Danielle McCarthy

• 5/11/2011: Radio Story - After receiving unanimous House and Senate approval, a human trafficking bill goes to Governor Jay Nixon for approval.
• 5/ 4/2011: Radio Story - As the 2011 legislative session comes to a close, Missouri noodlers continue to fight for the legalization of hand fishing.
• 4/27/2011: Radio Story - A new congressional map goes to the governor's desk for approval after it was passed in the House and Senate Wednesday.
• 4/20/2011: Radio Story - Hundreds of protesters gathered in Jefferson City Wednesday to voice their opinions on the repeal of Prop B.
• 4/18/2011: Radio Story - U.S. Republican representatives met behind closed doors to discuss redistricting with state senators and representatives.
• 4/13/2011: Radio Story - The Senate's newly approved congressional map will head to the House for approval.
• 4/ 4/2011: Radio Story - Death knell sounds for bill giving St. Louis control of its own police department on the same day it gained approval from a Senate committee.
• 3/16/2011: Radio Story - The House Financial Institutions Committee reviewed two bills that would change payday loan laws.
• 3/14/2011: Radio Story - Business interest witnesses spoke out against bill that would let employees choose a doctor under workers' comp.
• 3/ 7/2011: Radio Story - The House Budget Committee reviews a plan to stop the governor from shifting his travel expenses to other agencies.
• 3/ 2/2011: Radio Story - Despite a fillibuster and debate on the Senate floor, the Senate gives a pro-business bill first round approval.
• 2/23/2011: Radio Story - The House Judiciary Committee hears people speak out in favor of and against abolishing the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission.
• 2/ 9/2011: Radio Story - Missouri schools would not lose funding if they do not make up the recent snow days under a bill that will soon be introduced.
• 2/ 7/2011: Radio Story - Members and the former chairman of the House General Administration question Gov. Jay Nixon's travel expenses.

Posted 04/30/2011:  It was a crazy week at the Capitol to say the least.  But as the craziness continues into the end of legislative session, I continue to learn so much more about the world of politics and political reporting.  I've never considered myself to be well-versed in politics.  But after spending so much time in Jeff City, I now know more than I ever would have about the legislative process had I just studied it in school and books.  I find myself relating what's going on in the Capitol to what's going on in our nation's Capitol. With the legislators having the Monday off after Easter, this week started out fairly easy.  But come Wednesday there was a flurry of activity going on ranging from dog breeding to redistricting.  I didn't leave the Capitol until 11 and one of the print reporters didn't leave until 1 a.m.  Even though I was exhausted, I didn't complain because working at the Capitol that late was a real life journalism experience. That isn't something you can do in a classroom and I'm so grateful for the real newsroom experience I've been getting this semester.  I'm assuming the upcoming week will be full of as much, if not more, excitement than this past one was.

I can easily say covering the Prop B animal rights protest this past week was the most fun I've had in Jefferson City this semester.  I found myself tapping my toes to the people's chants of "keep your paws off our laws!" Even though there was less chanting, the pro-dog breeding rally in front of the Capitol was also exciting as well. Despite all the energy, chants and dogs I encountered, I think the best part of it all was getting out of the newsroom and the Capitol building.  The people I talked to were passionate and they were all having a good time - making the rallies all the more fun to cover.  I don't think these people would have been quite as spirited if they were confined within the walls of the Capitol.  As I work on my packages for Broadcast 1 as well, I find I've gotten the best interviews out of people I met while outside.  As I continue my career in broadcast, I look forward to getting out of the newsroom and standard office interviews as much as possible.

When I talked to the AFT president on Wednesday, the conversation ended up being far more interesting than I thought it would be.  He had actually just gotten back from the statehouse in Washington where he was lending his support to the protesters there.  What he had to say about public sector unions was very interesting.  I still need some more voices for the story, but I think it's coming along rather well so far.  I hope to finish it this upcoming week.  Later that day I ended up spending about three and a half hours in the Senate.  I did a story on SB188 getting first round approval.  It was difficult understanding all the language the senators used when debating the bill.  But, Phill told me to not get lost in all the details.  It was great advice and really helped for the remainder of my time in the Senate.  He also told me that a lot of times, when there aren't a lot of people in the Senate, or when there's not a lot going on in the Senate, it often means that there's more going on outside.  We walked around outside talking about how to go about the story and what to pay attention to.  We also talked to Senator Kevin Engler who gave us some useful information and told us what he thought about the bill.  I didn't end up leaving the Capitol until 9:40, but it was a very rewarding day nonetheless.  I'm just hoping next Wednesday doesn't play out the same way since it is my birthday!

Monday I learned to figure out how newsworthy something is before dedicating a lot of time to the topic for research.  I had two stories that day that I did a lot of research for that ended up falling through. It turns out there is no story behind my original enterprise story on the story behind the heritage marriage/birth certificates.  The Department of Health and Senior Services want the certificates, not a person.  Then I was assigned to go to a House Rules Committee where a vote would be taken on some pretty controversial bills.  I spent a lot of time researching the various bills in question.  I'm happy i know more about these issues now, but no story came out of the committee.  It was very short, the members hardly spoke and everything went as was expected.  Even though I didn't end up using any of my audio from the people I interviewed for these stories, I was really happy I got to meet them.  They were all very helpful and friendly.  At the end of the day, I chose a new enterprise story topic - noodling. 

I am really excited about my new enterprise story and have been spending a lot of my free time learning more about it.  I've set up interviews with two MU professors who are very knowledgeable on the subject.  One is publishing a book on noodling and the other has conducted a great deal of research on the topic and helped make a documentary for ESPN.  They've both been incredibly helpful and have put me in touch with two of the mot well-known noodlers in Missouri.  I'm also looking forward to working with Christi as she does the print version of this story. 

On Thursday, I went to the House Judiciary Committee hearing at noon where I covered what was said and done over a bill that would abolish the Sentencing Advisory Commission.  The hearing overall was very interesting and people had a lot to say about bill 257.  I got audio from both sides of the issue and interviewed some of the witnesses and Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff.  Everyone was very helpful in explaining anything I was unsure on.  Doing the story on this hearing was not easy though.  I had a hard time deciphering what the news was, but in the end I pinpointed it with some help from Phill.  I also struggled with condensing so much information into a forth second story.  There was so much I could have said but just didn't have the time to! In the end, I think I did a pretty good job.