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NAJA President Rhonda LeValdo got after the Wisconsin State Journal for perpetuating degrading images of Native Americans.

An honor for a champion

John Dycus taught me some core context for life: “I’m blessed.”

I learned that from him during my eight years at the Star-Telegram, seven of which were spent as the paper’s reader advocate.

     On most Friday afternoons, a little before 4, I’d hear the crescendo of John’s buzzing motorized   wheelchair approaching my office off the newsroom as he made his way down the hall. He would drop by before beginning the night shift on the copy desk where he worked parttime. And he would roll in with a big smile.

“John Dycus!” I’d exclaim. “How in the world are you?"

“I’m blessed,” he’d say, or some version of that. His wheelchair was a blessing. His equipment that helped him operate it was a blessing. His specially equipped van was a blessing. But, to me and his friends, his intellectual acumen, keen sense of justice and ethics and his hilarious sense of humor were and are something far more than blessings. They were exceptional gifts, and John showered us with them and the inspiration and encouragement they radiated. You see all those qualities at work in his wonderful website.

I looked forward to those brief Friday afternoon visits with John. We talked about all sorts of things –- what the readers had been saying that day, John's musings, the copy desk’s killer Friday-night copy flow laden with big Sunday stories moving late, credibility issues, plagiarism developments, and, until my wife died of breast cancer in 2005, he would always ask sincerely: “How’s your wife?”

After Dale’s death, I didn’t get to see John much. I was moved from the third-floor office to the second-floor editorial board office where editorial writing was added to my duties in response to my interest in learning that part of the craft. Friday afternoons were spent proofing weekend and Monday editorial and op-ed pages.

If someone asked how I was doing, I knew to say, as I’d learned from listening to and observing John: “I’m blessed,” and I meant it.

Later, when Andra came into my life in such a beautiful way, and we were married, John’s ovations poured forth whenever we bumped into each other.

“How are you?” he’d ask, smiling from ear to ear. “I’m blessed,” I’d say with joy. “You sure are!” he’d reply. John knows Andra and respects her skills as a communicator/writer and her integrity every bit as much as he admires her lovely charisma. And she holds him in mutual esteem.

I’m writing this because today I learned this morning that John will be honored Oct. 5 in Las Vegas with the national Society of Professional Journalists’ Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Professional Member Award. I just want to say, "Congratulations John."

The award recognizes an SPJ member who has made considerable contributions to his or her local SPJ chapter and region. Read about the award here.

There’s no more worthy honoree than John, a master freelance editor who retired in 1998 from a distinguished and honored 28-year career at the University of Texas at Arlington. Read about some of that here.

John has been a devoted member of SPJ for 36 years and has been a cornerstone for the Fort Worth chapter. Think “SPJ,” and “John Dycus” comes to mind. Organizer, fundraiser, promoter, champion -– he’s all those things for SPJ, and he’s always there when needed, which is often.

I started wondering about a couple of things as I thought about SPJ honoring John. What attracted him to journalism and what has kept him in the craft?

I was embarrassed to admit to myself that I’d never asked him. So I did. I e-mailed him with some questions for this blog. He called, and we talked for a while.

John told me he’d taken a journalism class during his senior year, 1964-65, at Paschal High School in Fort Worth. His teacher, he said, was the inimitable Margaret Caskey, a brilliant teacher who wheeled around “in a big ol’ wide-mouth green Buick.”

He remembers only one story he wrote for the school newspaper: what life was like for someone in a wheelchair during those frantic minutes in between bells when moving from one class to the next. The photographer, John said, shot pictures from John’s view.

He enjoyed that class but didn’t major in journalism when he entered UTA. He was advised that a career in accounting would be something he could do physically as well as intellectually. “That wouldn’t be too popular a view these days,” he said. But he agreed and was graduated with a degree in accounting.

After graduation, he was job-searching when he received an interesting offer from UTA’s legendary Student Publications Director Dorothy Estes. She wanted to know if John would be interested in a staff position with her operation.

He took the offer and grew into the beloved, respected Shorthorn adviser and then associate director of student publications. That’s how John got into journalism.

“It was something I could do,” he said. But he also reveled in the freedoms of professional journalism, the craft and issues, and the captivating colleagues. I can attest that when journalism gets into one’s blood, there’s no substitute or antidote, assuming burnout or some other curse doesn’t take its toll.

John and I share many colleagues’ concerns about threats to journalism -– increasing disrespect for journalists out there in our politically tormented world filled with more propaganda and less truth than ever, newsroom morale challenges in shouldering increased workloads from staff cuts while wondering whether and where the axe will fall next, the for-profit model’s impact on quality, etc., etc.

Ah, but when all of that weighs on us, when specters swarm around us, we lift up our hearts. Times may be hard, daily struggles may be tough, but we say in unison and with conviction: “I’m blessed.”

Any thoughts you'd like to share?

Peek-a-boo Page Ones

I’ve been away from my blog for much too long. But for good reason. I’ve had a tremendous amount of work, which, for a freelancer, is a very good thing. Still, there have been developments that have caught my eye and mind that I’d like to share with you, because they've probably caught yours, too:

Peek-a-Boo Page One: The first two weeks in August, Star-Telegram home delivery customers were treated to an incredible eclipse of Page One news by advertising. For two weeks in a row, the 50% or us who subscribe for news content and don’t give a hoot about advertising were stunned to see almost all of Sunday’s Page One blanketed by what the other 50% are looking for -– ads.

I was surprised on Aug. 1 by the advertising obliteration of the Star-Telegram's Page One. The following Sunday, when the same thing happened, I despaired. On both Sundays, that wrap-around ad, known among some as a “spadea,” had the audacity to even blank out most of the paper’s name. (Credit where due: The Dallas Morning News ran much the same setup, but reduced the size of the spadea enough to run the first half of its name across the top of the ad, so on the newsstand, it looked like “The Dallas Morning News,” whereas the Star-Telegram’s proud and historic nameplate looked like “am” sticking out from behind that spadea and a stick-on ad.

Lord. Does anyone care??? Well, I do. I suspect you do, too. This sort of desecration of a proud news product is what we can expect to see more of unless and until the “newspaper” product jettisons its for-profit model. Can or will that happen? Yes, if we news-oriented people are willing to pay way more in the cost of a subscription. No, if we aren’t. A news product is an expensive thing to generate. Except for the hungry entry-level tykes who are abused with grotesquely low salaries, professional journalists are expensive. At least they used to be. Investigative journalism, which is so essential in our republic (just check out what has won the Pulitzer in, say, Community Service over the years), is way more expensive and so are the resources investigative journalists need to ply their craft such as massive databases, powerful computers, seminars in new tools and techiques, time, encouragement, etc.

That’s why we’re seeing less investigative work as this rotten economy takes its toll on the news industry.

Somehow, that’s got to be reversed. But where’s the money (because the bottom line in this as in Afghanistan, partisan politics, medical care, etc., is all about money)? Journalism foundations? Cookie sales? Sidewalk hawkers? Telethons? I'm skeptical. I have no idea where the news industry is headed other than down.

Can/would the public rally to the industry’s rescue, even if it doesn't have a clue about what constitutes journalism and why journalism is so vital?

Is it possible that the American public could save the news industry? Is it possible that generations that speak in texting acronyms and are basically clueless about the history of mankind, and even how many states there are in the U.S., could possibly care about journalism?

That’s a specter too awful to consider. It’s butt-ugly, like those Sunday Star-Telegram Page Ones in August.

Consider Chief Seattle's prophetic words

Another quote from "The Wisdom of the Native Americans," compiled and edited by Kent Nerburn (see links in previous post).

From Chief Seattle, Suqwamish and Duwamis nations, who was familiar with whites' broken promises and other abuses:

"The whites, too, shall pass -- perhaps sooner than other tribes. Continue to contaminate your own bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste."

See any evidence of that happening? Financial institutions, political organizations and other socioeconomic groups these days should hear his words.

What do you make of the chief's view?

A book that should grace every library

A special friend of mine, Donna Darovich, recently gave me a book that I've come to deeply treasure: "The Wisdom of the Native Americans," a compelling collection of Native Americans' quotes compiled and edited by an equally compelling author/sculptor, Kent Nerburn, whose own spirituality soars. As I've learned more about him, I'm inclined to put Nerburn in a league with John Eldredge, whose spirituality and ability to give voice to his heart and soul simply astound me. Eldredge's thoughts and writing gifts are simpy, truly awesome. I'd recommend his work to anyone, particularly to those who are suffering.

You who know me know that I love my Native American heritage, which is part Cherokee and part some other nation or nations that I may never know because my families worked hard to eradicate any connection to that heritage out of fear and shame. They nearly succeeded. I wrote about that a while back in a Sunday cover story for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. But I digress.

Out of love and respect for Native Americans and response to his heart's calling, Nerburn has given us a book filled with the majesty of Native American views. There's no saccharine stereotype at work, just unvarnished, point-blank thoughts about a wide range of matters.

His book belongs in any library, particularly one in which space is devoted to Native Americans. In this post and more to follow, I'd like to share a sampling of the quotes that Nerburn found. Here's one I especially value:

"We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God, as the Catholics and Protestants do. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth. But we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that."

-- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

What's wrong with this sentence?

The race to get news online invites editing lapses that lead to publication of raw to near-raw copy that can carry embarrassing error perhaps not in facts but in the writing. I'd suspect that's what happened in the following sentence from an online report yesterday about the deadly tornadoes that hit the Oklahoma City area:

"It's unknown how many tornadoes actually touched down in Grant County this afternoon, but Wakita Police Chief Dean Bellin saw about five rotating clouds combine as baseball-size hail plummeted the area."

See the questionable word? I suspect the writer meant "pummeled" instead of "plummeted." Still, it's admirable to see hustle in getting news to the public, even if its credibility arrives slightly dented.

Have you seen similar lapses? Feel free to share them.

Phish bait

Like so many other Web users, I've encountered a crook using email to "phish" for personal information. Occurred to me that perhaps you haven't seen an example. If so, I"m sharing the following in case a "phish" crook comes your way:

-- The email I received (highlighted in red ... a bit hard to read, and I apologize)

-- Who I sent it to (abuse@att.net) and their response to me (in yellow).

Actually, the entire body of this was AT&T's response. Also, there are several links included that don't work, because I'm pressed for time and haven't done the necessary editing, but at least you can see them. 

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: 2010 SBC Account Upgrade <afaller@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Mon, May 3, 2010 3:57:53 PM
Subject:



Dear SBCGLOBAL.NETAccount User

To complete your Account Verification process, you are to reply this message and enter your ID and PASSWORD in the space provided (*******), you are required to do this before the next 48hrs of receipt of this e-mail, or your SBCGLOBAL.NET Account will be de-activated and erased from our database.

Full Name:
Webmail User ID:
webmail Password:

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

Sincerely,
The SBCGLOBAL.NET MAIL

This is a forgery and not from AT&T Internet Services.


AT&T Internet Services reminds consumers and businesses to be aware of phishing/scams and advises you to use caution if you receive any e-mail requesting personal information:

AT&T Yahoo! will never ask you through email for your:

• passwords
• user name
• credit card account information
• social security number
• AT&T companies do not send unsolicited e-mail attachments.

Please report all phishing / scams that are requesting personal information to abuse@sbcglobal.net

Please include the full headers, the headers will show us where the email originated and the drop box.

With this information we can try to close the offending accounts down.



Minimize drive-by downloads. Make sure your browser security setting is high enough to detect unauthorized downloads, for example, at least the Medium setting for Internet Explorer. Keep your browser updated.
Do not click on any links within pop-up windows. If you do, you may install spyware on your computer. Instead, close pop-up windows by clicking on the X icon in the title bar.

Do not click on links in spam that claim to offer anti-spyware software. Some software offered in spam actually installs spyware.
Install a personal firewall to stop uninvited users from accessing your computer. A firewall blocks unauthorized access to your computer and will alert you if spyware already on your computer is sending information out.


At a minimum we recommend you acquire software which provides anti-spyware, anti-virus, and firewall protection.

Ensure your operating system is updated with the most recent patches.  These should be available from the operating system's web site. For example:
http://www.microsoft.com
http://www.apple.com


More security tips can be found at the Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/infosecurity/resources.html


Yahoo! Password Scams - http://security.yahoo.com/password_scams.html

Other common methods used to trick AT&T Yahoo! members into revealing their passwords are Impersonated Web Pages.

You can find web pages that exist for the sole purpose of collecting AT&T Yahoo! IDs and passwords. These pages mimic the Yahoo! sign-in screens, and are sometimes referred to as "spoof" or "password phishing" pages.

Do not enter your Yahoo! ID or password on any web page unless you are on the Yahoo! network and your intent was to visit a Yahoo! sign-in page or a Yahoo! service that requires you to be signed in.

You can quickly see if you are on the Yahoo! network by looking at the address bar. Web pages on the Yahoo! network have URLs that start with: http://www.yahoo.com/". The "www" may be replaced with the name of the Yahoo! service you are visiting. For example, the address for Yahoo! Mail is http://mail.yahoo.com/Make sure a "trailing slash" appears after "yahoo.com" -- sites that impersonate Yahoo! will not have the "trailing slash."
For an example of this visit: http://www.att.com/gen/landing-pages?pid=6456

If you aren't sure you are on the Yahoo! network, go to the Yahoo! home page by typing "www.yahoo.com" in the Address box. Once you're there, click the "Sign In" link on the right side of the Yahoo! home page.

Regards,
AT&T Internet Services Security Center

SAFETY NOTE: We have included links in this email as a convenience. Please note that it is always safer to copy and paste URLs included in email directly into your browser to reach the referenced site.

An odd anniversary

Today is the second anniversary of my release from the Star-Telegram, the end of my newspaper career and the beginning of my freelance career.

I’ve been trying to think of what to say. So far, it’s “   .”

It’s not the first time I’ve been at a loss for words.

I didn’t know what to say in 1964 when that chunky Marine recruiter told me: “Son, we can’t take you.” Why, sir? Epilepsy from a baseball head injury. Line drive between the eyes left a scar on my brain. Caused epilepsy. I grew out of it but not before the Marines rejected me, I’d also failed a physical to be a commercial pilot (my other great dream) and, later, a physical for the Dallas Police Department. No one wanted me, not even the U.S. Army postal operations. “Epilepsy” frightened everyone back then. Still does, I'd guess.

But the injury steered me to journalism, thanks to my columnist mom who got me my first job. Newspapers. They took me. And I had a great career. Dallas, Denver, St. Petersburg, Corpus Christi (to help rebuild that wonderful Gulf Coast daily through the '90s). And some other places. Couldn’t imagine my career ever ending but knew it would someday. Just not the way it happened. I became part of the Fourth Estate’s 21^st-century rubble. Kills me to see newspapers withering. But then I see journalism blossoming on the Web, and I’m up again. (Check out the Texas Tribune.) There are awesome possibilities for bona fide journalism on the Web. Let's pray that it overcomes all the uninformed, self-serving garbage opinion that's filling cyberspace.

But I have been so blessed these past two years. Overcame a goodly amount of humiliating experiences such as that awful process of applying for state unemployment benefits (oxymoron) and sending out around 70 resumes, only one of which drew a thank-you-but response (from Concussion ad agency in Fort Worth … thank you, Concussion). Age matters. Anyone who says otherwise is full of crap. Not having a master’s degree also matters. I couldn’t teach even at TCC because I hadn’t paid my way through a f*****g research degree. Galling. Exec editor earlier, but I couldn’t teach freshmen how to write a spot news story? How does that square?

Still, I have done some pretty good work for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce (bless you, Marilyn Gilbert and Andra Bennett), Tarrant County College (bless you, Donna Darovich), NewsCorp (bless you, Scott Norvell) and some other folks (bless you all). I’m pretty much proud of the work, and who could ask for anything better than to feel reasonably good about their next-stage work that had been reduced to zilch in the newspaper industry?

But that’s all about work. Real stuff is home and family, and I’ve been incredibly blessed by my wife, Andra, who I never expected to be my wife or much in my life. I thought I was on my way to seminary in Milwaukee. Late-life vocation to the priesthood after losing my wife, Dale, to breast cancer. God had a better idea: Andra. And there’s our wonderful home, the gardens I plant and tend, the anoles and other critters I chat with daily when it's warm enough for them to be out and about, our home office that can rock as much as any newsroom on some high-pressure days. My daughters and grandchildren.

And there’s tomorrow. I still have that sense of “tomorrow,” thank God. I’m still here because I still have something to do, I believe. What would that be? God, literally, knows. But, hey, Lord, give me the assignment. And bless all journalists everywhere.

What's wrong with this envelope?

For a good while, we readers have seen typos cropping up in places once protected by a sacred caste -- proofreaders. They operated with authority and an equally sacred mandate: Catch typos and anything, from incorrect grammar to questionable facts, that would compromise commitment to fairness, accuracy and balance, a.k.a., credibility.

We miss proofreaders, particularly when finding typographical errors in books, of all places. But it isn’t surprising to find typos in books. Once upon a time, encountering a typo in a book would have shocked and dismayed a reader. Typos were shameful proof of lapses in quality and pride. They were horrifying, sort of like the sight of a colleague at work sporting bed hair and reeking of morning breath.

Such thoughts flared anew recently on noticing this envelope in the daily mail. Perhaps the sender, a non-profit organization, had noticed the typo and regretted the error but couldn’t afford to have the envelopes corrected and reprinted. Whatever the reason, the typo disrupted the organization’s sales message. I didn’t open the envelope.

I’ll watch for more instances of typos, and if you come across an example, send it to me. Together, we can form a typo patrol. And if you’re interested in typos, check out shamefultypos.com, a wonderful, if saddening, site.

Emergency needs in Indian Country

The following alert was sent out by the National Congress of American Indians. The American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Texas sent it those of us who are AICCT members. I share it with you and urge you to consider responding:

Aid Requested for Tribal Communities hit by Recent Snowstorms

A succession of blizzards have ravaged several tribal communities across Indian Country and they are in great need of donated goods (e.g., non-perishable food, water, shovels) and financial assistance in order to purchase medical supplies, propane for heating homes, and gasoline for emergency vehicles.

The National Congress of American Indians is asking that you contact tribal personnel directly to find out specific needs and share your resources with them. Please be aware that there may be other tribes in need and if you have additional information, please contact NCAI and we will send out an update. If you have any questions, please contact Ahniwake Rose at NCAI, 202.466.7767 or arose@ncai.org.

**Contributions to a federally recognized tribal government are treated the same as a contribution to a state government under 7871 for purposes of charitable contributions deductibility; as, the contribution will be used exclusively for "public purposes" which in this instance is disaster relief for the ice storm of January 2010.

Navajo Nation, Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management, c/o 2010 Snowfall Operation PO Box 620 St. Michaels , AZ 86511 · Contact: Navajo Nation, Johnny Johnson, Emergency Operations, Center Incident Commander, (928) 871-7848.  Navajo Nation request that all donations come in the form of gift cards which will be used to purchase all needs for community members and tribal responders from local vendors. They are also requesting 50,000 sandbags.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund, PO Box 590, 2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices), Eagle Butte, SD 57625. Online Donations: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/0oFFsK8c/Cheyenn-River-Sioux-Tribe/  Contact: Cheyenne River, Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101.  Medical items needed include: glucose strips, first aid kits, children’s aspirin/pain reliever, and cough syrup.

Oglala Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe Attn: Dean Patton, Treasurer P.O. Box 2070 Pine Ridge, S.D. 57770. Contact: Oglala Sioux, Loretta Afraid of Bear, Public Relations, (605) 867-5074, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe c/o Emergency Preparedness Program, P.O. Box 910 Rosebud, S.D. 57570. Contact: Bill Giroux, Emergency Manager, (605) 747-2559. Items needed include non-perishable goods, heaters, and candles.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Chairman Charles Murphy, PO Box D, Fort Yates, ND 58538. Contact: Pete Red Tomahawk, Tribal Emergency Coordinator, (701) 854-8500.