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Elizabeth Cooper
Utica (N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch
General assignment reporter
What was a key takeaway from the seminar? I'd known all along that the recession affected our local residents on a number of levels, from financial to personal. For me, the financial impacts have been far easier to understand and write about, however. The seminar offered ideas on how to cover the ways the recession has affected family dynamics, emotional well-being and physical health.
How do you plan to use that knowledge in your reporting? I'll be contacting a different set of organizations and agencies that the ones I usually work with, and looking for new ways to use everyday people's stories to help our readers understand the human toll of the recession.
What story ideas did you get out of the seminar? The recession may have affected everything from divorce rates to the need for daycare. And even simple cost-cutting measures, such as not going to the dentist, have larger economic ripple effects that would make a good story. Also, unemployed people may be experiencing a host of emotional issues, such as anxiety and depression, and it would be interesting to see what mental health providers were seeing.
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Melissa Griffy-Seeton
Canton (Ohio) Repository
Lead education reporter
What was a key takeaway? The key takeaway would be that despite our best efforts, this country is still very much in a recession. We talk about recovery, but we are nowhere near a recovery, nor will we ever be - in the way we might think. ... For today's students to be successful once they enter the workforce, they must be prepared to move frequently. To go after the jobs, which will mostly be in technology fields, making the study of math- and science-related fields a must for tomorrow's college students.
How do you plan to use this in your work? I plan to incorporate this knowledge into my coverage of our local schools by reporting about how educators are preparing students for STEM-related fields. Further, I'd like to explore stories about how our local housing market is fairing.
What story ideas did you come away with?:
* Find a growing immigrant population. Ask them: Why are you here? (Story can show local trends in the job and housing markets and the shift in a city's demographics.)
* Education: How are our kids going to compete globally? For this story, talk to educators. Ask them what course offerings are available to local students. And, then, talk to businesses. Ask them: What skills are you looking for in an employee? Examine the courses being taught and the skill sets: Do they jibe?
* Are local community colleges focused on re-educating displaced, adult workers? What steps are they taking?
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Jen Judson
Norwood (Mass.) Transcript and Bulletin
Reporter
Key takeaway? Learning that a part-time Chicago Sun-Times reporter won a Pulitzer for a story uncovering "phantom" day care centers receiving state funds. Not having enough time to cover everything was a common problem voiced at the symposium, but knowing that in-depth, award-winning stories can be crafted in a 20-hour work week reignited my journalistic drive.
How do you plan to use this? I will keep my list of story ideas full by keeping a watchful eye on a variety of reports, statistics and studies while being more observant in the community. I also feel less isolated working in a small community. As a member of the training group, I know I am part of a bigger, national team collaborating on valuable enterprise reporting.
Story ideas? I am already working on a few long-form stories. One is about the concept of "short-termism" discussed by Edward Gordon, a speaker at the symposium, regarding how municipalities and the national government use a Band-Aid-like approach to fix problems in the short-term, but ignore long-term approaches to fixing today's problems. For example, one section of my series will deal with using one-time-use lump sums of money to balance the budget.
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Skye Kinkade
Mount Shasta (Calif.) Herald
Reporter
Key takeaway? The key takeaway I got from the seminar is that anything’s possible if we only think outside the box. Even though my schedule is demanding, I can still make time for larger stories that make an impact and a difference in my community.
How are you going to use that/story ideas? I’m planning to carve out a little time every day in order to write a series of stories about the public health funding crisis affecting Siskiyou County, Calif. I also began my own blog, Skyelines.
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Amber Krosel
Suburban Life Publications, Downers Grove, Ill.
News editor
Key takeaway? My key takeaway from the seminar was learning the best ways to pursue projects with limited time and resources. The best advice I received was to listen to the people, not just the numbers, to tell the story.
How will you use this? I plan to use this knowledge by leading a project kickoff workshop in May for our group's 16 reporters, sharpening our focus on longterm ideas that will significantly affect the many communities we cover.
Story ideas? There are plenty to cover that we discussed -- from teen births on the decline to the literacy crisis among our youth, or the innovative approach of career stimulus programs to new trends on women
in the workplace.
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Amanda Reavy
The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill.
Staff writer
Key takeaway? The symposium reinforced that economics is at the core of everything journalists cover, whether it is education, social services, city government, etc. However, economics and numbers can turn off readers and make their eyes glaze over. Journalists must aim to make these stories engaging and reflective of what is happening in our community’s households and workplaces.
How do you plan to use that knowledge? The release of the 2010 Census Data and American Community Survey provide a great opportunity to explore our communities’ demographics and get to the heart of how individuals and families are faring in the recession. I want to work harder to make numbers and figures come to life by comparing the research with what individuals and families say they are experiencing. I want to work harder to explain the question of “why” and frame our readers’ experiences within the context of what’s happening in our nation as well as globally.
Story ideas? I would like to look at how the recession has affected the amount of people seeking aid from social service agencies. Particularly, I would like to explore the relationship between high unemployment rates and financial struggles with domestic violence. And, do social service agencies have adequate resources to address some of these issues and needs? I also would like to examine who are the unemployed in our area. Are they older adults whose skills have become obsolete? Are they professionals who currently are over-qualified for what jobs are currently open?
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