Ahmed Fadaam: An Iraqi journalist in America

By Emily Silva

 

 

October 22, 2008

 

 

 

“Iraq is not Saddam,” said Ahmed Fadaam, an Iraqi sculptor and journalist, in a talk at Elon University this morning. Fadaam spoke to journalism students about the war in Iraq, what it takes to be a journalist during war and what it means to be an Iraqi or American amid this unrest.

 

While living in Iraq, Fadaam worked for American Public Media, writing diaries for The Story about life during the war. His works won five major awards and helped him get a Visa to come to the U.S.

 

Working as a journalist in Iraq was difficult, said Fadaam. Before the war, there were three Iraqi newspapers and two Iraqi TV news channels. The Iraqi government made sure people only knew what the government wanted them to know, Fadaam said.

 

Currently, there are 150 newspapers and 70 to 80 TV stations in Iraq. “Iraqis don’t know who’s telling the truth,” Fadaam said, “Or who to listen to.”

 

Working for the U.S. while in Iraq was a dangerous position. After a while, “everyone is American” if they are working with the western media, he said. Fadaam was seen as a spy and called a “blood traitor” for working with Americans. Iraqis didn’t understand he was trying to tell the Americans “who the Iraqis are.”

 

Fadaam left Baghdad after receiving a death threat. He sent his family to Syria for refuge and better schooling for his children.

 

People don’t believe journalists, he said, and are only interested in bad news. Fadaam gave an example of a journalist reporting on a wedding. No one will pay much attention unless someone brings a gun into the ceremony, kills and wounds people.

 

“Sometimes, I find it very scary how we’re dealing with [the war],” Fadaam said, discussing the media coverage. If less than five people die in a car bombing, it’s not worth reporting, he said.

 

There is disconnect between the American and Iraqi cultures, he explained. “The problem is,” he said, “There is no direct contact between people.” He explained how the American military is responsible for the occupation of Iraq currently and therefore is the face of the war to Iraqis.

 

Americans generally don’t know much about the Iraqi culture. “There should be a communication established between the Iraqis and the Americans,” he said. This may remove stereotypes that each culture has about the other.

 

A major thing the Iraqis and Americans have in common is the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Iraqis, Fadaam said, are closely watching the news coverage of the race. They don’t want Americans in Iraq, Fadaam said, but they want the Americans to fix what they broken there.

 

“We used to have a state of law and now we don’t. The political process started by Americans (in Iraq) was started on the wrong basis,” he said. “You have divided this society into groups.”

 

The Middle East, especially Iraq, was the birthplace of law, Fadaam said. “We lost over 5,000 years of history because of this war,” he said.

 

He spoke of the destruction caused to the Iraqi museum. “It’s a loss for all humanity,” he said.

 

“Iraq was destroyed,” Fadaam said. “It was destroyed by war – a war that was started by the American administration.” Although the Iraqis are angry with the U.S. for ruining their country, the majority of civilians understand there is a difference between the American administration and the American people, Fadaam said.

 

American people, though, don’t seem to see that distinction in Iraq. “If you don’t understand how they think, how can you deal with them?” Fadaam asked students.

 

“This is the truth: you should be informed about what’s going on – in details.”

 

He explained that in Iraq, most people there get information about the American culture from Hollywood films. “It’s a violent culture,” he said.

 

Fadaam talked about how his life as a full-time artist, before he became a journalist. “Art was my life at that time. I couldn’t imagine myself as a man chasing stories…. I was locked inside my own paradise of imagination,” he said.

 

He continues to sculpt, using the traditional clay, but also experimenting with marble and stone. He will be constructing a piece for Elon during his stay here.

 

Fadaam advised students to learn as much as they can about Iraq, its people and their culture. He told them to go to Syria and other safe countries and meet with Iraqi refugee families. Have lunch with them, he said, go to a movie.

 

“You’re human; we’re human,” he said. “We just speak different languages.”

Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin speaks at Elon University’s Latham Park

 

By Emily Silva

October 17, 2008

Palin spoke on behalf of Sen. John McCain Photo courtesy of Kinsey Spencer

Beginning at nine o’clock this morning, crowds flocked to Elon University’s Latham Park baseball field to hear Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin speak on behalf of the McCain-Palin campaign.

Sun scorched Democrats and Republicans alike as people waited in line to get into the stadium. Eighty degrees, in mid-October, didn’t stop people from coming out to hear what the Alaskan governor had to say.

 

Palin spoke of the ideals she and McCain stand for. She said the wisdom, kindness and goodness of the United States lies in “real-town America.”

 

“It was great,” said Vickie Marshall, a McCain supporter from Swepsonville, N.C. “[Palin’s] somebody you can trust. She’s one of us.”

 

“[Palin] represents me better than anybody,” said Patsy Godwin, of Graham, N.C.

 

“We still believe America is that shining city on a hill,” Palin said. To keep that image alive, she said, McCain is the only one “worthy” of the presidency. He’s the only one who is “fighting” for the American people.

 

Adults are the usual suspects at campaign events such as today’s, but the large number of children proved that people of any age can have an interest in politics.

 

“It’s important for [children] to know the political process and to be a part of it,” said Sandy Tyler, a McCain supporter from High Point. She brought along two of her children today because, “It’s not every day you get to see a potential vice president!”

 

“This is history,” said Carole Hollowell, from Chapel Hill. “I believe in this ticket. It’s important for [my children] to see this, so I can explain to them what [the candidates] believe.” Her two young daughters, sporting McCain buttons and hats, wanted desperately to get Palin’s autograph.

 

Every child deserves an education, Palin said. She wants to give the choice to parents of where to send their children to school. “It gives an option,” said Kinsey Spencer, a sophomore Teaching Fellow from Boone, N.C.

 

“She’s is an inspirational woman,” Spencer said of Palin, “With admirable family values that have been forgotten about in hectic American society.”

 

An issue “near and dear” to Palin’s heart is that of children with special needs. Those children, she said, are “not a problem – a priority” for the American people.

 

“We can learn more from them,” she said, “Than they can from us.”

 

Tyler said the two most important issues Palin spoke of were national defense and lowering taxes. “The government shouldn’t take our money and give it away as they see fit,” she said.

 

“You have a choice,” Palin said. “A choice between a politician who wants to raise taxes and a true reformer who wants to lower taxes, create jobs and get the economy back on track.”

 

Money is a recurring theme in every presidential campaign and this one is no different. The United States is currently spending over $700 billion overseas for oil, according to Palin. She vows to “balance the federal budget by the end of the first term.”

 

Our money, she said, is going to people who don’t like Americans. She firmly stated that needs to stop and will stop if McCain wins the election.

 

The way McCain and Palin see us getting out of business with foreign oil providers is by drilling offshore here in the United States and by mining clean coal.

 

“There’s more coal here (in the United States),” Palin said, “Than oil in the Middle East.” She said McCain plans to create over 30,000 jobs from mining clean coal within our borders.

 

Although most of today’s attendees were McCain-Palin supporters, there were still many people in support of Barack Obama, as well. An Elon student was physically dragged out by security officers for voicing a differing political opionion.

 

“It was [Palin’s] opportunity to talk to us as students and connect with us…and she didn’t,” said Cameron DePuy, a junior from Alexandria, V.A.

 

DePuy said she was curious to hear if Palin would alter the way she talked, since she was speaking at a university. But Palin talked to the adults in the audience, DePuy said. “She didn’t talk to us.”

 

Kyle Schutt, a senior from Alexandria, V.A., also disapproved of Palin’s speech. “I didn’t like it,” he said. “It’s the same old stuff, just a different day.”

 

Video courtesy of Kinsey Spencer

Michael Clemente advises future journalists at Elon

By Emily Silva

 

October 10, 2008

 

Every few minutes, something new is posted online from some major news network. Change is an ongoing theme in the world of communication and adapting to that is something all aspiring communicators need to be aware of.

 

Michael Clemente, producer for ABC News, spoke Friday morning to a journalism class at Elon University.

 

Clemente has been at ABC for 11 years, working closely with reporters Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters, Charles Gibson, John Miller and Elizabeth Vargas.

 

“It’s a mixed blessing when people say ‘change,’” Clemente said. “This industry has been able to slowly deal with [it].”

 

Since Disney owns ABC News, Clemente shared some opinions on the way Disney has handled change over the years. “They totally embrace it,” he said, referring to the explosion of the Internet and posting news online.

 

“It is so much easier for people to get information or entertainment,” Clemente said, removing his Blackberry from his pocket. He talked about the immediate alerts received on technologies like that.

 

There’s a market for everything from networking to blogging, Clemente said. Entertainment is mostly what’s on the Internet these days, though.

 

“Somewhere along the line, though,” Clemente said, “People are going to stumble across the news.” He said there is no excuse for people to me uninformed in today’s world.

 

A distinction that must be made is between fact-based news and opinion. “It’s just a blur,” Clemente said as he mentioned the Drudge Report, Yahoo and AOL.

 

A common misconception is that these news providers actually go out and report their own news. Really, they get news from the networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, and post it.

 

 “Who does reporting and where does it go?” Clemente suggested readers ask themselves this question when receiving news.

 

The news providers constantly put out new information. There is “such an appetite for information so quickly now,” Clemente said. There aren’t people who actually take time to check the information being put out.

 

Credible sources are hard to come by these days, according to Clemente and students in the class. The “big three” anchors – Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather – were all well-respected because they were reporters before they were anchors, Clemente explained.

 

Anchors today have only been anchors; they haven’t had actual experience in the field.

 

“If you’re up there reading teleprompter every day, that’s great but if something happens, you need to know how to gather information. That’s what makes credibility,” Clemente said.

 

Students asked Clemente how they can develop credibility before going into the field of communications and journalism. “Find the opposite of what you like to read and read that because it makes you smarter and a better journalist,” he advised.

 

Change is inevitable when working in any field, but especially in the media. “[It] is something you have to consider when you’re deciding where to work and where to go.”

Keren Rivas speaks at Elon University

By Emily Silva

October 6, 2008

Burlington Times-News reporter Keren Rivas spoke to a reporting class at Elon University Monday.

 

 

Rivas has worked on the police and crime beat for the local paper since 2005. For eight to nine months before that, she worked in government reporting.

Rivas spoke today to future reporters at Elon about how crime reporting isn’t like other beats. “It’s different,” she said, “Because you’re dealing with people. There are a lot of emotions.”

 

Reporting on crime is difficult, Rivas explained, because reporters are frequently “seen as the enemy” by both sides. Alleged perpetrators don’t want to talk, but neither do law enforcement officials.

 

“You always have to ask a question,” she said. Rivas encouraged students to question everything when reporting. If you don’t ask, you might never get an answer and that could affect the story.

 

A way to get a lot of information quickly is through police scanners. Rivas said she and her fellow reporters are constantly logged on to the police scanner for Alamance County. The first thing Rivas does when she gets to work is turn on the scanner.

 

Rivas warned about the potential mistakes scanners can cause. She detailed a case she overheard that she reported on, which turned out to be a result of simple miscommunication.

 

“Things can sound completely crazy and then mean nothing in the end,” she said.

 

Communicating properly with the local police and law enforcement officials is the number one thing Rivas emphasized reporters do.

 

Respect is also very important. If you show respect to the law enforcement people, they will in turn respect you as a reporter and are more likely to assist you later, should you need more information.

 

“Get the cell phone numbers of all the important people,” Rivas advised. Being in close contact with the people on top will help if any problems occur on a lower level.

 

“I never call them for favors unless I really need it,” she said.

 

If you build up a good relationship with the people who hear cases, they might in turn call you, rather than you contacting them all the time.

 

“You don’t tell them, ‘Oh, I’m not working today.’ You take the call,” Rivas said.

 

 

Physically going to the office to retrieve information from law officials is better than calling, Rivas explained, when you’re contacting them. It builds trust between you as the reporter and the people you will be working with on many cases.

 

“If you promise ‘off the record,’ you have to stick to your word,” Rivas said. “You really have to be careful.” Many law officials refuse to communicate with the media because they have been burned in previous situations. Being compassionate to where they’re coming from is important.

 

“You’re going to run into a lot of jerks,” Rivas said, speaking mainly to the female students. Some cops think we’re dumb, she said, and you can play that up when getting information.

 

Rivas explained that some lawyers, police officers and judges will assume women don’t understand the entirety of a situation, so they will explain it in detail. Although it’s condescending at the time, it pays off for the reporter because she then gets more details than a male reporter might.

 

“You also have to learn to pick your battles,” she said, “Because some things aren’t worth it.”

 

Being personable is key when reporting crime. It helps in getting information from law officials and it also is important when speaking to the friends and family of victims or accused perpetrators.

 

“Be careful not to convict somebody ahead of time,” Rivas warned. The word “allegedly” should be used because “you can save yourself from a lawsuit in the end,” she said.

 

Rivas explained that most learning comes from making mistakes. It’s alright to make them as long as you don’t make them a second time. She said that when reporting on crime, always think that the person could be innocent. That way, you don’t wrongly accuse someone.

 

Dealing with the families is the hardest thing, Rivas said. “You have to be thick-skinned. You’re going to see things you might not like, but you have to be ready for that.”

 

“There’s going to be a lot of emotion, a lot of tension. Somebody’s life is going to be changed forever – sometimes more than one person’s.”

 

For the Alamance County scanner, please go to www.alamancelivescanner.com.

For the calendar of court dates, please go to www.nccourts.gov.

Crime and Courts

By Emily Silva

October 6, 2008 

“Observers here watch criminal after criminal come and go as if in some grisly surrealistic play.” Linnet Myers wrote “Humanity on Trial” for the Chicago Tribune in 1989. Her story details the goings-on at “26^th & Cal.” – the Cook County Circuit Court, Criminal Division, at the intersection of 26^th Street and California Boulevard.

 

Myers writes as though she’s creating a to-do list for the day. Each individual case she describes seems to bleed into the next until the reader loses all ability to feel for each situation – for the victims or the accused perpetrator. “Here, murder has somehow become part of everyday life,” she writes. Myers has the ability to trivialize murder in her writing, just as it has been trivialized in the community she writes about. “There also are murders over things like a piece of banana pie, a girlfriend who turned out to be a boyfriend, or a feud about something nobody can remember.” Writing like this makes the audience more in-tune with the way things are in the actual location of the story.

 

Journalists reporting on crime stories have more power than many people realize. Their writing is what dictates people’s imaginations. People read stories of crime situations in their neighborhoods and around the country, and they begin to live in fear. “[Journalists] can fuel an irrational fear of crime, distorting the way governments use their resources,” according to Roy Peter Clark and Christopher Scanlan in America’s Best Newspaper Writing. The basis of this power, though, is the reporters’ duty to the public. Reporting on crime issues requires reporters to “blend dramatic narrative with civic purpose,” in the words of Clark and Scanlan. Crime happens everywhere all the time, but some stories become national – and even international – news.

 

Celebrity involvement in crime is a way to ensure national attention. The CNN Law Center posted an article online June 14, 2005, saying that Michael Jackson had been found not guilty for child molestation. Although this example is less feature-like than the examples in America’s Best Newspaper Writing, it still shows good crime reporting. The writer (who is unknown) gave details concerning both the conviction and the trial. Jackson is described as “looking drawn and expressionless” throughout the trial. The author puts the audience in the scene by even describing the silence of the room before the court findings were released. “The only sound was that of the judge tearing open the envelope for each count.”

 

A more current celebrity crime situation is that of O.J. Simpson. The “Trial of the Century” began 13 years ago when then-football star Simpson was convicted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. Joel Siegel writes for ABC News that Simpson is just now facing life in prison for his actions then and his most recent actions that he was tried for in Las Vegas: kidnapping and 11 charges in a gunpoint robbery. Siegel gives the exact facts of what happened both in the murder trial, many years ago, and in Friday’s trial in Las Vegas. When writing about criminal cases, there is no room for opinion or averaging. Specific facts and hard evidence are what make readers trust journalists to be worthy news-givers.

 

Normal, every-day people can be subject to crime reporting that draws national attention, as well. Scott Michels, a reporter for ABC News, wrote “What Made Missing Pregnant Mom Murder so Compelling?” In his article, Michels writes about deaths such as Jessie Davis’ and Laci Peterson’s, which hold the nation transfixed. He questions why we are so obsessed with certain murder cases and not others. Davis was murdered on June 14. “On that day, at least 19 people were murdered across the country, from Florida to Washington State,” Michels writes. “Four parents killed their children that day.” Michels then goes on to tell the stories of those people who weren’t the center of national attention. His attention to the “underdog” of the situation captured readers’ attention. Although each individual’s story Michels tells is short, he still manages to pack a lot of information into a short few paragraphs and really tell each person’s story. Being concise is important.

 

Reporters from MSNBC and NBC News were able to be concise yet explanatory in their detailed account of what happened at Virginia Tech University in April, 2007 in the article “Worst U.S. shooting ever kills 33 on Va. campus.”  This is definitely an example of crime reporting, but also of deadline reporting, as the network had to get this written and posted online the day the shooting happened. The authors were able to communicate the timeline of the day’s events through quotes from students, faculty/staff members and police personnel. Allowing the people to tell the story is sometimes more effective than just the journalist telling it.

 

Links to crime stories online include:

 

Jackson Not Guilty

CNN Law Center

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/13/jackson.trial/index.html

 

O.J. Guilty Verdict: 13 Years in the Making?

By Joel Siegel

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5955838&page=1

 

Justice Prevails at Duke

Hanna Siegel

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3034031&page=1

 

Worst U.S. Shooting Ever Kills 33 on Va. Campus

MSNBC and NBC News

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18134671/

 

What Made Missing Pregnant Mom Murder so Compelling?

By Scott Michels

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3331117&page=1

 

Top Three Tips:

1.      Do not convict anyone

2.      Remember you’re an outsider (and possibly the enemy)

3.      Show compassion

Opinions on vice presidential debate are shared at Elon University

By Emily Silva

October 3, 2008

Elon University students and faculty are talking about who won Thursday night’s televised vice presidential debate. Hot topics during the debate were the economy, foreign policy, health care and a timeline for the war in Iraq. 

In a poll conducted by students in a reporting class, 230 people were asked their opinion. Out of that, 85 people said Senator Joe Biden (Dem.) won, 53 people said Governor Sarah Palin (Rep.) won, 27 people said it was a tie and 65 people didn’t care to respond.

 Most comments were on the delivery of each candidate’s answers to the prompted questions. 

“Palin pretty much beat around the bush a lot,” said Allie Rodgers, a freshman from Connecticut. She said Biden was clearly the winner.

 Ann Cahill, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the philosophy department, vocalized a disappointment with the way televised debates are set up.

 “Nothing about their structure sets them up for defeat or loss,” she said. It seemed more like “two parallel narratives” rather than a debate between Biden and Palin.

 Cahill said Palin was focused and did a good job looking at the camera throughout the night, but she seemed concerned with “appearing to be populous.” Biden did a good job challenging Palin without being condescending.

 Jeffrey Pugh, chair of the religious studies department, overwhelmingly thought that Biden was the winner.

 Pugh said Palin came across the way that Republican people wanted to see. She kept referring back to talking points, rather than addressing the questions specifically.

 Pugh referred to a point in the debate when Biden choked up slightly, talking about his son in the military and the situation in Iraq.

 “Palin didn’t respond to him even on a human level,” Pugh said. He would have liked to see her show some empathy toward the Biden family’s situation.

 Pugh’s only complaint about Biden was that he was somewhat “ponderous” at first.

 He said the debate in general “didn’t change anyone’s mind” about whom they’re voting for in November.

Newsweek senior editor visits Elon University

By Emily Silva

 

September 29, 2008

 

Senior Editor of Newsweek Jonathan Alter spoke Monday at Elon University. A question-and-answer session was held in the afternoon prior to a speech that evening.

 

Alter presented his views on the current economic situation and the upcoming election. He emphasized the importance of young voters, technology and early voting in today’s presidential race.

 

“The [current] administration,” he said, “Particularly the treasury department and Henry Paulson, the Secretary of Treasury, didn’t do a good job of selling the [$700 billion bailout] proposal. From the start, it kind of smelled like a dead fish when it was laid before the American people, so the public was extraordinarily angry about this for some good reasons.”

 

Alter commented on the irony of how a document proposing a $700 billion financial bailout was three pages long.

 

Although both the Democrats and the Republicans voted against the bailout proposal, “It was actually essential,” Alter said, “For the value of our homes, of our assets.… It was not properly sold as a rescue package for Americans.”

 

Alter was asked how the current financial situation will play into the election.

 

“The period,” he said, “Of what we will look back on and remember as the ‘lipstick on a pig’ phase of the 2008 presidential campaign, where the process can be hijacked by stupid attack ads, gaffes and assorted distractions, may be ended.”

 

“Certitude plus ignorance equals disaster,” he said. “I think we’ve seen some of that in the last eight years.”

 

Alter has interviewed six previous presidents. “The most important requirement at this time in our history,” he said, “Is a candidate who can best restore America’s leadership in the world and our prestige in the world.”

 

“Your generation,” he said to students, “Is engaged as never before and [the election] will hinge on just how engaged you are.”

 

In the past, students gave excuses for why they didn’t turn out to vote. “If that happens this time,” Alter warned, “It will be consequential.”

 

Today’s technology, in his opinion, is also playing a large role in the 2008 presidential campaign and is closely tied to young voters’ political selections.

 

“The spine of the campaign,” Alter said, “Used to be those evening news programs…. If it wasn’t on one of those news networks, it didn’t happen in American politics.”

 

“It’s hard to believe,” he said, “But in 2004, YouTube hadn’t been invented yet. Social networking through Facebook, etcetera…is changing the intensity and degree and form of political participation in a very positive way.”

 

Alter spoke of the importance of early voting in this election. People forget, he said, that national polls aren’t nearly as important as state polls.

 

“The comparative response of the last two weeks is [white male voters] are concerned about…holding onto the money they worked hard to make. The question they have is who’s going to have that steady hand…?”

 

He said that Obama needs to worry about coming across to voters as an “angry black man” and McCain needs to worry about coming across as an “angry old man.”

 

At this point, Alter said, it’s impossible to tell where this race is going to end up.

 

“John McCain wants us to think he’s a great character, but he’s really just a character.”

 

“At this point, I’d put five dollars on Barack Obama, but I wouldn’t put ten dollars on him.”

 

“The American people,” Alter said, “Usually get it right. We are full of common sense and a basic sense of fairness…. As Americans assess a vitally important choice for their future – one that will determine not just America’s place in the world, but America’s view of itself and what it is capable of – that they will make a reasoned and intelligent choice.”

Burlington residents share opinions on Bailout Bill

By Emily Silva

In attempt to get the United States out of the current financial crisis, the Bush administration is asking Congress to pass what is called the Bailout Bill – a $700 billion plan going toward helping the financial firms out of debt.

Burlington, N.C. residents are especially concerned about their financial standing. Some are very opposed to the Bailout Bill.

“It’s got its ups and downs,” said Francine “Franny Fran” Light, deli clerk in the Colonnades dining hall at Elon University. “You’d think it would help, but they should go the other way first and then give the other half. They should try that first.” Light is worried about her family during this crisis.

Light’s mother has experienced eviction from her home, even when she wasn’t behind in payments. She had made a payment and now the company can’t find that paperwork.

She is just one of many Americans facing this situation.

With her husband losing his job of 14 years in October, Light is very concerned about how their family will survive the crisis.

“We need a lot of jobs here in Burlington,” she said. “He makes more than me and he makes 13 to 14 dollars an hour.”

Citizens’ concerns are being heard by local government officials.

“I think [the bailout plan is] something we have to do,” said Elon Town Mayor Jerry Tolley.

“What I don’t want to do is give Paulson a blank check and have [Congress] do what [they] want with it. If you can help big people on Wall Street, you can help poor people with mortgages. People like me and all people at Elon with 401K’s here have lost a lot of money.”

Mayor Tolley called this a “desperate situation” for the government and U.S. citizens.

Steve DeLoach, an economics professor at Elon University, said, “If [the businesses are] going to take on bad debt, it seems more logical for the government to take on an equity position.”

DeLoach referenced Sweden’s financial situation in 1992, where the Swedish government sold back shares after things normalized. “A $700 billion bill,” he said, “Is equal to five percent of GDP or more, so it’s a lot of money and if we’re going to recoup any, they’ll raise our taxes.”

Even students are concerned with the way things are being handled by the government.

“Bailing [the companies] out is a bad idea,” said Emily Dunn, a sophomore business major from Savannah, G.A. “It’s saying, ‘If you screw up, we’re going to bail you out.’ It makes sense in the short-run, but not in the long-run.” 

Country star Chuck Wicks performs at Burlington Carousel Festival

Chuck Wicks performed in Burlington park

By Emily Silva

September 21, 2008

 

 

Burlington City Park was buzzing with excitement Sunday.

 

 Children scurried through the crowds, giggling with one another over their just-painted faces. Hot dogs, hamburgers, barbeque sandwiches, funnel cakes and ice cream – the staples of any outdoor southern party – were vended to the masses by high school students in tents.

 

 At one end of the park was a large stage where two men with guitars sang twangy country sounds. At the other, children strapped in harnesses attached to huge elastic ropes soared over the park as they bounced back down to the ground.

 

 Slides, bouncy houses, sad art tables, voting registration booths, and face-painting stations covered the whole of the park area. 

 

Over the constant hum of chatter played the cyclical twittering of carousel music. 

 

The Burlington Carousel Festival is the town’s annual celebration to kick off the fall season. Presented by MidCarolina Bank and Burlington Recreation and Parks, the festival featured several music artists. 

 

The main draw for Burlington teenagers was the performance by national country recording artist Chuck Wicks, who is known for his famous songs, “Stealing Cinderella” and “All I Ever Wanted.”

Local Reporting and Beats

By Emily Silva

 

 

September 22, 2008

                         

“The most important thing in the story,” wrote Thomas Boswell, “Is finding the central idea. It’s one thing to be given a topic, but you have to find the idea or the concept within that topic.”

 

Local reporting and beats are really about whom you’re with and where you are. Journalists aren’t desk people – we work best when we’re actually out, getting involved. Local reporting focuses on a smaller geographical location and what’s going on there. Beat journalists get involved with one particular “beat,” or subject, and focus on that primarily, unlike regular journalists who write about a different subject each time they publish. Beat journalists usually focus on an idea or a theme and write several articles surrounding that general concept. They find the central idea in their stories and explain through clear, descriptive language and imagery.

 

Rick Bragg’s local reporting story in Roy Peter Clark and Christopher Scanlan’s America’s Best Newspaper Writing is about an 87-year-old woman who donated her entire life’s savings to a university. It is both moving and inspiring, as Bragg explains her decision process to the audience: the citizens of her small Mississippi town. The story is put in a perspective that people in this town can relate to.

 

Jonathan Bor, journalist for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, N.Y., wrote in two hours the story of a man’s journey from heart failure to receiving a transplant. Bor covers the medical beat for the paper. “You have to deal,” he said, “With how you’re going to bring the reader into the story. The lead also dictates what’s going to happen from that point on.” Leads are important in any genre of writing, but with beat writing, the lead frequently is the thesis statement of the piece. Bor claims he spends the most time writing the leads of his stories because to him, that’s the most important part.

 

Great local reporting and lead writing come from all over the world. Examples include the New York Times, the News & Observer, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. Their subjects range from the Enron scandal to a festival in Raleigh, N.C., to visions of an ice skating rink in Boston, to terrorism, to sex trafficking in Iowa.

 

Gretchen Morgenson’s New York Times article, “Chills in the Balance-Sheet Shadows” is about Enron. It is an example of beat reporting, as Morgenson focuses her writing on business and marketing situations. “After a debacle like Enron’s,” she warns her readers, “Regulators may begin to examine disclosure lapses.”

 

A local reporting example comes from Raleigh, N.C. John Murawski’s “Raleigh finds its hipness” article focuses on the image most North Carolinians have of their capital city, Raleigh. “The sense of coolness,” he writes, “That seems to come naturally to towns like Asheville, has long eluded Raleigh and is a touchy subject here….Raleigh’s core has been more of a downer than a downtown.” Murawski writes how the three-day festival full of music and entertaining helped Raleigh come out of its shell somewhat, and have a little fun. Quotes from local individuals who came out to experience the festival often help readers relate more to the story, rather than just reading the author’s perspective.

 

Similarly along the local story lines, The Boston Globe has a local reporting section, just like any smaller newspaper. Noah Bierman tells of an idea local Bostonians had to put an ice skating rink in a park located above subway lines. The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy is a line of overhead parks.

 

His story then takes a turn to describing how the T (Boston’s main subway line) designers added bike cages at Alewife Station. The overall focus of Bierman’s article is to educate Boston civilians about what new developments their city is trying to make.

 

“It’s part of an overall strategy,” he said, “To persuade people to use a combination of travel methods – walking, buses, subways, bicycles – to reduce dependency on automobiles.”

 

Dana Priest’s Washington Post beat article about long-term punishments for terrorism suspects focuses on how the United States is keeping their prisoners before their trials. “The Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for potentially lifetime detentions,” she said.

 

Many human rights organizations have become involved since so little is known about the CIA’s detainees and their living conditions. For now, they are moving to place the captives in US-run prison centers in the suspects’ respective countries.

 

Iowa’s Gazette featured a series, called “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” on sex trafficking and prostitution in its own state. This is an example of both local reporting and beat journalism. Jennifer Hemmingsen writes the first article, opening the subject to readers. She tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who was pulled into the sex trafficking ring and is now participating in legal trials to convict the pimps who sold her into sex slavery.

 

“In the basement of an ordinary-looking Williamsburg home, the 13-year-old girl was given a choice. Either she would have sex with two men nearly twice her age or she would be given back to her kidnapper.” Hemmingsen’s opening sentence tells the reader exactly what the story is going to be about, just as Bor advised writers to do when orchestrating a lead.

 

Local reporting and beats are used to give readers a closer look at one specific topic in one specific location. The examples from the New York Times, the News & Observer, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and The Gazette all demonstrate how journalists can bring their audience into the story by writing about subjects relevant and interesting to them.

 

 

The New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson, “Chills in the Balance-Sheet Shadows”

http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6531

 

The News & Observer John Murawski, “Raleigh finds its hipness”

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1226688.html

 

The Boston Globe Noah Bierman, “Group envisions a greenway on ice”

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/09/21/group_envisions_a_greenway_on_ice/

 

 The Washington Post Dana Priest, “Long-Term Plan Sought for Terror Suspects”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/01/02/AR2005033002292.html

 

The Gazette Jennifer Hemmingsen, “How an eastern Iowa teen prostitution, human trafficking ring took root”

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?NoCache=1&Dato=20080420&Kategori=NEWS06&Lopenr=880341325&Ref=AR

 

 

Top Three Tips:

1.      Concentrate on the now

2.      Make it interesting on a larger scale

3.      Be detailed, but not boring