Here’s the buzz: Bee story swarms newsroom
May 21st, 2008, 5:21 am · Post a Comment · posted by dgrubaugh
Sometimes newsrooms are like a hive, abuzz with activity. Sometimes we’re nothing more than abuzz.
Tuesday, we were busy as bees, with a story that is simply a perfect illustration of what goes on behind the scenes at a newspaper.
It started with a call to the City Desk, from a local beekeeper on his way to Delhi School in Jersey County. A swarm of honeybees had somehow found their way into a classroom, and he had the duty of removing them. Did we want pictures? he asked.
Sure, I responded and immediately set forth to line up my cast of characters.
Photo Editor John Badman, whose sense about such things I’ve never questioned, immediately wanted to know if we had the OK to get inside the school. “I’m not driving 30 minutes if I don’t have to,” the gas-wary shutterbug proclaimed. He’d been stung before on such assignments.
A quick call to the school proved him out. Schools are more skittish about publicity these days, and the principal was hesitant to give us the OK unless we had the superintendent’s permission. The school secretary said she’d call me back.
I waited 10 or 15 minutes, and Badman was calling back, wanting to know what to do. I assured him I was working on it. He had no time to spare if he was going to drive to Jersey.
I waited a while longer and Badman was back on the phone, now telling me he was already at the school and was not making headway.
“Call the superintendent!” he barked.
Bee nice, John, I thought.
Even as I was talking to him, reporter Laura Griffith was doing what I had asked her to do. She was on the phone with school district headquarters asking to speak to the superintendent, Colleen Legge, who as it turns out was gone on Tuesday.
“Ask for Ken Schell!” I frantically said to her, thinking about next-in-line administrators.
Laura worked her magic and got the district office to call the school. As I called Badman with the news I could hear the principal in the background, talking to him at the same time, relaying virtually the same message. We got in, got our pictures and, as it turns out, a really good story.
It took me longer to transcribe this anecdote than it did for the actual story to transpire. I sincerely do appreciate the folks at Delhi School — and the district — for putting up with us.
In these days of confidentiality and concern, schools are more wary than ever about opening their doors to a photographer. They are public places, but no one, including media, can just waltz in unannounced. Still, such policy only makes our job more difficult and answers the question of why we don’t do more school stories and photos.
Sometimes the setup of a story is as interesting as the story itself. We managed to avoid getting stung this time. But there will always “bee” tomorrow.
