Spot News

Vol. 15, No. 7 MARCH 2009

A publication of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of Professional Journalists
www.etspj.org
1802 Pinoak Ct.
Knoxville, TN 37923
March 27Writing Green, conference
on environmental issues, with panels on
air, water, energy and soil/land in East
Tennessee, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Calhouns on
the River. Discounted registration through
March 20.
March 30ETSPJ board, 9 a.m., Longs
April 3-4SPJ Region 12 Spring Con-
ference, Little Rock, Ark.
April 30 National town hall meeting on
news media ethics
May 15Golden Press Card Awards
banquet, The Foundry
June 5-7Ted Scripps Leadership Insti-
tute, Indianapolis
July 18Front Page Follies
Aug. 27-29National SPJ Convention,
100th anniversary observance, India-
napolis
Environmental journalism
conference coming March 27
SEE FROM THE PRESIDENT, PAGE 2
From the president
BY MIA RHODARMER
ETSPJ
RHODARMER
Photos from covering race program Feb. 26
PHOTOS BY ELENORA E. EDWARDS
SEE CONFERENCE, PAGE 2
DETJEN
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
4 - Spot News
As journalists we often
hear from our readers and
viewers that we focus too
much on the bad news and
not enough on the good
news.
Some days that is prob-
ably true. But, we also
know bad news sells, and
we all must sell our product, whether
its print or broadcast, in order to stay in
business. My circulation manager and I
often look at the number of paper sales
on certain days and review what was in
the headlines. Most of the time it was the
bad news that sold the greatest number
of papers.
This past Monday (March 2) during a
tribute to Paul Harvey, I heard a rebroad-
cast of one of his shows discussing that
very topic. He gave examples of newspa-
pers that tried to print nothing but good
news but soon went out of business. So,
people can tell us they want more good
news, but they will continue to buy the
bad news.
I think it is important to fnd a balance.
In many ways we are the face of our
communities, so that means our report-
ing should be as diverse as the places we
live. But as journalists we dont create
the news, we report the news, and some
days, just as in our personal lives, there
is more bad news, and other days there is
more good news.
Speaking of which, is there any good
news lately for the news media business?
Our own reports lately have been flled
with news of media companies going
The East Tennessee Soci-
ety of Professional Journal-
ists will be host for Writing
Green: An Environmental
Journalism Conference
Friday, March 27, in Knox-
ville. The conference will
take place in the banquet
hall above Calhouns on the River from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Panelists will discuss envi-
ronmental issues in Southern Appalachia
and provide journalists tools for covering
the environmental beat.
Environmental issues are inherently
complex and often contentious, and to
be reliable reporters, journalists need to
understand the natural systems at risk, the
interplay of impacts and the perspectives
and interests of the many involved stake-
holders, said Randall Gentry, director of
UTs Institute for a Secure and Sustainable
Environment. The institute is a co-sponsor
of the conference. By presenting a range
of expert perspectives, this conference will
help advance journalists understanding
of the science and policy behind many of
our regions most pressing environmental
concerns, he said.
Jim Detjen, director of the Knight Center
for Environmental Journalism at Michigan
State University, Lansing, will deliver the
keynote address at lunch.
The conference is co-sponsored by the
Institute for a Secure and Sustainable En-
vironment and University of Tennessees
Environmental Studies Program. Cost for
the conference is $15 for SPJ members and
students and $20 for nonmembers. Regis-
tration fees include lunch and conference
materials. Registration deadline is March
20. Cost at the door is $30. The conference
is open to the public. One can register
online at http://etspj.org/environmental-
conference/registration.
Session I, Introduction to Environ-
mental Issues in Southern Appalachia,
will provide journalists an overview
of water, air, energy and transportation
issues. Panel members are Dr. Randall
Gentry, director of the Institute for a Se-
cure and Sustainable Environment (ISSE);
Jonathan Overly, executive director, East
Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition; and Dr.
Steven Smith, executive director, Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). Dr.
John Nolt, UT professor of environmental
ethics, will moderate the panel.
Session II, Environmental Law and
Policy, will help journalists answer tough
questions about evaluating independent
research and navigating through the al-
phabet soup of environmental law. Panel
members are Professor Dean Rivkin, UT
College of Law; Dr. Christian Vossler, UT
professor and ISSE program leader for
energy and environmental policy research;
and Don Barger, senior regional director,
National Parks Conservation Association.
Amy Gibson, director of development
and policy research at the Baker Center,
will moderate.
(Photo at right)
After the program, Saa-
dia Williams chats with-
two who attended the
program.
VELAZQUEZ MIDDLEBROOK WILLIAMS
From left, ETSPJ program chairman and program moderator Michael Grider, Loida Velazquez,
Rev. Harold Middlebrook and Saadia Williams
Attendees at the program on news media coverage of race
Mia Rhodarmer, president
Jean Ash, rst vice president
and communications coordinator
Elenora E. Edwards, second vice president/
Golden Press Card Awards and Spot News
editor
John Huotari, secretary and immediate past
president
Dorothy Bowles, treasurer and FOI chairman
John Becker, membership chairman
Michael Grider, program chairman
Amanda Womac, diversity chairman and
student liaison
Kristi Nelson Bumpus, ethics chairman
Catherine Howell, Georgiana Vines, at large;
Adina Chumley, ex ofcio
ETSPJ Ofcers and Board of Directors 2008-09
ETSPJ publishes Spot News in paper
and PDF versions. To subscribe,
one shoul d contact Jean Ash,
communications coordinator, at
jeanash@comcast.net. The PDF
version is available at www.etspj.
org, the chapter Web site.
Letters to the Editor Policy: The board
encourages letters to the editor of
Spot News. Like letters policies at
most newspapers, we ask that letters
be limited to 200 words or less. They
will be subject to editing for space
and content. Send e-mail to ETSPJ.
communications@gmail.com.
Spot News
2008-09 editor
Elenora E. Edwards
eleedwards@aol.com
(865) 457-5459
From the president
FROM PAGE ONE
2 - Spot News Spot News - 3
Conference
FROM PAGE ONE
On the FOI battle lines
Covering race and diversity
bankrupt, newspapers closing, employees
being laid off or put on furlough, having
their pay cut and getting fewer benefts.
And those of us who are still working,
even under less than ideal circumstances,
are left thinking, At least I still have a
job.
Because of all the media attention the
news business has been getting, I am
getting more and more questions from
our readers who want to know how the
newspaper business is going and what is
happening with papers around the country.
Or people are asking why our paper has
fewer pages than it once did. As a result,
I have spent a lot of time explaining the
correlation between advertising and the
amount of space allotted for news. More
ads mean more news.
I dont know how we break this cycle we
are in. As more people lose their jobs, there
is less money to spend and thus businesses
are forced to lay off even more people or
even close. It`s important for people to sup-
port their local businesses now. This will
help save jobs and create more sales tax
revenue for our local governments. And,
its important for journalists to help people
and businesses understand the roles they
will play in helping our economy recover.
A stronger economy is good news we all
want to hear.
Session III, The Energy Beat Coal in
Appalachia, will focus media coverage of
the recent coal ash spill in Roane County
and issues surrounding the use of coal in
Appalachia. Panel members are Liz Veazy,
SACE regional campus coordinator; Dr.
T.J. Blasing, researcher for the Carbon
Dioxide Information Analysis Center
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and
Bill Kovarik, professor of journalism at
Radford University and editor of Appa-
lachian Voices.
Session IV, Application of Environ-
mental Journalism, will show journalists
how to craft the environmental story for
print, Web or broadcast. Panel members
are Rikki Hall, editor, Hellbender Press;
Scott Barker, environmental reporter,
News Sentinel, Knoxville; and Anne Keil,
reporter, WATE-TV. Amanda Womac,
instructor of media writing at Lincoln
Memorial University, will moderate.
Each session will be followed by a ques-
tion and answer period.
BY DOROTHY A. BOWLES
For more than 30 years I have had a keen
interest in government transparency at both
the state and federal levels. Throughout those
years, I have served on state press association
committees dedicated to maintaining open-
ness, conducted research and monitored pro-
posed legislation concerning public records
and meetings. The Kansas Press Association
presented me its Freedom Award for my work
in that state, and since moving to Tennessee
almost 22 years ago, Ive served on FOI and
Government Affairs committees of the Ten-
nessee Press Association.
To emphasize the value of openness to
all citizens in a democracy and to dispel the
notion that only the media beneft from open
meetings and records, the Tennessee Coalition
for Open Government (TCOG) was created
several years ago, and I serve on its founding
board, representing the ETSPJ. Last July, I was
one of 10 citizens across the state appointed
to the statutorily-created Advisory Committee
on Open Government (ACOG), which works
in conjunction with the new Offce of Open
Records Counsel, housed in the state comptrol-
ler`s offce. The latter has given me my best
exposure to date to the thinking, concerns and
issues of the 'other side.
Five ACOG appointees represent groups
that typically work for transparency in state
and local governments (TCOG, TPA, Com-
mon Cause, League of Women Voters and the
Tennessee Association of Broadcasters). The
other fve members represent government
agencies subject to the open records and open
meetings acts (Tennessee Municipal League,
County Offcials Association of Tennessee,
Tennessee Hospital Association, Tennessee
Board of Regents and the Tennessee School
Board Association). In addition, three ex offcio
members come from the state attorney general
offce, the House and the Senate.
The makeup of ACOG shouldn`t be char-
acterized as 'good guys who advocate open-
ness and 'bad guys who want to operate in
secret, but one might think so, listening to Web
streaming of our 11 meetings during the past
seven months.
Some examples:
Where reporters see records as having been
paid for by taxpayers, public offcials see labor
expended on providing access as yet another
drain on tight budgets. Public employees have
better things to do with their time than respond
to records requests, they argue. The Tennessee
Public Records Act does not allow charges to
inspect records, regardless of how much time
it might take a clerk to fnd the material and
redact information exempt from the TPRA.
Records requestors often want to go beyond
looking at a public document; they want a
copy of the record. The 2008 revisions to
the TPRA for the frst time permitted - but
did not require -- labor charges in addition
to charges for printed or electronic copies of
records. Whereas half of the ACOG members
argued for up to fve hours of free time, under
the rationale that custodians are paid a salary,
the other ACOG members maintained that
taxpayers shouldnt foot the bill for time spent
handling record requests. The outcome of
ACOG debate is a policy that allows requestors
to receive most material for 15 cents per page
and no labor fee so long as it doesnt take a
custodian more than one hour to fulfll the
request. If it takes longer than one hour (and
the meter continues running if redaction time
is needed), the requestor pays at the per hour
salary of all employees used on the request;
i.e., clerical and/or legal staff.
Reporters often prefer to receive records
in electronic format for easier analysis with
off-the-shelf statistical software, but some
records custodians fear unfair or erroneous
manipulation of data, thus preferring to print
paper copies of material from digital fles. Best
practices policies adopted by ACOG leaves
the format to the discretion of the custodian,
but those non-binding policies also advise
custodians to strive to respond to all records
requests in the most time and cost effcient
manner possible.
Media personnel typically view public
records as a source in producing watchdog-
on-government stories, but records custodians
fear the release of personnel records may place
government employees at risk of retaliation
and potential harm.
In addition to an up close and personal view
from the 'other side, my time on ACOG has
demonstrated a couple of other truisms: A
little learning is a dangerous thing, as The
Tennessee Press headlined Frank Gibson`s
January column and 'he who wins the battle
may lose the war.
One fnding of the statewide TCOG audit
several years ago was that some records
custodians lacked knowledge of their duties
under the TPRA. The TPRA as amended
last year charged the OORC with providing
educational outreach on both the records and
open meetings acts.
Thus far, the Offce has presented training
to 34 groups most government employees.
Generally speaking, these educational presen-
tations simply explained what the acts have
meant since they became law, but records
custodians and other public employees pre-
viously unschooled in this material reacted
with fear and loathing that their duties were
being expanded or that they might be held
legally responsible if they inadvertently
released exempted material or met without
proper notice.
Advocates of transparency won the battle
for increased education for public employees,
but we may lose the war as public employees
with raised consciousness of their duties now
lobby to create more TPRA exemptions. We
lost a similar war last year after the victory
in the Knox County Commission lawsuit.
Backlash from the Knoxville News Sentinels
win led open government forces to abandon
attempts to strengthen the Sunshine Act in the
2008 session of the Legislature.
At this writing more than 40 bills that po-
tentially would limit information available
to the public have been introduced in the
current legislative session. The war continues
On the FOI battle lines
SEE FOI BATLLE, PAGE 3
FROM PAGE 2
BY MICHAEL GRIDER
News media have come a long way since
the days of segregation in the United
States, but news organizations still have a
long way to go, according to three panel-
ists speaking at an East Tennessee Society
of Professional Journalists event Feb. 26
titled Different Faces: How the media
cover race and diversity.
The event took place at the Cansler
YMCA on Jessamine St. in East Knox-
ville.
Saadia Williams, former executive direc-
tor of the Race Relations Center of East
Tennessee, and Canaan Baptist Church
Rev. Harold Middlebrook represented the
African-American community. Loida Ve-
lazquez from the University of Tennessee
represented the Latino community.
Ive seen change, but I must say to
you that all of that change came with
struggle, said Middlebrook, who him-
self took part in several well-known civil
rights protests.
Remembering a time when African-
Americans in news stories were not given
the same courtesy titles used to refer to
Caucasians, he challenged the media to
continue to work toward colorblindness.
Both Middlebrook and Williams took
issue with the way blacks are portrayed in
the news media, suggesting that showing
mugshots of accused black criminals be-
fore theyve been tried by a jury of their
peers taints the publics view black people
in general. Both also suggested the media
stop showing images of accused criminals,
no matter their race, until after their trials
are over.
'Media is so powerful and so infuential
that they may just not understand the power
that they have, said Williams.
'Justice is supposed to be blind, said
Middlbrook. 'Perception becomes real-
ity.
Velazquez`s concerns centered mostly
around terminology used when news me-
dia report on issues involving the Latino
community.
on many fronts.
|
Policies, best practices guidelines, forms and
the fee schedule adopted by the Offce of Open
Records Counsel are available at http://www.
tn.gov/comptroller/openrecords/forms.htm.
She said the terms 'illegal immigrant
and 'illegal alien are inappropriate.
'People are breaking the law (in other
ways), but they are not called illegals,`
said Velazquez.
She suggested using the word undocu-
mented.
Velazquez said she feels the Latino
experience is becoming similar to the
African-American experience, and that
only the words and nomenclature used
are different.
She said most immigrants in the United
States illegally are otherwise law-abiding
citizens who care for their children and
families.
Velazquez, the daughter of a pastor, was
taught everybody was here legally, and
we were put here for a purpose.
All of the panelists agreed that nega-
tive images of minorities not only shape
the views and opinions of others, but can
also have a negative impact on members
of those minority communities.
If you never see anything positive (about
people like yourself), how can you ever
know the possibilities? asked Williams.
Mia Rhodarmer, president
Jean Ash, rst vice president
and communications coordinator
Elenora E. Edwards, second vice president/
Golden Press Card Awards and Spot News
editor
John Huotari, secretary and immediate past
president
Dorothy Bowles, treasurer and FOI chairman
John Becker, membership chairman
Michael Grider, program chairman
Amanda Womac, diversity chairman and
student liaison
Kristi Nelson Bumpus, ethics chairman
Catherine Howell, Georgiana Vines, at large;
Adina Chumley, ex ofcio
ETSPJ Ofcers and Board of Directors 2008-09
ETSPJ publishes Spot News in paper
and PDF versions. To subscribe,
one shoul d contact Jean Ash,
communications coordinator, at
jeanash@comcast.net. The PDF
version is available at www.etspj.
org, the chapter Web site.
Letters to the Editor Policy: The board
encourages letters to the editor of
Spot News. Like letters policies at
most newspapers, we ask that letters
be limited to 200 words or less. They
will be subject to editing for space
and content. Send e-mail to ETSPJ.
communications@gmail.com.
Spot News
2008-09 editor
Elenora E. Edwards
eleedwards@aol.com
(865) 457-5459
From the president
FROM PAGE ONE
2 - Spot News Spot News - 3
Conference
FROM PAGE ONE
On the FOI battle lines
Covering race and diversity
bankrupt, newspapers closing, employees
being laid off or put on furlough, having
their pay cut and getting fewer benefts.
And those of us who are still working,
even under less than ideal circumstances,
are left thinking, At least I still have a
job.
Because of all the media attention the
news business has been getting, I am
getting more and more questions from
our readers who want to know how the
newspaper business is going and what is
happening with papers around the country.
Or people are asking why our paper has
fewer pages than it once did. As a result,
I have spent a lot of time explaining the
correlation between advertising and the
amount of space allotted for news. More
ads mean more news.
I dont know how we break this cycle we
are in. As more people lose their jobs, there
is less money to spend and thus businesses
are forced to lay off even more people or
even close. It`s important for people to sup-
port their local businesses now. This will
help save jobs and create more sales tax
revenue for our local governments. And,
its important for journalists to help people
and businesses understand the roles they
will play in helping our economy recover.
A stronger economy is good news we all
want to hear.
Session III, The Energy Beat Coal in
Appalachia, will focus media coverage of
the recent coal ash spill in Roane County
and issues surrounding the use of coal in
Appalachia. Panel members are Liz Veazy,
SACE regional campus coordinator; Dr.
T.J. Blasing, researcher for the Carbon
Dioxide Information Analysis Center
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and
Bill Kovarik, professor of journalism at
Radford University and editor of Appa-
lachian Voices.
Session IV, Application of Environ-
mental Journalism, will show journalists
how to craft the environmental story for
print, Web or broadcast. Panel members
are Rikki Hall, editor, Hellbender Press;
Scott Barker, environmental reporter,
News Sentinel, Knoxville; and Anne Keil,
reporter, WATE-TV. Amanda Womac,
instructor of media writing at Lincoln
Memorial University, will moderate.
Each session will be followed by a ques-
tion and answer period.
BY DOROTHY A. BOWLES
For more than 30 years I have had a keen
interest in government transparency at both
the state and federal levels. Throughout those
years, I have served on state press association
committees dedicated to maintaining open-
ness, conducted research and monitored pro-
posed legislation concerning public records
and meetings. The Kansas Press Association
presented me its Freedom Award for my work
in that state, and since moving to Tennessee
almost 22 years ago, Ive served on FOI and
Government Affairs committees of the Ten-
nessee Press Association.
To emphasize the value of openness to
all citizens in a democracy and to dispel the
notion that only the media beneft from open
meetings and records, the Tennessee Coalition
for Open Government (TCOG) was created
several years ago, and I serve on its founding
board, representing the ETSPJ. Last July, I was
one of 10 citizens across the state appointed
to the statutorily-created Advisory Committee
on Open Government (ACOG), which works
in conjunction with the new Offce of Open
Records Counsel, housed in the state comptrol-
ler`s offce. The latter has given me my best
exposure to date to the thinking, concerns and
issues of the 'other side.
Five ACOG appointees represent groups
that typically work for transparency in state
and local governments (TCOG, TPA, Com-
mon Cause, League of Women Voters and the
Tennessee Association of Broadcasters). The
other fve members represent government
agencies subject to the open records and open
meetings acts (Tennessee Municipal League,
County Offcials Association of Tennessee,
Tennessee Hospital Association, Tennessee
Board of Regents and the Tennessee School
Board Association). In addition, three ex offcio
members come from the state attorney general
offce, the House and the Senate.
The makeup of ACOG shouldn`t be char-
acterized as 'good guys who advocate open-
ness and 'bad guys who want to operate in
secret, but one might think so, listening to Web
streaming of our 11 meetings during the past
seven months.
Some examples:
Where reporters see records as having been
paid for by taxpayers, public offcials see labor
expended on providing access as yet another
drain on tight budgets. Public employees have
better things to do with their time than respond
to records requests, they argue. The Tennessee
Public Records Act does not allow charges to
inspect records, regardless of how much time
it might take a clerk to fnd the material and
redact information exempt from the TPRA.
Records requestors often want to go beyond
looking at a public document; they want a
copy of the record. The 2008 revisions to
the TPRA for the frst time permitted - but
did not require -- labor charges in addition
to charges for printed or electronic copies of
records. Whereas half of the ACOG members
argued for up to fve hours of free time, under
the rationale that custodians are paid a salary,
the other ACOG members maintained that
taxpayers shouldnt foot the bill for time spent
handling record requests. The outcome of
ACOG debate is a policy that allows requestors
to receive most material for 15 cents per page
and no labor fee so long as it doesnt take a
custodian more than one hour to fulfll the
request. If it takes longer than one hour (and
the meter continues running if redaction time
is needed), the requestor pays at the per hour
salary of all employees used on the request;
i.e., clerical and/or legal staff.
Reporters often prefer to receive records
in electronic format for easier analysis with
off-the-shelf statistical software, but some
records custodians fear unfair or erroneous
manipulation of data, thus preferring to print
paper copies of material from digital fles. Best
practices policies adopted by ACOG leaves
the format to the discretion of the custodian,
but those non-binding policies also advise
custodians to strive to respond to all records
requests in the most time and cost effcient
manner possible.
Media personnel typically view public
records as a source in producing watchdog-
on-government stories, but records custodians
fear the release of personnel records may place
government employees at risk of retaliation
and potential harm.
In addition to an up close and personal view
from the 'other side, my time on ACOG has
demonstrated a couple of other truisms: A
little learning is a dangerous thing, as The
Tennessee Press headlined Frank Gibson`s
January column and 'he who wins the battle
may lose the war.
One fnding of the statewide TCOG audit
several years ago was that some records
custodians lacked knowledge of their duties
under the TPRA. The TPRA as amended
last year charged the OORC with providing
educational outreach on both the records and
open meetings acts.
Thus far, the Offce has presented training
to 34 groups most government employees.
Generally speaking, these educational presen-
tations simply explained what the acts have
meant since they became law, but records
custodians and other public employees pre-
viously unschooled in this material reacted
with fear and loathing that their duties were
being expanded or that they might be held
legally responsible if they inadvertently
released exempted material or met without
proper notice.
Advocates of transparency won the battle
for increased education for public employees,
but we may lose the war as public employees
with raised consciousness of their duties now
lobby to create more TPRA exemptions. We
lost a similar war last year after the victory
in the Knox County Commission lawsuit.
Backlash from the Knoxville News Sentinels
win led open government forces to abandon
attempts to strengthen the Sunshine Act in the
2008 session of the Legislature.
At this writing more than 40 bills that po-
tentially would limit information available
to the public have been introduced in the
current legislative session. The war continues
On the FOI battle lines
SEE FOI BATLLE, PAGE 3
FROM PAGE 2
BY MICHAEL GRIDER
News media have come a long way since
the days of segregation in the United
States, but news organizations still have a
long way to go, according to three panel-
ists speaking at an East Tennessee Society
of Professional Journalists event Feb. 26
titled Different Faces: How the media
cover race and diversity.
The event took place at the Cansler
YMCA on Jessamine St. in East Knox-
ville.
Saadia Williams, former executive direc-
tor of the Race Relations Center of East
Tennessee, and Canaan Baptist Church
Rev. Harold Middlebrook represented the
African-American community. Loida Ve-
lazquez from the University of Tennessee
represented the Latino community.
Ive seen change, but I must say to
you that all of that change came with
struggle, said Middlebrook, who him-
self took part in several well-known civil
rights protests.
Remembering a time when African-
Americans in news stories were not given
the same courtesy titles used to refer to
Caucasians, he challenged the media to
continue to work toward colorblindness.
Both Middlebrook and Williams took
issue with the way blacks are portrayed in
the news media, suggesting that showing
mugshots of accused black criminals be-
fore theyve been tried by a jury of their
peers taints the publics view black people
in general. Both also suggested the media
stop showing images of accused criminals,
no matter their race, until after their trials
are over.
'Media is so powerful and so infuential
that they may just not understand the power
that they have, said Williams.
'Justice is supposed to be blind, said
Middlbrook. 'Perception becomes real-
ity.
Velazquez`s concerns centered mostly
around terminology used when news me-
dia report on issues involving the Latino
community.
on many fronts.
|
Policies, best practices guidelines, forms and
the fee schedule adopted by the Offce of Open
Records Counsel are available at http://www.
tn.gov/comptroller/openrecords/forms.htm.
She said the terms 'illegal immigrant
and 'illegal alien are inappropriate.
'People are breaking the law (in other
ways), but they are not called illegals,`
said Velazquez.
She suggested using the word undocu-
mented.
Velazquez said she feels the Latino
experience is becoming similar to the
African-American experience, and that
only the words and nomenclature used
are different.
She said most immigrants in the United
States illegally are otherwise law-abiding
citizens who care for their children and
families.
Velazquez, the daughter of a pastor, was
taught everybody was here legally, and
we were put here for a purpose.
All of the panelists agreed that nega-
tive images of minorities not only shape
the views and opinions of others, but can
also have a negative impact on members
of those minority communities.
If you never see anything positive (about
people like yourself), how can you ever
know the possibilities? asked Williams.
Spot News
Vol. 15, No. 7 MARCH 2009
A publication of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of Professional Journalists
www.etspj.org
1802 Pinoak Ct.
Knoxville, TN 37923
March 27Writing Green, conference
on environmental issues, with panels on
air, water, energy and soil/land in East
Tennessee, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Calhouns on
the River. Discounted registration through
March 20.
March 30ETSPJ board, 9 a.m., Longs
April 3-4SPJ Region 12 Spring Con-
ference, Little Rock, Ark.
April 30 National town hall meeting on
news media ethics
May 15Golden Press Card Awards
banquet, The Foundry
June 5-7Ted Scripps Leadership Insti-
tute, Indianapolis
July 18Front Page Follies
Aug. 27-29National SPJ Convention,
100th anniversary observance, India-
napolis
Environmental journalism
conference coming March 27
SEE FROM THE PRESIDENT, PAGE 2
From the president
BY MIA RHODARMER
ETSPJ
RHODARMER
Photos from covering race program Feb. 26
PHOTOS BY ELENORA E. EDWARDS
SEE CONFERENCE, PAGE 2
DETJEN
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
4 - Spot News
As journalists we often
hear from our readers and
viewers that we focus too
much on the bad news and
not enough on the good
news.
Some days that is prob-
ably true. But, we also
know bad news sells, and
we all must sell our product, whether
its print or broadcast, in order to stay in
business. My circulation manager and I
often look at the number of paper sales
on certain days and review what was in
the headlines. Most of the time it was the
bad news that sold the greatest number
of papers.
This past Monday (March 2) during a
tribute to Paul Harvey, I heard a rebroad-
cast of one of his shows discussing that
very topic. He gave examples of newspa-
pers that tried to print nothing but good
news but soon went out of business. So,
people can tell us they want more good
news, but they will continue to buy the
bad news.
I think it is important to fnd a balance.
In many ways we are the face of our
communities, so that means our report-
ing should be as diverse as the places we
live. But as journalists we dont create
the news, we report the news, and some
days, just as in our personal lives, there
is more bad news, and other days there is
more good news.
Speaking of which, is there any good
news lately for the news media business?
Our own reports lately have been flled
with news of media companies going
The East Tennessee Soci-
ety of Professional Journal-
ists will be host for Writing
Green: An Environmental
Journalism Conference
Friday, March 27, in Knox-
ville. The conference will
take place in the banquet
hall above Calhouns on the River from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Panelists will discuss envi-
ronmental issues in Southern Appalachia
and provide journalists tools for covering
the environmental beat.
Environmental issues are inherently
complex and often contentious, and to
be reliable reporters, journalists need to
understand the natural systems at risk, the
interplay of impacts and the perspectives
and interests of the many involved stake-
holders, said Randall Gentry, director of
UTs Institute for a Secure and Sustainable
Environment. The institute is a co-sponsor
of the conference. By presenting a range
of expert perspectives, this conference will
help advance journalists understanding
of the science and policy behind many of
our regions most pressing environmental
concerns, he said.
Jim Detjen, director of the Knight Center
for Environmental Journalism at Michigan
State University, Lansing, will deliver the
keynote address at lunch.
The conference is co-sponsored by the
Institute for a Secure and Sustainable En-
vironment and University of Tennessees
Environmental Studies Program. Cost for
the conference is $15 for SPJ members and
students and $20 for nonmembers. Regis-
tration fees include lunch and conference
materials. Registration deadline is March
20. Cost at the door is $30. The conference
is open to the public. One can register
online at http://etspj.org/environmental-
conference/registration.
Session I, Introduction to Environ-
mental Issues in Southern Appalachia,
will provide journalists an overview
of water, air, energy and transportation
issues. Panel members are Dr. Randall
Gentry, director of the Institute for a Se-
cure and Sustainable Environment (ISSE);
Jonathan Overly, executive director, East
Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition; and Dr.
Steven Smith, executive director, Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). Dr.
John Nolt, UT professor of environmental
ethics, will moderate the panel.
Session II, Environmental Law and
Policy, will help journalists answer tough
questions about evaluating independent
research and navigating through the al-
phabet soup of environmental law. Panel
members are Professor Dean Rivkin, UT
College of Law; Dr. Christian Vossler, UT
professor and ISSE program leader for
energy and environmental policy research;
and Don Barger, senior regional director,
National Parks Conservation Association.
Amy Gibson, director of development
and policy research at the Baker Center,
will moderate.
(Photo at right)
After the program, Saa-
dia Williams chats with-
two who attended the
program.
VELAZQUEZ MIDDLEBROOK WILLIAMS
From left, ETSPJ program chairman and program moderator Michael Grider, Loida Velazquez,
Rev. Harold Middlebrook and Saadia Williams
Attendees at the program on news media coverage of race