GREENSBURG, Kan. – As Day Two of the Greensburg Rebirth Project dawned, I couldn’t help but feel excited.
Sure, I didn’t go to sleep on a hard floor in a hallway without a pillow until 1:30 a.m. because I was getting all the group members set up with blogs and making other updates to the Web site, and I was woke up by 7 a.m. by the volunteer group getting ready to begin their work for the day. Even so, I was pumped for the start of a new day.
The energy among the project members is palpable.
Everyone in the group is on fire for journalism. They love what they are doing, and they are pumped and chomping at the bit to get out their and do journalism.
I love being around those kind of people.
Working as a one-man show for The Ledger, I don’t get to be around other journalists very often, so I can’t get enough of these people.
Several of the group members are working on some incredible stories, and it makes me want to hit the streets and pound the pavement as I gather a few stories of my own.
I haven’t got to do that yet, but I will after a few Web projects I am working on get fully off the ground. The bigger problem will be remembering all the stories I want to do and having time to get them done.
Similarly, I wish I could give you a full rundown of what stories different group members are chasing right now, but nearly everyone is working on at least three, which means I have no idea who is doing what.
The only people with somewhat of a handle on that is Les Anderson, the Wichita State University professor who is teaching the class, and project developer Cort Anderson, who is co-owner of the Identis, LLC Web company.
But really, it doesn’t matter what stories are being chased because everyone is skilled and all stories are more than worth telling, so every piece is going to be great. I can’t wait to read them.
I am so stoked to be in Greensburg, and I know the rest of this week will be great because the project is really going to start gaining momentum today.
Hopefully by tomorrow morning at the very latest some content will be available at www.greensburgrebirth.com. I urge you to check the site often and see what great stories this group of skilled journalists is going to crank out.
I must admit that I was a bit surprised by my excitement upon waking up this morning, especially since I worked on this same project last year. I should have been prepared for it.
But like I said before, this year isn’t the same.
Not only am I now a working professional and using vacation time to be here in western Kansas, but the entire vibe is different, especially with the group.
Everyone got along great last year, but this everyone seems to be clicking even more. Maybe that’s just my perception because I feel really comfortable personally, but I truly believe this group is going to work great together over the course of the next two weeks.
Again, I am really fired up. Community journalism is great because it delves into the stories that larger media outlets ignore, which means community journalism gives attention that is deserved regardless of what type of story it is, and it is so refreshing to be around others who feel the same way.
Keep checking in on how the project is going because I assure you it is going to accomplish some great things and tell the true stories of how Greensburg is coming back from destruction.
Todd, I really enjoyed the energy of your post. You are right; it’s a great group and this is a chance to do real-world joournalism! Pass along high fives to the students and tell them to have fun for me!
Dan