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Al's Morning Meeting

Home > Reporting, Writing & Editing > Al's Morning Meeting
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Al Tompkins
Story ideas that you can localize and enterprise. Posted by 7:30 a.m. Mon-Fri.
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A dozen sites
I'm diggin'


*1. StinkyJournalism.org's "Dubious Polling" Awards list is worth a read.

*2. Find out why a six-hour flight now takes seven. Airlines are "baking in" extra time to make up for long delays.

*3. Check out RTDNA's News and Terrorism workshop chat site.

4. BusinessWeek has highlighted big corporations that are pouring millions into Haiti relief.

5. Amazing: how phone apps helped save a man's life after he was buried by the Haiti earthquake.

6. The New York Times explains how cancer-treatment radiation saves lives, and ruins some.

*7. Here are some great databases that newsrooms have created to help connect people with their community.

8. A new study explores the media habits of teens.

9. The pros and cons of evangelizing on Facebook.

10. The FCC investigates the health and future of local news.

11. Brookings assesses Obama's first year in office

12. Why you better be careful when covering 100th birthdays!

All of my Diggin' sites are saved on Poynter's del.icio.us page.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but relies on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. We will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.


Online Retailers Plan 'Free Shipping Day'
Posted by Al Tompkins at 4:49 PM on Nov. 12, 2009
Researchers say online sales are already set to grow this holiday shopping season, and a new plan could push sales even higher. More than 200 big online retailers -- including American Eagle, Eddie Bauer, Nordstrom and FAO Schwarz -- have banded together to create a "Free Shipping Day" on Dec. 17.

Consumers who place an order that day can get free shipping and guaranteed delivery before Christmas. FreeShippingDay.com said the day could become as big of a shopping holiday as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It provided this background:

"In 2007 online shopping peaked on December 10th, fifteen days before Christmas. Seeing this as a bad thing for online shopping, Luke Knowles of the popular money-saving website FreeShipping.org had the idea to create a day late in December when merchants would offer free shipping to shoppers with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve. He hoped that over time this would convince shoppers that they can shop later into December and have their orders arrive in time for the big day, thus benefiting all involved with online shopping. The first annual Free Shipping Day was Thursday, December 18, 2008."


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