For my slideshow I went back to East New York to take some more photos and so have had more opportunity to see the children and teenagers in the Groundwork environment. Groundwork has elementary and middle after school programs at three local schools and also their own building for their high schoolers. I visited the high school site, a former Catholic school that has been remodeled but retains much of its old look, from the red bricks to the cross above the front doors. Instead of going to all three elementary and middle schools, I choose the campus where I had spoken with the principal and some students before. The principal had arranged for me to meet a couple of six graders and three fifth graders, and today I saw some of them in their Groundwork clubs. Apart from helping the students with their homework and literacy skills, the non-profit also offers sports and clubs that work on writing a magazine or art or drama. The students all seemed to be enjoying themselves, though some of the teachers did yell to quiet down the younger students, something I don't think it entirely appropriate (based on my work with young children). But apart from that, the kids were generally engrossed in whatever activity they were doing.
As for my picture taking, I've never been much of a photographer and often times I didn't have any idea of what to take pictures of. Today, during the long subway ride over, I mulled over what I wanted to tell with the pictures and had more of a plan. Still, once in the room with the children I had to think of camera angle and how to get authentic shots, since the younglings like to mug for the camera. My main tactic is just to take a lot of photos. In the end I had 60 plus shots, from which I selected maybe five or six useable pictures.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Interviewing in East New York
To strengthen my story, I went back to East New York today to interview some of Groundwork's former students to provide further proof that the program works. The two I spoke with today, Renee Warner and Skakaya Slay, both 18 and college freshmen, still work at Groundwork. Rather than students though, they are tutors/teachers assistants. The fact that they both work for Groundwork obviously makes their opinion of the program somewhat biased. They liked the program enough to return, and I assumed they would have mostly positive responses. But at the same time their experiences matter. It turns out they have very different ideas of what they liked or disliked.
Renee's family is originally from Trinidad, and she now lives in Queens. Groundwork had visited her classroom when she was a high school sophomore. She had a lot to say about the peer groups that are part of the program (along with the academic help and job training programs). She felt the gatherings, where students can talk about anything and none of it would be repeated (at least that is the promise), gave her and her friends in the group an outlet to discuss matters that they might not be able to bring up elsewhere, like a fight with a mother. Renee also mentioned how the adults at Groundwork seemed to really care, and would not give up on their students. She specifically mentioned a former Groundwork counselor who has since left but still keeps in contact with her. Renee talked alot about how they are a family there, and how people at Groundwork really believed in her and that made her work harder.
Shakaya, a fast talker, speaks with a certain equanimity that belies her age. She talked alot about the financial opportunities that Groundwork offered: fee wavers for college applications and SATs. Rather than just a way to save her money, Shakaya looked at these subsidies as opening new doors (if I'm allowed to use trite metaphors). Where as her classmates in high school had to wait months to get their fee wavers, a delay that set back their college plans because they couldn't apply to the schools they wanted to right away, Shakaya had the luxury of applying to multiple colleges. More than money, she found that Groundwork made things seem more possible. For example, she had won a state oratory contest, and could attend the national competition in Orlando, Florida if she could pay for the flight, hotel, food, and other expenses. Her high school could not help her. Originally she thought there was no way she could afford to go, but a Groundwork friend convinced her to ask the program if they could help. The deputy director of the program found her a sponsor who paid for everything--the hotel, food, and even a trip to Disney World--except the flight. Shakaya didn't win any awards at the national competition, but the trip included her first flight, first trip to Florida, and also first trip to Disney World, a place her mother had talked about taking her before but they never went. None of this would appear as a quantifiable result about the impact of Groundwork, but I think it's a telling story of opportunity afforded these teenagers that wouldn't otherwise be there without a group like Groundwork.
Renee's family is originally from Trinidad, and she now lives in Queens. Groundwork had visited her classroom when she was a high school sophomore. She had a lot to say about the peer groups that are part of the program (along with the academic help and job training programs). She felt the gatherings, where students can talk about anything and none of it would be repeated (at least that is the promise), gave her and her friends in the group an outlet to discuss matters that they might not be able to bring up elsewhere, like a fight with a mother. Renee also mentioned how the adults at Groundwork seemed to really care, and would not give up on their students. She specifically mentioned a former Groundwork counselor who has since left but still keeps in contact with her. Renee talked alot about how they are a family there, and how people at Groundwork really believed in her and that made her work harder.
Shakaya, a fast talker, speaks with a certain equanimity that belies her age. She talked alot about the financial opportunities that Groundwork offered: fee wavers for college applications and SATs. Rather than just a way to save her money, Shakaya looked at these subsidies as opening new doors (if I'm allowed to use trite metaphors). Where as her classmates in high school had to wait months to get their fee wavers, a delay that set back their college plans because they couldn't apply to the schools they wanted to right away, Shakaya had the luxury of applying to multiple colleges. More than money, she found that Groundwork made things seem more possible. For example, she had won a state oratory contest, and could attend the national competition in Orlando, Florida if she could pay for the flight, hotel, food, and other expenses. Her high school could not help her. Originally she thought there was no way she could afford to go, but a Groundwork friend convinced her to ask the program if they could help. The deputy director of the program found her a sponsor who paid for everything--the hotel, food, and even a trip to Disney World--except the flight. Shakaya didn't win any awards at the national competition, but the trip included her first flight, first trip to Florida, and also first trip to Disney World, a place her mother had talked about taking her before but they never went. None of this would appear as a quantifiable result about the impact of Groundwork, but I think it's a telling story of opportunity afforded these teenagers that wouldn't otherwise be there without a group like Groundwork.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Slideshow, Video and Podcast
Since my original idea for the slideshow--a tour of East New York narrated by my video subject--didn't amuse my professor, I've decided to change tack. Since my video and podcast focus on individuals in the non-profit, the slideshow should probably cover some subject on the venture philanthropy side. I'm thinking about going back to the Blue Ridge Foundation office and taking photos there. This could give viewers a sense of what a venture philanthropy foundation does for its "portfolio" companies. Not ever venture philanthropist works as closely as Blue Ridge does with the companies it supports--Blue Ridge shares an office with most of its companies--but the situation could illustrate the close engagement that VP is known for. Now I have to think of a way to do the slideshow without making it a PR vehicle.
I've got to reedit my video, and have a new approach. I want to incorporate more of why my subject, who went through the Groundwork program, joined the group in the first place. It's not a romantic beginning--he wasn't looking for a college prep program but wanted a job--but really came to like what Groundwork does. The director of the high school program, Mary Adams, is also very articulate and straightforward.
As for the podcast, I'm still debating whether to go back to get comments from the principal of the elementary school where I interviewed some students, a parent, and the Groundwork director of programs. The principal's very hard to get a hold of and may not be necessary for the podcast, as I already have many characters.
I've got to reedit my video, and have a new approach. I want to incorporate more of why my subject, who went through the Groundwork program, joined the group in the first place. It's not a romantic beginning--he wasn't looking for a college prep program but wanted a job--but really came to like what Groundwork does. The director of the high school program, Mary Adams, is also very articulate and straightforward.
As for the podcast, I'm still debating whether to go back to get comments from the principal of the elementary school where I interviewed some students, a parent, and the Groundwork director of programs. The principal's very hard to get a hold of and may not be necessary for the podcast, as I already have many characters.
On Venture Philanthropy
Exploring the world of "venture philanthropy" has been one of the more frustrating parts of this whole project. I started knowing practically nothing about this type of philanthropy, and certain factors complicated my education.
The mass media gave venture philanthropy plenty of hype but most of the coverage was rather facile. The journalists went with the familiar formula of finding supporters and a few detractors but didn't really delve into the lasting impact of this business-meets-philanthropy approach. That being said, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which covers the philanthropic field, did have Mark R. Kramer, a former venture capitalists-turned-philanthropy consultant, write some interesting articles about venture philanthropy's shortcomings and influence (I'd link articles but you can't read them without a paid subscription to Chronicles of Philanthropy). I'm planning on contacting Kramer this week as I finish up my article.
That venture philanthropy goes by several names, "high-engagement" philanthropy being one. This confused me a bit. Thankfully Michael Moody, who teaches at USC, wrote a paper that explains it all (I've put a link in a earlier blog posting, but here it is again). Moody has been extremely helpful in answering all my questions and I appreciate the academic perspective. Here's an except from an email response he gave me regarding the future of venture philanthropy:
"The idea of VP had probably reached a point of stability in terms of the amount of and type of attention it gets and influence it has. There was the time of great buzz there for a while and then the time of considerable backlash, but now I think the idea continues to be a sort of iconic shorthand for lots of different things happening under the broader label of "new philanthropy." I've recently heard it used a lot as a way to describe "the changes that happened in the field" in those boom years, and the critique of it as "not so new" and as "too brash for its own good" are still around but they are not given as harshly as before and they seem to recognize that now any lasting effect or benefit of this new approach can be seen. So in that sense, there is a hope that in the future this might help the field improve, but a firm conviction (even among proponents) that it won't revolutionize the field. The question is how much of the change in the field that has or will happen can be attributed to VP, and will it be acknowledged as a force of broader change or not. That is a difficult question that we wont' really be able to answer, though most people probably will probably say that there was an overall shift toward things like more accountability and performance measures, and more focus on capacity-building, and more engagement of donors/grantmakers with their grantees, and that VP was one of the influences steering and pushing this change (though not the only one). WHich brings me then to the idea of influencing traditional foundations. I don't think there will be much widespread agreement that VP has had much influence on traditional foundations, even those that changed in the ways I just mentioned. Some of them will certainly see VP as an influence--and certain VP proponents will claim this--but in general the people who run traditional foundations won't likely say that VP was a major influence on any changes they make. They'd point to larger trends, and also attribute any changes to their own long-standing objectives to focus on "making an impact" and being "strategic" about attacking "root causes" and so on. They won't say VP was what made them suddenly focus on impact measures, evalution for accountability, and so on."
As for other resources I've found, I've previously mentioned the help Sean Stannard-Stockton of the blog Tactical Philanthropy has given me.
The Future of Philanthropy, a website run by the Monitor Group, also has a great page on "high-engagement" philanthropy with links to academic and other articles about venture philanthropy. Monitor Group partners with Fast Company to put out the Social Capitalists Awards.
What have I learned about venture philanthropy at this point? I think it's a good complement to other types of charitable giving. Some of the traits of venture philanthropy-- building infrastructure, the giver and receiver working closely, the performance targets--may have existed among charitable foundations before, but venture philanthropy emphasized these points. With the non-profit I reported on, Groundwork Inc., the managerial and technical assistance provided by its venture philanthropists funders really helped. While some people at Groundwork didn't agree with the metrics these funders used, they liked being pushed to meet performance targets (one source said government grants were worse, because they allowed for less days off). And I also want to add that the executive director of Blue Ridge Foundation, the venture philanthropy foundation that gave Groundwork its start, told me that not every foundation should be as hands on as they are, or the non-profit would have too much to deal with.
The mass media gave venture philanthropy plenty of hype but most of the coverage was rather facile. The journalists went with the familiar formula of finding supporters and a few detractors but didn't really delve into the lasting impact of this business-meets-philanthropy approach. That being said, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which covers the philanthropic field, did have Mark R. Kramer, a former venture capitalists-turned-philanthropy consultant, write some interesting articles about venture philanthropy's shortcomings and influence (I'd link articles but you can't read them without a paid subscription to Chronicles of Philanthropy). I'm planning on contacting Kramer this week as I finish up my article.
That venture philanthropy goes by several names, "high-engagement" philanthropy being one. This confused me a bit. Thankfully Michael Moody, who teaches at USC, wrote a paper that explains it all (I've put a link in a earlier blog posting, but here it is again). Moody has been extremely helpful in answering all my questions and I appreciate the academic perspective. Here's an except from an email response he gave me regarding the future of venture philanthropy:
"The idea of VP had probably reached a point of stability in terms of the amount of and type of attention it gets and influence it has. There was the time of great buzz there for a while and then the time of considerable backlash, but now I think the idea continues to be a sort of iconic shorthand for lots of different things happening under the broader label of "new philanthropy." I've recently heard it used a lot as a way to describe "the changes that happened in the field" in those boom years, and the critique of it as "not so new" and as "too brash for its own good" are still around but they are not given as harshly as before and they seem to recognize that now any lasting effect or benefit of this new approach can be seen. So in that sense, there is a hope that in the future this might help the field improve, but a firm conviction (even among proponents) that it won't revolutionize the field. The question is how much of the change in the field that has or will happen can be attributed to VP, and will it be acknowledged as a force of broader change or not. That is a difficult question that we wont' really be able to answer, though most people probably will probably say that there was an overall shift toward things like more accountability and performance measures, and more focus on capacity-building, and more engagement of donors/grantmakers with their grantees, and that VP was one of the influences steering and pushing this change (though not the only one). WHich brings me then to the idea of influencing traditional foundations. I don't think there will be much widespread agreement that VP has had much influence on traditional foundations, even those that changed in the ways I just mentioned. Some of them will certainly see VP as an influence--and certain VP proponents will claim this--but in general the people who run traditional foundations won't likely say that VP was a major influence on any changes they make. They'd point to larger trends, and also attribute any changes to their own long-standing objectives to focus on "making an impact" and being "strategic" about attacking "root causes" and so on. They won't say VP was what made them suddenly focus on impact measures, evalution for accountability, and so on."
As for other resources I've found, I've previously mentioned the help Sean Stannard-Stockton of the blog Tactical Philanthropy has given me.
The Future of Philanthropy, a website run by the Monitor Group, also has a great page on "high-engagement" philanthropy with links to academic and other articles about venture philanthropy. Monitor Group partners with Fast Company to put out the Social Capitalists Awards.
What have I learned about venture philanthropy at this point? I think it's a good complement to other types of charitable giving. Some of the traits of venture philanthropy-- building infrastructure, the giver and receiver working closely, the performance targets--may have existed among charitable foundations before, but venture philanthropy emphasized these points. With the non-profit I reported on, Groundwork Inc., the managerial and technical assistance provided by its venture philanthropists funders really helped. While some people at Groundwork didn't agree with the metrics these funders used, they liked being pushed to meet performance targets (one source said government grants were worse, because they allowed for less days off). And I also want to add that the executive director of Blue Ridge Foundation, the venture philanthropy foundation that gave Groundwork its start, told me that not every foundation should be as hands on as they are, or the non-profit would have too much to deal with.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Making a Slide Show
I thought our audio slideshows were due this week so I raced to get it done. I've never done one before but have always enjoyed them, so I looked forward to this assignment even though I didn't know a thing about taking pictures or using the slide show software.
The first thing was deciding on the plot. I had recorded a walk and talk with a East New York resident and wanted to use that audio--edited and rearranged--with some pictures. So I worked on the that on Avid and then tried doing the slideshow on Avid also. That took a lot of time but ultimately proved unsuccessful. So I switched to Soundslides, which is fabulously easy to use.
So I laid down the audio tracks and arranged my pictures and put in some captions with more information about East New York. I thought it was interesting: a narrated tour of the city by a resident, so there's an authentic voice; scenes of this community; and some notes.
Then my professor Juanita Leon took a look and pointed out what didn't work. One, there were no people. My roommate pointed out the same problem. But more important, Juanita asked the most simple but relevant question: what is the story? And I guess I lost sight of that. I just loved the personal way my subject talked about his city that I forgot the fundamental need to tell a cogent story.
So thank you Juanita, and back to the drawing board for me.
The first thing was deciding on the plot. I had recorded a walk and talk with a East New York resident and wanted to use that audio--edited and rearranged--with some pictures. So I worked on the that on Avid and then tried doing the slideshow on Avid also. That took a lot of time but ultimately proved unsuccessful. So I switched to Soundslides, which is fabulously easy to use.
So I laid down the audio tracks and arranged my pictures and put in some captions with more information about East New York. I thought it was interesting: a narrated tour of the city by a resident, so there's an authentic voice; scenes of this community; and some notes.
Then my professor Juanita Leon took a look and pointed out what didn't work. One, there were no people. My roommate pointed out the same problem. But more important, Juanita asked the most simple but relevant question: what is the story? And I guess I lost sight of that. I just loved the personal way my subject talked about his city that I forgot the fundamental need to tell a cogent story.
So thank you Juanita, and back to the drawing board for me.
This Semester and Another Reporting Trip East New York
This blog began with a focus on the givers in the field of philanthropy. Just look at the bombastic title. I've always been interested in how old institutions fit into this century, so why not explore philanthropy. After all, when has the world ever been so prosperous.
But slowly my project evolved into a journal of my reporting and my multimedia journalism class. It was silly of me to think I could tackle so expansive a subject, but I'm still glad I tried. Even though I wasn't really able to tackle the issue on a more global level, address the state of change in charity, this semester gave me the chance to take a closer look at venture philanthropy, which I had always read about and never really understood. In the end there is nothing particularly revolutionary about it. Still, if nothing else venture philanthropy has helped some families in East New York.
This past Wednesday I went back down to East New York to do some more reporting. I wanted to take some pictures for my audio slideshow and also to record some interviews for a podcast. The weather didn't quite cooperate for photo taking. The sky had been gray all afternoon, and the cold kept many people off the streets. I haven't taken pictures in a long time; I don't have a camera and don't care for pictures anyway. But work is work so I went with my list of sites. For my video I filmed my subject walking about East New York, but the footage was too shaky to use. These pictures would go with the edited audio from that walk and talk. As the only Asian person around taking pictures can be a little daunting. I look like the world's most obvious narc. That's probably another reason my pictures don't have many people in them: I didn't want to antagonize people. This was dumb though, because I had an assignment and I chickened out. But the experience proved valuable. I picked up a camera again, it was kind of fun, and next time I know to make sure I get my shots.
On my way over to East New York, I missed my stop and so had to backtrack, wasting 20 minutes. This left less than 30 minutes to grab all the pictures for the slideshow before my 3:30pm meeting with a Groundwork staff at PS 328, a combined elementary and middle school. Before going Anne Noyes gave me a lesson on how to use the Marantz digital recorders that the radio students use. I'd intended to interview the principal of the school, Groundwork's on site director, some students and also parents. For a podcast, ambient sound like kids talking and laughing or playing sports would be necessary too.
On a quick digression, there's something about walking in the halls of a school as an adult. I've been out of elementary and middle school for a while, but the memories of anxiety over fitting in linger still. Though the kids do treat me better because I'm now an adult.
The Guerilla News class makes us try new tools, like the video camera. This week the challenge involved a digital recorder. It's a different mode of recording information. I have to consider the kinds of questions to ask to get answers I could use in a podcast. I need to think of the sounds I need to tell my story. And the recorder and mic are much more intrusive than the reporters notebook, especially around children, who seem to love to yell into things. Also, kids aren't great interview subjects. They have way of reducing everything to one word. So what do you like about this program? Dodgeball. Why do you come here? It's fun. To be fair though, the kids who gave me these answers haven't yet finished the 2nd grade.
Luckily I got to talk to a parent also. I've been unsure how to find one without going through the non-profit that I'm writing about. That day a parent happened to come in because her daughter had some disciplinary problems. She agreed to speak with me and seemed to really like the program, even saying that it was her daughter and not the program that brought her to campus.
Later I visited a middle school class where the students were in a magazine club. Five kids sat with an adult teacher and talked about putting together a magazine. They debated whether they wanted to do individual magazines or work together on one. The amusing thing was one of the girls would sort of pout and mutter that she wanted to leave but when we stepped outside to do an interview she had nothing but good things to say about both her teacher and the program.
I left the school around 5:30pm. It was dark already. But having visited East New York quite a few times now, I wasn't too worried. The last time I went over I realized that women and children live there and walk those streets. So why shouldn't I be able to also.
But slowly my project evolved into a journal of my reporting and my multimedia journalism class. It was silly of me to think I could tackle so expansive a subject, but I'm still glad I tried. Even though I wasn't really able to tackle the issue on a more global level, address the state of change in charity, this semester gave me the chance to take a closer look at venture philanthropy, which I had always read about and never really understood. In the end there is nothing particularly revolutionary about it. Still, if nothing else venture philanthropy has helped some families in East New York.
This past Wednesday I went back down to East New York to do some more reporting. I wanted to take some pictures for my audio slideshow and also to record some interviews for a podcast. The weather didn't quite cooperate for photo taking. The sky had been gray all afternoon, and the cold kept many people off the streets. I haven't taken pictures in a long time; I don't have a camera and don't care for pictures anyway. But work is work so I went with my list of sites. For my video I filmed my subject walking about East New York, but the footage was too shaky to use. These pictures would go with the edited audio from that walk and talk. As the only Asian person around taking pictures can be a little daunting. I look like the world's most obvious narc. That's probably another reason my pictures don't have many people in them: I didn't want to antagonize people. This was dumb though, because I had an assignment and I chickened out. But the experience proved valuable. I picked up a camera again, it was kind of fun, and next time I know to make sure I get my shots.
On my way over to East New York, I missed my stop and so had to backtrack, wasting 20 minutes. This left less than 30 minutes to grab all the pictures for the slideshow before my 3:30pm meeting with a Groundwork staff at PS 328, a combined elementary and middle school. Before going Anne Noyes gave me a lesson on how to use the Marantz digital recorders that the radio students use. I'd intended to interview the principal of the school, Groundwork's on site director, some students and also parents. For a podcast, ambient sound like kids talking and laughing or playing sports would be necessary too.
On a quick digression, there's something about walking in the halls of a school as an adult. I've been out of elementary and middle school for a while, but the memories of anxiety over fitting in linger still. Though the kids do treat me better because I'm now an adult.
The Guerilla News class makes us try new tools, like the video camera. This week the challenge involved a digital recorder. It's a different mode of recording information. I have to consider the kinds of questions to ask to get answers I could use in a podcast. I need to think of the sounds I need to tell my story. And the recorder and mic are much more intrusive than the reporters notebook, especially around children, who seem to love to yell into things. Also, kids aren't great interview subjects. They have way of reducing everything to one word. So what do you like about this program? Dodgeball. Why do you come here? It's fun. To be fair though, the kids who gave me these answers haven't yet finished the 2nd grade.
Luckily I got to talk to a parent also. I've been unsure how to find one without going through the non-profit that I'm writing about. That day a parent happened to come in because her daughter had some disciplinary problems. She agreed to speak with me and seemed to really like the program, even saying that it was her daughter and not the program that brought her to campus.
Later I visited a middle school class where the students were in a magazine club. Five kids sat with an adult teacher and talked about putting together a magazine. They debated whether they wanted to do individual magazines or work together on one. The amusing thing was one of the girls would sort of pout and mutter that she wanted to leave but when we stepped outside to do an interview she had nothing but good things to say about both her teacher and the program.
I left the school around 5:30pm. It was dark already. But having visited East New York quite a few times now, I wasn't too worried. The last time I went over I realized that women and children live there and walk those streets. So why shouldn't I be able to also.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Interviewing Kids and Learning to Use the Radio Equipment
This week I ran down to PS 328 in East New York to speak with the principal and also interview some kids in the Groundwork program. The principal said his voice was a little hoarse and that we could do the recorded interview next week, which I intend to do along with going to some record at some of the Groundwork classes, guided by the program's communications contact Monte Givhan. But this week I was able to speak with the kids, a trio of 5th graders and a 6th grader and 7th grader, directly. Interviewing kids can be tricky because they tend to move around a lot and get restless easily. They are demonstrative and opinionated but not necessarily the most articulate. In the beginning of the interview they seemed to be giving me a rehearsed line - that Groundwork is great for kids. It's hard to say whether this is sincere or not. But soon the conversation became more casual, and they all expressed a love of dodgeball, which they can play at Groundwork but not in regular gym. As expected one of the girls didn't like a teacher (she screams too much) and the core curriculum--basically the academic part--wasn't the main attraction for them. But they did seem to enjoy it and they preferred it to other after school programs they've been in before, where "you just go upstairs and do your homework." Groundwork offers academic help but also alot of other activities, like sports, which the girls loved, and for the older kids a magazine and arts group.
Also this week, I got a quick lesson from the ever so lovely Anne Noyes about how to use the digital recording equipment that you can rent out at the equipment room in the journalism department. I will have to do a test run to make sure I know how to use the recorder well, but I should be ready for next week when I'll do all the leg work for my podcast. Will probably head over to take pictures for the slideshow as well. And I'll storyboard the stuff this weekend.
Also this week, I got a quick lesson from the ever so lovely Anne Noyes about how to use the digital recording equipment that you can rent out at the equipment room in the journalism department. I will have to do a test run to make sure I know how to use the recorder well, but I should be ready for next week when I'll do all the leg work for my podcast. Will probably head over to take pictures for the slideshow as well. And I'll storyboard the stuff this weekend.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Podcast or Slideshow
In addition to trying to put my feature together, I've spent the last few days considering whether I want to do the podcast or slideshow for my next class project. I personally love the slideshows. Besides video, slideshows and maybe interactives are usually the multimedia options that I try on websites. For some reason, podcasts have never really interested me. This could be because most aren't particularly good - it's just a bunch of talking heads, and I'd rather read a story. At least this is how I am at ESPN.com.
But obviously I'm not just going with personal preference. Juanita always makes the wonderful point that the story should exploit the full capabilities of the chosen medium (though I thought she was wrong about the karate podcast played in class - I've seen a thousand martial arts movies and never just encountered it through sound, which made it a very new and interesting experience). So for my project, there's no real circumstances that would make a podcast--pure sound--a good vehicle. Maybe I could get some kids talking, like mini-testimonies, but that would be mawkish and video would be better anyway. So my idea is a slideshow of East New York, partially narrated by me. I've reported on East New York for another class, on the community gardens there, and maybe I could do a little community walk kind of thing. Also, for my video I recorded my subject David doing a walk and talk from the storefront of the non-profit I'm covering to the non-profit's building for its high school program. I really liked some of the things David said--about the projects, the liquor store, the pharmacy--which had an authenticity, candor and humor to them. But the footage was bad because I had to walk and talk and turn and shoot all at once with that tiny camera.
So for the slideshow, I could take some photos of the neighborhood, maybe of some of the class rooms where the non-profit runs its after school program, and narrate a it there, and then end with the walk and talk voice over by David, accompanied with pictures of the things he was talking about. This sounds awfully complex and may be structurally tenuous, but I guess this is the time to try out things. After all, last Friday we were told it's ok to fail. So here I go.
But obviously I'm not just going with personal preference. Juanita always makes the wonderful point that the story should exploit the full capabilities of the chosen medium (though I thought she was wrong about the karate podcast played in class - I've seen a thousand martial arts movies and never just encountered it through sound, which made it a very new and interesting experience). So for my project, there's no real circumstances that would make a podcast--pure sound--a good vehicle. Maybe I could get some kids talking, like mini-testimonies, but that would be mawkish and video would be better anyway. So my idea is a slideshow of East New York, partially narrated by me. I've reported on East New York for another class, on the community gardens there, and maybe I could do a little community walk kind of thing. Also, for my video I recorded my subject David doing a walk and talk from the storefront of the non-profit I'm covering to the non-profit's building for its high school program. I really liked some of the things David said--about the projects, the liquor store, the pharmacy--which had an authenticity, candor and humor to them. But the footage was bad because I had to walk and talk and turn and shoot all at once with that tiny camera.
So for the slideshow, I could take some photos of the neighborhood, maybe of some of the class rooms where the non-profit runs its after school program, and narrate a it there, and then end with the walk and talk voice over by David, accompanied with pictures of the things he was talking about. This sounds awfully complex and may be structurally tenuous, but I guess this is the time to try out things. After all, last Friday we were told it's ok to fail. So here I go.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Principals and Churches
One of the principals I spoke to was very enthusiastic about the program, but in an honest way (at least it sounded honest on the phone). He mentioned how many programs promise a lot of things but end up only doing one thing, but that Groundwork has delivered. I'll need to speak with parents of Groundwork students there to confirm this and get those personal stories that I at least need to have in my notes. I am not excited about the idea of having to write in a poor kids finally getting some help how inspirational tale, unless I can do it ironically. But the effectiveness and parent response to the program is important to report on. I have to think of a way to reach parents directly though. I've been calling churches this morning, and only one responded. And they didn't know anything about Groundwork even though the church is around the corner from the Groundwork head office. It could be that the person on the phone personally didn't know anything about the organization, or I'm wrongheaded in looking for opinions from local churches, but I think it's an avenue worth exploring since in many low income communities the churches provide many social services and would have parishioners connected to community programs like Groundwork.
I've also gotten an email from a principal and left messages with two others.
I've also gotten an email from a principal and left messages with two others.
Complicated Story
So many sources, so little time. At its core the story is simple: how a guy came back to his old neighborhood and started a non-profit, helped by a "venture philanthropist" funder. But my story tries to touch on so many things at one time -- the backstory of the non-profit, which I think is interesting; what start-up non-profits need to survive; the guy who returned, Rich Buery; the interaction with the venture philanthropists; commenting on venture philanthropy; whether the program works; and the neighborhood, East New York. So I have to talk to students and parents, principals and funders, community groups and maybe the police, an urban studies expert and a non-profit expert, a philanthropy expert who knows venture philanthropy, and then of course the protaganist and other people in the organization. Then I've got to crunch the numbers and double check them. So alot to do. I've already spoken to most of the people in the organization and most of the principals, have done research on venture philanthropy and can get a few quotes when I need to, the other experts I only need to speak with for a few minutes, but I still need to crunch the numbers and speak with one of the important funders.
I'm going to continue writing my drafts anyway, and then plug in the hole as I can.
I'm going to continue writing my drafts anyway, and then plug in the hole as I can.
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