Obama Speech Story

This story was very wide open and for some time I was having trouble figuring out what I wanted to report about. I wanted to really bring a voice to the people in my neighborhood on an issue that is both contemporary and taboo. Obama talked about race, but underneath his discussion of such, his message was about how America is what it is because there are so many kinds of people here, living and coexisting together. The experience of minorities in America is an interesting one, and I wanted to get people talking about sexual orientation in America. When I went out, my focus was to get honest discussion of what people thought about gay people, relationships, movements, and the gay community. I also wanted to relate their ideas to politics. Since Staten Island recently elected its first openly gay state assemblymen, I asked people what they thought about that.

In general, I think I got a lot of honest opinion. Although some people seemed a little filtered, and others comfortable. I had a lot of concerns about reporting on this story, because although I am gay, I didn't want to bring myself into the story. I was concerned that if people perceived me as such, then I wouldn't get honest opinions, or that their reactions might be harsh, etc. So I suppose it was in issue of figuring out how to report on a topic that is all very personal, while trying to remain unbiased as a journalist. However, most people were willing to discuss the issue and I was happy to talk to them.