Wednesday, March 28, 2012

"Find A Story" Challenge: Answered

Yesterday, I challenged you to find a story - any story - in the room you were in at that moment.  I've done this exercise dozens of times in workshops and each time I get a "deer in the headlights" look from attendees. What? In this room? But this is a conference room at an airport hotel in Springfield, Illinois. There's nothing but other equally freaked out reporters, a coffee pot, and some lame hotel art. 

Lame hotel art. Hmmm.... maybe I can work with that.  I mean lame art is everywhere, especially in hotels. Where do they buy this stuff? Who creates it? Did she set out to paint landscapes for commercial spaces or did she have aspirations of SOHO studio openings?  What's the artistic process for someone who's designing to be pleasant and approachable, but not too distinctive? 

Truth is, there are lots of stories around us. All the time. Everywhere we go. We just have to be open to them.  And you were.  You emailed with photos of things in your room that inspired a story idea.  So, let's get right to it.


Regan McCarthy saw my call for story ideas during a brief break in a Tallahassee City Commission meeting (Ahhh, the fun of covering local government. Zoning meetings. Easements. Millage Rates. Sounds a bit like hotel art, doesn't it?).  Since my directions said don't wait for a Pulitzer Prize winning idea to strike you, she took a picture of the first thing she saw: a speaker appearance form. 

And it got her thinking:
  • Who are those frequent speakers who show up again and again at meetings to address agenda items after agenda item?
  • Why do they do it? What drives their passion for public meetings?
  • What's their background? Where do they come from? Where do they work? Where did they go to school? 
  • What agenda items do they remember speaking on and really making a difference -- persuading the commission to take a specific action?
And those questions led to two potential profile subjects:

John Doe:  An almost high school graduate who regularly attends and speaks during local government meetings. He's already spreading word that he plans to run for local office as soon as he's eligible.

Brian Pitts:  Pitts is well known in Tallahassee. He speaks at what seems like every committee meeting the Florida legislature holds. Lawmakers often repeat catch phrases from something Pitts has said. There's even an auto tune YouTube video of him.



OMG! This is great. And did you notice that comment from TamaracTalk? "This is brilliant. I would love to find out more about Brian Pitts"

So, what do you think? Does she have a story idea?  Leave your feedback below and if we agree there might be a story here we'll help Regan "Story Vision" it in a follow-up blog post.

P.S. I'll be posting more Story Challenge Submissions in the coming days...

1 comment:

  1. She definitely has a story. I love hearing those folks when they get up to speak. Better yet, look at the members of the council or commission when that person gets up to speak. Great idea.

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