Local news. Much has been said and written about local news on Newsvine. I will take responsibility for generating my share of such discussions. Early on in the life of Groups I started a Private Group with only me in it with the purpose of publishing articles on Coshocton, Ohio news. I never followed through because Groups never got to the point where they could be free standing publications and I got lazy. (and busy) I am going to open up the subject once again. I am going to do it in honor of Groundhog Day.
What I am going to ask for here applies to Newsviners around the world even if they don't realize what Groundhog Day and its implications are to Americans. You can find fuller descriptions of the Day on wikipedia or elsewhere but a short description is: Groundhog Day is the 2nd of February and is the day most Americans decide how much longer Winter will last. They do this with the assisstance of a Groundhog. A furry fellow found frequenting fields and fence lines.
The time is nigh but I would beseech Newsviners to prepare a news report on a local happening that is truly news and would have impact in the originating community if not around the world. I don't mean a public information office fluff piece or Chamber of Commerce release but a real news story.
What: Anyone heard about the Mayor of Alice, Texas stealing a dog? Just made national news but I have been hearing it for weeks on local TV, should have reported it instead of raising rabble. If your Mayor has done something like this, if you have a major investigation going on in your area, if you have a personality who is from your community; all of these things would make good stories.
Purpose: To show the World that Newsvine can get together and do things for the whole community. To show that local news is a feasible option when writing on Newsvine. To show that we can be Citizen Journalists and not just Bloggers or Social Animals.
Scope: Your article should be between 300-500 words but don't feel you are required to stay there if you have more or less you deem important. You can cover any subject as long as it is about a factual happening or bit of information concerning your locality. If you feel you must you can make your locality include a larger geographical area than your village, town or city but try to keep to a local jurisdiction.
Timing and tagging: Post on February 2, 2008. Last but not least you should be prepared to publish your article as close to possible to 0600 Eastern Daylight Time, 6:00 am Eastern, 1200 Zulu or GMT. The reason for this choice of time is simply that it has been the optimum publishing time in my experience. Someday maybe we will be able to set a time for automatic release of articles and not have to stay up to do it. Oh, and tag with "local".
This article has 536 words in it. It is 36 words too long. (Revisions may or may not change count.) Thanks and please try to participate. This could be the start of a whole new relationship here on Newsvine. Thanks.