News Story Ideas

Idea #1: Arneson Parkway

1) Slug:Arnbill

2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed):

NEWS

3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story? Explain in-depth:

-Proximity, because it is a problem that affects Edina and everyone traveling on the road

-Conflict, because the people who live on 70th are angry at the fact that the street that they live on is becoming a "highway" and they want the government to do something about it, like building Arneson Parkway.

-Human interest, because I could interview someone who lives on 70th and write about how the traffic affects them in their daily activities

4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about: This story will be about how the new Arneson Parkway bill that has been proposed, and how it could hurt and help the Southdale area. Also, I would include reasons that the 70th situation needs to be improved, and also the viewpoints of both the people who live on the street and those who use it every day.


5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?

-Virginia Ma, who lives on 70th St. and is greatly affected by the increase in traffic because she finds it difficult to leave her driveway
-Lee Zhu, who uses 70th street more than 4 times a week in order to get to work at Southdale.
-James Hovland, who is the Mayor of Edina and has a big part in wether or not the bill passes.

6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
-Pros of the bill
-cons of the bill
-When city council will be voting on the bill
-Who will be affected by this bill
-How long will the road take to be built if the bill is passed
-Why is traffic so detrimental to the Southdale area
-Why has traffic thickened in the area recently

7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews? Why?
-How will the bill help/hurt you?
-How often do you use 70th?
-Is this in the budget for the city?
-How will this be paid for?
-Would you promote a tax increase in order to build this road?

8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times, etc.)?
-Cars traveling down the road during rush hour
-City council meeting during which they are discussing the bill
-Someone who lives on 70th standing with their back to the road during rush hour

9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?
-The person who will be photographed with the road to find out when the busiest time is traffic-wise and also to set up a time to take the pictures.

10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
-The city council meeting involving the bill could be too distant
-Setting up a time that is good for the person living on the street but also is busy traffic-wise
____________________________________________________________________
Idea #2
Nintendo Wii Shortages?
1) Slug:Wiishort

2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed):

NEWS
3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story? Explain in-depth:

-Timeliness, because parents are starting to think about Christmas shopping, and Nintendo Wiis have been extremely scarce since last Christmas
-Conflict, because people are getting angry that they still can't get a Wii after a year
-Human interest, because I could interview a parent who searched for the Wii last Christmas and was unable to find it

4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about: The story will mainly be about how Nintendo is predicting that they will not be able to produce enough Wiis to supplement the demand of the public this Christmas season. Also, the story will look at how this will affect the people wanting to buy Wiis and the Nintendo company, being the least expensive fourth generation system as it is.


5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?

-Lorri Harrison, who has not been able to find a Wii for her children for Christmas
-Henry Chapman, who has a Wii and could tell me about how he found his and about the benefits of having one.
-Satoru Iwata, the CEO of Nintendo who could tell me about his concerns for producing enough Wiis for the Christmas season and about the Wiis success thus far

6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
-How many Wiis were purchased last Christmas season?
-What is the price of the Wii?
-How does the Wii compare to the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3?
-Who is the main party that the Wii appeals to?


7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews? Why?
-How many Wiis are planned to ship for the Christmas season?
-Why would Nintendo produce such a small quantity of a product that is in high demand and that is cheap?
-Why is the Wii in such high demand?
-How does Nintendo plan to combat this problem?
-How does Nintendo expect to fair against Microsoft and Sony?

8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times, etc.)?
-A picture of the "Sorry, no Wiis in stock" sign at Target in Edina
-A picture of Target or Best Buy in Edina during the Christmas rush, or a line of people waiting to get a wii
9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?
-The manager of Target/Best Buy
-Satoru Iwata, the CEO of Nintendo

10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
-The higher-ups at Nintendo may not be available to make a comment or to give an interview
-Nintendo may not want to give away their strategies for this situation

Honesty in Journalism

I feel that a good reporter has to seek the truth and be honest in his report of it. The main reason that this is important to journalism is that people turn to journalists, wether they are published in the newspaper or on television, for the honest story. Without honesty in journalism the world would be full of untrue rumors spawned by a nasty game of telephone. An example of why journalism is important is when Dan Rather reported on false papers about George Bush's involvement, or lack of, in the Vietnam war. Because the documents were later found to be false and from an unreliable source, Rather lost his job and the station lost it's credibility.

This aspect of journalism also brings us into the importance of being unbiased when reporting on an issue. As Mr. Hatten says, journalists shouldn't tell us what to think, but they should tell us what to think about. I believe that this should remain true in any type of journalism, because showing both sides of a story is a major part of seeking the truth. A reporter shouldn't see only what they want to see, but what is really there. An example of this in journalism is that many people have accused the Star Tribune of being biased, and for this reason have stopped buying it.

However, I believe that the biggest incentive to being honest is that you will build a better relationship with the people that you interview, and therefore will have a better chance of getting the big scoop. For example, if you had a private interview with Barry Bonds, and then went on to write an article using out of context quotes in order to make him look like a cheater, he would probably not want to work with you again. On the other hand, being prompt in returning phone calls and writing the truth from both sides of an argument is the best way to get a good reputation and to stay honest in journalism.

Copper

I don't understand what the architects were thinking when they decided that copper would be a good siding for the school. I hate walking into a brand new school building that, on the outside, already looks like it is years old because of the now greenish copper. A bigger example of this is the Statue of Liberty in New York, which is a gift from France made of pure copper (except for the flame). Copper does, however, have traits that make it very water-resistant, but that doesn't seem to be an issue seeing as the sides of a school shouldn't be leaking anyways. I'll admit that the siding did look nice in the beginning, but I have mixed feelings about being associated with a school that looks like a rotting penny.

Hello

Hello and welcome to my blog.