Week 2: Number One Phan

My second assignment at the Inky marked my first cold door-knocking experience. I had to track down a hit-and-run victim who suffered minor injuries outside the previous night's Phillies game. The hook? He was 91-years-old. I got ahold of his name and contact information, called to make sure he was home and  took an hour-long drive out to the suburbs to find out his story.
I'll admit, I was a bit nervous. When I first called, it sounded like the victim and his wife were not interested in an interview. Sometime in the interim, they changed their minds. When I arrived, the victim was decked out in his Phillies gear in his kitchen, which was also decorated with Phillies memorabilia. In the wooden door frame that opened to the garage, two tickets for that night's game were secured. It turned out not even a hospital visit would deter this man, a season ticket-holder, from making it to the game. I had myself a story!

That assignment taught me that it ALWAYS pays to go to the source in journalism. Sometimes you feel like a nusance, but it is almost always worth it to take the gamble. If I hadn't knocked on his door, I wouldn't have discovered the colorful details that helped me land the story on A1.

Week 1

       In my first week at the Inquirer, I had the pleasure of covering a naturalization ceremony presided by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the Constitution Center in Old City. The ceremony was part of the 224th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. I began my day on the roof of the Center, at a pep rally in which O'Connor lead a crowd of high school students in a recitation of the Preamble. Next was a closed door press conference where O'Connor and city officials outlined the state of civic education in the United States, which apparently isn't so great.
     My favorite part of the day was the naturalization ceremony. I interviewed close to 10 new citizens, who had immigrated from India, Liberia and some former Soviet countries. It was heartening to hear their stories and their successful path to citizenship.
        After a quick lunch,  I followed the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice to a South Philly Middle School, where she was promoting her new civic education computer program. I got to interview some of the school's newly elected student council members, who were sworn in by Justice O'Connor during her visit. All in all, a great first assignment.

Here's the final product:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20110918_O_Connor_helps_Philadelphia_celebrate_Constitution_s_224th_anniversary.html