Brennan Bordonaro- #2: Interview & Storytelling; Goal Setting

The Craft of Storytelling by Brian Reed, highlights many important aspects of constructing a well thought out and interesting story. Out of all that he said, the fact that "the stakes really drive the story" really sticks as an important thing to keep in mind going forward through our story. He also talks about how important the stakes in a story are because of the lack of direction or importance without them. "There is some question that keeps you listening" This expands my thinking in ways that I haven't previously put much thought into, this being how we keep the story going and what is the best way to drive it forward. Another thing that he talked about was that action, reflection, and stakes are the three largest and most important aspects. Thinking about the story of Dispatch Cuts while keeping this in mind, I am confident in the fact that we should be able to include all three of them into the weaving of the story. The final thing that I took away from this video is that “Every story should speak to something larger than itself” The interview with Brandon Stanton posed many different concepts and ideas that stretch my initial thoughts about how to compose a story. One of the things that was brought up was to allow the person that you are talking to, to tell the story and not to draw any conclusions during the interview.

Going back and reading the rest of the groups first blog posts, I have noticed many good ideas and a few different and valid points that were raised. Emily raised the point that “No one has done what we want to do. In order to accomplish much of anything we need to do more than look on the easy-access internet.” This couldn’t be more true and as it stands, I think this will be one of if not the most difficult challenge over the course of this. I was thinking about it today in anticipation of mentioning it in this post, but it seems Brynna already raised the point that   “our next step will be to come together digitally and come up with a list of powerful questions to ask these people.” I am in the process of brainstorming questions for interviews. Because of the lack of readily available research, I think it could be difficult to have enough questions for the first interview to get a good amount of footage. I am hoping to collaborate with the rest of the group and see if we can come up with one default list of questions so to speak for interviews. The next step I think is to be continuing with contacting different people for interviews. I do have the Granville Fire Chief (Daniel) on board for an interview, so as soon as a good list of questions comes up I think an interview could take place at anytime.

http://videos.theconference.se/brian-reed-the-craft-of-storytelling
https://storycorps.me/interviews/brandon-stanton-and-dave-isay/
"Dispatch Cuts in VT." : Emily Pecsok. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
"Dispatch Cuts in VT." : Blog Post 1: What More Am I Understanding About This Topic? N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

Emily Pecsok- #2: Interview & Storytelling Techniques; Goal Setting

Part 1: Interview and Storytelling Techniques

When trying to understand the “Art of Storytelling” better, I watched a video from Brian Reed called “The Craft of Storytelling”. Reed mentioned the three main parts of storytelling: action, reflection, and stakes.

Action is just what it sounds like, action in the story. The story being pulled along by the motion in it. Reed pointed out that without action in the story, the story goes nowhere. So, in our story that we are telling we need to give the motion of the story, we need to explain where this story came from, where it is now, where it’s going, and the transition between each point; because without that motion, it’s just a bunch of words, that don’t really come together to mean anything.

Reed also mentions reflection, how at the end of the story, the teller should just say reflect about the story, so the audience can really understand what’s going on in the person’s mind. That won’t work as well in our case because we are trying to be unbiased and if we reflect with how we feel than we could start becoming completely biased. However, at the end or near the end of the documentary, we could ask a question that we are wondering. I am not sure exactly what that would sound like, but it could potentially be good for the story.

Stakes were also mentioned. They are essentially the “main question” that’s driving the story forward. In a book or a TV show the stakes could be, "Are these to people going to get together?", "Are they going to win the war?", "Are they going to save Artimé?". Without the stakes, what’s the point?

Lastly, at the end, Reed said, “Every story should speak to something larger than itself...[a story should] make a larger point about human experience, and about the world.” That really spoke to me. It made me realize what the we want this documentary, this story, to do. We don’t just want to tell the story, we want to make the story larger than what it seems. I am not currently sure what that exactly looks like in our story, but I know that it will create the story we are looking for.

Part 2: Goal Setting

After meeting with my group and reading their blogs, I am really understanding what they think about this project. First, in the first paragraph of Brennan's blog, he wrote, “What I would really like to continue with is going down as many different paths and keep the project from snowballing into something that becomes difficult to handle” (Bordonaro 1). I really agree with Brennan here because we all seem to be really ambitious people, and we have a great idea, but if we do too much, we’ll end up with something we can’t handle, and therefore end up with not the best we could do.

Additionally, multiple people have mentioned that it will be hard to be unbiased when doing our interview, but we really must. We all have a very strong opinion, but we must keep those opinions to ourselves while we are doing our interview because even though we are only in eighth and tenth grade, we are still going in as professionals.

Lastly, when we were meeting, we all agreed that it will probably be difficult to interview people, because they may not take us seriously. When we email someone very high up on the chain, they are much less likely to respond to us than WCAX, for example, because we are just kids. We really have to prove to them that we are not just kids, and we know what we are doing.

Over the next few weeks, I think we really want to email people to interview, plan and prep for interviews, and schedule interviews. We could possibly interview someone by then, but I highly doubt it, because we want to know what we are looking for before we interview anyone. We are meeting on Tuesday, and I assume then we can create a baseline email and then email everyone we want to interview. Then, we should plan the questions we want to ask. It is highly convenient that we are all in the ACSU school district because we are capable of meeting easily.

Emily Pecsok - #1: What and How am I Thinking about my Shared Topic?

The topic of Dispatch Cuts in Vermont is very new to me, but it is also very interesting. Within the past two weeks I have learned about more specifics on the topic and understood it better. On Friday the thirteenth, our group met and discussed our future plan.

Currently we know that there are two dispatch centers in Vermont in Rockingham and Williston after the ones in Rutland and Derby closed. We also know that about 48 people were fired/quit and only 10 new people were hired. That’s basically all we know.

During the meeting we discovered that the answers we are looking for are not simply on the internet. No one has done what we want to do. In order to accomplish much of anything we need to do more than look on the easy-access internet. The information we need is not there. The information we need is in the people who made this decision and the people who are affected by this decision. In order to go anywhere with this topic we must contact people, or else we will have little to no information.

While we were meeting on Friday, our team came up with a list of people to contact and hopefully interview. The list includes: Michael Desrochers--Division director for vermont department of public safety, Keith Flynn--Commissioner of public safety, Mark Higley--VT Republican Representative, Steve Howard--Executive Director of VT State Employee Association, April Burbank--Reporter for the Burlington Free Press, Ed Dumas--Rutland Town Police Chief, Ted Washburn--Rutland Town Police Captain, Peter Shumlin--Governor, Ben O’Brien--President of Professional Firefighters of VT, Daniel Sargeant--Granville Fire Chief has experienced serious delays with dispatch cuts, Nick Sheehan--dispatcher from Rutland, David Richard Jr.--Captain of Rutland Town Fire Department, Mike Donoghue--Burlington Free Press Reporter, and Erin Mansfield--VT Digger. These people are the people that are going to help us find the story and tell the story. Without these people, there is no story. All these people had something to do with the story, whether they made the decision, were immediately affected by the decision, or have shared the solution.

Our group has decided that we will meet again this Friday and discuss who exactly we are going to email and what we are going to say. The next step is then to actually schedule the interviews and figure out what we are going to do at the interviews, what we are going to say, etc.

Overall, the topic our group has chosen is new, so we are the ones who are going to figure out the story, not the internet. Because of that, I really like our topic, it affects all people and it’s not an easy one to do because it’s never been done before. which is good, because why bother to do it if it’s already been done?

Works Cited

Crawford, Logan. "1st Vt. 911 Dispatch Center to Close within 45 Days." - WCAX.COM. N.p., 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

This article/video states which dispatch centers are closed and some people who made the decision.

O'Brien, Ben. "Firefighters Union Opposes Cuts to PSAP/Dispatch Centers | VTDigger." VTDigger. N.p., 09 Mar. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

This article essentially sums up the predicted results of this decision.

"Office of Justice Programs." Vermont State Administering Agencies. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

This website has many people involved in the decision and their emails/phone numbers.

Shoshana Tieyah Group Blog #2: Interview & Storytelling; Goal Setting

Part 1

This blog will help me to make a better interview. From Brian Reed I learned that to make a good story you need to use action, reflection and stakes. What Brian Reed said that I really liked was: “… action, reflection and stakes. [If you] Put together, these become really powerful. But you also need to think about motion when telling a story, as this will pull people forward and make them actually listen.” These key ideas that Brian discusses help make a great story because they can make a story appealing to the audience and make them want to continue to listen. What I learned from Ira is that we can learn from a terrible start. “We think Ira’s failures will give you hope.” What Ira has taught me is that the best stories and talents start off rough but start to progress and get better over time. The last item I want to point out is from the Foley Center.  The Foley Center teaches us to make a future, people will like to learn about using information we know from the past.

Part 2

After looking at my group members’ blogs, I came up with the following ideas that might come in handy later on in our project.

Some ideas that I found and like from my group members’ blogs were:  “A lot of the sources that came up focused on Vermont State Police dispatchers. In a way this is good, because we're launching into an issue that hasn't even reached the public eye yet!” ( Brynna Kearns). When Brynna went to look up articles on dispatch cuts, she found that a lot of the articles were on Vermont State Police dispatchers. This could really give us a lead, because, then we know who the dispatch cuts really affect in this whole operation. Some other ideas that I liked from my group members’ blogs was that, even though we don’t know much about the dispatch cuts, we can still work towards finding an answer.

Some challenges that might stump us in our research are challenges that I found by reading some of my group’s blogs. Some challenges we might face are: “...we discovered that the answers we are looking for are not simply on the internet. No one has done what we want to do. In order to accomplish much of anything we need to do more than look on the easy-access internet. The information we need is not there. The information we need is in the people who made this decision and the people who are affected by this decision.” (Emily Pecsok). What I think Emily is saying is that it might be hard to find resources on the internet and it might be helpful to speak directly with the people affected.

Some other challenges we might face are “...to contact the people that might be helpful such as whether or not to stick to email or to email and call etc…” (Brennan Bordonaro). This might be a challenge because when interviewing we need to know when and where to meet the people. Without any idea if the people we want to interview are ready to speak to us, we need to figure out how to contact them.

Brennan Bordonaro- #1: Evolving Thoughts on Our Shared Topic

My thinking about this topic still intrigues me and I want to know more. The complexity of my ideas has changed because I am continuing to learn more and realizing the depth of my misunderstanding as well. What I would really like to continue with is going down as many different paths and keep the project from snowballing into something that becomes difficult to handle. I would like to spend time with the emergency service members who have such strong opinions and are most directly affected. Although I want to continue with this I feel like I also need to back up and go at it with less of a personal opinion. That could potentially influence who I talk to but I will continue trying to stay on even ground and not jump to any conclusions.

Many sources show different aspects of what is going on here such as the belief that service will not be affected. But despite what some have said about the benefits that could be obtained and lack of risk. others such as the VSEA claim that the risks are great and point to local knowledge of an area that proves to be invaluable at many times.

As a group we have discussed many different things, most of them being about what the next step should or could potentially be. Some of the things that we explored were people to talk to, for this we made a list. We also talked about how to contact the people that might be helpful such as whether or not to stick to email or to email and call etc… I sent a message to the Granville fire chief asking if he would at some point like to get on camera and maybe just highlight some of the issues and express his concern over it. Moving forward I am planning on continuing to contact people. Hopefully, getting replies from some of the people higher up on the decision making chain shouldn’t be too difficult.

Emily said it well when she said  “I think that it will be difficult to actually figure out exactly what to do, and exactly what the story is.” I really agree with what she said because it is the kind of topic that has many sides to it and the story of it hasn’t been documented enough to provide a clear path on where to go. As a group I think we have a really good grasp on what we are planning on doing and what types of things are left to investigate. By our next meeting I hope that we are able to have a few people respond to us and if we are lucky, prepare for interviews with some of these people.

"Proposed Dispatch System Would Cut Costs, Jobs." Burlington Free Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

"Help Save Vermont's 911 Emergency Dispatch Centers! | Vermont State Employees Association." Emergency Dispatch Centers! N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

After researching a little bit I am starting to have some ideas. After looking at some of the websites about dispatch cuts I am starting to understand this topic a bit more. What I have learned from some of these articles and that really interests me is the reason people are cutting jobs is to save about $1.7 million.  Another thing I found that was interesting was from the Burlington Free Press: “The November 2013 state police report said they were providing free dispatching to about 50 fire departments, 25 rescue squads, 29 municipal police departments and 25 towns that use constables to patrol their communities.”  One of the last things that really worried me was when the Burlington Free Press said that people were trying to connect someone on the radio when they were near a shooting.  Two men were trying to connect help but the radio system wouldn’t work so they couldn’t contact anyone. I think we should work on helping dispatchers here in our area.

Some things that are interesting to me at the moment is why the dispatcher company is cutting jobs. I think it is a bit mean to get rid of a person’s job. Another question that goes along with this, is why are these people getting rid of these jobs just so they can save $1.7 million. I just don't think it makes sense for people to get rid of paying jobs to save some money. These things are on my mind and I was thinking about what might happen if more jobs are cut. If we get rid of dispatchers don’t we also get rid of our only contact to the emergency system? What would happen if the whole dispatching cuts gets cut? Then we won’t have a connections to the emergency system.

What I would like to learn about this topic is why are dispatching jobs being cut. I hope to find the answer while researching more into this topic. I went to look at other blog posts my group posted, and I found a really interesting question that Emily asked: “Because of that, I really like our topic, it affects all people and it’s not an easy one to do because it’s never been done before. which is good, because why bother to do it if it’s already been done?” I liked this question because it really goes along the lines of this whole topic and this whole program. Why do something that already has been solved? If we work hard enough then we can find a solution to the dispatch cuts here in Vermont. If we work hard towards this goal then we can make a big difference in Vermont.

Blog Post 1: What More Am I Understanding About This Topic?

Two weeks ago I was very unfamiliar with this topic. I had a vague understanding of the importance of this issue after reading Brennan's blog, but other than that I was completely new to this. To be honest I still am getting familiar with this. I'd spent sometime online reading about what a dispatcher's job is and how their role can positively impact a community's wellness. I think it will be important to briefly explain to our audience what a dispatcher does and how their job is contributing to saving lives before jumping into the issue.When I was researching online I came across some articles, but not many. A lot of the sources that came up focused on Vermont State Police dispatchers. In a way this is good, because we're launching into an issue that hasn't even reached the public eye yet! We're going to be the ones to make this issue stand out! There was a WCAX article that create a good starting point for us. We were able to accumulate a list of people we could potential contact for future interviews, and Brennan was able to get in touch with the Granville fire chief, Daniel Sargeant who agreed to a future interview. I think our next step will be to come together digitally and come up with a list of powerful questions to ask these people. Each question should trigger a thoughtful response from the person we're interviewing. I'm interested in hearing the opposing side of this argument. I want to interview a handful of people who are in agreement with the decision to make the dispatcher cuts. I think listening to their ideas and opinions will be helpful to us because then we can look for way to counter their argument and make ours look stronger and more convincing in the documentary. In the future, would like to learn more about what the money saved in dispatcher cuts will be used for. For our audience. I want to analyze the pros and cons of this new thing that's being funded with whatever money was saved in the cuts, and hopefully that will push them to be in agreement with our stance on the dispatcher cuts (which is against them, obviously). I'm very interested in getting first hand accounts of the situation through various interviews, I think that this will be the most effective way to get accurate information on this issue. I'm very excited to be interviewing Mr. Sargeant, because he has experienced delays with the new dispatchers, and I think his opinions will be important to the project. I'm also interested in in reaching out to Steve Howard, the Executive Director of the Vermont Employee Association, because I think he will not only have an useful opinion of the topic of dispatcher cuts, but I think he will also most likely be able to get us in touch with some people who may have lost their job as a dispatcher as a result of the cuts. We have both phone numbers and emails for most of the people on our list, and so getting in touch with these people. Our plan was that we would send out emails first, and if we don't get a reply then we would resort to calling them. I look forward to continuing this project, I will continue working on potential interview questions, and trying to find more people for us to interview at some point in the near future.