Treading Water

Today I called pools around Columbia to see how they are faring during a tough summer economically. I found the West Broadway Swim Club had memberships drop by about 40 families this year compared to last year. I was able to get the source for this information agree to an interview with me at the pool. Before calling this person, I went to the city's Douglass Pool to find out how it is faring this summer. I was able to talk to an assistant manager who told me attendance has increased there since they lowered the price to $1 per person in 2008. She says they are seeing more families come out because it is more affordable. I then got some shots of kids playing in the pool. From there, I went over to West Broadway to talk with the man I set up the interview with. Before he got there, I talked with a member at the pool to help humanize the story. She said she would have to drop her membership if there were changes in her family's budget. She said it was important though to keep the membership while they still had the funds because it was a way to build memories and continue a tradition during the summer. It was important to get this view to show what someone who is paying the membership fee thinks about this cost during this economy.

Once I had all these interviews, I got back to the station with plenty of time to edit. I put together a pretty good package with nats sound and the three sources. I wish I would have included the price at the Douglass Pool in my package ($1), but I think it got cut out somewhere in the editing process. I think it would have helped to make the story a little clearer. But otherwise I think the story turned out well. I liked the information in the tag that I was able to add. I added information that I gathered from two other pools I talked with earlier in the day. This was able to add further context to the pool business in Columbia.