Check it out

Dave Rothacker, who lives in Tampa, Fla., writes a couple blogs and mentioned my personal narrative from Poynter in some recent posts.

On one blog site he travels on The Starship Cruiser where “Her mission is to explore and discover the universe of different and RadioBack the coordinates of those who are involved in the evolution of our environment and the human race.” You can check out what he thought about some of the Poynter Fellows’ personal narratives at RadioBack.

 On Dave’s other blog he writes about “businesses, folks, books and other things that impress me.” While reviewing books that involve ”sheer effort” my personal narrative was mentioned again. Find this post on Rothacker Reviews.

In case you haven’t read it yet, you can find my personal narrative on the PointsSouth Web site.

Leaving St. Pete

I never thought I would have such a difficult time leaving St. Petersburg. My six-week stay went too quickly. I had so much more I wanted to do, wanted to learn and wanted to experience. I wasn’t ready to leave the area, the faculty or my new friends.  

As I was sitting on the plane flying from Florida to Washington, I realized that I had developed true friendships with the other fellows. These are not people I will keep in touch with for potential job connections. These are people I will keep in touch with because they have become a part of my life and I care about how they are doing, where they are and how they got there.

 I owe so much to my the faculty and the other fellows at Poynter. My eyes were opened to the new possibilities in journalism. In those six-weeks I realized the importance of embracing new technology. I want to learn more about recording video and audio and making my own multimedia pieces. I want to practice my photography skills. I want to learn more about writing continuous news for the Web.

 I learned so much during my time at Poynter. I became rejuvinated. And now I’m eager to learn about what’s next for the field.

Lessons Learned

While working on my most recent story about a transitional housing shelter in St. Petersburg, Fla., I encountered numerous detours. The shelter is going to close in 60 days and the organization is going to reopen in Georgia. My main source, the founder of the shelter, became ill, and I was left with no contacts for my story. I had trouble tracking down additional sources, and residents were hesitant to talk with me at first.

For two days I waited for my main source to feel well enough to sit down for an interview, or at least to give me the OK to talk to the residents. He never felt well enough to talk with me. The only information I had from him came from a 20 minute chat earlier in the week. After several meetings with the reporting/writing coaches at Poynter, I decided to switch the focus of my story away from the house and founder. Instead, I decided to talk to the residents at the house and focus on their lives. How they ended up there. Where they were going to go when the doors closed.

The residents were open and honest with me, but only one of the men would allow us to take his photo. The photographer and I were hoping to experiment with audio for the story, but discovered that the residents were uncomfortable with the thought of a microphone in their face and a machine recording their voice.

This project taught me a lot about being respectful of other people’s comfort zones. I went into their house, asked them personal questions and wanted to photograph and record them. I was asking them to divulge some of the most difficult times of their lives, and in return I respected them when they said they didn’t want to be recorded. It was a challenge though. I wanted to produce a great story accompanied by multi-media components. In the end, I had to be flexible and make something great with what I had. I’m happy with our finished product, and I’m glad I faced these obstacles. They made me more understanding of other people in the end. The obstacles challenged me to refocus, to adapt and to be flexible.

Looking back on the week, I’m greatful that I had to change the angle of my story. Looking into the lives of the men who will be affected most when this house closes is more interesting and compelling than a story about a place. Plus, I was able to meet great people who were open to talking to me about their struggles and plans for the future.

Work in progress

So here’s my blog. It’s a work in progress that will probably take me a while to get going!