Effects of Egg Recall on Local Producers

On Monday, August 23rd, Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with statuses and tweets about "first day of class" or "last first day of class ever!!" I was different: I was tweeting about how the egg recall is effecting local egg producers. It was my first reporting shift of the semester (link) and I got to hang out with chickens!

Dave Todd and his daughter raise chickens and sell their eggs at the Columbia Farmer's Market. Dave sells eggs during the week and his daughter goes to the Saturday market. Todd Farm also produces flowers and vegetables for the farmer's market too. When I gave Dave a call about coming out to interview him and see his farm, he was excited to share his story. His wife, Caroline, was also helpful because she works for the Columbia Farmer's Market. I felt like I had hit the jackpot: two sources in one location! Dave and Caroline told me how all egg producers sold out on Saturday. The egg producers had sold twice as many eggs as normal - 500 dozen! When I asked to go in the hen house to get video of where the chickens lay their eggs, I was denied. Dave explained that the camera, tripod or I could contaminate the hen house and cause his chickens to get sick. While I was disappointed to not get that video, I was also reassured in his abilities as an egg producer who cared for his animals.

I then met with Jo Manhart, Director of the Missouri Egg Council. When I identified myself and asked for an interview, she replied, "Oh good! I was started to feel neglected on this egg recall business because no one has asked for an interview with me and usually I'm one of the first person called! And you're lucky too - I'm going out of town for two weeks soon so you could have missed me! When can you come today? I'm free all day!" Between my phone call and my interview time, she went home to get her "Egg Lady Shirt" and hard boil some eggs to show me. She could not have been more enthusiastic about eggs and making sure I had the correct information.

With both the Todds and Manhart, I found how much easier it is to do a story when neither source needs convincing and have a relatively free schedule! I know that this is not a regular occurrence but I was happy to have it happen on my first day back in the swing of things.

AP Green Reopens as Mid America Brick

Mid America Brick Breaks Ground

I spent my third reporting shift in Mexico, MO (6/25/10). The AP Green plant, which made bricks from 1910-2002, reopened as Mid America Brick. This was my first experience reporting a press conference. I had to pick and choose which speakers to record because I didn't have enough memory card space to record the 1.5 hour long program. And I certainly didn't want to have to wade through it all when I got back to the station.

I started talking to a nice, older woman. Her late husband worked for the factory for 42 years. She provided a central character and personalized how important this factory was to the community. The interview was amazing because all I did was asked her, "Can you explain to me your husband's experience at the factory?" She talked for 10 minutes, answering every question I was planning on asking and she didn't ramble. I was amazed.

I seem to lean toward stories that are an hour away from the station. Once again, planning the story on the recorder in my iPhone helped me write faster when I got back to the station. Above is the package I shot, wrote and edited (link to web story).

Glasgow Flood Stories

Sewage Lagoons

Glasgow Sewage Lagoons

Last Friday (6/18/10), I completed my first reporting shift at KOMU 8 News. I went to Glasgow, MO (about 1 hour from Columbia, MO) to report on the Missouri River flooding. I called the police chief who told me the town wasn't threatened because it's on a hill. He mentioned that the lagoon was underwater. I asked why that was important, because I was thinking of a lagoon in the sense of the ocean. He told me it is a sewage lagoon and it was leaking raw sewage into Hurricane Creek, which flows back to the Missouri River. I immediately knew this would be the focus of my story. The superintendent of the Public Works Department spent a majority of the afternoon showing a convergence reporter (who was taking still photos) and me around the three lagoons that make up the sewage lagoons of Glasgow. The video above is the package I shot, wrote, and edited for the 6 p.m. newscast. I also wrote and edited 2 VO/SOT/VOs and a web story (link).



Farm Crops

Glasgow Crops Flooded

The flood waters were expected to recede by this past Tuesday (6/22/10), my second reporting shift. Instead, the water had actually gone up. I did a follow-up story about how the crops were underwater (a detail I remembered from my trip to Glasgow on Friday). A friend of mine who grew up on a farm gave me some background information on farming and crops. This helped me ask more informed questions. He told me it would be hard to find a farmer who would be willing to get out of their tractor for an interview right now because it's a busy season on the farm. This turned out to be vital information because I asked the superintendent if he knew a farmer who wasn't working because his crops were underwater. He knew one and thankfully, the farmer agreed to show me his farm! I contacted seven organizations related to farming and none would agree to an interview. I had run out of time and returned to the station to use the farmer and National Weather Service as my sources. I shot, wrote and edited a VO/SOT/VO for the 10 p.m. newscast, a package for the KOMU 8 News Today show (above), and a web story (link).