I found the first reading, “50 Places to Shop for Story Ideas” particularly interesting because there were many locations on the list I would have never thought to look at. For example, I found the third place, the vet’s office, to be unusual because I would have never thought of pets to make much of a story. One of the suggestions I have used for coming up with ideas is to eavesdrop on others. I’ve noticed that many times I will overhear friends discussing their problems and realize many others are probably encountering the same issue. Something I noticed recently was students were being forced to wait for a certain date and time in order to add courses during the first week of classes, or drop/add time. My friends and I all wondered why, even if you were a senior and should have first choice of courses, should you be confined to certain dates and times to gain the classes you want? This could lead to a story about why the university set up such a policy and if there was any way to change it.
One suggestion I could add to the list would be to look at popular news Web sites, such as MSNBC or Google News and read the top stories. Often times in reporting class I would take the top stories and be able to localize them and apply it to the Gainesville community. One story I wrote was based off an article comparing energy drinks to coffee-based beverages. The article was claiming energy drinks were very bad for people to consume and I called a doctor in Gainesville and asked his opinion on the topic. I also spoke with students who drink both beverages (not at the same time obviously) and asked them to describe their preferences and why they felt that way.
Another suggestion I could add that would relate mostly to UF life is to spend time in Turlington during the middle of the day. There are student groups constantly passing out notices or setting up displays at tables that describe what their organization stands for. Some afternoons there are what I would call religious fanatics that stand and preach their version of the gospel to the students passing by. Occasionally students will stop and respond them, which always leads for a heated debate and an interesting afternoon.
In the second story dealing with revamping the way journalists will do their stories, I think the future of the industry will be helped and hindered by the technological additions. For example, I think using blogs to generate ideas (mentioned in how things are and how they will be) could be good because it will show more directly what readers are concerned with and could open the reporter’s eyes to problems unknown to him or her. On the other hand, if readers tell reporters what to write their stories on (as stated in how things will be) it may to come journalists playing the role of the student fulfilling an assignment given by the teacher, the teacher being the public. I think journalists should be open to suggestions given by readers but should not wholly rely on blogs and online posting for story ideas.
Another step I disagree on in how things may become is to update the blog every step of the way after doing some reporting and contacting sources. I think this could become tedious and unnecessary because readers would be able to know the outcome of the story the minute it is posted online. I know this is a high-paced world and the more quickly information is disseminated the better but it seems constantly stopping to blog about the latest step would actually prolong the reporting process instead of helping it.
I also think allowing readers to edit your story in a wiki form, shape the story and ultimately edit it once completed makes the job of journalist appear unimportant. If readers are able to shape the story as it develops, give ideas for the story itself and edit it once published on the web, what is the point in even having a journalist? It seems as if the journalist does all the hard work, such as collecting research and locating sources, and readers who have no training or credentials are allowed to say whatever they want however they wish.
