Week 4: The final product December 9, 2013

1,267 words, 15 interviews and 5 document sources later, my final in-depth article is complete. 

This was easily the hardest article I have ever written. 

My first and biggest problem was the amount of information I had compared to how much I could actually use. I had to narrow down 17 pages of notes to just over 1,200 words of article. That was tough. But, after staring at my outline for an hour, making a sandwich and a few cups of coffee it finally dawned on me: write what surprised me. 

And so I did. I narrowed down my original topics to two: reduction of teacher assistants and teacher pay (or lack there of). 

By narrowing down to what surprised me and what impacted me, I easily developed the information to what a reader needed to know. 

My second problem was the flow of the article. After arranging, rearranging and arranging again, I finally found the perfect fit. 

Despite the problems I had while writing this article, I learned so much in the process. This truly was an article showing just how much I’ve learned over the past few years. I’m proud of the work I put into this article and how it turned out. 

Establishing connections October 3, 2013

In class and in the work place, I’ve been told over and over again that establishing a connection with my sources is one of the most important aspects of journalism. This adage proved true for my profile story this week.

For my profile I’m writing about the 2013 teacher of the year in Avery County, April Cheuvront. She’s a very hands-on teacher and she focuses on getting the students to actually do the activities instead of read about it. She incorporates her research in the arctic into her class room to make science real for her students.

I couldn’t have attained any of this information without having previous connections in Avery County.

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about a new program being implemented in Avery County. New program articles require more official sources, directors and superintendents. By establishing a connection with those sources last week, I was able to pursue this story very quickly.

Last article, it took me nearly a week to get in touch with all of the sources I needed.

This week, it took less than an hour to talk to everyone, simply because they knew my name and that I cared about the story I was writing.

In short,  making those connections and being kind, clear and attentive to your sources is key. Without the impression I made two weeks ago, I would still be scrambling for a story, let alone sources.