Week 31

It was another great week in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program. One of the major highlights was the fantastic interview we had on Thursday. Jason and I interviewed Ms. Janet Evans Webb, a Frisco resident running for the Frisco City Council, about her position on the wildlife issue. 

It was great to hear the perspective of a woman who believes that the city has not done enough to protect the wildlife in the area. Ms. Evans Webb is a prime example of someone who recognizes a problem and is doing everything she can to make a difference. During our discussion, we talked about the new Walmart that is being build on beautiful land in the area, the exciting side of seeing wildlife in the area, and the damage that has been done to their habitats. 

Ms. Evans Webb's main point throughout our discussion was that the wildlife was here first. We have invaded their land so it is only natural that they should still be around. She adamantly desires that Frisco take more tangible steps to protect the nature and wildlife in the Frisco area.

At this point, we have had interviews with a resident who is frustrated with the lack of government regulation on wildlife, an expert urban wildlife biologist who knows the facts behind why wildlife is highly present in Frisco, a neighborhood director who deals with the wildlife issues when they arise in her neighborhoods, and a woman who adamantly believes that the city should take better care of the wildlife in the area. We have the foundation for our story and now we just need to fill in the gaps and piece it all together.

Week 30

It was another exciting week in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program. I feel like my final product is finally coming together.

Over the course of the week, I worked on updating my portfolio, got caught up on assignments, planned ahead, and visited WFAA-TV headquarters.

During our mentor visit, Mr. Trahan and I discussed future plans for the Final Product. Everything is coming along nicely and we should be able to produce a great story.

Unfortunately the video logs I took during several of my mentor visits have disappeared. So I will have to complete those again, but this will give me more practice. We are looking to conduct at least one more interview, and up to three more. This will allow our story to cover an issue from all angles. I can not wait to see how everything turns out.

One thing I will need to figure out very soon is how to get footage of wildlife for the story. I have a goPro that would be absolutely perfect, but I will need to find a way to spy on wildlife or bring it to me. One of my dad's suggestions was using one of his hunting calls to call in bobcats and coyotes and gather footage that way. I am excited to see how this will unfold.

I am very excited to start writing the story once we have obtained our last crucial interview next week.

Week 29

This week I began catching up my portfolio, interviewed another individual for my final product, and completed some assessments.

Some of the successes we are having have been with the interviews. I have grown more comfortable conducting the interview without help from Mr. Trahan, and the opinions and ideas we have received will create a great story. We have also had success with logging the video because it has taught me how to work quickly and efficiently, while drawing out the quotes and ideas that are most prevalent to the story. 

A difficulty for me has been the “stand ups” Mr. Trahan has had me do. This is when you report into the camera in an introductory blurb. I have found it difficult because Mr. Trahan has me improvise the whole thing. I tend to use flowery language and long-winded sentences, especially when thinking on my feet. Mr. Trahan has been teaching me, however, that short, concise sentences are better because it makes them easier to work with in a story. We have also had difficulty obtaining wildlife footage. Our story will be fine without it, but it would create a nice touch if we could include this footage. 

I am highly pleased with the way the product is progressing. My only regret is that there is not enough time for our story to go as in depth as we would like. But for the amount of time we have been given, we are making the best story possible.

Week 28

It was another fantastic week in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program. My mentor visit was a greatly important experience as I learned a new and valuable lesson. I've been learning about the process of creating a story is making sure that you cover the topic from all sides. It is incredibly easy for a reporter, and in turn the viewers, to only see a story from one perspective. This is dangerous as it can shift the feelings on a subject and completely change a person’s mind. News is supposed to be an outlet to gain accurate, unbiased information. This, unfortunately, has not proven to be the case. Many corporations narrow-cast, or reach out to specific audiences by sharing news in a way that people of a certain belief will agree with. On top of this, media groups are capable of agenda setting, or deciding what shall be reported on and how much attention the issue gets. Therefore, the overall population can sometimes come away with a very different idea of the problems the country faces than are actually true.

           

This is depressing! I want to enter into this career field in order to alert people to the problems at hand, not hide or shape the truth to make it something it is not. Moving forward, I will have to keep this in mind with everything I do. I should never get to a place where I utilize clips of interviews to make them sounds like they are saying something that they actually aren't. I should never seek information from only one side of a situation. I should never sink to the level of reporting in a way that is beneficial to me but not the general public.

Weeks 26-27

This week I conducted an exciting interview with an urban biologist. His name is Brett Johnson and he works at the Cedar Hill National Park near Granbury, Texas. My mentor and I made the long drive to the park in order to obtain the extremely important interview.

Mr. Johnson's job as an urban biologist means that he has extensive knowledge in the area I am researching regarding bobcats and coyotes. We explained how we are investigating the strange overpopulation of bobcats, coyotes and other forms of wildlife in the Frisco area, and he gave us his professional opinion on why the animals are there and what people should do in response to the phenomenon. Mr. Johnson explained that although Frisco is highly developed, it is filled with wildlife corridors, which are areas of refuge for wild animals. This could include creeks, wooded land, and undeveloped property. Due to these corridors, wildlife have no reason to leave the area. As of now, Frisco plans to keep many of the corridors in tact, so the wildlife will continue to live in the area. Due to the fact that these corridors are also small, the wildlife often have to venture out into neighborhoods in order to find food sources.

Meeting with Mr. Johnson was an incredible experience and incredibly beneficial to the story.

Week 25

This week I submitted my Product Proposal and Calendar, learned how to log video footage at my mentor visit, and gave my Original Work Presentation.

The Product Proposal is a helpful tool in planning out the process of creating your final product and the steps you are going to take to get there. It includes sections covering:

• Introduction and Statement of Purpose,
• Review of Skills and Research,
• Methodology,
• Materials, and 
• Conclusions.

The calendar is a helpful tool as well because it allows you to plan out exactly when each individual aspect of the product will be completed.

My Original Work Presentation went great as well! My opening was strong because I started with a story from one of my mission trips to Guatemala that explained why I am interesting in investigative journalism and global issues. Showing the videos produced by WFAA-TV that had to do with the research I found was awesome as well.

This week's mentor visit was very exciting as well. I learning the process of logging video footage, which is when you go through footage and locate key points and quotes that will benefit the final story. I logged the video footage we shot last week by myself and lobed every minute of it.

Week 24

This week in the Independent Study and Mentorship, I continued to reflect on what I learned through my first interview. I also made more concrete plans with my mentor for the upcoming weeks.

Here were some of my thoughts reguarding my previous interviwe:

Interviewing this woman was also an awesome experience because it taught me the basics of how to conduct interviews as in investigative reporter. I was honestly quite nervous, but my mentor, Mr. Jason Trahan, kept the situation under control and showed me how to work the camera, mikes and the interview itself. One aspect of the interview that I found particularly interesting was the talking that took place ahead of time. We discussed the whole story with her before we taped her saying it, so that we could make sure she would emphasize the phrases that would be most important for the piece. I was also surprised by how relaxed the whole event felt.  I was expecting an awkward, intimidating, serious encounter, but we joked and laughed throughout our short time together, collecting shots from multiple angles and getting footage of the woman with her pet bunnies and puppy.

The interview itself was not at all what I had expected. I prepared questions ahead of time, but hardly used them at all because it was basically a two-way conversation that fed off of itself. It felt like a genuine conversation, which is important in the world of investigative reporting, because you want the information you are gathering to be authentic and heart-felt.

After we interviewed the woman, she gave us the contact information of a woman in her neighborhood that experienced a similar situation with a bobcat. She also talked with her daughter to ask if she would be willing to be interviewed as well. This was interesting because I was able to see how stories truly feed off of themselves. It is important to build a good relationship with your leads because they are your main source of gathering further interviews and information.

After the interview, Mr. Trahan and I went to a wooded area beside her neighborhood, and I did a “stand up,” which is when a reporter gives a small blurb of background information regarding the story at hand. I was especially nervous at this point because my mentor had me come up with what I was going to say on the spot, as reporters often do. This was an awesome experience, and although my “stand up” was far from perfect, it helped me feel like a real reporter and will be a great guide for the future.

We finished up the morning by taking a few panning shots of a playground that the woman said a bobcat had been spotted on. Visuals are a vital aspect of news stories, and learning how to utilize the camera and film effectively was incredible. 

I have much more to learn about investigative reporting, but this experience gave me my first taste of what it really feels like to be a reporter.