Archive for February, 2009

The lead story in the Rocky Mountain News today kicks off this way:

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over.

The paper succumbed to the same forces that will claim more papers in the coming months: steadily sagging print subscriptions, and an online operation that attracted more readers than advertiser dollars. The current recession was the coup de grace.

A thoughtful column, describing the closure as a death in the family, appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on 2/27.

Also this week, Journal Register company, owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and 20 other daily papers and dozens of weeklies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, has filed for bankruptcy.

Correction!

The Journal Register Co. is not the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, I misread that. Click here for a more complete list of papers owned by the bankrupt company.

However, the Philadelphia Inquirer has, in fact, filed for bankruptcy. Click here to learn more.

The Potomac Conservancy is staffing up! They’re looking for an outreach coordinator to serve as “organizer, spokesperson, and liaison” to the public with a variety of river protection and appreciation projects.

They don’t tip their hand on salary, but they’re looking for a college grad with at least 2 years experience, so that tells you something. Also, they want basic computer skills and the usual “self starter, multitasking” etc. etc. The Potomac Conservancy is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Click here for the full description. Good luck!

Here’s a TV PSA that J.P. in North Carolina brought to my attention. It’s very clever but I doubt it will do much to change attitudes or behavior about polluted runoff. What’s missing here is a clear call to action — exactly what the viewer is supposed to do after seeing the spot. The producers of this video seem to believe that if they just successfully and memorably convey how nasty the stuff is, the viewers will leap off their couches to figure out the rest, such as:

• What stormwater actually is
• Whether they are at risk of drinking any
• Whether they are responsible for creating any
• If they’re something they could do about it
• Whether anybody else is doing their part

How many viewers will actually do all that? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? One in one hundred thousand?

Think I’m being harsh? Let’s do a simple test. Send the link to the video — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0I_9O4sVd0 — to somebody in your life who is not part of the conservation community.

Ask them to describe in their own words (don’t give them any hints), what the producers of the ad want them to do next. Post the replies in the comments field here below. I asked a couple of friends myself to prime the pump.

After that, click this link to reread step one of the Water Words That Work Method: Begin with Behavior. I’m looking forward to seeing what we come up with!

It was great to return to my home state of Georgia last week and do the Water Words That Work and Combat Communications for Conservationists workshops at the annual conference of the Georgia River Network.

As promised, I have posted some followup information for your review:

• Click here for the introductory presentation
• Click here for the first Water Words method training presentation
• Click here for the second Water Words method training presentation
• Click here for the “Combat Communications” introductory presentation
• Click here for the “Combat Communications” exercise presentation
• Put your email address in the signup box in the top right, and you’ll be notified whenever I publish some little nugget of new wisdom to this fine blog