Time to register for regional conference; Memphis will be host chapter “A Lifetime of Stories” will be the from the Gulf Coast Legal Defense Fund. theme of the SPJ’s Region 12 confer- • FOI: Challenges to Access A regional leadership meeting at 5:15 ence in Memphis on March 31 and April • Caution: Merging Media, media will officially end the conference, but 1. Sonny Albarado, news editor at The convergence and how it will affect the fun won’t end, as the planning com- (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, and the jobs available for new journal- mittee has scheduled a post-conference faculty members at the University of ism graduates. reception at 6:30. Memphis are compiling a lineup of • The Tennessee Waltz & Other The Fogelman Executive Center at engaging speakers and panelists for the Strange Dances, investigative the University of Memphis is the con- event. reporting. ference site and hotel. Special rates for • Gotta Have Soul, reporting on pop- Students will have an opportunity to attendees are $90 per night plus tax and ular music and the arts hear a panel of professionals talk about should be booked directly through the • Why Environmental Reporting Still “Where Are Tomorrow’s Journalists Center at (901) 678-5410 by March 10 Matters Going to Work?” at the kickoff session to qualify for the SPJ room rate. at 4:30 on Friday afternoon. In addition, • Faith in a Material World, covering Registration is $40 for students and students are invited to bring along tapes, religion and faith $60 for professionals. This includes all portfolios and resumes for critiques. • Tell Me A Story, finding narrative on any beat sessions, the opening reception and The Center for Southern Folklore, luncheon. Make checks payable to the Speakers include Mike Ramirez, Photo by Jean Ash 119 South Main, will be the site for a SPJ Mid-South Pro Chapter and mail to syndicated cartoonist, Pulitzer winner Sen. Tim Burchett, Sen. Jamie Woodson, House Minority Leader Bill Dunn, and Rep. Stacey Campfield answer reception from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday Sonny Albarado, 495 Union Ave., and senior editor at Investors Business questions about anticipated actions during this session of the General Assembly. night. Memphis, TN 38103. Daily, and Chris Peck, editor, The Topics on Saturday include Commercial Appeal. For more information, contact Reps see education, eminent domain, immigration as hot button issues, • Covering Katrina and its aftermath, Region 12 Director Clint Brewer at Mark of Excellence Awards will be featuring editors and reporters [email protected] or call cite positives of new ethics legislation along with some shortcomings announced during lunch, and items will who were there, as well as Ole (615) 444-3952. By Christine Jessel that all campaign contributions should legislature during the General Assembly Miss NABJ students who reported be auctioned to raise money for the SPJ Forecasts called for two to eight be banned, not just limited. that gets underway now that the special inches of snow across East Tennessee, Senator Burchett said the bill does- ethics session has ended. Eight folks eager to poke good-natured fun at contact Lauver at [email protected]. but four Tennessee State Legislators -- n’t solve what he calls the deeper prob- Campfield said he thinks setting newsmakers and current events attended the initial Staging the Follies, the chapter’s annual fund- all Republicans -- still made it to the lem. limits for eminent domain will be “num- Front Page Follies script writing session in mid- raising event for UT and Pellissippi scholarships, is ETSPJ winter legislative forum at “We can pass all the laws we want,” ber one” and controlling illegal immi- Front February. a year-round activity. Jean Ash is Follies coordina- Calhoun’s in Knoxville Feb. 11. he said, “but we’re not gonna change gration will be the second big issue. Chief writer David Lauver arrived armed with a tor this year, assuming duties from long-time chief Representatives Stacey Campfield and people’s hearts.” Campfield said a state-issued driving House Minority Leader Bill Dunn, certificate has made the state “a major stack of ideas to prime the creative pump of the honcho Alan Carmichael. Representative Campfield said while Page along with Senators Jamie Woodson haven for illegal immigrants.” Dunn group gathered around the conference table at the The Convention Center has been reserved, lights a rule for open records in the bill will and Tim Burchett, talked about ethics, said he had in mind changing the major- Moxley-Carmichael offices. and sound contracted, save-the-date postcards police legislators, it won’t punish bad Follies what they think will be the year’s big ity in the House of Representatives dur- Song titles, their standard lyrics and suggestions delivered, Charlie Daniels cartoon drawn, invita- behavior. issues, and Governor Phil Bredesen’s ing the fall elections. for revised, satirical lyrics flowed freely for an hour tions prepared, and the show script is underway. “You can see what they’re doing, but Update budget proposal. Woodson, who chairs the Senate or so before the little band dispersed, some mem- If you want to perform in the show on June 17, you can’t really stop them from doing Moderator Ed Hooper started the Education Committee, said she will be bers volunteering to hone their composing skills volunteer to work behind the scenes or solicit items it,” he said. Campfield added that he session asking the panel their opinions watching for reforms in the basic educa- before the next script meeting. to auction, send an e-mail to etspj.communica- wanted to see a provision that kept leg- on the recently concluded special ses- tion plan (BEP). She said one of the key If you want to get in on the script-writing fun, [email protected]. islators from voting on legislation that sion on ethics. Dunn said he wished issues the state will deal with is finding “might benefit them financially.” amendments limiting donations from ways to “fairly distribute our resources ETSPJ Officers and Board of Directors political action committees had been All four Republicans said they saw as a state back to local communities.” pieces of the bill that worked well, Ed Hooper, president Robb Atkinson included in the final version. Current Woodson said while incentives for math including an independent investigating Jean Ash, secretary, Front Page Follies chair, com- Steve Row limits remain at the 1996 levels – up to and science teachers are the start of “a committee and an online records reg- munications coordinator Georgiana Vines $2,000 per individual and up to $10,000 good conversation,” the governor can’t istry (www.tnregistryofelections.com). Adina Chumley, Golden Press Card co-chair for PACs. Senator Woodson said she simply funnel money into existing mod- The group also indicated it’s likely that Lisa Hood Skinner, Golden Press Card co-chair Letters to the Editor Policy: The board encour- thinks it has teeth but believes it can be els. the Republican caucus will continue its Dan Foley, treasurer ages letters to the editor of Spot News. Like letters improved, and added that the debate is “It’s not a fun topic to talk about, it’s push for an elected, rather than appoint- Dorothy Bowles, immediate past president, Spot policies at most newspapers, we ask that letters be not over. not quite as exciting as math and sci- ed, attorney general. News editor limited to 200 words or less. Letters will be subject “There are a lot of issues individual ence enhancements and applied Christine Jessel, membership co-chair to editing for space and content. legislators felt were unaddressed,” she Hooper asked the panelists what they research and those kinds of things,” she Mia Rhodarmer, membership co-chair Send e-mail to [email protected] said, adding that some legislators feel expected to be hot button issues in the said, “but it’s critical.”

2 -- SPOT NEWS SPOT NEWS -- 3 Time magazine writer to give science talk “Crank or Genius—How Does a National Arbor Day Foundation Media Mark your calendar Science Writer Tell the Difference?” Award. March 29: Chapter meeting will be the title of Michael Lemonic’s, Before joining Time in 1988, he was on Government in the Spot News Hill Lecture on April 4 at 8 p.m. at the senior editor and writer at Science Sunshine, News Sentinel University Club. Digest and executive editor of Discover. Community Room, 7 p.m. Vol. 11, No. 3 March 2006 Lemonic, award-winning senior sci- His stories have March 31-April 1: Region ence writer for Time magazine, has also appeared in 12 conference, Memphis written more than 40 cover stories for Audubon, People, April 19: Chapter Program A publication of the East Tennessee Chapter Time on a wide variety of topics in sci- and the Washing- May 12: Golden Press of the Society of Professional Journalists ence, medicine, and the environment, ton Post. Card awards dinner, 6 including particle physics, emerging This lecture p.m., University Club viruses, global warming, genomics, cos- Visit us on the web at www.discoverET.org/etspj series is made June 17: Front Page mology, brain chemistry, reproductive possible by an technology, and diet pills. Follies, reception at 6 endowment creat- p.m., dinner at 7, fol- Lemonic is the author of three ed by Tom Hill lowed by live auction and books: The Light at the Edge of the and Mary Frances National Sunshine Week seeks public awareness show, Knoxville Media organizations, civic groups, “With the totalitarian model of all- Universe (1993); Other Worlds (1998), Hill Holton in Convention Center Foundation‚ now teaches at the about the search for life in the universe; Lemonic honor of their par- libraries, schools, non-profit organiza- University of North Carolina. powerful Big Brother in retreat around and Echo of the Big Bang (2003). ents, Alfred and tions and others nationwide will partici- the world, this is no time to tolerate it pate in coverage of and discus- here at home,” Carter said. His professional honors include the Julia Hill, founders of The Oak Ridger. HOW YOU CAN HELP FOI will be topic of program March 29 Overseas Press Club’s Whitman The UT School of Journalism and sions about the importance of Sunshine Week is led by the • Volunteer to judge a category FOI in Tennessee, with emphasis on the proposed Bassow Award for international envi- Electronic Media sponsors the Hill protecting public access to American Society of of print or broadcast entries from changes in the state Open Meetings Act, will be the ronmental reporting, 2001; the Lecture, and ETSPJ helps with a small government Newspaper Editors and is American Institute of Physics Science contribution for refreshments. The pro- the Connecticut chapter. during topic of the next ETSPJ chapter program. Panelists funded by a grant from the Writing Award, two American gram is open to the public and free of • Seek contributions to auction Sunshine include John S. and James L. Knight Association for the Advancement of charge. For more information, contact at Front Page Follies. Contact Week 2006, • Rick Hollow, Knoxville attorney with 30 years’ Foundation. March 12-18. Research by state and Science–Westinghouse Awards for dis- Dr. Mark Littmann,Chair of Excellence [email protected] experience in First Amendment law, listed for many tinguished magazine writing, and the in Science Writing at UT. “Sunshine years as one of the Best First Amendment lawyers in national groups shows that Week aims to America. government secrecy was empower the • Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee already a problem before 9/11, American Coalition for Open Government. but the terrorist attacks exac- people by demanding that gov- • Tom Chester, managing editor of the Knoxville erbated the situation. ernment open its doors and News Sentinel who has had extensive experience with Tennessee ranks 44th by allow a free flow of news and some measures when it comes recalcitrant meetings holders and records custodians information‚ and I’m proud to to public access to govern- • Bill Shory, news director at WBIR-TV, involved be part of it,” said Hodding ment records, and complaints in an open records battle last year with the city police Carter III, honorary chairman about secret meetings aver- of Sunshine Week. Carter, an department. aged at least one a week last award-winning print and Moderator for the session will be Dorothy Bowles, year, according to a Tennessee 1802 Pinoak Court broadcast journalist, former UT professor and a founding member of Tennessee Coalition on Open Govern- Knoxville, Tennessee 37923 State Department spokesman, Coalition on Open Government. ment study. and past president of the John The meeting will be in the Moskos Room at the For more information, go to S. and James L. Knight Knoxville News Sentinel at 7 p.m. March 29. www.tcog.info. Annual contest attracts record number of entries; judges needed A record 206 entries have been journalists or teams. The entire East ([email protected]) or Lisa shipped to Connecticut judges in the Tennessee area is represented from Skinner ([email protected]) 2006 Golden Press Card Awards com- Bristol to Chattanooga to Crossville and to volunteer your assistance. petition. This is up considerably from points in between. Winners will be announced at the last year’s 163 entries and 153 received The Connecticut SPJ chapter will Golden Press Card Award Banquet May the year before. send entries for our chapter to judge 12, at the University Club adjacent to The entries represent work for 22 dif- shortly, so if you would like to be part of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville ferent publications, broadcast stations this effort, please contact GPC Co- campus. Watch Spot News next month or websites by 107 different individual chairs Adina Chumley for more details. 4 -- SPOT NEWS