Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Looking for story angles that will be interesting.

When I chose my topic, I initially thought it would be fairly easy to come up with story ideas. Unfortunately, finding out-of-the-ordinary stories has been much harder than anticipated so far. At this point, I am going to persevere with my topic because I feel there has to be bigger stories out there, and if I am going to find them, I need to work harder. My greatest pitfall so far has been a lack of information on the Internet. So far, there has been virtually no information relating to any of the companies I want to include in the project. I'm the type of person who likes to get background information if I can before I meet someone I want to interview. This way I don't embarrass myself by asking an obvious awkward question. After finally realizing the Internet is not my greatest resource, I have decided to venture out to the businesses on my next free day, Thursday. If I can't have help come to me, I need to do something greater to kick start my flow of information.

In all fairness, I did find a few interesting articles online through the Towson Times website. Several years ago, the newspaper did an article on road construction on York Road. I am planning on talking to the owners of Harry Little's, a sub shop that sits in a strip mall off of York Road, up from Towson University. The shop has been in business for years, but these days, it is struggling to stay open, according to a family friend who knows the owner. Not only have customers opted to go to chain restaurants such as Panera Bread and Chipotle, but Harry Little's location has also been a deterrent to business. According to the previously mentioned article, construction on York Road really hurt the tiny restaurant several years ago. People already have a hard time parking on that part of York Road, but the construction left almost no room at all. I believe it said Harry Little lost about 40% of it's business at the time.

While this may not be a full story, this could be a start. It would be interesting to know if business ever picked up again afterwards, and if they did not, how the restaurant to is still open.

1 comment:

TL said...

"At this point, I am going to persevere with my topic because I feel there has to be bigger stories out there, and if I am going to find them, I need to work harder." Yep, the best stories are typically the ones that take the most work. I'm sure there are some good ones in your package waiting to be told.