Tag Archives: explains-on-its

Champagne In Corn Cups: Thank You From Vanguard

Correspondent Mariana Van Zeller and producers Darren Foster and Cerissa Tanner were honored today with a Peabody Award—electronic journalism's most distinguished prize—for their work on the Vanguard documentary “The OxyContin Express.” This morning we learned that “The OxyContin Express” will be the recipient of a Peabody Award. It’s one of the highest acheivements in our field and we’re deeply honored for being recognized and in such esteemed company. But we don’t want to let this moment pass without acknowledging the tremendous debt we owe to the people who helped us make the film. Journalism is a strange business. We sometimes ask people to share deeply personal parts of their lives in exchange for a very idealistic notion: that somehow their personal story will help to serve a greater good. Maureen and her son Tod took that brave leap of faith. And their cooperation and incredible honesty provided the emotional heart of this piece. In addition, there are many people who shared their valuable time and expertise to help us understand prescription drug abuse and what was going on in Florida and Kentucky. Several of them appeared in the documentary, many did not, but their contribution was no less valuable. In Florida, we’d like to thank Sgt. Lisa McElhaney, Sgt. Richard Pisanti and the Broward County Sheriff’s Department; Representative Kelly Skidmore; Dr. Sanford Silverman and the Task Force for Prescription Drug Abuse; Joel Kaufman and the United Way of Broward County; Pastor John Ramseur and Calvary House. In Kentucky, Greenup County Sheriff Keith Cooper was all southern charm and hospitallity. He opened the doors to everything, including the prison where Dawna, Jessica, Holly, Tiffany, Tim and Terry graciously shared their stories. Thanks also to Lt. Govenor Dan Mangiardo, Dr. John Morgan and Valerie Campbell at St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead. And next door in West By God Virginia, Dr. Carl Rolly Sullivan at the home of the Mountaineers provided incredible insight into addiction and recovery. This story would have never make it off the ground without the support and care of the people who are living it everyday. We owe this incredible honor to them. And hope that in some way the piece made a difference. Thank you! —Mariana, Darren and Cerissa Watch “The OxyContin Express” here

10 Historical Pranks That Hoaxed the World

April Fools Day is not just for common people to play around with friends even the magazines give prank news which looks so original that later gets announced as a Fool's day special. Even BBC did this… Read on… added by: dharshannicks

Google Changes Name to Topeka

Go to the Google homepage, and see if you can spot something out of common. Yes, the Google logo has changed. That’s because Google has announced on its Official Google Blog that the company has officially changed its name and it’s now called Topeka. It’s all true. As a matter of fact, the company asks to use the term Google to refer to the Kansas city that changed its name from Topeka to Google last month in order to earn the right to be one of the cities where Google Topeka will experiment its 1Gbps fiber optic service. Google, Kansas served as inspiration for the rebranding of the company. Google/Topeka explains on its blog post that both the company and the city have many things in common, therefore it’s an honor to have switched names. The Mountain View based company is completely serious [wink] about the rebranding that it has even changed all sings on the Googleplex, which we’re guessing is called the Topekaplex now, from Google to Topeka. Google Topeka says that the decision was not an easy one. For instance, there are certain things that will change from now on. The company states that there might even be some consequences and even disruptions. added by: UrbanGypsy