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Over last week's holiday, I saw a few news outlets present their top stories from the first half of the year. I think it's a great idea not only to fill what could be a slow news time of year, but to make sure you don't forget anything when you compile your year in review pieces or contest entries at the end of this year.
Ways to make it your own:
-- Make it a quiz. Quick! Who won this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament? What was Best Picture at the Oscars? Have readers answer, in print and online, some local and national news questions from the year. You can even run a callout for such reader-submitted questions beforehand.
-- Look ahead: What are readers looking forward to for the rest of the year? We have the Olympics and presidential election coming up -- what local events should readers be aware of?
-- Or, pick a niche instead of doing a total roundup: Look at the first half of the year's weather, sports highlights, crime stats or your most-viewed stories online. By December, you may not remember what this year's "zombie attacks" were about, or that in March everyone was trying to get a piece of the huge Mega Millions jackpot, or what month Trayvon Martin was killed.
-- Run a photo gallery online of notable deaths: Whitney Houston, Davy Jones, Rodney King, Donna Summer. Or, compile one of "notorious" names in 2012, and a bit about their trials: John Edwards, Rod Blagojevich, Jerry Sandusky.
Check out story ideas, interesting ways to use Web tools and any way journalists are reaching out to readers.
