Hello Kincaid's on the Kincaid List, We are very fortunate that Keith Kincaid, who is a Kincaid DNA participant, agreed to share ideas that might be helpful for the Irish Mail newspaper article as well as others later on. Keith`s 40 years in journalism included 18 as CEO of The Canadian Press news agency, an organization similar to The Associated Press (AP) in the United States. Since retirement he has written three small books of family history dating back to the mid-1700s in County Donegal. Thanks to Peter A. Kincaid for letting us know of Keith's experience in the news field. Below are Keith's ideas which are excellent. If you have an interesting story in your family history involving Ireland or N. Ireland, we would like to know of them since they might be used in the Irish Mail newspaper story or a later story. (Even if not related to the Potato Famine) Thanks for considering helping with the news articles used in promoting our DNA Project! Don W. Kincaid Don As requested, here are some ideas which might be helpful in getting word about our DNA project onto the pages of a large Irish Sunday paper: 1. The story seems to be self-assigned by the reporter, so he will need to make it interesting enough to convince his editor to print it, perhaps in competition for page space with stories submitted by other reporters. The editor will look for something that will "grab" the reader through an enticing headline and an interesting first three or four paragraphs. (Who among us reads every newspaper story all the way through -- we make our decision based on initial reaction to what we see.) We won't achieve our goal of promoting the Kincaid DNA project if the story is not printed, or is buried on an inside page. 2. So don't be shy about giving the reporter interesting stuff. But if you willingly tell a funny tale about your g-g-grandfather turning his barley crop into illicit Irish whiskey, as was common-place in County Donegal, you can't complain if you don't like the resulting story referring to your ancestor a moonshiner. (There were regularly more convictions in Donegal for illicit whiskey stills than there were in all other Irish counties combined.) Unless specifically stated otherwise, everything you tell a reporter is reportable. 3. What has DNA testing meant for you personally? For example has it put you in touch with distant relatives all over the world, or at least North America, and provided the entrée for comparing paper trails which has broadened everyone's understanding of their roots. What are you interested in now? Perhaps to find that missing link back in Ireland as a result of testing by Irish Kincaids which we hope the story will encourage. Or for those of us already with a paper trail back to Ireland, what we look for is Irish kinfolk who have a paper trail back to Scotland, which is the missing link for so many of us. 4. If it relates to your line don't hesitate to broaden the base of the reporter's story beyond the Famine -- he will likely welcome that. For example, did your ancestors migrate not because of the potatoes, but because of extreme poverty that preceded the Famine? The Industrial Revolution was changing Europe, but not Ireland. The flax crops grown by so many Irish tenant farmers were still being turned into linen by hand looms at a time when the rest of Europe was doing this work through machinery. Unlike in England, Irish farmers couldn't move to the Irish cities to work in factories because there were none there, so they came to North America where there was cheap readily available land and many "shovel-ready" projects where they could work, such as roads and bridges, canals and railways. 5. Did your Irish ancestors come to North America because they were forced off the land by the landowners who wanted to establish the large uninterrupted ranges needed for herds of sheep and cattle? There was more money in that than in collecting rent (when it could be paid) from small plot-holders, typically having 10 to 15 acres. Some landowners forgave rent so that the potential emigrants could build up a travel fund. 6. Irish families were typically large. So the small plot the father had could be passed on to only one of perhaps many sons. What did the others do? They came to North America and either farmed there or built roads and bridges etc. 7. Journalism is "history on the run" and the story about us will not have the benefit of the time available for an historian's academic work. There are bound to be unintentional minor errors, especially if the reporter talks to many of us. He may or may not have a tape recorder going -- feel free to ask him. If something is complicated and has potential for error, offer to e-mail him the details. Keep in mind that his and our goals are the same: he wants an interesting story that will carry his byline and be read by many; Kincaids also want it to be read by many as a means of furthering our DNA project. I hope this is what your were looking for. Keith