Blog 2

CNN ran a video online that absolutely floored me. The story was about a man that was beaten to death in broad daylight in front of a grocery store in Washington D.C. The man, identified as Jose Sanchez was punched and then pushed into a mini-van causing him to bang his head and lose consciousness, ultimately killing him. What I found most disturbing was the man laid on the sidewalk unconscious for at least 20 minutes as people loaded groceries and walked right by him. The fact that no one at that market had the presence of mind to see if he was okay is a startling, sad statement on society.
From a journalist’s point of view, I thought this was a good story. The reporter interviewed grocery store employees and customers and discovered that fights like the one that took Jose Sanchez’ life are not uncommon. It seemed as if the reporter worked to make sure her reporting was accurate, she quoted court documents when explaining the reason the suspects killed the victim. This piece could lead to follow up or a detailed series exposing the violence that may frequently occur in front of this grocery store. The story goes a long way in alerting authorities and the public of a serious problem at this particular Washington D.C. grocery store.
While searching for story ideas this week I wanted to get a mix of stories with different topics. Rather than pick stories that were only events, or news reports I tried to find an investigative story, and a possible feature story. Looking at the calendar I realize that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so I thought it would be a good idea to visit a few of the local flower shops and find out how business will be impacted by the struggling economy. Venders have a tendency to charge astronomical prices as Valentine’s Day nears due to supply and demand, but this year their asking prices may be too high. My next idea also revolved around the economy, but it was about local restaurants and if they have noticed a change in business with the slumping economy. Recently when I have walked through downtown Columbia I have noticed a number of restaurants shutting their doors, which leads me to believe there is a growing trend of Columbia residents spending a little less on food. My last idea was the story I was actually going to pursue. The Missouri Lacrosse team is not a University sponsored sport because of title nine. If the University were to sponsor the Lacrosse team, it would have to add a female sports team so the ratio of male to female athletes would be equal. I feel this is newsworthy because there is a growing trend in high schools and colleges to make Lacrosse a varsity sport. The athletes on the lacrosse team train and work as hard as most other MU athletes, but don’t receive the same notoriety. On that same note however, I fear this may not be a good story because of the “So what?” factor. There are a number of club teams at Mizzou and there is no defining characteristic that makes the lacrosse team any more special than the rest of them.