A story could be written on the online voting issue, and how the Orange and Blue Party still has hope that it could be passed into UF law.
UF Student Government voting is scheduled for Feb. 26 and 27. The UF Supreme Court ruled last week that online voting is unconstitutional. Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, said she would look into the issue. She then left town and decided she would discuss the issue this week. Although the ballots have already been printed, the Orange and Blue Party members still think students will be able to vote for online voting by write-in or by including a last-minute insert. The story would revolve around the options students have, and if those options could work. Also, Telles-Irvin still has not released her decision yet, so the story could change in the coming days.
The story should explore the reason WHY the Supreme Court ruled the issue unconstitutional, and whether there is room in the future for online voting. Saying that online voting could increase coercion hasn’t satisfied many students, since no one really knows what that means and many want a better answer. There have been letters to the editor to the Sun and the Alligator, and student groups have formed to protest the court’s decision.
For an online package, there could be a timeline graphic that shows when the online voting issue began several years ago to now. Has this been the closest that online voting has come to being a reality? The online package could also include links to the stories that pertain to the issue from newspaper archives.
The process of printing the ballots might be interesting – some video could be shot and displayed online. Audio of Orange and Blue leader, Tommy Jardon, as well as Gator Party leader, Kevin Reilly, could be recorded and displayed online, if anything interesting is captured.
Since this week’s announcement that Fidel Castro is stepping down as president of Cuba, tension between the country and the United States could be eased a little bit. When, and if, the US embargo is lifted, many tourism professionals speculate that cruise lines will be knocking down the doors of Cubans to make the small Caribbean island a future destination. Because of the lack of quality hotels, cruises lines would be able to bank off of their luxury ships.
To make this more a localized story, I would bring in the Spring Break angle. Many UF students are planning to go on week-long cruises, and I’d be curious to see just how many would consider Cuba as a destination they’d like to visit. Would they have any hesitation about visiting Cuba? Does it all stem from a dislike of Castro? If for some reason the embargo was lifted and cruises changed their destination packages, would any of the students consider changing their plans?
I’d also ask the agents at STA Travel in the Reitz Union about this topic. Their phone number is 338-0068. If cruises to Cuba were added to major chains like Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean, would they see an increase in interest for the destination? What kinds of traffic to they see to visit Cuba regardless? What sorts of hesitations have they noticed when it comes to Cuban travel?
I’d also talk to an expert on the political background of why Cuba and the United States have had such turmoil in the first place. One professor I’d like to interview is Stephen Craig, who is an expert on American politics. I’d also confer with Dennis Jett because he’s familiar with U.S. foreign policy and international relations, specifically Latin America.
Online I’d feature this story broken up. I’d have a student section and then interviews of the professional angle. Some graphics might include a timeline of Castro’s reign in Cuba and its declining political stance with the United States. I’d also have a graphic of a chart highlighting the past 20 years of American travel to Cuba and how they traveled and where they stayed specifically. I’d also have some audio clips of one of the professors outlining the potential significance of Castro’s resignation.
Story Idea
Spring break is right around the corner, but many students are choosing alternative vacations and helping out in local communities or communities abroad. One UF student, Melissa Softness is one philanthropic individual who is traveling to New Orleans with a religious group in an effort to continue rebuilding of the city. The story can use Softness as an example and then develop into a general story about what other students at UF are doing for community service through Florida Alternative Breaks, a group at UF that motivates social change through week-long service projects. The story should focus on FAB’s global warming and sustainability trip for this spring.
Also, to find additional resources, the reporter can search through groups through social networks, such as http://www.facebook.com, and blogs about alternative spring breaks.
On-campus housing sign-up is over for current students. Though room assignments won’t be permanent until May, this could be a good time to look at the process. It won’t be a procedural on how to get a room on campus because it’s too late for that, but I would like to explore some statistics.
How quickly do certain buildings fill up with students? Do certain dorms without age restrictions fill up with students of a certain age? I have heard at housing fairs that the housing department purposely “overbooks” incoming freshmen because they expect a certain number of older students to cancel their contracts between sign-up and May. How many incoming students experience this? How exactly do waiting lists work? A possible source is Vince Roberts, coordinator for undergraduate assignments. It would also be easy to find students of various ages who live on campus.
I think the story could easily run between 15 and 20 inches. Photos would be no problem to take on campus, as we could easily catch the busy area around Broward and its dining hall and compare that with the more subdued area around Springs and Keys on Stadium Road. Anything like that should work. Online, we could post links to housing’s Web site (which has improved significantly over the years I’ve been here), which show the style of rooms inside each dorm and how many students can live in each one. If we’re allowed to use the desired statistics, we could show how many first-year students, second-year students and so on live in each dorm with graphs.
I propose a story this week about the nearly completed capital improvement project by the city of Gainesville on N.E. 19th Terrace and N.E. 12th Avenue. This project was designed and funded by Wal-Mart in an effort to create a two-lane roadway for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter, and has caused some pretty serious construction on a street with a large population of local residents.
This story should focus on the construction project as part of the overall development and introduction of the new Wal-Mart. This new shopping center has been the subject of much debate throughout Gainesville, and has caused many residents and business owners to complain about its introduction. For that reason, the completion of this new roadway signifies another big step toward the introduction of the Supercenter.
The story should focus on the project, and complaints that were brought up as a result of it. First and foremost, the story should address how many residents felt about the new, wider street and the increased traffic it will bring. Second, it should focus on concerns residents have now that the Wal-mart is closer to completion. Third, it should also focus on the cost of the project and how much Wal-mart is spending to make this idea come to fruition.
To report the article, I would first speak with the city contact for the project, John Veilleux at 352-334-5072. This would provide background information and some indication as to the complaints raised over the issue. I would then speak with the City Commissioner representing the area to discuss any complications that have arisen. Then, I would speak with Wal-Mart headquarters to discuss the costs of the project, visions for the area and when the new Supercenter will be ready to go. Finally, and most importantly, I would go and speak to residents living on the street to hear their feelings and worries.
This story would run about 15 inches on either A2 or A3, with a teaser to it on the front. It would feature a photo of the completed project (or workers putting the finishing touches on the street) and one of the sketch for the proposed Supercenter. As for online play, this story would be a lot more interesting. I envision a picture of the finished road that becomes interactive. It would feature a view of the road as one first turns onto it heading toward the new shopping center. It would then have little tabs one can click on to see how much it cost and quotes from all the sources placed in clickable locations on the street. Finally, it would also feature tabs where the houses of each resident that spoke with the reporter are. When one clicks on the tab, it would bring up a picture of the resident (if he/she was ok with the idea) and a quote from him/her.
My story idea for this week is about UF’s Student Government elections and the issues they are having with the UF Supreme Court ruling against online voting.
Friday, Tommy Jardon, the Orange and Blue presidential candidate, and Sam Miorelli, the Students for Online Voting executive director, filed a lawsuit against the UF Student Government, the SG Supreme Court, and Bernie Machen because they believe online voting was wrongly turned down. However, the SG elections are still going on Tuesday and Wednesday as originally scheduled.
Jardon and Miorelli filed suit because they believe online voting would increase voter turnout by at least fourfold and because it’s what the students voted for. Clearly they’re passionate about it, but I’d be interested to see how much the student body in general really cares. Only about 10 percent of the student body signed the voting petition, which is interesting to being with because usually, not even that many students vote in the SG elections.
I’d also be interested to talk to their lawyer and find out what he thinks of their chances.
Extras: photos of students voting; a timeline depicting the online voting struggle; a chart graphic showing the requirements to get a petitioned item made law and the steps the online voting petition took
The University of Florida Responsible Endowment Coalition has gathered enough signatures to put a referendum on the Student Government elections ballot. The REC proposes putting together a group of faculty, students, and alumni representatives to oversee the university’s spending, making sure UF’s $1.2 billion endowment is spent on companies that would ensure socially and environmentally sound plans.
According to the Facebook event, which encourages students to vote, the referendum question says: “Should UF facilitate the creation of an independent committee of student, faculty, and alumni representatives to advise the board of trustees on the socially responsible investment of UF’s endowments?”
I would first talk to Skeet Surrency, the student who created the REC group on Facebook.
I would ask what drove him to start up this group, and why he suggests that the university has little transparency in its spending as he suggests on the Facebook group.
Then I would see if I could talk to President Bernie Machen about this referendum. Would he be willing to allow a group to advice the university on its spending? I would be interested to know what he thinks about the accusations that spending isn’t transparent enough to the students.
For visual interest, I would include a photo of Surrency approaching a student with a petition, or of him near the voting, possibly trying to influence a student to vote yes on the referendum. Of course I would not set up a posed shot. I am just trying to brainstorm some possible picture ideas and images to watch out for. I would run the print story at 15-17 inches.
The online version could explain more in depth about REC, which is a national organization that aids students in forming their own campus chapters. I would also include video clips of my interview with Surrency, and Machen’s response.
My story idea for this week deals with the Blu-ray winning the so called next-generation format war. For years, electronics companies have been trying to introduce the next generation of DVDs, but with limited success. The DVD format has been adequate for a large amount of the population and with the uncertainty presented by the competition between HD DVD and Blu-ray, people were reluctant to commit to a format.
Well, that is no more and Blu-ray has emerged on top.
What are the current and future ramifications of this development?
What effect has the news had on local stores, such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.? Are they selling more Blu-ray players or movies? Are their profits going up? Are sales of the PlayStation 3 going up (since it plays Blu-ray movies)?
What about students? Do they even care, especially since most college students live on tight budgets? Are they more likely to invest in a Blu-ray player now?
Why did Blu-ray win out? What effect might this have on the entertainment industry as a whole? What about future threats such as video delivered through the Internet (such as iTunes movies or AppleTV)?
Sources could include local stores, students, professors in the College of Engineering, company reps from Sony, etc.
Story would be about medium size and could run about 15 inches. Graphics could include picture of a Blu-ray disc, a PlayStation 3 or perhaps an illustration comparing HD DVD and Blu-ray.
Online presentation could include a more interactive comparison between the two formats or perhaps Flash-style inside look at how Blu-ray technology actually works (people always love these sorts of things). Also could include links to retailers that sell Blu-ray or movies that are available in the format.
There is a Watchdog Blog post on http://www.gainesville.com today titled “A fix to a dangerous median?” Arredondo Farms resident Steven Miller, a “watchdog reader” of gainesville.com, posted this after he and his girlfriend were in a car accident on Archer Road near Tower road at what he called an “incredibly dangerous median.” The Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman, Gina Busscher, said that traffic engineers did not realize this was a problem spot for traffic and accidents, but they may now consider putting in a directional median. This added turn lane, however, would not be added until sometime in 2011 or 2012, and that’s only if FDOT decides one is needed. This post gave me a good idea for a story package: a comprehensive look into the traffic patterns and problem spots of Gainesville’s main roads.
For a city that houses a university with more than 50,000 students, Gainesville is not exactly a large town. Taking into consideration the amount of students, faculty and staff at the University of Florida, as well as all the local Gainesville people, it is not hard to imagine why Gainesville has such serious traffic issues, especially during the afternoon rush hour. I live five blocks north of campus on 15th Street and Fifth Avenue. If I was to leave my duplex and drive to the interstate on-ramp on Newberry Road sometime after 9 p.m. or so, when there is little traffic, it would take me about 15 minutes to complete my trek. If, however, I chose to leave anywhere between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., it would take me anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour to reach my destination. There is such congestion on the four roads that box in the UF campus (13th Street, 34th Street, Archer Road and University Avenue) that drivers will often be forced to wait through several traffic light cycles just to make it through one intersection. As the university and the surrounding area continue to expand, I can only assume that these traffic conditions will worsen.
The idea of my story package is to highlight the areas in Gainesville that have the busiest roads and intersections, as well as certain problem spots where accidents occur most frequently. In order to accomplish all of this, I would talk to FDOT officials about traffic patterns, and consult public records to find the areas where most accidents occur. After compiling all of my raw data, I would put this information onto a Web page in the form of lists of the safest and most dangerous roads to drive on in Gainesville, as well as an outline of when the busiest and least busy times of day are for driving. I would try to offer alternative routes for people trying to avoid major congestion, and perhaps list a local radio station or two that people could tune into for up-to-date traffic reports. For effect, I would try to provide overhead photos of some of the busier intersections during rush hour. For the convenience of the drivers, I might also want to list gas stations in the area that typically have the lowest prices. I would combine this with testimonials of drivers who have been involved in accidents, and ask them to offer advice to other drivers on how to not become the next Gainesville traffic victim. Perhaps this site/page would even attract the attention of some car insurance companies looking to advertise. My goal in doing this story would be making Gainesville roads safer to drive on.
It was reported today that 100 passengers on an American cruise to Mexico were infected with the norovirus, putting quite a hamper on a 10-day cruise. The virus is highly contagious, and passengers with the sickness were asked to stay in their rooms and compensated $100 a day. This is just a recent instance in a series of cruises who have reported breakouts of this sickness. With spring break only a week away and many students opting to travel on cruise lines for entertainment, an informative story would be advising students on preventative measures to take against the sickness and how to deal with it if it strikes. It would be interesting to talk to students who have previously traveled on cruises and have gotten ill from some sickness or another to paint a picture of the misery one could very well encounter on these trips.
Additionally, the story could be expanded to include basic safety advise for traveling the high seas, including how to remain on the ship (and not overboard), and surviving in a foreign country once the ship docks. I think some good sources for this story could be talking to a prominent cruise line spokesperson about the information they give to passengers concerning the risks. Potentially, someone from Carnival or Holland America (the line with the latest outbreak). Talking to officials over in the Student Health Care Center could help disperse information on how to stay medically safe and what steps to take to remain healthy on a trip. In the online format, I think it would be neat to include an interactive timeline about the or some sort of informational table about the discussing what cruise lines have been plagued by this illness and their responses, whether appropriate or not. Something like this could even be adapted to a print news story.
A story could be written on the online voting issue, and how the Orange and Blue Party still has hope that it could be passed into UF law.
UF Student Government voting is scheduled for Feb. 26 and 27. The UF Supreme Court ruled last week that online voting is unconstitutional. Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, said she would look into the issue. She then left town and decided she would discuss the issue this week. Although the ballots have already been printed, the Orange and Blue Party members still think students will be able to vote for online voting by write-in or by including a last-minute insert. The story would revolve around the options students have, and if those options could work. Also, Telles-Irvin still has not released her decision yet, so the story could change in the coming days.
The story should explore the reason WHY the Supreme Court ruled the issue unconstitutional, and whether there is room in the future for online voting. Saying that online voting could increase coercion hasn’t satisfied many students, since no one really knows what that means and many want a better answer. There have been letters to the editor to the Sun and the Alligator, and student groups have formed to protest the court’s decision.
For an online package, there could be a timeline graphic that shows when the online voting issue began several years ago to now. Has this been the closest that online voting has come to being a reality? The online package could also include links to the stories that pertain to the issue from newspaper archives.
The process of printing the ballots might be interesting – some video could be shot and displayed online. Audio of Orange and Blue leader, Tommy Jardon, as well as Gator Party leader, Kevin Reilly, could be recorded and displayed online, if anything interesting is captured.
Since this week’s announcement that Fidel Castro is stepping down as president of Cuba, tension between the country and the United States could be eased a little bit. When, and if, the US embargo is lifted, many tourism professionals speculate that cruise lines will be knocking down the doors of Cubans to make the small Caribbean island a future destination. Because of the lack of quality hotels, cruises lines would be able to bank off of their luxury ships.
To make this more a localized story, I would bring in the Spring Break angle. Many UF students are planning to go on week-long cruises, and I’d be curious to see just how many would consider Cuba as a destination they’d like to visit. Would they have any hesitation about visiting Cuba? Does it all stem from a dislike of Castro? If for some reason the embargo was lifted and cruises changed their destination packages, would any of the students consider changing their plans?
I’d also ask the agents at STA Travel in the Reitz Union about this topic. Their phone number is 338-0068. If cruises to Cuba were added to major chains like Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean, would they see an increase in interest for the destination? What kinds of traffic to they see to visit Cuba regardless? What sorts of hesitations have they noticed when it comes to Cuban travel?
I’d also talk to an expert on the political background of why Cuba and the United States have had such turmoil in the first place. One professor I’d like to interview is Stephen Craig, who is an expert on American politics. I’d also confer with Dennis Jett because he’s familiar with U.S. foreign policy and international relations, specifically Latin America.
Online I’d feature this story broken up. I’d have a student section and then interviews of the professional angle. Some graphics might include a timeline of Castro’s reign in Cuba and its declining political stance with the United States. I’d also have a graphic of a chart highlighting the past 20 years of American travel to Cuba and how they traveled and where they stayed specifically. I’d also have some audio clips of one of the professors outlining the potential significance of Castro’s resignation.
Story Idea
Spring break is right around the corner, but many students are choosing alternative vacations and helping out in local communities or communities abroad. One UF student, Melissa Softness is one philanthropic individual who is traveling to New Orleans with a religious group in an effort to continue rebuilding of the city. The story can use Softness as an example and then develop into a general story about what other students at UF are doing for community service through Florida Alternative Breaks, a group at UF that motivates social change through week-long service projects. The story should focus on FAB’s global warming and sustainability trip for this spring.
Sources:
1) Melissa Softness – missy18@ufl.edu
2) FAB – cls@dso.ufl.edu
a. Web site – http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentorgs/fab/
3) Jenny Kaplan, creator of the FAB global warming and sustainability Facebook group – jfkaplan@ufl.edu
For online story, include links that can direct those who are interested in alternative spring breaks to sites where they can register and find more information about community service organizations:
– Example:http://studenttravel.about.com/od/springbreakvolunteers/qt/alternate_sprin.htm
Also, to find additional resources, the reporter can search through groups through social networks, such as http://www.facebook.com, and blogs about alternative spring breaks.
On-campus housing sign-up is over for current students. Though room assignments won’t be permanent until May, this could be a good time to look at the process. It won’t be a procedural on how to get a room on campus because it’s too late for that, but I would like to explore some statistics.
How quickly do certain buildings fill up with students? Do certain dorms without age restrictions fill up with students of a certain age? I have heard at housing fairs that the housing department purposely “overbooks” incoming freshmen because they expect a certain number of older students to cancel their contracts between sign-up and May. How many incoming students experience this? How exactly do waiting lists work? A possible source is Vince Roberts, coordinator for undergraduate assignments. It would also be easy to find students of various ages who live on campus.
I think the story could easily run between 15 and 20 inches. Photos would be no problem to take on campus, as we could easily catch the busy area around Broward and its dining hall and compare that with the more subdued area around Springs and Keys on Stadium Road. Anything like that should work. Online, we could post links to housing’s Web site (which has improved significantly over the years I’ve been here), which show the style of rooms inside each dorm and how many students can live in each one. If we’re allowed to use the desired statistics, we could show how many first-year students, second-year students and so on live in each dorm with graphs.
I propose a story this week about the nearly completed capital improvement project by the city of Gainesville on N.E. 19th Terrace and N.E. 12th Avenue. This project was designed and funded by Wal-Mart in an effort to create a two-lane roadway for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter, and has caused some pretty serious construction on a street with a large population of local residents.
This story should focus on the construction project as part of the overall development and introduction of the new Wal-Mart. This new shopping center has been the subject of much debate throughout Gainesville, and has caused many residents and business owners to complain about its introduction. For that reason, the completion of this new roadway signifies another big step toward the introduction of the Supercenter.
The story should focus on the project, and complaints that were brought up as a result of it. First and foremost, the story should address how many residents felt about the new, wider street and the increased traffic it will bring. Second, it should focus on concerns residents have now that the Wal-mart is closer to completion. Third, it should also focus on the cost of the project and how much Wal-mart is spending to make this idea come to fruition.
To report the article, I would first speak with the city contact for the project, John Veilleux at 352-334-5072. This would provide background information and some indication as to the complaints raised over the issue. I would then speak with the City Commissioner representing the area to discuss any complications that have arisen. Then, I would speak with Wal-Mart headquarters to discuss the costs of the project, visions for the area and when the new Supercenter will be ready to go. Finally, and most importantly, I would go and speak to residents living on the street to hear their feelings and worries.
This story would run about 15 inches on either A2 or A3, with a teaser to it on the front. It would feature a photo of the completed project (or workers putting the finishing touches on the street) and one of the sketch for the proposed Supercenter. As for online play, this story would be a lot more interesting. I envision a picture of the finished road that becomes interactive. It would feature a view of the road as one first turns onto it heading toward the new shopping center. It would then have little tabs one can click on to see how much it cost and quotes from all the sources placed in clickable locations on the street. Finally, it would also feature tabs where the houses of each resident that spoke with the reporter are. When one clicks on the tab, it would bring up a picture of the resident (if he/she was ok with the idea) and a quote from him/her.
Beth Romanik
My story idea for this week is about UF’s Student Government elections and the issues they are having with the UF Supreme Court ruling against online voting.
Friday, Tommy Jardon, the Orange and Blue presidential candidate, and Sam Miorelli, the Students for Online Voting executive director, filed a lawsuit against the UF Student Government, the SG Supreme Court, and Bernie Machen because they believe online voting was wrongly turned down. However, the SG elections are still going on Tuesday and Wednesday as originally scheduled.
Jardon and Miorelli filed suit because they believe online voting would increase voter turnout by at least fourfold and because it’s what the students voted for. Clearly they’re passionate about it, but I’d be interested to see how much the student body in general really cares. Only about 10 percent of the student body signed the voting petition, which is interesting to being with because usually, not even that many students vote in the SG elections.
I’d also be interested to talk to their lawyer and find out what he thinks of their chances.
Extras: photos of students voting; a timeline depicting the online voting struggle; a chart graphic showing the requirements to get a petitioned item made law and the steps the online voting petition took
The University of Florida Responsible Endowment Coalition has gathered enough signatures to put a referendum on the Student Government elections ballot. The REC proposes putting together a group of faculty, students, and alumni representatives to oversee the university’s spending, making sure UF’s $1.2 billion endowment is spent on companies that would ensure socially and environmentally sound plans.
According to the Facebook event, which encourages students to vote, the referendum question says: “Should UF facilitate the creation of an independent committee of student, faculty, and alumni representatives to advise the board of trustees on the socially responsible investment of UF’s endowments?”
I would first talk to Skeet Surrency, the student who created the REC group on Facebook.
Skeet Surrency
FloridaREC@gmail.com
I would ask what drove him to start up this group, and why he suggests that the university has little transparency in its spending as he suggests on the Facebook group.
Then I would see if I could talk to President Bernie Machen about this referendum. Would he be willing to allow a group to advice the university on its spending? I would be interested to know what he thinks about the accusations that spending isn’t transparent enough to the students.
For visual interest, I would include a photo of Surrency approaching a student with a petition, or of him near the voting, possibly trying to influence a student to vote yes on the referendum. Of course I would not set up a posed shot. I am just trying to brainstorm some possible picture ideas and images to watch out for. I would run the print story at 15-17 inches.
The online version could explain more in depth about REC, which is a national organization that aids students in forming their own campus chapters. I would also include video clips of my interview with Surrency, and Machen’s response.
My story idea for this week deals with the Blu-ray winning the so called next-generation format war. For years, electronics companies have been trying to introduce the next generation of DVDs, but with limited success. The DVD format has been adequate for a large amount of the population and with the uncertainty presented by the competition between HD DVD and Blu-ray, people were reluctant to commit to a format.
Well, that is no more and Blu-ray has emerged on top.
What are the current and future ramifications of this development?
What effect has the news had on local stores, such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.? Are they selling more Blu-ray players or movies? Are their profits going up? Are sales of the PlayStation 3 going up (since it plays Blu-ray movies)?
What about students? Do they even care, especially since most college students live on tight budgets? Are they more likely to invest in a Blu-ray player now?
Why did Blu-ray win out? What effect might this have on the entertainment industry as a whole? What about future threats such as video delivered through the Internet (such as iTunes movies or AppleTV)?
Sources could include local stores, students, professors in the College of Engineering, company reps from Sony, etc.
Story would be about medium size and could run about 15 inches. Graphics could include picture of a Blu-ray disc, a PlayStation 3 or perhaps an illustration comparing HD DVD and Blu-ray.
Online presentation could include a more interactive comparison between the two formats or perhaps Flash-style inside look at how Blu-ray technology actually works (people always love these sorts of things). Also could include links to retailers that sell Blu-ray or movies that are available in the format.
There is a Watchdog Blog post on http://www.gainesville.com today titled “A fix to a dangerous median?” Arredondo Farms resident Steven Miller, a “watchdog reader” of gainesville.com, posted this after he and his girlfriend were in a car accident on Archer Road near Tower road at what he called an “incredibly dangerous median.” The Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman, Gina Busscher, said that traffic engineers did not realize this was a problem spot for traffic and accidents, but they may now consider putting in a directional median. This added turn lane, however, would not be added until sometime in 2011 or 2012, and that’s only if FDOT decides one is needed. This post gave me a good idea for a story package: a comprehensive look into the traffic patterns and problem spots of Gainesville’s main roads.
For a city that houses a university with more than 50,000 students, Gainesville is not exactly a large town. Taking into consideration the amount of students, faculty and staff at the University of Florida, as well as all the local Gainesville people, it is not hard to imagine why Gainesville has such serious traffic issues, especially during the afternoon rush hour. I live five blocks north of campus on 15th Street and Fifth Avenue. If I was to leave my duplex and drive to the interstate on-ramp on Newberry Road sometime after 9 p.m. or so, when there is little traffic, it would take me about 15 minutes to complete my trek. If, however, I chose to leave anywhere between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., it would take me anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour to reach my destination. There is such congestion on the four roads that box in the UF campus (13th Street, 34th Street, Archer Road and University Avenue) that drivers will often be forced to wait through several traffic light cycles just to make it through one intersection. As the university and the surrounding area continue to expand, I can only assume that these traffic conditions will worsen.
The idea of my story package is to highlight the areas in Gainesville that have the busiest roads and intersections, as well as certain problem spots where accidents occur most frequently. In order to accomplish all of this, I would talk to FDOT officials about traffic patterns, and consult public records to find the areas where most accidents occur. After compiling all of my raw data, I would put this information onto a Web page in the form of lists of the safest and most dangerous roads to drive on in Gainesville, as well as an outline of when the busiest and least busy times of day are for driving. I would try to offer alternative routes for people trying to avoid major congestion, and perhaps list a local radio station or two that people could tune into for up-to-date traffic reports. For effect, I would try to provide overhead photos of some of the busier intersections during rush hour. For the convenience of the drivers, I might also want to list gas stations in the area that typically have the lowest prices. I would combine this with testimonials of drivers who have been involved in accidents, and ask them to offer advice to other drivers on how to not become the next Gainesville traffic victim. Perhaps this site/page would even attract the attention of some car insurance companies looking to advertise. My goal in doing this story would be making Gainesville roads safer to drive on.
Colleen Bennett
colbe6@ufl.edu
It was reported today that 100 passengers on an American cruise to Mexico were infected with the norovirus, putting quite a hamper on a 10-day cruise. The virus is highly contagious, and passengers with the sickness were asked to stay in their rooms and compensated $100 a day. This is just a recent instance in a series of cruises who have reported breakouts of this sickness. With spring break only a week away and many students opting to travel on cruise lines for entertainment, an informative story would be advising students on preventative measures to take against the sickness and how to deal with it if it strikes. It would be interesting to talk to students who have previously traveled on cruises and have gotten ill from some sickness or another to paint a picture of the misery one could very well encounter on these trips.
Additionally, the story could be expanded to include basic safety advise for traveling the high seas, including how to remain on the ship (and not overboard), and surviving in a foreign country once the ship docks. I think some good sources for this story could be talking to a prominent cruise line spokesperson about the information they give to passengers concerning the risks. Potentially, someone from Carnival or Holland America (the line with the latest outbreak). Talking to officials over in the Student Health Care Center could help disperse information on how to stay medically safe and what steps to take to remain healthy on a trip. In the online format, I think it would be neat to include an interactive timeline about the or some sort of informational table about the discussing what cruise lines have been plagued by this illness and their responses, whether appropriate or not. Something like this could even be adapted to a print news story.