Serendipity Strikes!

You never know where you'll find a news story -- especially if you keep your journalistic radar up and remember to focus on all six core questions of the journalistic mantra (who, what, when, where, why, and how) and choose creatively among them.

Serendipity is, I think, the unheralded goddess of journalism. Here's how she smiled upon me this week...

As I mentioned before, the strip of boggy open space behind my neighborhood (literally in my backyard)  is known locally as "Skeeter Hell." Dealing with various departments within the City of Boulder, CO in past years has led to plenty of frustration and little to no successful mosquito abatement. Through a serendipitous coincidence, we recently managed to quickly discover and arrange an interesting solution to part of the problem.

You see, the ground in Skeeter hell remains perpetually soggy during the summer thanks to the lush, dense overgrowth -- tallk grass and weeds, including many non-native species local environmental officials have been trying to eradicate for years, with limited success. Mosquito larvae don't need much water or time to hatch, grow, and mature. Soggy ground meets their needs about as well as a stagnant pond. Where overgrowth is dense, sunlight can't penetrate and dry the ground. Thus, the ground itself can become a mosquito nursery.

Due to environmental concerns, the city goverment is reluctant to spray simply for a nuisance mosquito problem. (No West Nile Virus has yet been detected in Skeeter Hell.) Similarly, many local homeowners are averse to spraying.

While walking Skeeter Hell with a city official last week, my neighbor Deborah Hopkins (the local leader on this issue, and a member of our HOA board) wondered whether we might have some of the most dense overgrowth mowed or grazed. She even suggested goats. The city official thought that might be a viable option.

It just so happened that, a couple of days later and just a quarter mile away, the city had hired local goatherd Laura Lou Colby of Golden Hooves to graze a few acres of city land. When Colby arrived on the job site, she learned that there was far less forage available than anticipated. Her 414 goats needed more food, and moving the goats by truck is stressful for the goats and goatherd alike. Colby was dismayed at the thought of moving her flock after only a day or two of sparse grazing.

My husband and I learned of Colby's situation when we were out for a stroll a couple of days ago. Her goats were corralled and munching away right next to the bike path. Remembering the conversation with the city official that Hopkins had recounted to me only the day before, we decided to stop and chat with Colby to see how one went about hiring a herd of grazing goats.

Colby has worked on grazing projects in and around Boulder for about two years, and already had many contacts with the city. Spying an opportunity to feed her goats for several days, literally within walking distance (even for a goat), she quickly called her city contacts, checked out the terrain for suitability, and arranged a grazing job -- all within a couple of days.

Today, those goats are grazing within sight of my house. I kid you not! (Yes, baaaaaaaad pun intended.)

...A FUN STORY, BUT IS IT JOURNALISM?

It could be. The key is to figure out which part of the journalistic mantra to focus on.

A story based on the "what" or "where" of this happening ("Goats Graze Local Field") is not much of a story. Likewise, the "who" and "when" aren't especially compelling.

In contrast, "how" and "why" yield intriguing story potential:

• HOW: Local residents, after repeated lack of success with local bureacruacy, switched tactics and focused on face-to-face meetings to discuss the mosquito problem. Where possible, face-to-face communications were used instead of phone and e-mail (which dominated previous attempts). This was a critical key to success, and yielded vital creativity and camaraderie toward problem-solving. Such strategic information could be relevant to any local issue. Drawing that connection to the bigger picture gives this goat story more "legs."

• WHY: Grazing was a creative and environmentally benign solution to a number of problems of concern to the city government and local residents: West Nile Virus (a top concern with any mosquito breeding area), invasive plant species (goats particularly love the bushy seedheads of some of our most virulent local botanical invaders), non-chemical pest management, efficient use of city funds and resources -- and, of course, getting the local mosquito nuisance under control.

TURNING IT INTO A STORY -- AND FINDING A NEW STORY

Sometime in the next couple of days I will write up a short news story on this topic for MyTown, the community news site offered by our local paper, the Daily Camera. The angle will focus on the "how" and "why" outlined above.

Plus it will have a very exciting sidebar, or perhaps a separate story. This is a direct result of serendipity in the field.

While Hopkins and I were out in the field this morning, interviewing Colby and learning more about the project, a woman walking her two dogs and baby on the city path across the creek from the grazing area lost control of one of her dogs. The large black dog bounded across the shallow South Boulder Creek and into the grazing area, chasing and terrifying the goats.

Colby, Hopkins and I immediately ran across the field to the herd, trying to get the dog back under control. The dog's owner merely stood on the other side of the creek, calling her dog to no avail. The dog lunged at several goats but fortunately did not catch any. (Colby later explained that a dog can easily and quickly kill a goat). Goats also can be injured in a stampede, so merely being chased represents a danger to the goats.

Eventually we were able to wrangle the dog back across the creek, and we had some cross words with the owner. You should see the scratches on my legs from running through thistles in shorts. Don't let anyone tell you journalism isn't a bloody business.

After this escapade, Hopkins observed that it touched on significant a local controversy: This dog was not on a leash when it bolted.

On several city trails, dogs are allowed to be walked off-leash, but only if they are under "voice control." Many dog owners misunderstand or ignore this provision, which is intended to protect wildlife and livestock. I'm thinking it would be interesting to describe this event, and do a bit more digging into the voice-control controversy to create another story.

This happens a lot in journalism -- one story leads to another.

WHAT ABOUT INDEPENDENCE IN REPORTING?

All of this, of course raises the cornerstone journalism ethics issue of independence.

In this case, Hopkins and I are directly involved in trying to solve the local mosquito problem. Can I cover a story in which I'm involved? I think so, provided I adhere scrupulously to transparency and objectivity in my coverage.

I realize that others (perhaps even Adam Glenn) disgaree with me on this. That's good, I'm sure we can start an interesting, lively, and educational discussion about it. I'll explore this ethical quandary more in future postings. But if you have thoughts on this issue for now, please feel free to comment below.

...Stay tuned for more on the goat story. I'm thinking of "How One Neighborhood Got Its Goats" for a headline. Whadya think?

Comments

[A. Adam Glenn]

Amy wonders about the issue of independence in writing about this story, in which she and a local community leader are involved.

I wouldn't worry if what's she's talking about is approaching the incident in the way a columnist or editorial writer might. That is, in a clear first-person voice showing her involvement and viewpoint. In that form, it makes a fine piece of citizen journalism (or any journalism).

On the other hand, I wouldn't suggest a journalist try to write a straight, "impartial" news account of an event in which he or she were directly involved. As Amy suggests, without the transparency, that would be less than honest.

Let's not forget that newspaper columnists or editorial writers can be as much a journalist as the folks that fill the regular news pages. I wouldn't say the two are indistinguishable, and there are problems with switching between the two forms, but they're definitely both practicing journalism. So why not say the same of citizen journalists with a point a view?

[Amy Gahran]

Those are good points, Adam. Let's take this discussion a bit further.

Are you saying that since I was involved in helping neighbors address the mosquito problem, and I helped bring the local goatherd into the picture, that I do not have sufficient independence to write a news story about how my neighborhood is addressing the skeeter problem?

My Take: Personally, I think I *could* -- provided that I adhered scrupulously to the ethic of transparency (including full disclosure).

Here's the thing: There are damn few journalists out there covering local or niche news. It's very like that, in terms of a portion of the population, there will be damn few people interested in doing citizen journalism.

I foresee that in many (if not most cases) the people who will be most motivated to face the challenges and demands of citizen journalism will be people who will already be interested or involved in a topic to some extent. Why should these people be excluded from doing journalism, as long as they strive for objectivity, balance, and offer full disclosure of their own involvement? Seems like putting the ethical cart before the horse, to me.

Thoughts?

- Amy Gahran