Covering pending issues: Remember impact on readers, maintain balance

Photo by Flickr user Ryan Murphy

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has done a great job of covering a pending vote to add a transportation tax. Proponents say the tax will reduce the city’s notorious traffic congestion, thereby boosting the economy. Tammy Joyner and Ariel Hart wrote a great piece questioning the viability of that plan.

Many “crystal balling” stories seem disjointed. But their story does a great job of weaving the varied perspectives, making the complicated issue comprehensible for someone like me who’s just learning about the proposal. Her details such as the average commuter wastes about 43 hours a year idling in traffic, and lost time and fuel cost $2.5 billion a year made the issue real – and unfortunately reminded me of days commuting on I-95 from Philadelphia to Princeton.

Tammy Joyner

The challenge with the story was how to help readers understand what the tax would mean to their lives, Tammy says. Having transportation writer Ariel on board helped Tammy know which experts to call for the story. It also helped her wade through the information and avoid asking questions experts had already answered during the paper’s extensive coverage.

“You have to flip every question on its ear,” Tammy says. “You also have to scrape back the Chamber of Commerce information. They’re in it to sell the city.”

The story also needed to be balanced, providing both sides and avoiding the emotional issues, she says.

For Tammy this was a real issue. Her commute is two and a half hours each way, and takes her past some of the businesses in her story, including the tattoo shop. “It’s literally in the shadow of a sign to vote yes, and [the owner is] not wanting to do that,” she says.