The Buttry Diary | Pinterest | Pottstown Mercury
The Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury is using a Pinterest board of wanted-criminal mugshots to engage readers and help police make arrests. Reporter Brandie Kessler explains the project to Digital First Media’s Steve Buttry:
I had put a list together in a slideshow on our website long before the Pinterest board, but the slideshow kept freezing or not working and it was difficult to update and difficult to highlight on Facebook and Twitter.
I decided to create a list on Pinterest. It’s great because it’s easy to update, easy to view on a smartphone and you don’t even need a Pinterest account to view it.
Readers have commented on a few of the Pinterest photos with tips about suspects who moved to California, moved in with a girlfriend, or assumed a new name. In a news article, Kessler reports that police have received dozens of tips leading to a 58 percent increase in arrests.
For other examples, see the San Jose Mercury News’ Bay Area crime mugs and the Washington Examiner’s D.C.-area wanted suspects. Both of those boards link back to the papers’ stories about each suspect.
Earlier: Is Pinterest ‘a dud’ for news publishers? | The news orgs making best use of Pinterest
Related: How journalists are using Pinterest (ReadWriteWeb) | Pinterest is looking for TV partners (Fast Company) | Pinterest poaches communications exec from Facebook (Business Insider)
