« Story ideas and pitches in progress

Daniel Bennett

Story Ideas

3 replies
LL Glenny Brock SB
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       Compare/contrast sports as a whole pre and mid pandemic

2.        Compare/contrast fantasy football pre and mid pandemic

3.        Compare/contrast sports pre and mid pandemic by interviewing BSC students

4.        Investigate decline in Greek life participation

5.        Investigate political climate at BSC amid upcoming election and nationwide           unrest

6.       Research current job market by interviewing BSC students and alumni

7.        Research return of sports in other countries and compare with U.S.

8.       Explore the increase in ecommerce, and subsequently online fraud, since the   pandemic began

       Explore which industries—and companies within them—have thrived amid the pandemic and why 

              Interview students and faculty/staff alike to find out what’s up with the caf food     and how things could improve 

3 replies
  1. Post by Sarah Brinson
    Re: Story Ideas
    I would also like to see a story about the decline in Greek life, if this is just BSC or 

    nationwide. Also if there any schools that have seen an increase in Greek life?

  2. Post by Glenny Brock
    future features
    DB - I see a lot of good *big ideas* here. As I said earlier about the turkey pitch, some of these are topics on which you could write a series of stories. Part of your challenge will be to narrow your focus — to find a way into one of these topics by making a bite-size narrative  (with a setting and specific characters).

    Here are the stories I hope you'll follow, in my order of preference:

    1) Decline in Greek life
    Has Greek life declined at BSC? If so, in what time frame? Are fraternities declining more than sororities? Vice versa? I'm especially interesting in the growing "Abolish Greek Life" movement (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/style/abolish-greek-life-college-frat-racism.html). You could write about this whether it's happening at BSC or not. I think BSC Greeks and independents would have a variety of interesting reactions.

    2) Fantasy Football in the age of COVID
    Fantasy Football is a big, big, big topic b/c so many people participate. To me, a way in would be to draw on your own experience. How and for how long has Fantasy Football been part of your life? How has it changed for you during the pandemic? Who else would be your sources for a Fantasy Football story?

    3) COVID changes in sports at BSC
    This is another instance where you have a glorious number of choices. Instead of writing about sports as a whole, what if you chose a single sport in a single place? I have a half-formed idea about how you could write it as a playbook for the COVID era, or an annotated team roster. Maybe this is a story where *habits* can be a topic. Or you could unpack the idea of *practice.* As in, if there are no games, for what, exactly, are the athletes *practicing*? Alternatively, is there a sport that hasn't changed significantly? Just some loose thoughts there... Please catch any that seem useful.

  3. Post by Lucas Lamb
    Re: Story Ideas
    I think interviewing last years graduating class could make for a good story. How have they adjusted to the ever-changing real world. Have they maintained a steady income? Do they feel their liberal arts education has prepared them for a global pandemic?


    I worked for the Alabama Securities Commission and I worked on a project tracking down online COVID-19 scams. People have really tried to use the pandemic as an excuse to exploit people. There are thousands of websites that sell PPE and other resources. There was one sight that was selling COVID antibodies. That would be a very informative story.

    Are a lot of students done with the caf food? Does the caf have the resources to increase the quality of food? Is there anyway the caf could lower the amount of plastic wasted?

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