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Give a Gift to News 13

We’ve entered into the time of year in the news world where things seem to slow down.  It’s strange that it is the case because during the holidays most things in life speed up.  We run from this Christmas party to the next, write and mail dozens of Christmas cards and purchase gifts for people we see twice a year, including Christmas.

Here in the newsroom we often joke about pulling and having the new reporters re-voice last year’s stories on Christmas tree light safety, protecting your home from burglaries and great gifts for under $20.  It seems all the holiday pitches have been done before.  It may not just be the holidays with repeats.  My news director says he’s heard ALL the pitches before just the names involved and the reporter change.  I don’t know that I’ve been here long enough to experience that yet.

The reasons for the lack of stories are endless.  Our ratings period ends Wednesday and that’s when the vacations begin.  We have many staff members who are from other states and need to go home to see their families.  Some even have to celebrate Christmas before it gets here.  Luckily most of my family is 3 hours or less away.

Another contributing factor is there isn’t much going on other than Santa’s arrival at the mall, Christmas decorations around Lake DeFuniak and charitable organizations collecting donations for the holidays.  Not that those things aren’t important, they are and we will be reporting on them.  We just need more “news” stories.

What I’m trying to say is the best gift you could give News 13 for Christmas would be to let us know about your news story ideas.  Yes, normally it is unethical for journalist to receive gifts but in this case I believe the news director will be just fine with it.  Send your news tips to and we’ll open them up.

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