I've Been Blogged!

Every so often I will blog about a journalistic work that I admire or think was done well. Today marks the first time someone else, whom I do not know, has blogged about me and one of my stories.

In Columbia, MO there are only a few local blogs that aren't run by a news companies that frequently write about local topics. One of those blogs is done by Mike Martin.

Now to be honest in the past I have checked out his blog to make sure I wasn't missing any great stories around town, and he usually has some good stuff. There have been times I have considered taking an idea from his sight a doing a story, but I never have. So when I found out that my own work was admired and written about in this blog, it gave me a sense of accomplishment. All spring semester I worked on a three part series on parking issues in Columbia, MO for my investigative journalism class. The fact that my story got picked up by this blogger in a way validated my journalism. Thanks Mike.

Check out the post. I am referred to as "KOMU."
http://www.columbiaheartbeat.com/2011/05/unattractive-nuisance-ten-story.html

You can also watch the series below.

Great Journalists Do Their Homework: Reflecting on Journalism

Good reporters do their homework. Great journalists don't just get interviews and report what is happening now. Instead, they do their homework and put it in perspective.

Lately there has been a lot of media coverage focusing on Donald Trump possibly running for president. In this story covering the matter, David Folkenflik answers all the important questions but he also puts it in perspective. The question on everyone's mind is whether Trump is serious or just wanting publicity. Of all the reports I have heard and read about the topic, none have quoted the interview Folkenflik found by Tom Brokaw interviewing Trump about whether he would run for president back in 1999. This quote from 12 years ago, I think brings light to the story today in a way no other journalist has done.

Fulkenflik's story covers the other important points as well, such as Trumps business history, his personality, his campaign points, and the fact that it is really up to voters to decide whether Trump is serious or not. The fact that he found this little fact I think sets his story apart from the rest.

Listen to it yourself.



http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/21/135604711/donald-trump-is-thinking-about-running-for-president-or-maybe-not

The Story Behind the Story: Columbia Energy Center

When elections get close, the coverage gets fierce. One of my broadcast professors always says "you make your own luck." Well, I don't know if I made it or not this day, but I definitely got lucky.

Elections for Mid-Missouri were about a week away and it was a relatively slow news day. I decided the best option would be to do an election preview story on Proposition 2. I got all my interviews in relatively the same area of town and it was time to get my broll and standup. As I drove past the location to see the different shots I could get, I saw one of our competing stations vehicles at the scene. I drove past, and our competition didn't notice that I was there. Liked-minded minds think the same way.

I decided that I would film on the far side of the power plant that way our coverage was better than our competitors. There was a decent location for my standup. After I filmed my stand up I went over to the sub-station to get a few shots. By this time our competing station had left. Not long after I started getting some shots of the sub-station I realized that unless I could get inside the fence most of my shots would be very wide and boring. Shortly after this realization a truck parked in the lot and a man started walking my way. To my surprise he offered to take me inside the fence and explained everything there is to know about conducting electricity to power a city. I got some really great shots and I also got some great NAT sound of the "buzz/hum" of electricity. That night our competing station aired a VoSot on Proposition 2 and filled their newscast national and wire stories. Our news cast has more local news and more in-depth local news. Where they had VoSots we had PKGs. That made me feel proud to work for KOMU. My piece ended up being about as exciting as any proposition piece can be.

Here is my story. Check it out!