Oct 22, 2007 - 04:00:47 CDT
I work early mornings, meaning I'm up when it's still dark outside and most people are still asleep.In addition to checking the Internet and the paper as part of my daily morning routine, I'm also watching TV and listening to radio.
Early morning is when many radio stations run public service announcements, or PSAs. These are typically free commercial messages on behalf of local nonprofit organizations or the federal government.
Listen to early morning radio long enough and you can soon tell what day of the week it is by which PSAs are running.
The Ad Council (http://www.adcouncil.org), a private, nonprofit group representing the advertising and communications industries, is the primary developer and distributor of many of the PSAs you read, see and hear in the media.
Organized in 1942, one of the group's first public service announcement efforts was the World War II "Loose Lips Sink Ships" campaign.
The council also is responsible for memorable slogans such as, "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," "A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste" and others.
If you visit the Ad Council site, you can examine hundreds of PSAs in print, audio and video formats.
In "the old days" (about 20 years ago), most public service announcements included addresses and toll-free numbers for people to use to get more information about a particular campaign, issue or organization.
Today, virtually every PSA offers a Web site for people to visit.
After listening to hundreds of PSAs over the years, I've put together a short list of featured organizations and their Web sites that you might find worth visiting online:
KnowHow2Go
http://www.knowhow2go.org
Designed to help young people and teens understand the steps they need to take to get into college. There is a process to it all and it doesn't happen overnight or at the last minute. Parents may want to check this site as well so they can help their sons and daughters prepare for higher education.
Home Loan Learning Center
http://www.homeloanlearningcenter.com
Sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association, this is a good online resource for learning about the money and banking issues involved in financing a home. Tips for checking and managing your credit, understanding home loan terminology, what to do when problems arise and more make this site worth a visit.
USA.gov
http://www.usa.gov
This site is touted as "The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal." It is designed to make it easy for users to find and access government information. And, given the size and complexity of the federal government, that's no easy task. There are numerous services, resources and downloads available through this site. Take some time to browse this online gateway - you'll be surprised by what you find and what you can do.
American Stroke Association
http://www.strokeassociation.org
Learn about the warning signs of stroke, how to prevent it and dealing with life after a stroke. There's a lot of useful information and resources at this site. Definitely worth a visit.
National Highway Traffic Safety
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
A great online resource for information on traffic safety issues such as teen driving, tire inflation, general vehicle safety, child seat use, laws, regulations, recalls, traffic studies and reports and more.
National Crime Prevention
http://www.ncpc.org
Home to McGruff the Crime Dog and the slogan, "Take a bite out of crime." Good information for kids, parents and communities. Among the campaigns featured at the site: Cyberbullying, preventing senior telemarketing fraud, identity theft and Internet safety.
Donate Life
http://www.donatelife.net
A national campaign to encourage people to be organ and tissue donors. Web site features include what organ and tissue donation is all about, how you can help and stories about people whose lives have been saved and improved due to organ and tissue donors.
Make-A-Wish
http://www.wish.org
Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has worked to grant the special wishes and dreams of children with life-threatening medical conditions. To date, more than 154,000 wishes have been realized nationwide, averaging about one every 41 minutes. Learn more about the organization at this site, find out how you can help and locate Make-A-Wish chapters near you.
While we're talking about PSAs, there are a number of "compilation" Web sites that collect and present various public service announcements, school training films and television commercials. Here are a few worth visiting:
RetroJunk
http://www.retrojunk.com/list_commercials.php?type=psa&era=1980&sort=new
Classic commercials and public service announcements from the 1980s and earlier.
netbroadcaster
http://www.netbroadcaster.com/new/shorts/timecapsule.html
Classic public service and training films for young people from the 1940s through the 1960s. Some of you may remember watching these films in school.
Spike
http://www.ifilm.com/channel/commercials
Hundreds of current and recent TV commercials, organized by category, country and "classics" status.
(Keith Darnay is the webmaster and designer for bismarcktribune.com. His Web site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at www.darnay.com.iec.)
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