Profile/COVID-19 Feature – The Digital Connection

Pitch

Narrative feature story about how the COVID-19 virus outbreak in the United States has affected different people in Maine. I’d like to interview college students as well as healthcare professionals in order to get their take on adapting to the changes that come with preventing the spread of the virus. Maybe this would start off talking about the disease itself or how information about the outbreak has been developing through the media. In other words, how many people were joking about a pointless mass hysteria in the beginning but it soon developed into a serious thing when shutdowns started happening. Then I’d go into how different people’s lives have been impacted and then end with how people see the near future going.

Early Draft (outline+200 wd)

Bailey:

“My concern is that people will take is seriously for the first couple weeks and then will get (understandably) anxious to return to normal. But for that to happen sooner rather than later, we need to continue to be vigilant about following the guidance from the public health authorities and government officials.”

“I was grateful to be able to get home safely and I knew it was a good call. Even though I’m not at high risk for the virus, I knew it would have been irresponsible for me to go through our spring break plans because we could potentially put older and immunocompromised individuals at risk.”

“The night before I had to leave, my friends and I were at dinner and the idea of me going home early still seemed like a distant but real possibility. The next morning, I woke up to many missed calls and messages from my school [University of Maine] and family saying that I had to evacuate immediately.”

Brooklynn:

“Very scary because I go into a room and just have a little mask on that isn’t appropriate for COVID-19.

“They come in for something and then mention that their daughter just came back from Florida on a trip with her friends after two hours of being there already.”

“You’d think that I’m only worried about the patients, but some of the people I work with don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“We joked at the beginning, but things started shutting down and it got real.”

“I take off all my clothes as soon as I come home, put them all in the washer, put on a robe and head straight to the shower to use antibacterial soap in the shower to protect my brother.”

Michelle:

“I’m in a family that is affected by this in many different ways. We have a college student moving back home. I have to go to work in the healthcare field every day which makes it hard to keep the people I’m trying to keep at home safe. How can we keep my elderly parents and special needs nephew safe when not everyone can stay home?”

“Even though we are trying to distance ourselves and disinfect our houses a few times a day. It’s almost impossible in your own family, in your own household when two people have to work, to keep everybody safe.”
“one of the people I work with is on a ventilator at night, oxygen use, trach tube. He’s at very high risk.”

“I’m stressed because the picture we are relayed about what’s going on from the CDC is really a week behind.”

DRAFT

The outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States has forced many citizens to uproot their daily lives in order to adapt. Shortly after Italy was forced to lockdown their country, the U.S. is scrambling to keep the virus contained as it spreads viciously through the American population.

Updates have been flooding the news with developing updates daily and even hourly. Even just two weeks ago, there was next to nothing known about how the virus was going to affect the country.

Being a college student, I’m proud to say that I stay pretty aware of many things going on in the world. When we started to become aware of the issue moving to the U.S. many agreed that the resulting mass hysteria developing was pointless. Social media platforms were flooded with memes and jokes about the hysteria. However, reality soon set in when the spreading picked up.

At first, the COVID-19 outbreak didn’t seem to concern many people in my home state of Maine. The state seems to usually be pretty isolated, especially the rural areas where my parents live. Everyone at my school, University of New England, started to prepare for a possible outbreak in Maine. However, everyone was still planning on going on spring break and then coming back to start the semester normally at that point. Right when I started packing up for a week-long trip back home, the President of UNE emailed everyone to completely move out of the dorms and prepare for online instruction after spring break.

Workshop Draft

COVID-19 OUTBREAK HITS MAINE

The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States has spread to Maine causing the government, businesses, schools and even citizens to take action.

Updates have been flooding the news with developing updates daily and even hourly. Even just two weeks ago, there was next to nothing known about how the virus was going to affect the country.

I spoke to Brooklynn Alberts, college student and new healthcare worker, about reflecting on this. She said, “We joked at the beginning, but things started shutting down and it got real.”

That’s when reality started to really set in. College student, Bailey West, was studying abroad for the semester in Cork, Ireland when she found out about COVID-19. The process of coming to a decision of closure at her school in Ireland mirrored that of many schools. She was aware of the issue while it was taking over China, however, things were taken more seriously when the outbreak moved to Europe. She still had planned to stay in Ireland for the rest of the semester but those plans quickly changed.

“The night before I had to leave, my friends and I were at dinner and the idea of me going home early still seemed like a distant but real possibility. The next morning, I woke up to many missed calls and messages from my school [University of Maine] and family saying that I had to evacuate immediately.”

Like many college students studying abroad during this time, Bailey had to act quickly in order to get a flight back home to the United States. Upon returning to the states, she was required to be tested for the disease and was asked to self-quarantine herself for 14 days. It was stressful journey back home, but she’s happy with the decision. “I was grateful to be able to get home safely and I knew it was a good call. Even though I’m not at high risk for the virus, I knew it would have been irresponsible for me to go through our spring break plans because we could potentially put older and immunocompromised individuals at risk.”

When people started getting serious in Maine, grocery stores shelves started being stripped of necessities as people prepared for isolation. Not only colleges and schools, but other businesses started to announce closures because their services weren’t essential.

Countless people have now been laid off because of this and are forced to apply for unemployment and other financial assistance to care for their families. The state of emergency the country is now under has allowed governments to expand coverage for those people. However, some people are still forced to work and expose the people around them. These are people in our communities putting themselves out there to help everyone else. Healthcare workers are especially exposed to this virus.

Brooklynn just recently started her job at a hospital straight out of college. She’d just started her training a week before spring break when all the changes started to unfold. Even being there a short time has worried her about the preparedness of the hospital workers around her.

She notes that going to work is, “Very scary because I go into a room and just have a little mask and gloves on. They [patients] come in for something and then mention that their daughter just came back from a Florida trip with her friends after two hours of being there.”

Brooklynn feels underprepared to keep herself from contracting the virus as she works in the hospital. Some of that could be lack of equipment, however, many people are still not taking the virus precautions seriously. “You’d think that I’m only worried about the patients, but some of the people I work with don’t think it’s a big deal.” All parties involved in an interaction in a healthcare setting should be concerned about it in order to prevent it.

Brooklynn isn’t only worried about patients being exposed, but nurses spreading it outside of the hospital as well. She’s especially worried about spreading the virus to her special needs brother, Jordan, at home that is highly at risk of complications with COVID-19. Everyone in her family has changed their routine upon coming home from work in order to protect Jordan. “I take off all my clothes as soon as I come home, put them all in the washer, put on a robe and head straight to the shower to use antibacterial soap in the shower to protect my brother.”

I also spoke with Michelle Wilbur about how her live has been affected by COVID-19 in Maine. She is a mother and caretaker as well as a registered nurse working for a home health company.

“I’m in a family that is affected by the Corona Virus in a bunch of ways. We have a college student that moved back home. I have to go to work every day which makes it hard to keep the people I’m trying to keep at home safe. How can we keep my elderly parents and special needs clients safe when I can’t stay home?”

Her job is about going to the home of clients in order to care for a special needs child to give the parents time to rest or work. Every day she can’t help but expose these medically challenged children and their families because the United States hasn’t forced lock down. Some people still have to work which is making it impossible to stop the disease from spreading. She says, “One of the people I work with is on a ventilator at night, oxygen use, trach tube. He’s at very high risk.” The children she works with have medical impairments that wouldn’t allow them to fight the virus if they contracted it.

Overall, people are still constantly discussing what they believe the biggest issue here that keeps the virus spreading at an unbelievable speed. Governments and businesses are making changes to fix the issues, but some of them are out of their control at this moment. For instance, the updated flow of information to the public about preventing spread is just barely too slow to get ahead. Michelle notes, “I’m stressed because the picture we are relayed about what’s going on from the CDC is really a week behind.” Even if people were to get all the updated information in time, it will still be too late. People don’t start to get symptoms until a couple weeks after the exposure. So, if the state of Maine and even the country keep waiting to lock down, there’s no way to know when it will end.

What people need to do now is to take the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 seriously for as long as it’s an issue. Bailey notes, “My concern is that people will take is seriously for the first couple weeks and then will get (understandably) anxious to return to normal. But for that to happen sooner rather than later, we need to continue to be vigilant about following the guidance from the public health authorities and government officials.”

Revised Draft

COVID-19 VIRUS HITS MAINE

The COVID-19 virus spreading to Maine causes citizens to adapt quickly.

By. Vic Wilbur

April 3, 2020

When the media started being flooded with news of the COVID-19 virus spreading in the United States, many Mainers didn’t panic. However, updated information kept overwhelming media outlets. Which is causing citizens to adapt by uprooting their daily lives in order to stunt the spread of the virus. Everyone is affected by this, but some specific groups that are uniquely affected are college students and medical workers as well as their families.

Beginning Stages: Jokes to Shut-Downs

Being a college student often comes with being pretty aware of what’s going on in the world through constant discussion. It’s a unique community in this way that keeps updated on media and discusses issues as they come in. When college students at University of New England started to hear of the issue moving to the U.S., much of the discussion included jokes about a pointless mass hysteria. Social media platforms were flooded with memes and jokes about people overreacting. However, reality soon set in when the spreading picked up.

Brooklynn Alberts, who is a college student studying to be a Medical Assistant at Beal College in Bangor, Maine was part of the joking community who reposted countless memes on Facebook. “We joked at the beginning, but things started shutting down and it got real.”

College Students

On the surface, the state of Maine seems to usually be pretty isolated, especially the rural areas where Brooklynn lives. However, many colleges like the University of New England began to make small changes in preparation even before the first case showed up. These changes developed; everyone still planned on returning after spring break until Present Herbert sent the email. Every student was to move out of the dorms as soon as possible and shift to online instruction after break.

That’s when reality started to really set in for many students. College student, Bailey West, was studying abroad for the semester in Cork, Ireland when she found out about COVID-19. The process of coming to a decision of closure at her school in Ireland mirrored that of many schools. She was aware of the issue while it was taking over China, however, things were taken more seriously when the outbreak moved to Europe. She still had planned to stay in Ireland for the rest of the semester but those plans quickly changed.

“The night before I had to leave, my friends and I were at dinner and the idea of me going home early still seemed like a distant but real possibility. The next morning, I woke up to many missed calls and messages from my school [University of Maine] and family saying that I had to evacuate immediately.”

Like many college students studying abroad during this time, Bailey had to act quickly in order to get a flight back home to the United States. Upon returning to the states, she was asked to self-quarantine herself for 14 days. It was stressful journey back home, but she’s happy with the decision.

This is Serious: Maine Workers

Countless people have now been laid off because of this and are forced to apply for and wait weeks for unemployment and other financial assistance to care for their families. The state of emergency the country is now under has allowed governments to expand coverage for those people. However, some people are still forced to work and expose the people around them. These are people in our communities putting themselves out there to help everyone else. Healthcare workers are especially exposed to this virus.

Hospital Workers and Their Families

Brooklynn just recently started her job in the E.R. as a Medical Assistant at Waldo County General Hospital straight out of college. She’d just started her training a week before spring break when all the changes started to unfold. Even being there a short time has worried her about the preparedness of the hospital workers around her. She notes that working in a hospital during this time makes her uneasy.

“It’s very scary because I go into a room and just have a little mask and gloves on. They [patients] come in for something and then mention that their daughter just came back from a Florida trip with her friends after two hours of being there.”

Home Health Workers and Their Families

Michelle Wilbur works with Brooklynn’s brother and is eager to share how her life has been affected by COVID-19 in Maine to spread awareness. She is a mother and caretaker as well as a registered nurse working for a home health company.

Her job is about going to the home of clients in order to care for a special needs child to give the parents time to rest or work. Every day she can’t help but expose these medically challenged children and their families because the United States hasn’t forced lock down. Some people still have to work which is making it impossible to stop the disease from spreading. The children she works with have medical impairments that wouldn’t allow them to fight the virus if they contracted it.

She says, “One of the people I work with is on a ventilator at night, oxygen use, trach tube. He’s at very high risk.”

Concerns Moving Forward

Michelle notes, “I’m stressed because the picture we are relayed about what’s going on from the CDC is really a week behind.” Even if people were to get all the updated information in time, it will still be too late. People don’t start to get symptoms until a couple weeks after the exposure. Countless previously comfortable working Mainers have been forced to wait too long for unemployment checks. Causing them to get creative to care for their families.

What people need to do now is to take the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 seriously for as long as it’s an issue. However, the unknown amount of time it will take to get back to normal can be extremely frustrating. Bailey admits that she is worried that many citizens around her won’t listen to guidance from the CDC and Governor Mills for long.

Obstacles will continue to test the resilience of Maine residents throughout the summer, but many pray to move past this soon.

Workshop Experience

This just isn’t the same as our valuable in-class discussions. But it was nice to be able to read through everyone’s specific feedback and it was just as helpful I feel. I received a lot of great suggestions that I will definitely use in revision. First off, a couple people talked about how to improve my lead. I agree that it’s kind of representative of many other articles flooding the media right now. Someone suggested I start off with my personal experience of being relocated in order to draw the reader in more. I’ll probably alter my heading as well since the story is about more than just the virus spreading to Maine. It’s also important to note that I should definitely make sure to update this article before I pass it in to make sure it’s up to date. The COVID-19 situation changes by the day and even the hour so it’s important to have an article like this reflect those changes as needed. So, I will pay attention to that as well in revision. The last thing I’ll really focus on in revision is making sure the ending is strong. Maybe I could discuss how other states have been taking action vs how Maine is slowly reacting. Then about the possible repercussions of the slow moving action in Maine.

Editorial Team Reflection

The first thing that came up a lot throughout this round of peer review was suggestions on how to strengthen one’s headline and lead to draw the reader in. This is always the most important thing in journalism because if the reader isn’t interested from the very beginning, they aren’t likely to continue reading. Suggestions about these ranged from specifying the information to even making it more emotional to grab attention and have people relate more. It was nice to hear other people’s perspectives on each article. For example, someone’s lead could be aimed at people who already know the subject of the profile. However, a couple people noted that it wasn’t as interesting for people who didn’t know them. So suggestions of altering the perspective were really helpful. I learned that the lead ultimately acts as a thesis of the story.

Many editors, including me, also seemed to focus on the theme each story had this time. Especially for profile stories like these, I feel like it’s essential for the writer to decide on an overarching theme for the piece that drives it. If this isn’t strong, it’s easy for the writer to get off track and include some unnecessary information in that doesn’t quite connect with the rest of the story. This theme needs to be strong right from the lead in order to make the story as powerful as it can be.

One final thing I’ll note is that many people brought up the fact that it’s important to keep updating articles that feature timely information. For articles about COVID-19, the information is constantly changing. So, it’s important to remember that those articles would have to be updated if published which is a very real issue in journalism. If someone wanted to have an article that was more timeless, they could focus more on the stories of people instead of the information about COVID-19 itself. Many people commented on how some people should focus more on the people instead because the other factual information included was outdated or didn’t really fit. Some of them were about making sure writers don’t dwell too much on that information since it’s widespread already so they can focus on the unique perspectives of their sources. However, it’s still important to include some of that information, but keep it updated. Uniqueness will get more readers since the media is drowning in COVID-19 content.

Profile Story Reflection

I started this project out thinking everything would go as normal and I would interview my old internship boss so more people could hear about what she did for UNE. The first couple obstacles I faced had to do with conflicting schedules and spring break. So, I planned on interviewing my second choice after break until we were given the option to write a narrative feature story about what is going on in the world. I’m so glad we got the opportunity to write these stories because it was a huge creative outlet for me. I got to talk to people about how the virus was affecting them and what their concerns were. Then I got to put all that information into a physical product. So, I instantly jumped on the idea and decided I wanted to interview a student studying abroad, a healthcare worker, and someone else to talk about their worries within their family. I feel like my sources bring in a wide enough viewpoint that my article can reach just about anyone. When I wrote it, I tried to insert my own personal experience but I soon realized after revision that it didn’t work. What I had from my sources was more than enough. I got so many helpful comments that lead me to revise in ways that I never would’ve thought of. It’s nice to get another person’s take on what you’re saying in order to see if you’re communicating in the way you believe in your head. Revising was hard because I had written so much that I felt was essential to keep the full richness of the story. However, I eventually decided to leave most of the information I got from my sources and cut out the general information about my experience and COVID-19 as a whole because the stories from my sources was what I chose to focus on. The end result was still pretty long, but I’m happy with what I reduced it to. Overall, this experience was really eye opening for me. It taught me that plans can be ever-changing and you have to always be willing to adapt.