Friday, March 30, 2012

"Find a Story" Challenge: More Answers

Many years ago I participated in the PRNDI project with Alan Siporin. Confession: I was really, really nervous! There were some really experienced reporters in the room, and I was quite sure I was in over my head.

We were discussing our stories (mine was on Clinton's welfare-to-work initiative) when one of the most experienced reporters in the room made a stunning (to me) confession. He admitted having a really hard time figuring out what constituted a good soundbite. I was shocked because I'd heard this guy regularly on NPR. If he could get on the network all the time surely he could pick a good soundbite, right?

Truth is, we all have aspects of our job that don't come as easily. And for many people it's finding story ideas. @JasonSmithRadio tweeted today, "Coming up with good story ideas has always been tough for me. The hotel art thing blew...my...mind."

I challenged you to find a story idea from something seemingly mundane. Regan McCarthy hit it out of the park with her idea (and video) that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who's ever sat through a long, boring government meeting.

Here are a couple more ideas that came in:

From KNPR's Luis Hernandez


Story Summary: I remember hearing regular service announcements as a kid on the importance of brushing my teeth. Now I see tons of spots on selling the sexiness of white teeth and teeth brightners. Have we forgone healthy teeth for sexy teeth? Is that damaging to our health?

From WPSU's Emily Reddy


Story Summary: This is the appraisal for the house I'm buying. In the process of buying a house I've learned that since the housing collapse there are new regulations in place when it comes to appraisals. They must be done by appraisers out if the area who are chosen by lottery. The mortgage broker cannot have any interaction with the appraisers. The reasoning is that before, lenders and appraisers were in cahoots to "make" the house appraise to the amount needed for the mortgage. So the new set up sounds good, right? But there are down sides. The new situation means that appraisers don't necessarily know the areas they're appraising in very well. Appraisals are coming in low and causing sales to fall through. (I think I heard a statistic recent that backs this up.) This could be a hard one to keep interesting. You'd have to find someone whose sale feel through because of their appraisal.


So, what do you think? Do these story ideas have legs? Would you like to hear any of them on the radio?

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

"Find A Story" Challenge: Answered

Yesterday, I challenged you to find a story - any story - in the room you were in at that moment.  I've done this exercise dozens of times in workshops and each time I get a "deer in the headlights" look from attendees. What? In this room? But this is a conference room at an airport hotel in Springfield, Illinois. There's nothing but other equally freaked out reporters, a coffee pot, and some lame hotel art. 

Lame hotel art. Hmmm.... maybe I can work with that.  I mean lame art is everywhere, especially in hotels. Where do they buy this stuff? Who creates it? Did she set out to paint landscapes for commercial spaces or did she have aspirations of SOHO studio openings?  What's the artistic process for someone who's designing to be pleasant and approachable, but not too distinctive? 

Truth is, there are lots of stories around us. All the time. Everywhere we go. We just have to be open to them.  And you were.  You emailed with photos of things in your room that inspired a story idea.  So, let's get right to it.


Regan McCarthy saw my call for story ideas during a brief break in a Tallahassee City Commission meeting (Ahhh, the fun of covering local government. Zoning meetings. Easements. Millage Rates. Sounds a bit like hotel art, doesn't it?).  Since my directions said don't wait for a Pulitzer Prize winning idea to strike you, she took a picture of the first thing she saw: a speaker appearance form. 

And it got her thinking:
  • Who are those frequent speakers who show up again and again at meetings to address agenda items after agenda item?
  • Why do they do it? What drives their passion for public meetings?
  • What's their background? Where do they come from? Where do they work? Where did they go to school? 
  • What agenda items do they remember speaking on and really making a difference -- persuading the commission to take a specific action?
And those questions led to two potential profile subjects:

John Doe:  An almost high school graduate who regularly attends and speaks during local government meetings. He's already spreading word that he plans to run for local office as soon as he's eligible.

Brian Pitts:  Pitts is well known in Tallahassee. He speaks at what seems like every committee meeting the Florida legislature holds. Lawmakers often repeat catch phrases from something Pitts has said. There's even an auto tune YouTube video of him.



OMG! This is great. And did you notice that comment from TamaracTalk? "This is brilliant. I would love to find out more about Brian Pitts"

So, what do you think? Does she have a story idea?  Leave your feedback below and if we agree there might be a story here we'll help Regan "Story Vision" it in a follow-up blog post.

P.S. I'll be posting more Story Challenge Submissions in the coming days...

The "Find A Story" Challenge

First, let me say WOW!  What started as an mindless attempt to clean my desk yesterday and morphed into a late night decision to start a journalism training blog has now turned into a full-fledged smack-myself-on-the-forehead OH SHIT moment after @MorningEdition and Marketplace's @moorehn retweeted my first blog post.  We're now up to 268 pageviews in less than 12 hours.  Exciting and really, freakin' scary!  Thanks, guys... I hope you're not disappointed. 

So, building on the debut "You Want To Tell A Story" post (in which I talk about ignoring the press releases and the email inbox to instead find stories IYourRL), I've got a little exercise for you.  

Stop, right now, whatever you're doing. Look around the room for a story idea.  Find something, anything, that triggers a possible story idea.   Take a picture of it and email it to me (tanyaott@gmail.com) along with a brief summary of the possible story idea.

This isn't rocket science. And it doesn't have to be a PRNDI/Murrow/Polk (insert other fancy award name) winning idea.  Just a kernel of something to work with.   I did the exercise myself and have these two photos to offer.





Tomorrow, I'll explain my story ideas ... and share some of yours.  C'mon. This'll be fun. I promise! 

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

So You Want To Tell A Story... But What Story?

"Stories are all around us, people."

Cheesy, I know.  I couldn't resist.  It's a variation of the opening line of a disastertation dissertation my husband once reviewed.   But seriously, stories really are all around us.  Not just on the fax machine or in the email inbox.  You just have to train yourself to see/hear/feel them.

Sometimes, having the outsider's perspective helps. When I moved from Orlando to Birmingham to work at WBHM, I was shocked - SHOCKED! - at how much it cost to register my kids for school.  Hundreds of dollars per kid. For public school.  What?!?

I figured if I was stressed about this, surely there were other parents feeling the pinch.  So I started asking questions. Why do we have to pay so much for public school, in a district that already has higher property taxes?  What does all the extra money go for? What happens if a parent can't afford it?

Pretty much everyone I talked to agreed it sucked, but they mostly shrugged and said "it's always been this way."  But does that make it right?  What about families that have lots of kids? Families that live paycheck to paycheck?

My questions turned into this story for NPR.

It's tough, knowing when something's just a bugaboo that bothers you and when it's something bigger. It's tough, pulling yourself away from the press releases and newspaper headlines.  But it's so worth it.  It's where you'll find the most compelling stories.  You just have to learn how to trust your gut.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_mcmt/

I'm starting this blog as an online repository for some of the ideas, tips, techniques I've collected over the past quarter century (damn... that makes me feel old!).  I hope you'll find something useful here and that you'll contribute your stories as well.  Because that's what we do in public media. We work together to bring voice to the voiceless, to tell stories others won't and to support and inspire each other in the process.