Many times in my years as a street reporter, I saw
firefighters rescue pets. If you have spent any time on the street, I am sure
you have seen firefighters hold oxygen masks up to cats or dogs or birds that
have inhaled a lot of smoke. Human masks don't fit very well, but until recently,
that was all emergency workers had.
But now, the Bangor (Maine) Daily News reports, there are special pet masks available
that firefighters are packing on their firetrucks. Firefighter Web sites
include conversations about these life-saving contraptions. Charitable groups
raised money to get these masks into every firehouse in the state of Delaware.
The
story included this passage:
"It's an oxygen mask just like the ones used on a person, but
they're differently shaped," [Brewer fire Capt. Gary] Parent said. "They're
longer and have a rubber membrane" to hold them in place.
Brewer [Maine] Fire Department purchased the pet oxygen mask kit about a
month ago for $75.
Five Story Ideas About
Religion and Faith
The Religion Newswriters
Association suggests five darn good summertime story ideas. Click here to see them.
What You Can Do to Reduce
Global Warming
While the G8 leaders meet in Germany
starting today to decide what to do about global warming, the Sierra Club published small,
doable ideas for anyone. It doesn't take international treaties
to get things started.
Senator Secrecy
The Society of Professional Journalists has unmasked the U.S. senator who placed a secret hold on the Open Government Act of 2007:
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is the first to earn the title "Senator Secrecy" for placing a secret hold on Senate Bill 849, also known as the Open Government Act of 2007.
The bill would significantly reform the federal Freedom of Information
Act, which is one of the strongest tools Americans have to supervise
the inner workings of government and to hold elected officials
accountable.
Sewing for Soldiers
There is a story just like this one, from the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, outside every military post, base and station. It is the story
of the little sewing shops that attach the names on soldier uniforms. Maybe you
should keep that one in mind for July 4 stories.
Local Radio Covering Politics
Denver hosts the
2008 National Democratic Convention, and I do not know of another commercial
radio station that has as prominent a political site up and running as the KOA Newsradio Denver site. It includes videos and lots of links right now. If you know of a
great radio political site, please post it in the reader feedback section of
this column so we can all take a look.
Fear as a News-Promo Tool
I
want to pass along to you a piece written by Graeme Newell, a promotions
guru who conducts workshops for broadcasters on how to write promos and teases.
Graeme looks at the role that fear plays in selling products and what it means to entice people to watch the news. The key
is not to scare the bejeebers out of people nonstop, but to give people a
realistic reason to be concerned, and then offer a solution.
Al's Morning Multimedia
The
Dallas Morning News site includes a remarkable interactive map that
allows readers to look at their zip codes and learn an awful lot about who
lives there, how they live, how much education they have and how much they
earn. The data is built on, but not limited to, U.S. Census data. The Morning News explains:
ESRI, which specializes in geographic information systems, put our community DNA into its computers and crafted a portrait of six counties -- Dallas, Denton, Collin, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant. It was specifically drawn for The Dallas Morning News over the last few weeks. [...]
It starts with 2000 U.S. Census data and then gathers information
from more than 200 sources. For example, when you participate in a consumer
marketing survey, ESRI might purchase the results from the company that
conducted the poll.
ESRI collects data on 340-home
neighborhoods and classifies each into 65 profiles based on socioeconomic and
demographic makeup.
Those neighborhood profiles are then grouped according to similar
traits and shared experiences into 12 LifeModes with cutesy names such as High
Society, Global Roots and American Quilt.
Age, education, incomes, net worth, outside interests,
occupations, housing and living environments, and consumer behavior are some of
the components thrown into the data pot.
The company also forecasts what it believes the nation and every
state, county, ZIP code, census tract and block group (340 to 500 homes) will
look like five years out.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
