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
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).
