Interviews shaped the story

I spent this beautiful Sunday in the building 9 labs, where I finished writing, editing and recording my stories. I know I know. Day before the assignment, but at least I made the deadline! I decided to take three different angles for each of my stories based on my interviews and I framed them all using the recently released National Health Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. I was a bit concerned about the newsworthiness of the interviews, and so I felt this added a bit of timeliness, and also credibility to the stories.

I decided that my angle would mostly be concerning the high rate of obesity found amongst the middle aged to older aged group. The statistics were not pretty after all.

The 2007-08 National Health Survey has for the first time since 1995 measured the exact height and weight of adults and children. Using the Body Mass Index (BMI) approach, the ABS found that 68% of adult men and 55% of adult women were overweight or obese. This is an increase over 12 years as only 64% of men and 49% of women were overweight or obese in 1995.

When looking at the age pattern of obesity in adults, the highest proportion who were overweight or obese were in the middle to older age groups (peaking at 65-74 years of age - 79% for men, and 55-64 years for women – 68%).

From here.

I found this study very interesting as the media often concentrates overwhelmingly on child obesity, where there is an actual crisis occurring in the middle aged to older aged group. I had collected a lot of quotes on this sort of thing from both interview talents. My main talents had actually commented that the reason the media hadn't focused on the over 40s age group was simply because it wasn't as 'sexy' an issue. I though this was an awesome sort of viewpoint (and also, a easy way to 'sex' up my story) and decided to take this lead as the copy and grab.

I decided to make my voicer the first story in my collection, and basically reported the findings of the survey, as well as paraphrased a quote from the nutritionist about how the environment we live in has shaped this trend. I thought this was a good way to inject a bit of explanation in a story based on boring statistics. I also wanted to make full use of my talent. I found it incredibly hard to keep to the set time limit in my voicer. I had to re-record several times in the recording booth in building 9, because I kept editing words and paragraphs out to try and make the whole thing shorter. That seemed to be the hardest bit of the assignment!

For the second story I decided to go with the copy and grab and use the great quote from my first interview, going for the angle that there really needs to be more public awareness raised about the issue of over 40s health problems. I felt this fit in perfectly with the health challenge that my interviewee was organizing and also was a very interesting critique on the media and its obsession with 'sexier' issues. I am a big believer in the power of the media to help shape perception. Although health is largely an individual responsibility, the amount of education that gets out there can also play a part of this, and the media can be a huge actor.

The third story was a kind of human interest, wrap-up of how if people over 40s start a healthier lifestyle now, the benefits on their long term health can be enormous. I used 6 second grabs of both talent to illustrate this. The voice package was probably the hardest story to condense and I am not entirely happy with the result. Keeping it so short and yet still transmitting the right information was extremely difficult. I tried to cut down the grabs to 3-5 seconds but I found it impossible. I would try editing out ums and ahs and I cut off as many unnecessary bits but I really couldn't sacrifice a lot of the quote. I think this is something I obviously have to work on, but the package did end up running to about 44.5 seconds, which I felt was perfect.

To edit the voice package together I made use of the multitrack editor function on newsboss. I first recorded my voicer in two parts, each before I introduced a talent. Then I cut the quotes and added them all together in multitrack manager. It seemed to go smoothly, although I edited the completed product in audio cut to try and make it shorter.

Another problem I realized was that during interviews, I would occasionally interject a quote with "yeah"... I had to be careful not to do this, because in one occasion it did wreck the integrity of a quote. I tried my best to edit it out, but there would be a loud ugly pop, and the audio would become inconsistent, so I ended up leaving it in. I think this is a habit radio journalists must have to abandon, I am so used to interjecting and agreeing or adding my two cents during interviews for print.

The other interesting aspect was actually recording and making sure my voice sounded good on radio. I attempted several times and tried to get my voice a little bit lower because I have a naturally high voice that sounds slightly amateur on radio. I also tried to use ranges a bit, adding emphasis and expression to words. The fact I read and re-read my stories helped me in this.

Now I am trying to burn the CD and having a bit of trouble, although I'm not sure why. Because I don't have access to Itunes at the moment I am attempting to do it in Windows Media Player... but so far no luck. Will continue trying and will update in the next hour!

I have the attention span of a goldfish

I have learned from this assignment that I really am suited to journalism, mainly because I do have the attention span of a gold fish. Yes, I did change my topic yet again... although it really has a lot to do with one of my ideas I originally had.

On Tuesday I was still following up with various refugee agencies and people I was researching on the internet. The lady from Companion house rang me late in the afternoon on Tuesday but by then I had largely abandoned the idea because I had found the source of many a journalist's happiness - the media release. If any journalist says they don't rely on media releases on occasion, they are lying. Sure, media releases are designed to spin the author's opinion etc, but I think you can get some good stories out of them occasionally.

In this case, it was a community event in Queanbeyan, and although it may not have sounded too newsworthy on first notice, I immediately saw the potential to turn it into a good health story. It was about the owner and founder of these fitness clubs in Queanbeyan which are specifically designed to help the health of people over 40. I am a regular to the gym and I know how intimidating it can be, and my mother also just went to hospital due to an illness that was very much life-style related, so I felt it was a good opportunity to maybe raise awareness on health problems for over 40s. Especially, since both my sources agreed that it was a very much neglected issue. If you think of all the attention, say child obesity gets, the health problems of over 40s and how they can reverse the damage is often ignored.

So I emailed the man behind the media release, and he emailed me back in less than 30 minutes, saying he would be glad to help. I was very relieved, I can assure you. He said that he was willing to talk to me the very next day. Phew. I began frantically emailing nutritionists as well - hoping to get an email back. My angle was basically at that point the health challenge that the man was running, but also how these health problems could possibly be extended over generations. With child obesity so topical, will Australia's trend towards obesity ever be solved, particularly as we face a burgeoning recession?

The next day I had my ediroll ready for the drive to Queanbeyan and I contacted my talent to confirm, saying I would see him later that day. He then gave me a shock saying he was actually in Coffs Harbour, setting up a new gym, and asked me to conduct the interview over the phone! That was my mistake - I forgot to even check that I would be able to physically interview him. So I quickly arranged with Simon to use the recording facilities, and arranged to interview my talent the next day.

During this time I was able to make contact with a nutritionist who has authored several books, written for magazines, and is a regular on channel nine. It was a great moment for me, i can assure you! She was very happy to help, and I was assuming, very media saavy. I arranged to pick her brain on Friday, and because she was based in Sydney, I had to again rely on the phone interview.

I know that Simon said we should use this as a last resort, but in my day job, I do interviews via phone more often than I do physical interviews. I understand that you create a better relationship with your talent, but sometimes you just can't help but rely on the phone - and I'm guessing with time constraints in many radio newsrooms, this is a practice that is more than common.

I was a bit nervous about using the phone recording facilities, because I was positive I would stuff up. Luckily there was this guy Matt in the labs who helped me through the whole thing - he was doing the same assignment as me and he was lovely - he basically stopped his assignment to help me. I found the recording booth relatively easy to use. It was just a pain having to wait for people, knowing my interviewees had busy schedules and I was keeping them waiting. But what can you do?

The interviews I felt went well. I liked the fact I could just talk and listen, and didn't have to type quotes like in print journalism. It was a relief not having to think and type at the same time!

I am planning to record my stories in the labs on Sunday, it's late I know but I am working on Saturday. I am going to try and cut my audio in audacity tonight though and formulate my scripts so all I will have to do is walk into building 9 on Sunday!

Will keep you updated!

Stressing out

I haven't blogged for a while and I confess I may have left my broadcast assignment too late, although that seems to be the story for the majority of my class. Part of the reason for the lateness has been my constant change of topics. I have abandoned the recession and strain on public health services idea because I was unable to secure any talent and have since switched to looking at refugee health services and what challenges refugees face in accessing the health system.

I have been ringing around and have contacted the Migrant and Refugee Resource Centre, the Canberra Refugee Support centre, Belconnen Community Services, the Refugee Action Committee and Companion House. MRRS and Companion House are still to get back to me and the Canberra Refugee Support Centre, Refugee Action Committee and BCS were very helpful, but unfortunately unable to help me.

This has put me in a bit of a bind as I have less than a week to secure the interviews. It has really shown me how frustrating it can be to have hardly any contacts in this field and no brand name behind me. I can imagine if one works for the ABC or a big metropolitan newspaper, the availability of access increases substantially. Even in my day job at an Indigenous newspaper, the mast head will often help in securing interviews. I find that at the moment, saying "University of Canberra" is actually inhibiting my progress. And if I say I'm a NowUC reporter I feel slightly dishonest, as this is largely for the marks, not in getting the issue on the public record.

So that is my big problem at the moment. I have a couple of prospects for more first hand accounts of refugee health services but have been unable to secure them either. I am really stressing and praying that I get a call back soon. Otherwise I will just have to continue being persistent. I am not sure how other students are finding it, but I am getting increasingly frustrated.

I do have a prospect I will ring this afternoon - it is a man I met who came out to Australia on a boat from Pakistan awhile ago. He was even locked up at Woomera for a lengthy period of time and yet has managed to make something out of his life. He graduated from university and now has a good job. I am hoping that he may be able to help me by either passing me onto someone else, or telling me a first hand account of his experiences dealing with the health services in Australia.

I am excited by this prospect more than anything else because it seems to me that asylum seekers do not get a voice in the media - they are often lost and I can understand this. A lady from one of the refugee organisations I rang told me that she had many refugee friends, but knew that alot of them are not comfortable with people because they kind of just want to disappear into society. That's a paraphrase, but they don't want to be singled out. I can imagine when Australian journalists have strict deadlines, and with distrust of the media abounding, it would be hard to find first hand accounts.

I really wanted to get an organisation to back up a possible first hand story, but unless I can secure this, I might just have to ring up a few doctor offices and see if there are any people who would be willing to speak to me. Otherwise I'm not sure what I will do as time is running up. I will blog everyday about my progress on interviews... I am a bit scared because I definitely need two by Friday otherwise I will have no hope of finishing this story on time.

Developing an angle

I am pretty set on looking at the impacts a recession can have on health, but have found that I need to develop a unique angle. It goes without saying that the impact a financial crisis can have on mental health and nutrition has been reported to an extent.

A recent example was in the Sydney Morning Herald's lifestyle section, which reported on a study that claimed a recession could encourage lower-income families to make healthier choices. Click here.

The global recession is bad news for most, but it might be having a positive effect on Australians' physical health if not their financial health.

A survey of 1,500 people found Australians were cooking at home more and eating more vegetarian meals as they cut back on costly options such as eating out or takeaways.

The survey conflicts with Australian Bureau of Statistics evidence in January that found spending on fast food up 11.2 per cent as Australians from lower socio-economic groups opted for cheaper, unhealthy options.

The survey by food group Heinz found that people were saving money by eating at home with one third starting a vegetable patch in the past six months.

I don't really agree with this study, it seems illogical and a bit shady considering it comes from a food company, but I have decided to go on a different road anyway.

I read somewhere (off a whim, didn't clip the article) that a recession can have a negative impact on public health services. As people become financially insecure, they will opt out of renewing private health insurance, and will fall back solely on Medicare. I'm not sure on the reliability of this data, but I think its an interesting question to ponder nonetheless.

It will also be interesting to see how much funding the Rudd government allocates to health in next week's budget. I don't think health will take a serious cut,but I read in a World Health Organisation report that in some countries, health funding does suffer.

So I want to look at the strain on public health services. Possible interviewees include the Australian Health Insurance Association, who are based in the ACT, and maybe even a doctor.

I guess if I narrowed it down a bit I could also look solely at student experiences. I don't have private health insurance, and thus rely on the Uni of Canberra health service, so that is also a possible avenue I could take. I imagine there are many students who don't have private health insurance, although they may be covered by their parents.

I have begun researching this topic extensively and will begin searching for interview talent when I have all my thoughts together.

In other news, today is the day of our radio writing tests! Wish me luck :-)