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Press Club of Dallas Doesn’t Understand What ‘Press’ Means

By Tim Rogers |

I want the Press Club of Dallas to succeed. Really, I do. I can remember when a Katie Award was something people cared about, and I’ve heard stories about ye olden dayes when the Press Club was a place where ink-stained wretches could gather for a belt and some camaraderie before they headed home after a long day of wearing felt fedoras and hammering away on Royal typewriters. But that was then, and this organization is now a joke.

Yesterday I received a press release from the Press Club (full version after the jump). The headline of the release: “Dallas Press Club Donates $10,000 for Journalism Scholarships.” Bully on them. I read on:

Scholarships may be awarded to current college students who have graduated from a high school in the DFW Metroplex, completed at least 45 hours of collegiate coursework, and are currently pursuing a college degree in the communications field, to include print and broadcast journalism, public relations and advertising.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not only am I deeply offended by their casual use of the M-word, but why the heck would a press club give scholarships to PR and advertising students? Shouldn’t that be the work of a PR club or an advertising club? I put the question to Liz Oliphant, president of the Press Club of Dallas. She wrote back:

Given the almost interchangeable job situations these days, journalists may find themselves working as PR folks and vice versa. Of course, some old timers in the PR business, like myself, actually have journalism degrees.

RE: advertising scholarships — As you, of all people should know, without advertising sales and production folks, there would be no print media to employ journalists.

I don’t know Liz Oliphant. I’m sure she’s a great lady, and her Liz Oliphant & Associates is, as her LinkedIn page says, “a highly respected, small, public relations counseling firms in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with particular expertise in community and government relations, media relations, non-profits, professional service firms and real estate developers.” One day soon, I’ll probably be asking Liz Oliphant for a job. But this isn’t how a press club should work. It shouldn’t be run by PR people, and it shouldn’t give scholarships to PR students.

Michael Precker used to work at the Dallas Morning News. Then, famously, he bailed to go work at a topless bar called The Lodge. He’s not the only former journalist who has taken that route. By Oliphant’s logic, the Press Club of Dallas should give scholarships to strippers. Am I engaged in a bit of sophistry here? Yes, I am. Am I also asking myself questions? You bet.

Look, the 2007 Elizabeth Albanese scandalmortally wounded the Press Club of Dallas. Six years later, it is limping around, gurgling up blood, making us all turn our heads to avoid seeing the ugliness. Someone needs to step up and do the humane thing. Put it out of its misery. Whatever money is left in the coffers, just give it to me. I’ll see that it gets put to good use, one dollar bill at a time.

Dallas Press Club Donates $10,000 for Journalism Scholarships

The Press Club of Dallas has donated $10,000 to the Press Club of Dallas Foundation Scholarship Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas to be used for journalism scholarships.

“It has been a number of years since the Club was able to provide college scholarships and we are excited to renew our relationship with the Press Club of Dallas Foundation, “explained Liz Oliphant, Club president. “These monies are the proceeds of the Club’s Breaking News and Ceilings event, sponsored by AT&T. We hope to continue fund raising efforts to add to the corpus of the Foundation fund regularly.”

The Press Club of Dallas Foundation Scholarship fund grants college scholarships to aspiring journalists. Scholarships may be awarded to current college students who have graduated from a high school in the DFW Metroplex, completed at least 45 hours of collegiate coursework, and are currently pursuing a college degree in the communications field, to include print and broadcast journalism, public relations and advertising. May 30, 2013, is the deadline for applying for grants up to $5,000 per student. For scholarship information, please visit www.cftexas.academicworks.com or call Melissa Hardage, Donor Initiatives Officer, at 214-750-4251.

“The Press Club of Dallas Foundation understands the critical importance of educating future generations of journalists and how important scholarships are in opening doors of opportunity to deserving students,” said Foundation Vice President Jay Rosser. “Having the Press Club of Dallas so engaged in this process is key to the ongoing success of that initiative.”

Established in 1950, the mission of the Press Club of Dallas is to support journalism in all of its forms. The organization actively supports the First Amendment, the public’s right to know, understanding of the threats to access and the rights of both professional and citizen journalists. The organization offers regular public programs and professional development workshops as well as raising funds for college scholarships. For more information visit www.pressclubdallas.com or call 972-243-3990.

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ABOUT COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS – Communities Foundation of Texas, a public charity founded in 1953, works closely with donors, nonprofits and other funding organizations. CFT improves lives by receiving charitable gifts, managing assets responsibly and making effective grants. As the largest community foundation in Texas and one of the largest in the country, CFT professionally manages nearly 9-00 component funds and it has distributed over $1 billion in charitable grants since its inception.

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