Story ideas, pages for Titanic sinking 100th anniversary

Connections to the ship

If any of your readers had a relative who knew someone who knew someone on board, or who was supposed to have boarded, the Titanic, it would be family legend. Ask readers for their connections to the Titanic. Did any of their relatives work for any of the suppliers to the ship, or does anyone simply have an interest in the history of the voyage? Ask your local historians if there are any links to anyone in your town to the disaster. People can look up Titanic passenger records here.

Historic pages

Was your newspaper publishing on April 15, 1912? What stories of the Titanic were in your paper? Reprint commemorative editions if possible, or bring the pages online for readers to see close-up. (Of course, we want to show off your pages, too.)

Cruise ship dangers

Reports of capsizing ships have been in the news again recently. Should that worry people taking cruises in the coming months? While passengers can't do anything to prevent failure on a ship, they can be prepared -- what do travei agents and local boat owners suggest passengers be prepared for? How can passengers get back their money if their ship runs into problems? Is vacation insurance a good idea?

Teaching tool

Are schools using the Titanic as a teaching tool? Why do teachers think the story resonates with us after 100 years?

Coming from GHNS

Look Tuesday night on GHNS for a page on the Titanic anniversary, and on Friday you'll see a syndicated carousel item on your site with photos of the ship, links to historical articles and information, and videos related to the anniversary. Papers with AP photo access also will receive a photo gallery related to the Titanic. Also, AP papers will find another version of the Titanic page, with AP content, on GHNS' common content pages FTP site. If you have questions about this content, contact GHNS director Lisa Glowinski, lglowinski@corp.gatehousemedia.com.