6SRW1HZV

VoI. 14, No. 2 APRIL 2008

A pubIication of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of ProfessionaI JournaIists
www.etspj.org
1802 Pinoak Ct.
KnoxviIIe, TN 37923
The ETSPJ guy
BY JOHN HUOTARI
ETSPJ president
HUOTARI
SEE THE ETSPJ GUY, PAGE 2
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
ApriI 24 - Newsroom leadership work-
shop, 4 to 7 p.m., Knox Room, News
Sentinel Building, Knoxville
ApriI 30 - ETSPJ board meeting, 9 a.m.,
Long's Drug Store
May 9 - Golden Press Card banquet,
5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. dinner, The
Foundry, Knoxville
June 4-6 - Ted Scripps Leadership nsti-
tute, ndianapolis
JuIy 19 - Front Page Follies, honoring
Jack McElroy and Richard L. Hollow,
Knoxville Convention Center
Sept. 4-7 - SPJ National Convention &
Journalism Conference, Atlanta
4 - Spot News
SEE WORKSHOP, PAGE 2
Editor to Iead workshop
on newsroom Ieadership
HIPPS
T h e E a s t
Tennessee Society
of Pr of es s i onal
J our nal i s t s wi l l
sponsor a workshop
o n n e w s r o o m
l e a d e r s h i p o n
Thur s day, Apr i l
24, from 4 t o 7
p.m. in the Knox
Room of the News
Sentinel Building
in Knoxville. The leader will be Amelia
Morrison Hipps, managing editor of The
Lebanon Democrat. She is responsible for
the news and editorial direction of it as
well as the Mt. Juliet News and Hartsville
Vidette.
The workshop is free to SPJ members
and students and will cost $5 for others.
At about 5:30, the group will break
for sandwiches, chips and beverages,
provided by ETSPJ.
For directions to the News Sentinel
Building, see www.knoxnews.com/about/
or www.etspj.org. Those planning to
attend must RSVP no later than the
end of the day on Monday, April 21, to
Elenora E. Edwards, ETSPJ secretary, at
[email protected] or (865) 457-5459
or (865) 385-4424. (Leave a message
MUST RSVP!
To say you'll be there, con-
tact Elenora E. Edwards at
[email protected] or (865)
457-5459 or (865) 385-4424
no later than the end of the day
Monday, April 21.
Golden Press Card dinner,
awards scheduled May 9
The Golden Press
Card dinner and
awards ceremony
will bring together
people from vari-
ous news media
who have done ex-
ceptional work. It is
an annual event of
the East Tennessee
Chapter of the Soci-
ety of Professional Journalists (ETSPJ),
based in Knoxville.
SEE GOLDEN PRESS CARD, PAGE 2
BREWER
MUST RSVP!
Make known your intentions to
mia.rhodarmer@advocateand-
democrat.com, and send check
to Dorothy Bowles at 1829
Chicadee Drive, Knoxville, TN
37919. Deadline is April 25.
The Friday, May 9, event at The Found-
Committee at work
The Nominating Committee of ETSPJ
has begun putting together a slate of
offcers and board members for 2008-09.
Committee members are John Huotari,
Mia Rhodarmer and John Becker. The new
ETSPJ year will begin Aug. 1.
FOSTER GIBSON McNALLY
DARE KEIM
PaneI taIks about open government
ETSPJ held a workshop on open records
and open meetings on March 6 in the
Shiloh Room of the University Center.
The opening speaker was state Sen. Randy
McNally of Oak Ridge, chairman of the
state open government study committee.
Other speakers were Frank Gibson,
director of the Tennessee Coalition for
Open Government, Nashville; Don Dare,
WATE-TV; David Keim, News Sentinel,
Knoxville; and Jamie Foster, WATE-TV
news director.
McNally and Gibson focused on the open
records bill that had had been approved by
committee that morning.
Dare talked about his early experiences
in being refused records and recommended
how a reporter now might handle being
refused open records. Be polite, and if a
reporter knows what he or she is asking
for is an open record, ask for it, such as by
saying, 'Yes, I can have that, because it is
available.
Keim gave examples of how the News Sen-
tinel had investigated questionable events.
He suggested that reporters ask early for
records they think might be sealed. He said
one has a right to a record until someone
tells him he doesn`t.
Foster handled questions asked by attend-
ees, who numbered about 60. ETSPJ Presi-
dent John Huotari arranged the program.
BY JOHN HUOTARI
Oak Ridge specializes in science and
technology, so it seemed logical to help
start a science writing teaching position at
the University of Tennessee, said Tom Hill,
former publisher of The Oak Ridger.
After they sold the newspaper in 1986,
Hill and his wife, Joan O`Steen, and sis-
ter gave $250,000 to the UT College of
Communications for a chair of excellence
who would teach science and technical
writing.
At the time, UT was working to bring
in money for the position.
'I just felt that it was a tremendously
important topic, former Communications
Dean Kelly Leiter said, referring to the
science-writing position.
Hill and Leiter cited UT`s scientifc
connection to Oak Ridge and the many
scientists who work in Oak Ridge.
HiIIs' science
endowment
caIIed 'very
gratifying'
EDITOR'S NOTE: In
the pIace of ETSPJ
President John
Huotari's coIumn, this
month we are running
an articIe he wrote for
The Oak Ridger.
Johh HuoIari, presidehI
Jeah Ash, IrsI vice presidehI/FrohI Page Follies,
commuhicaIiohs coordihaIor
Mia Phodarmer, secohd vice presidehI/Goldeh
Press Card Awards
Elehora E. Edwards, secreIary
ahd SpoI News ediIor
DoroIhy Bowles, Ireasurer ahd FO chairmah
Johh Becker, membership chairmah
Amahda Greever, program chairmah
Ed Hooper, immediaIe pasI presidehI ahd
program assisIahI
Kara CovihgIoh
ChrisIihe Jessel
Georgiaha Vihes, program assisIahI
Adiha Chumley, e-oIIcio
ETSPJ Ofhcers and Board of Directors
ETSPJ pubIishes Spot News ih paper
ahd PDF versiohs. To subscribe,
ohe shoul d cohIacI Jeah Ash,
commuhicaIiohs coordihaIor, aI
[email protected]. 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.
[email protected].
6SRW1HZV
2007-0S editor
Elenora E. Edwards
[email protected]
(865) 457-5459
The ETSPJ Guy
FROM PAGE ONE
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 May issue dead-
line is April 25.
The ETSPJ chapter welcomes the follow-
ing folks who have recently joined:
Michael Grider, WNOX Radio
Catherine Howell, WNOX Radio
John Becker, WBIR-TV anchor, is mem-
bership chairman. If interested in joining
or rejoining ETSPJ, one can contact him
at [email protected].
Welcome, members
2 - Spot News Spot News - 3
JournaIists
ROM PAGE ONE
Golden Press Card
ROM PAGE ONE
The Golden Press Card dinner and
awards ceremony will bring together
people from various news media who
have done exceptional work. It is an an-
nual event of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of Professional Journalists
(ETSPJ), based in Knoxville.
The Friday, May 9, event at The Found-
ry in Knoxville will begin at 5:30 p.m.
with a cash bar reception, and the dinner
will follow at 6 p.m.
Clint Brewer, national Society of Pro-
fessional Journalists president and exec-
utive editor of The City Paper, Nashville,
will speak. He is the former managing
editor of The Lebanon Democrat.
Awards will be presented after the
speech.
Mia Rhodarmer, editor of the Monroe
County Advocate & Democrat, Sweet-
water, vice president of ETSPJ, is Gold-
en Press card chairman and is in charge
of the event. Working with her is Dr.
Dorothy Bowles, professor in the Uni-
versity of Tennessee School of Journal-
ism and Electronic Media, Knoxville,
ETSPJ treasurer.
Cost of the dinner is $20 for ETSPJ
members and $25 for non-members.
ETSPJ is offering a membership ben-
eft effective for that evening. If an eli-
gible person joins SPJ when he or she
makes reservations or on the night of the
ceremony, ETSPJ will knock $5 off the
national dues, which are $72, and waive
local dues, whch are $10.
To make reservations, one should con-
tact Rhodarmer at miarhodarmer@adv
ocateanddemocrat.com. To submit pay-
ment, one should mail a check to Bowles
at 1829 Chicadee Drive, Knoxville, TN
37919.
The contest was judged by the Cincin-
nati SPJ chapter. ETSPJ will judge that
The East Tennessee Soci et y of
Professional Journalists will sponsor a
workshop on newsroom leadership on
Thursday, April 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. in
the Knox Room of the News Sentinel
Building in Knoxville. The leader will
be Amelia Morrison Hipps, managing
editor of The Lebanon Democrat. She
is responsible for the news and editorial
direction of it as well as the Mt. Juliet
News and Hartsville Vidette.
The workshop is free to SPJ members
and students and will cost $5 for others.
At about 5:30, the group will break
for sandwiches, chips and beverages,
provided by ETSPJ.
For directions to the News Sentinel
Building, see www.knoxnews.com/about/
or www.etspj.org. Those planning to
attend must RSVP no later than the
end of the day on Monday, April 21, to
Elenora E. Edwards, ETSPJ secretary, at
[email protected] or (865) 457-5459
or (865) 385-4424. (Leave a message
if there is no answer, and Edwards will
return the call.) The $5 can be paid at the
workshop.
This workshop is for anyone who has
been promoted recently or hopes to make
the transition from reporter to editor and
wants to learn a few skills before making
the leap.
It is based on the following quote:
'You don`t manage people; you manage
things. You lead people, by Admiral
Grace Hooper. It deals with such issues
as motivating employees, dealing with
diffcult employees and working with
others, both up and down the management
ladder.
Hipps will provide a packet of materials
that attendees will want to keep for future
reference.
Before joining the Democrat in May
2006, Hipps operated Elite Word Design,
a freelance writing and public relations
TCOG eIects BowIes;
Pierce is president
Dorothy Bowles, a professor in the UTK
School of Journalism and Electronic
Media, has been elected secretary
of the Tennessee Coalition for Open
Government, based in Nashville. She is
ETSPJ`s representative to TCOG.
Doug Pierce, King & Ballow, Nashville,
counsel to the Tennessee Association of
Broadcasters, is the new president. Offcers
were elected in February.
Other board members are Marian Ott,
League of Women Voters, Nashville; John
Stern, director of the Nashville Neighbor-
hood Alliance; Lucian Pera, partner in Ad-
ams & Reese, counsel to The Commercial
Appeal, Memphis; Kent Flanagan, Middle
Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro;
Steve Lake, Pulaski Citizen; Tom Griscom,
Chattanooga Times Free Press; Dick Wil-
liams, Common Cause, Nashville; and
W. R. (Ron) Fryar, American Hometown
Publishing, Franklin.
BY KATIE RODGERS
The Tennessee Journalist staff is now the
proud owner of eight Society of Profes-
sional Journalists regional awards. The
awards were separated into fve different
categories, with staff members placing
frst in each category.
The site itself won as the Best All-Around
Independent Online Student Publication
in the region.
Society of ProfessionaI JournaIists recognizes
TNJN staff with Mark of ExceIIence awards
The site and the frst place winners are
now eligible for the national SPJ compe-
titions. Winners of those awards will be
announced at the national SPJ convention
in September in Atlanta.
Shannon Petrie received frst and sec-
ond place in Online News Reporting for
'Opposing abortion views displayed on
pedestrian walkway and 'Public meet-
ing displays Knoxville South Waterfront
Plans, respectively.
Bridget Hardy also won two awards. She
won third place in Online Feature Report-
ing for 'A Flea in Her Ear` Takes the UT
stage. She also won frst place in Online
Opinion and Commentary for 'Freedom
of Speech or out of control?
Amanda Wills won frst place in On-
line Feature Reporting for 'Organization
strives to aid crisis in Darfur.
Katherine Leone placed second in the
Online Opinion and Commentary for 'Tip
your Bartender.
Cliff Chartrand also had a frst place
win in Online Sports Reporting for 'Rossi
strikes in overtime.
These regional Mark of Excellence
Awards were presented during SPJ`s an-
nual spring conference at Loyola Univer-
sity in New Orleans.
(From www.tnjn.com)
Of necessity
'You must have a free press that screams
and hollers and makes your life miser-
able. Colin Powell
General, U.S. Army (retired), 2004
Leiter said the state raised money to
match the Hills` one-time contribution.
He said investment earnings from
$200,000 of the Hills` contribution help
pay for the chair of excellence position.
Meanwhile, investment earnings from
the remaining $50,000 are used for the
Alfred and Julia Hill Lecture series on
Science, Society and the Mass Media.
The 16th lecture was March 25, and it
featured Alan Boyle, an award-winning
science writer and senior editor for MS-
NBC.com.
The Hill lecture series was established
in 1989 by Hill, his wife and sister. They
wanted to honor Tom and Mary Frances`
parents, Alfred and Julia Hill, who founded
The Oak Ridger in 1949.
'It`s been very gratifying, Hill said.
( March 27, 2008)
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury
John G. Morgan has announced two new
resources for providing open records
information and assistance to Tennessee
citizens. Citizens may call toll-free (866)
831-3750 or visit www.comptroller.state.
tn.us/openrecords/index.htm.
Open records heIp
The ffth edition of the annual report 'The
State of the News Media 2008,tracing
the revolution of news by the Project for
Excellence in Journalism and Funded by
the Pew Charitable Trusts is encompass-
ing, and the analysis probing, according
to the Center for Media Research.
The recently released study opens by
saying 'The state of the American news
media in 2008 is more troubled than a
year ago. And the problems, increasingly,
appear to be different than many experts
have predicted.
Online, for instance, the top 10 news
Web sites, drawing mostly from old
brands, command a larger share of audi-
ence than they did in the legacy media.
Several trends, says the report, bear
particular notice heading into 2008. A
couple of these:
News is shifting from being a product-
newspaper, Web site or newscast-to
becoming a service.
A news organization and a news Web
site are no longer fnal destinations. They
move toward being gateways to other
places.
Each news medium is examined in
more detail, and the complete study may
be freely accessed here: http://www.
stateofthenewsmedia.org/2008/narrative_
overview_eight.php?cat=1&media=1.
(Excerpted from MediaPost`s Center
for Media Research)
'State of News Media' report out
The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for
Public Policy has received a $100,000
Community Enhancement Grant to create
lesson plans, enhance the museum exhibit
and buy technology for the classrooms
at its new building on the campus of the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The Baker Center, now housed in
Hoskins Library on campus, is scheduled
to move into its new building at 1640
Cumberland Ave. later this year. A grand
opening celebration is being planned
for fall.The new facility will include a
museum that will tell the story of how
government works, using Sen. Baker`s
life as a backdrop. The museum also will
explore modern Tennessee politics.
Center gets grant
Johh HuoIari, presidehI
Jeah Ash, IrsI vice presidehI/FrohI Page Follies,
commuhicaIiohs coordihaIor
Mia Phodarmer, secohd vice presidehI/Goldeh
Press Card Awards
Elehora E. Edwards, secreIary
ahd SpoI News ediIor
DoroIhy Bowles, Ireasurer ahd FO chairmah
Johh Becker, membership chairmah
Amahda Greever, program chairmah
Ed Hooper, immediaIe pasI presidehI ahd
program assisIahI
Kara CovihgIoh
ChrisIihe Jessel
Georgiaha Vihes, program assisIahI
Adiha Chumley, e-oIIcio
ETSPJ Ofhcers and Board of Directors
ETSPJ pubIishes Spot News ih paper
ahd PDF versiohs. To subscribe,
ohe shoul d cohIacI Jeah Ash,
commuhicaIiohs coordihaIor, aI
[email protected]. 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.
[email protected].
6SRW1HZV
2007-0S editor
Elenora E. Edwards
[email protected]
(865) 457-5459
The ETSPJ Guy
FROM PAGE ONE
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 May issue dead-
line is April 25.
The ETSPJ chapter welcomes the follow-
ing folks who have recently joined:
Michael Grider, WNOX Radio
Catherine Howell, WNOX Radio
John Becker, WBIR-TV anchor, is mem-
bership chairman. If interested in joining
or rejoining ETSPJ, one can contact him
at [email protected].
Welcome, members
2 - Spot News Spot News - 3
JournaIists
ROM PAGE ONE
Golden Press Card
ROM PAGE ONE
The Golden Press Card dinner and
awards ceremony will bring together
people from various news media who
have done exceptional work. It is an an-
nual event of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of Professional Journalists
(ETSPJ), based in Knoxville.
The Friday, May 9, event at The Found-
ry in Knoxville will begin at 5:30 p.m.
with a cash bar reception, and the dinner
will follow at 6 p.m.
Clint Brewer, national Society of Pro-
fessional Journalists president and exec-
utive editor of The City Paper, Nashville,
will speak. He is the former managing
editor of The Lebanon Democrat.
Awards will be presented after the
speech.
Mia Rhodarmer, editor of the Monroe
County Advocate & Democrat, Sweet-
water, vice president of ETSPJ, is Gold-
en Press card chairman and is in charge
of the event. Working with her is Dr.
Dorothy Bowles, professor in the Uni-
versity of Tennessee School of Journal-
ism and Electronic Media, Knoxville,
ETSPJ treasurer.
Cost of the dinner is $20 for ETSPJ
members and $25 for non-members.
ETSPJ is offering a membership ben-
eft effective for that evening. If an eli-
gible person joins SPJ when he or she
makes reservations or on the night of the
ceremony, ETSPJ will knock $5 off the
national dues, which are $72, and waive
local dues, whch are $10.
To make reservations, one should con-
tact Rhodarmer at miarhodarmer@adv
ocateanddemocrat.com. To submit pay-
ment, one should mail a check to Bowles
at 1829 Chicadee Drive, Knoxville, TN
37919.
The contest was judged by the Cincin-
nati SPJ chapter. ETSPJ will judge that
The East Tennessee Soci et y of
Professional Journalists will sponsor a
workshop on newsroom leadership on
Thursday, April 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. in
the Knox Room of the News Sentinel
Building in Knoxville. The leader will
be Amelia Morrison Hipps, managing
editor of The Lebanon Democrat. She
is responsible for the news and editorial
direction of it as well as the Mt. Juliet
News and Hartsville Vidette.
The workshop is free to SPJ members
and students and will cost $5 for others.
At about 5:30, the group will break
for sandwiches, chips and beverages,
provided by ETSPJ.
For directions to the News Sentinel
Building, see www.knoxnews.com/about/
or www.etspj.org. Those planning to
attend must RSVP no later than the
end of the day on Monday, April 21, to
Elenora E. Edwards, ETSPJ secretary, at
[email protected] or (865) 457-5459
or (865) 385-4424. (Leave a message
if there is no answer, and Edwards will
return the call.) The $5 can be paid at the
workshop.
This workshop is for anyone who has
been promoted recently or hopes to make
the transition from reporter to editor and
wants to learn a few skills before making
the leap.
It is based on the following quote:
'You don`t manage people; you manage
things. You lead people, by Admiral
Grace Hooper. It deals with such issues
as motivating employees, dealing with
diffcult employees and working with
others, both up and down the management
ladder.
Hipps will provide a packet of materials
that attendees will want to keep for future
reference.
Before joining the Democrat in May
2006, Hipps operated Elite Word Design,
a freelance writing and public relations
TCOG eIects BowIes;
Pierce is president
Dorothy Bowles, a professor in the UTK
School of Journalism and Electronic
Media, has been elected secretary
of the Tennessee Coalition for Open
Government, based in Nashville. She is
ETSPJ`s representative to TCOG.
Doug Pierce, King & Ballow, Nashville,
counsel to the Tennessee Association of
Broadcasters, is the new president. Offcers
were elected in February.
Other board members are Marian Ott,
League of Women Voters, Nashville; John
Stern, director of the Nashville Neighbor-
hood Alliance; Lucian Pera, partner in Ad-
ams & Reese, counsel to The Commercial
Appeal, Memphis; Kent Flanagan, Middle
Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro;
Steve Lake, Pulaski Citizen; Tom Griscom,
Chattanooga Times Free Press; Dick Wil-
liams, Common Cause, Nashville; and
W. R. (Ron) Fryar, American Hometown
Publishing, Franklin.
BY KATIE RODGERS
The Tennessee Journalist staff is now the
proud owner of eight Society of Profes-
sional Journalists regional awards. The
awards were separated into fve different
categories, with staff members placing
frst in each category.
The site itself won as the Best All-Around
Independent Online Student Publication
in the region.
Society of ProfessionaI JournaIists recognizes
TNJN staff with Mark of ExceIIence awards
The site and the frst place winners are
now eligible for the national SPJ compe-
titions. Winners of those awards will be
announced at the national SPJ convention
in September in Atlanta.
Shannon Petrie received frst and sec-
ond place in Online News Reporting for
'Opposing abortion views displayed on
pedestrian walkway and 'Public meet-
ing displays Knoxville South Waterfront
Plans, respectively.
Bridget Hardy also won two awards. She
won third place in Online Feature Report-
ing for 'A Flea in Her Ear` Takes the UT
stage. She also won frst place in Online
Opinion and Commentary for 'Freedom
of Speech or out of control?
Amanda Wills won frst place in On-
line Feature Reporting for 'Organization
strives to aid crisis in Darfur.
Katherine Leone placed second in the
Online Opinion and Commentary for 'Tip
your Bartender.
Cliff Chartrand also had a frst place
win in Online Sports Reporting for 'Rossi
strikes in overtime.
These regional Mark of Excellence
Awards were presented during SPJ`s an-
nual spring conference at Loyola Univer-
sity in New Orleans.
(From www.tnjn.com)
Of necessity
'You must have a free press that screams
and hollers and makes your life miser-
able. Colin Powell
General, U.S. Army (retired), 2004
Leiter said the state raised money to
match the Hills` one-time contribution.
He said investment earnings from
$200,000 of the Hills` contribution help
pay for the chair of excellence position.
Meanwhile, investment earnings from
the remaining $50,000 are used for the
Alfred and Julia Hill Lecture series on
Science, Society and the Mass Media.
The 16th lecture was March 25, and it
featured Alan Boyle, an award-winning
science writer and senior editor for MS-
NBC.com.
The Hill lecture series was established
in 1989 by Hill, his wife and sister. They
wanted to honor Tom and Mary Frances`
parents, Alfred and Julia Hill, who founded
The Oak Ridger in 1949.
'It`s been very gratifying, Hill said.
( March 27, 2008)
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury
John G. Morgan has announced two new
resources for providing open records
information and assistance to Tennessee
citizens. Citizens may call toll-free (866)
831-3750 or visit www.comptroller.state.
tn.us/openrecords/index.htm.
Open records heIp
The ffth edition of the annual report 'The
State of the News Media 2008,tracing
the revolution of news by the Project for
Excellence in Journalism and Funded by
the Pew Charitable Trusts is encompass-
ing, and the analysis probing, according
to the Center for Media Research.
The recently released study opens by
saying 'The state of the American news
media in 2008 is more troubled than a
year ago. And the problems, increasingly,
appear to be different than many experts
have predicted.
Online, for instance, the top 10 news
Web sites, drawing mostly from old
brands, command a larger share of audi-
ence than they did in the legacy media.
Several trends, says the report, bear
particular notice heading into 2008. A
couple of these:
News is shifting from being a product-
newspaper, Web site or newscast-to
becoming a service.
A news organization and a news Web
site are no longer fnal destinations. They
move toward being gateways to other
places.
Each news medium is examined in
more detail, and the complete study may
be freely accessed here: http://www.
stateofthenewsmedia.org/2008/narrative_
overview_eight.php?cat=1&media=1.
(Excerpted from MediaPost`s Center
for Media Research)
'State of News Media' report out
The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for
Public Policy has received a $100,000
Community Enhancement Grant to create
lesson plans, enhance the museum exhibit
and buy technology for the classrooms
at its new building on the campus of the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The Baker Center, now housed in
Hoskins Library on campus, is scheduled
to move into its new building at 1640
Cumberland Ave. later this year. A grand
opening celebration is being planned
for fall.The new facility will include a
museum that will tell the story of how
government works, using Sen. Baker`s
life as a backdrop. The museum also will
explore modern Tennessee politics.
Center gets grant
6SRW1HZV
VoI. 14, No. 2 APRIL 2008
A pubIication of the East Tennessee Chapter
of the Society of ProfessionaI JournaIists
www.etspj.org
1802 Pinoak Ct.
KnoxviIIe, TN 37923
The ETSPJ guy
BY JOHN HUOTARI
ETSPJ president
HUOTARI
SEE THE ETSPJ GUY, PAGE 2
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
ApriI 24 - Newsroom leadership work-
shop, 4 to 7 p.m., Knox Room, News
Sentinel Building, Knoxville
ApriI 30 - ETSPJ board meeting, 9 a.m.,
Long's Drug Store
May 9 - Golden Press Card banquet,
5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. dinner, The
Foundry, Knoxville
June 4-6 - Ted Scripps Leadership nsti-
tute, ndianapolis
JuIy 19 - Front Page Follies, honoring
Jack McElroy and Richard L. Hollow,
Knoxville Convention Center
Sept. 4-7 - SPJ National Convention &
Journalism Conference, Atlanta
4 - Spot News
SEE WORKSHOP, PAGE 2
Editor to Iead workshop
on newsroom Ieadership
HIPPS
T h e E a s t
Tennessee Society
of Pr of es s i onal
J our nal i s t s wi l l
sponsor a workshop
o n n e w s r o o m
l e a d e r s h i p o n
Thur s day, Apr i l
24, from 4 t o 7
p.m. in the Knox
Room of the News
Sentinel Building
in Knoxville. The leader will be Amelia
Morrison Hipps, managing editor of The
Lebanon Democrat. She is responsible for
the news and editorial direction of it as
well as the Mt. Juliet News and Hartsville
Vidette.
The workshop is free to SPJ members
and students and will cost $5 for others.
At about 5:30, the group will break
for sandwiches, chips and beverages,
provided by ETSPJ.
For directions to the News Sentinel
Building, see www.knoxnews.com/about/
or www.etspj.org. Those planning to
attend must RSVP no later than the
end of the day on Monday, April 21, to
Elenora E. Edwards, ETSPJ secretary, at
[email protected] or (865) 457-5459
or (865) 385-4424. (Leave a message
MUST RSVP!
To say you'll be there, con-
tact Elenora E. Edwards at
[email protected] or (865)
457-5459 or (865) 385-4424
no later than the end of the day
Monday, April 21.
Golden Press Card dinner,
awards scheduled May 9
The Golden Press
Card dinner and
awards ceremony
will bring together
people from vari-
ous news media
who have done ex-
ceptional work. It is
an annual event of
the East Tennessee
Chapter of the Soci-
ety of Professional Journalists (ETSPJ),
based in Knoxville.
SEE GOLDEN PRESS CARD, PAGE 2
BREWER
MUST RSVP!
Make known your intentions to
mia.rhodarmer@advocateand-
democrat.com, and send check
to Dorothy Bowles at 1829
Chicadee Drive, Knoxville, TN
37919. Deadline is April 25.
The Friday, May 9, event at The Found-
Committee at work
The Nominating Committee of ETSPJ
has begun putting together a slate of
offcers and board members for 2008-09.
Committee members are John Huotari,
Mia Rhodarmer and John Becker. The new
ETSPJ year will begin Aug. 1.
FOSTER GIBSON McNALLY
DARE KEIM
PaneI taIks about open government
ETSPJ held a workshop on open records
and open meetings on March 6 in the
Shiloh Room of the University Center.
The opening speaker was state Sen. Randy
McNally of Oak Ridge, chairman of the
state open government study committee.
Other speakers were Frank Gibson,
director of the Tennessee Coalition for
Open Government, Nashville; Don Dare,
WATE-TV; David Keim, News Sentinel,
Knoxville; and Jamie Foster, WATE-TV
news director.
McNally and Gibson focused on the open
records bill that had had been approved by
committee that morning.
Dare talked about his early experiences
in being refused records and recommended
how a reporter now might handle being
refused open records. Be polite, and if a
reporter knows what he or she is asking
for is an open record, ask for it, such as by
saying, 'Yes, I can have that, because it is
available.
Keim gave examples of how the News Sen-
tinel had investigated questionable events.
He suggested that reporters ask early for
records they think might be sealed. He said
one has a right to a record until someone
tells him he doesn`t.
Foster handled questions asked by attend-
ees, who numbered about 60. ETSPJ Presi-
dent John Huotari arranged the program.
BY JOHN HUOTARI
Oak Ridge specializes in science and
technology, so it seemed logical to help
start a science writing teaching position at
the University of Tennessee, said Tom Hill,
former publisher of The Oak Ridger.
After they sold the newspaper in 1986,
Hill and his wife, Joan O`Steen, and sis-
ter gave $250,000 to the UT College of
Communications for a chair of excellence
who would teach science and technical
writing.
At the time, UT was working to bring
in money for the position.
'I just felt that it was a tremendously
important topic, former Communications
Dean Kelly Leiter said, referring to the
science-writing position.
Hill and Leiter cited UT`s scientifc
connection to Oak Ridge and the many
scientists who work in Oak Ridge.
HiIIs' science
endowment
caIIed 'very
gratifying'
EDITOR'S NOTE: In
the pIace of ETSPJ
President John
Huotari's coIumn, this
month we are running
an articIe he wrote for
The Oak Ridger.