NewsBreak November 2008 - Vol. 20, No. 2

In This Issue:

• Positively Negative: The Upside of Negative Campaigning

• President’s Corner:  Remember When?

• Beyond Passion: Getting Your Book Published

• Spotlight: Margaret Towers — Noteworthy at 90

• A Banana or a Potato: Which is Better?

• WordPlay . . . for Wordsmiths

• DPA Rated a Strong Buy: Renew Your Membership, Guarantee Future Returns

• DPA Welcomes New Members

• DPA Media Mavens & Mavericks

• DelCOG Reports Open Government Survey Results

• Calendar of Events

Positively Negative

The Upside of Negative Campaigning

by Allan Loudell

Campaign rhetoric. In any election — whether at the local or the national level — it seems we’re surrounded by it day in and day out for months, sometimes years, on end. And, for the most part, it’s negative, mean-spirited and sometimes downright dirty. Can there be anything positive about all of the negativity that assaults the voters when candidates for office are on the campaign trail, when they debate each other or when they put their stamp of approval on the ads that run ad nauseam on radio and television

Astonishingly, the answer is a qualified yes. At this year’s DPA Holiday Luncheon, David Mark, senior editor for the Washington, D.C.-based Politico and Politico.com and former editor-in-chief of Campaigns & Elections magazine, will speak to us about the role of negative campaigning in the 2008 election. Although Mark acknowledges that “negative campaigning can backfire,” he also makes the claim that, “in many instances the sniping helps bring out important issues for voters.”

The author of Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning, Mark will discuss whether this election turned out to be the toughest in modern history. Although he will put emphasis on the presidential race in the 2008 elections, he promises to profile the civility of Delaware politics as well. Mark previously was a Capitol Hill reporter for the Congressional Quarterly and for the Associated Press, Tallahassee, Fla. Read articles by David Mark.

A political journalism organization that provides content not only through newspaper but also via television, radio and the Internet, Politico (founded in January 2007) is focused on three arenas: the 2008 presidential campaign and how it may shape history in unprecedented ways; the flow of power, personalities and agendas on Capitol Hill; and the business, influence and impact of lobbying and advocacy. According to Politico’s editor-in-chief John Harris and executive editor Jim VandeHei, “We won't usually be chasing the story of the day. We'll put our emphasis on the ‘backstories’ — those that illuminate the personalities, relationships, clashes, ideas and political strategies playing out in the shadows of official Washington.”

Do some of your holiday shopping during the social hour

Beginning at 11:30 a.m., our speaker David Mark and a number of DPA authors and editors will be on hand to chat with members and guests and to offer books, magazines and manuals on a wide range of topics.

While you shop and enjoy some holiday cheer (the cash bar will be open throughout the social hour and the luncheon), we hope you also will delight in the music of Strings Plus One.

2009 Communicator of Achievement

Following the program, Barbara Roewe, DPA’s 2008 Communicator of Achievement, will present the recipient of the 2009 COA award. The annual COA Award, given for outstanding professional achievement as well as for service to DPA, NFPW and the local community, is the highest honor DPA bestows on its members.

Who will it be this year? Come to the luncheon to find out.

Directions to Delaware National Country Club

The Holiday Luncheon will be held in the Wooddale Room at Delaware National Country Club, 400 Hercules Road, Wilmington. Social hour with cash bar and book signings begins at 11:30 a.m. with lunch at 12:30 p.m. There is a large parking lot adjacent to the club.

From Route 141, turn onto Route 48 West. Travel approximately 1.8 miles to Hercules Road. Turn left at traffic light onto Hercules Road and go 3/10 mile to traffic light at top of hill. Turn left into complex, go 200 feet, turn left at STOP sign, follow around to the right. Ample parking on right. Clubhouse on left.

Reservations

Cost: members $26.50, non-members $31.50.
Make a Holiday Luncheon Reservation: – Pay by Check – or – Pay by Credit Card –

Allan Loudell is the DPA Programs Vice President. For more information, contact Allan at 302-478-2700 or aloudell@wdel.com.

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President’s Corner: Remember When?

by Mark Fowser

Think for a minute, if you would, about all the ways our jobs, our responsibilities and our lives have been changed by new technology.

Think back to a time when not everyone had a cell phone, the Internet was merely a novelty, TV news was only on TV and radio news was only on the radio. Magazines and books were printed pages you actually held in your hand.

The year would be . . . 1990.

Yes, those who will be graduating from our colleges and universities in 2012 were born, for the most part, in 1990. They never have known a world without the Net, have carried a cell phone since, perhaps, the age of 12, get their music on-line and get their news whenever they want it.

For a fun and fascinating look at what nearly two-million first-year college students have always had in their lives, visit the Beloit College “Mindset List" for the Class of 2012.

These people, just now heading into college, are the future of our professions — and the future of Delaware Press Association.

In fact, some are already DPA members. A student membership is only $5. That’s one thing that has not changed.

One has to wonder: What kind of changes will these people see in the courses of their careers?

No matter what the future holds, there is still something indescribably satisfying about picking up a newspaper, paging through a magazine, having the radio on in the car and actually holding a book.

So, I hope you’ll be able to unplug for a while, turn off the gismos and join DPA for some great events in the near future, including the book-publishing panel discussion, Thursday, November 13 (please see the following article), and our annual Holiday Luncheon, Saturday, December 6 (see related article).

And now that the end of the year is in sight, please renew your DPA / NFPW memberships when the notice arrives in your mail box (virtual or real) in a few weeks and get ready for submitting your best work in the 2009 DPA Communications Contest. Our members who entered the NFPW competition this year collectively won third place in the national affiliate sweepstakes competition. Congratulations!

Mark Fowser, DPA President, is the Program Manager and morning news anchor at 1450 WILM Newsradio. Contact Mark at markfowser@clearchannel.com.

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Beyond Passion: Getting Your Book Published

by Sara Tucker Garrison

“Getting a book into print is one thing, but you often truly are on your own in marketing these days. My best piece of advice before you write a book is to ask yourself: ‘How willing am I to promote it?’ But if you’ve already written it and get an advance, put the money into marketing.”
                                                       — Nick Nichols, author, Nova Scotia Memories

During the height of the Vietnam War — unpopular then and still controversial more than 40 years later — journalist Nancy E. Lynch gave voice to the observations, views, hopes and fears of Delaware servicemen and women who wrote to her from the steaming jungles and sloping highlands of a war-torn country in Southeast Asia. For five years, she published their letters in her column, “Nancy’s Vietnam Mailbag,” in the Wilmington Morning News. The mailbag filled at an ever faster pace, and there never seemed to be room to tell all the stories.

When, in 2006, she opened the old box in which she’d stashed the nearly 900 letters she had received, Nancy began to realize she was the custodian of a priceless time capsule — the letters comprise the largest body of primary source material from the Vietnam era believed to exist — and the book she thought she might someday begin was saying, “write me, and write me now.”

But, like any other serious writer today, Nancy Lynch knew the world of book publishing had changed in regard to author’s responsibilities, bookstore marketing, print runs and more. She knew that to see a book in print, there would have to be more than simply a burning desire to “write a book.”

Delaware Press Association has assembled a panel of experienced communicators who, in “Beyond Passion: Getting Your Book Published,” will discuss those changes and the reality of what they mean for writers in today’s highly competitive market.

MODERATOR:

• Jean Debelle Lamensdorf, author of Write Home for Me: A Red Cross Woman in Vietnam (Random House Australia, 2006), will moderate the discussion. Jean’s book, which topped the best-seller list in South Australia within two weeks of publication, took two national first-place awards in NFPW’s 2007 Communications Conference — one for writing, one for editing. Jean wanted to write a book about her year in Vietnam, from June of 1966 to June of 1967, to honor the brave men and women who risked their lives for their country but often went home to scorn. She’ll tell us about her role and that of Random House Australia in making that happen.

PANELISTS:

• Nancy Lynch, author of Vietnam Mailbag, had a long-established career as a freelance writer when she decided to write a responsible social history of the era in which the Vietnam War was fought — one that would thank and honor the courageous soldiers, sailors, marines and medical personnel with whom she had corresponded while they were living, working, fighting and dying in a combat zone. “All the years of writing,” she thought, “it’s all been preparation for this book.” To offer a book that would be a window on the Vietnam War, she would have to organize hundreds of letters into chapters and text and reconnect with the Delaware veterans whose letters she had published. But what other publishing challenges would she have to face?
   

• Larry Nagengast, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam era, was just the right person to inhabit the role of Vietnam Mailbag editor. His association with Nancy Lynch began in the 1970s at The News Journal, where he was a writer and editor, winning awards for reporting on education and consumer issues. He now works on his own, a hybrid multitasker who writes, edits and offers public relations services. “In editing the book, I saw myself as a facilitator, helping Nancy write the book she always wanted to write by clearing away obstacles, pursuing fresh lines of thought and making it easier for her to achieve her goal.” He is the author of Pierre S. du Pont IV, Governor of Delaware, 1977-1985, published in 2007, the most recent volume in the Delaware Heritage Commission's series of oral histories on Delaware governors.
   

• DPA member Sara Garrison, Managing Director of Freelance Writing for Business, is handling media relations and marketing for the release of Vietnam Mailbag. Sara’s friendship with Nancy extends back to their early school days, to a time long before the conflict in Vietnam. Sara encouraged Nancy to take the plunge and tell the stories of Delaware’s Vietnam veterans — then and now. A former public affairs specialist with DuPont, Sara will talk about the challenges of promoting and marketing a book as well as the critical role the author now must play in marketing. She is the coauthor of A Widening Horizon: Seven Decades of The Tatnall School, which earned an NFPW national award in 2001.
   

• Claudia Young, an author, former teacher and a member of Delaware Press Association, co-founded Bay Oak Publishers with her cousin, H. A. Maxson in 2000. They published “Magical History Tours,” their own series of seven novellas used in Delaware elementary schools, and then began publishing books for authors and poets whose work must meet specific subject matter and editorial criteria. Claudia will speak about interacting with authors, setting deadlines, the difference between publishing and printing and the advantages of printing on demand (sometimes called publishing on demand).

The panel will offer writing, editing and marketing tips and will examine questions such as:

• Why do I need an editor?

• How do I get a publisher to look at my work?

• What do you mean I may be on my own in marketing my book?

• How do I copyright my book and get an ISBN number?

• If I have copyrighted my book, do I still need a lawyer?

• What kind of costs can I expect to cover?

• What’s the difference between publishing and printing?

Come with questions (or answers of your own).

Join us at Kid Shelleen's, 1801 W. 14th Street, Wilmington, on Thursday, November 13, at 6 p.m., for an hour of networking with light fare and cash bar available. The panel discussion will begin at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a book signing for panelist Nancy Lynch.

Book Signing

You’ll be among the first to be able to purchase a signed copy of Nancy’s full-color, 460-page book, Vietnam Mailbag, Voices From the War: 1968-1972. The official launch will be at a 1:30 p.m. reception at the Delaware Public Archives, Dover, on November 11, Veterans Day. Beginning with the book launch, the Archives will host a multimedia sight-and-sound exhibit — including many of the letters and photographs from the book — until Memorial Day 2009. Nancy will be donating her collection of letters and photographs to the Archives. Citing the value of this “vivid and personal” contribution, Archives director Russ McCabe says, “We are absolutely thrilled to present these documents to the people of the State of Delaware.”

Read more about Nancy Lynch and Vietnam Mailbag.

Directions to Kid Shelleen’s

Directions: We’ll meet in the Ballou Room at Kid Shelleen’s, 1801, W. 14th Street, Wilmington. From Pennsylvania Avenue (Route 52) heading south into Wilmington, turn left onto Union Street (if heading north out of the city, turn right onto Union). Go approximately half a block and turn right onto Liberia Street (if you reach the stop sign at 14th Street, you've gone too far). Liberia Street will take you straight into the parking lot. If the lot is full, there will be ample free parking on adjacent streets.

Cost: DPA members $12; non-members $15.

– Make a Reservation –

For more information, contact Katherine Ward: 302-655-2175 or DelawarePress@aol.com.

Contact Sara Garrison at garrison@freelancewritingde.com.
Contact Jean Lamensdorf at jlamensdorf@comcast.net.
Contact Larry Nagengast at larrynagengast@comcast.net.
Contact Claudia Young at chyoungdov@comcast.net.

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Spotlight: Margaret Towers, Noteworthy at 90!

DPA Founder Begins Tenth Decade on November 5

by Katherine Ward

Happy 90th Birthday wishes to DPA founder and charter member Margaret Bendock Towers! Always a voracious reader, Margaret says, “Unfortunately, my eyes are wearing out, but otherwise I am doing well. I attended my 65th college reunion a couple of years ago, and I still attend family reunions, weddings and a few DPA events. Friends drop by after doing errands for me. I am busy every day — never a dull moment.”

Margaret has had a full life as a journalist. From publishing a neighborhood newspaper as a child, to working for Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, to writing a column for the Sunday Star in Wilmington, Margaret moved on to a 35-year career as director of public relations for Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Delaware.

Why, then, in early 1977, did Margaret want to meet with Gloria Stuber, editor of New Directions for Women in Delaware, and Frances Naczi, former newspaper publisher and director of marketing for First Federal Savings and Loan, to initiate talks about forming Delaware Press Women (DPW) as a state affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women?

As DPA’s first president, Priscilla Tuminello, of Fort Collins, Colorado, says, “The 1970s was a time of real awakening for women in the U.S. and around the world to the many inequities in society due to gender bias. There was no Family and Medical Leave Act, there was no diversity training, there was no pay equity, and there was minimal understanding of the true meaning of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination.” At that time, for instance, women working at The News Journal were facing significant discrimination in terms of job responsibilities, promotions and involvement in key professional activities and were told that if they were to meet to discuss the situation, there could be severe reprisals.

On April 29, 1977, having paid $15 dues to DPW and $10 to NFPW, Margaret Towers, Gloria Galloway, Sandra Michel, and Mary Lou Ponsell — all still DPA members — plus Gloria Stuber, Frances Naczi, Priscilla Tuminello, and six other women received the charter for the Delaware affiliate from NFPW president Jean Wiley Huyler, of Washington. DPW immediately began to serve as a network and support system for women in the various fields of communications. Within a year, DPW was 43 members strong.

Twenty years later, when male membership in DPW had grown to 20 percent of its then 90 members, Delaware Press Women, believing “a name change — not a values change — would help build a more inclusive community of women and men devoted to practicing excellence in communication,” voted to adopt “Delaware Press Association” as its new name.

A loyal and valuable 31-year member of Delaware Press Association, Margaret, who is rarely seen without a stylish hat, has contributed to many other professional organizations, including the Ad Club of Delaware, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Advertising Women of Greater Wilmington. Over the years she has been active in the community and with her church.

Margaret, here’s to you and to the next ten years — and beyond!

Contact Katherine Ward, DPA Executive Director, at DelawarePress@aol.com.
Contact Margaret Towers with Happy Birthday wishes at 302-478-6457.

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A Banana or a Potato: Which is Better?

by Barbara Roewe

Representing Delaware Press Association as your 2008 Communicator of Achievement during the NFPW Communications Conference in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in September, was very special, and I learned a lot about potatoes too. The most deserving Clara Cartrette, a longtime journalist from North Carolina, was named the NFPW National Communicator of Achievement.

The information tracks offered in the various workshops and panel discussions were Professional Development, Technology, News and Public Relations.

The Technology track was particularly appealing to me. Although I do consider myself computer literate, at age 77 I am still somewhat in the Dark Ages compared to the younger professionals who are on the cutting edge of the Internet’s “Social Communities,” enabling contact and interaction with others worldwide. Some new vocabulary for me includes the names of various information hubs, Web applications, microblogging tools and Web sites for live video streaming such as Tweeter, Pownce, Jaiku, Seesmic, Utterz, TubeMogul, Skype, TalkShoe, Ustream and Peanut Butter Wiki (pbwiki).

An extra pleasure was a tour of an impressive 300-acre potato farm. Idaho grows 13 billion pounds of potatoes each year and most are Russets. Here are some interesting facts from the Idaho Potato Commission: a 5.3 oz potato has only 100 calories, yet 45% of the daily value of vitamin C, 3g of fiber (recommended total is 25g/day), 0g of fat, 0g of cholesterol and nearly twice the potassium of a banana!

Idaho proved to be a treat in many ways.

The next NFPW Communications Conference will be held in September 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. Our conference hotel, El Tropicano, is located along the famed River Walk (Paseo del Rio), said to be “the number one entertainment destination in Texas.” The affiliates that organize these conferences knock themselves out to make the experience informative, educational, inspiring and FUN. We’ll have lots of details for you in the coming months. Y’all plan to attend!

Barbara Roewe is DPA’s VP of Student Activities and Co-director of the annual First State High School Communications Contest. Contact Barbara at bcroewe@aol.com.

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WordPlay . . . for Wordsmiths

by Bob Yearick

Double Trouble

I was appalled — appalled, I tell you! — upon hearing two grievous but all-too-common linguistic errors while interviewing a couple of well-educated women, both of whom run their own businesses, for features in Out & About Magazine.

The first: “especially” pronounced “ek-specially.” Amazing how many people insert that hard “c” sound at the beginning of the word.

The second: the double comparative, as in, “Back then she was much more milder in her political views.” Unfortunately, this usage is widespread. Never combine “more” with a comparative ending in –er. The general rule is to use “more” only with adjectives of three or more syllables, as in “more outlandish.”

Dept. of Redundancy

Caller to a WDEL talk show, touting a candidate for political office: “He’s a former past president of . . .”

Media Matters

A recent headline from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Those Responsible in Fatal Death of Dog Sought.” As opposed to a non-fatal death?

Columnist Dan Patrick, in the Sept. 15 issue of Sports Illustrated, wrote about Tiger Woods and Tom Brady and “how their injuries will effect their respective sports.” Tch, tch. This in one of the country’s best-edited publications.

From the local paper of record: “Most of the graduates might have dropped out of school all together, might have short-circuited their lives before they even got started, if they hadn't gotten a second chance . . . .” This statement indicates that without the second chance, a mass exodus would have taken place with all of them dropping out together.

The forms altogether and all together, usually indistinguishable in speech, are nevertheless distinct in meaning. The adverb altogether means “wholly, entirely, completely,” as in an altogether dismal failure. The phrase all together means “in a group”: We were all together in making the decision.

And we’re not even going to touch “in the altogether.”

Send your pet peeves, suggestions and questions for WordPlay to: allwriter@comcast.net.

And remember: Always write right — and tight.

Contact WordPlay columnist Bob Yearick at allwriter@comcast.net.

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DPA Rated a Strong Buy: Renew Your Membership, Guarantee
Future Returns

by Allison Taylor Levine, APR

We’ll be issuing a membership renewal notice in the next few weeks, so be sure to renew your investment in your professional development when it arrives. Even in a sometimes unpredictable financial market, DPA's value is always on the rise. We continue to grow in numbers and in reputation, and you are part of the reason why. Our growth indicates a likelihood for even greater activity in the Communications Contest this year. Will your work withstand the competition and come out on top? You’ll never know unless you’re in on the action.

DPA membership can strengthen your professional portfolio in other ways as well and remains a strong buy at $20. Membership affords you:

• Great networking opportunities with communications professionals from print media to broadcasting, from photography to the Web, from PR to poetry

• Professional development at six meetings throughout the year

• NewsBreak, DPA’s national award-winning member e-newsletter

• Timely e-blasts about job opportunities and events of interest

• And more!

It’s also time to reinvest in your NFPW membership, so when the renewal form arrives later this month, send it in or click here to renew online. Dual DPA/NFPW membership entitles you to state and national benefits, including opportunities to compete in the national Communications Contest, vote, hold office and serve as a delegate to the annual NFPW Communications Conference.

Hot insider tip: NFPW dues will rise by $20 on January 1, 2009, so renew now and lock in the dividends.

Meanwhile, be sure to keep your contact information in the Membership Directory up to date. To access an online form to submit any changes, click here to go to the Members’ Area and scroll down to Contact Information for DPA Membership Directory. If you don’t have the password for the Members’ Area, contact us at DelawarePress@aol.com.

Allison Taylor Levine, APR, a public relations consultant for Synchrogenix Information Strategies, Inc., is DPA’s Membership Director. Contact Allison at aljay89@yahoo.com.

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DPA Welcomes New Members

DPA extends a warm welcome to each of our new members. Any new members whose contact information has not been included in the online DPA Membership Directory, please click here and ask for directions: DelawarePress@aol.com.

Christen Battaglia – cbattaglia@ywca.org
Marketing manager, YWCA Delaware

Charles Dale, Jr. – cdjr1965@aol.com
Recent graduate, Virginia Commonwealth University, B.S. in communications, concentration in advertising

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DPA Media Mavens & Mavericks

. . . is a column about our members’ personal and professional achievements. Names of new DPA members featured in this column are starred.

Please send any information about your honors, achievements and awards to news@delawarepressassociation.org by the 1st of any month for publication in the next issue.
 

DPA members featured in this issue:

• Kim Burdick / Lise Monty / Sharon Moore

• Gordon DelGiorno

• Karen Galanaugh

• Tara Lynn Johnson

• Lynn Maniscalco

• Michael Pollock

• Lillian Shah / Laura Messinger

• Beth Shockley

• Crabmeat Thompson

• Billie Travalini

• Bob Yearick / Christine O’Donnell

• Kim Burdick, Chairman of the Delaware Humanities Forum Council and former editor of DPA NewsBreak, was honored on October 19 by the French government in a public ceremony at Colonial National Park in Yorktown, Virginia, during a celebration of the 225th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris, which signified the official end of the American Revolution. National Chairman of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association (W3R-USA), Kim was inducted into the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms)* for her work over the past ten years to develop a 685-mile-long national historic trail from Newport, Rhode Island, to Yorktown, Virginia, commemorating the march of the allied American and French soldiers of the American Revolution. Kim says, “I credit the hard work of grassroots volunteers in nine states and Washington, D.C., for the successful public programs and excellent scholarship that has developed around this project over the past ten years.” Visit the W3R-USA Web site to see a picture of Kim with Michel Schaffhauser, the Consul General of France in the U.S.A.

In that photo and in the one above with the French Ambassador, Kim is wearing the pin that represents her distinguished award. The Ordre des Palmes Académiques, an order of chivalry of France for academics and educators, originally was created by Napoleon to honor eminent members of the University of Paris. The scope of the award was widened to include major contributions to French national education made by anyone, including foreigners, when it was re-established on October 4, 1955, by President René Coty and is one of the world's oldest civil awards.

Kim and two other DPA members, educator and writer Sharon Moore and freelance writer Lise Monty, served as panelists and session facilitators on topics such as "Photographers," "How and Why We Picture Delaware" and "Race and Gender," at the Delaware Humanities Forum’s 35th Anniversary Symposium, "Picturing Delaware: Inside and Outside the Frame." Held at the Delaware Art Museum on October 24, with Bruce Cole, executive director of the National Endowment for the Humanities as the luncheon speaker, the symposium focused on how we see Delaware from a humanities perspective: its citizens, history, art, architecture, landscape, industry and social constructs.

Contact Kim Burdick at DelRev225th@aol.com.
Contact Lise Monty at montyleary@aol.com.
Contact Sharon Moore at jaynshaye@comcast.net.

• Are you interested in being a part of the movies? Award-winning filmmaker Gordon DelGiorno, of Film Brothers Productions in Wilmington, wants to know. Gordon says, “Delaware Independent Filmmakers (DIF) is having a kickoff to introduce coming projects, meet producers, directors, actors, musicians, camera crew, writers, editors, people in sales and marketing, graphic artists, photographers and people new to the industry from the Tri-State area and beyond. Film Brothers and other production companies in the region do many commercials, films and events, and we need a variety of professional services. We also are writing a couple of scripts in December. So if you would like to give us your contact info, or if you would like to receive an invitation to the November 15 kickoff event, please let me know.”
Contact Gordon DelGiorno at gordon@filmbrothers.com.

• Karen Galanaugh, director of NFPW's National Communications Contest, handed out more than a hundred awards to press colleagues from across the U.S. at the annual Communications Conference in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on September 12. Caught up in a different kind of competition the first weekend in October, she and her Rough Collie (“Lassie”) dog, Buddy, won first place in the Canine Agility Fast Course Class at the Wilmington Kennel Club Fall AKC Agility Trial at Lums Pond State Park, Delaware. Karen says, “The Fast Course is the most challenging competition there is for dog and thinking human. We had the highest score and the fastest time of the 75 brave competitors enrolled in that particular class. We had two other classes: first was an obstacle course — crash and burn — no score; second was a Jumpers with Weaves class, handler error — my mistake. God bless my dog." Buddy, working without a handler in the presence of sheep, has herding titles too.
Contact Karen Galanaugh (and Buddy) at kareng@galanaugh.com.

• Tara Lynn Johnson, who now lives on Philadelphia’s Main Line, continues to freelance in Pennsylvania. She says, “I began a stint as the “Mainly Art” columnist for Main Line Times in October. Also, I recently interviewed Paula Poundstone for an article in Montgomery Life newspaper. Links to the column and the article will appear on my Web site.
Contact Tara Lynn Johnson at tara@taralynnjohnson.com.

• At the Photographic Society of America conference in Portland, Oregon, September 2–6, Lynn Maniscalco received a speaker's award from the society as well as the annual Outstanding Service award from the Photojournalism Division and a plaque in recognition of success in international exhibitions.
Contact Lynn Maniscalco at LTMphoto@juno.com.

• Michael Pollock, managing editor of Out & About and CityLife magazines, is now also an adjunct professor of English at Delaware Technical & Community College's Stanton campus. He is also a regular contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Contact Michael Pollock at mpollock@tsnpub.com.

• Each year, 100,000 people die from medical errors! Lillian Shah and Laura Messinger can help you avoid becoming a statistic. Their book Keeping Healthy by Keeping Track: A Complete Guide to Maintaining Your Own Medical Records has just been re-published in a new, revised edition with a bonus CD that includes all 95 charts from the book. Clear and easy-to-use, the charts cover general and specific health matters, including diabetes, cancer, allergies and heart disease. The CD and the book comprise a comprehensive resource for creating a back-up set of medical records — more charts than any other source. Lillian says, “A strong doctor-patient partnership is the goal, and being well-informed benefits both the patient and the doctor. Because doctors have limited time to see patients, office visits are most productive when you are generally informed and bring a list of concerns.” Laura adds, “The book is a godsend for caregivers." Keeping Healthy will be available during the social hour, beginning at 11:30 a.m., at the December 6 DPA Holiday Luncheon. You may order the book with CD now from Infinity Publishing or from Amazon. Cost: $24.95. For more information, contact Lillian or Laura.
Contact Lillian Shah at 302 529-1368 or lillianshah@mac.com.
Contact Laura Messinger at laura.messinger@verizon.net.

• Coast Day was a big success for Outdoor Delaware, the DPA-award-winning conservation magazine produced by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). Editor Beth Shockley didn’t get a chance to sit down — she was too busy signing up new subscribers. “We had a great day getting the word out about Outdoor Delaware,” Beth said. Coast Day, held annually at the University of Delaware’s College of Marine and Earth Sciences in Lewes, celebrates Delaware’s coastal and natural resources. Now in its 32nd year, Coast Day is an end-of-summer event that attracts some 10,000 people.
Contact Beth Shockley at elizabeth.shockley@state.de.us.

• The last we heard from Jerry “Crabmeat” Thompson, he was writing from Hotel Gredos in the mountains west of the twelfth-century walled Spanish city of Avila. “Town is a very long walk from here,” he says, “and I am spending twelve hours a day teaching English to wonderful, intelligent Spanish people who need it in their jobs. Mostly,” he adds, “we’re working to give these folks confidence, increase fluency and vocabulary, and remove the fear of seeming ridiculous. I feel I am overqualified on the last. . . . My voltage converter just began to hum and then to smoke, and it popped, so I must go detach it. Ciao!"
Contact Crabmeat Thompson at crabmeat@crabmeat.net.

• Billie Travalini, adjunct professor of English at Wilmington University and Lincoln University, and Fleda Brown, professor emerita of the University of Delaware and former poet laureate of Delaware, recently edited On the Mason-Dixon Line: An Anthology of Contemporary Delaware Writers, which has received critical acclaim. Each of the 45 writers “presents a distinct voice, blending the place names of the past with the emotional geographies of the present,” said essayist, novelist, editor and critic Judith Kitchen. “Under the careful orchestration of the astute editors, the resulting mix — urban and rural, comic and tragic, informative and imaginative — rises to the universal.” Billie also is a fiction editor for the Journal of Caribbean Literatures and is the founding director of the annual New Castle Writers’ Conference and the Lewes Creative Artists' Workshop. Click here for more information or to order a copy of the anthology.
Contact Billie Travalini at btravalini@aol.com.

• Through a Q&A exchange in the October issue of Out & About Magazine, O&A associate editor Bob Yearick examined Republican Christine O'Donnell's uphill battle for the U.S. Senate against senate and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden (D-Del.). Christine is a marketing and media consultant, a social advocate and a nationally recognized political commentator.
Contact Bob Yearick at allwriter@comcast.net.
Contact Christine O’Donnell at monki87@yahoo.com.

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DelCOG Reports Open Government Survey Results

Legislators Say FOIA Should Apply to Delaware General Assembly

by Chris Carl

According to an October 2008 DelCOG survey of Delaware legislators and candidates for the House and Senate, 95% of all who responded said that they favor having the Delaware Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) apply to them as legislators.

In 1977, when the Delaware General Assembly approved the Freedom of Information Act -- established to ensure the transparency of government by requiring government agencies to hold open meetings and hearings, and maintain public access to records -- they exempted themselves from it.

The DelCOG survey results indicate that almost all of the responding incumbents and challenger candidates now favor removing the FOIA exemption, but with certain exceptions.

The Delaware Coalition for Open Government, or DelCOG, was founded in 2006 by a group of lawyers, journalists, elected officials and concerned citizens hoping to reconnect government to the people of Delaware by seeking to bring more sunshine into all levels of government. One of DelCOG's goals is to advocate for a more user-friendly state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and to have FOIA apply to the state legislature.

Our intent in conducting a pre-election survey was to start a dialog on Open Government between Delaware's citizens and Delaware's elected officials. We hope that this survey will prove to be a positive first step. Of the 96 current incumbents and candidates, 42 responded to the survey.

Read Complete Results of DelCOG Open Government Survey.

Chris Carl is President of DelCOG and Director of News & Programming for WDEL-AM. Contact Chris at ccarl@dbc1.com.

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Calendar of Events

Pick your own date: Free Writes. On any given Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, you can jump-start your creative process and experiment with your writing styles in the company of other writers at all skill levels. Just show up with pen and paper or laptop. No RSVP required. Free and facilitated by the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild. For more info: 302-226-8210 or contactus@rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.

NOVEMBER

01 Delaware Book Festival, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., rain or shine, in First State Heritage Park, 152 S. State Street, Dover (the Legislative Mall and The Green). Meet more than 35 nationally recognized authors and illustrators; learn how to write poetry, create a blog and get published; discover how to repair and appraise books; children can see favorite storybook characters and create fun crafts. Get more Book Festival information.

05 An Evening of Chocolate Decadence, 6–8:30 p.m., sponsored by eWomenNetwork. Mansion on Main Street, Voorhees, N.J. It’s all about the chocolate — chocolate cakes, chocolate candies, chocolate covered strawberries — even chocolate martinis! It’s also all about raising funds for the eWomenNetwork Foundation’s local grant program for non-profit agencies that support the health and welfare of women and children. The 2008 Sweet Charity Award will go to Pat Ciarrocchi, CBS 3, in recognition of her dedication to helping women and children. Cost: $45 members; $55 non-members. For more information, visit eWomenNetwork.

11 Vietnam Mailbag, Voices From the War: 1968-1972, a full-color, 460-page book by Nancy E. Lynch, will be launched on Veterans Day, November 11, 2008, at a reception at the Delaware Public Archives, 121 Duke of York Street, Dover. 1:30 p.m. Lynch is donating her collection of 900 letters from Delaware servicemen and women written from the combat zone (the largest extant body of primary source material of the Vietnam era believed to exist), which she published three times a week over the course of five years in her column “Nancy’s Vietnam Mailbag.” Beginning with the book launch, the Archives will host a multimedia sight-and-sound exhibit — including many of the letters and photographs from the book — until Memorial Day 2009. Click here for more info on Vietnam Mailbag or for the Archives book launch and reception. Free and open to the public.

12 “Meet the Pros” – Career Opportunities for Young Professionals. 8 a.m. breakfast seminar at World Café Live, Philadelphia. A focused discussion on careers in the Philadelphia Communications Industry sponsored by the Young Professionals Committee, Philly Ad Club. Moderator: Melissa Burke – Job Swami, Blue Plate Minds (a creative staffing agency representing advertising and marketing professionals). Cost: $25 per person; $15 per student (ID required). For a list of panel participants and other info, visit the Philly Ad Club Web site.

13 “Leadership Lessons from the World’s Most Successful Executives.” 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m., sponsored by the Philadelphia AMA. The Down Town Club, 150 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 1100, Philadelphia. Keynote speaker David Wanetick to discuss how incremental differences in characteristics and practices have a vastly disproportionate impact on executive performance and can radically change corporation’s futures, earnings and market capitalizations. Cost: $45 members; $60 non-members. For more info or to register: 215-477-1667 or visit the PAMA Web site.

13 DPA Meeting: “Beyond Passion: Getting Your Book Published.” Panel discussion. Moderator: Jean Lamensdorf (author, Write Home for Me). Panelists: Nancy Lynch (author, Vietnam Mailbag), Larry Nagengast (editor), Sara Garrison (media relations and marketing), Claudia Young (Bay Oak Publishers). Kid Shelleen's, 1801 W. 14th Street. (14th and Scott), Wilmington. Networking, light fare and cash bar: 6 p.m. Program: 7 p.m. Cost: $12 members; $15 non-members. For more info, contact Katherine Ward: 302-655-2175 or DelawarePress@aol.com. (See related article.)  – Make a Reservation –

15 Deadline for Getty Image’s grants Editorial Photography. These grants provide photographers creative freedom and collaborative editorial support needed to produce exceptional documentary features that bring attention to significant social and cultural issues. Each year, five professional photojournalists are awarded individual grants of $20,000 each, as well as the option to sign a one-year exclusive-rights deal with Getty Images to market their work. Getty Images is also offering four $5,000 awards to students under the age of thirty who are currently enrolled in photojournalism courses at accredited colleges or universities. Applications must be received by November 15, 2008. For more information, visit Picture This: Getty's Editorial Photography Grants.

19 DPA Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Methodist Country House (Sterling Conference Room), 4830 Kennett Pike, Wilmington.

DECEMBER

01 Philadelphia Speakers Series: Garrison Keillor, humorist and radio host of “A Prairie Home Companion.” Often referred to as the “Mark Twain of our times,” he writes and hosts “A Prairie Home Companion,” which is heard weekly on National Public Radio. Presented by Widener University at the Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad Street on the Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia. 8 p.m. Click here for further information or to order tickets.

06 DPA Holiday Luncheon. Guest speaker: David Mark, senior editor, Politico.com. Delaware National Country Club, 400 Hercules Road, Wilmington. Social hour/book signings 11:30 a.m. Luncheon, program and presentation of 2009 Communicator of Achievement 12:30 p.m. Cost: members $26.50; non-members $31.50. For more information, call 302-594-0844.
Make a Holiday Luncheon Reservation: – Pay by Check – or – Pay by Credit Card –

07 Tenth Annual John Milton Memorial Celebration of Poets and Poetry, John Milton & Co. Book Shop, Milton, Delaware. This year’s event includes the dedication of a life-size statue of John Milton, by artist-sculptor Paul Rendel, in the afternoon in Mill Park. The Milton Community Foundation, 624 Mulberry Street, Milton, DE 19968, is seeking donations (tax-deductible) to help cover the cost of the bronze statue. Also, the Sixth Annual Dogfish Head Poetry Prize for a chapbook written by a Delmarva poet will be awarded. Contact DPA member Jamie Brown, the event’s founder, at johnmiltonandco@earthlink.net for further information.

12 Deadline for 2009 Hall of Fame of Delaware Women nominations. The Hall of Fame, now in its 28th year, recognizes the achievements and lasting contributions of Delaware women. Submit nomination form to the Delaware Commission for Women, Carvel State Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, on or before December 12. For information or a nomination form, contact the DCW office at 302-577-7113 or Carmen.Gomez@state.de.us.

2009

JANUARY

05 DPA Communications Contest deadline for Book / Fiction / Verse entries.

12 DPA Communications Contest deadline for all other entries.

26 Philadelphia Speakers Series: Joseph Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned historian. Author of eight bestselling books, including his most recent work American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic, he brings our nation's founding fathers back to life through his rich and textured writings. Presented by Widener University at the Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad Street on the Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia. 8 p.m. Click here for further information or to order tickets.

FEBRUARY

23 Philadelphia Speakers Series: Anna Quindlen, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and bestselling author, was only the third woman to write for the op-ed page of The New York Times. She writes the Last Word column for Newsweek. Her latest novel, Rise and Shine, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers lists. 8 p.m., The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia. Sponsored by Widener University and The Kimmel Center. Click here for further information or to order tickets.

APRIL

20 Philadelphia Speakers Series: Bob Woodward, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, is referred to by his peers as "the best pure reporter of his generation." His relentless investigative drive and access to top political insiders has resulted in fascinating insights into the highest levels of Washington. Author of 11 #1 non-fiction bestsellers. 8 p.m., The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia. Sponsored by Widener University and The Kimmel Center. Click here for further information or to order tickets.

30 DPA Communications Contest Awards Banquet. Details TBA.

SEPTEMBER

10–12 NFPW/Press Women of Texas Communications Conference: “Roundup on the River.” El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, Texas. Exciting speakers, great food, pre- and post-conference tours to Austin and the Texas Hill Country. Y’all plan to go!

Send information for the Calendar of Events to news@delawarepressassociation.org.

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NewsBreak is the official newsletter of Delaware Press Association.

Andréa Miller, Editor
Katherine Ward, Copy Editor/Layout
Mary E. Loewenstein-Anderson, Photo Editor

Submit editorial content to:
news@delawarepressassociation.org

Copy deadline for next newsletter: January 2, 2009

Contact Us:
Katherine Ward, Executive Director
Delaware Press Association

email: delawarepress@aol.com
phone: 302-655-2175
web: www.delawarepressassociation.org
 

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