April 2, 2012
February 23, 2009
The truth about my byline
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Journalism, News, Personal | Tags: article, correspondent, editing, editor, federal courthouse, florida, fort pierce, freelance, groundbreaking, Journalism, journalist, lede, newspaper, orange avenue, reporter, rewrite, story, tcpalm, writer |1 Comment
Here’s the lede for my story that ran Saturday about the groundbreaking of the new federal courthouse:
“It might be called a federal courthouse, but it could be Fort Pierce’s own stimulus package.”
It’s nice, it’s catchy, it’s applicable – but I didn’t write it. I wrote the rest of the article but not the first sentence. And that’s the simple explanation for this once-in-a-blue-moon blog post from me – just to let you know my original lede.
Here’s what I wrote – it may not be as catchy or as good, but I guess it’s just the way I write:
“Within three years, the now vacant lot on the southwest corner of U.S. 1 and Orange Avenue will be home to a new federal courthouse.”
Read the whole article here on TCPalm.com: “Groundbreaking held for new federal courthouse in Fort Pierce.”
Read what I’ve been up to by clicking here for my stories link on TCPalm.com.
October 19, 2008
Freelancer comfortable covering live events
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Journalism, News, Personal | Tags: article, assignment, career, comfortable, correspondent, deadline, event, fort pierce tribune, freelance, indian river estates, interview, job, journalist, live, party in the park, practice, professional, sources, story, tcpalm |Leave a Comment
When I first covered live events, I admit I was nervous. The stories I covered before always had some time to develop, but these live event stories had deadlines a couple hours later.
The part that I feared most was having a small window of time to approach people at events for feedback from attendants. Now I not only enjoy it but sometimes get into conversations with these sources.
As with most things in life, practice makes perfect – or at least comfortable.
I covered an assignment, a free local event, on Sunday with an afternoon deadline and finished with time to spare.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “Party helps foster neighbors, fix park.”
October 18, 2008
Just another day at the beach
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Personal | Tags: beach, camera, fort pierce, jetty, north beach, ocean, photo blog, photographs, photojournalist, pictures, pool, post, shark, state park, swimming, water |Leave a Comment
I love swimming, and I prefer oceans to pools. But there’s always that fear of sharks.
And after years of going to the North Beach, a state park in Fort Pierce, it finally happened. People at the beach gathered and grabbed their cameras. The man who hooked the small shark reeled her into the beach where she was pulled onto shore.
I wasn’t scared but fascinated by the five-foot black tip shark. I acted like a photojournalist instead of a beach-goer, taking pictures while circling the shark closer than anyone else in the crowd.
Here’s some of the best photos from the eventful day:
October 13, 2008
Covering a variety of stories leads to covering a beat
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Journalism, News, Personal | Tags: a1, alcohol ordinance, article, assignment, beat, blog, bus routes, career, city council, city hall, correspondent, deadline, drug paraphernalia, editor, festival, fort pierce, fort pierce tribune, freelance, governmentese, hispanic, jeremy ashton, job, journalist, latin, local, long distance, meetings, phone, port st. lucie, port st. lucie news, post, public transportation, raw dawgs, reporter, reporting, research, scripps, sex offenders, sources, st. lucie county, story, tcpalm, treasure coast, work, write |Leave a Comment
It’s been several days since my last blog post, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working.
Last week, my editor called me Friday afternoon to see if I was available immediately for a deadline story. I put off my grocery shopping plans to that night and started calling sources right away. Even with a lack of cell phone minutes and an inability to call long distance, I managed to have the story to another editor by 6:30 p.m., a half an hour before deadline.
My editor e-mailed me the next morning to say I did a great job getting an A1 story in just a couple hours. She also said it was “good deadline reporting.”
Although my story ran on B5 of Saturday’s local section of The Fort Pierce Tribune, my editor said it ran on the front of The Port St. Lucie News. She explained that Port St. Lucie stories go inside the Tribune and vice versa.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “Bus routes added in St. Lucie.”
Another story I had completed last week ran the same day on the front of the local section of the Tribune.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “RAW DAWGS opens training center for youth.”
On Saturday afternoon, I was assigned to cover an annual Latin festival in Port St. Lucie that began at 1p.m. with a 5 p.m. deadline. My story ran on the front of Sunday’s local section of the Tribune.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “Festival celebrates Hispanic culture with food, music.”
Most importantly, my editor had called last week to see if I’d be interested in covering a beat. The Scripps reporter who covers the city of Port St. Lucie is in the process of rearranging his schedule, and the newspaper needed someone who could cover the city council meetings every other Monday night plus some Monday afternoons.
Although I honestly can’t say I was excited about the subject, I was excited for the beat – and more work. Covering meetings like these is the experience I need. Mainly, I felt honored that my editor would come to me with this offer.
I met the reporter, Jeremy Ashton, at City Hall in Port St. Lucie on Monday at 4:30 p.m. He had just enough time to show me around the building – the chambers, the media department, the stacks of papers to browse, the kiosk for the public to view the council’s e-mails – before they closed the building.
While Jeremy returned to his office, I created my own at the Dunkin’ Donuts across the street. For more than an hour, I read and took notes on my part of the story.
The meeting lasted from 7 p.m. until about 9:30 p.m., but Jeremy and I had been working on the story throughout the night. We were able to finish around 10 p.m.
I learned a lot from Jeremy that night – not only about how covering this beat works, but also how to decipher what it important and translate “governmentese” as he calls it. I enjoyed being able to work with another reporter, as well as discuss journalistic issues.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “PSL puts limits on sex offenders.”
October 9, 2008
Editors change most important part of story
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Journalism, News, Personal | Tags: article, career, change, deadline, early, editing, editors, environment, fort pierce tribune, freelance, global warming, green, greenpeace, job, journalist, lede, local, manatee academy, newspaper, port st. lucie, print, publish, reporting, school, story, story tour, students, tcpalm |Leave a Comment
Once again, my lede was changed.
I covered Greenpeace stopping by Manatee Academy in Port St. Lucie as part of their Global Warming Story Tour on Wednesday with an afternoon deadline. I finished the article two hours early and even wrote another story.
When my article ran on the front of Thursday’s local section, I noticed it was almost identical to what I wrote with the exception of a few lines – the beginning. The lede is the part I usually spend the most time putting together. I get stuck on the whole story if I can’t think of a lede right away.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “Greenpeace exhibit focuses on environment.”
Here’s what I wrote:
PORT ST. LUCIE — Greenpeace is traveling to educate Americans – including local K-8 students – about environmental issues.
The global campaigning organization visited Manatee Academy on Wednesday, the day after a similar stop at the Florida Atlantic University campus in Jupiter, as part of Greenpeace’s Global Warming Story Tour. Principal Mimi Hoffman directed classes of students…
October 6, 2008
Story prints morning after comedic night
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Journalism, News, Personal | Tags: article, assignment job, career, comedian, comedy, correspondent, e!, fort pierce, fort pierce tribune, freelance, host, joel mchale, newspaper, online, parents, performance, photo, photo blog, photograph, pictures, print, publication, publish, reporting, show, special needs, st. lucie county, story, sunrise theatre, tcpalm, the soup, treasure coast, vero beach |Leave a Comment
Last week, I was assigned to write a story for the Tribune about a free online publication for parents of special needs children. In the process, I learned the importance of the community, as well as the family, having an understanding of special needs.
Fortunately, the story ran at the top of Monday’s edition of the local section, the once-a-week Treasure Coast section rather than just St. Lucie County.
Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “Vero Beach woman launches parenting magazine for special needs children.”
I also managed to capture some photos from Joel McHale at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce Sunday night despite poor lighting – and cameras not being allowed:
November 3, 2008
Updates to blog
Posted by Laurie K. Blandford under Personal | Tags: blog, career, comment, contact, correspondent, e-mail, freelance, job, newspaper, post, readers, reporter, update |Leave a Comment
I updated a couple different things on my blog.
First, I added a section with my e-mail address. I’ve had people from all over the world contact me in different ways – but usually not by e-mail. Now readers can contact me directly.
Second, I added another section with recent comments on my blog posts. I realized that when people were commenting on older posts, no one else would see them but me. Now readers will know about a comment even if it goes back to the beginning of my blog.
More to come soon.