GNN Weekly Column (07-4-7)

By Good News Network Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Links and Resources - Public Relations

THE HOST LEADS INTO THE SEGMENT by mentioning topics featured RECENTLY IN THE NEWS, like:

"Are you fed up with Baghdad, Anna Nicole and Don Imus? We wanted to present some of the good stuff happening in the world, so we have with us from Washington, DC, Geri Weis-Corbley, the managing editor of the Good News Network."

(NOTE TO PRODUCERS: We are presenting an expert, with a platform of 10 years publishing good news, and 20 years experience in the media. Geri's a mom, a pioneer -- with accolades from the likes of Colin Powell. She's the world's only expert in the field of positive news, and presents an upbeat personality that reflects such)

THIS SAMPLE SEGMENT COULD HAVE BEEN DELIVERED LAST WEEK (April 5) via tape, live on the phone, or in studio. GERI WOULD HAVE DELIVERED these points from her weekly column, but in a CONVERSATIONAL WAY...  (MAGAZINES COULD REPRINT AS IS):
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"Ready for some GOOD NEWS, (add Host's Name)?" . . . "Two Supreme Court cases were decided in FAVOR of cleaner air this week. One was called, by the Sierra Club, "The most important Supreme Court decision for the environment in a century." It's great news for kids and adults with asthma -- and great news for the global warming dilemma. Old coal-burning power plants will have to upgrade pollution controls, and our government will likely pressure car companies to give us cars with cleaner exhaust AND higher gas mileage.


...Not all car companies and big oil-makers care ONLY about profits OVER people: Here's a great story about the executives at Murphy Oil (a Fortune 200 Company). They're offering EVERY high school graduate in their Arkansas hometown a free and full college scholarship for the next 20 years! It's a $50 million fund that will literally change some kids' lives -- the ones who wouldn't otherwise go to college. They're paying for ANY school in or out of state with a tuition payment equal to Arkansas' public university. Imagine the feeling of parents as they fill up at the Murphy's gas pump!

...And finally, we've heard enough about Anna Nicole's sad life to last us for the REST of OURS, so, this week let's hear about someone that died recently, who is worth remembering. Although football's not my favorite sport, this particular man's life is so inspiring he's been called, The Martin Luther King Jr. of Football:

Eddie Robinson was a legendary football coach at Grambling State University, a tiny black college in Louisiana. He started with no money and not even a decent field, but over his 56 years as coach, he guided more than 200 players into the elite NFL, but more inspiring was the way he stood his ground in the deep south in the face of Jim Crow laws and a college football good-ol'-boys' network that implied no black man could do as well as a white man...

There's a story about "Coach Rob" attending his first American Football Coaches Association Meeting. He was the only African-American in the room in 1951. When he arrived, he didn't think, 'Gee, I hope somebody will accept me'. His first thought was, 'I wonder how long it will take me to become president of this organization.'

It took him 25 years.

And, during that time, he taught his players not only to win games -- a total of 408 over his long career -- but also to study hard and graduate. He taught good citizenship, and through all his years you never saw him get angry at anyone -- not even when he had to "fix sandwiches for road trips, because his players couldn't eat in the 'white' restaurants of the South."

Eddie Robinson once said, "The real record I've set for over 50 years is the fact that I have had one job, and one wife." .... Isn't that sweet?....

That's the good news for this week!"
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ON-AIR SEGMENTS COULD CONCLUDE WITH BANTER between Geri and host,
*OR, THE HOST CAN transition to an audience/listener GIVE-AWAY:
"And, we've got some EXTRA GOOD NEWS for our listeners: Free tickets... etc...

GO TO BREAK...

Note: We could also shorten the segment to just one story, chosen ahead of time by the editor/reporter/producers from a list of 3 or 4.