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Buy Nothing or Seek Bargains: Ready for Black Friday

Tips for editors, short url's included to promote sharing.

The group that provided the idea for the Occupy Wall Street movement is also taking aim at shopping with an annual promotion for what it calls Buy Nothing Day:  | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters http://bit.ly/tTxB7w. This will be the 20th year that the Adbusters group has run its Buy Nothing campaign on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and an annual festival of sales kicking off the holiday shopping season.

Background on the editors of the Canadian magazine Adbusters: Kalle Lasn and Micah White, the Creators of Occupy Wall Street: The New Yorker http://nyr.kr/tycsF9

Another group of people is also protesting the extraordinary overnight shopping hours and the sales that in some cases will start at 10 PM on Thanksgiving Day. A petition started by one Target worker in Omaha, Neb., now has 130,000 names on it. Many retail workers and their families don't want their holiday interrupted: Retail backlash over Thanksgiving night openings http://bit.ly/uhqeVt

A recent consumer survey found that most people interviewed said they would think more highly of retailers that give employees the day off on Thursday:  | Mainstreet http://bit.ly/szLkT6. Other surveys show that more than 60% of shoppers are already planning a store trip on Black Friday.

Are they remembering the 2008 Long Island crowd that trampled a worker? Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death - NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/vLvR6u What have stores in your area done to avoid a repeat?

Prompts of the day: 

*Is someone in your family working on Thanksgiving?

*Should retail employees have Thursday off?

*What is on your Black Friday shopping list?

*How much do you expect to spend on gifts this year? How does that compare to last year?

*How many gifts do you plan to buy online?

Full stats on holiday shopping: Black Friday 2011 - Deals, Tips and Statistics - TheStreet http://bit.ly/uTbmc8

Happy Diwali, Local Twitter Followers, Free Flu Shots: Tips for Editors

Suggestions for editors who want more engaged readers. Short url's included to make sharing easier.

Diwali The Hindi festival of lights starts this year on Wednesday, Oct. 26. From The Times of India:

Diwali, an auspicious religious festival celebrated by the Hindus, Sikhs and Jains with great enthusiasm and excitement that symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Spectacular lights, firecrackers, irresistible traditional sweets and sending gifts to dear ones mark the celebration of Diwali.

The Roanoke Times found Indian students celebrating this week at a local university: Fighting darkness with light http://bit.ly/ny88T4

In 2008, Cleveland.com had this coverage: Greater Clevelanders Welcome Diwali  http://bit.ly/pKnpyl 

Does your news organization reflect your community? Ask on Facebook, Twiitter and your own site about local Diwali celebrations and preparations.  Ask readers to send photos.

Your Twitter feed Steve Buttry, my go-to source for tips and strategies, tells in a new blog post how to use Twitter search to find local feeds worth following. Editors who actively follow local Twitter users and engage with those users will quickly build a following. More suggestions from Steve for editors looking to connect with local Twitter followers: wp.me/poqp6-1DI 

Free flu shots Local bloggers and others may do what this LATimes writer did and post well organized lists showing where free flu shots are available: http://palewire.com/free-flu-shots/

You can do the same thing, on your own site or blog. Or point to a community resource that has already done the work. Free flu shots are available everywhere from Philly http://cbsloc.al/oZVFqq to West Palm Beach FL http://bit.ly/pEb1sE. Google provides this easy-to-use map of all flu shot providers.

Do your readers know where to go?

Solar for Schools Suggested social-media prompts: Should your school go solar? Would solar-power panels cut costs and provide a learning tool for local schools? Would it be too expensive? How important is it to make school buildings into teaching tools? Are you willing to make an investment now to save future energy costs?

Example 1: SOLAR SAVINGS: Deals net local schools green energy, learning tools |CentreDaily.com http://bit.ly/sX8IgY

Example 2: School district in Berkeley opens solar-energy farm to help save money | The Asbury Park Press | APP.com http://bit.ly/sPS1YY

Breaking news on Facebook You know that feeling when the call comes into the newsroom: "we have a verdict." In Cincinnati, editors made sure they used social media to let readers know, too: Verdict reached in trial of Marcus Isreal, accused in death of Warren County Deputy Brian Dulle. http://on.fb.me/sm2MQL

Note there was a quick follow-up post with a link to an article about the verdict, but the first word drew several reader comments.

LinkedIn Training When a Sacramento man died in a bike accident, the Bee found telling details on his LinkedIn profile and included them in the article:
Former Senate staffer Robb Deignan dies in Davis-to-Fairfield bike ride | Sacramento Bee http://bit.ly/v74VGP

His LinkedIn profile described his current occupation as "Semi-Retired/Dog Walker" at "Self-Amused Inc.""Semi-retired and hanging out with my dog, Buddy, and cycling junkies," he wrote in the description field.

Few projects are followed as closely as the development of a new video game system. These trade publications found evidence about a next-generation Xbox console by closely examining LinkedIn profiles: 

1. LinkedIn resumes reveal new Xbox console in development http://bit.ly/sN1o8L

2. Four MS employees working on “Xbox next-gen,” says LinkedIn CVs |  http://bit.ly/t5XGqn

Did you know that LinkedIn trains journalists how to get scoops via LinkedIn? (Click fo more examples of how LinkedIn can help reporters.) The next session for journos is on 11/3  http://linkd.in/pMW0qX The free half-hour sessions are through a call-in number and the demo can be followed on a computer by anyone with an internet connection.

 

Phoenix Jones, Open Newsroom, Scanning Photos: Tips for Editors

Prompt of the Day
Does your town need a superhero to fight crime? Make a reference to Phoenix Jones, the self-styled superhero arrested in a paper spray incident in Seattle. Jones's names is at the top of the Google hot search list early Tuesday morning. Here's the rest of the round up of editor tips (short url's includede to make sharing easier).

Open newsroom
Call it budget, sked or newslist - when newsrooms turn process into product and plan in the open, everyone wins: http://bit.ly/ptWxaK The Guardian has started publishing its news budget on the web, letting readers in on the process. From Dan Roberts, a Guardian editor -- Have Your Say:

What if all those experts who delight in telling us what's wrong with our stories after they've been published could be enlisted into giving us more clues beforehand? What if the process of working out what to investigate actually becomes part of the news itself?
It might seem a minority pursuit, but the experience of covering breaking news already suggests otherwise. Like many websites, we are discovering some of our best-read stories are the live blogs that report events as they unfold, often with brutal honesty about what we don't know or hope to find out.

What do we learn? The Guardian business news desk is kicking of the earnings season with a report on Alcoa's earnings and a politician's plan to crackdown on internet porn will be subject to a "reality check." It turns out the hidden plans of a newsroom gain nothing by being kept private.

In praising this step, Matthew Ingram of GigaOm (Memo to Newspapers: Let Your Readers Inside the Wall) says the time for secrecy is over: "Either newspapers develop a more balanced relationship with the people formerly known as the audience, by allowing them to contribute to the process, or they will find their audience has gone elsewhere."

Value of Photos -- From Your Archives, From the Police
In Conway, Ark., the Log Cabin Democrat has been scanning and publishing 5,000 photos a month. It organized them into what it calls the Conwaypedia. Another initiative from this Morris newspaper is Faulkner County Booked, which is attracting 300,000 pageviews a month.
These steps are part of the Morris drive to put digital first. A Morris exec, Derek May, posted this more detailed explanation of what the company is doing in an attempt to reverse a 40% drop in revenue and a 75% drop in profits over five years.
Digital first might have a familiar ring: Digital First, of course is the holding company for the JRC and MediaNews Group newspapers, from San Jose to New Haven.
It's also the rallying cry in papers from Seattle to Wichita:
In Seattle Times’ new digital-first newsroom, roles change to ‘creation, curation, community’ | Poynter. http://bit.ly/n0nzcE
Wichita Eagle: Testing a new organizational model for a digital-first newsroom | Knight Digital Media Center http://bit.ly/okhsUf
Making the most of every frame captured by staff photographers and your readers keeps readers engaged. When my hometown paper published a gallery showing the opening of a new fire station, our family was delighted to find this photo of my father: Photo Gallery: Canton's New Fire Station -  CantonRep.com http://bit.ly/nIKxE6  One tip: allow readers to add caption material.

Pumpkins, Unicef and Pet Costumes: Halloween Ideas
Who runs the pumpkin contest in your market? Size matters: 1,704-pound pumpkin earns CA farmer $10,224 in Pumpkin Weigh-off prize money: http://bit.ly/p7K0Ma

Unicef Halloween drive is a good peg for a prompt: Are you donating to Unicef this year?
UNICEF's Little Orange Box Goes Digital This Halloween http://on.mash.to/qlPEZc

Favorite pet costumes: MainStreet.com has a pet costume roundup: http://bit.ly/rqKgyO

Have you brainstormed your Halloween coverage plan? Have you been inspired by the Guardian to publish a list of stories your have in the works?

Occupy Your Town, OccupyWallStreet: Tips for Editors

Occupy Your Town
Occupy Wall Street is not just about Wall Street. How to track similar protest movements in your town? Look at this list from Occupy Together. The site says there are organizers working in 1,271 towns (now 1,302 towns), including major metros but also smaller towns from San Luis Obispo, CA, to Greensboro, NC, from Allentown, PA, to Springfield, MO.

Twitter is one of the best listening posts. Here is a list, from Listorious, a web company that pulls together guides to related material on Twitter, of many of the Occupy Twitter feeds.

Do a Twitter search: http://twitter.com/#!/search-home
Enter "occupytownname" all as one word, using your town and nearby communities. Example: http://twitter.com/#!/search/occupyallentown

Many communities have seedbeds of anger over high unemployment rates and a sense that immoral financial activity enriched a privileged few while knocking millions of others into poverty. There is an equally strong sentiment that more government intervention or higher taxes will not solve the problem. Are you tapping into the strong feelings on all sides of this issue? Put up some prompts on Twitter and Facebook, with references to what is happening from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale.

A sign that organizers of these modern-day Hoovervilles are planning for the long term? Have they made provisions for toilets, hygiene, and bad weather?

Teens and tanning beds
Now that California has banned anyone under 18 from using a tanning bed, teenagers and parents in your area may have strong opinions on the role of government and the health impact of indoor tanning.
Possible prompts: Should our state ban tanning beds for anyone under 18? Would you allow your teenager to use a tanning bed? California has the highest age limit. Other states have bans for under 14 year olds or for different age groups.

Parent Unions
Parent unions are another California idea that may be taking root in your town. This weekend, the AP ran a piece about a new type of parent group organized to push for fundamental change in local schools. 'Parent unions' spring up in school districts from San Diego to Buffalo, N.Y., pushing for academic reform: http://apne.ws/pvf8V8
Is there a parent union in your area? Do parents want the ability to force change through petition? What role should parents have in running local schools?
From the article:

Behind the parent empowerment movement is a feisty Los Angeles-based nonprofit, Parent Revolution, which in 2010 pushed through a landmark law giving parents authority to force turnarounds at failing schools through a petition.

Known as the "parent trigger," the California law was the first of its kind in the nation. It inspired Texas and Mississippi to adopt similar laws and legislation is under consideration in 20 other states. Two states have voted down parent trigger bills.

Lee Cowan of NBC Nightly News covered this last month: 'Trigger law' put to the test in Compton, Calif.

Cowan's lede:

On its face, the idea sounds so simple: if a school is persistently failing, give parents the power to change it. But the reality of putting that notion into practice is proving challenging, at best.

In the last two years, California, Texas and Mississippi have passed so-called "parent trigger" laws. In each, the law stipulates that if at least 51 percent of the parents of children enrolled in a school sign a petition, they can trigger change.

Diane Ravitch, a professor at NYU, attacks what she calls a "deceptive scheme" in this letter about the trigger laws, published in the Washington Post.

The experts are solidifying their views. What do your readers think?

Traffic and Real Estate
Readers are always fascinated by traffic and the status of major commercial real estate properties. As the experts of their own realms, they are also vocal. Here are examples from the Centre Daily Times page on Facebook that showed good social media instincts and good reader engagement:
Traffic: A reporter and photographer are on the scene. We'll have updates online. Crash closes U.S. Route 322
Real estate: Wonder why the former A&P has been vacant for all of these years? Today's story provides the background. 
By including Facebook as a conversation platform, the CDT involved readers in the conversation.

Follow the Money
Looking to learn more about money in politics? @OpenSecretsDC Resource Center has guides for beginners, FAQs and more http://ow.ly/6LUTP
Much of what is published here for voters is very useful, too, for reporters.

Living Legends, Lessons From a Postal Stamp Prompt

Who in your area should be on a stamp?

What's the point of of questioning the audience? In your newsroom, when you ask a question across your site and social media platforms, do you have a metric for success? Is it 20 responses? 200? Somewhere in between? 

Do you know what brings more responses -- time of day, wording of question, amplification by repeating across platforms? Is someone in charge of keeping track of what works and what doesn't and issuing guidance?

If you typically ask one question a day and generate 100 comments or responses a week, what can you do to increase that by a factor of 10? Who in the newsroom has suggestions for steps to take that might make that much of a difference?

Asking a question is not a resource issue -- it takes two minutes to go to Facebook and ask "what should we cover today?" or "how are we doing?" 

It does take a few more minutes to monitor your activity and make adjustments so that week by week you engage more readers.

The Objective A highly engaged audience that is regularly creating content, a newsroom that initiates discussion, readers who react to news by spending time with your brand. 

Measures of Success Comments, likes, clicks, page views, new questions, discussion threads -- and journalists who repurpose those discussions into articles or posts for a website or a print product.

Who's doing it well? Here's some evidence from a postal prompt about what works and what doesn't. If you have not asked a "who should be on a stamp" question, today is a good day. (Short url's included to ease sharing.)

The Indianapolis Star in one day had 17 Facebook likes and about 80 comments on a survey: who from Indiana should be on a stamp? Who will it be? Time for Indiana living legend on postage stamp | indystar.com http://bit.ly/nD5tYm Note the large photo of a favorite son.

The AP asked on Facebook and received 96 comments in the first day: http://on.fb.me/potHOi They amplified the request with a Twitter prompt that did two important things: directed people to Facebook and seeded the question with some possible answers from top names trending on Google search: Twitter / @AP: Interesting ideas of who belongs on a stamp — Wangari Maathai? Chuck Norris? — are on our Facebook page http://bit.ly/oBJFIAThe AP tweet to 500,000 followers had two dozen retweets: https://bitly.com/potHOi+

The Tennessean asked on its site and across social media feeds for local living legends worth featuring on a stamp. From the managing editor's Twitter feed @megdowney: I vote John Seigenthaler. @Tennessean. Which living TN legend would you want to see on a stamp? http://t.co/FQYiUpmI

Seeding the conversation with a few names seems to work. The Des Moines Register drew 50 comments on Facebook on the first day with this prompt:What living Iowan should be on a stamp? The U.S. Postal Service has changed the rules to allow living people to be honored on postage stamps. So -- who would be your Iowa choice? (Around the newsroom, suggestions included Hayden Fry, Slipknot, Fred Hoiberg, Shawn Johnson and Captain James T. Kirk.)  http://on.fb.me/nrxUyi

A post on the Register's site had a bold call out asking readers to go to the Facebook page to answer: Who do you think should be first living Iowan on a stamp? | DesMoinesRegister.com http://bit.ly/pkeFDu

Lauren Wilbert List, a community producer for the Times-Picayune website, Nola.com, received more than 20 comments when she asked the question: Which living person would you like to see on a stamp?  http://bit.ly/oakFyw

The LA Times fashion writer set up a survey: Poll: Which living face of fashion belongs on a U.S. stamp? - latimes.com http://lat.ms/nMFfTf

There were 89 comments in a day and a half on this Florida news site, and note that the writer included an email address for readers who wanted to add a suggestion without leaving a comment. Does that mean there will be a followup? What living American would you like to see on a stamp? Let us know - St. Petersburg Times http://bit.ly/p4ll6k

How many news organizations will do more than just collect a few comments? The Postal Service is inviting official submissions. Here are the official stamp criteria from the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee http://bit.ly/nfjDx4

This is an opportunity to keep the conversation going, to solicit a list of names, to put out a poll, to narrow the list to the top five, to formally submit the names on behalf of your audience, and to report back the status of the request. The requests can be segmented by geography or topic area: who would be your metro area choice? your state choice? who would be your choice from among local sports stars? fashion stars? business stars? civic leaders? entertainers?

Each one of those points is an opportunity for deeper audience engagement. 

What is working for you? 

Fall Splendor, Obama and Schools, Heirloom Veggies, Crowdsourcing

Some ideas for social media prompts from newsrooms. Short url's included to make sharing easier.

Fall Welcome

It's fall and these first days of the season are a good time to ask your audience a related question. In Nashville, the paper put together a list and asked for more suggestions:

On Twitter / @karenleeryan: 20 things to love about fall -- what is on your list? http://bit.ly/qAb4CB

On Facebook 20 things we love about fall http://on.fb.me/qkI3VV

President's Back-to-School speech

On Wednesday, President Obama continues his annual practice of presenting a back-to-school speech. His focus has been personal responsibility. Every year, schools discuss if this is a government event that everyone should watch or a political event. Here we go again: Teachers decide whether students can watch Obama’s school speech | The Jamestown Sun | http://bit.ly/nkHoy3

Will classrooms in your area be tuned to the speech?

From the 2010 Obama school speech (in Philadelphia): "But you’ve got a job, too.  You’ve got to show up to school on time.  You’ve got to pay attention in your class.  You’ve got to do your homework.  You’ve got to study for exams." - http://1.usa.gov/poP9Lu

From the 2009 Obama school speech (in Arlington): "none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed." - http://1.usa.gov/pGdxd4

Harvest time

Are you running a best harvest contest? Asking readers for photos of giant squash? Helping your audience make plans for next year? Today, Sothebys is running an auction of heirloom vegetables - kale, squash and cabbage:  http://bit.ly/qIB4F9

Are their heirloom garden growers in your area? How are they saving their seeds for next year? What are some favorite meals and recipes that use the harvests?

The Future is Here

Jon Dube summed up the ONA meeting in Boston: Highlights from the 2011 Online News Association conference | CyberJournalist.net http://bit.ly/pnfHtX

A key point: the future is here (even if it is unevenly distributed). Jon's report includes a great set of links to more resources. "Users rule the web" is his version of John Paton's "How the Crowd Saved Our Company," which includes this: "The Crowd collectively knows more about any subject, city or event we choose to cover than we do." -- http://bit.ly/qz9Bxu

Every suggested prompt I send out is a recognition 1. that the crowd is already engaged in a vibrant conversation about important topics and 2. that you can extend and amplify that discussion on your platform under your brand.

Covering a Disaster: Lessons From Reno, Part 2

Lessons from Beryl Love, @BerylLove, editor of @RGJ, the Reno Gazette-Journal, from Beryl's tweets on #ASNEchat.  Beryl managed his newsroom's coverage of the plane crash at the Reno Air Race. After I posted some lessons from Reno based on my own reading of his newsroom's posts and tweets, Beryl added important details in the chat. I distilled these five lessons from his conversation.

1. Dedicated staff. Beryl wrote: "Staying on top of UGC required someone's complete attention." He added that the best image of the crash came from a spectator (first photo in this gallery). One person focused on user-generated content will help the newsroom find and distribute great content from readers. Beryl added that the newsroom worked hard to contact and confirm the identities of people sending in information but that reporters and editors were "merciless aggregators" when confirmation was not possible.

2. Sign up for CoverItLive. "Using CoverItLive to automate aggregation and publishing twitter updates in real time" was a big help, Beryl tweeted.

3. Social media super users. Know and follow the active social media users in your market. A hospital used Twitter for real time announcements about the number of patients from the disaster who were being treated there. If you curate Twitter lists of active feeds and monitor those lists for news on normal days, you will have that tool at the ready when disaster hits. From @BerylLove: Very interesting to me...

4. Live updates. Use Twitter for fast, live updates during news conferences. Beryl said his team made no effort to link these live update tweets back to his newspaper's website. Break the mindset that every tweet or Facebook post has to include a link back to your site.

5. Plan. Finally, Beryl added: "We are updating our breaking news plan to better define roles." Devote a planning meeting to what roles everyone will play during a disaster. Be flexible, but have an emergency plan that is updated to work with today's social media tools. 

Lessons From Reno: Time For A Disaster Drill

The Reno Gazette-Journal is a Gannett paper with a 54,000 Sunday circulation and a Facebook page that has 2,982 likes: RGJ.com - Reno | Facebook http://on.fb.me/oiqmNs

On a typical day, there would be four or five Facebook posts, including direct invitations to readers: Take our Reno casino history quiz -- http://on.fb.me/rmNeU1.

When a plane crashed into the crowd at the Reno Air Race on Friday, the RGJ Facebook page and the @RGJ Twitter stream became essential parts of the information flow. One of the first posts was a call for reader photos or information. A community member who responded with a comment from the scene and made it clear that the toll was extensive: http://on.fb.me/q1CU1A

It was on Twitter, though, that @RGJ made more of a mark. Gazette-Journal reporters filed sentence-by-sentence updates on Twitter from the National Transportation Board briefings. Example below.

rgj RGJ.com NTSB: They found multiple memory cards at the accident site. Not sure if any of them are from the plane's video system. #renoairraces

rgj RGJ.com Rosekind: The memory card is the same kind you might have in your own video recorder. #renoairraces

rgj RGJ.com NTSB spokesman Mark Rosekind is the official conducting the press briefing. #renoairraces

Has your newsroom udpated your disaster plan to match readers' digital expectations? How will you use social media? Will your FB and Twitter feeds be linked? When disaster strikes, will you handle these platforms following the same processes you do now? What is an appropriate pace for Twitter and Facebook updates? Will there be a 12-hour hole in your updating schedule?

Andy Carvin of NPR was one of the first to tweet about the audience video of the crash. He also tweeted a note saying how he found it: 

@acarvin: For those who asked: I found eyewitness to #renocrash and the long video by searching for "OMG" & various expletives in Reno.

Is your newsroom ready to beat the national media use of Facebook and Twitter to report from your own backyard? This is a good week to raise these issues at a staff meeting.

Honoring Constitution Day -- Ideas for Editors

Saturday is Sept. 17, Constitution Day. Some tips for prompts and coverage, including examples. Short url's included to encourage sharing.

Many schools will celebrate on Friday, including this one in California that is using contemporary cultural figures to help students learn: SpongeBob and Angry Birds to help teach the Constitution | students, school, constitution - News - The Orange County Register http://bit.ly/p1ASox

Are you running a quiz? Here's one Constitution Quiz.

Another, for children from the US Mint (one screen down):H.I.P. Pocket Change Web Site - Constitution Day http://1.usa.gov/nQFTmK

A third from Scholastic News In-Depth Constitution Quiz: http://bit.ly/pB8Ekq

A dive into your archives will find articles, photos or letters that may be worth running again:

Example: Constitution was born of compromise - mcall.com http://bit.ly/ngeVmE

Example: LETTER: Republicans in Congress who signed Grover Norquist pledge violating U.S. Constitution - The New Haven Register -  http://bit.ly/r96vMZ

With prompts on Facebook, Twitter and on your site, a quiz, a few selections from the archives, an online post of the entire document, and a guide to events, your instant Constitution Day package will stir conversation and spotlight our core legal document.

Possible prompts: What is your favorite part of the Constitution and why? Who has read the entire document? Do you have a favorite figure from that part of our nation's history? How do you describe the Constitution to young children? What is your school doing for Constitution Day?

Examples of guides to events:

*At least three events mark Constitution Day in Modesto - Bee Editorials - Modbee.com

*Constitution Day Events | TAMUtimes 

*Tech plans events for Constitution Day | The News Star 

My favorite part is the First Amendment. A new poll shows growing support among teenagers. Helping readers learn about the Constitution may help all of us protect our rights.

 

Vaccinations, College Rankings and Back to School Night: Tips for Editors

Vaccine The Republican debate in Florida sparked new national debate over the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for pre-teen and teenage girls that prevent cervical cancer. (Short url's included to help with sharing.)

That discussion can extend to your Facebook page, site or Twitter feed. Some sources of independent information: CDC - Reports of Health Concerns Following HPV Vaccination - Vaccine Safety http://1.usa.gov/qvmBFJ

American Academy of Pediatricians releases statement on HPV vaccine http://bit.ly/rjipnE

What do lawmakers, parents and doctors in your community say? Who should make the decision if, or when, a child is vaccinated? What are the vaccination rates in your community?

Play Nickelodeon encourages children to get active by going dark for three midday hours Saturday, Sept. 24, for Worldwide Day of Play, supported by ‘Let’s Move,’ the President’s Council On Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and the National Park Service. (Hat tip Mike Allen, Politico.) Build a conversation around "play." How many hours a week did you play when you were growing up? How many hours a week do your children play? Favorite game, outdoors? Favorite game, indoors? 

Football How can readers join the conversation with your staff experts? Try Skype. That's what the Plain-Dealer uses to connect fans to the newsroom. From the Cleveland.com Facebook page: Got a question for Tony Grossi, Mary Kay Cabot or Dennis Manoloff about the Browns? Our Skype lines will be open from 10 - 11 a.m. to take your questions. http://on.fb.me/mTddVj

Local Colleges The Cincinnati Enquirer noted how local colleges fared in U.S. News & World Report rankings: http://on.fb.me/nCXD7D The USNews rankings, http://bit.ly/qEfXnW, and similar rankings from the Forbes College Rankings, http://onforb.es/rt0PP6, can be used to prompt discussion. Do readers agree? What is the hidden gem in your area that these rankings miss? What local college is riding an out-dated reputation? What do families look for when they make decisions -- what information do they use to rank colleges for their students?

Tweet for talent Good use of Twitter by a top editor to recruit community photographers: Carole Tarrant (@caroletarrant) RT @theburgsNRV: We're looking for people who shoot photos of h.s. sports around #nrv. Give us a shout at [email protected].

Back to School Night Knees to chest, folded into tiny chairs, parents endure the annual ritual of back to school night in the hope that their involvement will help their children. Teachers sum up their philosophy of education, grading system, and classroom rules in neat seven-minute presentations. 

Some ideas and possible prompts that can stir conversation about Back to School Night:

*What would you miss most if Back to School Night was canceled?

It happened in one NJ town: http://bit.ly/r0S27a

*Do you know how to reach your child's teacher -- by phone? by email? Ellicott City: Back to School night opens lines of communication - baltimoresun.com 

http://bsun.md/oxBGGh

*Did you join the PTA? Why or why not? Back-to-School Night Basics | Scholastic.com http://bit.ly/qZcCrX

*Has your child's teacher explained how much time is expected for homework each day? Questions to Ask at “Back to School Night” | Power Moms Unite  http://bit.ly/rb6TmJ

*Do you plan to volunteer to help in the classroom? Back-to-School Night Basics - Back-to-school prep | GreatSchools http://bit.ly/qGxRUM
A content and social media plan around some of these questions encourages conversation, helps parents and educators share tips and information, and builds community. What is Back to School Night like in your area?