The ultimate "super saver"

To many Steven Bellman, seems like the average consumer. He frequents the food store, malls, and clothing stores. However, to friends and family, John is the ultimate "super-saver." Steve realized the value of saving after his career. Being a husband and main provider of a household, he is more careful with money matters then most. Steve realizes how much he saves collecting endless coupons and going out of his way to find really good deals. His family quotes, "he walks out of the grocery store with them (the store) paying him." Bellman goes through collections of coupons before going out shopping. He also hangs on to every reciept he is given from a purchase. For my slideshow I plan to focus on just how much work Steve puts in to saving his money and monitoring his purchases. The project will include Steve's spending records (what he bought and the price he paid) and how he decides where his money goes. I feel that he would be a great person to focus on for the slideshow because he is the prime example of what it takes to save and the attention that budgeting calls for. If you thought you knew how to save your money and budget yourself, you haven't met Steve Bellman.

Beat related article

In an article entitled Austere Times? Perfect,the gleefully frugal are starting to cut back on spendings willingly. Becky Martin is one of them. Ms. Martin has cut up her 10 credit cards, borrows movies from the library, and has begun to grow her own fruits and vegtables in her backyard- all the while her family is sitting comfortably. With a job as a real estate investor, and her husband working as a plastic surgeon- their home sits on the grounds of a 12-hole country club in Cincinnati.
American spending is down and savings are up. There are other people out there just like the Martins. People are frugal and loving it. Whether its driving out of your way to save a few cents on gas or only buying food on sale at the market, saving has made people feel better about themselves.
In some places, there are groups forming to ecourage the frugal lifestyle. Whether it's for moms or fashionistas, these groups encourage penny pinching shopping options. The Frugal and Fabulous Moms is one group that reaches out to the coupon-clipping, stylish mom that loves a great deal.
The gleefully frugal hope that the recsession brings about a new generation of budgeting.The article did a good job of painting a picture of what people are doing to save a buck. I would include some of the extreme, or unique things people are doing. This would really pull readers in. I would also like to hear about what some men are doing too to cut back. The article seems to focus on the actions of women, however I think it would be helpful and interesting to learn about what men are saving money on also. The story used captive quotes and even included some humor which made it more appealing.

Looking for editing techniques

The chosen shots, angles, and images can make or break the story you are trying to cover. These elements are very important to bringing your story to life on the screen.

National Geographic is one source that does an excellent job of capturing footage. The angles and images work to tell the story and to correlate with the dialogue. This helps the viewer follow along and get a better understanding of the tone and depth of the material. The segment titled Investigating Baby Mammoth does a good job explaining the story with the versitile camera shots. The shots are detailed and give you a good look at the main subject being discussed. It includes wide angles of the scientists and their tasks. The footage also includes tighter angles to focus on the actual subject. This is an affective way to reveal the information and events.

Listen into my audio story

Sometimes it's hard for students to scrounge up that couple dollars for a cab ride on the weekends. Imagine how hard it is for them to come up with next month's rent. My audio story delves into the struggles students face when living in places of their own. Mainly, my story tries to focus on their financial responsibilities. I asked students how they manage monthly expenses as well asked about their likes and dislikes about apartment living. I wanted to know what kinds of things students look at when deciding on places to live. These things include: amenities, location, additional charges for parking, and of course rent payments. Mainly,I wanted my audio story to give insight into how students manage their finances, expecially when they have a big financial obligation like housing.

Here is a link to my homepage where you can listen to the story: "Aparment living: just not a walk in the park"

"Buying" into my feature story

Shopping plays a big role in almost everyone's life. Whether we realize it or not, most of our money is spent on clothing. My feature story, "Dress to the 9s for Less," cirlces around the concept of thrifty shopping. The main goal was to get readers to take notice of the smarter ways to shop. I want people to look outside the pricey retail stores and to be aware of the more reasonably priced clothes shopping options that exist. In order to do this, I narrowed my search down to two stores that I thought to give consumers the most "bang for their buck." I began my research at Gabriel Brothers, which is a large store that sells lower priced brand-name clothing. The second was Plato's Closet, a consignment shop that allows its customers to sell their clothes for cash while also finding bargains on a large collection of items. I hope the story made readers realize great finds can be found outside the walls of the mall.

Click this link to read the story: "Dress to the 9s for Less"

Audio Clip Ideas

Ideas for my audio clip have come slowly to me. I have not yet finalized the topic on which my audio clip will focus on. I have had a few ideas brewing but, I'm not totally convinced they are what I'm looking for.

My first story idea is to see ways students are saving money with housing. Are they choosing apartments that come furnished to save money on furniture? How are they managing their monthly payments? How do they purchase groceries? I would explore all of these aspects and get a better understanding of how students are living on their own, while still managing to save a pretty penny.

Another story idea I had in mind was student jobs. What kinds of things are students doing to save money? Where are they getting their spending money from? What kinds of things do they spend their funds on? This would give other students an understanding of how to better manage their money.

Summary and broadcast leads

Example #1- Baltimore Sun

Print Lead: The vice president of Baltimore's NAAP chapter said yesterday during a rally for taxicab drivers that his reputation has been damaged after police arrested him, claiming to have found drugs in his car.

Broadcast Lead: Baltimore's NAACP chapter president claims that he was targeted after police found marijuana and heroin in his vehicle.

Example #2-Baltimore Sun

Print Lead: "Police have released the name of a 33-year-old woman who was killed in a fiery crash that injured her young daughter in Glen Burnie this morning, authorities said."

Broadcast Lead: The name of a 33-year old women was released, who was killed in a fiery crash that injured her daughter in Gken Burnie.

Example #3-Washington Post

Print Lead: "President Obama today launched a drive to curb wasteful spending on government contracts, introducing reforms that he said would save American taxpayers up to $40 billion a year and help usher in a new era of fiscal responsibility. "

Broadcast Lead: $40 billion in tax dollars will be saved by American taxpayers with Obama's plan towards financial responsibility.