Project Memo

Upon completing this multi-media project, I became aware of a few things that helped me, as well as a few things that I wish I would have done, and advise future online journalism students to do.

One thing that really helped me was outlining Bill Bundell's Six elements as they related to my project. Bill Bundell's six elements include: history, scope, central reasons, impact, gathering and action of contrary forces, and the future. Here is how I broke them down in relation to my project, before I began interviewing and developing my story.

BILL BUNDELL'S SIX ELEMENTS
History
- The Jets began training at the Hofstra's training camp in the 70's.
- The Jets have been training here for about 40 years.
- The Jets are leaving the training camp in 2009.

Scope
- The extent of the problem is that when the Jets leave the training camp at Hofstra's training camp; it is going to negatively affect local businesses in the Hempstead area.
- The people are affected are the local businesses in Hempstead, including: restaurants, hotels, colleges, etc.

Central Reasons
- This is happening because the Jets are leaving Hofstra's training camp in the spring of 2009.

Impact
- In this story, no one is really helped by this. The people that are hurt are the local businesses, because their profits are going to suffer. Business owners have a negative outlook to the move.

Gathering and Action of Contrary Forces
- There is really only one side in this story, and that is that the moving of the Jets training field is going to negatively affect local businesses.
- The conflict is that the Jets are moving their training field.
- There is nothing that can be done about it, the Jets are already set to move to New Jersey in spring of 2009.

The Future
- A medical school is going to be built where the Jets training field is.
- Businesses are going to have to find new ways to attract customers.

What I found also helped me was when I went to interview my sources, I first sat them down, and had a conversation with them about my central question, how do you feel your business will be affected when the Jets move from their training camp at Hofstra University? After explaining what I was mainly interested in, and having a conversation, it made it easier for me to know what sound bite I would want to use, to not speak at all during the filming of the interview, and it made my source more comfortable to answer infront of the camera.

Some problems I faced was that I did not realize that the project's due date was approaching so quick, and when I needed to do my stand up in the video, I was so sick and it was really hard to accomplish. I forced my self to do it because I knew I had to, but I would definitely take into consideration that you never know what is going to happen, so make sure you stay on top of things, and don't wait until the week before it's due, because who knows, you might get sick too! Another problem I faced was that when I interviewed my first source, he had given me the number of someone else who was willing to have me interview them. I called the guy and he said that he would definitely let me interview him, and that he would be in the area the next today, to just call him. But when I called, he never answered, or returned my call! So I ended up having to drive down Hempstead turnpike and get someone to let me interview them, but luckily, it worked out well in the end. It could have been a lot worse, so it's definitely important that you keep up on people that say they will let you interview them, because chances are they might not call you back. So also make sure you have a back-up!

Some other tips I would give is start the project early! Since you are editing the clips together, just do bits and pieces at a time. It will save you a lot of frustration at the end! Just do one part of the project at a time, and if you do that, it will all fall into place. Also, make sure that you remember to communicate with your classmates, because I found mine to be a big help. So that's it, I hope you enjoyed my project, and good luck with yours!