Week Two Blog Post

Topic One: Biggest  Challenge

I had one major challenge appear while working on my Young Democrats Club story. I had set up a meeting with the club advisor, president, and a regular member. Unfortunately, the meeting was unexpectedly postponed at the last minute. For my next story, I will definitely have a plan B story, just in case something derails my original idea. Also, I will make sure to get the email addresses of each of the sources that I plan to interview. This will come in handy, if by chance, the meeting is canceled. If it is canceled, I'll be able to email them my questions. Although I have not yet conducted any interviews, I know that it will be a learning experience. After discussing in class about how to carry out a successful interview, I've come to the conclusion that interviewing people is a skill that must be honed over time and also practiced frequently.

Topic Two: "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face"
The most interesting story I have read so far in Edna Buchanan's "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face" has to be about former race car driver Christopher Wilder. Wilder was a serial rapist and killer, who went on an 8,000 mile journey to kill and rape as many attractive looking women as possible. By the time his brutal quest was over, Wilder had brutally impacted the lives of eleven young women. Eight of them were either killed or went missing. One of them survived, but only after Wilder poured hot glue into her eyes. One of them escaped after being tortured. Lastly, one women came home unscathed after Wilder put her on a plane that flew to her hometown. Wilder's trek finally ended after he was shot during a scuffle with two New Hampshire state policemen. A quote I thought both summed up this story and also the unfairness of life is "But Police did arrest somebody in this tragic case- the heartbroken parents of Rosario Gonzalez. Unable to restrain themselves any longer, they went to Wilder's home on Mother's Day, seeking some trace of their daughter, missing then for two and a half months. Officers collared them. The charge: trespassing. Prosecutors later dropped the case." Wilder may have felt pain when he was shot to death, but the pain that Rosario Gonzalez's parents felt was much worse, and it lasts forever.
Edna Buchanan's book is not only an iconic work in the true crime genre, but it is also a great book for aspiring journalists. An attentive reader can find many useful tips in Buchanan's stories. For example, Buchanan was writing a story about a Haitian cab driver who was shot four times yet still refused to give up the 79 dollars that the assailant wanted. When Buchanan arrived at the victim's house, the victim's family went out to greet her. During the middle of Buchanan's interview with the family, it started to rain. Buchanan began to turn towards her vehicle when she realized that it wouldn't be fair to have the family stand in the rain while she sat in the comfort of her car. Because of Buchanan's decision to stay, the family became less guarded towards her, and gave Buchanan information they may have otherwise not divulged. After reading about this event in Buchanan's book, I now know that it is important and beneficial to get to know your source. If the source feels that they can trust you, they might be more forthcoming with information that could be crucial to your story.