News Desk Blog

Another PR Score

2008-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

On this topic- I have to admit that I have not been able to track down where this story originally came from. Did the couple contact the media to sing the Walt Disney World Resort's praises, or did a sharp PR team recognize the story and put it "out there?" I don't know, but this story has all the elements an organization could want in a news story.

I have linked to a video version of the story below,

but here are the main highlights:
- A family is vacationing on a Walt Disney World Resort property
- There is a bowl and the wife has taken off her engagement, wedding and anniversary rings and placed them inside
- The husband, while cleaning up the room in anticipation of checking out, accidentally throws out the bowl and the rings
- Panic ensues when the mistake is realized, but it is too late- the trash has already been removed from the room
- Enter the hero Walt Disney World Resort employees who apparently volunteered to go through the trash by hand to help find the rings
- Lo and behold, the employees are successful, and are able to return the rings to the family.
- The husband is now out of the dog house and the media has a FANTASTIC story to play with.

If you would like a more coherent wire-copy version, you can link over to it here.

Obviously this plays perfectly into what Disney is all about: making dreams come true. And this has a fairy tale ending.

It also helps that the family has been media-friendly, talking to newspapers, radio stations and TV stations as each request came in.

Plus, it is a VISUAL story. We can mix in file b-roll of the WDW resorts along with video of the family, their pictures from the trip, and video of the rings.

The only critique I have for the folks at WDW is that they really should have allowed the hero employees to speak on-camera to the local Orlando media. Then the story would get more play in both that market and in Boston (since the family was from Worcester, MA which is a city one hour west of Boston and in the DMA). It's disappointing that this great element couldn't have been made available.

Kudos to Disney -- keep it up. And next time, open up even more.

Percent Change

2008-04-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

A dramatic number can be a great headline for both TV and print. And sometimes it takes an extra step to translate numbers from an official to put into context. And finding the right headline can lead you to a great story. Let's use the following article as an example. It comes from the Standard-Times and its headline is a dull "New Bedford school lunch prices going up in 2 stages." Here is one of the key details:

"For elementary school students, from the current $1.50 per meal to $1.65 and the following year to $1.75."

I am terrible with math. But I know where to find useful math calculators. So I punched these numbers into an online web site that will tell you what the percent-change is between the numbers.

So after calculating the difference between $1.50 and $1.75, which is 16.6%, we can say that

"Students Face 16% Increase for School Lunches Over the Next Two Years."

This is also a useful tool to figure out whether or not the price increase being charged by the school matches the general rate of inflation for food in the general economy. Those numbers can from from the Consumer Price Index, and for the purposes of this blog entry, I will cite figures from here. Well, food prices are certainly rising:

"The food index rose at a 5.3 percent SAAR in the first quarter of
2008, following a 4.9 percent increase in all of 2007."

That totals a 10.2-percent increase over the last year- with more increases to come. In other words- with the way inflation is going now, it is reasonable to assume by the end of the year, food costs will have increased to a total of at least 16-percent (if not more). So the increase school officials are looking for may well be justified request. And these calculations can help you make that connection easy to understand for your audience.

And school lunch stories- if you can find a school that will open its doors for you- can be visual. Plus it has the added-bonus of affecting many people in your audience.

Covering a Large Market

2008-04-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

A lot of TV markets - from big to small - have a seriously large area that their signal can be seen in. This creates logistical challenges for any tv station that wants to cover the whole area - up to the boundaries - of their designated market area. Most TV stations are- understandably- located in or close to urban areas, so making treks to the outlying areas of a coverage area can be tough.

To combat this, some stations with a particularly large ground to cover sometimes open up small bureaus and staff them with a reporter and photographer (or, often, a one-man-band). The office is usually equipped with a studio camera, an edit deck and some way to feed video back to the main station.

Other large stations have a news helicopter that can be sent to breaking news in remote areas.

Meantime, some small towns that lament the lack of coverage from a TV station may simply be quiet places to live! After all, the news is not needed in places where everything is working well.

KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri wrote an interesting item on its web site in response to a viewer's email asking if the population of a town influences coverage decisions. I thought they gave a pretty good response,

"KOMU loves news tips. The more people that call and e-mail the station to let KOMU know what's going on, the better the news."

It's true! The more people in the audience who write us and contact us, the more stories we can consider and the greater the likelihood that we'll actually be able to come to one of the story ideas.

Assignment Editors are Geeks

2008-03-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well, chances are, if you are an assignment editor, you are probably a geek.
This is probably true because you have an unnatural obsession with one of the following:
1.- Police radios/scanners/frequencies
2.- TV news
3.- Current events
4.- Extensive television technical knowledge
5.- No desire to be on television

Well, one of our fellow assignment editor-geeks is going to get to prove his geekdom.

From the Lompoc Record, a local assignment editor in California is going to star on the CW's Beauty and the Geek:

Joe Cortez, who was raised in Nipomo since he was 8, graduated from Arroyo Grande High School, went to college in Ohio and currently works as an assignment editor for KCOY/KKFX TV in Santa Maria, said it wasn't really his idea to try out for the show. A co-worker suggested he audition.

Does this sound like any assignment editors you know:

Cortez acknowledges he is not socially adept and doesn't know how to pick up girls. He only knows his work, he said.

If you'd like to see what Joe looks like, click here.

Good luck Joe from all of us at Newsdeskblog and your fellow assignment editors around the country!

Good Luck NYC

2008-02-03T22:08:00.000-08:00

To all the assignment editors in New York City and the Empire State:

Good luck!

Now that you have won the Superbowl, and your Giants have defeated the New England Patriots, you can plan on extended coverage through Tuesday.
Good luck getting the resources in place to cover the victory parade.
And good luck covering the OTHER enormous story of the day: Super Tuesday.

You're not going to have enough resources to cover it all.

Thank goodness the parade will be during the day and the election returns coming in at night.

You are in my thoughts.

How Involved to Get?

2008-01-31T07:57:00.000-08:00

KSN-TV in Wichita, Kansas did a routine story about a fire in the city. It described the family having a difficult time getting by a week after a fire destroyed everything they owned.

The piece closed by saying,

The family is hoping to set up a fund for donations. If you'd like to help you can contact the family through KSN. Simply email our assignment desk at news@ksn.com

My question in whether or not this direct involvement is appropriate for a TV station. It is one thing to have a foundation set up and to put a full-screen graphic up directing viewers to a bank account. But this KSN offer seems directly involved. If you want to "contact the family," you should mail the desk directly.

I worry about a few things here:
1.- Why is the TV station acting as a bridge between the family and viewers? It is one thing if a viewer sees a story and calls the station on his or her own to find out if contact information is available to help. But directly offering to be the "point person" seems a little strange.

2.- How does the station know what the family will do with the money? Viewers trust their local newscasters. If KSN goes on TV and says "you should help this family," viewers have the natural assumption that the station has done its homework and that the family is a worthy charitable cause. How does the station know where the help will go? Will there be follow up reports to ensure the family doesn't misuse any resources donated to them? Does the station even want to go down that route?

3.- Why not offer help through an intermediary? I have to assume that the American Red Cross or other reputable charity will be assisting the family in the immediate aftermath. Why not direct viewers to contact the local charity who- in turn- is in the business of helping people?

I do not doubt the sincerity of the assignment desk or the management at KSN that they sincerely want to help this family out. It is in a midsized market where there is probably much more reporting on community-based issues than one would see in the big markets. But the question is how far should a station go to actively recruit resources to help the
people it covers? It seems to me that they should still be keeping a distance.

Newsroom Swearing

2008-01-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

People in television news have some of the most foul mouths I have ever encountered. And in my time reporting, I have dealt with plenty of potty-mouths ranging from cops to DPW workers.

But newsrooms are an anomoly in corporate culture. We are under constant deadline pressure and there are strong personalities, so sometimes swearing and temper tantrums are common. In a corporate bank environment, for instance, swearing and tirades would probably not be tolerated.

In a TV newsroom, they are the norm and even expected.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's OK to start throwing the F-Bomb around, but rather it is generally viewed as a necessary evil to let stressed out personnel let off some steam.

That's why this blog entry by Terry Heaton is so interesting. It describes how he created a swear jar and made his employees put a quarter into it every time they swore in the newsroom.

The funds were then used for parties for the whole newsroom.

The best. Line. Ever. involves an assignment editor, of course!

One day, my assignment editor arrived in an especially foul mood and announced she was putting $5 in the jar, so that we all should be prepared. I’ll never forget that.

Turns out that assignment editor has since cooled down and is now a news director. Fun!

This whole subject has gotten a lot of chatter on the internet because of a discussion going on over at the Poynter web site which has people discussing whether they have ever been reprimanded in a newsroom for vulgar language.

Assignment Editor's Nightmare

2008-01-26T21:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes people call the assignment desk of a local TV station in great distress. I assume the reason is because desperate people seek attention. In my years as an assignment editor, I have not had a suicidal person call or had to talk to someone who claimed they were holding people hostage. Other assignment editors have had to do that.

I came across a story at WTKR, and you can read the full story here:

It details a rough marriage break-up, which led to:

The divorce was finalized in November. But little over a month later, on the morning of January 3rd, the NewsChannel 3 assignment desk would get a frightening call.

"She said that my husband is standing here with a gun to my head and he asked me to call the media. We called you first," recalls Latoya Lee, who was on her second day on the job at NewsChannel 3 when Jeanette's panicked call came to the station.

"The woman said I'm involved in a hostage situation."

The article did go on to say that the wife worked in media, and that might have been why they were "media savvy" enough to call an assignment desk. And the situation ended without anyone getting hurt.

Nonetheless, these situations are scary. Assignment editors are "jacks of all trades" -- we can pretty much roll with the punches. But we generally have zero training in what to do if a troubled person calls our newsroom.

I think our gut would be to try and keep the person on the other end of the line calm and on the line, all the while summoning help from other people in the newsroom (woe to the assignment editor working alone on a weekend or overnight shift) to get in contact with emergency personnel.

I hope I never have to deal with a situation like this, but reading other examples helps me prepare.

MySpace Settlement

2008-01-15T13:37:00.001-08:00

The story most editor missed in this week's headlines about the MySpace settlement with 49 sates is quite simple: users are shifting away from MySpace!

According to the New York Times, the settlement with MySpace will:

classify as private all profiles of users under the age of 18, strengthen its response to complaints of inappropriate content on the site; and organize a task force of Internet businesses, nonprofit organizations and technology companies to review and develop online safety tools. The site will also accept independent monitoring. The agreement is not a binding legal document, and users will likely be able to circumvent some of the changes.

Ok, great. But here's the problem with how slow government works. Buried in the article, the Times noted:

The states had been in talks with MySpace for almost two years.

Two years. Unbelievable. Two years ago, Facebook was barely a blip on the radar. Now, it is making a serious run at MySpace. I understand that MySpace claims 70 million users. But I doubt they are all active users, and most of the people I know from MySpace are now my friends on Facebook.

So in the rush to combat online predators, the government focused on the bogeyman of 2006: MySpace. Problem is, an argument could be made that Facebook or other sites are the new "it" place for teens.

Someone could make an excellent story by looking at how proud the politicians are for this agreement . . . and then go out and talk to kids and find out who's actually using MySpace anymore, and whether they think these changes MySpace will implement will actually make anyone safer.

My bet is that there is a tremendous disconnect that's worth throwing a spotlight on.

NH Primary

2008-01-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

The New Hampshire presidential primary is quickly becoming a distant memory. But there are a handful of broadcasters who blogged about their experience up there.

First, over at Massachusetts Mom, the blogger writes:

Forget about money, these days an election could not take place without Blackberries and Ugg boots. Virtually every - no I take that back forget virtually - every campaign operative and press person has both.

Then, a WSYR reporter (Kelly McPherson) wrote about her station's trip up to the Granite State:

As a local news station, we had a different mission than network news: find out what it's really like here on one of the most important days in the Presidential races. Who knows about this? Voters. We looked up polling places to see all of the hustle-bustle. We stumbled across Mitt Romney, John Edwards, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. Candidates were on practically every corner.

And I thought this was a fun photoset over on Flickr which shows just how much media was up in NH at any given time.

NASA's Bureaucracy

2008-01-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Back in October, I wrote about how NASA refused to release data from its $8.5-million study of airline pilots that concluded the number of near-misses in the airline industry is far greater than known. The agency had apparently been afraid that the results would undermine public confidence in the air travel and hurt airline profits.

Well, Chapter Two of the story has begun. Under mounting political pressure, administrators at NASA have apparently released all the data. And while that should be applauded, the way in which the agency did it was little more than a data dump as the Associated Press explained:

NASA published the findings — contained in 16,208 pages — but did not provide a roadmap to understand them, making it cumbersome for any thorough analysis by outsiders. Released on New Year's Eve, the unprecedented research conducted over nearly four years relates to safety problems identified by some 25,000 commercial pilots and more than 4,000 private pilots interviewed by telephone.

Worse still- the information is so scattered, USA Today reported:

The NASA data were difficult to analyze because efforts to ensure that none of the pilots interviewed was identifiable prompted the agency to delete detailed information about incidents described in the report.
The data contain hundreds of cryptic comments taken from pilot interviews on safety concerns such as fatigue, the potential for collisions with other planes and air traffic procedures.

There is no context for the comments. One record says only that "air crew falling asleep." In another, a pilot complains about the danger of a midair collision at a specific airport, which was identified as "airport x."

This arrogance- and refusal to use taxpayer money judiciously- is a leading reason why NASA is a major bureaucratic has-been. I have personally always been interested and fascinated by outer space. But judging by this bureaucratic read-tape, it appears NASA is no longer capable of functioning.

Easy Story Idea: Airline Battery Ban

2007-12-29T08:02:00.001-08:00

Well here's a story idea that virtually any market can use-- and package-- on a slow news day.
Airlines are going to ban certain types of loose batteries in luggage starting January 1st.

The US Department of Transportation's press office explains in a press release:

Passengers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning January 1, 2008 once new federal safety rules take effect. The new regulation, designed to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires, will continue to allow lithium batteries in checked baggage if they are installed in electronic devices, or in carry-on baggage if stored in plastic bags.

This is a story that a station looking for a hard-news angle can chase on a slow holiday weekend (like this one). There's always an airport within a news market and there are always travelers to get sound with. And if no airport officials are available to talk on-camera, you can always pull quotes from the press release and have them pre-pro'd.

If you're really hot on this story- consider linking over to a March 15, 2007 document explaining the concerns. It turns out there have been a handful of incidents that can be traced back to batteries:

Since 1991, PHMSA and FAA have received approximately 75 reports of transportation incidents involving various kinds of batteries and battery-powered devices. These reports, along with information about battery-related incidents outside of transportation and product recalls and warnings, have raised concerns about the potential for device- and battery-related fires aboard aircraft.

Meantime, if you do PR for a travel agency, an airport or an airline-- what are you doing to maximize exposure for your clients? If they can be made to speak on-camera for a news organization on a holiday weekend, you most likely will make the 6 & 11 pm news.

Surveillance Tape Feed

2007-12-28T09:22:00.001-08:00

Surveillance video is hot stuff in TV newsrooms.
This is true for many reasons:
More often than not, it catches people in the act.
Whether it's a store clerk swinging a baseball bat to thwart an armed robber, or an armed robber dressed up like a clown, the reality-based surveillance video makes great TV.
It can also generate valuable leads to local law enforcement agencies who are hoping to solve the case and make an arrest.

So I have set up a surveillance video feed at the bottom of this blog. It's way out of sight down there because it's the only place I can get it to render correctly within the limits of Blogger. But it has a string of surveillance video tapes being shown in some of the country's largest markets. Chances are, through your network affiliation (or affiliation with CNN or NNS), you too can probably bring this video into your newsroom to spice up the B-Block and give producers something to tease.

Is this for Real

2007-12-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

As if there isn't enough tension already between journalists and law enforcement, then this happens.

It turns out that when Mel Gibson was pulled over and started on an anti-semitic rampage, those comments were written up in a file never made public. Fortunately it was leaked to TMZ.com

According to the Associated Press by way of ABCNews.com,

After he was stopped, Gibson launched into an anti-Semitic rant. According to the report from the Office of Independent Review, a supervisor tried to delete his inflammatory remarks from his arrest report but was overruled by a captain. Instead, the remarks were detailed in a supplemental report that was forwarded to county prosecutors but officially shielded from public scrutiny.

Ok, is this for real? How do police officers expect the general public to believe anything they have to say on the witness stand if they won't even let fundamental details of a police pull-over become public? As always, the cover-up is worse than the crime.

And this apparently is not an isolated incident according to the Society of Professional Journalists:

This is an increasingly used technique to hide facts from the public, including facts embarrasing to the police -- put them in a separate file and don't tell anyone it even exists.

Thank goodness for leaks. And this is why we need a shield law to protect journalists and their sources who can tell right from wrong and would want to leak such a report.

More:

Storm Coverage

2007-12-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

One of the things TV news does well is weather coverage.
Weather is always visual, which lends itself perfectly to TV images.
When people are snowed in, people love to sit in front of the TV and see just how bad it is outside.
It's especially fun to watch other people (ie: the TV reporters) suffer in the elements.
And it is easy to get sound on.
Who doesn't have an opinion about the weather?
Who, while shoveling their driveway, won't talk to a reporter in the neighborhood?
Which kids, off from school, won't tell a reporter how much fun it is to have a snow day?

And for those of us involved in round-the-clock storm coverage, the TV station usually pays for a hotel room so we can stay at it overnight.

Fun!

Breaking News = Premium News

2007-12-09T18:14:00.001-08:00

There is an interesting article in PaidContent.org where they got a few minutes one-on-one with the CEO of the Associated Press, Tom Curley. He has been in a lot of the trade magazines lately talking about new structures and reforms the news industry should take to stay in business.

He has argued that content from the AP should no longer have its headlines or first graph of a story lifted by other web sites. He no longer wants to see other sites using AP photos without paying for them. And he also believes that the new cash cow is breaking news.

“We believe that breaking news is worth more these days than it ever was. So breaking news is a premium business.”

I agree with him. In television news, we are in a constant rush to be the first to break the news, the first to get the best pictures on the air, and the first to chase new angles on a breaking news story. We, as news organizations, believe that to the the best (and beat the competitors) we have to consistently let people know the information first. So this statement that Breaking News content is a premium is quite obvious. But I think Curley is the first to articulate it so well.

Few newsrooms in America today function without content from the AP. The AP already has the infastructure in place to get member stations/papers breaking news first. Any enhancement to that IS a premium that is worth the money. And as each of these stations/papers provide the late-breaking details to their audiences, they are attracting eyeballs which will help them make money. Hopefully a rising tide will lift all boats (apologies in advance for the cliche!)

Killing the Messenger

2007-12-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

In the aftermath of the shooting at a mall in Omaha, Nebraska, reaction has been varied. I want to hone in on one troubling bit of feedback I have heard from some viewers and seen in various comment sections and blog postings on the Internet.

One of the ones that sums up this the best comes from CrimeRant.com's author who wrote,

Maybe all of us in the media should make a promise: not to report on any of these mass-shootings, not to print the photos or names of the killers and take away from these people the power of being famous.

It’s a first step, anyway.

My opinion is this is a highly flawed argument, and a scary slope to go down.
Here's an outline of my concerns:

Once the suspect is dead, they are not around to revel in the glory of having their act broadcast on the news. There is no evidence I've been able to find that supports the nation that simply stopping the practice of showing the photos or names now would prevent something like this in the future.
The public has an absolute right to know who the nut-job is that went on this rampage. I'd argue that most people want to know who could be responsible for such a heinous act. They don't want to be left wondering who the anonymous killer was. Part of the healing process includes getting as much information as possible to help one come to an understanding of who this person is, and how they could do such a thing.
News reporting over the past few days has revealed all the places where things went wrong in this case, including the government's inept job at getting him proper and effective help when he first started showing the cliche red flags. If there is to be even a shred of hope of preventing another nut job from falling through the cracks, then this open reporting is necessary to bring forth accountability and reform.
Any responsible news organization can't "not report on any of these mass shootings." What happened in Omaha will have a profound effect on that community for some time. Could you imagine, for a moment, that someone comes into your community and shoots down eight people. When you got home to turn on the TV news, there would no mention of it. Simply because some high-minded person has decided that you should not be allowed to learn about it because it might give the killer "what he wants." That is inconceivable and an unrealistic suggestion.

Yet again, the media becomes the target people go after because it is where the bad news comes from. And when people don't like bad news, or they hear things they don't want to hear, they blame the news organizations for having the audacity to share it.

My Own Bad Pitches

2007-11-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long for me to get some pretty lousy PR pitches this week!

Here are three I got today:

A snail-mail press release came in an envelope. The address label was to: "Various Producers." I don't know what the press release was for because I threw it away.
An e-mail from an address called "PRIntern@name-of-the-organization.org." Sending me an email from an intern's address shows a lack of respect. Just as PR people calling an assignment desk don't want to speak with our interns, we certainly don't want your press releases coming from your interns.
An e-mail were the address said simply "A Release." Oh. My. God. Could you give me any other reason NOT to pay attention to your precious press release?

OK good, I think I got that out of my system. This isn't rocket science, folks!

Bad PR Pitches

2007-11-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

I guess I'm not the only one to receive utterly asinine/clueless pitches from public relations "professionals." There is a blog I recently discovered called the Bad Pitch Blog.

One of the latest entries has a list of the Top-1o things to NEVER say to the media.

I am inclined to agree with each point. One of my favorites is Point # 9:
"That isn't a story."

As with most things- it would be better to show me why something is not a story rather than telling me outright that something isn't a story.

Also- if we are calling you, the PR person, about a story- chances are we have already committed to doing the story, and it is in your best interest to "learn more about the story to determine if you should be on offense or defense."

Making Public Record Request Work for YOU

2007-11-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

This is fantastic:

Via the Lexington Kentucky Herald-Leader, a man used the state's public record laws to request E-Mails his wife (a state employee) was writing to another state employee.

Malmer said last night he wanted the e-mails because he suspected his wife was having an affair. Although his wife has since confessed to the affair, Stephen Malmer said, he still has questions and wants to see the case through for closure.

Unfortunately, he met a lot of resistance from the keepers of those records. Fortunately, a sane judge intervened and forced the release:

"In this case, the communications are by definition non-work-related, but that does not mean there is no public interest in the disclosure of such e-mails," Shepherd wrote in his ruling. "The fact that state employees are using state resources to exchange non-work-related messages during working hours is a matter of legitimate inquiry for the public."

This is just another example of why public record laws are so vital and need to be strengthened.

Black Friday

2007-11-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

Black Friday is just days away. Retailers are going nuts trying to lure customers into their stores in an effort to boost holiday sales.

How do I know they are going nuts?

Because they are actually playing ball with the news media.

I have been inundated with press releases from various stores and chains inviting cameras inside to record shoppers and any mania that accompanies it.

There is even one big-box electronics chain that has told is that we can go to *any* of their stores without prior approval from Corporate. Supposedly, all of their managers know the media might come and have been instructed to welcome them. This is very progressive and very much appreciated by those of us in TV News who have to come up with locations our cameras can go to.

This is a departure from the norm -- which is that we are RARELY allowed to bring cameras inside retail stores. So you'd better bet we will be taking advantage of this.

The winners: The stores who open at midnight (they'll get press in the 11pm news on Thanksgiving night) and at 4:00 or 5:00am (because having the lines as a backdrop is perfect for a live shot for a morning show).

The losers: Malls. A few are begrudgingly allowing cameras into the main "public" portion of the building. But even then, I am sure cameras will be closely watched by mall minders. (Again- what country do I live in??)

The most interesting thing is how many stores are competing for our attention. So the best advice for this year and into the future is to open your doors and embrace the media. Otherwise you will definitely get overlooked and left without a chance to drum up some amazing and free visibility.

Miami Reporter in Trouble for Doing His Job

2007-11-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

For quick background on this Miami reporter in trouble with the law, here is an AP story.

Second, here is the raw and unedited video from WPLG's web site of the confrontation.

Third, here is WPLG's report on the incident (perhaps most interesting because they happen to have all the raw video from the story).

This post is to get a peek at how the assignment desk was involved!

These details come by way of FLTV:

According to Rad Berky's [WPLG reporter] report Weinsier called the newsroom complaining about the treatment. Assignment Editor Sandy Antonio called Ed Torrens from Miami-Dade School Police who according to Antonio told her Weinsier “can walk up and down the sidewalk as long as he’s not interrupting pedestrian traffic”.

Sandy Antonio relayed that message back and that’s when you see Weinsier and photog Frank Debesa going back to where they were before.

That this incident escalated the way it did is just ridiculous. Kudos to the photographer, Frank Debesa, for meeting with detectives "to file assault charges against the cop who pushed him." sued for willful bullying.

And good work to the desk for actually reaching out and trying to clarify with the police (and trying to work with the police rather than against them) exactly where the reporter was allowed to go.

The reporter's next court appearance is less than two weeks away on November 13.

News Helicopters Back Up in Phoenix

2007-10-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Republic is out with news that all of the stations in Phoenix are back flying their helicopters following a mid-air collision between two choppers last July.

The biggest change is that Channel 3 (KTVK) will start flying with a second pilot/observer. That means Bruce Hafner will continue to fly and report, but he will be able to hand over control of the helicopter if a situation arises where he feels he cannot do both safely.

It is almost always the assignment desk that makes the decision to launch the helicopter, and in turn gives the actual orders to the pilot to fly.

I imagine all of the assignment editors in that market -- especially the ones at the two stations whose choppers were involved in the crash -- probably have a pit in their stomach this morning when they launch the chopper for the first time.

NASA Upcoming PR Nightmare

2007-10-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

By way of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press:

It seems that NASA has been less-than-forthcoming about the results from an expensive, $8.5-million study it funded. An AP reporter wanted to follow-up with the results from the study. When NASA evidently would not voluntarily give them up, the reporter filed a FOIA. Then, NASA denied the request. In the meantime, she got a hint why through unofficial sources at the agency. The AP summarized,

"A vast national survey of pilots by NASA has found that safety issues, such as near collisions and runway interference, occur far more frequently than previously recognized, but the agency is refusing to release the information, fearing it would upset travelers and hurt airline profits."

That basically explains why NASA would want to withhold the results from its National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service study. They at least answered it honestly in their rebuke of the AP reporter. According to the AP, the rejection letter explained:

"Release of the requested data, which are sensitive and safety-related, could materially affect the public confidence in, and the commercial welfare of, the air carriers and general-aviation companies whose pilots participated in the survey,"

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know my philosophy is a little bit of sunshine is a great disinfectant. By the sound of it, there is good reason for the public to be concerned. And the only way people are held accountable and changes get made is if the bad news gets out, and they are pressured into making reforms. And if the public's faith is shattered- then so be it. If the problem had been dealt with all along, this study wouldn't have come back with the results it did. It sounds like these problems have existed for a long time and have been swept under the table.

Now, for the public relations professionals- don't go into defensive mode. The smart thing to do is make a principal available from either an airline association or your individual airline. Acknowledge that the study raises troubling findings. And hopefully you can truthfully say that you know about the problems and have been working on them for quite some time to make sure these near-misses don't continue to happen.

And I post this blog entry today because it sounds like the results of the study will eventually become public-- either through the FOIA or through upcoming Congressional hearings.

And that 11-second sound-bite is 11 seconds less in a 1:15 package devoted to the negative findings.

You can read a much different version of NASA's level of cooperation in this report filed by UPI:

Amazing PR: Jordan's Furniture

2007-10-29T18:30:00.001-07:00

By now, you might have heard about the little wager Jordan's Furniture made with its customers: If you bought furniture from them during a specific window last April, and the Red Sox won the World Series, you would get your purchase refunded!

Well, the Red Sox won, and now the company has to make good on their promise. This will pay huge dividends. First, the company purchased an insurance policy to cover the cost of the furniture. Multiple reports pin the number of customers who participated at 30,000 and analysts figure it had to cost at least $15 million. (Jordan's Furniture is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.)

But most importantly- the PR generated for this company has been enormous. Let me link you to a handful of sites that came up on a Google search earlier tonight:

ABC News: Free Sofas for Sox Fans
The Canadian Press: Thousands of Sox Fans Sitting Pretty
Bloomberg: Berkshire Hathaway Store Giving Away Free Furniture to Sox Fans
USA Today: Red Sox Win Leaves Furniture Buyers Cheering
WCVB-TV (Boston): Sox Win Means Free Furniture for Thousands
Boston Herald: Free Furniture Sits Well with Faithful Fans

The "Blogosphere" is abuzz with this too:
BloggingStocks.com: How much will Warren Buffett pay for betting against the Sox?
Bostonist: Did You Participate in Jordan's Furniture Monster Deal? Time to cash in!
Weighing the Odds: Free Furniture for Red Sox Fans
The Nault Journey: Crazy Weekend!
Business of Baseball: Now Free Couches?!
Philly Burbs: Sox Win Gives 30,000 People Free Furniture
How Not to Get a Job in Advertising: Jordan's Accounce, 'They Are Cheap'

...and it just keeps going.

The company did a good job working the press: they offered up the clips of the TV ads with the original wager, allowed the news into the stores and let reporters talk to lucky customers. They played it just right.

This is a PR coup. Nuff' said.