Texas Happenings 2007, No. 9
Week of April 30, 2007TEXAS HapPENINGS is a biweekly advisory to AP member editors on upcoming stories or projects of special interest and a source of news about other AP developments.
AP STAFF TEAMS UP TO COVER BORDER TORNADOES
When deadly storms hit the Texas-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, AP staffers in San Antonio and Dallas teamed up to get the words, photos and video on the destruction out for the world.
Overnight editor Matt Joyce in Dallas put together the first word that six people had died. The count later climbed to 10 in Texas and Mexico. While Joyce continued to gather more details by phone, San Antonio Correspondent Michelle Roberts and Photographer Eric Gray were getting ready to hit the road along with Dallas-based videographer Rich Matthews.
As day dawned, they found local, state and federal authorities combing through the wreckage of homes and trailer parks looking for anyone who might still be in the rubble. They also met residents who relayed the terrifying experience of being hit by the tornado and their disbelief at the amount of damage in their rural neighborhood.
By the time the AP team had returned from transmitting their latest story and photos at midday, authorities had closed the damage area and restricted journalists to a parking lot during Gov. Rick Perry’s speech about the damage.
REGIONAL APSE CONVENTION SET FOR MAY 13-14
Lunch with Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and sessions on making sports sections better are just a couple of the things on tap for the Southwest APSE convention in mid-May.
If you haven’t made your reservations, please do so soon. The convention is May 13-14. The first day’s activities are set for the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Then the event will move back into Austin for sessions on May 14 at the Austin American-Statesman.
The registration fee is $60. Please mail your payment to Pam Collins, The Associated Press, 4851 LBJ Freeway, Suite 300, Dallas, TX, 75244.
The convention opens with a business meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 13.
Ryan will talk about the state of the game and his life after baseball.
And, speaking of baseball, there’s a game between the Round Rock Express and the Portland Beavers on the agenda for Sunday afternoon.
If you have any questions, contact AP Texas sports editor Jaime Aron (jaron@ap.org) or Southwest APSE chairman Michael Peters at 409-838-2806 (mgpeters@hearstnp.com).
LOOKING AHEAD
Voters across much of Texas will be going to the polls on Saturday, May 12, to decide local elections. In anticipation of the elections, the AP has a series of stories looking at some of the top issues.
Here’s a lineup of what to expect:
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
DALLAS MAYOR
DALLAS - Eleven candidates - mostly businessmen and city council members - are campaigning to replace outgoing Dallas Mayor Laura Miller as the top elected official in the nation's ninth-largest city. But the large number of hopefuls, the lack of a signature issue and the candidates' willingness to play nice have resulted in a race so lackluster that even one of the front-runners acknowledges "it's been duller than watching grass grow." "There are no compelling issues and no compelling personalities," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. "This election has not broken out, and not taken on any character." By Jeff Carlton.
With DALLAS MAYOR-GLANCE.
AP Photo DN104 of May 2.
COUNCIL RACES
HOUSTON - Voters in Houston and San Antonio may decide May 12 who will be on their city councils, while voters in New Braunfels are to decide whether to kick one of their councilmen out. Houstonians will likely have to hold two special elections and spend as much as $1.8 million just to fill one City Council seat for six months. By Joe Stinebaker.
MONDAY
IMMIGRATION-TEXAS
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - Residents of this Dallas suburb will become the first in Texas to choose whether to approve a tough anti-illegal immigration measure that bans landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants. Farmers Branch was forced to hold the May 12 vote after opponents submitted a petition with enough signatures calling for the ordinance to go on the ballot. If voters approve the ban, the city will still have to defend the measure in court from four lawsuits.
By Anabelle Garay.
Moving the week of May 7
AMENDMENT - Q&A, a question-and-answer look at the proposed constitutional amendment to provide property tax relief for elderly Texans, the only statewide item on the May 12 ballot. By April Castro.
FARMER'S BRANCH - A preview of the vote on an ordinance that would make it illegal for landlords to rent apartments to illegal immigrants. By Anabelle Garay
BONDS - A preview of the $550 million bond election in San Antonio, the largest in the city's history, and a bond election in El Paso to cover a growing school population. By Michelle Roberts
BIG SPRING - Residents of the West Texas town of Big Spring are trying to recall Mayor Russ McEwen after the local government implemented a smoking ban in restaurants. But McEwen is also running for re-election, so he appears on the ballot twice - once to get tossed and again for another term.
DRY COUNTY - Residents in the West Texas county where nuclear waste is stored will vote May 12 whether to allow alcohol sales. Supporters say allowing alcohol sales would keep more dollars at home and help the city of Andrews grow. Opponents say it will cause law enforcement and family issues that outweigh the economic benefit.
May 12, spot coverage to include a statewide roundup slugged MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS and a separate story on FARMER'S BRANCH.
If you have questions about the coverage, please call News Editor Wendy Benjaminson at 281-872-8900 or Photo Editor Ron Heflin at 972-991-2100 or 800-422-7189.
LIMITED SHIELD LAW PASSES TEXAS SENATE
Journalists would have limited privilege against being forced to testify in court or disclose confidential sources under a bill approved this week by the Texas Senate.
The bill is being called the “Free Flow of Information Act.” It would require a judge to apply specific tests to determine whether a journalist's information is essential as evidence in a civil or criminal case.
Lawmakers said the bill, which has been opposed by prosecutors, gives journalists only limited privilege. Reporters who witness crimes or had information that could save someone's life could be forced to testify.
State Sen. Rodney Ellis said, “It is not an unbreakable shield, but simply a limited privilege for journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources.”
The bill also defines who is a journalist. In broad terms, it would be a professional reporter or editor working for a news outlet such as a newspaper, television or radio station or Internet news site. Bloggers and student journalists would not be covered.
MEMBER KUDOS
The Laredo Morning News and the Odessa American made sure to share their stories with the AP when breaking news happened in their cities recently.
Laredo sent in its story on a domestic disturbance that led to a shootout in which one man died and five Laredo police officers were wounded.
Odessa sent along its numerous stories on the storms that battered the West Texas city, providing good detail on the impact of the ferocious rains.
These are just two of the most recent examples of on-cycle contributions
If you have stories to offer, please e-mail them to dalcarbon@ap.org. If you have a question about whether we might be interested in the story, please call the AP and ask for the supervisor at 1-800-442-7189.
SPECIAL EDITIONS
The special edition package on summer fun/outdoors moved May 2. The package on weddings and winter brides will move June 5.
MAKE TIME FOR AP EXCHANGE TRAINING
AP plans to phase out YourAP this year and replace the service with AP Exchange, the new web-based view of all your AP content.Now is the time to contact AP to book training on AP Exchange for your newsroom. Simply email talkback@ap.org to book a 60-minute online training session.
This session will provide editors and reporters with all they need to know to become AP Exchange experts. They'll be able to search for locally relevant news in the new AP database and build custom feeds that will deliver relevant news in less time.
As well, don't forget our regularly scheduled School of Search online training which takes place every Thursday at 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET. RSVP for these sessions at talkback@ap.org.
Questions: Dwayne Desaulniers, (212) 621-1745, ddesaulniers@ap.org
AP MONEY & MARKETS
The latest AP Money & Markets module to be released - the Today module - is available now. The Today module brings together online news and tools so site users can get in-depth information on stocks and mutual funds, as well as a quick check on current trading. It also offers top markets headlines and attractive graphics and charts.For information about the service, and to see detailed descriptions and samples of all the modules the service offers, check out www.ap.org/markets.
Or join a conference call on May 9, 2 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. CT, noon MT, 11 a.m. PT. If you’d like to join the call, let Texas Chief of Bureau Dale Leach know at 972-991-2100. He can forward you information about upcoming calls.
Questions: contact Elanit Friedman (213) 346-3108, efriedman@ap.org
AP STYLEBOOK ONLINE
AP Stylebook Online gives your staff great functionality at a reasonable priceYou already know what a valuable resource the Associated Press Stylebook is for your newsroom. AP Stylebook Online gives you the standard-setting content you rely on with great additional functionality:
• It’s fully searchable, so you can find a listing even if you aren’t sure what heading to look up.
• Site managers can make local style notes and share them across all users in the newsroom. No more notes scratched in the margin of one copy editor’s book.
• It’s updated live as the AP makes changes, so you have immediate access to an updated listing for daylight saving time or a new listing for BlackBerry.
• With your user name and password, you can log in from work, from home or anywhere with an Internet connection. If you travel to cover a story, the AP Stylebook Online goes with you.
AP members pay about 40 percent off the prices the general public pays for AP Stylebook Online, which means about the same price per user as a hard copy book – but with no shipping, and no waiting for a new book to come out each year.
If you remain a fan of the hard copy book, expect the 2007 version out in late spring. It’s still the standard setter.
For more information, contact Texas Chief of Bureau Dale Leach and check out http://www.apbookstore.com/onsub.html for more information and a site tour.
INDUSTRY NEWS
The AP Industry News summary is now available on the new AP Exchange system, a free system offering you Web-based access to the AP report. On AP Exchange, media industry news items will be available immediately, rather than transmitted once a week. For more on AP Exchange you can visit www.ap.org/apexchange.
If you do not have AP Exchange access yet, please contact AP Texas Chief of Bureau Dale Leach.
An AP Exchange account will permit you to access and search industry news, along with all your AP text, photo and graphics services. Until an AP Exchange account is created for you, we can add you to an e-mail list for distribution of media industry news items as soon as they arrive. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please send your request by e-mail to talkback@ap.org.
If you’ve got news to share for TEXAS HapPENINGS, please send the material to Linda Franklin at lfranklin@ap.org.
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April 16, 2007
