Why we do what we do

Occasionally, amidst the stories of death and destruction, you'll find a reporter willing to do some old fashioned digging, and in the process, make the world a better place.

One of my clients is a very talented reporter named Beau Berman, who knocked out a terrific series on fire extinguishers...focusing on the fact that they're not inspected in police cars. When an incident of a dead fire extinguisher resulted in a death, that made for an investigation. And that series led to a change in the law that will no doubt save lives in the future.

Here's the story. Please take some time to watch it and read about the resulting legislation.

http://cbs7.com/news/details.asp?ID=23304

Congrats to Beau for making a difference and kudos to the News Director who gave him the time to do the leg work and the extra time on-air to tell the story. Once you get out of that minute-fifteen mindset, great things can happen.

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Shoveling is snow joke

Growing up in the Northeast, a snowfall was a financial opportunity for a kid. You'd grab a shovel and start ringing doorbells. Several driveways later, you had a fistful of cash. Adults were always warned that shoveling snow was dangerous, so they hired some kid for a few bucks.

These days, good luck finding a kid who wants to shovel snow. They'll do it when you pry their fingers away from their video games.

So now you see plenty of adults shoveling. Big mistake.

Since every state in the country has snow on the ground except Florida and Hawaii, I thought I'd "dig out" an old story idea one of my favorite reporters did after a blizzard. I'm sure this saved a few lives.

He was a young, healthy guy. He grabbed a shovel and brought along a doctor and a portable EKG machine. The doc wired him up and he started shoveling. His heart rate was off the charts in no time.

Show and tell was never done better. The idea was so simple, yet so effective.

Of course if you do this, make sure you're young, healthy and get checked out by a doc before you hit the streets.

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