Behind the Headlines

“Are they saying ‘banana hammock’ over the scanner?”

(okay, so it was me who said it, but I’m in the newsroom and someone had to overhear it…)

I visited Manor Elementary Tuesday morning for a fourth grade project called the Living History Museum. Most of the kids dressed up as a famous person. Each student had to research and memorize a speech about the person they chose.

I was so impressed with the number of parents who helped their students make their costumes or came to the event and either and videotaped their child or took pictures.

For me, I thought the museum was such a creative way for students to learn. It was so much better than when I was in school and sat around and read a biography and talked about that person in front of the class. What a great way for the fourth graders and the “museum visitors” to learn about history.

During the past two days, I’ve run into three situations where fundraiser and club announcements arrived so late to The Monroe Evening News that the available publicity options were very limited.

The busiest time in the charity and civic year in Monroe County is the six weeks leading up to, and including, Easter. If you have any event taking place this spring that will be listed in the Community Page section, please get the notices to The Monroe Evening News as soon as your dates and locations are confirmed. A week before the event or reservation deadline usually is enough time to schedule our notices on the schedules you expect. But if the notice is sent only two or three days before the date, the chances increase greatly that a publication deadline could be missed because of an e-mail being misdirected, someone being out of the office and not able to take the call, etc.

With the current technology, it is to your advantage to get all publicity notices to the newsroom as early as possible anyway. All fundraisers, charity events and civic club meetings are posted in the on-line calendar at www.monroenews.com within a day or two after arrival, regardless of when the notices are scheduled in the print edition of The Monroe Evening News.

Tonight I was on assignment, covering the American Red Cross Everyday Heroes Awards program at Ambassador Hall. It’s the fifth year of the program, so I’ve become familiar with the format and what to expect.

One thing that is never scripted, but very predictable at this event: The audience always gives the military hero winners a standing ovation.