|
In This Issue:
Greetings!
NewsBreak: Your DPA Community
Newsletter
by Mary Leah Christmas
 Historical
communities of writers and artists as well as utopian settlements have been
a longtime interest of mine: Brook Farm in Mass.; Nook Farm in Conn.; the
idealists of New Harmony, Ind.; the cultured denizens around Dublin Lake,
N.H.; the famed photographers and artists gathered at Lake George, N.Y.;
and—the subject of my recent reading—the salons of the Isles of Shoals off
the Maine/New Hampshire coast.
One at first longs for a time machine, only to realize a time machine is not
needed. Such groups of creative, cultured, hard-working individuals still
exist—right here, right now—in the form of DPA and the National Federation
of Press Women, of which we have been an affiliate since 1977. It struck me
recently how DPA provides all the benefits of those famed literary and
artistic colonies of yore.
DPA is not an impersonal organization, but a personal one—a living,
breathing organization in the truest sense. We may not be tucked away in a
corner of the Adirondacks or accessible by flatboat up the Wabash River, but
we at DPA are every bit the community of journalists, writers, authors,
poets, photographers, and thinkers.
NewsBreak, in its new format, is in many ways similar to what has
gone before: serving as a source for the latest news from our Media Mavens,
for information about coming events, and for timely articles addressing
First Amendment concerns. However, by going electronic, we anticipate even
greater opportunities for the exchange of information.
Literary and artistic communities are not a thing of the past but of the
present; and at DPA/NFPW, like a land-based Isles of Shoals, ours is an
archipelago stretching across the country.
We'll be interested to know what you think of our new look. Please send
your comments, suggestions or ideas for articles to me. Copy deadline for
the November issue is October 15.
Contact DPA
NewsBreak Editor Mary Leah Christmas at
dpanewsletter@yahoo.com.
^Top
DPA Special Event at Baby Grand
September 11: Photographs & Memories
 David
Handschuh, a New York Daily News photographer who was among the first
journalists on the scene of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, will
speak on Sept. 5 at the Baby Grand Theatre, Edith and Alexander Giacco
Building, 818 N. Market Street.
Handschuh’s multimedia program, “September 11: Photographs and Memories,” is
being hosted by Delaware Press Association. The program will begin at 7 p.m.
and is free and open to the public.
Those attending are invited to donate $10. All proceeds from the event will
be contributed to the Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association and the
American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula. The public also is welcome to
attend a reception in the lobby of the Baby Grand beginning at 6 p.m. and
continuing immediately following Handschuh’s presentation.
An award-winning staff photographer at the New York Daily News for
more than 18 years, Handschuh has been an adjunct Professor of
Photojournalism at New York University since 1995. He suffered serious
injuries and narrowly escaped with his life while covering the 9/11 attack
on the World Trade Center. During months of recovery, he implemented several
programs to document and address long-term physical and mental health issues
for journalists that may arise from working at Ground Zero. For that work he
was honored as a “Fellow of the Society,” the highest honor bestowed by
Sigma Delta Chi, the National Society of Professional Journalists.
Past President of the National Press Photographers Association, a 10,000
member organization of media professionals, Handschuh has dedicated many
years to studying the effects of trauma on journalists who cover tough
stories in the course of their daily work. He established and continues to
support Peer Counseling Workshops, where members of the industry are trained
to assist fellow journalists. That work garnered him the Donald Berreth
Award from the National Public Health Information Council.
In 1994, Handschuh co-authored the National Media Guide for Emergency and
Disaster Incidents, which is in its third printing. He continues to work
with Public Safety providers and the media on a national level to foster
better relations between the two and has been involved with media training
in bio-terrorism.
David Handschuh has been nominated three times for a Pulitzer Prize and has
received numerous awards for his photography from the National Press
Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year, New York Press
Photographers Association, New York Press Club, Society of the Silurians,
the Deadline Club, the National Headliners and many others.
This program is partially funded by a grant from the
Delaware Humanities Forum, a state program of the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
|
Program: |
"September 11:
Photographs and Memories" |
|
Speaker: |
David
Handschuh, New York Daily News Photographer |
|
Location: |
The Baby
Grand, 818 Market Street, Wilmington |
|
Time: |
6:00 p.m.
Social gathering in the Baby Grand Lobby
7:00 p.m. Program in the Baby Grand Theatre
8:30 p.m. Reception in the Baby Grand Lobby
|
|
Cost: |
$10
suggested donation.
Proceeds from this event will go to
|
|
|
American
Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula
and
Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association |
|
Connect to the Web sites of the program
hosts, sponsors and recipients:
For more information about this program, call
302-324-8471.
^Top
From the President
by Beth Miller
 I
spent the summer of ’79 getting my courage up to apply for a job at The
News Journal. I was fresh out of college and knew exactly what I wanted
to be. I wanted to be a columnist like Chicago’s Mike Royko.
I’ll take any job at first, I thought to myself, except a
job in the sports department. Three days after my interview on Orange
Street, someone from personnel called. “We have one opening,” she said. Four
years of college, a degree in political science, and I had a job offer.
"I’ll take it,” I heard myself saying. “When can I start?”
The next Monday, Sept. 17, I was a part-time sports clerk,
answering phones, filing photos and asking questions like: “Were Brooks and
Frank Robinson related?”
Twenty-seven years later I’m still working for The News
Journal and still glad I took that job I wasn’t looking for.
Presiding over Delaware Press Association is another job I
wasn’t looking for. But already I have the feeling that this, too, is a
connection of value.
I’ve spent much of the summer of ’06 thinking about you, the
members of DPA. As I look over the membership list, I realize I know many of
you—by your work, by your reputation.
Some I’ve met on assignment. I’ve seen you in action. Some I
know by voice. I listen to you every day in my car. Some of your names I
recognize from the community paper that appears faithfully on my sidewalk or
from the credits that roll down my TV screen.
We are an interesting lot—writers, poets, photographers,
musicians, graphic artists, news junkies, editors, educators, freelancers,
flaks, producers, directors, authors and more than a few characters.
We have messages and messengers, stories and storytellers.
We have a sterling executive director in Katherine Ward, as
most of you surely know already. She is a state treasure and the
association’s best friend.
We have a solid history, and I salute those who have
presided over this association in the past—most recently Theresa Medoff—and
the other board members who have invested their time and talents to bring
DPA safely to the brink of its 30th anniversary.
Seven Priorities
Which brings us to the here and now and seven priorities you can expect from
me:
-
Increasing public awareness of DPA and its mission
-
Providing opportunities for members to meet for fun and
enrichment
-
Encouraging membership growth and greater participation
-
Exploring ways to develop a statewide presence,
connecting with more journalists and communicators in Kent and Sussex
counties
-
Strengthening our voice on First Amendment and Freedom
of Information issues and lending support to others who seek to protect
these freedoms
-
Keeping our Web site energized
-
Supporting excellence in the efforts of student
journalists and their advisers
If we haven’t met yet—please, introduce yourself! If you’re
out there with questions about DPA— please, ask ‘em! If you have
suggestions, concerns, complaints—please, speak up! We can do a lot together
that we can’t do apart.
I’m glad to be here and hope you’ll be a vigorous part of
DPA’s future.
Contact DPA President Beth Miller at
bmiller@delawareonline.com.
^Top
FIRST AMENDMENT MATTERS
Ruling Blows Whistle on Whistleblowers
by Angie Basiouny
 Journalists
who rely on whistleblowers and public officials brave enough to tell us the
truth about what is really going on in government should be aware of a new
U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could have a chilling effect on certain kinds
of speech.
The May 30 ruling from the nation's highest court stems from
the case Garcetti v. Ceballos and declares that public
employees who make statements pursuant to their official’s duties are not
protected by the First Amendment right to free speech and are not insulated
from discipline by their employers.
Richard Ceballos was a deputy district attorney in Los
Angeles, working under District Attorney Gil Garcetti, when asked in 2000 to
review a questionable affidavit used to obtain a search warrant filed in a
murder case. Although Ceballos was to make sure the prosecution wouldn't
stumble because of false information in the warrant, he recommended the case
be dismissed because of the inaccuracies found in the account given by
police officers. After a heated meeting with everyone involved, Ceballos'
supervisor decided to continue with the case.
When called by the defense to testify about the contents of
the affidavit, Caballos spoke truthfully about his findings. Although the
trial court allowed the affidavit, Ceballos contended that he was retaliated
against by being denied a promotion and transferred to another position. His
subsequent lawsuit made it all the way to the Supreme Court, and the outcome
is precedent-setting.
The ruling already has affected several Delaware cases that
have been reported in the media, and it has the potential to affect many
more. At least three public employees, including a fired county auditor, a
former town manager and a police corporal, have withdrawn their First
Amendment lawsuits or are being forced to take a new approach to their
argument.
Debating the high court's reasoning behind the ruling would
only be academic at this point. The practical outcome of the decision,
however, is another matter, especially in a state such as Delaware, where
open records laws are not the most progressive. Journalists are forced to
depend on those public officials and employees who know the real story and
are willing to share it—even if it puts their jobs in peril. With a lack of
employment protection already built into state laws, this ruling offers one
more consideration to a whistleblower thinking of going public. The last
line of defense—a lawsuit based on First Amendment violation—is not really
an option anymore.
The challenge for journalists always has been great when it
comes to prying the lid off of government wrongdoing. We almost always need
the strong arm of someone on the inside to help us with the prying. We can
offer to protect our sources, and sometimes we can even offer anonymity. But
that is proving more difficult in a modern, litigious society.
This ruling does not diminish the power of the press, but it
does take away protection that would help the people who help us tell the
stories that make a difference in our communities, our state and our world.
We must continue to remember and remind that telling the truth may come at a
very high price, but the cost is always, always worthwhile.
Angie Basiouny is a reporter for The News Journal
and the DPA First Amendment officer. Please e-mail ideas for exploring
issues related to freedoms of the press and speech to Angie at
angiebasiouny@hotmail.com.
^Top
Spotlight: Allison Taylor Levine
Achieving Balance
 When
it comes to work-life balance, Allison Taylor Levine, APR*, might as
well be a professional juggler.
Levine, who serves as DPA’s Vice President for Membership,
has a day job, a night job, and the 24/7 job of mothering two preschool
children.
“I really enjoy my work, and I work very hard,” says Levine,
31. “But last year, I spent five months in a job working 60-hour weeks, and
it was a living nightmare. My children suffered, my husband suffered, and I
suffered. It wasn’t worth it, so now my focus is on finding a way to do a
great job with my family and a great job in my professional work.”
Today, Levine is a major projects manager and public
relations consultant with Synchrogenix Information Strategies, Inc., a
Wilmington-based communications company focusing on medical, technical and
scientific clients. Among the projects Levine manages are DuPont,
AstraZeneca, Strategic Diagnostics and Joseph Frederick & Sons. Through
Synchrogenix, Levine also serves in leadership roles on marketing projects
for several nonprofit organizations.
“I’m very fortunate to work at Synchrogenix, a company that
truly respects that employees have lives outside the office,” says Levine,
who is marking her first anniversary at Synchrogenix in September. “I’m able
to work flexible hours so I can be home with my children as much as possible
and still have the opportunity to work on important projects for major
clients.”
But when the workday ends and after 2-year-old Maya and
4-year-old Rhys go to bed, Levine turns her attention to politics. She is
serving as the communications manager for Dennis Spivack, the Democratic
candidate for Delaware’s seat in the United States Congress.
“When I left government service a year ago in the midst of a
political fiasco, I intended to stay out of politics for at least a couple
of years,” Levine says. “But when I met Dennis, I was so impressed by his
intelligence, his vision, his passion and his compassion, I agreed to
do whatever I could to help.”
As a former communications director for the state Division
of Public Health, the Department of Health and Social Services and New
Castle County, Levine has managed public relations crises, written speeches,
planned events and developed communications strategies for many of the First
State’s highest officials, including Governor Ruth Ann Minner, Sen. Thomas
R. Carper, and New Castle County Executive Chris Coons.
Work in the political arena calls on “all of my experience
and training in crisis communication, message development, media relations
and writing,” says Levine, who earned her national Accreditation in Public
Relations this year. She will be teaching Public Relations Writing and
Editing at the University of Delaware in the fall.
*APR is a mark of distinction for public relations
professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its
ethical practice, and who are selected based on broad knowledge, strategic
perspective, and sound professional judgment.
Contact DPA Membership VP Allison Levine at
aljay89@yahoo.com.
^Top
DPA Media Mavens & Mavericks
The DPA Media Mavens column, always the most popular,
contains information about the personal and professional achievements of our
members. Please send any information about your honors, achievements and
awards to dpanewsletter@yahoo.com by
the 15th of any month for publication in the next issue.
DPA members featured in this issue:
Kay Wood Bailey
David Barczak / Tracey Bryant
Mark Fowser
Karen Galanaugh
Rhina Guidos
Jean Hull Herman / Katherine Ward
Diana Hirsch
Dennis Jackson / Patricia Lake Jackson
Jonathan David Lake
Jean Lamensdorf
Annie Nefosky
Vanessa Nesbit
Michael Pollock
Marion Rechsteiner
Sally Rinard
Donna Wells
• Kay Wood Bailey was one of the speakers featured at
Georgetown Historical Society’s annual Living History Weekend in July.
Bailey, a native Delawarean, spoke on “the Underground Railroad and Sussex
County.” She is the Corresponding Secretary of the Underground Railroad
Coalition of Delaware.
Contact Kay at
KWBailey@harringtonera.com.
• Tracey Bryant and David Barczak, formerly of
the University of Delaware’s Marine Public Education Office, have been
appointed to new positions in the UD Office of Public Relations to develop
an exciting, new research communications initiative. Bryant, assistant
director for research communications, and Barczak, senior art director, will
promote UD research through a variety of public education projects and
programs, from media relations efforts to Web-based "virtual field trips"
for schoolchildren. Bryant formerly directed the Marine Public Education
Office at the UD College of Marine Studies and the Delaware Sea Grant
College Program, and Barczak was the office's art director.
Contact Tracey at
tbryant@udel.edu.
Contact David at db@udel.edu.
• In addition to serving as Treasurer of Delaware Press
Association, WILM NewsRadio Program Director Mark Fowser also is
2006–2007 President of the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters
Association Board of Directors. The board coordinates awards programs,
scholarship activities, organizes the annual convention in June, and
advocates for media organizations.
Contact Mark at
markfowser@clearchannel.com.
• Karen Galanaugh celebrated her fifth wedding
anniversary and 50th birthday by cruising Alaska's Inside Passage with her
husband, Dr. Stuart Septimus. She proudly claims to have ignored work for 10
days while sighting Humpback, Minke and Orca whales and adding Tufted
Puffins and Dovekies to her bird watching life list.
Contact Karen at
kareng@galanaugh.com.
• Rhina Guidos has moved at The News Journal
from Assistant City Editor to Editor of Midstate Living magazine. In
the June 14-27, 2006, issue, she wrote that the focus of her previous duties
“was on Northern New Castle and Sussex counties." In her new role, her realm
is central Delaware from the C&D Canal to Dover. Midstate Living
focuses on the people aspects of this thriving region, which includes the
Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area, known these days as "MOT."
Contact Rhina at
rguidos@delawareonline.com.
• On January 1, Jean Hull Herman, after editing
Möbius, the Poetry Magazine for 16 years, sold it to a New York group
headed by Juanita Torrence-Thompson. In July, Jean’s second book, Jerry
Springer as Bulfinch: Mythology Modernized, took the 2006 National
Federation of Press Women second prize for Creative Fiction. Two poems from
Springer, “The Sestina” and “Thetis’ Daughter (Esther Williams),” won
prizes at the national level in 2006 from the National League of American
Pen Women (NLAPW). The first was for the Anne Marx Sestina Named Prize; the
second took second in the Anne Marie Boggs Named Prize. And, no, there are
no swear words in Springer.
At the NLAPW convention, Jean moderated a panel on Women in
Crisis & the Arts. She is now editor of The Pen Woman, the in-house
magazine for NLAPW, and is NLAPW’s national chair of communications. Jean is
currently working on the final proofreading and reviews of her first novel,
Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, A Happy Ending.
Contact Jean at
jherman007@aol.com.
• Diana W. Hirsch, DPA's Contest Co-director for the
past two years, moved to Michigan in May, when her husband took a new job
with BASF Corporation. She says, “Michigan is all about discovering What's
New. I’ve soaked up movie-related literature at Canton Library's first adult
summer reading program, discovered a local dairy's concoction of chocolate
cheese (with roasted peanuts), and have wandered art festivals almost every
weekend. A writing position is the immediate focus, and, as I live squarely
between Detroit and Ann Arbor, the choices seem plentiful.”
Diana’s new address is 7291 Burgundy Dr., Canton, MI 48187,
but she still may be reached at
diwolf@aol.com and welcomes news from DPA members.
• Jonathan David Lake, freelance photojournalist and
entrepreneur, and his wife, Lori, just completed a four-year green-home
project while taping each step in high-definition video and digital still
shots. The Lakes’ objective: to show that anyone can envision, design,
afford and build a healthy, eco-friendly, energy-efficient, bright and roomy
home without sacrificing comfort or convenience. For a sample clip, visit
http://www.GreenTV.com.
John is also rewriting the wall-sized poster of the 150+
year "History of the Automobile" based on segments from more than 2,000 of
his automotive columns published by Gannett, for whom he also worked as a
freelance photojournalist. The characters in this detailed poster represent
real-life, female and male automotive pioneers who sometimes emerge as
larger than life. The chart illustrates the lives and the fortunes invested,
lost or made since the late 1800s to the present. A sample of the "History
of the Automobile" can be viewed at
http://www.autoarchives.com.
Contact John at
jdl@autoarchives.com.
• On April 3, Patricia Lake Jackson married her
favorite journalism professor, Dr. Dennis Jackson. The couple
honeymooned in Paris. Dennis is writing a biography of former UD professor
Chuck Stone, who was a Tuskegee Airman and later gained prominence as editor
of several influential black-owned newspapers and as a columnist for the
Philadelphia Daily News. In June, the Jacksons attended a scholarship
fundraiser at the University of North Carolina in honor of Stone, who
retired from teaching at UNC last fall. Stone’s friend Bill Cosby offered to
perform for free.
Pictured
left to right: Dennis Jackson,
Patricia Lake Jackson, Bill Cosby and
Chuck Stone at the University of
North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
The UD Journalism Program will hold a dinner on October 13
to honor Dennis for 28 years of commitment and contributions to journalism
at UD. The dinner also will introduce the Dennis Jackson Summer Internship
Stipend fund for UD journalism students who take unpaid summer internships.
Go to
http://www.english.udel.edu/Journlsm/J_NewsEvents.htm for more
information and a link to an RSVP form.
Contact Dennis at
djackson@udel.edu.
Contact Pat at
plake@keypromedia.com.
• Jean Lamensdorf, author of the highly acclaimed
memoir of her year in Vietnam, Write Home for Me, edited by Katherine
Ward and published by Random House Australia, reports that the book was
number one on the bestseller list in South Australia the second week after
publication and is now available in the U.S. Copies may be ordered for
$19.95 at jlamensdorf@comcast.net
and will be delivered to your door.
Contact Jean at
jlamensdorf@comcast.net.
Contact Katherine at
KatWard1@aol.com.
• Annie Nefosky won a national 2006 RTNDA Edward R.
Murrow Award (small-market radio) for a special news series she did on
Latino life in Delaware entitled, "Chasing Dreams in the First State: An
In-Depth Look at the Latino Population in Delaware." She won first place in
NFPW's 2006 Communications Contest (Special Programming, Radio) for the same
series.
Contact Annie at
annienefosky@clearchannel.com.
• Former DPA Communications Contest Co-director, and recent
MBA graduate of Goldey-Beacom College, Vanessa D. Nesbit has opened a
small strategic communications company, For Internal Affairs, Incorporated.
FIA is a closely-held, family-run corporation that positions itself as a
communications support provider for corporate and non-profit organizations
in the Mid-Atlantic region. Services offered include: membership and bulk
mailing, specialized copywriting and editing (research and reports), and
meeting/conference planning and coordinating.
Vanessa and her small staff have more than 10 years’
combined experience in the areas of recruitment, project management and
administrative support in both the for-profit and not-for-profit arenas. At
the foundation of the company is the guiding precept that today’s
specialized organizations, especially not-for-profits, have unique
communications needs that often go unfulfilled by cookie-cutter marketing
techniques. FIA proposes to help fill this gap by assisting clients to make
the most of precious, limited resources while strategically communicating
their specialized message without compromising philanthropic tenets.
FIA welcomes commissions during spring, fall, and winter.
For Internal Affairs, Inc.: “We’re passionate about words:
Clear, Concise, Exceptional.”
Contact FIA at: 302-697-2824
Contact Vanessa at
vnesbit@yahoo.com.
• Michael Pollock recently was named managing editor
of CityLife Wilmington magazine and also managing editor of Out &
About Magazine. He was previously an assistant editor with both of these
publications.
Contact Michael at
mpollock@tsnpub.com.
• Marion Rechsteiner has been learning some geography
in her work as an attorney. She wrote an article for the Delaware State Bar
Association publication, In Re, about Delaware Family Court officials
going to the island republic of Mauritius, near Madagascar, to help set up a
unified Family Court.
Contact Marion at
mrechs@aol.com.
• “One of the most inspirational moments in my journalism
career occurred when I interviewed Port Authority Police Department Staff
Sergeant John McLoughlin, who's portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the blockbuster
movie World Trade Center,” says Sally Rinard, contributing
editor for Delaware Today and "At the Cinema" columnist for Out &
About Magazine. “What McLoughlin has been through is so incredibly
moving. It really makes you aware of the true meaning of courage.” Her
feature appears in the September issue of Out & About Magazine. Sally
will be attending the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Contact Sally at
girafe3@aol.com.
• Donna Wells, owner of Wells WordWorks, a
copywriting and marketing company in Chadds Ford, Pa., recently was named a
recipient of the 2005-2006 Rotarian of the Year award by the Rotary Club of
Kennett at Longwood. Donna was co-chair of the club's fundraiser that
brought in more than $35,000 for Operation Warm, the YMCA's Rotary Alpine
Leadership Tower, and other community service projects. Through WordWorks,
Donna offers copywriting and related editorial services as well as creative
concepts for project management. She has served three terms on the Rotary
Club's board and helps produce and publish the club's weekly electronic
newsletter Sunrise e-News.
Contact Donna at dwells@wells-works.com.
^Top
New Members
DPA Extends a warm welcome to our newest
members:
Mary Allen - Public Relations Officer, Widener University School of Law
Angie Basiouny - Staff Reporter, The News Journal
Beverly Crowl - Public relations specialist, Delaware Hospice
Christine Facciolo - Freelance writer
Dennis Jackson - Author / Professor of English and journalism, University of Delaware
Jim Malloy - Reporter, Community Publications
Christine O'Donnell - Freelance public relations specialist
^Top
When You Get off I-95, History Comes
Alive
Commemorating the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary
Route (W3R)
 As
a child, former DPA NewsBreak editor Kim Burdick spent many happy
hours exploring historic sites, reading and listening to stories about
America’s past.
Today, Kim is the national co-chairman of W3R-USA and has become the major
force behind the development of a 620-mile history corridor. The
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R) celebrates and commemorates
the route that was followed by allied French and American forces in the fall
of 1781. Twenty-six miles of this route are in New Castle County.
 Event coordinator for the Revolutionary War Weekend’s activities, Kim says,
“From September 28 to October 1, Delaware’s 18th century sites will join
together to celebrate the 225th Anniversary of the march of these soldiers
across northern Delaware to victory at Yorktown, Virginia. Special events
include a symposium about Black Patriots of the American Revolution; a
champagne reception and new musical by Evelyn Swensson at the Baby Grand; a
Chautauqua at Tubman-Garret Park and Sunday afternoon open houses at
Historical Society of Delaware, Greenbank Mill and the tiny historic houses
along the route.”
For more a complete schedule of Revolutionary events and more information on
the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R) please visit
www.w3r-us.org and
www.w3r-de.org.
Contact W3R event coordinator Kim Burdick at
KimRBurdick@aol.com.
^Top
Bridget Gillespie Paverd Launches Ad
Campaign against Secondhand Smoke
Posters Win National Award; to Be Seen on National
Television This Fall
 Publicist
Bridget Gillespie Paverd, owner of Greenville-based BGP Publicity,
joined forces in 2005 with a longtime colleague and formed GillespieHall
Inc., a health-focused marketing and PR firm operating out of the
Philadelphia area. With a long work history in tobacco prevention and
control (the American Lung Association is an anchor client), Bridget’s firm
was awarded the PR contract by the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco
(PACT) to pave the way for Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Initiative.
“This is a massive PR project,” says Bridget. “Pennsylvania
has 67 counties, all very different from each other. Working closely with
PACT and the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, the leaders in
lung health, we have had to go back to educating the public about the
dangers of secondhand smoke and work our way from there. The public support
for this initiative is overwhelming.”
“When the Surgeon General’s recent report on the dangers of
secondhand smoke came out 2 weeks after GillespieHall Inc. launched a
powerful billboard and transit ad campaign in Harrisburg on secondhand
smoke, we were besieged with media interest. Let’s face it, smoking kills,
and no hype ever could eclipse the reality of this brutal message. This has
been a gem of a project.”
And on a national note: Hot on the trail of their having
placed third in the 2006 NFPW Communication Contest, a series of air-quality
poster ads—developed by BGP Publicity for the Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control and the American Lung Association of
Delaware—have been selected by Hollywood-based Alliance to Control Tobacco
(ACT) to be used as props in popular TV series such as “SCRUBS,” “E.R.,”
“House,” and various reality and talk shows. ACT adopts the private sector
concept of "product placement" to change habits by modeling environmentally
beneficial behavior (EBB) in television shows.
“Amazing to think that millions of people are going to get
to see our work when the networks kick off their new season this fall,” says
Bridget. “We are particularly proud of this ad series, and the creative team
was composed entirely of Delawareans!”
In March, Bridget Gillespie Paverd purchased a small office
building in Hockessin Village. “The 130-year-old 2-story commercial building
has a charm all its own,” Bridget says. “It is an ideal environment for our
creative team and our clients.” She plans to move into the building this
September.
Contact DPA Publicity Director Bridget Gillespie Paverd
at bridget@bgpublicity.com.
^Top
Delaware High School Students Receive
National Honors
by Barbara Roewe, DPA High School Communications Contest
Director
Two Delaware students, Tierra Fair and Lindsay Kenton, are
national award winners in NFPW’s 2006 High School Communications Contest.
Their entries, co-sponsored by DPA and The News Journal, won Honorable
Mention awards at the national level.
Tierra Fair, of the Charter School of Wilmington, won an Honorable Mention
in the News category for her story titled, “Non-citizens Lose Out.” The
story originally appeared in the Charter School’s newspaper, The Blue
Streak, for which Jennifer Towers was the teacher adviser.
Lindsay Kenton of Milford High School won an Honorable Mention in the
Columns category. Her “Column with a View” entries were “Graduation Day
Brings More Than Diplomas,” “Weight-related Issues Complicate Health, Tip
Scales in America,” and “Referendum May Cut Substantial Funding.” These
columns originally appeared in Milford High School’s newspaper, The Jolly
Roger, for which Czar Bloom is the teacher adviser.
Contact DPA Student Activities VP Barbara Roewe at
bcroewe@aol.com.
^Top
14 DPA Members Win National Awards in
NFPW Communications Contest
 National awards in the NFPW Communications Contest have been
announced and will be presented on September 9 at the National Federation of
Press Women’s 2006 Communications Conference, “Rendezvous in the Rockies,”
hosted by Colorado Press Women in Denver, Colorado.
DPA members took first place in 9 categories. We also had 6 second-place
wins, 3 thirds and 2 honorable mentions. Each entry in the national
competition already had received a first-place award at the state level.
The DPA national winners exemplify the diverse specialties of all of our
talented colleagues, numbering more than 100.
Read list of DPA winners in 2006 NFPW Communications Contest:
http://www.delawarepressassociation.org/contests/2006_NFPW_winners.pdf
^Top
WordPlay . . . for Wordsmiths
by Bob Yearick
 After
countless brainstorming sessions with other word nerd Board members, and
with apologies to the recent movie of the same name, we’ve decided to call
this column “WordPlay” for two reasons: a) we like it, and b) it suggests
the language-can-be-fun approach we hope to take.
For our initial effort, let’s tackle a couple of phrases
frequently misused even by some professional broadcasters and print
journalists.
The first is “begs the question,” a term in formal logic in
which “begs” means “to improperly take for granted,” but is commonly used to
mean “that raises—or invites—the question.” Example of incorrect usage:
“Sales were down last quarter and income fell. This begs the question: How
will we meet this month’s payroll?”
Begging the question actually means an argument assumes the
truth of the point one is trying to make and then uses that assumption to
prove itself. Here’s an example of an argument that begs the question: “The
play was no good because hardly anyone attended it.” The speaker is simply
asserting that few people attended the play, not presenting any evidence to
demonstrate that the play, indeed, was not good. Another classic example:
“God exists because he is all-powerful.”
The second offender is the adverbial phrase “more
importantly” (wrongly used in place of the adjectival phrase “more
important”), and it’s abused as often as begs the question. Many writers
incorrectly assume the phrase modifies the verb in the main clause. But the
phrase, often used at the beginning of a sentence and set off with a comma,
usually modifies the full sentence adjectivally and, therefore, should be
“more important.”
Example of incorrect usage: “More importantly, the task
force recommended an increase in all staff salaries.” The full sentence
calls for an adjective as a modifier, not an adverb, so the correct phrase
is “more important.” In fact, I’m hard-pressed to think of a situation in
which “more importantly” would be correct.
By the way, for answers to almost any grammar, punctuation
or language question, check out
www.theslot.com. Many
of you probably already know about this invaluable resource, but if not, I
suggest you go there and bookmark it. The Slot is the website of Bill Walsh,
a copy editor for the Washington Post and the author of Lapsing into a
Comma and The Elephants of Style. What’s more, Bill is very quick
about answering his emails. I’ve asked him many questions since discovering
the site a couple of years ago, and he’s never taken longer than a couple of
hours to answer.
In closing, let me give kudos to my fellow word nerds,
Katherine Ward and Mary Leah Christmas, for their counsel in preparing this
column. And please, if you have suggestions, pet peeves, or questions that
might be appropriate for WordPlay, just email them to
allwriter@comcast.net.
And remember: Always write right—and tight.
Contact WordPlay columnist Bob Yearick at
allwriter@comcast.net.
^Top
A Conversation with Mike Nichols
by Roy Podorson
 When
I attended the Common Wealth Awards* press conference, held at the Hotel du
Pont last April, not only did I see Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan (public
service), Anderson Cooper (mass communications), Rita Dove (literature) and
John Glenn (government), but, when I had the rare opportunity to interview
Academy Award-winning director Mike Nichols (dramatic arts), I discovered
that we had something in common—he on Broadway and me in advertising with
Broadway signage that I had created when I worked in New York.
"I've been an art director for major agencies for the past 400
years—actually 43—starting at Doyle Dane Bernbach in the 1960s and working
for icons in the ad industry on accounts such as Volkswagen with the
legendary Helmet Krone," I said.
Mr. Nichols, who has won eight Tony Awards for such Broadway shows as The
Odd Couple, Plaza Suite and Annie, asked if I knew Mary Wells,
founder of what had been the incredibly creative agency Wells Rich Green.
And then we launched into a discussion about Broadway's future. It's a
"fabulous invalid and always complaining," he said. Broadway, he continued,
is run by investors and lawyers, and there are more and more requirements.
Mr. Nichols noted that the economics of producing a show are so enormous
that "you should be prepared to take a loss if you're producing even an
Off-Broadway show today." And because of the millions it now takes to
produce shows and of the giant investors backing them, "productions have
become more formulas and remakes than fresh. New is too much of a risk, and
the whole idea of stories is being destroyed."
With a very strong union, he added, Broadway is hard to survive. The actors,
whether they be the star in a show or not, can hardly get by financially
unless they are in a TV series or in a successful money-making film from
Hollywood. Simon Russell Beale, star of the Tony Award-winning (best
musical) Spamalot that Mr. Nichols directed last year, gets to keep
just thirty percent of his money—the rest goes to English and American
taxes.
Mr. Nichols, who received the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center
Honor, a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for best direction for
The Graduate, spoke of Billy Wilder as the person he most looks up to in
his field.
The Nichols family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1939, when Mike
was seven. His father changed his name from Peschkowsky to Nichols because
he was a doctor, and he said by the time he spelled his name, the patient
was in the hospital.
When asked what he would do with the $50,000 Common Wealth Award, Mr.
Nichols said he would donate it to an organization for people who have
life-challenging diseases.
*The Common Wealth Awards, established in 1979 by the will of
philanthropist Ralph Hayes and administered annually by PNC Bank in
Wilmington, honor outstanding achievement worldwide in the fields of
literature, pubic service, science and invention, sociology, government,
dramatic arts, and mass communications. Each year the honorees share a prize
of $250,000.
Roy Podorson is AVP Senior Art Director, MBNA Advertising, Bank of
America. Contact Roy at
rpodorson@iglide.net.
^Top
Calendar of Events
SEPTEMBER
5 DPA Special Event “September 11:
Photographs & Memories”
Award-winning photographer David Handschuh will give a multimedia
presentation at the Baby Grand, 818 N. Market Street. Social gathering: 6:00
p.m. Presentation: 7:00 p.m. Reception: 8:30 p.m. Free. For more info:
contact Allison Levine at 302-345-0589 or
aljay89@yahoo.com.
7-9 NFPW National Conference, Adam's Mark
Hotel, Denver
Annual communications conference. Workshops in three general tracks:
journalism, public relations and freelance/author OR a workshop that has
broad cross-track appeal. For more info:
http://www.nfpw.org/conference.htm.
9/28 – 10/1 Washington-Rochambeau
Revolutionary War Event
You are cordially invited to join W3R-DE, the Delaware Humanities Forum, and
partnering 18th Century sites of New Castle County for a Revolutionary
Weekend. For more info: visit
www.w3r-us.org and
www.w3r-de.org or e-mail
DelRev225th@aol.com
OCTOBER
4 DPA Board Meeting
Methodist Country House (Stirling Conference Room), 4830 Kennett Pike,
Wilmington. 6:30 p.m.
13 UD Journalism Program dinner to honor Dr.
Dennis Jackson
Dinner to benefit the Dennis Jackson Summer Internship Stipend fund. Rodney
Room, Perkins Student Center, University of Delaware. 6:30 p.m. Cost $75.
For more information and a link to an RSVP form, go to
http://www.english.udel.edu/Journlsm/J_NewsEvents.htm.
NOVEMBER
4 Delaware Book Festival sponsored by the
Delaware Heritage Commission
Several nationally recognized authors and Delaware authors to display, sign
and sell their books. In front of Legislative Hall, Dover. Rain or shine.
10:00 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more info: 302-739-4748. Free.
DECEMBER
8–10 Eighth Annual John Milton Memorial
Celebration of Poetry and Poets
John Milton & Co. Book Shop, Milton, Del. Fourth Annual Dogfish Head Poetry
Prize to be awarded for a chapbook written by a Delmarva poet. For more
info, contact event founder Jamie Brown at
johnmiltonandco@earthlink.net.
Send information for the Calendar of Events to
dpanewsletter@yahoo.com.
^Top
NewsBreak is the official newsletter of Delaware Press
Association.
Mary Leah Christmas, Editor
Katherine Ward, Layout
Submit editorial content to:
dpanewsletter@yahoo.com
Copy deadline for next newsletter: October 15, 2006
Contact Us:
Katherine Ward, Executive Director
Delaware Press Association
email: delawarepress@aol.com
phone: 302-655-2175
web: http://www.delawarepressassociation.org
^Top
|
