Reader callout: Thanksgiving

GateHouse News Service has two reader callouts for you to use before and after Thanksgiving, one asking what readers are thankful for, and another soliciting their holiday family and food photos.

Here are some ways to maximize these callouts' potential:

-- Perhaps a better way to get readers' gratitude stories is to ask for a specific person they're thankful for. The Patriot Ledger, for example, is asking readers to tell them who has kept them going through hard times. This one's easier to get photos for, too.

-- Thanksgiving, like many holidays, is one where families take photos every year. Request readers' photos of past Thanksgivings, too -- does a local family always take a group photo on the holiday, or take a Christmas card photo then?

-- Perhaps readers have a favorite family prayer they always say before partaking in the holiday feast. Ask them to submit it, and run them in the Thanksgiving Day newspaper.

-- It's a perfect time to honor readers who have had a tough year. Can you turn the Giving Thanks callout into a "count your blessings" contest? Can you coordinate with a local grocery store to help provide dinner to a reader who's had trouble making ends meet? Work with local food pantries and aid agencies to find these stories and these readers.

What other Thanksgiving reader involvement ideas do you have? Let me know, and I may include them in a future GHNewsroom post.

And, look for more holiday callout ideas on GHNewsroom on Monday.