Tag Archives: News

Facebook’s Got a Bleeding Heart

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May hearts & flowers © Michelle Damico

My garden’s bleeding hearts on this first day of May reminded me of Facebook, which has added a new page option for users who wish to sign up for their state’s organ registry.

As someone on the receiving end of an organ donation (my right knee’s ACL was replaced a few years ago when a snow boarder hit me while skiing) it was very humbling when the nurse offered me the chance to send a note to the donor’s family, telling them their loved one’s life goes on, thanks to the tissue donation that enables me to run, walk and have free movement.

Organ donation is not only about hearts, livers and kidneys. One body may have as many as 50 opportunities for transplantation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Facebook is taking steps to be more socially responsible. I’m hoping that altruism is the main goal; the skeptic in me thinks Facebook wants to develop a softer public persona as well. Either way, I’ll be signing up (as I already have on my driver’s license). You should too. If you want to learn more, read about. It’s all over the web today. 

 

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Great Tool to Follow Journ Tweeps

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twitter logo map 09

Image by The Next Web via Flickr

If you are a news junkie and a Twitter fan, you will want to check out this directory of journalists on Twitter, listed by their media outlet. It comes from Muck Rack, which follows what journalists are reporting and talking about on social media. It also ranks the most active journalists on social media on the Muck Rack Leaderboard, which is a great way to follow trends and developing news.

Muck Rack is a fantastic source for anyone interested in news and communications. It was started in 2009 with about 150 journalists on Twitter and now lists thousands of reporters and editors who are active on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Quora, Google+, LinkedIn and more. What’s best is that the list is actually fact-checked by a team of editors, so you know you’re getting great info.

If you want to get even closer to the action, subscribe to the Muck Rack Daily email to learn on a daily basis what journalists are saying. This is a great resource for anyone who is trying to promote their own business, or who is doing PR and Media Relations on a shoestring!  If you subscribe, let me know what you think.

 

 

 

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A Wild Turkey this Easter week?

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Never had one of these pay a visit before!

I love sharing news, it’s simply in my DNA. So I can’t resist. This morning, as I’m doing client work, a wild turkey trots across my property. Since moving out to the far NW suburbs of Chicago, I’ve seen possum, raccoon, moles, chipmunks, hawks, cranes, coyotes, fox, vultures, field mice, snakes, frogs, turtles and box elders (weird insects that small like pineapple when you squeeze them).  But I’ve never seen a wild turkey.

I’m wondering if she’s a momma looking for food for her chicks. Here’s an interesting fact, courtesy of Answers.com: The average turkey will lay 110 to 115 eggs in a 28/30 week period.

The gobbler’s sperm is stored in the hen’s oviduct, so that fertilized eggs may be laid up to four weeks after mating. One mating is usually sufficient to fertilize an entire clutch. A hen lays an egg nearly every day until her nest contains 8-15 (average, 12; smaller clutches by younger birds), but won’t begin incubating constantly until after all eggs are laid.

A hen turkey doesn’t begin incubating until she lays the entire clutch of eggs, and incubates it for 28 days so that hatching is synchronized.

Now, if I could only spot an owl.

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Trying to Make Business News in the Political Clutter?

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Campaign Signs on the Corner of 6th and Morton
Image by Indiana Public Media via Flickr

We’re heading into the final stretch for the mid-term elections, with just four full days before voting day November 2nd. If you think  the media won’t latch on to your non-political story idea, change your way of thinking. I just pitched two Illinois reporters on a business story and asked if they’d be interested at this time and they both said YES.

A general assignment reporter for public radio said she might use my item for Tuesday, because typically radio stations have an election-day blackout on campaign mudslinging and candidate positioning. She needs non-campaign pieces for her hourly newscasts. Another newspaper business reporter says he’s always looking for business items he can localize and is also considering a client interview.

The message here, as with all media relations: Don’t enter a PR assignment with your own preconceived notions. If you don’t think reporters will be interested, ask them what they’re covering and what they’ll be needing, based on the calendar or everyday circumstances. Don’t think your business message will get drowned out just because we’re in the midst of fiercely contested political races. In fact, don’t think too hard about it at all…just call and talk!

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