Posted in Articles, tagged Columbia Missouri, Dianna Borsi O'Brien freelance writer, Houzz, Landscape Management on March 27, 2013 | 2 Comments »
One of my favorite kinds of business articles to write is the how-to piece. Here’s one I did recently for Landscape Management.
The Ins and Outs of Houzz – Firms in the green industry are finding ways to use Houzz, an up and coming online platform that links homeowners and professionals. Founded in 2009, in 2013, it boasted 12 million unique viewers, 89 percent of whom are homeowners with an average home value of $450,000. This Landscape Management article outlines how to Houzz.
Posted in Resources, tagged Columbia Missouri, dianna borsi obrien, IRE, journalism, Poynter Institute, Russ Potterfield, university of missouri on January 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
What I love about journalism is the learning never ends. Here’s an article from one of my favorite resources, the Poynter Institute, an organization dedicated to teaching journalism.
This article is on investigative journalism and cites another of my favorite organizations, IRE, which is located at the University of Missouri in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri.
The article notes that while there have been cutbacks in journalistic organizations, investigative journalism has continued to thrive.
In fact, it’s my opinion that all journalism should be considered investigative. No article should rely just on whatever the sources says. And today, with the internet, social media and other tools of the trade, there’s no need for reporters like me to rely simply on the word of a source. For example, when I interviewed Russ Potterfield and asked him if he was concerned about the possibility of his products being produced in inhumane conditions, he said since there was a labor shortage, he believed that anyone unhappy with working conditions could simply leave their job. Years ago, I would have had to take his word for it or had to attempt to find an expert in Chinese labor trends. Today, I could review several international publications documenting the lack of skilled workers in China.
That is not strictly investigative journalism, but it does show that today journalists can do their jobs better than ever. And that’s good news for journalism and people who want to stay informed.
Posted in Articles, tagged Battenfeld Technologies, China, columbia, Columbia Business Times, Columbia Missouri, dianna borsi obrien, missouri, Russ Potterfield, Shenzhen on December 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Columbia, Missouri is replete with energetic entrepreneurs, but the most lively person I’ve interviewed so far is Russ Potterfield. Before leaving for China to accompany my husband David J. O’Brien to a convention where he was giving a presentation.
When I learned Russ, a local businessman, had opened an office in China just this summer, I quickly made plans, via email, to meet with him. After all, how many Columbia companies have offices in China? Turns out more than you might think.
At any rate, despite the demands of opening on overseas office, Russ took several hours to meet with me, describe all the amazing opportunities his new venture was providing for him and his family. For me, it was an amazing opportunity to meet such an energetic, farseeing individual.
Once again, I feel I am so lucky to be a journalist and have the opportunity to write about local, well kind of local, businesses and the people operating them. Congrats on the new office, Russ.
Dec. 24, 2010, Russ Potterfield’s China presence proving profitable Battenfeld improves logistics with satellite office, Columbia Business Times.
Posted in Articles, tagged columbia, Columbia Business Times, Columbia Missouri, dianna borsi obrien, historic theaters, historic theatres, journalism, missouri, Missouri Theatre, movie theaters, movie theatres, Ninth Street, Panera Bread Company, Roaring 20s, The Blue Note, The Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts on June 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One of the things I love about journalism is how it helps me and readers see new connections by bringing information together, in this case, the history and economics of movie theatres.
I’ve lived in Columbia twice, once from 1991-1995, then from 1998 until now, but I never realized that the beautiful theatre buildings on Ninth Street revealed literally the concrete results of the roaring 1920s.
During the 1920s, thousands of movie theaters were built across the country. Actually, these buildings were called movie palaces because that’s what they were — ornate, beautiful, fanciful buildings where people went to see the developing medium, moving picture shows.
But what goes up must come down, which explains why by the time I moved to Columbia, the former Hall Theatre was vacant, the Missouri Theatre was struggling and the former Varsity Theatre had not yet become the successful live music venue, The Blue Note.
After the roaring 1920s, the Great Depression came along and decades later, television and the move to the suburbs were other changes that explain why so many downtown movie palaces were left vacant or converted to other uses.
By 1962, the number of movie theaters had fallen to 9,150, down from 14,716 in 1954. As one source noted, the glut of buildings in the 1920s led to the glut of demolition in the 1950s and 1960s.
But I think the wave of destruction is over. Today, the Hall Theatre houses the Panera Bread Company, The Blue Note continues to be a successful live music venue and the chief of operations at the Missouri Theatre has a plan designed to solve its financial problems.
This connection to the roaring 1920s was not visible to me until reporting connected the dots along Ninth Street. That’s why journalism, in which information is put into context, is so important.
Read the two-page package published on June 25, 2010 in the Columbia Business Times either at this link or below.
CBT Columbia Cinema Evolution p1 062510
Posted in Articles, tagged Columbia Home & Lifestyle, Columbia Missouri, dianna borsi obrien, Randy Smarr, Ronald McDonald House, Smarr Custom Homes, Smarr Home of Possibilities, The Cascades on June 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I remember when I had my first job with a newspaper in Gaffney, South Carolina and I’d be giving tours of the newsroom to grade school children. I would tell them the journalism of that tiny newsroom was the exact same kind of journalism taking place in what some consider the center of journalism — the New York Times.
How so? One of the purposes of journalism, whether it is at the New York Times or Columbia Home & Lifestyle, is to uncover new and unusual happenings.
That’s the case in this article on the Smarr Home of Possibilities. Basically a model home, Randy Smarr is also using it as a venue for fund-raising for the Ronald McDonald House and for his subcontractors to hold classes on the wares they have installed in this house in the Cascades.
So what? Well, it is the first time anyone in Columbia, Missouri, has done something like this. And that’s new and unusual.
This is what I love about journalism — it can take place anywhere, in Gaffney, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri or even in New York.
Learn more about the new and unusual features of the Smarr Home of Possibilities by reading this article, published in the June/July 2010 issue of Columbia Home & Lifestyle.
Home is Where the Heart Is - June/July 2010 Columbia Home & Lifestyle
By Dianna Borsi O’Brien
When the economic slump hit, Rusty Smarr of Smarr Custom Homes felt it. Yet, instead of complaining he looked for ways to bring the buzz back into new housing — and for a way to give back to the community.
His answer to both challenges is the Home of Possibilities, a 3,750-square-foot model home at 2304 Redmond Court in the Cascades. The house, outfitted with many of the newest, most buzzed about HGTV features, will also be used as a venue for Ronald McDonald House fundraisers.
Unveiled in May, the house features a long list of energy-saving features, from a tankless hot water heater installed by Air and Water Solutions to landscaping with native plants installed by Pleasant View Landscaping.
In addition to housing Ronald McDonald House fundraisers, Smarr is opening the home to vendors of the home’s featured products for classes on various Saturdays.
Click on the link below to see the entire article.
Posted in Articles, tagged accuracy checking, Columbia Business Times, Columbia Missouri, David Reed, dianna borsi obrien, journalism, Mary Stilwell, reporting, University of Missouri-Columbia on April 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As a journalist, I hate making mistakes. I do my best to make sure none ever get in print, but sometimes it happens.
Most recently it happened with the article, ”City Chicks,” written with David Reed published in the Columbia Business Times. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the name of a source, Mary Stilwell, was misspelled in some instances.
As regretable as this mistake is, however, the most important things are to acknowledge mistakes do happen and to note what I do to make sure mistakes are kept to a minimum.
For starters, I practice something I learned at the University of Missouri-Columbia — accuracy checking. This involves asking a source if she or he would like to review the article and/or their quotes before the article goes to print.
I figure if I’m afraid to let a source read an article before it goes to print, maybe I’m not as confident in my facts as I should be.
Of course, sometimes this process can go awry, such as when a source decides to try to edit the work, beyond checking it for accuracy. This is rare, but when it happens, I ask the person if the information is accurate. If the answer is yes, we may discuss the other changes requested, but the main focus for me is on accuracy.
Sometimes, despite my best efforts and those of others, a mistake will slip through. When it does, I am comforted to know that everyone makes mistakes — even the illustrious New York Times. For example, on April 20, 2010, the newspaper published six corrections for its A section. I am sure every single one of those New York Times reporters were cringing that morning.
I also remember what I used to tell my journalism students back when I taught at MU — the good news and the bad news about journalism is we get to try to do it again only better with the next article.
Finally, I apologize to the source, in this case Mary Stilwell.
So, as noted, it’s time to get back to work on that next article — after I apologize to Mary Stilwell.
Posted in Charles W. Gehrke, Resources, tagged ABC Laboratories, Charles W. Gehrke, columbia, Columbia Missouri, dianna borsi obrien, journalism, measuringworth.com, missouri, The Melon Fields to the Moon on April 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Measuringworth.com is a web site where you can use a variety of calculators to determine how much something was worth historically.
For example, in the book I’m wrote with Charles W. Gehrke before his death about his life, his career and his accomplishments, he told me he’d raised roughly $200,000 to get what is now called ABC Labs going in 1968. Naturally, I wondered first how he did that — that answer is in the book, “From the Melon Fields to the Moon,” to be published.
Then, I wondered how much $200,000 would be worth today. That answer I found at measuringworth.com, using one of their calculators to determine the value of currency at various time periods.
The answer is $200,000 in 1968 would have been worth roughly $1.1 million in 2007 dollars, according to MeasuringWorth.com.
A tool like measuringworth.com can help a reporter provide context to an article or a book. And that, in my opinion, is one of the jobs journalists are supposed to do: provide context to help make the world understandable to readers.
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Editors say ...
Dianna O’Brien is a delight. She approaches every project with enthusiasm, professionalism, creativity and a sense of humor. Her work is clean, concise and energetic — and she even meets deadlines!
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Editor, Mizzou Wire
Web Communications
University of Missouri
