Week 2: Abstracts
Abstract: 50 Places to Shop for Story Ideas
I thought MacLachan’s article was ingenious. I’d never even thought of looking for news articles at the vet’s office, but often animal stories are the best stories. Some of his ideas were a given, like eavesdropping – one of my favorite things to do – and trends. It’s sometimes hard to come up with ideas if you’re really trying to find them, so often I just put it in the back of my mind and some how a great idea presents itself. I find that taking the pressure off can make me more observant.
I might add the nail salon as a place to look for ideas. It’s similar to the hairdresser idea, but it’s one of those places that is a hub of gossip and news for a community. I would also add the most obvious place to look for an idea, which is your own life. I often get irritated about the bus always being late, or the rising cost of my utilities bill or the fact that it’s nearly impossible to get a good parking spot on campus. If I’m having a problem, I bet there’s a ton of people out there who are getting irritated about the same thing. Sometimes I’ll go to dinner with a group of friends and listen to their conversation for story ideas as well.
Abstract: Revamping the Story Flow for Journalists
This article was so interesting. It’s so amazing to think about how far journalism has come, especially in the last few years. I couldn’t imagine not using Google as a preliminary research point for nearly most of my articles. How did they do it before the Internet? Essentially, the basic components of story ideas and reporting have stayed the same and will continue to stay the same, but the whole process in which the ideas and research are conducted is vastly different.
I like how Glaser is outlining journalism in the years to come in that it includes a lot more reader involvement. As journalists, our job is to report the news to our readers and also keep them interesting in what’s going on around them. By utilizing Beatblogging, social networks and wikis, reporters can really give the readers what they want to know. The more ideas that are presented and developed, the better the newspaper, TV and magazine reports will be
