The truth about my byline

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.

 

Stories published during weeks of travel

Although I haven’t posted in my blog in a couple weeks, I’ve had several stories and briefs run in the Tribune. I’ve been out of town for the majority of the time – but that’s for another post.

While I was away, I finished an assignment about two Navy SEALs, who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, being added to the Medal of Honor display at the national SEAL museum in Fort Pierce. It was amazing to learn how these heroes sacrificed their lives to save others.

Read the story here on TCPalm.com: “2 added to Medal of Honor display”

During the couple days I was home in between trips, I covered the dedication of a new building at the Florida Atlantic University branch in Port St. Lucie. I joined a massive audience to listen how this facility would double the FAU campus in size.

Read the story here on TCPalm.com: “FAU branch doubles in size”

I was back in time for Port St. Lucie City Council’s Monday meetings and covered the public workshop the council held to discuss their plan for the use of $13.5 million from the government to help fix the bad home foreclosure mess in the city.

Read the story here on TCPalm.com: “PSL council OKs home rescues”

Before I left on all of my travels, it was election day. Not only did I cover Port St. Lucie City Council meetings for three briefs, but I also worked for The Associated Press again as an election night reporter. I called in the general election results for St. Lucie County to The AP in Miami, similar to what I blogged about doing for the primaries. The one exception this time was covering the presidential race also.

Read those posts here: “Conference call prepares reporters for election night” and “Freelancer reports local primaries successfully”

And stay tuned for more on my travels.

 

Updates to blog

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.

 

Catching up on more than two weeks of work

Have no fear, I’m still here.

Don’t think I’ve abandoned my blog just yet. Consider it a good thing that I’ve been busy with work nearly every day since my last post. More work means more experience – and more money.

So let’s play catch up.

Last Monday was my first time tackling the City of Port St. Lucie alone. In addition to a story and a brief from the city council meeting, I also was assigned to write stories from the planning and zoning meeting and the mayor’s annual state of the city address.

Luckily, the meetings began at 1:30 p.m., followed by the address at 4. I got home around 5:30 and had just a few hours to eat dinner and make deadline. My stories and brief ran on the front and inside of the St. Lucie County section.

Here are the links to the stories on TCPalm.com:

• “Land swap to be negotiated”
• “PSL made progress in 2008, mayor says”
• “Paintball park gets OK”

Unfortunately, the brief about more parking spaces being added to a charter school that will be built in St. Lucie West isn’t available online. If I find it, I’ll update this post with its link.

The following two weeks were a blur of assignments. Here are the links to those stories:

• “PSL to add $3.1M to Crosstown Parkway project”
• “PSL to buy, fix, sell homes in foreclosure”
• “Experts talk about how to go green”
• “Girl Scouts get a kick out of karate”
• “446 acres may be rezoned”
• “Tours forming for this week’s ‘Ghosts of Fort Pierce Past’”
• “7 still in running for police chief”
• “Top cop candidates down to 3″
• “More inmates may pick up trash – but questions remain over costs”

There’s a lot coming up in the next couple months before the year’s end, which means there’s a lot for my blog.

Stay tuned.

 

Freelancer comfortable covering live events

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.”

 

Just another day at the beach

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:

 

Covering a variety of stories leads to covering a beat

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.”

 

Editors change most important part of story

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…

 

Story prints morning after comedic night

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:

 

Story on anniversary of girl’s death cut short

Last week, my editor at the Tribune asked if I could write a story for the five-year anniversary of the death of a local 17-year-old student.

With the Adam Snyder story (“Iraq hero’s memorial story covers local section”), everything was new. I had to learn the information because I was away at college when he was killed in Iraq, and I wasn’t here to see how it affected Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County.

With the Jessica Clinton story, I remember. We were the same age. We were both seniors in high schools in St. Lucie County. I didn’t know her, but that didn’t change the sadness I felt when her picture covered the news after her unexpected death. At first, it was rumored that she died from falling and hitting her head. Autopsy reports revealed it was an undetected heart condition.

My story was supposed to be 12 inches long, but the article that ran on the front of Thursday’s local section looked about 10 inches. Since it was cut off both in print and online, I included the rest at the end of this post.

Read the article here on TCPalm.com: “St. Lucie West teen’s death brings awareness to importance of defibrillators.”

Every anniversary, Lalloo and her family get together at the memorial garden at Jessica Clinton Community Park to remember the life of the cheerleading captain, student council president, homecoming queen, daughter, sister and friend.

“She’s been with me all these years,” Lalloo said. “I know she has because we’ve really accomplished a lot of thing through her.”