Press Lines

Friday, April 2, 2021

Newspaper helps get shots in arms

COVID-19 vaccinations continue to be in the news. In March, the Lake Okeechobee News came to the rescue when local officials realized the state appointment system had made only 85 appointments and the vaccine pod at the Okeechobee Agri-Civic Center had 500 doses available. The first person county officials called was Lake Okeechobee News Editor Katrina Elsken, who had not even left the house yet but had given county officials her cell phone number. Why call a newspaper? Officials know the newspaper has the community’s most popular page on social media.

https://southcentralfloridalife.com/stories/400-first-doses-of-covid-19-vaccine-available-today-in-okeechobee-on-first-come-first-served-basis,17391?

Katrina quickly made use of the newspaper’s website and Facebook page – which has more than 21,000 followers – to start spreading the word. Throughout the day, the Lake Okeechobee News kept the community updated with how many doses were still available and how long the line was. News staff also fielded questions about what type of vaccine was available (Modern), what paperwork was needed (just a driver’s license or ID card) and who was eligible (initially those over age 50, but in the afternoon it dropped to anyone over age 18.) By 3:30 p.m. all doses had been given with none of the precious vaccine going to waste.

In follow up stories, the newspaper addressed the reason the state vaccination system is having problems making appointments – people see the “unknown caller” and think it’s spam! The Florida papers will continue to stay on top of the vaccination story and continue to keep readers updated.

https://southcentralfloridalife.com/stories/state-vaccination-system-fails-to-schedule-appointments,17475?

https://southcentralfloridalife.com/stories/signing-up-for-covid-19-vaccination-on-the-state-waitlist-dont-make-these-common-mistakes,17217?

Puppies, puppies, puppies!

The Lake Okeechobee News made a difference in a lot of little lives in March. After five mother dogs gave birth at a local rescue, 44 puppies needed homes! The story on the SouthCentralFloridaLife.com website attracted attention from as far away as Orlando (two hours away by car), and soon the little pups were lined up with new families.

https://southcentralfloridalife.com/belle-glade/stories/okeechobees-trail-of-hope-rescue-has-puppies-galore,17177

Now the newspaper and website running items on the mother dogs and other dogs at the shelter, hoping to help them find “furever” homes as well.

Inspiring Women

March was Women’s Month and the Caloosa Belle decided to celebrate by highlighting Inspirational Women of Hendry County. Readers were invited to nominate local women to be profiled. The ladies profiled included teachers, the first Black female police officer in Clewiston, and the woman inside the Easter Bunny costume.

https://southcentralfloridalife.com/stories/inspirational-women-of-hendry-county-kandie-perez,17132?

Delaware State News Mission Stories

A clear standout of our March reporting was the series of articles that marked the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 being detected in Delaware. Every reporter was involved in stories that examined the pandemic and its trajectory on schools, public health, businesses and – of critical importance – the medical workers on the front lines treating those sick and critically ill from the virus.

A Seaford nurse told reporter Mike Finney: ““My heart has broken over and over this past year. I grieve every single patient we lose. I remember their faces and their last moments. It’s emotionally exhausting.”

Reporter Matt Bittle sat down with Gov. John Carney via Zoom to get his thoughts on governing in a public health crisis and the lowest point of the pandemic. Reporter Craig Anderson explained the work of the epidemiologists behind the state’s data analysis and how deaths are determined to be COVID-19 related. Brooke Schultz, Glenn Rolfe, Noah Zucker and Tim Mastro all had stories. One even looked at why we couldn’t find toilet paper at the grocery store. Pages featured photos captured over the year by Photographer Marc Clery and our team of freelancers.

Executive Editor Andrew West wrote a From the Editor column calling for the state to honor those who died from the virus in a special 3/11 memorial day. Opinion Page Coordinator Lee Hoover sought commentaries from varied voices in medicine, education, religion and public service that complimented the news. Content Systems Manager Darin Powell created special front pages, bringing back elements of our design when the pandemic first began to give the paper a unique look. We highlighted statistics each day to give readers a quick glimpse at the impact the virus has had, from the stark positive case numbers and death toll nationally and in Delaware to the numbers of people unemployed because of the economic shutdowns.

We began featuring our stories and photos on Thursday, March 11, the day that COVID-19 was first detected in a Delaware resident, and they ran through Monday, March 15. On March 11, a special doubletruck overseen by Heather Cregar honored the number of people who had died from COVID. At that time, there were 1,492 victims. In addition to special treatment in print, our Web Editor and Social Media Coordinator Brooke Schultz created a banner on our BaytoBayNews.com home page to gather our coverage and that of our Maryland papers into one umbrella, so that readers could easily see the coronavirus coverage and then be directed to the various stories being written and released over the weekend.

It was a team effort that we are very proud of. While the COVID-19 anniversary wasn’t an event to be celebrated, the newsroom certainly deserves applause for its efforts in surviving a year of pandemic reporting and the work they did under those conditions. With a presidential election and a candidate from the First State, it was a news year like no other. We look forward to a time of celebrating in some semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy.

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/pandemic-becomes-personal,42394?

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/not-business-as-usual-industry-leaders-owners-share-pandemic-struggles,42505?

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/fear-a-year-ago-cautious-hope-today,42548?

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/behind-all-the-numbers,42568?

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/delaware-schools-learning-hard-lessons-during-pandemic,42586?

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/carney-reflects-on-a-year-of-covid-in-delaware,42595?

https://baytobaynews.com/stories/grocery-store-chaos-reflecting-on-the-rush-of-the-pandemics-early-days,42710?