I decided to attend a Tampa City Council meeting on March 11 for my meeting assignment for a variety of reasons. One reason was because I had never attended a city council meeting, and I felt that the Tampa one would have the most important “newsworthy” topics to report on. Another reason being that I live in Tampa, and I felt that it would be beneficial for me to see what is going on in the council meeting that affects me the most, and the area that I live in.
I decided to attend the meeting to see what story ideas that I could take out of it. Once I found story ideas, then I could use the ideas to figure out which public records I would need to do the reporting.
At first, I thought the meeting would be hard to follow, and that I would not be able to take much out of the dry format of it. With all the motions and voting on every aspect of the meeting, it is a little hard to find out what is important. They were discussing the amendments to the Tampa Comprehensive Plan, which is a plan of upgrades and changes that need to be made in the city. There were a few proposals and ideas that were discussed, such as using land near Rocky point for Community use, even though it had previously been residential use.
There were some stories and discussions that I felt would make for good stories, such as where they should locate the train station once the high speed train is built, but there was one discussion that stood out to me.
They talked about a pedestrian that had been struck by a car and killed on the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and addressed reasons for why it happened. They said how there is no way for pedestrians, bicyclists or anyone not in an automobile to cross the Causeway, or to travel to the other side.
This is a major issue for many people who are not fortunate enough to have a car, and must travel by foot or by bike. I looked at this part of the meeting as I believe a journalist would… There is a problem that affects many residents in Tampa. There is a disaster (the person being struck to death), and there is strong support for change.
The changes suggested include building or incorporating a walkway, or a bicycle path that is shielded and protected for motorists. This would allow for easy travel across the causeway for automobiles and pedestrians as well as bicyclists. I feel as though the story is perfect for television news, because it has a background, as well as a proposal and a plan to change an area in which many Tampa residents use each day.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Milage, Budgets, and some Valuable Trigg Information
Milage seems like it is a little outdated.
I want to start by trying to define Milage, which is something Preston Trigg talked to us about in our most recent visit. It is very complicated, and I believe there could be better systems, but here it goes…
Milage is a formula for determining the amount of taxable property value that the government can charge you taxes on. Pheww… Now let’s get to the specifics.
Milage has to do with property taxes, and how much you can be taxed on based on the value of your home. A “mil” is equal to 1/1000th, and a “mil” is equal to $1000 of property taxes. Based on the value of your home, the government sets how many mils you can be taxed on.
Now, if I haven’t killed my readership by defining that, we can move on.
Trigg has visited us before, and the thing that amazes me the most about him is his mindset towards his job. Trigg works for the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office, but he doesn’t come off as someone working for a government agency.
Trigg comes to us with a reporter’s mindset, which is a great learning tool for us. As reporters, we will be dealing with people and offices like Trigg and the Hillsborough County Tax Collector. The way he describes things to us, is advice from a reporter, but with an insider’s perspective.
He tells us all the different hoops we will have to jump through to get what we want and he always tells us little tips to look for when investigating something. I have taken a lot out of his two visits.
He came to talk to us about budgets, and what to look for such as what increases in the budget could be suspect. Trigg broke down a budget into three simple areas Personnel, Capital and Operating.
Personnel includes salaries, benefits and costs related to having a staff.
Capital purchases are usually over $1,000 and include large expenses for companies (keep an eye out for these expenses).
The last part is the operating budget. This usually includes utilities, leases, education, travel and food costs. Pretty much anything that is required to OPERATE the company. This is another area to keep an eye on.
Learning how to read and understand a companies budget is a very useful and valuable skillset, and I am glad we got the opportunity to learn it from a “former” journalist.
I want to start by trying to define Milage, which is something Preston Trigg talked to us about in our most recent visit. It is very complicated, and I believe there could be better systems, but here it goes…
Milage is a formula for determining the amount of taxable property value that the government can charge you taxes on. Pheww… Now let’s get to the specifics.
Milage has to do with property taxes, and how much you can be taxed on based on the value of your home. A “mil” is equal to 1/1000th, and a “mil” is equal to $1000 of property taxes. Based on the value of your home, the government sets how many mils you can be taxed on.
Now, if I haven’t killed my readership by defining that, we can move on.
Trigg has visited us before, and the thing that amazes me the most about him is his mindset towards his job. Trigg works for the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office, but he doesn’t come off as someone working for a government agency.
Trigg comes to us with a reporter’s mindset, which is a great learning tool for us. As reporters, we will be dealing with people and offices like Trigg and the Hillsborough County Tax Collector. The way he describes things to us, is advice from a reporter, but with an insider’s perspective.
He tells us all the different hoops we will have to jump through to get what we want and he always tells us little tips to look for when investigating something. I have taken a lot out of his two visits.
He came to talk to us about budgets, and what to look for such as what increases in the budget could be suspect. Trigg broke down a budget into three simple areas Personnel, Capital and Operating.
Personnel includes salaries, benefits and costs related to having a staff.
Capital purchases are usually over $1,000 and include large expenses for companies (keep an eye out for these expenses).
The last part is the operating budget. This usually includes utilities, leases, education, travel and food costs. Pretty much anything that is required to OPERATE the company. This is another area to keep an eye on.
Learning how to read and understand a companies budget is a very useful and valuable skillset, and I am glad we got the opportunity to learn it from a “former” journalist.
Monday, March 22, 2010
"The End Point For Public Records"
Our visit to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s office may have been the most chilling one that we have taken this year… literally.
I had always heard that the medical examiner’s office was cold, but I didn’t realize it until the tour. Being there put everything into perspective for me on a personal level, as well as a journalist.
As we have visited the many places throughout the first half of this semester, I have learned about public records, and the different places that you can go to find out things you need for a story, but I have also learned a lot more than that.
I have learned not to take anything for granted, and that it is important to stay on your track, otherwise things can go downhill very quickly.
One quote summed up the medical examiner for me.
“This is the end point for public records for people.”
It is chilling to hear. All our lives, we are compiling public records, but once you end up at the medical examiner, and they fill out that death certificate, there is nothing else to find out.
We have followed the paths of certain people through public records, and it was an unbelievable experience to see it all come to an end, but that is the reality of reporting.
It is not all warm stories, and funny features. Sometimes it is about the cold, hard truth. As journalists, we have to program ourselves to look for exactly that, the truth. In journalism, it is all about supplying the public with the truth, and sometimes that means know that all cremations require an autopsy, or to know what records are public and what are private and reserved for the next of kin.
What is nice to know, is that the final resting place for public records for a person, in this case, the medical examiner, is that they are fair, open and honest with everything they do. I was surprised to know how well, and how open the Hillsborough office was, and that is reassuring as a person as well as a journalist.
I had always heard that the medical examiner’s office was cold, but I didn’t realize it until the tour. Being there put everything into perspective for me on a personal level, as well as a journalist.
As we have visited the many places throughout the first half of this semester, I have learned about public records, and the different places that you can go to find out things you need for a story, but I have also learned a lot more than that.
I have learned not to take anything for granted, and that it is important to stay on your track, otherwise things can go downhill very quickly.
One quote summed up the medical examiner for me.
“This is the end point for public records for people.”
It is chilling to hear. All our lives, we are compiling public records, but once you end up at the medical examiner, and they fill out that death certificate, there is nothing else to find out.
We have followed the paths of certain people through public records, and it was an unbelievable experience to see it all come to an end, but that is the reality of reporting.
It is not all warm stories, and funny features. Sometimes it is about the cold, hard truth. As journalists, we have to program ourselves to look for exactly that, the truth. In journalism, it is all about supplying the public with the truth, and sometimes that means know that all cremations require an autopsy, or to know what records are public and what are private and reserved for the next of kin.
What is nice to know, is that the final resting place for public records for a person, in this case, the medical examiner, is that they are fair, open and honest with everything they do. I was surprised to know how well, and how open the Hillsborough office was, and that is reassuring as a person as well as a journalist.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Finding A Story At The Courthouse
We went to the Hillsborough County Courthouse looking for information on how to report stories. What I took out of the trip was the fact that there is a story there already.
The Courthouse has been forced to cut budgets and spending, including forcing employees to take furlough, or days off without pay. These furloughs force the courthouse to be short-staffed, and they are not able to handle all of the cases that they need to.
The courthouse was a very nice building located in downtown Tampa, and from first look, it appeared like it was a well-run machine. Get in, get charge, get out. From the outside, there was a bustle of people coming and going, and detour signs sending everyone in 100 different directions.
It appeared that the courthouse was thriving, but in essence, they are struggling to keep up.
When we finally got through security, we were joined by Pat Frank and her staff, who began to tell us about what they handle on a day-to-day basis. What surprised me with Frank, was how frank she was, no pun intended. She WANTED us to know about the problems that they were having. She told us about the cuts she was forced to make, and she discussed what other things could be cut from the courthouse.
Facing eight percent budget cuts could cripple the amount that the courthouse can do to help protect and serve the county.
It was interesting to hear her perspective on the legislature, and what they were doing to “help.” She served on the state legislature, and knows the problems from a local and state level, and she knows how they go about handling them.
She seemed genuinely upset that she was going to have to make more cuts. I think that I went to the courthouse to learn different ways to cover stories, but what I actually found was a big story in itself. There are problems down at the courthouse, and they need to be solved.
The Courthouse has been forced to cut budgets and spending, including forcing employees to take furlough, or days off without pay. These furloughs force the courthouse to be short-staffed, and they are not able to handle all of the cases that they need to.
The courthouse was a very nice building located in downtown Tampa, and from first look, it appeared like it was a well-run machine. Get in, get charge, get out. From the outside, there was a bustle of people coming and going, and detour signs sending everyone in 100 different directions.
It appeared that the courthouse was thriving, but in essence, they are struggling to keep up.
When we finally got through security, we were joined by Pat Frank and her staff, who began to tell us about what they handle on a day-to-day basis. What surprised me with Frank, was how frank she was, no pun intended. She WANTED us to know about the problems that they were having. She told us about the cuts she was forced to make, and she discussed what other things could be cut from the courthouse.
Facing eight percent budget cuts could cripple the amount that the courthouse can do to help protect and serve the county.
It was interesting to hear her perspective on the legislature, and what they were doing to “help.” She served on the state legislature, and knows the problems from a local and state level, and she knows how they go about handling them.
She seemed genuinely upset that she was going to have to make more cuts. I think that I went to the courthouse to learn different ways to cover stories, but what I actually found was a big story in itself. There are problems down at the courthouse, and they need to be solved.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Having a Passion For a Story
Stories can really capture audiences.
After reading the blogs or my classmates, and watching the tour of the Newscenter in Downtown Tampa, I feel that reporting can be much more than what we are used to. I feel like Steve Andrews, the Investigative reporter that we went to see has a special way of story-telling and reporting, that captures and audience, and makes them feel invested in a story.
I feel like, while watching the news, there are stories that captivate me and hold me for the entire time, and there are some that I will just listen to the lead and then zone out.
The news is about informing people of what is going on, but it is impossible to do so if you do not have their attention. After listening to Steve Andrews, I have learned that the best way to feed people the news is to find stories that people are interested in, and that they care about.
Steve Andrews showed some of his stories, and the thing that stands out is how in-depth his reporting is. You can really tell that he had a passion about the stories, and that he wanted to learn about every detail, so he could share it with the audience.
The tax story informed us of where are taxes are going, something I would have never known about, and then there was his story about the man with cancer. These are stories that are all over the place, but they just need somone to tell them.
As important as being unbiased is in journalism, I also feel it is just as important to connect with your story and to be invested in it, so that you can paint a picture of what is going on for the audience.
It is very refreshing to see that there are successful reporters out there that truly care, and have a passion for what they do, and I think that passion helps to make a great journalist. That is something that we can all take out of this trip.
After reading the blogs or my classmates, and watching the tour of the Newscenter in Downtown Tampa, I feel that reporting can be much more than what we are used to. I feel like Steve Andrews, the Investigative reporter that we went to see has a special way of story-telling and reporting, that captures and audience, and makes them feel invested in a story.
I feel like, while watching the news, there are stories that captivate me and hold me for the entire time, and there are some that I will just listen to the lead and then zone out.
The news is about informing people of what is going on, but it is impossible to do so if you do not have their attention. After listening to Steve Andrews, I have learned that the best way to feed people the news is to find stories that people are interested in, and that they care about.
Steve Andrews showed some of his stories, and the thing that stands out is how in-depth his reporting is. You can really tell that he had a passion about the stories, and that he wanted to learn about every detail, so he could share it with the audience.
The tax story informed us of where are taxes are going, something I would have never known about, and then there was his story about the man with cancer. These are stories that are all over the place, but they just need somone to tell them.
As important as being unbiased is in journalism, I also feel it is just as important to connect with your story and to be invested in it, so that you can paint a picture of what is going on for the audience.
It is very refreshing to see that there are successful reporters out there that truly care, and have a passion for what they do, and I think that passion helps to make a great journalist. That is something that we can all take out of this trip.
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