6SRW1HZV

VoI. 15, No. 3 NOVEMBER 2008

A pubIication of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of ProfessionaI JournaIists
www.etspj.org
FreeIancing to be topic
of Nov. 20 ETSPJ program
SEE FROM THE PRESIDENT, PAGE 2
From the president
BY MIA RHODARMER
ETSPJ
RHODARMER
During the Leadership
Institute this summer, each
participant was asked why
he or she became a member
of SPJ.
For me, it was the East
Tennessee chapter`s great
programs that got me
hooked. I had worked for
newspapers in North Carolina and did
not even know if there was a chapter near
where I worked. After moving to East Ten-
nessee, I had been working at the paper in
Sweetwater a couple of years when I was
invited to attend a diversity program.
I walked into the meeting room at WBIR,
and sitting around the table were people
from different ethnic and cultural groups
in East Tennessee, along with local re-
porters. From the minute the discussion
began I was entranced with what I was
learning and the level of professionalism
and commitment.
I joined SPJ shortly after that meeting.
Of course I strongly believe in and sup-
port SPJ`s greater mission of protecting
free speech, but it is the work of our
local chapter that continues to keep me
involved. I enjoy getting to know and
learn from other journalists throughout
East Tennessee.
Our chapter offers a variety of programs
and there is something to be learned from
all of them. We have hands-on workshops
on topics such as business writing, news-
room management and video production.
We have more discussion-oriented pro-
grams such as our annual meeting with
the legislators and the town hall meetings
Freelancing for Fun and Proft will be
ETSPJ`s next program, set for 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Knoxville News
Sentinel Knox Room.
Please be prompt. Someone will be at the
door to let you in between 6:45 and 7:15.
A fee of $5 will be charged non-ETSPJ
members. Members and students may
attend free.
In an economy where 'mainstream me-
dia are shrinking staff and where salaries
aren`t rising as fast as infation, journalists
need to fnd other ways of translating their
skills into cash. Our panel on freelancing
will include veteran freelancer and editor
Katy Koontz who specializes in women`s
health, travel and lifestyle topics and who
has edited several books and much more.
Another great addition to the panel is
Christina Southern, editor of the News
Sentinel`s Community section. All her
contributors are freelancers, so she will be
an expert on how to and how NOT to deal
with an editor, what the editor is looking
for, and so much more.
We`ll also meet two photographers.
Colby McLemore works with Koontz to
tie images to stories, making the entire
package more marketable. McLemore
will share how this partnership works
and how a writer might inexpensively
gain skills to shoot the pictures and art for
his or her stories. Patrick Murphy-Racey
was an accomplished photographer for
the News Sentinel plus Sports Illustrated
before he went out on his own. Recently,
Murphy-Racey has been getting into
video. He will counsel freelancers to look
to the Web, Web, Web for opportunities
rather than traditional media.We`ll cover
successful queries, establishing relation-
ships with publications, plus the business
aspects of managing money and living off
one`s writing.
Miss this nuts and bolts program at your
peril!
Ho-Ho-Holiday Party set Dec. 4
The ETSPJ holiday party will be held at
6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Cherokee
Bluff Condos Clubhouse. Three things
you need to bring:
A covered dish-and ETSPJ will pro-
vide sandwiches and beverages.
A wrapped gift worth about $10 for our
Crazy Gift Exchange. It can be a gag gift,
recycled present or something that the
recipient would actually want to keep!
A spouse/partner/friend to start get-
ting into the holiday spirit. Program
chairman Michael Grider is coordinating
covered dishes, so please contact him
with your preferred donation: Michael.
Grider@wvlt-tv.com.
A new feature this year will be Texas
Hold `Em Ethics Poker. Must be seen to
be believed, so brush up now on which
hand beats which.
Directions: From Alcoa Highway im-
mediately south of the river, take UT
Hospital/Cherokee Trail exit. Turn east
on Cherokee Trail and just past the UT
Hospital parking lots, turn left on Cherokee
Bluff Drive and follow winding lane up
the mountain. At guard house, tell them
you are a guest of Georgiana Vines at the
clubhouse, and turn left to the clubhouse.
There is parking in a lot to the left.
Mia Phodarmer, presidehI
Jeah Ash, IrsI vice presidehI/FrohI Page Follies
ahd commuhicaIiohs coordihaIor
Elehora E. Edwards, secohd vice presidehI/
Goldeh Press Card Awards ahd SpoI News
ediIor
Johh HuoIari, secreIary ahd immediaIe pasI
presidehI
DoroIhy Bowles, Ireasurer ahd FO chairmah
Johh Becker, membership chairmah
Michael Grider, program chairmah
Amahda Womac, diversiIy chairmah ahd
sIudehI liaisoh
KrisIi Nelsoh Bumpus, eIhics chairmah
CaIherihe Howell, ChrisIihe Jessel, Georgiaha
Vihes, aI large, Adiha Chumley, e oIIcio
%430* /FlCERS AND "OARD OF $IRECTORS
From the president
FROM PAGE ONE
2 - Spot News
where the public gets to ask local re-
porters about how they cover events.
Two town hall meetings we hosted in
recent years were on election coverage
and the most recent one on covering trag-
edy. These have been two of my favorite
programs because it gives us in the news
media a chance to really interact with the
people we are covering and the people we
are writing for. It is helpful to understand
their perception of what we do and the
discussions even bring up new ideas that
weren`t on the program`s agenda.
Newspapers of all sizes are tightening
their budgets and training dollars are
among the cuts being made. I encourage
everyone to take advantage of the free or
BY JOHN HUOTARI
ETSPJ secretary
Overall, the news media did a good job
covering recent fatal high-profle shoot-
ings in Knoxville, a minister, county
schools superintendent and police chief
said last week.
One of the shootings was at the Tennes-
see Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
in July, and the other was at Central High
School in August.
Although there were some 'bumps in the
road, the media reporting and analysis
following the high school shooting, which
left one student dead, was 'pretty good,
said Jim McIntyre, Knox County schools
superintendent.
Meanwhile, coverage of the church
shooting, which killed two people, was
handled well also, although not perfectly,
the Rev. Chris Buice said.
Buice and McIntrye, along with Knox-
ville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV,
were at a town hall discussion Oct. 23
at which panelists discussed the news
media`s role in covering tragedies such
as the two shootings already mentioned
and another fatal one at Knoxville Center
mall.
The discussion was sponsored by the
East Tennessee chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists and was held in
the East Tennessee History Center audi-
torium on Gay St.
The public offcials and panelists from
the press talked about the role the news
media can play in quickly answering im-
portant questions, such as, Is the shooter
still at large? Are any of my friends or
relatives affected?
Even in the rush to get information out,
though, journalists have to continue to
strive to be accurate, the panelists said.
Media did good job overaII covering shootings
'I would rather be third on the air and get
it correct than be frst on the air and get
it wrong, said Jamie Foster, WATE-TV
news director.
The primary concern for journalists
covering the shootings was to determine
whether the shooters were in custody and
to inform and protect the public, said Steve
Crabtree, WVLT-TV news director.
The journalists described a range of
initial reactions to news of the shootings,
including their personal concern for fam-
ily and friends and, in particular, disbelief
that there could have been a shooting at a
church in Knoxville.
But the newsmedia representatives
said they also reacted to the shootings
as journalists, scurrying to get out vital
information.
'You`re going to have a human reaction,
but we`re going to respond as journalists,
said John North, News Sentinel continuous
news editor. 'If you don`t react that way,
you shouldn`t be in this profession.
Reporters and their bosses had to quickly
determine how to cover the stories, judging
credibility of sources and sifting through
lots of information, including some bad
information.
'We know that it has a large effect on
people, and we want to get it right,
Foster said.
While journalists might request informa-
tion more urgently on major news stories,
the police have to continue to follow
certain protocols, Owen said.
When in doubt, 'We have to err on the
side of being conservative when deciding
what information to release, Owen said.
Besides North, Foster and Crabtree,
media panelists included Bill Shory,
WBIR-TV news director, and Catherine
Howell, news director for WNOX-FM
and WIVK-FM.
low-cost training programs our chapter
offers. If you are member, the programs
are free. We sometimes charge a nominal
fee of $5 for non-members.
In November we will present a program
for journalists interested in getting into
the freelance writing business. And we
are already planning an environmental
reporting boot camp in March.
Check our Web site (www.etspj.org)
for more details and a calendar of other
upcoming programs. If you have ideas
for other programs, please e-mail me at
editor@advocateanddemocrat.com.
Mia Rhodarmer is general manager and
editor of the Monroe County Advocate and
Democrat. Sweetwater.
Womac is a southern
Appalachian native,
reared in Maryville. She
earned a B.A. in Eng-
lish from the University
of Tennessee-Chatta-
nooga, in 2003 and an
M.S. in science journal-
ism from UT-Knoxville
in 2008.
Currently, Amanda works as the
technical writer for the Blount Hearing
and Speech Foundation and as coor-
dinator for the Foundation for Global
ETSPJ pubIishes Spot News ih paper
ahd PDF versiohs. To subscribe,
ohe shoul d cohIacI Jeah Ash,
commuhicaIiohs coordihaIor, aI
ieahash@comcasI.heI. The PDF
versioh is available aI www.eIspi.
org, Ihe chapIer Web siIe.
Letters to the Editor PoIicy:The board
ehcourages leIIers Io Ihe ediIor oI
SpoI News. Like leIIers policies aI
mosI hewspapers, we ask IhaI leIIers
be limiIed Io 200 words or less. They
will be subiecI Io ediIihg Ior space
ahd cohIehI. Sehd e-mail Io ETSP.
commuhicaIiohs@gmail.com.
6SRW1HZV
200S-09 editor
Elenora E. Edwards
eIeedwards@aoI.com
(865) 457-5459
If any ETSPJ member wants to contribute
an item to any issue of Spot News or wants to
provide a tip on something we should cover.
please contact the editor at eleedwards@aol.
com or (865) 457-5459. The December issue
deadline is Nov. 26.
Spot News - 3
President Mia Rhodarmer`s column in
the October issue of Spot News was cut
short. For the full president`s column,
see www.etspj.org, 'From the desk of
President Mia.-Elenora E. Edwards,
Spot News editor
Correction
BOARD MEMBER BIO
Catherine HoweII
HOWELL
News director, WVK/
WNOX
Program di rect or,
WNOX-FM
Howel l has been
working in news at
Citadel Broadcasting
since 2005. She attended high school
in Oak Ridge and has a bachelor's
BOARD MEMBER BIO
Amanda Womac
WOMAC
Sustainability. She also is the editor
of Hellbender Press, East Tennessee's
Environmental Journal and works at
the Tomato Head in Market Square
on the weekends.
This fall, Amanda joined the faculty at
Lincoln Memorial University where she
teaches public speaking. Amanda is
also a member of SEJ and president of
the board of directors for FGS. n what
spare time she has, Amanda enjoys
reading and writing, playing the guitar
and spending time in her garden.
degree in communication studies from
the University of Tennessee. She has
reported on everything from politics to
murder and has won several awards
in journalism including Best Radio
Newscaster in the state for 2007.
Catherine is a mother of two who
enjoys.well.. who knows.all she
does is work! Anyway, she is a lover
of words and people (in that order).
BY MICHAEL TABLER
www.tnjn.com
Pulitzer Prize winner and executive edi-
tor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette David
Shribman spoke Nov. 6 to UT`s School
of Journalism and Electronic Media and
the East Tennessee Society of Professional
Journalists about media coverage of the
2008 election and how it compares to
past elections.
Shribman focused much of his time
on how the reporter`s mind works, es-
pecially in the context of the upcoming
election.'Any of you can go and cover
politics, Shribman said, 'but it takes a
special kind of background, and special
type of perspective to understand what
you are seeing.
Shribman argued journalists and citizens
alike gain this perspective by understand-
ing how the events of the past affect the
events of today, such as how past elections
have infuence on current elections. A
citizen cannot understand the politics of
today without understanding more than
just the 2008 election, he said.
Shribman also compared the topics of
Pulitzer Prize winner discusses election coverage
the 2008 election to that of the 1960 Ken-
nedy/Nixon election, explaining that both
campaigns share common themes of hope
vs. experience.
History is fckle and uncertain, Shrib-
man said. Even an unpopular fgure like
George W. Bush may be looked upon as a
hero in the future, he said. He used Harry
Truman as an example of how a president
who left offce with a record-low approval
rating is today looked upon in a completely
different light.
The deciding factors are the events that
take place during each leader`s terms and
how they stood up to the diffculties and
how the public views this dichotomy years
down the road, he said.
'It was to President Bill Clinton`s great
distress to realize that you cannot be a
great president without great challenges,
Shribman said. Shribman challenged the
audience to imagine what history might
say for each outcome of the current elec-
tion, pointing to the fact that multiple
themes are possible right up until the
outcome is decided.
'We can argue the facts black or white, or
we can argue them round or we can argue
them square-just be humble about what
you think you know.
Shribman was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
in journalism in 1995 for his coverage of
Washington and the American political
scene. His column, 'My Point, is syn-
dicated nationally. Shribman`s book, I
Remember My Teacher, is a tribute to the
nation`s great educators.
Good calendar!
Great Christmas present! Order a First
Amendment Calendar from the First
Amendment Center, with daily inspira-
tion for the journalist or any citizen. It`s
a bargain at $9 each, including shipping.
Send a check to First Amendment Center,
Attn.: Publications Dept.-Calendar, 1207
18th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212.
1802 Pinoak Ct.
KnoxviIIe, TN 37923
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Nov. 17 - ETSPJ board meeting, 9 a.m.,
Long's Drug Store
Nov. 20 - Freelancing program, 7 p.m.,
Knox Room, News Sentinel Building,
Knoxville
Dec. 4 - Holiday party, 6 p.m., Cherokee
Bluff Condo Clubhouse, Knoxville
Dec. 31-End of Golden Press Card
contest year
2009
January-Legislative Preview luncheon
Feb. 10-Deadline for receiving Golden
Press Card Award entries
February TBA-Program on diversity
issues
March 27-Day-long miniconference on
environmental issues, with panels on air,
water, energy and soil/land in East Ten-
nessee
ApriI 1-April Fool! Bloopers Night.
Bloopers reels from area media
ApriI 3-4-Regions 12 and 3 spring con-
ference, Little Rock, Ark.
May-Golden Press Card Awards ban-
quet
JuIy TBA-Front Page Follies
4 - Spot News
Mia Rhodarmer introduces
program.
Steve Crabtree of WVLT-
TV
Students Megan Anderson, Ieft,
and Kendra Ioney
(Left) Dr. John Bohstedt, TUUVC member and one who
stopped the gunman. (Above) PaneIists, from Ieft, Crabtree,
Foster, HoweII, North and Shory. See story on page 2.
Moderator Mike Cohen, Ieft, and KnoxviIIe PoIice
Chief SterIing Owen IV
John North, center, with Catherine
HoweII and BiII Shory
Photos from
Covering Tragedy
program