How many chances out of four?

The commencement address for the University will be given by Hannah Datz, a marketing major from Brimfield, Mass. When I told her I would do a release about her and send it to her hometown newspaper(s), she then told her father, who immediately emailed her the email address for FOUR local papers that circulate in Brimfield. I wonder how many of the four -- IF any of the four -- publish something????

Where did the last two weeks go?

I can't believe I let 13 days pass without writing an entry.

Anyway....

This is the last week of classes, which means it's the last week I have to get a reporter at both the Inqurier and Daily News to do a program-centered story. If they pass or can't do it, well, I have to wait until next semester to pitch it again. What happens too often is that a reporter will be interested in a story, but with newspapers cutting back on staff, many reporters (the good ones, that is) have too much to do and have a hard enough task writing the stories they need to write, let alone an "extra" such as these two programs.

One of the nicer graduating stories is that we have a couple being named the best student in their graduage programs! I won't give it out any details until a release is completed, but this could be a fun story. One of the problems: contacting them! Between work and school and the end of the school year I guess they're pretty busy.

Something that I still enjoy after all these years is when parents will call/email, etc. when a release about their child is done. They're so grateful and appreciative. Of course, the reason newspapers print stories about student achievements is that they feel the parents will buy extra copies of the paper that day!

Chemistry professor Mike Prushan is making "ice cream" on Wed. afternoon following/during a seminar. That has TV potential. I was told he's done this before. I wonder what flavor he makes???

Finally!

Today's issue of the Phila. Daily News has a story and several photos on Kara Harpel, who's been a big sister to Anisah Mullen for the past four years. It was done by columnist Jen Armstrong, who also included a good deal about the BigBrother/BigSister program (and that made it a better story than if she had just focused on Kara and Anisah). Here's a link to the article:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100413_Jenice_Armstrong__Sisterly_bond__La_Salle_senior_and_fifth-grader_connect_through_Big_Brother-Big_Sister.html

The story took several months to arrange: Jen was busy, the photographer was switched to different assignments at the last minute.....but all's well that ends well.