ProfNet Experts Available on Interest Rates, Nonprofits, More

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire.

EXPERT ALERTS

• Potential Federal Reserve Interest Rate Hike
• Blue Bell Creameries Not out of the Legal Woods
• Allegations Surrounding Veterans for a Strong America

MEDIA JOBS

• Reporter – Institutional Investor News (NY)
• Reporter – Washington Examiner (DC)
• Editor – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Grammar Hammer: Comma Chameleon
• Media 411: Legal Challenges Journalists Face
• How to Create an Awesome Website in 10 Easy Steps

EXPERT ALERTS:

Potential Federal Reserve Interest Rate Hike
Anthony Meder
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Binghamton University
"When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to slow down a speeding economy -- effectively raising the price of money -- banks often sell down their stockpile of securities to keep the financial assembly lines going. That's much like a widget-building company might rely on a warehouse of raw materials when prices rise. But federal accounting rules can padlock those warehouses, particularly hurting small banks and their customers. They just don't have the funds to lend. They have less access to other funding resources -- commercial paper, exotics."
Meder's paper, "Interaction Between Accounting Standards and Monetary Policy: The Effect of SFAS 115," was published in the September 2015 issue of The Accounting Review.
Website: http://www.binghamton.edu
Contact: John Brhel, [email protected]

Blue Bell Creameries Not out of the Legal Woods
Steve Laird
Attorney
Law Offices of Steven C. Laird, Fort Worth, Texas
As Blue Bell ice cream makes its gradual return to store shelves, the beloved brand still has a long way to go in rebuilding public trust and overcoming a series of wrongful death claims and proposed class-action lawsuits. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Blue Bell Creameries' products sickened at least 13 people over the past five years, including three who died after allegedly eating listeria-tainted ice cream. Says Laird: "It's likely that some of these cases, such as class actions seeking damages for product refunds, won't gain much traction. But the cases involving injuries and death are more troubling, especially as we learn more details about the failures of Blue Bell to fix the problems they apparently knew were there. The company's unwillingness to come clean – in every sense – may end up damaging Blue Bell's defense in court and create more reputational hurdles with consumers."
Contact: Barry Pound, [email protected]

Allegations Surrounding Veterans for a Strong America
Beth Gazley
Associate Professor, School of Public & Environmental Affairs
Indiana University
In light of the recent Veterans for a Strong America allegations, Gazley says: "A lot of nonprofit observers worry about the amount of 'whack-a-mole' political campaign activity out there right now, where an organization is created, fails to file public forms, gets exempt status revoked, and then pops up again elsewhere. By the time the public election is over and the votes are counted, however, the damage has already been done. In the case of Veterans for a Stronger America, Arends' strategy to file an appeal with the IRS supports that aim to delay the regulators until the campaign is over. For example, this past August, the same Joel Arends, an attorney in Sioux Falls, was the registered agent for a new domestic nonprofit in the state of South Dakota called Vets for America. The articles of incorporation provide absolutely no information about the exempt purposes of the organization. Specifically, an 'attached exhibit' described under Article III, which would provide members of the public with the specific exempt purposes of this organization, has not been attached and does not seem to exist."
Website: https://spea.indiana.edu/faculty-research/directory/profiles/faculty/full-time/gazley-beth.html
Contact: Agata Porter, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Reporter – Institutional Investor News (NY)
• Reporter – Washington Examiner (DC)
• Editor – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.

• GRAMMAR HAMMER: COMMA CHAMELEON. In their 1931 book, "Writing and Thinking," Norman Foerster and J. M. Steadman Jr. wrote, "The comma is by far the most difficult mark of punctuation to master because of its many uses." The book goes on for 17 pages talking exclusively about commas and their usage, including three pages of exercises. There are plenty of rules to remember when it comes to using the comma. Here are the big three: http://prn.to/1gxAAWk

• MEDIA 411: LEGAL CHALLENGES JOURNALISTS FACE. Journalists face a tough enough job as it is. Add any possibility of legal woes and -- Bam! -- you have an even more stressful job to contend with. There are several issues journalists need to think about, such as defamation, recording in secret, privacy concerns, providing misinformation, sharing on social media and so much more. Here are some resources to avoid legal problems for yourself or your newsroom: http://prn.to/1FQaPYd

• HOW TO CREATE AN AWESOME WEBSITE IN 10 EASY STEPS. Building a website is the single most significant thing you can do for your business, product, or book. Today, there are myriad ways to build a website, many of which are affordable or even free. Free websites come with guidance about how to add pages but they don't come with a marketing design expert who can help you decide what components will make your website soar and what could make it fail. And even if you hire a designer, not all of them build a website from a marketing perspective. Here are a few basics about what will not just attract readers and customers, but what will sell them too: http://prn.to/1UXGJJ8

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