NewsBreak February 2009 - Vol. 20, No. 3

In This Issue:

• Techworthy Tools to Manage Media in the Digital Age

• President’s Corner: DPA Revs Up for 2009

• Spotlight: World-class Teacher, Journalist Ralph Begleiter Named 2009 DPA COA

• National FOI Director to Speak: “Freedom of Information: A National Perspective”

• Report from the Blog Bureau: Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt

• WordPlay . . . for Wordsmiths

• DPA Membership Still a Bargain

• DPA Welcomes New Members

• DPA Media Mavens & Mavericks

• Calendar of Events

Techworthy Tools to Manage Media in the Digital Age

by Allan Loudell

Media convergence: Computing. Communications. Content. The phenomenon of media convergence involves the interlinking of computing and information technology companies telecommunications networks and content providers from the world of publishing (print media, radio, television, film and entertainment software)

in a media world constantly adapting to the demands of new technologies that are, as Henry Jenkins says in Convergence Culture, “changing the way we create, consume, learn and interact with each other.” Information streams over and around us day in/day out, and media convergence steps up the pace of the 24/7 news cycle. Reporters are working with smaller and smaller staffs to produce materials for photo narratives, print articles, podcasts, videocasts and Web sites. It’s important to have the right tools to survive in this constantly changing media world. Laura Hermann, of Potomac Communications Group, Washington, D.C., will use the Internet to demonstrate techworthy tools to help manage the media – tools that can help communications professionals make the most relevant material available and create narratives that lend themselves to audio, visual and kinetic storytelling. She also will discuss how social media are influencing the way journalism gets done – from crowdsourcing and citizen journalism to RSS feeds and other research tools. A trained journalist, Hermann is an experienced organizer specializing in grassroots communications and strategic planning for educational and nonprofit organizations. She focuses on strategic communications for her firm’s energy and technology clients and helps them improve their media relations programs to meet the demands of today’s media business. She holds an M.S. in communication from Northwestern University and is a member of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. Q & A to follow. Please join us at the Brandywine Hundred Library, 1300 Foulk Road, Wilmington, at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments and networking with DPA friends and colleagues. The program starts at 7 p.m. Directions to the Brandywine Hundred Library The library, located just north of the intersection at Foulk and Shipley roads, is in Tally Day Park between Foulk Manor North and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Click here for a map to the Brandywine Hundred Library. Cost: Free and open to the public. Please make a reservation to ensure that we will have enough seating: Send the following information to Sue Frost at s-frost@verizon.net. Your name. The names of any guests. A telephone number and/or e-mail address. See you on February 18 for a lively program and discussion!

For more info, contact Allan Loudell: 302-478-2700 or aloudell@wdel.com.

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President’s Corner: DPA Revs Up for 2009

by Mark Fowser

Two thousand nine is here, and Delaware Press Association is preparing to provide another year of exciting opportunities for networking, a variety of excellent speakers and good professional development, peer recognition and recognition of the efforts of high school and college students in our communications contests, and a lot of fun.

DPA dues remain a bargain at just $20, so if you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2009, I hope you’ll take a minute and do so today. When you join or renew, you have the option to pay 2009 dues with a check or to pay online with a credit card.

I am entering my second year as president of this organization, and I encourage you to touch base if we have not already met. I hope you will write or call to tell me:

• What do you get out of DPA?

• What would you like to get from DPA?

• And, if the idea strikes you, what can DPA get from you?

The DPA Board meets several times throughout the year, and our next meeting will be held at the Methodist Country House, 4830 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11. Did you know that these meetings are open to the entire DPA membership? Please check the calendar of events in each issue of NewsBreak or the DPA Web site for board meeting dates, and let us know if you’re interested in attending. From active board membership to general task management, there are many ways to get your hands dirty and be involved.

DPA schedules programs throughout the year that focus on topics ranging from freedom of information to the future of print journalism, from book publishing, blogging and social marketing to cameras and photography, and from layout and design to using the latest in communications technology to your advantage. Information about coming events is always available on our Web site at DelawarePressAssociation.org.

On February 18, DPA welcomes Laura Hermann, a journalist and communications specialist from Washington, D.C., who will use the Internet to show DPA members and guests how technology can help communications professionals meet the demands of today’s media business and create narratives that lend themselves to audio, visual and kinetic storytelling. (Read full story by DPA program director Allan Loudell.)

By now, you may have entered the 2009 Communications Contest and are making plans to join us at our annual awards banquet at the elegant University & Whist Club in Wilmington on Thursday, April 30. In 2008, there were 292 entries in our statewide contest, and DPA members took home 32 national awards from the NFPW competition. Results for the 2009 contest will be available by May.

High school journalists and communicators also get the opportunity for peer review through the First State High School Communications Contest, co-sponsored annually by DPA and The News Journal. The 2008 high school competition drew 190 entries. First place through honorable mention awards were given in each of the 14 categories. Three of the first-place winners who then entered the contest sponsored by NFPW won national awards in the categories of column, feature story and graphics.

DPA members are welcome and encouraged to attend the NFPW annual communications conference, September 10 – 12 in San Antonio, Texas, this year. We’ll keep you posted on the speakers, activities and events planned for the 2009 conference as well as the pre- and post-conference tours of Texas.

Here’s to a great year ahead – for you and for DPA!

Contact Mark Fowser at 302-395-9857 or markfowser@wilm.com.


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Spotlight: Ralph Begleiter Named DPA’s 2009 COA

Local Honor for World-class Communicator

by Barbara Roewe, 2008 DPA COA 

You can measure Ralph J. Begleiter and his stellar career in journalism in many ways: by the heads of state he has interviewed and reported on; by the nearly two million miles he flew – often in the company of U.S. Presidents and Secretaries of State – in covering world affairs on six continents for CNN for two decades; by the depth, breadth and variety of the journalism and communications courses he teaches at the University of Delaware; by the number of students he’s taught and inspired; by the numerous Global Agenda speaker series he’s organized; by the many awards and honors he’s received; or by the legion of friends he has made along the way.

When accepting the 2009 Communicator of Achievement award* from Delaware Press Association at the DPA Holiday Luncheon on December 6, he said, “What’s most important in a career that has taken me from the remotest corners of the earth to the most sophisticated cities of the world still boils down to the people with whom I’ve worked over the years: photographers and producers, other reporters, diplomats, politicians and military men and women. It’s those people who remain constants, amid all the political shuffling and changes of assignments.”

As CNN’s world affairs correspondent during the 1980s and 1990s, Ralph was based in the network’s Washington Bureau, writing and producing thousands of news reports and programs that aired worldwide. The network’s most widely traveled reporter, he covered U.S. diplomacy, interviewed countless world leaders, hosted the public affairs program "Global View," and co-anchored CNN’s prestigious "International Hour." He covered many historic events at the end of the 20th century, including virtually every high-level Soviet/Russian-American meeting; the Persian Gulf Crisis in 1990-91; Middle East Peace efforts; and many UN and NATO summit meetings. In recent years he has hosted the Foreign Policy Association’s annual "Great Decisions" television discussion series, aired on Public Broadcasting System stations.

At the University of Delaware, where he has been the Rosenberg Professor of Communication and Distinguished Journalist in Residence for nearly ten years, Ralph teaches undergraduate courses in "Media and Politics," "Broadcast News," "Crisis News," "History of TV News Documentary," and "Global Media & International Politics." But the former globetrotting journalist also offers special courses with the world as his classroom.

In January 2008, he led a class of UD students on a study-abroad program to Turkey, where they were exposed to the cultural and political diversity of that country. In 2006, his "Global Agenda" class met weekly by videoconference with students in Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss cross-cultural and media issues. In 2002, he took UD students to Cuba for the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And he has twice led a study-abroad program in Antarctica on photojournalism and geopolitics.

At UD in the fall of 2008, he and Professor Joe Pika taught the "Road to the Presidency," centered on presidential election campaigns and the media. He helped organize a major event at UD on election night in which more than a thousand students gathered together to watch the election returns, hear distinguished faculty presentations about key aspects of the election, and absorb information from a wide variety of sources shown on nine large screens simultaneously. Student media (WVUD Radio and STN-TV) broadcast the event, and other students conducted a UD public opinion poll about the election.

Although Ralph has received numerous awards for his own outstanding coverage of politics and diplomacy around the world, he says, “I get chills when I think of some of my former students at UD, now working as journalists at The Wall Street Journal, at CNN, at NPR, at NBC News, at the Center for Public Integrity, or at newspapers and television stations in New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. And other former political science and international relations students now are working around the world, from Brazil to Dubai.” So, qualify Ralph’s career any way you like, but it’s the true measure of the man that he says with great enthusiasm: “They are what’s most meaningful. I love it when former students get back in touch to let me know what they’re doing.”

Report on the 2008 Holiday Luncheon and Book Signing

Speaker David Mark, senior editor for the Washington, D.C.-based Politico and Politico.com, and thirteen DPA authors, editors and photographers – Kathy Buckalew, Patrick Canfield, Jan Churchill, Lynn Glaze, Maria Hess, Jean Lamensdorf, Lynn Maniscalco, Laura Messinger, Mark Nardone, Michael Pollock, Lillian Shah, Billie Travalini and Bob Yearick – offered their books, magazines and photos at a joint book signing during the social hour. Members and guests enjoyed browsing among a wide variety of choices and chatting with our speaker while listening to holiday favorites played by Strings Plus One.

Following David Mark’s talk, “Positively Negative: The Upside of Negative Campaigning,” DPA’s 2008 Communicator of Achievement, Barbara Roewe, introduced DPA member Ralph Begleiter as our 2009 COA and presented him with a framed award certificate and a mantel clock.

*The annual Communicator of Achievement Award is the highest honor DPA bestows on its members. First and foremost, the COA award is given for a lifetime of achievement in the communications profession. And second, it recognizes exemplary service to the community and to humanity as well as to the profession, especially to DPA and the National Federation of Press Women.

DPA COA award recipients

Barbara C. Roewe, 2008 Katherine S. Ward, 2007 Karen Galanaugh, 2006 Lynn Troy Maniscalco, 2005 Rita Katz Farrell, 2004 Lise Monty, 2003 Kay Wood Bailey, 2002 Allan R. Loudell, 2001 Mary Louise Ponsell, 1999 – 2000 Marion K. Rechsteiner, 1998 Sally Rinard, 1997 Gloria O. Galloway, 1996
Read the COA bios on the DPA Web site. Contact Barbara Roewe, 2008 DPA COA and VP of Student Activities, at bcroewe@aol.com. Contact Ralph Begleiter, 2009 DPA COA and UD Distinguished Professor of Journalism at Ralph.Begleiter@udel.edu.

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DelCOG Delivers: NFOIC Director Charles Davis to Speak

“Freedom of Information: A National Perspective”

by Chris Carl

Freedom of the press, guaranteed by the First Amendment, and the unrestricted free flow of information – both cornerstones of democracy – are under attack. Freedom of Information laws have been weakened, reporters are being subpoenaed to reveal confidential sources and the business of the federal government is increasingly shrouded in secrecy.

Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, headquartered at the University of Missouri, will be in Wilmington on Thursday, February 5, to present “Freedom of Information: A National Perspective” at the next meeting of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government. Because you, as communicators, are invested in FOI issues, I invite you to join us at the University of Delaware’s Goodstay Center, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington, at 6:30 p.m., for a social gathering and light refreshments before the program begins at 7 p.m. Get directions to the Goodstay Center.

Gary Bass, director of OMB Watch, said in US News & World Report: “What has stunned us so much is how rapidly we’ve moved from a principle of ‘right to know’ to one edging up to ‘need to know.’” Equally disturbing is how little the average American citizen knows or cares. Through his in-depth look at the status of freedom of information in America, Davis will answer questions such as: How did we get here? and What can be done about it?

A professor in the News-Editorial Department at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Davis also conducts scholarly research on access to government information and on a wide range of First Amendment issues. He worked as a journalist for ten years writing for newspapers, magazines and a news service in Georgia, Florida and Ireland. He has a master’s degree from the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Florida.

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. Here in Delaware we want to see a government of the people, by the people and for the people that is also open TO the people.

DelCOG membership is free and comes with no obligation. For more information or to join, contact membership director Katherine Ward at 302-655-2175 or KatWard1@aol.com.

Please join us. There is strength in numbers. Collectively, we can exert a powerful force for good here in the First State. If “We the People” are empowered and engaged, if we then are willing and eager to work together, we can make great strides into the future.

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

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Report from the Blog Bureau

“Report from the Blog Bureau” highlights the media-related blogs of DPA members. If you write a blog — or are aware of another DPA member's blog — on some aspect of the field of communications, let us know. We will continue adding members' blogs to the list, and some of them — with the author’s permission, of course — will be featured in this column in future issues of NewsBreak.

Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt — French Rights! Petits Fours, Anyone?

Fall 2000: Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt, relatively new to the business of freelancing, joined DPA and attended our fall kick-off panel discussion, “Just Because We’re Freelancers, It Doesn’t Mean Our Work is Free.” She had lots of questions.

Fast forward eight years: A national-award-winning writer who pens features and profiles of people and places for businesses, Web sites and publications, including American Profile, Family Circle, Go, Ladies' Home Journal, and The Washington Post, Sheri now has lots of answers.

3 Blogs, 2 Web Sites and 1 Dynamite Book

She is the author of several award-winning children’s books and also writes reviews. Her children's picture book, You Think It's Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? (Chronicle Books), has sold nearly 20,000 copies since its August 2007 publication.

Sheri says, “The French rights were sold by my publisher to Scholastic. I can't wait to see the printed version in 2009! I'm also researching the process for manufacturing/selling a Tooth Fairy doll. My middle-grade novel draft is currently with an agent, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed there!”

Sheri has a couple of Web sites, and she also blogs for fun.

Sheri’s Blogs

In Write On! – a blog about her books, writing, travel, awards and more – Sheri’s entries entertain and inform with words and pictures. Recent entries touch on All Things Literary Agent, Future Role of Authors and Publishing??, and Recalling the Highlights of My 2008.

“In the fall,” Sheri writes in the 2008 highlights blog, “I attended a local culinary school, to learn all about baking. I attended class SIX days a week, but was only in the kitchen three days a week – but at five hours at a time! ‘Ma! I FINALLY know how to make a decent pie crust!’

“I still can't believe I walked away with all A's, even in hospitality math! And I'm now sanitation-certified, which means I can tell you the holding/cooking temps for chicken and eggs (and a whole slew of other germ-related stuff you probably don't want to know – see FAT TOM)! HA!”

In Pastry Student: Rising Like Dough, Sheri’s blog entries about her baking experiences at the culinary school will delight you with tips and recommendations: Maybe the BEST Kitchen Resource Ever!, Some Books That Explain "WHY?", as well as good-humored baking directions (illustrated with photos taken in class): Daring Bakers December Challenge: Yule Log, Petits Fours, Anyone? and Class Gingerbread Houses, among many others.

In Sheri's Thoughts on God, you will find touching entries on Learning to be Generous, One Thing I Wish I Could Remember, The "C" Word and Feeling Grateful for the Hubby.

For more on Sheri and her books, visit her Web sites listed below.

DPA Bloggers

Chris Carl: On The Tee - WDEL
Mark Fowser: WILM Personality Page
Tara Lynn Johnson: Freelancing Blog
Allan Krakower: WILM Personality Page
Allan Loudell: Eclectic Hobbies - WDEL
Allan Loudell: WDEL Blog
Crabmeat Thompson: Blogging We Go
Rob Tornoe: The world of an editorial cartoonist
John Watson: WILM Personality Page

Send your blog link recommendations to: news@delawarepressassociation.org.

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WordPlay . . . for Wordsmiths

by Bob Yearick

Comprise Compromised

The proper use of comprise is something that escapes the best of writers. Comprise means “contain, embrace, include, comprehend.” Thus, the whole comprises the parts, not vice versa. So this excerpt from a report on the uninsured by the Delaware Public Policy Institute is incorrect: “Summit participants learned from health care experts about the people who comprise Delaware’s uninsured . . .” Also to be avoided is comprised of. Use “Roman civil law comprises four books,” not “Roman civil law is comprised of four books.”

Apostrophes: How long, O Lord, how long?

The apostrophe continues to hold the number one position in the pantheon of most misused punctuation marks. People insist on forming plurals by inserting an apostrophe before the “s.”

Three recent examples:

• Tagline from a Comcast commercial: “Save a load of Benjamin’s” (meaning dollars).

• From a Christmas card: “May your Holiday’s (also note the capital “H”) be joyful, peaceful . . .” Then, inexplicably, the card commits that rare grammatical gaffe of omitting the apostrophe and “s” where they are needed with this sign-off: “Season greetings.”

• Sign at Return Day in Georgetown: “Souvenir’s for sale.”

Business Matters

In a recent meeting at a very large local credit card company, a manager said that his team was doing work also being done by other teams in the company. This duplication of effort, he pointed out, was “creating a lot of duplicity.”

A Couple of F Bombs

Flaunt and flout are two words often used interchangeably, and that’s just not right. “Flaunt” means to display ostentatiously, in the way a wealthy woman might show off diamonds. “Flout” is to scorn or hold in contempt, as in, “Gov. Rod Blagojevich flouts the law.”

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 Membership Still a Bargain

Renew Today – Online or By Mail!

by Allison Taylor Levine, APR

The price of everything else is increasing, but membership in Delaware Press Association is still a bargain at just $20. That’s less than the price of a pizza, but DPA membership is not fattening! Rather, it keeps you in fighting trim.

Today’s job market makes it more important than ever to network and keep your professional skills up to date. Toward that end, I invite you to attend our February 18 meeting at which Laura Hermann, Potomac Communications Group, Washington, D.C., will use the Internet to demonstrate ”techworthy tools” for communications professionals. She also will discuss how social media – Internet or mobile technologies that foster two-way communication between individuals or groups – are influencing the way journalism gets done, from blogs and podcasts to RSS feeds and search tools. (See related article.)

So RENEW TODAY!

Get DPA Membership Form / Pay Dues

– Get DPA Membership Form to Join or Renew and Pay by CHECK –

– Make DPA Membership Payment Online with CREDIT CARD –

DPA membership gives you access to:

• Great networking opportunities with journalists and other communications professionals from around the state and region.

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

• Professional development workshops and seminars.

• Our annual professional communications contest.

• The national-award-winning DPA e-newsletter, NewsBreak.

• The DPA online membership directory.

• Leadership opportunities.

• And more!

For an additional $73, DPA members can join our parent organization, the National Federation of Press Women (open to men and women). National membership entitles the member to:

• A national membership directory, listing all NFPW members by state and by profession.

• A subscription to the quarterly national publication NFPW AGENDA.

• Annual conferences and professional seminars.

• Scholarships and mini-grants for education and training.

• Individual professional liability insurance against libel and privacy lawsuits, customized particularly for freelancers.

• The right to vote, hold office and serve as a delegate to the annual NFPW Communications Conference.

For more information about membership, contact Allison Levine at aljay89@yahoo.com or 302-345-0589.

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.

Tamara Beeson – tbeeson@udel.edu
Graphic Designer II, Marine and Earth Studies, University of Delaware

Elizabeth Boyle – boylee@udel.edu
Production Coordinator, Marine and Earth Studies, University of Delaware

David Brond – dbrond@udel.edu
Vice President, Office of Communications and Marketing, University of Delaware

Kat Donnelly – katdonnelly@comcast.net
Graphic Designer / Artist

Lesley J. Gudehus – writebyme@mac.com
Writer / Editor / Communications Consultant

Diane Kukich – dkukich@udel.edu
Communications Specialist, Department of Engineering, University of Delaware

Ron Ohrel – rohrel@udel.edu
Director, Marine and Earth Studies, University of Delaware

Richard Quinones – richquinones@clearchannel.com
Shorts Host / On Air Talent, 1450 WILM NewsRadio

Janis Shields – jennydee@aol.com
Director of Media and Public Relations, American Friends Service Committee

Lisa Tossey – tossey@udel.edu
Marine Outreach Specialist, Marine and Earth Studies, University of Delaware

Rita Truschel – rtruschel@comcast.net
Writer / Editor

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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:

• Kay Wood Bailey

• Kathy Buckalew

• Jamie Brown

• Gordon DelGiorno

• Sue Frost

• John Lake

• Lynn Maniscalco

• Lillian Shah / Laura Messinger

• Marion Rechsteiner

• Billie Travalini

• Kay Wood Bailey, Return Day hostess on the Kent County stage for the last dozen years writes, “The presence of Vice President-elect Joe Biden at Return Day in Georgetown this year was a new experience, with one- to two-hour waits to go through security sites before reaching The Circle.” She added an interesting sidelight: “Fewer VIPs were on the main stage, so two other downstate women and I were assigned as hostesses at The Information Booth, across the street from the main stage. The heavy rain and security tie-ups only made people friendlier.”
Contact Kay Bailey at KWBailey@harringtonera.com.

• Several striking photographs of Delaware fences, taken by Kathy Buckalew, Hagley Museum staff photographer, are part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition, “Between Fences,” on display at the Center for the Creative Arts in Yorklyn until March 6. Kathy's next show, “Artists Revealed: in Portraits and Words,” will be on exhibit for 4 to 5 weeks at the Cecil County Arts Council (CCAC), 135 East Main Street, Elkton, Maryland, beginning Friday, February 6. For more information or directions to CCAC, call 410-392-5740.
Contact Kathy Buckalew at buckalew@comcast.net.

• Jamie Brown, publisher and editor of The Broadkill Review, is pleased to share the good news that his most recent collection of poetry, Conventional Heresies, has been published by Claudia Young and H. A. Maxson of Bay Oak Publishing.
Contact Jamie Brown at the_broadkill_review@earthlink.net.
Contact Claudia Young at chyoungdov@comcast.net.

• Gordon DelGiorno says his production company, Film Brothers, will be making a new teen movie in 2009. If you’re interested in the movie business and in being part of a cast or crew, he suggests joining Delaware Independent Filmmakers (DIF) – a network of film people of all levels of experience in the Tri-State area – through the What's the DIF? Web site. On the other hand, if your company needs Web-based/e-mail video commercials and wants to get more for the advertising dollar, just ask Gordon.
Contact Gordon DelGiorno at Gordon@filmbrothers.com.

• In mid-November, to shine a spotlight on National Family Caregivers Month, Community Publications, of Hockessin, published an article by Sue Frost, “Remembering Sara: an unexpected friendship,” in several of their newspapers and also posted it on their Web site. “Caring for someone we love can challenge us and make us face parts of life we would otherwise choose to ignore,” Sue wrote. “It can also bring out the best in us and console us later, knowing we helped another person through their most trying time. In all honesty, I don’t know if we did everything right [in seeing friend Sara Matthys through to the end]. The important thing,” she reminded her readers, “is that we tried.” Suzanne Mintz, president and co-founder of the National Family Caregivers Association, says every November is designated as a time to thank, support, educate and empower family caregivers. "One of the most important attributes of being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal, protecting not only the health and safety of your loved ones but of yourself as well." Read Sue's article on Sara Matthys.
Sue Frost is a life coach, writer, speaker and the owner of Organize My Life. Contact Sue at s-frost@verizon.net.

• John Lake, CEO, of Lake Multi-Media, Inc., reports that he produced and directed a video in which his wife and business partner, Lori Lake, conducted an interview with Jack Markell a few days before the primaries, when Markell was not expected to win the race for Governor of Delaware. John says, “When we took the counter down some weeks ago, this video had received more than 150,000 views, and it is all about Jack's plan for a true Green Delaware, including job creation, renewable energies and more.” Lake Multi-Media focuses on print and Internet marketing and publications that are aimed at green, eco-friendly and health markets.
Contact John Lake at ME@GreenTV.com.

• Lynn Maniscalco says: “Be sure not to miss the 76th Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography at Arsht Hall on February 22 and March 1.” For many years, Lynn has recruited judges for the annual exhibition, and she manages the photojournalism section of this worldwide competition. The annual event is sponsored by Delaware Photographic Society and admission is free. (See Calendar of Events for complete details.)
Contact Lynn Maniscalco at LTMphoto@juno.com.

• “Each year, 100,000 people die from medical errors! Lillian Shah and Laura Messinger can help you avoid becoming a statistic.” That’s the opening salvo on the new Web site for their book, Keeping Healthy by Keeping Track: A Complete Guide to Maintaining Your Own Medical Records.” The book, including a bonus CD with 95 charts from the book, is easy to use, and, when used together, help you create a back-up set of medical records. Check out the new Web site and read more about the book.
Contact Lillian Shah at lillianshah@mac.com.
Contact Laura Messinger at laura.messinger@verizon.net.

• Marion Rechsteiner, whose broken hip kept her from the Holiday Luncheon, says the break has healed nicely, and she is getting about once more. She extends thanks to one and all who sent cards and good wishes. She also relates that her daughter, Dr. Mary-Lea Cox, of New York City, who has served as a judge for Web entries in the DPA Communications Contest several times over the years, is now an adjunct associate professor of international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she designs and teaches courses in online communications. Mary-Lea also serves as the first director of communications for the Social Science Research Council.
Contact Marion Rechsteiner at mrechs@aol.com.

• Poet, writer, editor and education consultant, Billie Travalini teaches literature and writing at Lincoln University, Oxford, Pa., and at the Wilmington Campus of Wilmington University. In December 2008, she was named the national Letters Chair for the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW). Among her responsibilities will be organizing and coordinating NLAPW's literary publication opportunities, writing contests, and creative artists' conferences and workshops both locally and nationwide.
Contact Billie Travalini at btravalini@aol.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.

FEBRUARY

05 DelCOG meeting: “Freedom of Information: A National Perspective.” Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, headquartered at the University of Missouri, will address the next meeting of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government at the University of Delaware’s Goodstay Center, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington. Social gathering and light refreshments: 6:30 p.m. Program: 7 p.m. Click here for full story, directions to the Goodstay Center and to register. FREE and open to the public.

06 Opening of a photography show by Kathleen Buckalew: “Artists Revealed: in Portraits and Words.” The photographs and accompanying text will be on exhibit for 4 - 5 weeks at the Cecil County Arts Council (CCAC), 135 East Main Street, Elkton, Maryland. For more information or directions, contact CCAC at 410-392-5740. Other work by Kathleen Buckalew, Hagley Museum staff photographer, is part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition, “Between Fences,” on display at the Center for the Creative Arts in Yorklyn until March 6.

18 "It's Noon. Do You Know How Your Marketing Campaign is Doing?" 11:30 a.m., sponsored by the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association. Erik Charles from MINDFIRE Interactive will present the program. Crowne Plaza, Philadelphia, Pa. $45 Members; $60 Non-Members. Click here for more information or to register.

18 DPA meeting: “Techworthy Tools to Manage Media in the Digital Age.” Laura Hermann, of Potomac Communications Group, Washington, D.C., will use the Internet to demonstrate tools that can help communications professionals create narratives that lend themselves to audio, visual and kinetic storytelling. She also will discuss how social media are influencing the way journalism gets done – from crowdsourcing and citizen journalism to RSS feeds and other research tools. Brandywine Hundred Library, 1300 Foulk Road, Wilmington. Light refreshments and networking: 6:30 p.m. Program: 7 p.m. Click here for full story, directions to the Brandywine Hundred Library and to register. FREE and open to the public.

22 76th Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography at Arsht Hall, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington. Between noon and 5 p.m., print docents will give gallery talks, a multi-media show will be presented at 1, 2, and 3 p.m., and music will be provided by a jazz combo and a DJ playing music from India. Juried by nine acclaimed photographers, the projected images and several hundred prints on display were selected from among thousands of entries submitted from more than 30 countries. The annual event is sponsored by Delaware Photographic Society. Directions to Arsht Hall. Admission and parking are FREE. (See also March 1.)

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 list. 8 p.m., The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia. Sponsored by Widener University and The Kimmel Center. Click here for further information or to order tickets.

MARCH

01 76th Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography at Arsht Hall, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington. Between noon and 5 p.m., print docents will give gallery talks, a multi-media show will be presented at 1, 2, and 3 p.m., and music will be provided by a jazz combo and a DJ playing music from India. Juried by nine acclaimed photographers, the projected images and several hundred prints on display were selected from among thousands of entries submitted from more than 30 countries. The annual event is sponsored by Delaware Photographic Society.  Directions to Arsht Hall. Admission and parking are FREE.

11 DPA Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Methodist Country House (Sterling Conference Room), 4830 Kennett Pike, Wilmington. All DPA members are welcome to attend.

15–21 Celebrate Sunshine Week. You have the right and the obligation to fight for open government and freedom of information. Visit the Sunshine Week Website.

APRIL

04 Delaware Literary Connection 2009 Writers Conference. Keynote speaker: Patsy Sims, director of the MFA program, Goucher College, Baltimore, and author of a book on the Ku Klux Klan. Sessions include: nonfiction/journalism workshop with Sims; journalism roundtable, with Mark Bowden, national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine and author of Black Hawk Down; Maria Hess, senior editor at Delaware Today; Dawn Fallik, journalism professor at the University of Delaware; and Sims. Other workshops will focus on fiction, poetry, memoirs and publishing. Registration: 9 a.m. General session begins: 9:45 a.m. Wesley College, Dover. Check DLC Web site at DelawareLiteraryConnection.com after February 5 for full details and to register. For more info contact Barbara Gray at graybeg@comcast.net.

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 eleven #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.

22 First State High School Communications Conference Awards Luncheon, co-sponsored by Delaware Press Association and The News Journal. Speaker TBA. Bill Frank Conference Room, The News Journal, 950 W. Basin Road, New Castle, Delaware. Registration 9:30 a.m., Speaker and Awards Presentation 10 a.m., Lunch 11:30 a.m., Tour of News Journal 12:30 p.m.

24 – 26 38th Annual ASJA Writers Conference, " The Writer's GPS: On Track for Success!" American Society of Journalists and Authors. Roosevelt Hotel, 45 East 45th Street, New York, N.Y. Keynote speaker: Molly O'Neill, former New York Times reporter and the food columnist for its Sunday magazine. She is the author of three cookbooks – including the bestselling New York Cookbook, A Well-Seasoned Appetite, and The Pleasure of Your Company – and hosted the PBS series, “Great Food.” Seminars and individual opportunities to work with editors, established writers, and other experts to help sharpen writing, marketing and technological skills. For conference registration form and complete schedule of workshops and fees, visit the ASJA Web site.

30 DPA Communications Contest Awards Banquet. Speaker TBA. 5:30 p.m. social gathering; 6:30 p.m. dinner, awards presentations and annual meeting. University & Whist Club, 805 N. Broom Street, Wilmington. Members $37.50; non-members $41.50. For more info, call 302-594-0844 or e-mail s-frost@verizon.net.

JUNE

05–06 NFOIC 2009 Freedom of Information Summit. Sponsored by the National Freedom of Information Coalition, the 2009 FOI Summit will be held in Minneapolis and will be hosted by the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information. Marriott City Center Hotel, Minneapolis, Minn. Register by May 18 to ensure reduced rate on hotel rooms. The code already is entered in the appropriate field; all you need do to begin the reservation process is personalize your arrival and departure dates (and number of guests) to fit your needs and click Find to begin the registration process.

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: March 1, 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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