July 22, 2010 at 2:11 pm · Filed under making the news local
We sang. We hung until they closed and they waited for us to leave. We filled the people with ourselves and filled the Heartland Cafe with a great heap of generosity.
Our Scribe Aid fundraiser was so good because so many cared to help our journalism colleagues who’ve lost jobs and are trying to start over.
We raised $1,100 and then the NABJ kicked in another $200 and others folks have been joining in.
The money will go to help with freelancing costs, with classes to help your career or with equipment such as tape recorders. If you want to help out, the donations go to the Chicago Headline Club Foundation, which is a tax deductible organization, 1633 Central St. Evanston, Il 60201 and if you want to apply or know folks who can use the help, drop me a note,
Steve@newstips.org
Near the end of the night, we had a very loud, very out of tune sing along. The song was Stand by Me. It had a good feelingt
October 18, 2009 at 11:59 am · Filed under darn good writing, making the news local
Not all stories flow straight forward. Some stop. Some wander. Some feel like the talk that shapes our conversations. I like the way this story gives me a feel for the people and the neighborhood and makes me wonder about the bigger picture. Stephen
http://tinyurl.com/yf5c4zy
August 19, 2009 at 10:52 am · Filed under making the news local
In an issue of admirable resource and analysis, the Chicago Reporter looks at the state of nursing homes in the Chicago area. It’s piece on troubled nursing homes that serve elderly black residents deserves attention and follow-up from the newspapers, radio stations and online publications that reach Chicago’s black community.
Here is a summary from the Reporter:
The Chicago Reporter investigated the quality and quantity of
nursing homes where the majority of residents are black in
Chicago, Illinois and the United States, compared with facilities
where most of the residents are white. The Reporter found
racial disparities on multiple fronts:
Illinois has the highest number of poorly rated black nursing
homes nationwide. There is just one excellent-rated black
nursing home in the state, in south suburban Dolton.
In Chicago, nearly 30 percent of nursing homes where the
majority of residents are white were deemed excellent by the
federal government. None of the city’s black nursing homes
earned that mark.
A statistical analysis shows that poverty did not explain the
disparities in Chicago.
The Chicago Reporter investigated the quality and quantity of
nursing homes where the majority of residents are black in
Chicago, Illinois and the United States, compared with facilities
where most of the residents are white. The Reporter found
racial disparities on multiple fronts:
Illinois has the highest number of poorly rated black nursing
homes nationwide. There is just one excellent-rated black
nursing home in the state, in south suburban Dolton.
In Chicago, nearly 30 percent of nursing homes where the
majority of residents are white were deemed excellent by the
federal government. None of the city’s black nursing homes
earned that mark.
http://www.chicagoreporter.com/issue/index.php
March 21, 2009 at 11:11 am · Filed under making the news local
Here is a good example of localizing a major national story. The Los Angeles Times looked at unemployment and then talked about black unemployment nationally and then in California. But there’s a step they didn’t take and that step is where ethnic media can always step forward. They tell us about what’s happening in their neighborhoods, on their streetcorners, at their churches, their schools.
And it is not so hard.
There are ways of getting the numbers for smaller communities. But a good reporter can also put together some measures on their own and tell the same story. A story with a very focused angle.
How do you do this?
You talk to the people who feel the economy in their pockets, on their stores’ shelves and in their daily economic life. You find out how they are doing now and how they see and feel the differences. What’s happening at the grocery store, the local bank, the used clothes stores, and worse yet the payday loan shop or pawn store. What’s happening at the temporary help store? This is how you build a story from the street up and when people read or listen to it, they know it is true and that is matters.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-blackjobs21-2009mar21,0,1632483.story?track=ntothtml
Here is another example of putting a human face on a story that has been much talked about – the loss of jobs for immigrants without papers. A story also that the ethnic press has written about. What makes this article by the New York Times so good is its use of charts, a video and community discussion to make this story real.
Say you don’t have all of these resources. Can you do the same.?
Yes, but on a smaller scale. You can use a video and let readers comment online and you can give them the latest data in charts that shows what is happening now. Or you can tack on a poll. And most of this won’t cost you very much. You don’t have to change overnight. But at least begin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/22immig.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hispanics%20and%20immigrants%20and%20tenn.&st=cse
