Journalism 133: Prof. Craig: Story Ideas Exercise, Part II

Story Ideas Exercise, Part II

(1) Story: San Jose Police Union Thief Caught In Drug Bust
- The executive director of the San Jose Police Officers Association, Joanne Segovia, has been placed on leave and is facing federal charges after allegedly importing overseas drugs and running a massive international drug smuggling ring for at least eight years. She disguised these illegal shipments as wedding gifts, makeup kits, and chocolates and sold them throughout the country. I believe this story’s main audience would be anybody that is a Bay Area native, including SJSU students/faculty. Sean Pritchard, president of the union would be a good interviewee along with any of her coworkers. Her neighbors/family would also be great for an interview to better understand who she is as a person and whether or not they saw this coming. A reporter would need to learn how long Joanne has been working at the union, how long the illegal activity has been going on, what kind of drugs are involved, and ultimately how this was even possible. One potential story could be about how a large number of people in the Bay Area alone have died from drug overdoses or experienced addiction that could very likely have come from Joanne. Another angle could be a comparison of Joanne to the crime drama series, Breaking Bad.

(2) Story: Spartans Got Talent
- SJSU’s Associated Students and Student Union is hosting their annual live talent show. On Monday, April 10, from 5 to 7 p.m., students are encouraged to cheer on their fellow Spartan performers. The show will be held at the Student Union Ballroom A&B. Audience members have the chance to win prizes, free food/drinks, and SJSU gear while supplies last. Performers also get the opportunity to be showcased at Associated Student events like Fire on the Fountain. The main audience for this story would be SJSU students, faculty, and alumni. Interviews from students performing in the show would be key. A representative from SJSU Associated Students and audience members would also be good for interviews. A good reporter would need to know or learn who the returning and new performers are, who the previous winner was/what they did, and what the turn out of previous years was. A potential follow up story could be a feature story focusing on the winner of the event.

(3) Story: Silicon Valley Bank Panel
- This story would be about how Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to nearly half of the country’s biggest names in the technology world, failed last month. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has taken over the bank’s operations. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is the largest since the 2008 financial crisis. A panel will be held in the Student Union to discuss the collapse, bringing together financial professionals to share their own expert perspectives on the event. All SJSU students are welcome. The story’s audience could be anyone affiliated with the bank, especially those in the Bay Area like financial institutions, tech companies, business owners, or those working in finance. A reporter could interview the special speakers at the panel or finance/economics professors at SJSU. A reporter would need to know about what happened, who has been affected, if other banks are at risk, and what this failure means for Silicon Valley. A potential follow up story could look at the aftermath of the closure for the Bay Area.