Coffee as Fortification
One of the great ideas I received after writing about my search to find Maggie— the nurse who cared for me when I was in the hospital after burning my leg — was to contact the local newspaper and have them link to the blog posts. Honestly, I hadn’t thought of that. instead I was working on the copy for a call-out in the personal ads. But the more I thought about it, the smarter it seemed. Armed with a cup of coffee for both caffeine and courage, I called a long-time columnist at the Green Bay Press-Gazette and spilled out the story of my search.
“Now, that’s kind of interesting,” reporter Dian Page said. “Tell me about your ties to Green Bay.” My ties of course are many, including having a brother and a sister who still work and live in the area. “Well, send me an email summarizing what we talked about and I’ll see what I can do.” Quickly, I pounded out the story summary on my keyboard, hit the send button and that was that.
Only if you have ever pitched the press, you can never be sure what happens next other than the fact that you usually wait. Your story, your idea, your pitch if you will is no longer so much yours as someone else’s. The media had just become the filter between me and my target audience — anyone who might have information about Maggie-the-Nurse or my story for that matter.
Days passed and I sort of forgot I had even done this.
When the phone rang yesterday with an unknown 414 exchange, I let it go to voice mail. Probably another one of those “you’ve won a vacation!” scams or something. But when I listened to the voice mail, it was Dian from the Green Bay Press-Gazette, calling to fact-check a few things about the story. “It’ll run on Tuesday,” she said. “Good luck. I hope it helps and you find some information.”
It’ll run on Tuesday, January 31st. I don’t know what exactly is going to ‘run’ — what piece or part of the story — but I do know there’s power in the press and that everyone and their brother reads the local paper. Now this, is going to get interesting.
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Anne On Fire 
This may just be the connection you’ve been searching for…hope it works out : ) Nice article in the gb press. Good thing the ariticle mentioned Mike since he’d pretty upset not to have some of your “light” ; )
I spent 43 years working for local newspapers, and even after all that time I could feel the adrenaline rush as I read about your call to the Green Bay paper. I supervised coverage of many major events, but the real satisfaction in working in the community press was interacting with people who had stories like yours, and especially with helping people do things that they might not be able to do on their own. There were numerous instances over those years in which we helped one person find another person, and much of that was in the pre-Internet days when searches of that kind were much more labor-intensive. I hope you find Maggie — Even the name is wonderful! — and my only regret is that I’m not in on the search.
Charles — I did feel that adrenaline rush and was surprised that I felt the juices running. I’ve worked as a journalist and pitched stories but have never been the subject of my own and its…..a little disconcerting! I’ll keep you posted on the results…and now will think of ways to involve you!
Fingers crossed for you!
I want to read the article…will it be available online? Mary would love to see it!
Sara
I’m really nervous about what might be written — but will definitely post the article. And yes, Dian Page’s columns are published online at the Press Gazette. I was sure to tell her about Kathleen’s Pulitzer as well so no sibling would think I was hogging the limelight!
I worked at St. Vincent’s pediatrics as an RN. and remember Maagie. She was a wonderfully caring person with a great sense of humor. You may contact me at 920-469-3411.
Carol Mangin
The anticipation….yikes! Looking forward to more blog entries.
I know — we have a blog cliffhanger here!
Very cool – can’t wait to hear what happens!!!
Think the blog needed a little drama, huh? Well, we got it.