Reporters know that local convenience stores are often good places to go for sources. For example, if there's a flood or wildfire, go to a nearby 7-Eleven and you'll likely find someone who's been impacted by the disaster. Or if there's controversy in the area, you stand a good chance of finding people talking about it at the local convenience store hangout.
Last week I got a story out of a convenience store visit. I was actually delivering newspapers on one of the delivery routes (I occasionally have to fill in on the route. It's fun to do it occasionally.) and a guy walked in. All the workers there exclaimed that he was back from Baghdad.
I didn't have time to find out more about him then, but I mentioned it to my editor later in the day. He likes to get soldier stories in the paper, so he wanted me to pursue it. I knew that the workers knew the guy, so I called the store and had his name and his mother's phone number in minutes. Shortly after that, I'd spoken to his aunt, who told me when to reach him. Two days later I caught up with him for an interview. Turns out he was not one of the soldiers we'd been following closely, which was nice. He'd been mentioned before in the paper, but this was the first story focused on him.
I was pleased to find out when I talked to the soldier that he's in the Air Force. My dad was in the Air Force Reserve, so I was able to draw on my knowledge of that part of the military to relate to him. When he mentioned his South Dakota base, I could say, "That's a bomber base, right?" That kind of thing helps the interviewee loosen up and talk.
Anyhow, I had a good interview and put together a decent story which became this week's lead story on the front page. You can read the story here. (Note: The link will only be good through Wednesday.) Also, he supplied me with a nice photo of him at work, which can be seen here. (Note: This link will also only be good through Wednesday. And the photo credit is incorrect.)
The moral of the story: You never know where or how you'll find a story. This started with the simplest of comments. I just happened to overhear it.
Posted by JRC at April 15, 2005 12:39 PM | TrackBack