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A family lost in a corn maze in Danvers, Mass., called 911 for help in getting out of the maze. The story attracted more than 15,000 page views the day after it was posted, but the Pete Chianca's North of Boston blog post that linked to the 911 tape really drew me in.
WHAT THEY DID: Wicked Local Danvers posted a story with a supplied photo of the corn maze, which does look pretty challenging. The family of four included a 3-week-old baby, and after nightfall and the maze closed, the family called 911 for help in getting out of the corn maze. I heard about the whole thing on my favorite morning radio show in Chicago, and it sounded pretty funny. But Chianca's blog post that linked to the 911 tape added a different dimension to the story. From the blog:
"It’s tempting to have a chuckle over the family that called 911 after getting lost in the corn maze at Connors Farm in Danvers, but I’d like to start off by saying this would absolutely, definitely happen to me. Well, the getting lost part, at least — I probably wouldn’t have called 911, but mostly out of embarrassment. They would have found my bleached bones among the stalks come December."
TAKEAWAY: Take advantage of ways to enrich your coverage using online-only opportunities such as 911 tapes. The tape was six minutes long, and you can hear the panicked mom talking about how she would never again take a newborn into a corn maze. Comments on the blog ranged from people making fun of the family to people showing compassion. Whatever your opinion of the family's 911 call, this related content offers your readers an important piece to this puzzle.
If you have a Best of the Week submission, send an email to Jean Hodges or Sarah Corbitt.
Jean Hodges served as a reporter and editor for more than 20 years and led groundbreaking projects that won national acclaim before coming to GateHouse to launch the company's news service. She worked most recently at the Chicago Sun-Times' Daily Southtown, covering the south side and south suburbs of Chicago. Before that she worked at the Killen (Texas) Daily Herald, the Clovis (N.M.) News Journal and the Ely Standard in Cambridgeshire, England. She now works with GateHouse news organizations on content strategies, Web initiatives, plus she leads training programs such as webinars and LEDE, GateHouse's leadership program.
