Snow!

This is what I woke up to this morning. It’s pretty but I’m ready for spring.

News tips with Lori

I’ve decided to offer tips to people who want their stories published in a local newspaper. Basically, if you want a reporter to preview your organization’s events or write about the really cool project it’s working on, there’s a wrong and a right way to go about it. The idea for this post came courtesy of a man who wanted me to write about an award he had just won.

1. If you want a reporter to do the story, don’t stipulate that you must read and edit the story before it runs in the paper. This is not your job. Frankly it’s kind of offensive to ask someone to let you check their work before it gets published. I have an editor already and frankly, I’ve never known of any newspaper that will let you do this. Now, what you can do is ask that the reporter about the quotes and other content that they received from you. But it’s essentially unethical for the reporter to let you read the finished story before it runs.

2. Don’t ask that your story run on a specific day. I understand that you have a fundraiser coming up this weekend and it would be really great if I get that story in for Friday’s paper. But despite what you must think there is a huge difference between a news story and an advertisement. If you want something to be published on a certain day, pay for an advertisement. And I don’t want to hear the excuse that “things are tight” and the economy is bad so you can’t pay for an ad. Hello? Things are tight in journalism these days too, and your ads pay our wages.

Favorite musical moments from Scrubs

I love the television show Scrubs. What makes it so great is the mix of comedy and drama, and also the fantastic use of music. Here are a few of my favorite musical moments from the show in no particular order.

Waiting for my real life to begin. This scene always makes me cry, even though I’ve seen it a million times. I love the song because I think in some way it describes life so well.

My overkill. Another great one from Colin Hay.

More than a feeling. Gotta love the airband.

Africa. This is just a good scene and a great song.

Winter. The sadness of this moment is only made more poignant with Joshua Radin’s Winter.

How to save a life. Rabies kills some of Dr. Cox’s patients.

Tell her this. Ah, the saga that this JD and Elliott. One of the great love stories of our time. And I love this song.

Hey ya. Ted sings at Janitor’s wedding.

Bad dream. Carla says goodbye to a friend.

Remember Your children

This is heartbreaking.

Apparently the dog hates sock feet

Short clip of my dog, Maggie, barking at my feet.

Not gonna leave you stranded

Hallelujah

Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris – Hallelujah ( Hope For Haiti Now – Telethon ) HD / HQ

Love this.

Are we human or are we journalists?

By now you’ve probably all seen the footage of Anderson Cooper in
Haiti saving the young boy. To some it brought up questions about the role of journalists in these circumstances. Do journalists have a responsibility to act or should they stay out of it and only tell the story? While there are points to be either way, I believe that to stand by and watch another death would have been unthinkable. Just because they’re journalists doesn’t mean that they aren’t first human beings. I’ve always feel that the work of journalism is all about telling a story so that society can act on it. So what do you do as a journalist when you see a story playing out before your eyes that is in your power to change? You change it.

Haiti

Watching the news coverage of the situation in Haiti has been heart wrenching. The earthquake added tragedy to an already poverty stricken area. It’s times like these that make me regret that I don’t have a trade that’s more useful than journalism. Something like nursing or medicine. But the truth is we all can and should do something. Most Americans today will never know a poverty like the children of Haiti experience everyday. And we can no longer use the excuse that what happens there is of no concern to us here. With the advances in technology and the Internet, Haiti is closer than ever before. Yesterday was MLK day and I was reminded of King’s words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Please consider making a contribution to relief efforts in Haiti.