Unique Journalists in Springfield Looking for 'Interconnecting' Stories
By: April Hansen
Updated: July 16, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Are there stories and issues in the Ozarks that interconnect it with people in Detroit, or Los Angeles or Tallahassee, Fla.?
There is a unique group of reporters in Springfield who think so.
A band of journalists from across the country is in town this summer looking for just those kinds of stories.
Six reporters from very different backgrounds chose Springfield for their first project - to use stories and issues that affect people in Springfield and interconnect them with issues cities are facing across the country.
"Really opened my eyes to the full spectrum of stories that existed out there that weren't being told," says Dan Oshinsky, "and I thought they deserved a home somewhere."
Oshinsky is the founder of Stry.us (yes, that's how he spells it). He says it's a new kind of news organization, beyond the major headline news operatioins.
After writing stories in Biloxi, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina, Oshinsky realized he wanted to dig deeper into communities and uncover stories that tie the nation together.
"I wanted to do a story on an interconnected America. How issues in Detroit in manufacturing, issues with immigration in Texas and schools in Oregon."
He chose Springfield as the model city for the project because he says it's a city with an immersed culture.
"We wanted a region that would bring a lot of those issues," he remembers, "and when I look at the Ozarks I see a region where the South and Midwest meet."
Oshinsky selected a team of diverse journalists. They are editors of their college newspapers, reporters for the New York Post and the Associated Press and entrepreneurs. All with a united goal to find stories in a community people care about.
"We're very focused on this idea to find these things that incapsulate things that everyone in America is going through. Maybe we can bring this plan out in Springfield that alot of people can relate to."
Recently, Stry was in Joplin, working on a series called "59 Weeks after Joplin's Tornado." For five days, they found stories focused on what's happening now in Joplin and what's next for the city that was hit by one of the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters in American history.
"It's important," says Oshinsky, "that in this industry we keep pushing stories like this and getting on the ground and getting to the nest of people and what they want to see and what is important to them and taking the time to write about it."
Stry is partnering with the Springfield-Greene County Libraries for its "Letters to Springfield" campaign. The campaign asks the people of Springfield what they want the city to know and issues they want addressed.
At 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 17, Stry will be presenting these questions to a panel of community leaders at the Library Center. The public is invited to join in the discussion.
Click here for more information on this project.
There is a unique group of reporters in Springfield who think so.
A band of journalists from across the country is in town this summer looking for just those kinds of stories.
Six reporters from very different backgrounds chose Springfield for their first project - to use stories and issues that affect people in Springfield and interconnect them with issues cities are facing across the country.
"Really opened my eyes to the full spectrum of stories that existed out there that weren't being told," says Dan Oshinsky, "and I thought they deserved a home somewhere."
Oshinsky is the founder of Stry.us (yes, that's how he spells it). He says it's a new kind of news organization, beyond the major headline news operatioins.
After writing stories in Biloxi, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina, Oshinsky realized he wanted to dig deeper into communities and uncover stories that tie the nation together.
"I wanted to do a story on an interconnected America. How issues in Detroit in manufacturing, issues with immigration in Texas and schools in Oregon."
He chose Springfield as the model city for the project because he says it's a city with an immersed culture.
"We wanted a region that would bring a lot of those issues," he remembers, "and when I look at the Ozarks I see a region where the South and Midwest meet."
Oshinsky selected a team of diverse journalists. They are editors of their college newspapers, reporters for the New York Post and the Associated Press and entrepreneurs. All with a united goal to find stories in a community people care about.
"We're very focused on this idea to find these things that incapsulate things that everyone in America is going through. Maybe we can bring this plan out in Springfield that alot of people can relate to."
Recently, Stry was in Joplin, working on a series called "59 Weeks after Joplin's Tornado." For five days, they found stories focused on what's happening now in Joplin and what's next for the city that was hit by one of the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters in American history.
"It's important," says Oshinsky, "that in this industry we keep pushing stories like this and getting on the ground and getting to the nest of people and what they want to see and what is important to them and taking the time to write about it."
Stry is partnering with the Springfield-Greene County Libraries for its "Letters to Springfield" campaign. The campaign asks the people of Springfield what they want the city to know and issues they want addressed.
At 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 17, Stry will be presenting these questions to a panel of community leaders at the Library Center. The public is invited to join in the discussion.
Click here for more information on this project.
