Reporter Dustin Shipman did exactly what needed to be done, interviewing some of those who knew Asia'h best during her days in the Joplin school system, including my colleague at South Middle School, choir instructor Julie Yonkers, and my principal Ron Mitchell:
The article also includes an interview with a former co-worker of Miss Epperson's at Curves.Epperson’s talent as a performer was evident at an early age, said Julie Yonkers, choir director at South Middle School in Joplin.
“She was a very talented child, very outgoing and personable,” Yonkers said. “When it came to performing, she would just light up the stage.
“She was phenomenal when she was in middle school, and I knew that with the right direction she would go far. She was heavily involved in choir and was a member of our honors choir for Southwest Missouri. She was one of those kids that you just knew would do well in performing. When I heard she was auditioning, I just knew she would make it to the top 24. A lot of my choir kids watch ‘American Idol,’ and of course I watch it mainly for something to connect with the kids.”
Ron Mitchell, principal of South Middle School, said he remembers Epperson as well. He said her being a contestant on “American Idol” has caused a buzz in the school, and has a lot of the students and teachers tuning in.
“It is a big buzz with the teachers more than the students because they know her personally, so it is very exciting,” he said.
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And though the last Turner Report post noted that the Springfield News-Leader had a story in first, it should be noted that the News-Leader story did not include any interviews and merely stated that two southwest Missouri competitors made the finals.
Sorry to be late in posting a comment to this article, but I couldn't just let it pass. Randy, I think your positive view of this Globe article on Asia'H is colored by the fact that you personally know two of the people interviewed by the reporter. I thought this was a very poor piece of reporting. The best the reporter could come up with was a couple of interviews with her middle school teachers? What about the time since? Did she go to Joplin High? If so, was she involved in the music program there? She evidently has been around Joplin fairly recently. Has she been performing locally? She's an accomplished vocalist. I'm guessing she didn't get that way by singing in front of a mirror with a karaoke machine. She was in the Blast from the Past last year. Lots of people work on that project. Couldn't the reporter have found somebody from that "lead" that knew her and something about her background. There are lots of easily researched unanswered questions here. If I were the editor of a high school newspaper, I would have sent the reporter back out to finish the story. Can't believe a professional newspaper would accept this piece of reporting. And the quote from the American Idol publicist is an embarrassment. Randy, I can't believe you gave the Globe a passing grade on this one.
ReplyDeleteActually, as I read the Globe article I thought of about two dozen suggestions I would have made to reporters working for me at The Carthage Press or at the Lamar Democrat and I can almost guarantee you we would have had better results, if nothing else simply because I recognize the value of a story and I am not just doing it because I am being pressured to do so. The minute I heard about it, my staff and I would have been all over it. I am hoping that the Globe is not finished with this story, but only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteI was also comparing it to the first Springfield News-Leader story, which did not even contain that much information.
Your points are right on the mark.
And anybody who says it is easy for me to sit back and make comments like this, should go back and check the work done by my reporters and by me during the 1980s and 1990s. We did not get beat often, and when we did, we usually bounced back and took over the story the rest of the way.