News Huddle Assignment Story 2

Slug: Man Playing Dead Pops up with Knife At Heights Park

Section: News

News Elements:

Proximity. The story takes place in Edina which would appeal most to people who live in Edina. Had this story occcurred in North Minneapolis, nobody would be surprised or necessarily interested depending on the location of where the public lives. Plus, the majority of people who live in Edina are informed on the location of Heights Park so they become interested since they can visualize this occurrence. The story itself is an unusual occurence but the fact that it is in Edina is the icing on the cake since it would be a heavily viewed story among the Edina public.

Human Interest. Whenever a story involving crime pops up, humans instantly become interested in it since they view unusual occurrences with much fascination. The story involves a specific idea by a criminal to lure an individual so that the criminal could steal. I would assume that many parents and students would find this to be very interesting.

Consequence. This definatley is a news story that would involve consequence considering that it occurred in Edina. This may lead to the police being more strict within the Edina city limits and increase the amount of patrol around city parks. It may create a state of insecurity for people around that particular neighborhood since a crime occured near Heights Park.

Story:

The story will be about a boy who was walking to school and saw a man in a red sweatshirt laynig in the road by Heights Park. The boy apparently stopped to help him and the man rolled over, got up and pulled out a knife and demanded his money. The boy then apparently ran to the Middle School and the police were called but never caught the man.

Possible Interviews:

The boy. He was the one who lived the experience and his word would be most reliable/credible for the given story. I could have him tell about his experience and what occurred.

The policeman who normally patrols the area. I'd ask him about the patterns of reported crime in that part of Edina. He could tell me about the most common type of crime in Edina and whether such an occurrence is rare.

An Edina resident who lives near Heights Park. She could tell about her feelings about the incident and what she feels about the future of the neighborhood's security. Maybe she had seen the man prior to the occurrence or maybe she had seen him flee the scene.

Information Gathered:

I will need to gather information about the time it occurred, the details of the event and the name of the boy involved in the crime.

Questions Needed To Be Answered:

What time of day did this occur?
What did the suspect look like?
What did the suspect say?
What exactly did the boy do once the suspect had pulled the knife?
What exactly did the suspect do once the boy ran away?

Photo Opportunities:

Picture of Heights Park in the morning
Picture of the Boy

Photo Contacts:

The Boy

Potential Problems:

The Edina public may respond very extremely to this story and become very likely to call the police whenever they see something somewhat suspicious in a neighborhood occuring. It could cause some chaos.

Other Information:

None