Good afternoon! With less than one week until the 2010 midterm elections, the reporters and producers of The Rockbridge Report have been working tirelessly to get you the latest on important local, state-wide and national elections.
Brooke Sutherland met with each of the candidates in the Virginia 6th District House of Representatives race. Even though incumbent Bob Goodlatte is pretty much a shoo-in for the seat, contenders Stuart Bain and Jeff Vanke are trying to get their messages out to the public.
But the 6th District race is blasé compared to the House races in Virginia’s 5th and 9th Districts. Jessica Strait has been hot on the trail covering these contentious campaigns. Incumbent Tom Perriello is facing a tough challenge by long-time state legislator Robert Hurt, in a national trend of anti-incumbency sentiment. Similarly the race between Rick Boucher and Morgan Griffith looks like it could be a photo-finish.
Closer to home, Michael Freeman spoke with members of the Rockbridge County Tea Party to find out how the new political movement is affecting the area.
Melissa Powell took on the task of analyzing close national races. This election is unusual in that only a handful of races could decide which party holds the majority in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Melissa has been working with members of the Washington and Lee Mock Convention—a group of budding politicos, who dedicate their free time to analyzing political races in order to correctly select the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee—to get a handle on exactly which races will tip the scales.
Three amendments are on the ballot for the state of Virginia, and each issue is quite technical. Nonetheless, Tim Watson sat down with public officials to find out how voting “yes” or “no” could affect Rockbridge County.
Locally, Holly Suthers has been following the five candidates seeking the three open seats on the Lexington City Council. In talking to each, Holly found out that all of the candidates are trying to promote local businesses, and each has his or her own ideas about other ways to improve the community.
We hope that each of these stories gives you a good idea about the upcoming election. The entire Rockbridge Report team will be in the newsroom on Election Night to bring you the latest updates of race results and implications, so be sure to visit our website at www.rockbridgereport.wlu.edu.
Happy voting!
--Anne and Caroline
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Getting the Scoop
This week on The Rockbridge Report there are so many interesting stories. All of the reporters are staying on top of their beats, and getting scoops before other news outlets in the region.
One of the biggest stories this week is a feature on landlord/tenant relations in Lexington. With the closing of Cool Spring Organic Market, many residents were upset over what they thought was the mistreatment of the renters by their landlords.Holly Suthers got the building owner’s side of the story, and it turns out the landlord is not necessarily the bad guy in this controversy, as many in the community had been led to believe.
Also featured on the website this week is a broadcast package by Michael Freeman about the Lexington parking proposal that is to be voted on by the city council tonight. If passed, parking fines will increase in time-limited parking spots. However, 50 long-term parking permits will be available to those who live or work downtown.
Brooke Sutherland covered how local businesses are being affected by the recession – and competition from the Internet. She found that area business owners are creating an initiative to encourage people to buy locally rather than online or at large chain stores.
Another scoop is Melissa Powell’s story on the potential reconfiguration of Kling and Enderly Heights Elementary Schools in Buena Vista. The proposal may not be decided until January, but it is already starting to stir some support, although school officials expect an outcry from several community members.
Rockbridge County could owe big bucks to a local family in a social services case. The Lawrence family adopted a child, then sued the county alleging it breached the “adoption assistance agreement” when social services did not reimburse the family for expenses. The judge found there was a breach of contract, and is in the process of deciding just how much it will cost the county.
Last, but not least, we have continued coverage of the issue of what is going to be done with area trash after the landfill closes in 2012. Buena Vista had signed a contract with Rockbridge Resource Recovery Inc. to remove trash through a transfer station. Lexington officials are leaning towards joining the Buena Vista contract, but Rockbridge County is still at a standstill in making a decision. They all need to decide what to do with the trash by the end of the year to pursue those plans in time to meet state deadlines closing the dump two years later.
All of our reporters this semester are learning how to develop relationships with their sources, which is why we are on top of all the news in the area!
Be sure to check out The Rockbridge Report next week to catch some pre-election coverage.
--Caroline
One of the biggest stories this week is a feature on landlord/tenant relations in Lexington. With the closing of Cool Spring Organic Market, many residents were upset over what they thought was the mistreatment of the renters by their landlords.Holly Suthers got the building owner’s side of the story, and it turns out the landlord is not necessarily the bad guy in this controversy, as many in the community had been led to believe.
Also featured on the website this week is a broadcast package by Michael Freeman about the Lexington parking proposal that is to be voted on by the city council tonight. If passed, parking fines will increase in time-limited parking spots. However, 50 long-term parking permits will be available to those who live or work downtown.
Brooke Sutherland covered how local businesses are being affected by the recession – and competition from the Internet. She found that area business owners are creating an initiative to encourage people to buy locally rather than online or at large chain stores.
Another scoop is Melissa Powell’s story on the potential reconfiguration of Kling and Enderly Heights Elementary Schools in Buena Vista. The proposal may not be decided until January, but it is already starting to stir some support, although school officials expect an outcry from several community members.
Rockbridge County could owe big bucks to a local family in a social services case. The Lawrence family adopted a child, then sued the county alleging it breached the “adoption assistance agreement” when social services did not reimburse the family for expenses. The judge found there was a breach of contract, and is in the process of deciding just how much it will cost the county.
Last, but not least, we have continued coverage of the issue of what is going to be done with area trash after the landfill closes in 2012. Buena Vista had signed a contract with Rockbridge Resource Recovery Inc. to remove trash through a transfer station. Lexington officials are leaning towards joining the Buena Vista contract, but Rockbridge County is still at a standstill in making a decision. They all need to decide what to do with the trash by the end of the year to pursue those plans in time to meet state deadlines closing the dump two years later.
All of our reporters this semester are learning how to develop relationships with their sources, which is why we are on top of all the news in the area!
Be sure to check out The Rockbridge Report next week to catch some pre-election coverage.
--Caroline
Monday, October 11, 2010
The News Process
Hello again from the Journalism lab in chilly Lexington, Virginia!
This fall term got off to a great start last week with successful launches of both the website and the broadcast. Thanks to our reporters, the news reached its intended audiences.
This week, I wanted to let you know a little bit about how our newsroom functions. Each Wednesday, the week before our show, Caroline and I (the producers) sit down with each of the reporters as they “sell”—or pitch—us their stories for the following week. Once each reporter gets assigned a story, it’s off to the races. On top of a regular course load, each reporter has to pre-interview, film interviews, get in contact with local (and sometimes national) officials, and either write a print story or put together a 90 second video news story.
When I interned in D.C. this summer, I worked with a journalism grad student who was focused on the same production and reporting aspects as we are working on this term. Kudos to the j-school!
The point isn’t to toot my own horn here, but simply to state the amount of professionalism and dedication each reporter, producer and professor puts into The Rockbridge Report each week.
So, while all of you are watching our newscast or reading the various stories on our website, think about each element as a separate piece of a puzzle. It’s exciting!
--Anne
This fall term got off to a great start last week with successful launches of both the website and the broadcast. Thanks to our reporters, the news reached its intended audiences.
This week, I wanted to let you know a little bit about how our newsroom functions. Each Wednesday, the week before our show, Caroline and I (the producers) sit down with each of the reporters as they “sell”—or pitch—us their stories for the following week. Once each reporter gets assigned a story, it’s off to the races. On top of a regular course load, each reporter has to pre-interview, film interviews, get in contact with local (and sometimes national) officials, and either write a print story or put together a 90 second video news story.
When I interned in D.C. this summer, I worked with a journalism grad student who was focused on the same production and reporting aspects as we are working on this term. Kudos to the j-school!
The point isn’t to toot my own horn here, but simply to state the amount of professionalism and dedication each reporter, producer and professor puts into The Rockbridge Report each week.
So, while all of you are watching our newscast or reading the various stories on our website, think about each element as a separate piece of a puzzle. It’s exciting!
--Anne
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