Week 1

On Sunday, I watched an Outside The Lines report on the Houston Texas conducting prohibited contact drills during mini-camp that injured three players. I thought this was a great investigation that brought allegations of pushing athletes too hard without pads on to light. The story was told through Houston Texas offensive lineman Dan Stevenson as a central compelling character. Stevenson injured his shoulder during the prohibited contact drills without pads. Stevenson taped the team's video of the contact drill from a computer screen in the team's facility. The ESPN reporter, T.J. Quinn, was able to get Stevenson to show him that video for part of his story. I thought this was an excellent visual to show during this report. Without this video that Stevenson shot himself, the allegations could just be from a third-string lineman looking for money from the NFL's deep pocketbooks. This video gives the allegations and the story substance. It makes the viewer think there are real claims that can be made against the Texans for violating league policy and causing players to get injured. There are other elements of a great story in this report too. Quinn interviews another player who makes the same allegations against the Texans coaching staff. It's another source to back up what Stevenson has already brought forward. There is also good use of natural sound breaks in the story to keep the viewer in the environment of an NFL lineman. There is natural sound of a lineman hitting the blocking sled and of him lifting weights. Quinn also introduced the conflict playing out by presenting the Texans' statements on Stevenson's injury. Quinn shows how the original trainer's report from the Texans said Stevenson was injured during blocking drills, which would be the evidence Stevenson needed to prove a case against the team. But an injury report in July from the Texans showed that Stevenson was injured participating in drills "during organized team activity." Clearly, it appears the Texans are trying to deny that they were breaking a rule during the mini-camp.

As far as my reporting this week, I think I did a pretty good job on my story on the new parking lot that the Columbia Public Library may be purchasing. I was able to talk with the associate director and she gave me plenty of useful information. I was also able to talk with a frequent user of the library who gave me a good account of the parking situation at the library. I was able to develop her into a CCC and she also presented an opposing view on the parking lot. She said it might not help at all because people would still want to park in the main lot closer to the library. I was also able to add some helpful web extra sound bites from the associate director. I added a bite about where the money is going to come from to pay for this possible purchase of new land. I also added a bite of her talking about how the bank offered the land to the library. She also talked about other possible uses for the site, outside of a parking lot. I think through all these elements, the viewer would be able to understand more about what the library is doing to accommodate more users and how they are building for the future. It also helps them understand why they would want to acquire more land and possibly add another parking lot.