4H at the County Fair
July 22, 2019
Author: Amanda Smith
Reporter, Writer, Believer in All Things Good
Finding a new angle at the County Fair
July 22, 2019
I’ve been covering county fairs for 20 years. Over that time… it can be hard to come up with a new and interesting angle to keep people intrigued. Enter the giant pile of poo. Turns out county fairs generate TONS of animal waste, and it all has to go somewhere. At the largest county fair … More Finding a new angle at the County Fair
Food Waste
July 22, 2019
I had a LOT of fun doing these stories. Food waste is an enormous problem, but for most people they don’t realize how much money they are literally throwing away until you force them to think about it.
FOIA Investigation – Examining Race in the Ohio Victims of Crime Compensation Fund
July 22, 2019
I requested a massive data dump from the Ohio Attorney General’s office. After looking at every application for compensation from state Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund, I discovered that black applicants were twice as likely to be denied than white applicants. I spoke to a woman who lost two sons in just a few months… and … More FOIA Investigation – Examining Race in the Ohio Victims of Crime Compensation Fund
Thunderbirds Flight
June 19, 2017
Many, many reporters have flown with the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels. So my challenge was to cover the story differently. So I interviewed the pilot at 15,000 feet and shot a standup tease in the plane. See all the coverage HERE.
Live Interviews
February 21, 2017
I’m a true one-woman-band in the field. I was filling in on the morning show one day, and I conducted a series of live interviews for that broadcast. I set the shot, located the interview subject, tuned in the live signal, and waited for the cues from the control room. Akron Marathon honors Hubbard teen … More Live Interviews
Private Data, public storage
February 21, 2017
While I was working on a story on microfilming county records, I discovered a cache of confidential documents that had been stored out in the open… for a decade. The county put a plywood wall over the opening. I was also thrown out of the building by a security guard after this story aired.
Day-Of Turn: Storing County Records
February 21, 2017
I went to a County Commissioners meeting, and the agenda item I was sent to report on was very dry and boring (slag purchases for winter road treatment.) So I came back with a nice visual story on a new effort to get rid of the mounds and mounds of boxes of court records I’d … More Day-Of Turn: Storing County Records
Fire School
February 21, 2017
It’s not often you have to don full fire gear to shoot a story- but I did for this one. I followed the Youngstown Fire Cadets as they went through training and state testing to become the city’s newest firefighters. For this story, I used two cell phone cameras, GoPros and a JVC. PREVIEW … More Fire School
Bedbug Investigation
February 21, 2017
I used cell phone cameras, Go-Pros and a handheld JVC to film this story. Bedbugs have been making major inroads in our area- especially in public housing projects.
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