Text of the Bloomington Protest Permit Ordinance

Bloomington Protest Proposed Ordinance  

Sandra Johnson, Asst. City Attorney writes:  ”The council opted for the 200 person, sound amplification triggers for the ‘private special event’ permit requirement.  That will be changed in the version going to the May 19 meeting.

As Council emphasized last night the ordinance is a comprehensive revision to existing race, parade and private special event permit ordinances.  The only addition is the public assembly piece, which addresses typical public assemblies throughout the year, as well as the potentially large assemblies that could result from the RNC. ”

Jason WCCO Blog Entries Showing Interaction

• An example of using Twitter to get a story
• A blog entry looking for a Torch Bearer: commenter gives a name and phone number by 2pm.
• Sometimes it’s a place to discuss the stories we cover: NCAA Hoops Graduation Rates
• Crowd-sourcing: Viewer e-mailed a Good Question, I let the crowd answer it:
• Bad Questions blog: The racist question on Obama
  Related video e-mail (picks up @ 1:35)
  The bit got picked up by Minnesota Monitor.
• Ranting about Airport Police, when they wouldn’t share info on Larry Craig’s arrest
• 2am, after the bridge collapse
• Live Blog from DFL HQ on election night:

How To Reward Newsroom “2.0″ Staffers

We all know no one has any money.  And the people who would do this best will do it without money.  So how do you reward them?   

• Don’t mock their efforts: It’s easy to take pot shots or make little sarcastic remarks, a la, “You gonna put that in your blog?”  That’s not helpful, and it makes it harder to foster an environment where experimentation and innovation thrive.
• PRAISE Them: Read the blogs or videoblogs and send notes praising things that are good.  In a newsroom, staffers rarely get notes of praise.  It’s the only currency anyone is able to use these days.
• Consider On-Air Promotion: This is a huge way of rewarding the people who do this for you.  How many stations have a promo singling out bloggers?  I can’t think of any.  But how meaningful would that be to the assignment editor running your baseball blog, or your health reporter with the medical blog?
• Give Them Leadership Opportunities: Consider inviting local bloggers into your building for a forum on media.  Instead of having your anchor lead it, have your blogger/videoblogger lead the effort.
• Don’t be afraid to offer constructive critisicm: Some things are not going to work.  Some people will go too far in experimenting.  Don’t call the person on the carpet.  Instead, invite them to discuss it, share thoughts, and try to improve things for the future. 

How To Find Newsroom “2.0″ Staffers

Ask them: You probably can identify the staffers you have who would write an interesting blog, or prepare an interesting videoblog.  So invite them to do it.

• Anchors Don’t Necessarily Make Good Bloggers: Just because the person is the TV face of your station, doesn’t mean they should be the online face of your station.
• Look For People With A Voice: You need someone with a sense of humor, or a skill at biting analysis.
• Specialists Are Ideal: Political reporters, sports reporters, weather people, or staffers with developed hobbies (the skiier, the singer, the gardner).  Look for a niche and fill it.
• Less Is More: Resist the temptation to mandate that everyone carve out a web presence.  One great blog/videoblog is better than 7 crappy ones.
• Take Advantage of Ego:  I started blogging here because I saw a morning weather guy with an “I’m gonna be a daddy” blog, and thought I could do a better job.  I asked if I could have a blog, and there it was.  I started a videoblog when I thought of things to do in the field covering stories that would be funny or interesting.  I asked, and I was given the leash.  If you have a staff member who’s asking to do more, generally, it’s a good idea to let them do more.

Making Non-Visual Stories Visual

Your assignment?  “Cover the School Board meeting.”  Boooooring.  Or is it?  What to do when the assignment is as exciting as watching paint dry; how to make a non-visual story visually interesting. 

 

• What is the story really about?

Is it about the school board meeting?  Is it about the new policy your principal is proposing?  Go deeper than that.

 

• Think about your story in advance

What will you be talking about?  What images do you need to match your words? 

 

• Design an action plan

Can you come up with a visual way to tell your story?  Is there a metaphor or simile you can use?  Is it like the last second touchdown?  Is it like arguing with your parents?  Is it like waiting for that Myspace message from the girl you really like?

 

• Think of meetings as the middle of your story

An effective way to deal with boring meeting video is to use it in the middle, or use it as a set-up.  Example: Tell the story of the person affected by the meeting, then show me video of the meeting and a soundbite from an official, then go back to that original person for reaction.

 

• Consider Reporter On-Camera Involvement

Sometimes if you have no video, appearing on camera can be an effective way to bridge the gap.  This shouldn’t just be because you’re on an ego trip, but it should be because you can tell the story in an interesting way.

 

• Be creative, be crazy, don’t hold back

One of the greatest sins in journalism is to be boring.  You’re better off missing the mark by trying something crazy than you are being boring.  So experiment.  Do something crazy.  Don’t be afraid to fail.

Twitter For Journalists

Last week I was doing a story on how Christmas trees can cause serious allergy problems. Senior 10 p.m. producer Scott Howard noticed this story on WebMD talking about the huge amount of mold spores released to the air when we bring a dead tree inside.

I lined up an allergist (that was easy) and then went to a Christmas tree lot (also easy). To put this in baseball terms: my effort was solid single. I needed someone who was sniffing and sneezing and didn’t know that their real Christmas tree might be to blame. My photographer, Chris Cruz, was just the person. He had symptoms of an allergy which started when he brought his tree into his home.

But I didn’t really want to interview my co-worker.

Enter Twitter.com. Twitter is hard to describe. On it’s homepage: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate…through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” Most people use Twitter in conjunction with a text messaging plan, and follow a series of friends. I have an account here.

Last week, I sent out this message on my twitter page, alerting the 80 people who follow me that I was looking for someone with a Christmas tree allergy.

Shortly thereafter, I got a direct message from Connie telling me “I am allergic to some Christmas trees! don’t know if I would say I “go nuts,” but I do break out in a rash if I touch them without gloves.”

Bingo. We were at Connie’s house within an hour, and I found the perfect interview for my story. Connie showed us her gloves, showed us her real tree, and was the perfect person to help tell our story. After the interview, I sent this alert out telling my friends about Ranty’s great soundbite.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, you have to join (it’s free). Julio Ojeda-Zapata, the tech columnist for the Pioneer Press (and and prolific tech blogger), just wrote an article about Twitter’s use for journalists.

Rapid Response Competitive Public Relations

Not long ago I did a story on a woman who believes her DirecTV installer (a contractor with another company) stole her laptop computer.  It was there prior to install, then gone after.

Immediately after my story, I got this e-mail from Christopher Huseth, Comcast

Jason, I just read your story about the sub-contractor for DIRECTV stealing Ms Adams lap top in Robinsdale.  How terrible!  Sad to say I’m not surprised to hear this   I would like to extend Ms. Adams to Comcast Cable, Internet, and Phone services.   We are local, bonded, and insured.   Rest assured I would personally follow up on her installation myself, if she was interested in switching television providers?    Please pass along to Ms. Adams as you may?  My contact information is below.

I forwarded the e-mail and today got a note from Mr. Huseth saying that Jamie Adams may switch when she moves.  Good, personal, public relations.

Social Networking To Gather Story Ideas

I’m an active participant in several social networking sites.  I MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.  I also have a LiveJournal page, a tumblr site, and this blog.   Plus my wcco.com/jasonblog page.  Insane.

Anyway, as an experiment, I sent out a blast on facebook and myspace, searching for story ideas.  I wondered how many I’d get, and whether they’d be useful.  I got more than a dozen ideas, at least half of them were really good and actionable.  One of those ideas, I’m working on investigating right now.

For the news tonight, I was working on a story on a crime spree hitting local coffee shops.  I sent out a twitter notice, that I was doing the story, and looking for people’s favorite coffee shops to go shoot video at.  I took one suggestion, and that’s where I shot tonight’s story.

In the old days, journalists had time to work the beat and develop sources.  Today, there’s no reason to not tap into the social networks which many of us are developing for fun.  Don’t abuse it by asking too often.

Crazy Day At The TV Station

I’m a reporter at a Minneapolis TV Station and today was insane.

8:45-10:30am: I spoke to a group of Minnesota Hospital PR people.

1:45 pm: Left For Work

2:30 pm: Attended afternoon meeting

3:30 pm: Departed for Bloomington recycling facility, to shoot 10 p.m. story

4:59 pm: Arrived back at station to tease 10 p.m special project story on the set

5:15 pm: Teased story

6:00 pm: Started logging video for 10 p.m. story on recycling

8:00 pm: Finished writing 10 p.m. story on recycling

8:30 pm: Go to convention center to receive national award from FCCLA.

9:15 pm: Back at station to write web stories for YouTube (special project story) and Recycling story.  Then wrote a blog for YouTube.

10:00 pm: Watched news.

10:20 pm: Left for home.

I’ve spent the past hour setting up my new TiVo HD, so that makes everything in the world right.  The only TV I watch is on TiVo, so it was dumb to have an HD tv and not watch it in Hi-Def.

WCCO Bridge Collapse Coverage

The collapse of the I-35W bridge was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever covered.  I’m doing a presentation on the 35w Bridge collapse to an association of hospital staffers, and I’ve found some videos to share.

My First Broadcast from the Scene: http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=29735@wcco.dayport.com

10pm broadcast: http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=29675@wcco.dayport.com

John Reger live at HCMC: http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=29676@wcco.dayport.com

911 Tapes: http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=30530@wcco.dayport.com

Doctors talking about the bridge collapse: http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=30153@wcco.dayport.com