As set forth in the Monroe County Tourism Development Council’s 2008-09 PR plan, our agency began coordinating production of a weekly “video of the week” that is displayed on the home page of fla-keys.com.

The feature, dubbed Florida Keys TravelVision, answers a demand by Web users for more streaming video content. In addition, each “video of the week” is being uploaded to a Keys YouTube video channel as well as to other online venues.

A sample is posted below:

About a month ago, the electricity suddenly went out in our Miami-based office and stayed off.

Some calls to clients and media outlets in South Florida and the Florida Keys revealed the problem was widespread throughout the state.

We quickly learned that much of the southern half of Florida was experiencing a massive blackout, due to a problem at Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point power plant.

Fortunately, for residents and visitors in the Keys, most electricity in the island chain was restored within 30 minutes.

Despite our own power issues, I wanted to make sure that media points knew the Keys had electricity because South Florida’s power problems had quickly become a national story. So we started pushing out news releases with the aid of a battery-powered laptop computer and my Blackberry, which also functions as an Internet modem for the laptop.

I also began calling media outlets to reinforce the release verbally. When I called the CNN Miami Bureau, the producer there suddenly said, “Andy, we want you to go on live via phone.”

So as I was finishing up the interview with CNN anchors Don Lemon and Betty Nguyen, Don asked me if the power outage caused any serious problem in the Keys. I said that I was not aware of anything major, but the most important thing was that the margarita machines were once again in full operation. That evoked a chuckle from the anchors.

I completed my conversation with CNN and then my cell phone rang. It was a national Associated Press picture editor in New York, wondering if I had any available photos from the Keys showing the power outage. I explained power had quickly returned to the Keys, but we didn’t have anything that showed “lights out.” But then I remembered my margarita comment to CNN.

“Mike,” I said, “I’ll have a photo to you in less then 90 minutes to tell the story in the Keys.”

I called Rob O’Neal, our ace photo stringer in Key West.

“Rob, I need a picture that shows people at a bar in Key West, with someone making a colorful margarita,” I said. “And I’d love to have boats and/or water in the background and, by the way, I need it now!”

An hour later Rob sent the photo to me and after some toning and captioning, the image that moved around the nation of Schooner Wharf Bar owner Evalena Worthington pouring a red frozen margarita was the only still national media photo that showed a scene of electrical restoration in Florida.

Photo by Andy Newman

My son, Alan, called me Dec. 30.

He was in Raleigh, N.C., on his way back to Boone, N.C., after spending a week with me and my wife.

“Dad, I’m going to spend New Year’s Eve watching an acorn drop here in Raleigh,” Alan said. “And you’re going to be in Key West watching a drag queen drop!”

He was absolutely correct.

It was my third consecutive New Year’s Eve in Key West working with our account executive Carol Shaughnessy to assist CNN’s live broadcast of the Big Red Shoe Drop at the 801 Bourbon Street Pub complex on Duval Street.

Eleven years ago, bar owner Jimmy Gilleran came up with a crazy idea for female impersonator Gary Marion who portrays “Sushi.”

“I had this vision to put ‘Sushi’ in a huge facsimile of a woman’s high heel and lower her to Duval Street as the clock strikes midnight,” Gilleran said. “Only in Key West could you do something like this.”

Each year the crowds get larger and the media attention grows. New Year’s Eve 2008 featured the fifth consecutive time that Sushi has appeared on the 90-minute CNN New Year’s Eve show anchored by Anderson Cooper. And the photos we shoot and release immediately after the drop are well received by various news wire services and other media venues.

“In Times Square, they drop the ball,” Sushi quipped. “In Key West, they drop the shoe, with Sushi in it.”

Photos by Andy Newman

It was my final day at sea aboard Carnival Inspiration earlier this week and I was busy shooting a series of editorial pictures of the ship’s new WaterWorks, a sprawling water theme park–like complex that occupies much of the aft deck.

I saw several of the ship’s security guards quietly speaking to guests and watched as the guests packed up their belongings and left the area. I asked one of the guards why they had to depart and he said, “A helicopter is coming to airlift a passenger who needs medical attention.”

One of my table mates who is a registered nurse remarked how comforting it was to know that a serious medical emergency could be handled so professionally hundreds of miles away from land.

After the guests left the area, deckhands arrived and cleared away all the chaise lounges and removed rigging that would normally support the ship’s dress flags. Then fire safety crews deployed on deck near the pickup zone as a precautionary measure.

About 15 minutes before the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter arrived, cruise director Risa made a general announcement to inform guests of what would take place and why: a guest who was experiencing a cardiac emergency was to be airlifted from the ship for medical treatment.

The chopper came and lowered a rescue diver to the deck. By then, the victim was positioned in the shade, close to the pickup area and under the watchful eyes of the ship’s medical staff.

The rescue diver confidently briefed Carnival staff and the victim about how the airlift would be executed.

All was prepared and a transfer basket was lowered. One of the ship’s nurses was the first to go up (left photo) to accompany the patient to a Tampa Bay–area hospital. Next, the patient himself was gently hoisted aboard the big chopper.

Although all of the ship’s passengers had been cleared of the transfer zone, they lined the midship and forward decks (right photo) for a great view of the Coast Guard helicopter’s maneuvers.

After the chopper retrieved the rescue diver off Inspiration, the watching crowd broke out in applause.

The ship’s staff and Coast Guard crew deserved the recognition. The whole exercise was incredibly smooth and extremely professional. And the helicopter pilots demonstrated flying expertise I had never seen previously.

Later that night, in the dining room, one of my table mates who is a registered nurse remarked how comforting it was to know that a serious medical emergency could be handled so professionally hundreds of miles away from land.

I completely agreed with her.

Photos by Andy Newman

The distinctive red, white and blue winged-funnel (left photo) on Carnival Cruise Lines ships is a company icon.

The top of it almost served as a photo platform for me last week.

I was on the Carnival Inspiration to produce an editorial photo library of the 11-year-old ship that had undergone significant refurbishments, including the addition of a WaterWorks theme park at sea on the ship’s aft deck. A facet of the line’s “Evolutions of Fun” program, WaterWorks features three huge water slides, one that winds high above the aft decks.

I envisioned a bird’s eye perspective of the entire complex and thought shooting from on top of the funnel might offer that angle.

Escorted by Inspiration’s staff captain, after a rather arduous climb up three sets of vertical ladders inside the funnel we emerged out of the top, some 165 feet above the water. But other than the view, the exercise was futile. I discovered it would be too difficult to safely get to the back edge of the funnel to shoot straight down as I wanted to do. So, I settled for a ladder positioned at the top of the slide and my trusty full-frame fish-eye lens to capture (right photo) an image to help communicate the ship’s new feature.

I’ll try my original vision in the future, from a more comfortable and safer position — in a helicopter.

Photo by Andy Newman

When the National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1957, its first manager, Jack C. Watson, sometimes employed unorthodox tactics to discourage repeat poachers targeting the diminutive deer under his protection.

In the mid 1950s the Key deer population was less than 50. Today, the herd size is estimated at around 700.

“If he found somebody’s car parked and knew they were hunting, he would politely leave a message telling them not to come back again and disable the car, putting a few bullet holes in the gas tank or the engine,” said Watson’s son, Jack “Kip” Watson.

In the mid 1950s the Key deer population was less than 50. Today, the herd size is estimated at around 700.

Though Watson’s John Wayne-like style would never be acceptable today, NewmanPR quickly identified it as one of the foundations for news story suggestions to herald the 50th anniversary of the National Key Deer Refuge that protects the diminutive deer on Big Pine Key and other islands in the lower Florida Keys.

The 50th anniversary story was carried nationally in print and broadcast venues that included a Nov. 27, 2007, segment on “NBC Nightly News.”

Photo by Andy Newman

In September 2006, Matt Gregory left his Bellingham, Wash., apartment for a little walk. He never turned around, but kept walking and walking and walking.

I first learned about Matt’s marathon trek across the United States from a “Miami Herald” story that detailed the 28-year-old’s steps for cancer research mission. At that point he was in Delray Beach, Fla., and within the final 200 miles of his goal — Key West, Fla., about as a far as anyone can walk or even drive from Bellingham in the continental United States.

Well before I shot it, I envisioned a photo of Matt walking across the Seven Mile Bridge.
— Andy Newman

Well before I shot it, I envisioned the above photo of Matt walking across the Seven Mile Bridge, the longest of 43 spans that compose the Florida Keys’ Overseas Highway. With a bit of coordination with Matt and a lot of help from Monroe County Sheriff Rick Roth and Deputy Luis Blasco, I positioned myself at the top of the bridge’s highest point as Matt walked toward the camera.

The resulting photograph was used by the Associated Press, Reuters and other news wire services. Two days later, Matt ended his 14-month-long adventure in Key West. Our ace Key West–based account executive Carol Shaughnessy and videographer Steve Panariello of Digital Island Media were with me to chronicle Gregory touching the Southernmost Point marker and then splashing into the Atlantic Ocean to celebrate. The resulting images and footage played in newspapers, Web and broadcast venues around the U.S. and internationally.

Photo by Andy Newman

Photographing offshore powerboat racing is not only quite risky, it can be quite noisy. Flying, in a helicopter, at more than 100 mph, 15 feet above the water with a high-speed offshore powerboat out your open door and so close that you can touch it, is almost deafening.

I imagine that’s why one day, several years ago, I told the pilot to climb 500 feet and just chill out for a few minutes. I just had to get away from the action and the noise.

But as I looked out and saw the boats coming in and going out of Key West Harbor I saw an incredible sight and knew that would be a great overall scene setter. I’ve done similar photographs every year of the season-ending Key West World Championship. A full-frame fisheye lens on my Nikon digital camera helps to gather in the entire race course to capture the subtropical island and its most popular sporting event for media points around the globe.