Newsman nonpareil ...
JACK TINSLEY, 1935-2004
Doug Clarke met Jack Tinsley 40 years to the day of Tinsley's funeral. It was Clarke's second night as Star-Telegram night police reporter, replacing Bob Schieffer. Tinsley was weekend night city editor. "Jack walked up, called me by name and explained what all I was supposed to do, despite the fact that Jon McConal was breaking me in on the beat," Clarke said. "I mentioned this to Jon. He said, 'Don't let it worry you, that's just Jack. Listen to him.' And Jon was right. ... "
Mr. Tinsley died Oct. 12, and of the images that live on -- longtime Gridiron Show producer, a driving force behind creation of the Fort Worth SPJ scholarship endowment, "Fearless Forecaster," devoted grandfather -- there is especially the man who loved getting the big story. He pursued those stories, first as a young reporter and later as an editor, throughout a 47-year newspaper career spent predominantly at the Star-Telegram. He guided the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes as executive editor in the 1980s.
Members of civic clubs fondly remember Mr. Tinsley's humorous and prescient predictions of developments from City Hall to Washington. His presentations had an agriculture component, and he'd seek input from Star-Telegram business writer Worth Wren, Jr. "He would come to me and ask about the overall forecasts for farm and ranch income or what the prevailing mood might be in farm politics, something to include in his annual outlook speech," Wren said. "He asked pertinent questions, basic questions ... just being that good, down-to-essentials reporter."
Mr. Tinsley belonged to one of those civic organizations, the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, for 32 years. He established an endowed scholarship at the University of North Texas and in recent years spearheaded the Star-Telegram's Goodfellow Fund to aid needy children. When he retired in December 2000, he was the paper's vice president for community affairs.
And also the male Perle Mesta of poker parties. The parties he threw were legendary, and it was at one of them that Clarke had "the best poker hand I'll probably ever get and never got to make a bet." It's a long story. Here's the ending:
"When the showdown came there were two full houses, which had driven the pot up, but I won. Jack looked at the hand and with piercing understatement said, 'Douglas, I believe you win.' Jack was the only person other than my mother who consistently called me Douglas, and I always appreciated it. Always courteous, always polite, always fun to be around, always dedicated to the job and excellence.
"The memory will more than linger, it will endure."
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MEETINGS
"Measurement: Key to Effective Communication"
Consultant and trainer Lou Williams, ABC, APR, will present a half-day workshop Nov. 2 on the principles and techniques of communication measurement and how to prove the value of a communication program.
Williams is chairman and chief executive officer of L.C. Williams and Associates, a Chicago-based public relations and research consulting firm, and author of "Communication Research, Measurement and Evaluation: A Practical Guide for Communicators."
Time & date: 8:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2; a continental breakfast will be served at 8
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: members $75, lunch only $17; nonmembers $85, lunch only $25
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It's Just a Crisis, Don't Panic
If you think doing PR from the comfort of your Tarrant County office can be challenging, imagine what it's like to do crisis communication on a natural disaster several states away. With no notice, of course. Anita Foster, chief communication officer for the Chisholm Trail chapter of the American Red Cross, and volunteer and chapter board vice chairman John Hoffmann (who's also VP of public relations and communication for AmeriCredit Corp.) will have the floor at the November meeting to discuss how to handle media relations for a catastrophe.
Notes program organizer Holly Ellman: "In the Red Cross, which truly is volunteer driven, there's no distinction between volunteer and staff communications experts. The spokesperson might be Anita (staff), John (volunteer) or any of the other staff or volunteers. A volunteer might be in charge of a particular operation -- it just depends on who's available with the most expertise. Anita and John make quite a team here locally."
Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets
Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students
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Layoffs: What to Say, What to Do, How to Be
The call comes at 8 a.m. three days before the biggest story of your career. You've been researching the story, interviewing for the story, writing lead-in stories about the story for weeks. Now your services are no longer needed. A layoff can't happen to you, a nationally respected niche journalist? Yeah, it can.
Time to cope. Time to hear that you still have worth, that it's not your fault. Time to plan. Past time to plan, actually. A financial "layoff expert" and other relevant observers at the November SPJ meeting will explore the prudent course, financially and professionally, for the foot soldiers in the uncertain army that big-business journalism has become.
Time & date: 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17; socializing and eats first, then the program around 7
Place: East Regional Library, 6301 Bridge St. (on top of the hill)
Cost: $10 members, $15 nonmembers, $5 students; just to hear the program -- free
Menu: continuing the deli theme from last month -- think croissants, bean sprouts, avocados, turkey, ham, roast beef, pastrami, chips, fruit and multitudinous cheeses, plus a cookie
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