August 1999
STRAIGHT STUFF
Power Play at the Petroleum Club:
It's Not Your Father's Electric Company Anymore
It's hard to forget the fun generated by phone company deregulation -- dial 10-10-321, etc. So what can we expect when the state's electric industry undergoes deregulation shock one year into the new millennium?
You can get a head start on what's in store courtesy of Tom Baker, president of TXU Electric & Gas, at the next SPJ meeting, Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Petroleum Club in downtown Fort Worth.
This meeting is for anyone who pays an electric bill.
The Legislature has deregulated part of the state's electric industry, opening it to retail competition. On Jan. 1, 2002, Texans can pick their electric company. Deregulation opens a new vista of possibilities and a long list of questions. How will the average consumer have a clue concerning which provider to choose? Will deregulation herald the return of Reddy Kilowatt and a catchy jingle, enticing one and all to "plug in and turn on"? Tom Baker will provide some answers.
* Time: mingling 6:30 p.m., dinner 7, program 7:45.
* Date: Wednesday, Aug. 25.
* Place: Petroleum Club, UPR Plaza, 777 Main St. (Frost Bank Building, Main and 7th).
* Meal cost: $20 SPJ members, $25 non-members, $10 students and working journalists with two years or less experience.
* No cost: for the program only -- be our guest.
* Menu: fruit salad in a champagne glass, Texas fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, parfait for dessert, rolls, coffee, tea.
* Bar: cash.
* Parking: most downtown lots are free after 6 p.m.; $4 in parking garage attached to building (get ticket validated; enter garage at 7th and Commerce).
* View from the 39th floor looking north: breathtaking; included in meal cost.
* RSVP by Aug. 23: (817) 877-1171 (the Petro Club is serious about the head count, so we have to be; if you say you're coming, please do).
PEOPLE 'N' PLACES
Burton Book Available on the Internet
Veteran newsman Alex Burton has authored a new book, "Establishing News Media Relations: Getting Along with the Fourth Utility," offered only on the Internet. The book provides insight on how the media works, plus how to communicate with people behind the headlines and the cameras. Reviewers call it a must for journalism students and businesses that need a news media policy and plan. Here's the good part -- the download is only $4.95. Check it out at www.1stbooks.com. You can also e-mail Alex at aburton@bigplanet.com.
Whose Anniversary?
Every Aug. 2 or 3 -- for the past 23 years -- they've kept in touch, on the anniversary of the slayings at the Cullen Davis mansion. They are three journalists who covered the crime and trials: locals Mike Cochran and Larry Roquemore, and Motown Magnate Glenn Guzzo, now a managing editor at the Akron Beacon Journal. Glenn's bride picked up the phone on one occasion: "He's not here right now, but he'd be glad to call you back. You're calling to remind him not to forget the anniversary? Whose anniversary? Is there something I should know? Who is this? ... "
OVER & OUT
Your comments, please, on our fresh-format newsletter. Is it a straightforward burst of easy-to-read info, or does it hurt your face? It's being delivered three ways -- e-mail, fax and U.S. Postal Service -- and in some cases to people who we think will enjoy it but who didn't request it. If you're among the latter and wish to be spared the next issue, tell us and you're gone. If you know anyone in the journalism or j-related business who should be added to the list, tell us that, too.
Our e-mail database may have gaps. If your computer received this, please take a moment now, while you're thinking about it, to let me know. Just send a reply and say "mission: accomplished" or something like that. And you're encouraged to print and post, and to slip a copy into a colleague's mail box.
We want a forum here for topics affecting the journalism community, a collection point for sharp program ideas, a bulletin board of who changed jobs, left town or recently joined the Metroplex workforce. We want this to be so packed that we have to set it 10-point to keep from overloading someone's fax machine. Note the deadlines and how you can reach us. Tell us what you know, and what you'd like others to know. Without your input, this is a flyer. A small one.
See you Aug. 25 for an informative evening. As always, bring questions.
-- John Dycus