I propose a story about the possible cap on the incoming freshman class at UF and how this may affect local developers building new apartment complexes. While the Alligator and other publications across Florida have been following the weeks leading to the March introduction of the state budget, there has been significant indication that the state will cap incoming freshman enrollment at state institutions to help curb the excessively terrible student-to-faculty ratio already present.
While that is an issue, another issue is the increase in housing being built in Gainesville directed toward to student community. Communities such as the new University House complex on 13th Street and the Jefferson 2nd Ave. complex have just been built, and are coming up with all kinds of promotions and deals to lure students. However, after speaking with College Park Apartments last week, I found out over 1,000 apartments were vacant for the duration of the last academic year. In the face of capped admissions, developers and property managers across Gainesville estimate over 4,000 apartments may sit vacant.
The reporter for this story would speak with both University House and Jefferson 2nd Ave. managers to find out how popular their units have been so far. Contact information is 352-339-7467 for University House and 352-372-3790 for Jefferson 2nd Ave. The reporter would then speak with the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the City of Gainesville Community Development Department’s Division of Housing. The reporter would then speak with upperclassmen and previous UF students to find out how the housing situation has perhaps changed in the years these students were at UF. Finally, the reporter would speak with Apartment Hunters to determine if they have observed an increase in available housing in Gainesville that goes unfilled.
The story should focus on the following questions:
1) With the housing market and economy in the state they are, what effect would the limited freshman class have on developers?
2) What are the expectations of each new complex for filling its units, and what offers have they begun to entice prospective tenants to sign leases?
3) How does the housing situation currently in Gainesville differ from past housing situations previous students faced?
The story would run between 10-15 inches and include two pictures – one of each of the two complexes featured in the story. It would also have a sidebar with contact information for all new complexes opening in fall 2008, and could even be the centerpiece for a “fall housing” issue of the paper with advertisements from all Gainesville communities.
As for internet play, this story would be a lot more colorful. The story would be accessible from the headline-link on the front page of the outlet’s Web site. Once a user clicks on the link, he/she would be taken to the story. The story would then have a link for each complex mentioned that would take the user to a slideshow of the complex’s pictures. The page would also have a chart with open units in Gainesville that would allow readers to compare how many open units there have been over the course of the last five years.
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. I’d like to run a story about what’s going on around Gainesville and include some interesting facts that people may or may not know about the holiday. The National Retail Federation does surveys every year about how much men spend on Valentine’s gifts compared to women. I’d interview local florists and chocolate shops in town to see what kind of clientele they typically see, what sex is more likely to wait until the last minute to shop, and what kinds of things they generally sell.
The Florida Museum of Natural History is hosting it’s “Science of Love” exhibit once again this year. It might be interesting to include some information about what’s going on at the museum and some history of the mating rituals of mammals, since that’s what we all are.
UF is also participating in the festivities by hosting a speed dating event at the Orange and Brew. I know the Reitz Union Board has done this type of event before and I want to know how successful it is. How many people actually participate? Have there been any interesting “love” stories that have come out of it? The event takes place on Feb. 13, so I’d run photos from the speed dating on my online piece. I might even list some dating and relationship tips for people who might be going out for the first time with their valentines.
Online I would also have an interactive chart for the spending of men and women from the past five or 10 years so readers can see how much it has or hasn’t changed.
Student Legal Services will present “Handling a Police Encounter” on Friday at the union. The announcement invites the general public to “join attorneys from UF Student Legal Services and the local legal community for a discussion of your rights when approached by law enforcement.”
I’d like to find out what Student Legal Services can tell students. Because getting into police encounters isn’t exactly common, even when it comes to speeding tickets, many people probably don’t know exactly how they would handle the situation. Did Student Legal Services start this event because of a spike in police encounters, or has it always done this at this time of year? While we’re on the subject, we can also get some information about police activity on campus. UPD has to periodically release such information to students anyway, if I’m not mistaken, so it should be readily available. What should students do when facing an encounter about alcohol or speeding? Also, how do the police feel about such events?
The story probably wouldn’t run for more than about 10 or 15 inches. Photos may be restricted to those obtained of speakers and possibly on-stage demonstrations at the event.
Online, we can give links to helpful legal resources, such as the Student Legal Services Web site. We can also post some important points from the lecture and video of on-stage demonstrations, if we can get it.
We low-budget college students are constantly bombarded with offers that are guaranteed to make us lots of money for little work. I get several spam e-mails per week offering opportunities to “work from home” “three days per week” and make thousands per month—without doing any work.
Recently, my mother was approached about joining in on a multi-level marketing plan, which the marketers promised would quickly make her lots of profit—if she got six other people to join the program. Of course, they didn’t phrase it that way, but that was how it worked.
I propose a story examining such marketing schemes, especially those targeted at college students. I would first respond to one of the e-mail offers and request more information to see what it was all about. I would try finding any UF students who had participated in the program to see if they had luck with it. I would talk to a marketing professor to find out the logistics and legality of such schemes. I would also talk to my mother to find out what drew her into accepting the proposal and why she subsequently decided against participation.
Questions I would seek to ask are: What is multi-level marketing and what are some prime examples that college students might be familiar with? Who stands to benefit from such schemes? What are other schemes that target college students and how do they work? Is it a good idea to get involved with such money-making endeavors?
For the online component, I would put a feedback forum next to the story for people to give their opinions of multi-level marketing. (“I make millions per year!” vs. “Get out while you still can!”) I would list several companies that operate in this fashion and give links to their annual reports, which are available as public records. I would compile a chart listing which companies are in good standing financially, which are in the red and which are being investigated by the IRS business standards organizations. I would also post videos of my sources talking in their own words about why they would or would not get involved with these companies.
Valentine’s Day is this week, so I would want to do a story on unconventional Valentine’s Day gifts. I could include the typical numbers such as how many more flowers florist shops order this time of year and how much more money they make, and also how far in advance popular romantic restaurants filled up.
However, I would also include the not-so-typical plans for Valentine’s Day. For example, the Orange & Blue venue on campus is hosting a speed dating session, so it would be interesting to see how many people show up for that and whether anyone finds a date.
The Alligator also sells advertising space and lets people write personal messages. Judges then pick their favorite messages in several categories, and the winners receive prizes, with the grand prize being dinner for two with a limo. Part of the story could be about the winners of the contest.
The main part of the story, though, would be about atypical Valentine’s Day things couples can do and gifts they can give. I would include making mix tapes, having a picnic outside, cooking dinner together, and making picture frames to hold a favorite picture of themselves together.
The suggestions for out-of-the-ordinary gifts and activities could be made into a colorful guide. There are several photo opportunities, but the Orange & Brew speed dating event probably lends itself the most to a photo. Finally, a bar graph can show how much money the average couple spends each Valentine’s Day, and on what: flowers, candy, dinner and other.
Asia has been getting a lot of attention in the media lately, as an up-and-coming economic world power. Recent studies at UF indicate a huge rise in enrollment in Chinese language courses. The story could focus on the reasons why Asian Studies and the Chinese language classes have experienced such a rise in enrollment. I would talk to the head of the Chinese Languages and Literatures Department, as well as students in the classes. I would also be curious whether Chinese language enrollment is rising in the state and the nation as well. If this information were cut from the story, it would be great background for a longer online story.
Additionally, UF is beginning another study abroad program in China. UF officials are placing it in Chengdu, which is in central China. UF’s other satellite in China is at the Beijing Institute. Why did UF pick Chengdu, and how is the program different than the one in Beijing? The story could lead with this topic and go into the background of rising interest in Chinese courses at UF. When talking to students, I would ask if the fact that the Olympics are in Beijing this year plays into their decision to attend a China summer study abroad program.
Amy Panikowski, the UF Peace Corps recruiter, said recently that the Peace Corps is sending many recruits to Chengdu now. Why is that? I would talk to her and ask why everyone is interested in Chengdu.
For online, I would include a map of China and point out Beijing and Chengdu. I would include a graphic of statistics that show the rise each year in enrollment in Chinese language courses. There could also be a link provided that goes to the information on the Chengdu study abroad program.
Story Idea – Monday afternoon, the BlackBerry users were unable to send and receive messages, browse the Internet and some could not even make phone calls due to the e-mail service going down, according to Research in Motion. For the story, try and find out:
– what caused the outage?
– how were people affected?
– How were businesses who use BlackBerry devices for communication affected?
– Try and find someone who uses his or her BlackBerry as the sole source of Internet and ask how they were affected?
– What were some complaints users had? Previous complaints?
– Are the reputations of any carriers hurt because of the outage?
– Will there be any compensation for the inconvenience of customers?
Contact information:
– Gainesville, AT&T and T-Mobile are BlackBerry carriers:
o AT&T (formerly Cingular) : (352) 374-1959
o T-Mobile : (352) 336-3700
– Research in Motion
o Research Assistance – help@rim.com
o Web site inquiries – webmaster@rim.com
– to find BlackBerry users and incorporate online aspect, reporter can use facebook.com and search groups. There is an application where users can add facebook.com to their BlackBerry devices. There are 929 members, so there are a wide variety of people to interview. (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2254487659&ref=s)
The story could include links to the Research in Motion Web site to learn about the company and its devices: http://www.rim.com. It should also include a blog for users who experienced the outage to comment.
I was recently reading the Municipal Minutes e-Newsletter for February on the cityofgainesville.org Web site, and I came across something that struck me as a possible story idea. The blurb was about RTS experiencing delays on two of its routes due to road construction. This got me thinking, how many students of the University of Florida rely on the bus system as their only, or main, source of transportation, especially onto and off of campus. Many students have cars that they park in their apartment complexes’ parking lots, but are unable to drive them to school due to a lack of parking or time constraints that would not allow them to park at a distant location and walk the remainder of the way to their classes. My initial interest in this story is how these delays will affect students who utilize the RTS buses on a daily basis, but this topic could be expanded upon very easily to create a story package.
There are several questions I’d want to ask in my initial investigation of this subject. This story would require a lot of leg-work, because it would be necessary to talk to dozens, possibly hundreds, of students to get an idea of how reliable the bus system really is in Gainesville. My initial question to any possible sources would be whether or not they ride the bus. If so, how often, and how come? If not, what means of transportation is used to get to campus? Do they walk, ride a bicycle, get dropped off, or drive their own vehicle? For those that ride the bus often, I would ask if it is on-time on a regular basis, or if it frequently runs late? How would a delay of 15 to 20 minutes affect their ability to get to class on time? Have they ever missed an exam or other important assignment due to a late-running bus? Do they prefer taking the bus because it allows them additional time to study or sleep or eat on the way to class? In addition to all the students and faculty that I’d want to talk to, I’d also try to get the opinions of several bus drivers, and find out how road construction affects their jobs. Do they ever get complaints from students of the buses always running late? How frequently does road construction delay their routes? Has the number of students who use the buses increased, decreased or stayed the same since they started driving?
If this story package was published in an online medium, I would include several things. Perhaps I’d offer an informal survey on the bus system with several of the questions I’ve listed above. I’d mention alternatives to riding the bus, and post information on where best to park if one drives a car, or where to purchase a new bike, or the best routes to walk. I’d also include a diagram of the city of Gainesville with all of the bus routes outlined, and user feedback on whether or not these routes are usually timely or delayed. I’d have a section that listed all of the current road construction sites so bus riders could know when to expect delays. This overall package would be a continuous, frequently updated site that would work in conjunction with RTS and the city of Gainesville construction workers in an effort to make the bus system run as smoothly as possible.
My story idea for the week concerns the recent power outage that occurred because of a crash at Southwest 34th Street and Archer Road. This happened to affect my area of town and proved rather annoying, though I’m glad that the driver who caused the outage wasn’t seriously hurt.
The incident brings up some interesting questions: Who is responsible when things like this happen? Can the driver of the car be criminally or civilly liable for damage or loss of revenue to businesses because of this? Or, does it solely fall on his car insurance? Would insurance even cover such large expenses? What about a case in which the power goes out due to natural causes or technical errors? Can the power company be held responsible or is it up the business’ insurance to help cope with losses?
I think the issue of power outages, though uncommon, brings up some interesting questions and I think people would benefit from a little exploration of the topic. Some sources could include GRU, insurance companies such as Liberty Mutual, State Farm or Geico, area lawyers who specialize in topics such as loss of revenue due to accidents and area law-enforcement agencies: GPD, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and UPD. Student reactions to power outages and how they affect their lives, especially in such a technology-based school environment, could add some color to the story. We could also follow up on what happened to those businesses that were affected by last week’s outage, as well as the driver of the car (injuries, insurance claims, etc.)
Length of the story would depend on what could be dug up about the situation, but would probably be somewhere around 20 inches. Graphics could include a map of the area affected by last week’s outage, mug of the driver or owners of affected area businesses.
For the online component, I think it would be interesting to have an interactive map, perhaps pulling data from GRU, that would show weak points in the city’s grid. By clicking on these points, one could see how much of the city would be affected by a certain part being damaged. This might be able to highlight deficiencies in the current power grid and maybe call from some improvements so that if one part of the grid goes out, a whole block does not lose power as it did last week.
Registration for Birthright, a free 10-day trip to Israel, opens Tuesday, Feb. 12 nationwide. The trip is open to “Jewish young adults” ages 18-26, who have never been to Israel.
How does the organization know if you are Jewish? What percentage of Jewish blood qualifies someone for the trip? I think it’d be interesting to contact UF’s Hillel organization and find out about the screening process. Do non-Jews every try to go? Are background checks done? What are qualifying factors?
UF Hillel
Keith Dvorchik
Executive Director keith@ufhillel.org
Phone: (352) 372-2900 x705
I would also like to get in touch with people who have gone on the trip recently. What was their least favorite part of the trip? Are those who go on the trip required to participate in religious activity? Is the trip really completely free, or what costs are involved? Different organizations around the U.S. offer trips, how does someone decide which one to pick? Which trip organizers should be avoided?
Hillel’s program associate would know UF students who have recently been on Birthright that I could get in touch with.
Jess Kendler
Program Associate jess@ufhillel.org
Phone: (352) 372-2900
I have also heard that those who go on the trip can extend their trip. How long can the trip be extended, and how much does this cost?
I would also like to know who funds the trip, and about the purpose of the existence of this organization.
This story could run at about 15-18 inches in print. The online version could include links to the Birthright Web site, as well as pictures and the logo from the Web site. The online version could also include video interviews with UF students about their experience on the trip. Did they ever feel like their security was threatened? Does the organization take steps to ensure their safety? Also, how much freedom to roam were they given on the trip, or did they have to follow a strict itinerary?
Story idea: Why is going onto Florida Field so appealing to people?
This weekend I went to workout in the stadium right after the basketball game, and there were at least 40 people throughout the stadium and especially down on the field, taking pictures, kicking balls around and just hanging out. UF employees (who looked like they were probably students) eventually came and yelled for everyone to get off the field. A lot of people ignored them at first and it ended up taking about 15 minutes to actually get everyone off the field. It made me wonder why, after a basketball game, people felt compelled to go hang out in the football stadium. I also wondered if this happened after all the home games, or if it is common in general throughout the year.
For this story, I would interview the people in charge of driving around the stadium in the golf cart and kicking people off the field. What happens if people don’t listen when they are instructed to get off the field? Do the employees ever have to call additional security for help? Are there any particularly outrageous stories about people being on the field? Why is it a rule that people can’t be on the field?
Although I am not sure if he would be the right person to talk to, I could start with Chip Howard, the assistant athletics director of operations and facilities, to find out who is in charge of policing the stadium.
I would also interview the people who go on the field after games. This would include current students, alumni and their family members.
This story would run at about 15 inches. The online story could include pictures of people on the field after basketball games as well as the student employees who police the stadium.
I was thinking the other day how funny it is that most Americans spend their lives doing one or two jobs, never really expanding outside of their realm of knowledge. In the next thought, I found myself cursing the weatherman because he told me that day that it was going to rain, so I lugged around my big, heavy umbrella all day just so it could fight off a few tiny driblets of rain around lunch time. I was angry, and I thought: “Why can’t they get it right?” I feel like many people probably think this same thing. So I thought, wouldn’t it be neat if a newspaper did a “Day in the Life of” series and followed Americans in certain jobs that the public sees and is constantly aware of but doesn’t necessarily understand how they translate into their own everyday life. Case in point: The Weatherman. So many times, we get aggravated when the weather forecast is wrong, but how does this happen. I think it would be neat to follow a weatherman around, maybe localizing it to the WCJB weatherman for a Gainesville story. I think this is the type of story that would lend well to putting clips up online of how certain meteorological instruments are used. It would be great to talk to his co-workers, in order to gauge their opinion of how much work he does each day and how their job relates to his. I think going into the story, it would be great to hear from some people who have had bad forecast experience, and contrast this with what goes into the job before the forecast gets to us. Obviously this could be a series that could be extended to cover other similar jobs that leave us in an air of mystery. This would be a great local story, but could also be used at the national or wire level, interviewing people from the Weather Channel, etc.
I propose a story about the possible cap on the incoming freshman class at UF and how this may affect local developers building new apartment complexes. While the Alligator and other publications across Florida have been following the weeks leading to the March introduction of the state budget, there has been significant indication that the state will cap incoming freshman enrollment at state institutions to help curb the excessively terrible student-to-faculty ratio already present.
While that is an issue, another issue is the increase in housing being built in Gainesville directed toward to student community. Communities such as the new University House complex on 13th Street and the Jefferson 2nd Ave. complex have just been built, and are coming up with all kinds of promotions and deals to lure students. However, after speaking with College Park Apartments last week, I found out over 1,000 apartments were vacant for the duration of the last academic year. In the face of capped admissions, developers and property managers across Gainesville estimate over 4,000 apartments may sit vacant.
The reporter for this story would speak with both University House and Jefferson 2nd Ave. managers to find out how popular their units have been so far. Contact information is 352-339-7467 for University House and 352-372-3790 for Jefferson 2nd Ave. The reporter would then speak with the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the City of Gainesville Community Development Department’s Division of Housing. The reporter would then speak with upperclassmen and previous UF students to find out how the housing situation has perhaps changed in the years these students were at UF. Finally, the reporter would speak with Apartment Hunters to determine if they have observed an increase in available housing in Gainesville that goes unfilled.
The story should focus on the following questions:
1) With the housing market and economy in the state they are, what effect would the limited freshman class have on developers?
2) What are the expectations of each new complex for filling its units, and what offers have they begun to entice prospective tenants to sign leases?
3) How does the housing situation currently in Gainesville differ from past housing situations previous students faced?
The story would run between 10-15 inches and include two pictures – one of each of the two complexes featured in the story. It would also have a sidebar with contact information for all new complexes opening in fall 2008, and could even be the centerpiece for a “fall housing” issue of the paper with advertisements from all Gainesville communities.
As for internet play, this story would be a lot more colorful. The story would be accessible from the headline-link on the front page of the outlet’s Web site. Once a user clicks on the link, he/she would be taken to the story. The story would then have a link for each complex mentioned that would take the user to a slideshow of the complex’s pictures. The page would also have a chart with open units in Gainesville that would allow readers to compare how many open units there have been over the course of the last five years.
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. I’d like to run a story about what’s going on around Gainesville and include some interesting facts that people may or may not know about the holiday. The National Retail Federation does surveys every year about how much men spend on Valentine’s gifts compared to women. I’d interview local florists and chocolate shops in town to see what kind of clientele they typically see, what sex is more likely to wait until the last minute to shop, and what kinds of things they generally sell.
The Florida Museum of Natural History is hosting it’s “Science of Love” exhibit once again this year. It might be interesting to include some information about what’s going on at the museum and some history of the mating rituals of mammals, since that’s what we all are.
UF is also participating in the festivities by hosting a speed dating event at the Orange and Brew. I know the Reitz Union Board has done this type of event before and I want to know how successful it is. How many people actually participate? Have there been any interesting “love” stories that have come out of it? The event takes place on Feb. 13, so I’d run photos from the speed dating on my online piece. I might even list some dating and relationship tips for people who might be going out for the first time with their valentines.
Online I would also have an interactive chart for the spending of men and women from the past five or 10 years so readers can see how much it has or hasn’t changed.
Student Legal Services will present “Handling a Police Encounter” on Friday at the union. The announcement invites the general public to “join attorneys from UF Student Legal Services and the local legal community for a discussion of your rights when approached by law enforcement.”
I’d like to find out what Student Legal Services can tell students. Because getting into police encounters isn’t exactly common, even when it comes to speeding tickets, many people probably don’t know exactly how they would handle the situation. Did Student Legal Services start this event because of a spike in police encounters, or has it always done this at this time of year? While we’re on the subject, we can also get some information about police activity on campus. UPD has to periodically release such information to students anyway, if I’m not mistaken, so it should be readily available. What should students do when facing an encounter about alcohol or speeding? Also, how do the police feel about such events?
The story probably wouldn’t run for more than about 10 or 15 inches. Photos may be restricted to those obtained of speakers and possibly on-stage demonstrations at the event.
Online, we can give links to helpful legal resources, such as the Student Legal Services Web site. We can also post some important points from the lecture and video of on-stage demonstrations, if we can get it.
We low-budget college students are constantly bombarded with offers that are guaranteed to make us lots of money for little work. I get several spam e-mails per week offering opportunities to “work from home” “three days per week” and make thousands per month—without doing any work.
Recently, my mother was approached about joining in on a multi-level marketing plan, which the marketers promised would quickly make her lots of profit—if she got six other people to join the program. Of course, they didn’t phrase it that way, but that was how it worked.
I propose a story examining such marketing schemes, especially those targeted at college students. I would first respond to one of the e-mail offers and request more information to see what it was all about. I would try finding any UF students who had participated in the program to see if they had luck with it. I would talk to a marketing professor to find out the logistics and legality of such schemes. I would also talk to my mother to find out what drew her into accepting the proposal and why she subsequently decided against participation.
Questions I would seek to ask are: What is multi-level marketing and what are some prime examples that college students might be familiar with? Who stands to benefit from such schemes? What are other schemes that target college students and how do they work? Is it a good idea to get involved with such money-making endeavors?
For the online component, I would put a feedback forum next to the story for people to give their opinions of multi-level marketing. (“I make millions per year!” vs. “Get out while you still can!”) I would list several companies that operate in this fashion and give links to their annual reports, which are available as public records. I would compile a chart listing which companies are in good standing financially, which are in the red and which are being investigated by the IRS business standards organizations. I would also post videos of my sources talking in their own words about why they would or would not get involved with these companies.
Valentine’s Day is this week, so I would want to do a story on unconventional Valentine’s Day gifts. I could include the typical numbers such as how many more flowers florist shops order this time of year and how much more money they make, and also how far in advance popular romantic restaurants filled up.
However, I would also include the not-so-typical plans for Valentine’s Day. For example, the Orange & Blue venue on campus is hosting a speed dating session, so it would be interesting to see how many people show up for that and whether anyone finds a date.
The Alligator also sells advertising space and lets people write personal messages. Judges then pick their favorite messages in several categories, and the winners receive prizes, with the grand prize being dinner for two with a limo. Part of the story could be about the winners of the contest.
The main part of the story, though, would be about atypical Valentine’s Day things couples can do and gifts they can give. I would include making mix tapes, having a picnic outside, cooking dinner together, and making picture frames to hold a favorite picture of themselves together.
The suggestions for out-of-the-ordinary gifts and activities could be made into a colorful guide. There are several photo opportunities, but the Orange & Brew speed dating event probably lends itself the most to a photo. Finally, a bar graph can show how much money the average couple spends each Valentine’s Day, and on what: flowers, candy, dinner and other.
Kim Fulscher
Week 6 STORY IDEA
Asia has been getting a lot of attention in the media lately, as an up-and-coming economic world power. Recent studies at UF indicate a huge rise in enrollment in Chinese language courses. The story could focus on the reasons why Asian Studies and the Chinese language classes have experienced such a rise in enrollment. I would talk to the head of the Chinese Languages and Literatures Department, as well as students in the classes. I would also be curious whether Chinese language enrollment is rising in the state and the nation as well. If this information were cut from the story, it would be great background for a longer online story.
Additionally, UF is beginning another study abroad program in China. UF officials are placing it in Chengdu, which is in central China. UF’s other satellite in China is at the Beijing Institute. Why did UF pick Chengdu, and how is the program different than the one in Beijing? The story could lead with this topic and go into the background of rising interest in Chinese courses at UF. When talking to students, I would ask if the fact that the Olympics are in Beijing this year plays into their decision to attend a China summer study abroad program.
Amy Panikowski, the UF Peace Corps recruiter, said recently that the Peace Corps is sending many recruits to Chengdu now. Why is that? I would talk to her and ask why everyone is interested in Chengdu.
For online, I would include a map of China and point out Beijing and Chengdu. I would include a graphic of statistics that show the rise each year in enrollment in Chinese language courses. There could also be a link provided that goes to the information on the Chengdu study abroad program.
Story Idea – Monday afternoon, the BlackBerry users were unable to send and receive messages, browse the Internet and some could not even make phone calls due to the e-mail service going down, according to Research in Motion. For the story, try and find out:
– what caused the outage?
– how were people affected?
– How were businesses who use BlackBerry devices for communication affected?
– Try and find someone who uses his or her BlackBerry as the sole source of Internet and ask how they were affected?
– What were some complaints users had? Previous complaints?
– Are the reputations of any carriers hurt because of the outage?
– Will there be any compensation for the inconvenience of customers?
Contact information:
– Gainesville, AT&T and T-Mobile are BlackBerry carriers:
o AT&T (formerly Cingular) : (352) 374-1959
o T-Mobile : (352) 336-3700
– Research in Motion
o Research Assistance – help@rim.com
o Web site inquiries – webmaster@rim.com
– to find BlackBerry users and incorporate online aspect, reporter can use facebook.com and search groups. There is an application where users can add facebook.com to their BlackBerry devices. There are 929 members, so there are a wide variety of people to interview. (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2254487659&ref=s)
The story could include links to the Research in Motion Web site to learn about the company and its devices: http://www.rim.com. It should also include a blog for users who experienced the outage to comment.
I was recently reading the Municipal Minutes e-Newsletter for February on the cityofgainesville.org Web site, and I came across something that struck me as a possible story idea. The blurb was about RTS experiencing delays on two of its routes due to road construction. This got me thinking, how many students of the University of Florida rely on the bus system as their only, or main, source of transportation, especially onto and off of campus. Many students have cars that they park in their apartment complexes’ parking lots, but are unable to drive them to school due to a lack of parking or time constraints that would not allow them to park at a distant location and walk the remainder of the way to their classes. My initial interest in this story is how these delays will affect students who utilize the RTS buses on a daily basis, but this topic could be expanded upon very easily to create a story package.
There are several questions I’d want to ask in my initial investigation of this subject. This story would require a lot of leg-work, because it would be necessary to talk to dozens, possibly hundreds, of students to get an idea of how reliable the bus system really is in Gainesville. My initial question to any possible sources would be whether or not they ride the bus. If so, how often, and how come? If not, what means of transportation is used to get to campus? Do they walk, ride a bicycle, get dropped off, or drive their own vehicle? For those that ride the bus often, I would ask if it is on-time on a regular basis, or if it frequently runs late? How would a delay of 15 to 20 minutes affect their ability to get to class on time? Have they ever missed an exam or other important assignment due to a late-running bus? Do they prefer taking the bus because it allows them additional time to study or sleep or eat on the way to class? In addition to all the students and faculty that I’d want to talk to, I’d also try to get the opinions of several bus drivers, and find out how road construction affects their jobs. Do they ever get complaints from students of the buses always running late? How frequently does road construction delay their routes? Has the number of students who use the buses increased, decreased or stayed the same since they started driving?
If this story package was published in an online medium, I would include several things. Perhaps I’d offer an informal survey on the bus system with several of the questions I’ve listed above. I’d mention alternatives to riding the bus, and post information on where best to park if one drives a car, or where to purchase a new bike, or the best routes to walk. I’d also include a diagram of the city of Gainesville with all of the bus routes outlined, and user feedback on whether or not these routes are usually timely or delayed. I’d have a section that listed all of the current road construction sites so bus riders could know when to expect delays. This overall package would be a continuous, frequently updated site that would work in conjunction with RTS and the city of Gainesville construction workers in an effort to make the bus system run as smoothly as possible.
My story idea for the week concerns the recent power outage that occurred because of a crash at Southwest 34th Street and Archer Road. This happened to affect my area of town and proved rather annoying, though I’m glad that the driver who caused the outage wasn’t seriously hurt.
The incident brings up some interesting questions: Who is responsible when things like this happen? Can the driver of the car be criminally or civilly liable for damage or loss of revenue to businesses because of this? Or, does it solely fall on his car insurance? Would insurance even cover such large expenses? What about a case in which the power goes out due to natural causes or technical errors? Can the power company be held responsible or is it up the business’ insurance to help cope with losses?
I think the issue of power outages, though uncommon, brings up some interesting questions and I think people would benefit from a little exploration of the topic. Some sources could include GRU, insurance companies such as Liberty Mutual, State Farm or Geico, area lawyers who specialize in topics such as loss of revenue due to accidents and area law-enforcement agencies: GPD, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and UPD. Student reactions to power outages and how they affect their lives, especially in such a technology-based school environment, could add some color to the story. We could also follow up on what happened to those businesses that were affected by last week’s outage, as well as the driver of the car (injuries, insurance claims, etc.)
Length of the story would depend on what could be dug up about the situation, but would probably be somewhere around 20 inches. Graphics could include a map of the area affected by last week’s outage, mug of the driver or owners of affected area businesses.
For the online component, I think it would be interesting to have an interactive map, perhaps pulling data from GRU, that would show weak points in the city’s grid. By clicking on these points, one could see how much of the city would be affected by a certain part being damaged. This might be able to highlight deficiencies in the current power grid and maybe call from some improvements so that if one part of the grid goes out, a whole block does not lose power as it did last week.
Registration for Birthright, a free 10-day trip to Israel, opens Tuesday, Feb. 12 nationwide. The trip is open to “Jewish young adults” ages 18-26, who have never been to Israel.
How does the organization know if you are Jewish? What percentage of Jewish blood qualifies someone for the trip? I think it’d be interesting to contact UF’s Hillel organization and find out about the screening process. Do non-Jews every try to go? Are background checks done? What are qualifying factors?
UF Hillel
Keith Dvorchik
Executive Director
keith@ufhillel.org
Phone: (352) 372-2900 x705
I would also like to get in touch with people who have gone on the trip recently. What was their least favorite part of the trip? Are those who go on the trip required to participate in religious activity? Is the trip really completely free, or what costs are involved? Different organizations around the U.S. offer trips, how does someone decide which one to pick? Which trip organizers should be avoided?
Hillel’s program associate would know UF students who have recently been on Birthright that I could get in touch with.
Jess Kendler
Program Associate
jess@ufhillel.org
Phone: (352) 372-2900
I have also heard that those who go on the trip can extend their trip. How long can the trip be extended, and how much does this cost?
I would also like to know who funds the trip, and about the purpose of the existence of this organization.
This story could run at about 15-18 inches in print. The online version could include links to the Birthright Web site, as well as pictures and the logo from the Web site. The online version could also include video interviews with UF students about their experience on the trip. Did they ever feel like their security was threatened? Does the organization take steps to ensure their safety? Also, how much freedom to roam were they given on the trip, or did they have to follow a strict itinerary?
Story idea: Why is going onto Florida Field so appealing to people?
This weekend I went to workout in the stadium right after the basketball game, and there were at least 40 people throughout the stadium and especially down on the field, taking pictures, kicking balls around and just hanging out. UF employees (who looked like they were probably students) eventually came and yelled for everyone to get off the field. A lot of people ignored them at first and it ended up taking about 15 minutes to actually get everyone off the field. It made me wonder why, after a basketball game, people felt compelled to go hang out in the football stadium. I also wondered if this happened after all the home games, or if it is common in general throughout the year.
For this story, I would interview the people in charge of driving around the stadium in the golf cart and kicking people off the field. What happens if people don’t listen when they are instructed to get off the field? Do the employees ever have to call additional security for help? Are there any particularly outrageous stories about people being on the field? Why is it a rule that people can’t be on the field?
Although I am not sure if he would be the right person to talk to, I could start with Chip Howard, the assistant athletics director of operations and facilities, to find out who is in charge of policing the stadium.
I would also interview the people who go on the field after games. This would include current students, alumni and their family members.
This story would run at about 15 inches. The online story could include pictures of people on the field after basketball games as well as the student employees who police the stadium.
Colleen Bennett
I was thinking the other day how funny it is that most Americans spend their lives doing one or two jobs, never really expanding outside of their realm of knowledge. In the next thought, I found myself cursing the weatherman because he told me that day that it was going to rain, so I lugged around my big, heavy umbrella all day just so it could fight off a few tiny driblets of rain around lunch time. I was angry, and I thought: “Why can’t they get it right?” I feel like many people probably think this same thing. So I thought, wouldn’t it be neat if a newspaper did a “Day in the Life of” series and followed Americans in certain jobs that the public sees and is constantly aware of but doesn’t necessarily understand how they translate into their own everyday life. Case in point: The Weatherman. So many times, we get aggravated when the weather forecast is wrong, but how does this happen. I think it would be neat to follow a weatherman around, maybe localizing it to the WCJB weatherman for a Gainesville story. I think this is the type of story that would lend well to putting clips up online of how certain meteorological instruments are used. It would be great to talk to his co-workers, in order to gauge their opinion of how much work he does each day and how their job relates to his. I think going into the story, it would be great to hear from some people who have had bad forecast experience, and contrast this with what goes into the job before the forecast gets to us. Obviously this could be a series that could be extended to cover other similar jobs that leave us in an air of mystery. This would be a great local story, but could also be used at the national or wire level, interviewing people from the Weather Channel, etc.