Week 6 Team Story- Kids without computers

I am happy to report that team story number three went very smoothly. Our story was about how students without access to computers at home are affected by teachers assigning work that requires the use of a computer. We identified our sources early, gathered our information soon afterwards, and had a decent amount of time to edit the story. There was no shortage of people who were willing to talk to us about this issue, as it i something that effects many people. In fact, we faced the problem of over reporting. We talked to so many people and got so much good information that we didn't know what to include and what not to include. As a result, our piece ended up being much longer than we wanted it to be. Although we got a lot of good information and sound bites, we were not able to find a student affected by this situation who was very articulate. All of the students we talked to were very brief in their responses and although they conveyed to us that they were negatively impacted by not having home computers, they did not provide us with any really strong bites to use for our radio story. Looking back on the situation now, I feel that i could have asked more open ended questions to perhaps draw the students out of their shells and make them feel more comfortable talking to us. I also think that we could have focused more strongly on certain aspects of the story. I think the focus of our story was too broad. I also think there was too much narration. By the end of the story I was tired of listening to myself talk, and I am sure those listening to it felt the same. Elizabeth and I had some issues putting the story together, but I still believe it was a strong story and an important issue to tackle. Perhaps with a little work the story could be ready to air on KBIA.