Recoleta Cemetery

At the cemetery in Recoleta near one of the hundreds of mausoleums

At the Duarte family tomb, where Evita Peron is buried

After the cemetery at the best ice

                                                                    cream shop in Buenos Aires...Freddo! 

On the train to El Tigre

Ridin in style through the river town

Standing by the scenic river

Drinking some mate at a market

Checking out the river on a cloudy day

Me and My Gnomie

This summer is different from any other summer I've experienced. For the first time, Lexie and I are not together....in fact, we're not even in the same country, or even the same continent.  She is in London for the summer, while I'm in Buenos Aires. Since we are so far away from each other, we decided to do something to help lessen the distance.  We each have a little garden gnome, like the one from the Travelocity commercials, and we put a picture of the other one's face on the gnome.  We are taking pictures of the gnomes when we travel, so it feels like we're traveling together.  Even though Lexie is in Europe for the summer, the gnome I have with her picture on it is traveling through South America.  To track 'Lexie's' travels this summer, check out the photos posted here!

At the waterfall in the Tropical exhibit at the Buenos Aires Zoo.

Hangin out on the bridge at the zoo's waterfall.

On the rocks with the seals

Riding a camel in the Buenos Aires Zoo

Livin large at the zoo

Adventures in Argentina

     After a crazy day of traveling I finally made it to Buenos Aires! My flight left from Chicago to Miami, and since the Bulls are playing the Miami Heat, the pilot wouldn't let any Bulls fans board the plane til everyone else had boarded.  Then my flight from Miami to Buenos Aires was delayed because there was some kind of cargo on board that they needed paper work for to leave the country. The plane was about to take off when the pilot received a call saying that we had to turn around and come back to the gate to get the paperwork before we could leave.  Everyone wanted to know what the special cargo was, but the pilot wouldn't tell us what it was and neither would the flight attendants.  The guy sitting next to me thought it was snakes on a plane, and after hearing that I couldn't fall asleep for the longest time. The plane took off an hour later, but the flight wasn't too bad. Each passenger had their own TV on the flight and there were plenty of entertainment options, ranging from movies and TV shows to games to play on the monitor.  If you exhausted your options on the TV there were also tons of beautiful Argentinian people to look at, which could keep you entertained for hours.
    When I got to the airport in Buenos Aires, I had to get a visa before entering the country.  There was only one line in the airport for visas and immigration, and everyone that landed at the airport had to go through the line.  It took three hours to get through the line, and people were not happy about it.  Some people missed their connecting flights, and other just didn't want to wait in line for that long. They started protesting and marching through the airport, and the people in line around me were yelling at the  airport workers and security guards.  It was a big long mess, but I was standing in line next to this guy named Hector from Chile so we waited together and talked to pass the time. He lives in a desert and told me stories about how there are volcanoes and earthquakes near his house.  After hearing about every natural disaster, I made my way to the front of the line, got my visa, and got the hell out of the airport.
    When I met with my study abroad group, the program coordinator took us to our apartments.  We all live in the Recoleta neighborhood, but there are three apartments between the ten of us.  My roommates and I explored our neighborhood, and the first thing we found was the closest liquor store so we were set for the night.
    On our second day, we took a tour of the city by bus.  We drove to Plaza de Mayo, La Boca, and Puerto Madero.  On the tour we saw some of the cities most notable buildings, statues, and plazas.  We drove all over the city, and made several stops to get out and walk around.  The city feels big, but the streets aren't as crowded as Chicago.  A major difference here is that it seems like everyone has a dog. Dog walkers crowd the streets and sidewalks; some people walk up to ten dogs at a time.  Dogs are everywhere in this city...I think I might have to conquer my fear of dogs while I'm here.
   The city is beautiful and there's so much to do. I can't wait to see what the next ten weeks have to offer!
  

Bringing the Story Together

News Gathering Process:

           When I search for stories, I try to find the right sources that will enhance my story.  The people you use in your story make or break the story; if they are engaging and relatable, viewers will be able to make a connection with them and as a result will connect more to your story.  I aim to find the sources that will offer the most to my story, but this isn't always easy.  I realized that when I work at the station, the deadlines scare me away from taking the time to find the best possible sources.  Being on a deadline makes me find the easiest and most attainable sources, but these are not necessarily the best for my stories.  I usually end up talking to people that work for my story, but I know there are better options out there that may have more impact on viewers.  Instead of taking the extra time to find these people, I stick to the ones that are easier to find because being on a tight deadline worries me.  After being in the field, I realized that I need to take the extra time to find those people that have a deep connection to my story.  The more involved the characters are, the stronger connection the viewers will have to them.
         I want to find more relatable and involved sources for my stories.  To do this, I think I just have to talk to more people.  I'm surprised at how many people were willing to talk to me last week when I was working on several stories.  I'm used to people not wanting to be on camera; I've come across many people that are hesitant to be on camera or talk to a reporter.  Last week I was lucky because everyone I talked to was cooperative and offered valuable information vital to my stories.  In order to find more powerful sources in my stories, I just need to talk to more people.  The more people I talk to, the more people they can refer me to and I can find more sources that way.  I want my viewers to develop a connection with the people in my stories, and that's what I've been working on these past couple weeks.

Journalism Reflection:

            I recently watched a piece on Media Storm called The Ninth Floor, by Jessica Dimmock.  I was really moved by this story because Dimmock created the piece in a way that enhanced the relationship between the viewers and those in the story.  Dimmock introduces the characters in the story, then shows pictures of them and lays interview tracks so viewers get a better understanding of who they are.  This helps the viewers see the story from the characters’ perspectives, and this twist brings the story to life.  An important element of any story is creating a connection between the people watching the story and the people in the story.  The people on the outside need to be brought to the inside of the story for a more complete understanding of the underlying story. 

            The way this piece is put together grabbed my attention.  It’s told through a variety of mediums; Dimmock uses photographs, text, and interviews to develop a sense of character in her story.  The photographs are beautifully shot, capturing the emotion of the moment.  The lighting sets the mood and tone for the story, which helps the viewers place themselves inside the story.  The text is informative yet descriptive and it guides the story.  The text gives background information and sets the scene, moving the story along.  The interviews further develop the subjects’ character.  I like how Dimmock overlaps the photographs with the interviews because it unravels the story.  The viewers are listening to the people tell their stories and the photographs allow viewers to watch the story at the same time.  Viewers can hear the story and watch it unfold before their eyes.  This is an interesting storytelling technique, and I would like to experiment with it in my stories to come.

            The images in this piece are graphic, but they portray real life.  They highlight and enhance the details of the characters’ lives that are often overlooked by others in society or unknown to them.  The images capture moments in everyday life that add detail to the story.  Some of these moments are joyful, while others are dark and disheartening or even twisted.  It makes me wonder how Dimmock caught all of these moments on camera.  She photographed arguments and fights between two of the characters, Dionn and Rachel.  She tapped into their real lives and exposed their secrets, but she did so in an unobtrusive manner.  Dimmock caught these events on camera but the images look so real that as a viewer I forgot the camera was there and I felt like I was in the room with the two feuding characters, witnessing the events with my own eyes.  From watching this piece, I picked up on several techniques that I want to experiment with and adopt into my own stories.  I want to use the camera as unobtrusively as possible to place my viewers at the scene of the story.  I also want to try using different types of storytelling techniques to capture the most emotion.  I want to use text, photographs, and interviews like Dimmock did in this piece to emphasize certain aspects of my stories.
http://mediastorm.com/publication/the-ninth-floor

Finding the Way to Sharpen My Stories

News Gathering Process:

            This week I had an especially hard time finding story ideas.  The elections were over and it seemed like every other newsworthy event in Columbia was told a hundred times already and had been beaten to death.  I wanted to find something newsworthy that hadn’t been covered yet; I was presented with a challenge.  I searched for national stories and tried to give them a more local focus.  I think this idea of starting broad then narrowing down into a tighter focus worked for a few of my ideas.  In my broadcast class I did a story idea exercise in which we walked around the block and tried to find as many stories as we could.  We had to draw from our senses- what we saw, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted stirred our search for creative story topics.  This exercise gave me insight on journalism and it helped me see for myself that stories are all around us.  Everything has a story, and as a journalist it’s my job to find those stories and tell them.  This exercise opened my eyes; I learned to not overlook anything, because you never know what will inspire your next story.  Participating in this exercise also helped me see how a story can grow.  One thing you see can make you think about something or question something, and the more you think about its impact the more angles you can expand upon.  Stories are continually growing and developing; it’s our job to help them blossom into something that will impact the community around us. 

            One of the hardest parts about storytelling for me is thinking of ways to make the story visual.  On occasion I’ll think of a great story idea that is timely and relevant, but it won’t be the most visual of stories.  Some of the topics I generate during brainstorming sessions would be better told in print than on the television screen.  Other times I think of ideas that have an impact on the community but the story itself is logistically not doable.  I wanted to construct a piece about health care and how uninsured citizens are dealing with not having insurance, especially now since it’s flu season.  I found some great statistics about uninsured Americans; nearly 400,000 people with chronic illnesses won’t seek treatment because they are afraid of the costs.  There are a number of stories that can be told based solely on this fact, but finding a way to visually prove this story is difficult with hospital rules regulating camera usage.  This is a problem I run into frequently; I find a great story that I think people should hear about, but the logistics behind putting the story together are faulty.  I’m still learning how to find good story ideas that offer great visuals.  I’m constantly searching for ways to make stories more visual; television is a medium for visual storytelling, and I want to maximize the opportunities this medium presents by finding visually stimulating images to guide the story along.

Journalism Reflection:

            One story I found this week takes an interesting idea and uses images to convey the story’s message.  I thought this was relevant to my news gathering dilemma because it confronts an impactful issue and explains the significance of this issue visually.  The story combines an interesting idea with good storytelling techniques, and these are standards I look for throughout my news gathering process. 

            This piece follows several families through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Each family tells their experience with the hurricane, and photographs of the parents and their children bring their stories to life.  The photographs add character and personality to the story; photos help viewers meet the families, which adds depth to the story.  The viewers are able to build a personal relationship with the families; they can understand the struggles and worries and can identify with the ups and downs of each family.

            I enjoyed watching this piece because as viewers we hear the children’s’ voices.  This is unique because in serious stories we never really hear how the children feel; we always hear the story from an official or from an adult directly affected by the situation, but hearing a child’s perspective puts a fresh twist on the story.

            The children’s attitudes show how the family’s life has changed since the hurricane.  Despite losing their homes and favorite possessions, one family found the positive in the situation.  Mr. Ruberts says that they have a house full of love, four beautiful kids, and a beautiful wife, and that’s all you need.  The images help show how the Ruberts family found the beauty in such a devastating situation.  The images help express their happiness and they let the viewer see the close relationship the family members have with one another.  The images tell the story; what the interview subjects say is important, but more important are the visuals that take the viewers on a journey through the situations these families are forced to cope with. 

            I was inspired by this piece because it was crafted in such an innovative way.  It’s based off of an impactful event, but the reporter found a new angle to take on a popular issue.  The combination of photographs and interviews carried the story along, and I want to use this piece as a guide to help me sharpen my skills in finding story ideas and to make these stories visually enticing.

http://www.mediastorm.com/publication/finding-the-way-home

Using Pictures to Tell the Story

News Gathering Process:

            Recently I was working on a story that focused on foster families.  I went to a local 5K race that raised money for organizations that help foster children and foster families.  After talking to several foster parents, I realized that state funding is a problem that confronts foster parents.  They need all the financial help they can get, and they face struggles in providing for their families daily.  Their story is complex, but it’s one that is generally overlooked.  I wanted to tell this story in a meaningful way to explain to people just what they have to go through to help their foster children succeed. 

            I shot some video of the families, but I was looking for a way to tell the story that would have more impact on the viewers.  One of the foster parents gave me a few pictures of local food distributions and clothes drives; having these pictures was a powerful storytelling tool.  The photos allowed me to reach out to the audience and actually show them what was happening.  Instead of telling the story, I could show it and have viewers experience it firsthand.  The photos document the foster parents’ lives and show the tiny details that are typically overlooked by many.  The photos enable the viewer to experience the foster families’ situations firsthand.  Each picture was a valuable asset in telling the story.

            Unfortunately, I didn’t end up using the photos because I didn’t know how to incorporate them into my story.  I had some great video of foster parents and their children, and I didn’t know where to tie the photos into the story. I wanted to include the photos in my piece because they had the ability to tell the story that words don’t have the power to express.  However, I was unable to visually connect the video with the pictures.  As a result of this, I think my story lacked impact.  The photographs had potential to add depth and variety on the audience.  If I used the photographs I think my story would’ve left a longer-lasting impression on the viewers.

            While I was working on this story I realized the importance of using a variety of media to tell a story.  A story can be told a number of ways; you have to find the most effective way to tell it.  This story could’ve been more effective and had a greater impact if I integrated the pictures with the video.  The pictures would’ve set the tone for my piece and added emotion that the video couldn’t evoke.  I think my story was still meaningful in the end, but I could’ve taken it further to let the audience really experience for themselves what foster families encounter and overcome.  The photographs could’ve helped me set the scene of my story and guided the viewers in visualizing this scene.

Journalism Reflection:

            I learned more about my strengths and weaknesses as a journalist from my piece about foster families in Mid-Missouri.  I need to learn how to incorporate different types of storytelling elements into my pieces.  I wanted to use both video and pictures to tell the story of struggling foster families, but I stuck with video because I couldn’t use both effectively.  I wanted to improve on converging different types of media to tell one fluid, concise story.  I searched for good examples of visual storytelling, and one that I found seemed to jump out at me more than others.

            A journalist covered a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.  The pictures taken to capture the action and reaction of this event were compiled into a video slide show.  The slide show taught me about composition, capturing the action and a reaction, and finding visually stimulating images to push the story along.

            Several of the images really jumped out at me.  They forced me to imagine the extent of the situation and made me think about how people are really affected.  The photos offer a visual representation of what's happening.  Some of these photographs contain gory or gruesome content; it's hard for me to imagine being in that position, but it makes me wonder about the people who are actually affected by the eruption.  The pictures add a sense of reality to the story and they bring the viewers to the scene, which enables them to experience the catastrophic events.

            The order the pictures are presented in is important.  They can be sequenced to tell the story in chronological order, or they can be put in an order to show the action and how people reacted to the situation.  In this slideshow, the images are presented in a chronological order that traces the start of the eruption all the way to then end, where the aftermath of the explosion is documented.

            The photos used vary in content.  The slide show starts with the explosion, then it cuts to the reaction of a young Indonesian girl, followed by the devastation in a nearby village. The devastation is displayed through images of injured cows, their bodies covered in ash and blood.  The destruction is also portrayed through pictures of families walking through remains of their homes, as well as pictures of villagers relocating to refugee camps. 

            This slideshow masters the technique of capturing an action, the volcano exploding, and the reactions of the people.  It tells the story without words; from watching the slideshow you can tell what happened, the devastation caused, and the outcome of the event.  You can feel the pain of the young girl who watches as her village is turned to ash, and you can’t help but feel sorry for the mother who covers her baby as she runs from falling ash.  From looking in the eyes of the elderly woman who sits in the truck, you can see her thoughts.  She is deep in thought about how the land that has been her home for more than sixty years has been wiped away in a flash.  She thinks back to all the memories and the life she knew, and wonders about how different her life will be now.  Her facial expressions tell a lot about her thoughts, and just from looking at this picture viewers are exposed to a deeper, more complex story than the overlying events.

            Each of these images portrays a story with greater depth and detail than the story on the surface.  Looking at these photos inspires me to capture this much emotion in my own stories.  I want to be able to use photographs in my video pieces to expel as much emotion as I can.  I want my viewers to be affected and impacted by my stories, and to do so I need to use thought-provoking images that tell a deeper story.

Slideshow: Indonesian Volcano Erupts