Ryan Ellerbusch and I chose Next Door Foundation for our story's focus and for the first part, profiled its executive director. For the second part we looked at a beneficiary, Stephanie Williams.
I have experienced both stories that seemingly fell into my lap — a few phone calls and I was done — and those that seemed to stretch on forever — weeks of trying to get in contact with the right person. This project was on the longer side of things. As nice as it is when things just click, the challenges present a great opportunity to learn.
So what did I learn? Well, I feel that I have a better idea of how to keep in contact with your editor. I had some idea from my classes so far, but this project probably demanded so much in that area, it taught me more about the topic than any of my actual classes.
I likewise learned quite a bit about communicating with my partner. Keeping each other informed of what you're doing and what you plan to do is important. That might sound obvious and it is, but knowing what and when to communicate is important too and that I learned as well.
In the end, I am happy with how the story and video came out. Neither is perfect, but they represent my partner and I persevering and, in the end, producing a publishable story we can put in our portfolios.
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