grueling, daylong written, then oral, exams to become accredited in public relations; LaTonyie Jarrett-Taylor, who delivered herself of a 9-pounds-plus bundle of joy, a boy named Davon Caelan Taylor, Jan. 29; and Holly Ellman, who brought a red-haired, blue-eyed girl-child, Rachael Morgan Ellman, into her placid life Feb. 12. All are doing well, according to unnamed sources. Speaking of young ones, don't miss your chance to help shape the future of public relations when the Fort Worth chapter hosts its annual Pro-Am Day next month. We're doing things a bit differently this year, but be sure to sign up to be a host Friday afternoon, April 20. It's this "real world" experience of shadowing that can help students decide to pursue (or not) a PR career. Special thanks to Carroll Cole for crafting a great day for them. Save this date: Wednesday, May 9. Instead of our usual luncheon, we'll have a fun celebration to observe the chapter's 15th anniversary and honor past presidents (they're all still alive and kicking, and all but one are still active in the chapter). Make your plans to come relive history with your colleagues -- notice I'm doing this during my tenure, so they don't call me history yet! -- at Ridglea Country Club, 5:30-7 p.m. More details soon. The chapter may create a freelancers/solo practitioners/consultants network. We're working on the structure, so if you have any ideas, e-mail them to me -- mailto:mkdulle@msn.com. And if you're in the market for a job or someone to fill a job, don't forget the Communicators' Job Bank. See details on it and Pro-Am Day elsewhere in the newsletter. ----- PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Arden Dufilho, IABC/Fort Worth My year as president is winding down, but it's been an exciting time for our chapter as we are growing and seeing new faces at every meeting. Last month's luncheon and seminar were especially well attended, and I thank Pat McCombs for her hard work pulling the seminar together. Cecilia Jacobs' lunchtime presentation was not only enlightening, but "colorful" (if you were there, you'll get the joke). Seminar presenters Cecilia (city of Fort Worth), Karl Giere (Metroplex Designz), and Amy Hellen and Roger Fort of VirtuallyThere provided terrific information on writing, graphic design for nondesigners and effective Web communication. On a disappointing note, Pat McCombs is pursuing opportunities in the Dallas area and has resigned as our president-elect. I cannot tell you how sorry I was to get that news. Pat is a hard worker who has given her all at every task she has taken on with IABC. I have no doubt she will do the same at her next position. Her resignation forces a quick realignment. We're looking for members who would like to be involved at the board level; if you're up to an interesting challenge, please contact me. I would love to talk IABC opportunities with you. Don't forget the International Conference in New York, June 24-28 -- a mind-blowing time and a terrific international networking opportunity. See you there. ----- OVER & OUT John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ Anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear and ideas to bring, Fort Worth SPJ 2002 convention chief Kay Pirtle needs you. She's at mailto:mkpirtle@yahoo.com. The Working Press, the daily tabloid of the national convention (Seattle, Oct. 4-6), needs you, too, if you're a student and can write, design, edit or take pictures. You pay transportation, SPJ pays everything else. Applications deadline April 2. Info: Stephanie Berry, mailto:sberry@spj.org or (317) 927-8000. ... Tamara Grncaroska, 27, a reporter for Utrinski Vesnik, a 25,000-circulation daily published in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, is visiting the Star-Telegram on a Balkans journalists' tour arranged by the International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C. The reporters attended briefings on U.S. politics and government before scattering for monthlong attachments. Tamara came here, for example; another member of the group went to KERA/90.1 FM in Dallas. "As with past visitors, we aim to ladle up a big dollop of Texas hospitality," says S-T national/international desk editor Jim Peipert. "We hope she will be able to spend time in all three of our newsrooms to study the peculiarities of zoning, to visit the South Plant, to go on assignment with reporters and to generally have a good time." It's a long way from home, Tamara -- Macedonia is a former republic of Yugoslavia that has been an independent nation since 1991 -- but do enjoy your stay. And if you figure out zoning, explain it to the rest of us.

Mac Fulfer doesn't say that attending the March IABC/Fort Worth meeting will overnight make you adept at "reading" faces, but he does promise fresh insight into those around you. "You will never look at people the same way again," he says. "You'll walk out with an enhanced ability to see and understand people."

Face reading, he explains, helps eliminate bias in interpersonal and professional dealings because people no longer appear in stereotypical "boxes," but it's not about expressions and it's not mind reading. It taps into the "innumerable cues and clues" to personality and character that are reflected in the face.

An attorney (UT Law School, '76) with too many speaking engagements worldwide to still practice law, Fulfer intends to make his points using faces in the crowd. "After the first bunch of volunteers," he says, "everybody in the audience will want his face read."

* Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, March 13

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

* Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students

* RSVP: (817) 735-6157 or mailto:frostdg@c-b.com

The Hispanic Market: Learn It, Nurture It, Sell It

Flores has nearly a decade of Hispanic marketing experience and has executed several award-winning campaigns. Prior to joining BSMG Worldwide, he was media director at Durazo Communications in Los Angeles, where he counseled corporate and government clients on reaching the Hispanic market. His work has received numerous awards, including a PRISM from the PRSA Los Angeles chapter and a CIPRA from Inside PR magazine.

* Time & date: 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 14

* Place: Ridglea Country Club, 3700 Bernie Anderson Blvd., just off Camp Bowie near Bryant Irvin

* Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students; parking free

* RSVP by noon March 12: (817) 551-8058 or mailto:elizabeth@stuartbacon.com

Defending Press Freedom: African Journalist Speaks Out

Not often do U.S. journalists get to sit down and compare notes with their international compatriots. If they did, what they learned might stir even the most cynical. Pius Njawe, editor-in-chief of Le Messenger in Cameroon, Africa, is one of those compatriots. Named one of 50 "Press Freedom Heroes" by the International Press Institute, he has been arrested, shot at and even kidnapped in the daily task of reporting the news. He has tales to tell, and he will do so at the March meeting.

Njawe has been arrested more than 30 times since 1990 and jailed three times on charges ranging from defaming Cameroon's head of state to publishing "false information." The government once disciplined him for running part of the Bible's chapter of Jude as an editorial. His determination has made him one of Africa's leading journalists -- and one of its heroes.

* Date: Monday, March 26

* Time: mingling 5:30 p.m., dinner 6:15, program at 7

* Place: Water Street Seafood, 1540 S. University Drive

* Cost: $13 members, $17 nonmembers, $5 students

* Menu: choice of mesquite-grilled chicken breast, fried catfish, brandy mushroom trout or shrimp-k-bob, all served with a salad, vegetable and seasoned rice; grilled chicken caesar salad or Gulf shrimp salad; fresh-baked bread and tea, soft drink or coffee; cash bar

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

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The PRSA Southwest District Professional Development Conference will be May 10-12 in Oklahoma City, with the district board meeting the evening of May 10 and the professional development seminar beginning May 11. Specifics will be relayed to GFW PRSA members as it is received from the Oklahoma City chapter. ... A Dallas Bar Association-sponsored "Free Press, Fair Trial" panel discussion with federal and state judges will be April 19 at the Belo Mansion in Dallas, 2101 Ross Ave. Call Sue Cady, (214) 220-7477. ... Washington Post writer Anne Hull, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg of The New York Times, syndicated columnist Clarence Page and Lone Star rabble rouser Jim Hightower will front another dozen or so word wizards at the Poynter Institute/Austin American-Statesman's National Writers' Workshop, April 28-29 at the Hyatt on Town Lake. Info: http://insidestatesman.com/NWW/nwwhome.html. ... Ellen Castro, author of "Spirited Leadership: 52 Ways to Build Trust on the Job," will keynote a work force diversity conference April 18 at CityPlace Conference Center, 2711 Haskell Ave. in Dallas. Sessions range from recruiting and retaining minorities to ADA issues. Info at (972) 864-5516 or http://diversityspeakers.com. ...

Dallas Morning News syntax siren Paula LaRocque has compiled 50 of her Quill columns into "Championship Writing: 50 Ways to Improve Your Writing." The 216-page soft-cover book is $18.95, 25 percent of which goes to the purchaser's chapter and 25 percent to the Quill endowment, a fund established 50 years ago to support the SPJ's signature magazine. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll never use "whom" wrong again. Sample chapters are available at http://marionstreetpress.com. To buy a copy, click on the banner ad at the Fort Worth SPJ Web site, http://spjfw.org/legacy, and proceed accordingly. ...

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists holds its 19th annual convention in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 20-23 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. Call (888) 346-NAHJ or go to http://nahj.org. The National Association of Black Journalists has a similar gig, its 26th annual convention and career fair (http://nabj.org), Aug. 22-26 in Orlando, Fla. ... Network of Hispanic Communicators news: Next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at Calle Doce, 1925 Skillman St. in Dallas. Scholarship apps are due Monday, March 5; call Manuel Vasquez, (214) 796-3090, or go to http://dfwhispanic.org. The awards banquet will be Saturday, April 21. More info from Elena Cortez, (214) 941-2269 or mailto:emmcortez65@hotmail.com.

Pro-Am Day Promises Rich Experience for Students

Participating students will begin the day with professional development sessions held at the American Cancer Society, 3301 West Freeway, targeted toward their individual career needs. At noon, they will attend the monthly chapter meeting with Cindy Lawson, Texas A&M director of university relations, discussing the bonfire collapse in 1999. That afternoon, each student will make on-the-job rounds with a PR practitioner.

"Professionals are needed from a variety of venues -- agency, nonprofit, corporate, government, etc.," says organizer Carroll Cole. "Remember, we sponsor student chapters from TCU, Abilene Christian and Hardin-Simmons, and their PR students have already been invited. We would also like to involve UTA and other area schools, but we need a bounty of pros to volunteer before we do so."

Also, employers with job and internship openings should send their company name and address, phone, e-mail, the job title and a description (25 words or less), salary, application deadline and where to send inquiries to mailto:ccole@hsc.unt.edu or call (817) 735-5152, for distribution to the students. That's the same e-mail and phone number to volunteer as a "pro" in Pro-Am Day.

Court Decisions Draw SPJ Response

-- SPJ asked a Philadelphia judge to reverse her decision to fine two reporters in that city $40,000 each. Inquirer writer Mark Bowden and Tribune reporter Linn Washington Jr. had refused to turn over their interview notes to the court in the murder trial of Brian Tyson.

-- SPJ applauded an appeals court decision that free-speech restrictions applied to high school students have no business on college campuses. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled in Kincaid vs. Gibson that Kentucky State University officials could not confiscate and censor about 2,000 copies of the 1993-94 university yearbook. SPJ had filed a brief in the case and presented the two students involved with national Sunshine Awards. "When we win cases like this, we have a lot of people to thank, but most of all we have to thank our chapters and members," Marcano said. "Without them, we couldn't do this kind of work."

Quick Thinking Leads Reporter to Copyrighted Story,

8 Minutes of Fame, Then Down Elevator Shaft

Young reporters fantasize about covering nationwide page one stories. Darren Barbee lived the dream. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff writer, only on the job four months, was the first to interview Texas jail escapee George Rivas, just hours after the man was captured near Woodland Park, Colo.

Rivas and six other inmates had eluded police since a December escape from a prison facility near San Antonio. They were wanted for questioning in the death of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins on Christmas Eve outside an Oshman's sporting goods store. Six of the escapees were captured; the seventh killed himself.

Barbee, a graduate of UTA's hands-on newspaper program, was the first Star-Telegram reporter to arrive in Colorado. "He was in the newsroom when the story broke," said Northeast deputy metro editor Judy Wiley, who also addressed the meeting. "I sent him to Colorado in freezing weather without a coat or gloves."

Writing on a laptop in his car outside the Divide, Colo., jail, Barbee said instinct told him to go inside. That and self-preservation. "I was really just wanting to get warm," he said. Once inside, while discussing Great Danes with the deputy sheriff, Barbee talked his way into an interview. Before entering the visitation area, jailers confiscated his tape recorder, notebook and other reporting tools, but not his pen. He took notes on a piece of paper he found in his pocket.

Confronted with the prisoner across a glass partition, Barbee had no time to analyze his interview style or questions. "I asked him, 'What happened in Irving?' " Fifteen minutes later, Barbee had the story, but his own story was just beginning. Television networks hounded him for interviews. He was giddy from lack of sleep when he appeared on national television. "I guess I did OK," he said. "People who saw it say I made Bryant Gumbel laugh, but I don't remember it."

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Web sites of the month: http://employment911.com and http://journalismjobs.com. ... Hispanic students will cover the Billboard Magazine International Latin Music Awards in Miami on April 23-27. Heineken "On Assignment" and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists seek nine students to travel (expenses paid) and report. Applications deadline March 10. See http://nahj.org. ...

This bears repeating. The Communicators' Job Bank Hotline -- (972) 684-8301, http://dallasiabc.com -- is a 24-hour recording of jobs in PR, advertising, corporate communications and related fields. The hotline is updated Monday and Thursday evenings; most positions listed are in North Texas. Job seekers who belong to any of the administering groups -- PRSA, IABC, Dallas Press Club or Association for Women in Communications -- may submit a resume for $10; for nonmembers the cost is $20. The check and the resume go to Job Bank, P.O. Box 27, Bedford 76095. Resumes remain on file three months. See the Web site, or contact Ann Genett-Schrader, GFW PRSA job bank coordinator, (817) 412-5353 or mailto:aschrader@carterbloodcare.org. ... If you need to leave town, http://pewcenter.org/doingcj/jobboard.php lists openings at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Minnesota Public Radio and KMUW-FM in Wichita, Kan., to name three Mapsco points.

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The Writer's Garret, a nonprofit group that publishes aspiring Texas wordsmiths, needs sponsors, corporate or otherwise, to defray the costs of its annual newsprint tab, scheduled for publication in April. DFW Printing Co. did the production last year, and The Dallas Morning News inserted the piece, which ensured a healthy distribution. Call Thea Temple, (972) 222-3964. ... Baby daze! LaTonyie Jarrett-Taylor and husband Tyson debuted 9-pound, 1-ounce Davon Caelan Taylor on Jan. 29. Still in the GFW PRSA chapter, Holly and Glen Ellman welcomed 7-pound, 9.5-ounce Rachael Morgan Ellman into their family Feb. 12. And Star-Telegram obituaries supervisor Dwight Greene and his wife, Sheila, have a new daughter, Alexandria Ossian Greene, born at 1:01 p.m. Jan. 25 and weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces.

Kudos & Contracts ... Despite working full time and caring for a husband and three sons, Beth Solomon -- make that Beth Solomon, APR -- studied hard, took the tests and is now "accredited in public relations." From GFW PRSA: The designation is a true sign of professionalism. Congratulations, Beth. ... The Star-Telegram's Tim Sager has received the most prestigious honor a copy editor in Texas can win, the Texas Daily Newspaper Association's John Murphy Award for Excellence in Copy Editing. Copy editors from larger newspapers get one shot at it every two years.

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NEW MEMBERS, WELCOME

IABC ... Lori De La Cruz, communications/marketing manager, city of Euless

PRSA ... Tracy Jones, marketing communications coordinator with Alcon Labs ... Lyndsay Nantz, communications coordinator with the Fort Worth Zoo

SPJ ... UNT communications grad Melissa Thornton, southwest media relations manager at PR Newswire in Dallas ... UTA grad Alexis Burt, with experience at the UTA newspaper, KTVT-TV and in the UTA Public Affairs Office, now fielding information about job openings at supercollide@hotmail.com

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Additions ... at the S-T: Trae Thompson, for 18 months a correspondent in the Northeast office, to Arlington high school sports ... intern Janey Adams, a U. of Virginia grad with newspaper experience in Kansas City and Belleville, Ill., on the copy desk for a couple of months before going to the design or news desk

Promotions ... at the S-T: enterprise team standout Rebeca Rodriguez, with a wealth of experience covering Texas-Mexico issues, to the state desk

Exits ... Andra Bennett, APR, has left Camp Fire Boys and Girls after six years as marketing communications director to assist her husband with his sales territory and to freelance in public relations ... at the S-T: Darren Scheid, formerly with Arlington sports, and wife Paula Caballero, formerly a Northeast reporter, to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, he to cover Texas A&M Corpus Christi and she the Corpus Christi school district ... Barbara Powell, leaving the Arlington newsroom for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale ... polyzonal Jeff Prince, a former reporter in southwest Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas, to FW Weekly

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A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Mary Dulle, GFW PRSA

Our chapter has congratulations going out to three members this month: Beth Solomon, APR, who just passed the grueling, daylong written, then oral, exams to become accredited in public relations; LaTonyie Jarrett-Taylor, who delivered herself of a 9-pounds-plus bundle of joy, a boy named Davon Caelan Taylor, Jan. 29; and Holly Ellman, who brought a red-haired, blue-eyed girl-child, Rachael Morgan Ellman, into her placid life Feb. 12. All are doing well, according to unnamed sources.

Speaking of young ones, don't miss your chance to help shape the future of public relations when the Fort Worth chapter hosts its annual Pro-Am Day next month. We're doing things a bit differently this year, but be sure to sign up to be a host Friday afternoon, April 20. It's this "real world" experience of shadowing that can help students decide to pursue (or not) a PR career. Special thanks to Carroll Cole for crafting a great day for them.

Save this date: Wednesday, May 9. Instead of our usual luncheon, we'll have a fun celebration to observe the chapter's 15th anniversary and honor past presidents (they're all still alive and kicking, and all but one are still active in the chapter). Make your plans to come relive history with your colleagues -- notice I'm doing this during my tenure, so they don't call me history yet! -- at Ridglea Country Club, 5:30-7 p.m. More details soon.

The chapter may create a freelancers/solo practitioners/consultants network. We're working on the structure, so if you have any ideas, e-mail them to me -- mailto:mkdulle@msn.com. And if you're in the market for a job or someone to fill a job, don't forget the Communicators' Job Bank. See details on it and Pro-Am Day elsewhere in the newsletter.

Arden Dufilho, IABC/Fort Worth

My year as president is winding down, but it's been an exciting time for our chapter as we are growing and seeing new faces at every meeting. Last month's luncheon and seminar were especially well attended, and I thank Pat McCombs for her hard work pulling the seminar together. Cecilia Jacobs' lunchtime presentation was not only enlightening, but "colorful" (if you were there, you'll get the joke). Seminar presenters Cecilia (city of Fort Worth), Karl Giere (Metroplex Designz), and Amy Hellen and Roger Fort of VirtuallyThere provided terrific information on writing, graphic design for nondesigners and effective Web communication.

On a disappointing note, Pat McCombs is pursuing opportunities in the Dallas area and has resigned as our president-elect. I cannot tell you how sorry I was to get that news. Pat is a hard worker who has given her all at every task she has taken on with IABC. I have no doubt she will do the same at her next position. Her resignation forces a quick realignment. We're looking for members who would like to be involved at the board level; if you're up to an interesting challenge, please contact me. I would love to talk IABC opportunities with you.

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

Anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear and ideas to bring, Fort Worth SPJ 2002 convention chief Kay Pirtle needs you. She's at mailto:mkpirtle@yahoo.com. The Working Press, the daily tabloid of the national convention (Seattle, Oct. 4-6), needs you, too, if you're a student and can write, design, edit or take pictures. You pay transportation, SPJ pays everything else. Applications deadline April 2. Info: Stephanie Berry, mailto:sberry@spj.org or (317) 927-8000. ...

Tamara Grncaroska, 27, a reporter for Utrinski Vesnik, a 25,000-circulation daily published in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, is visiting the Star-Telegram on a Balkans journalists' tour arranged by the International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C. The reporters attended briefings on U.S. politics and government before scattering for monthlong attachments. Tamara came here, for example; another member of the group went to KERA/90.1 FM in Dallas. "As with past visitors, we aim to ladle up a big dollop of Texas hospitality," says S-T national/international desk editor Jim Peipert. "We hope she will be able to spend time in all three of our newsrooms to study the peculiarities of zoning, to visit the South Plant, to go on assignment with reporters and to generally have a good time." It's a long way from home, Tamara -- Macedonia is a former republic of Yugoslavia that has been an independent nation since 1991 -- but do enjoy your stay. And if you figure out zoning, explain it to the rest of us.