Those of you with AP access may have seen the story BROKEN BUDGETS-TAXES AND JOBS move for use last weekend. It was part of The AP's/APME's Broken Budgets series, running through 2011.
Some ways to localize content in these stories on state and municipal fiscal trouble:
-- Seems like state and city governments are going to have to cut and budget more harshly this year if they want to chip away at mounting debt. This is not unlike what your readers have had to do since the economy tanked in 2008. What ideas can they offer from their experience scrimping and saving on household budgets?
-- Can a city or state declare bankruptcy? What happens if they go too deep into debt? Ask the experts -- bankruptcy lawyers, local economic professors -- how local or state debt affects real people. Obviously services will be cut -- what else?
-- State parks have been a target of recent budget cuts, but do your readers actually care? Who uses and is employed by the parks in your area? Do most people even use these resources? What is affected if they close?
-- Public employees are also caught up in the mess. How many are in your area, and what percentage of the workforce do they comprise? What's the effect on others in your area if public offices close another day a week, or their workforce is reduced, or they close altogether? Longer lines at the DMV, fewer resources for seniors, possible implications for jails and prisons ... you get the idea.
For more information on the project or upcoming stories, contact Bob Heisse at bheisse@centredaily.com or Sally Jacobsen at sjacobsen@ap.org.
Those of you with AP access may have seen the story BROKEN BUDGETS-TAXES AND JOBS move for use last weekend. It was part of The AP's/APME's Broken Budgets series, running through 2011.
Some ways to localize content in these stories on state and municipal fiscal trouble:
-- Seems like state and city governments are going to have to cut and budget more harshly this year if they want to chip away at mounting debt. This is not unlike what your readers have had to do since the economy tanked in 2008. What ideas can they offer from their experience scrimping and saving on household budgets?
-- Can a city or state declare bankruptcy? What happens if they go too deep into debt? Ask the experts -- bankruptcy lawyers, local economic professors -- how local or state debt affects real people. Obviously services will be cut -- what else?
-- State parks have been a target of recent budget cuts, but do your readers actually care? Who uses and is employed by the parks in your area? Do most people even use these resources? What is affected if they close?
-- Public employees are also caught up in the mess. How many are in your area, and what percentage of the workforce do they comprise? What's the effect on others in your area if public offices close another day a week, or their workforce is reduced, or they close altogether? Longer lines at the DMV, fewer resources for seniors, possible implications for jails and prisons ... you get the idea.
For more information on the project or upcoming stories, contact Bob Heisse at bheisse@centredaily.com or Sally Jacobsen at sjacobsen@ap.org.
