I planned to learn some multimedia during the last two weeks, which produced only moderate success. I felt pretty much ignored by the online desk during this period, and I just cannot tell whether it was beacause they simply did not care or because there is so little multimedia activity going on.
Tuesday, July 1, after making a very-very early morning bike ride to the office, the online editor sent me with a summer intern reporter, Dan Lieberman to the airport where a Walk of Fame was set up to celebrate famous Philadelphians. I went because I understood there will be a videographer there, too, but there was not. After returning, I made clear (once again) to the editor that I am interested in observing shooting and editing videos, not just following an intern for no particular reason. I also offered my help to do reporting if she needs me for stories.
She seemed to understand me, but the one and only help/assignment I got from her was that later that day, she sent me with Dan and a videographer intern (Steve Benjamin) to do interviews on the Jersey Shore for a story about how the weak economy affects businesses and vacationers in the run-up to the July 4 weekend. It was fun, after all, and I got to see Ocean City and Atlantic City. We got back to Philedalphia by 10pm, which meant a 15-hour working day.
I wrote my interviews next morning, then I joined Steve to watch him editing the video. I tried to do some basic stuff myself, and I kind of got a feel of it. I understood how it all works, but of course I would need lots of practice to actually learn to do it. The video we did can be seen here.
As I realized the following days that I would not receive much attention from online editor Julie Busby, I first quitted the unnatural habit of going to office in the dawn, then approached videographer/reporter Bob Moran. I accompanied him last Friday as he shot a video on the production of Animal Cops in Philadelphia. The Animal Cops crew has been working on a series in the city since the beginning of this year, and the premiere will be aired tomorrow on Animal Planet. Although we did not see any action, it was quite interesting to follow the crew who followed an agent of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It was also a nice tour of North Philadelphia, the district of our agent, Darlene. The members of the crew were interesting people; Carol, the producer is a freelancer from Philadelphia; Jackson, who handled the sound set was also a local guy; while Phil, the cameraman came from the UK, where the production company is based. I watched Bob editing the video today.
Two weeks ago I finally received an answer to my right-to-know law request from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, concerning some state help to fund investment of a company called AE Polysilicon. It seems we cannot make a story out of it as the company does not want to talk to us (even before Florida they rejected my request for an interview twice), but the business editor will decide if I should make another try.
Last week I contributed to a big business story on the acquisition of an old local chemical company, Rohm & Haas by Dow Chemicals. My task was to browse the newspaper arhives for the details of past mergers or closures that took away corporate headquarters from Philadelphia.
I have also started to work on my next story for the business section, doing telephone interviews and pre-arranging personal interviews on the Jersey Shore for this Thursday.
Finaly, yesterday I went to an information event organized by the government of Alberta for potential immigrants. I became interested in writing a story on it as the event was advertised in our newspaper, but when I told it to my mentor Maria she found out that immigration writer Michael Matza would cover it. So I just accompanied him and was amazed to see how naturally he starts conversations with people - he does not start acting as a reporter, which I think can be very useful. These are the tricks you can learn only by wathing how experienced reporters operate.
I spent the evening of 4th of July with Maria and her friend Chlea who came from Washington, DC. She knows quite a lot about famous Hungarians as she plans to write a book about Bobby Fischer, whose biological father was Hungarian, as I learned. We watched some of the parade in front of the Museum of Arts, went to a bar, then had a dinner in the Memphis restaurant where we had been before with food writer Craig LaBan. We watched the fireworks from a bridge on the Schulkyll River. Next day, I visited Baltimore, which I found really pretty. I visited the Walters Art Museum and took a harbor tour. I just had some trouble on my way back, as the bus I wanted to take broke down between Washington and Baltimore, and I had to wait for the next one for more than two hours. I got home by 2 am.
For Wednesday, July 7th, City Hall reporter Jeff Shields organized a guided tour of the City Hall for a dozen of Inquirer journalists. What I liked the most was that we could go up to the tower which gives a nice view of the city.
Last Friday, after work, Maria took me to Atlantic City. We went to the Ocean on the island of Brigantine, then watched the gamblers and had a dinner in Borgata. Saturday, we were invited for dinner by one of Maria's ex-colleague, Linda, who now works as an editor in Atlanta. We also met our colleague Marcia, and Linda's daughter, Allison. Their conversation was so enjoyable that it made me think whether they are so smart and insightful, or it is the English language that is so rich.
Sunday, I was invited to a family gathering to celebrate Maria's nephew, Paul's 8th birthday. The family of Mike's sister Kate was also there. By the way, Maria had her birthday last week too, and I gave her a history of Hungary and a novel by Hungarian writer Sandor Marai.
