Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Madison Patch in May 2012. A plea from Grace’s parents on behalf of their daughter received an overwhelming response from Connecticut residents. This is a great example of user generated content that was made more effective by emphasizing the most important element, the sense of urgency in the letter written by the parents, and then improved by writing a good headline. I found often while working for Patch that our readers had an important story to tell, that they were willing to tell it, and that they just needed a little help.
- Here is a PDF of the story and the comments on the site.
- Here is a link to the original story on Madison Patch.
- Here is a link to a PDF of the follow up.
- Here is a link to the original follow up on Madison Patch.
Grace Cummings. Photo credit: The Cummings family
How to gather information, assess it, and present it in a way readers will understand and appreciate