Enterprise Story Extra Details

To be ultra specific:

Enterprise Story Assignment
Living in a Changing World

Assignment due by August 11

Two options:
1. One story, two sidebars 75 points
Story length: Mainbar should be 1,250-1,500 words
Sidebars should be 250-300 words each

2. Package of stories 75 points
Stories: 4-6 shorter pieces, including multimedia elements (podcast, video
and/or photo essay; at least three written pieces too), profile, Q&A, intro/backgrounder

How are local, national or international issues affecting people in your neighborhood?

Couple of guidelines: No writing on anything surrounding turning 21 or drinking. No using your friends as sources.

Examples might be: How unemployed people in the neighborhood get their food (see Ben Maras’ story on FoodNotBombs); how peace activists in the neighborhood help veterans get their benefits; how the neighborhood sees itself and wants or doesn’t want to develop (see Stefan Verbano’s story on Amazon); how neighborhood volunteers help local schoolchildren learn to read and make sure they have enough to eat, etc.

You will need at least 8-10 total sources, including people you interview and library research and online databases, etc.; depending on your stories, you may need more interviews or more traditional research sources. Obviously, we’ll use the blog and Twitter to find sources as well as your face-to-face interactions in the neighborhoods, and you should use phone and in-person interviews to confirm those sources. Make it crystal-clear to your sources that your story will be on the blog; give them the blog’s address.

Story pitch: All are approved; all earned the 5 points.

Rough drafts: Due Wednesday, August 4 (10 points)
These do not have to be complete drafts, but the more complete, the better (an outline is likely to net you 2-3 of the 10 points). You will email them to me by 11:59 p.m. on August 4, and I’ll have appointments for you to bring in your draft so that we can go over it together. (Class on August 5 and 9 will be one-on-one meetings.)

Final stories: Due on the blog by Wednesday, August 11, at 1 p.m. (60 points). A full list of sources is due to me, with their full contact info (phone and email addresses), at the time you post your stories to the blog.