Story & Topic Coverage of Toyota Recall

HEADLINE:

TOYOTA SAYS THE FIX IS IN -- PARTS TO DEALERS THIS WEEK
Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Texas

STORY:

• Animated graphic of "the fix" (illustrate accelerator pedal & parts -- show the old & then reveal the new. Highlight "the fix" -- a steel bar under the pedal. Zoom into new part and link to explanation.)

• Go to a Toyota dealership. Shoot video and edit natural sound of employees being inundated with phone calls from concerned Toyota owners. Include sound with customers.
  

• Interactive chart of all Toyotas affected by the recall. Include photos of recalled vehicles. Place the cursor over each photo to reveal detailed information about year, make & model; number of incidents; where the incidents occurred; how serious. See the total number of vehicles recalled and deaths & injuries at the top of the chart.

• Link to Facebook page of the U.S. Toyota President & link to mainstream media interviews

• Federal Class-Action lawsuit against Toyota was filed late Friday in Corpus Christi, Texas. Bullet point the main complaints of the lawsuit. Interview plaintiffs Sylvia and Albert Pena. Show pics of Pena's 2008 Avalon that crashed last month after it "unexpectedly accelerated through a stop sign."

TOPIC:

I. History of Recalls

• List the 10 largest auto recalls of all time. Make a pie chart. Each slice would include photo of vehicle and how many were recalled with brief explanation for each case. (The Toyota recall would be somewhere in the middle.) Link to detailed cost data for each incident.

• List the largest recalls in history -- all categories. This would include data about massive meat recalls; tainted lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peanut butter, etc. Link to data and stories. Put human face on each one by including interviews with victims or family members.

II. Damaged Reputations

• Tell the stories of companies who survived devastating blows to their reputations, e.g. the Tylenol tampering case. (Link to media accounts) Tell stories of industries severely damaged by a crisis, e.g. Washington State apple growers after the Alar scare of 1989.
  

• Interview crisis management expert(s) about restoring public confidence.

III. Lawsuits

• At least 10 lawsuits have been filed against Toyota since November. Show map of U.S. and pinpoint where each lawsuit was filed. Link to information, photos and interviews for each incident.

• Compile data about lawsuits following other major recalls. What were their outcomes? Show map of U.S. Link to statistics about lawsuits.