Infographic

I chose this infographic because it’s so easy to grasp the main message being carried across. The differences in color and the scale of the graph makes it easy for readers to see the difference in the data. In addition, the lines are labeled in an easy to read font size. There’s not so much going on that the reader becomes overwhelmed which I feel is very important.

This infographic is a good example of the principle: encourage eyes to compare data. The creator of the infographic did a good job showing the differences through contrasting colors and by plotting the data on the same graph.

Budget Critiques

Rush:

This story idea is interesting, mostly because I think that Rush is a place that college students would like to know more about and would find intriguing. That said, I think that the writer of this budget actually could have benefited from reading Clark’s Tool 40. This is a good baseline mission statement. It gives me a list of sources, it provides insight into why the story is relevant (physical and mental/emotional benefits, stress relief), however, if I were this writer’s editor, I would want to know more about how the story will be formated. Is this a profile of Rush? Is this a trend piece about new ways of relieving stress? Is this more strictly a health story? I would want them to focus more on specifics, rather than broad ideas. I might also suggest that they ask themselves some of the questions Clark presents under Tool 42. Why are you telling this story? Have you seen evidence that students are using places like Rush as a way to relieve stress? If not, is this just a cool activity that you’re interested in at a personal level? Prove to me that what you’re claiming it’s being used for is true, beyond just the fact that exercising naturally makes people happier.

#TheWhoevers:

Needs work. This is just a series of questions that seem to lack a lot of forethought. Very little homework seems to have been done here, so I suggest Clark’s Tool 42. As I said in my response to Rush, I think asking the questions Clark mentions in this section would be incredibly useful in giving this writer a sense of purpose. What’s this story about? Is it about the culture that allows technology to be used during wedding ceremonies? Is it about the opinions of brides and grooms on cell phone use? Is it about how weddings have changed because of cell phone use? There seem to be several different directions that this story could go, and it would definitely benefit from being given one, much more narrow focus area. What is the story being told? Again, this question would help narrow the writers focus and make it easier for them to see the story that they want to tell. It would help them think about format, style and direction. I think this writer could also have benefited from Clark’s saving string tip. Talking about the culture of technology within the world of weddings (which have their own inherent culture and are also intertwined with religious cultural practices, etc) will be challenging to do well. It would be good to have some knowledge on the subject before beginning to write.

[Indian] Dance Revolution:

This budget confuses me for a number of reasons, but let me start by asking — where does the Indian Dance Revolution tie in? I see that they’re talking about stunts and dance and gymnastics, but there is literally no mention of any Indian culture or India in general. I don’t understand the connection. Moving on. This writer needs to practice a little Tool 40 and find the actual meat of the story they want to tell. Beyond that, they need to find out why this is relevant. Sure, it may be happening, but why do we care? What makes this interesting to readers? What is the point of this story? This is where Tool 42 would be useful. They did provide sources, however, and that is a good step.

CAPS:

A few things that I notice right away — is this a story about why CAPS is receiving more patients (as in, the factors that contribute to increased visits) and how they deal with demand or is it about eating disorders? I think that eating disorders would naturally tie in if they are proven to be a factor contributing to more CAPS patients, however, it feels disjointed just tossed in at the end. Perhaps it is of interest to the writer? If so, they may have benefited from saving string on the topic of eating disorders at the university. It would certainly have aided them in finding information to support the idea that eating disorders are contributing. Again, I suggest Tool 40. Tell me more about format, sources, etc. They do share why they’re writing the story (the increased number of patients), but they fail to share why that’s of interest to their audience. Are they students who might be dealing with some of the contributing factors? Are they professors? It’s always good to write with an audience in mind because that will help narrow your focus and make your writing more relevant when published.

Barre Exam:

Oh, no. My politest apologies to the writer, but this is just no good. It is like a summary of a budget, rather than a budget. I understand that it’s a trend story and that’s really all. I don’t know why this is relevant. Yes, it’s ‘sweeping the nation’ and is a trend, but why do people care? What makes it a trend? What will make it trendy in Athens or in the area the writer is working in? Why are they writing it? If it’s just because it’s a trend, what they’ve written here tells the story (and it’s not a very interesting one). What will the format of this be? How long will it be? Word count? How will they localize the story? What sources will they use? If I had to guess, I would say that this writer procrastinated a bit and could benefit from Tool 41. Thinking a little more about the story would be helpful, even at this stage.

Brainstorming List

Are luxury housing complexes and high rises downtown pushing low-income residents to the outskirts of the city?
Create an interactive map showing what areas of Athens are gentrified (where gentrification is/has occurred) and when. I think this would be particularly interesting if I were to show neighborhoods in Athens and how they have changed over time. I would use StoryMap JS to do this. I would drop pins on different gentrifying areas and include photos (if obtained) of the area in the past and an original, current photo of the area today. I think it would also be very interesting to include audio from people living in or who previously lived in each neighborhood that tells the story of gentrification.
Interview longtime Athens residents to question how gentrification has changed the landscape of the city over the years.
Profile a resident of Parkview Homes about their experience in Athens, particularly since building began downtown.
Interview businesses that have been downtown for decades (The Caledonia Lounge, the 40 Watt Club) about how they have managed to stay relevant and interesting in a constantly changing area.
Look at how gentrification downtown has changed what businesses are open in the area — do downtown shops change as the people living downtown change?
How is the local government working to offset the effects of gentrification in the community? Are they attempting to bring in lower-income or rent controlled housing? Is there some sort of program available to help displaced residents find new homes? If so, how did these start?
Is it provable that gentrification is a factor that leads to homelessness in Athens or could something else be contributing to this? Compare homelessness over the years.
Has gentrification offered any benefits to the community — increased property values, reduced strain on local infrastructure, increased purchasing power in local businesses, etc?
Compare Athens neighborhoods today to Athens neighborhoods 20 years ago — are different people living in different areas, if so, why and when did this occur?
Everyone talks about housing when they think about gentrification, but I’d like to look at how it affects retail prices — what do rising prices mean for the accessibility of goods and services for Athenians? Nationally, we have seen that low-income communities have less access to grocery stores and healthy foods and that residents in these areas (called food deserts) are often obese due to a lack of healthy food. It might also be interesting to see how the public transit system in Athens makes Athens food deserts unique — because there are buses available, transportation into areas with healthy food options may not be as difficult as in other communities.
How does gentrification change the kinds of goods and services that local residents demand or, in other words, how does gentrification change cultural aspects of downtown? I think this could be particularly interesting because it speaks to what Athens is as a city and how it has gotten to where it is today. Are we a music town because we always have been or is that a result of gentrification?
How does gentrification change the cost of doing business — is this what makes lower-margin businesses more or less profitable? In this vein, how have business retention rates varied downtown as the city gentrified? Are tax incentives given to businesses that develop in gentrifying areas? It would be good to take a look at the city’s urban redevelopment plan and speak to members of the Downtown Development Authority about this, as well as local business owners.
How has gentrification affected minorities in the community?
Has gentrification changed the lives of women in Athens, particularly women in low-income households, for better or for worse?
How has gentrification changed the way the local government is planning to develop the city in terms of business and growth? (Urban Redevelopment Plan)
Does Athens have rent control regulations in place in any areas downtown? If so, what areas and how did that come to be?
Are there areas in Athens that have been rent controlled and are now being allowed to practice vacancy decontrol? This often happens in communities with a high rate of resident turnover and ultimately render rent control laws ineffective.
How have community groups developed since gentrification began in Athens? This is a community story, a profile of community groups like Athens for Everyone that have popped up in response to the continued gentrification in the city. This is particularly interesting because it shows the way different people of different classes try to effect change in their city and gives insight on what sorts of changes they would like to see occur. It would be interesting to tell the origin story of groups like this.
Has downtown art or murals changed in response to gentrification at all? This happens in many other gentrifying communities?

Brainstorming 2

Comparing cost of medication with and without insurance for students
How do the homeless get healthcare treatment?
Rising cost of pharmaceuticals on the market
Medical bills are the biggest cause of US bankruptcy (according to CNBC)
Nutritional health among the poor
The cost of becoming a doctor
Nurses are underpaid and overworked, according to survey
Depression treatment depends on socioeconomic class and race (according to study)
Seeking help for opioid abuse, what are the societal costs?
Getting off your parents’ healthcare plan is a difficult and complicated process, that leaves some, uninsured.
Looking at a lack of sleep and a lack of pay: the profile of a nurse
Trend story: looking at doctors that are forced to take on more patients and spend less time with each of them. With all the costs of healthcare, all the tests that doctors do to prevent patients from potentially suing them, and the money that sometimes sinking hospitals have to make to stay afloat, doctors are force to take on more patients than they’d like. Oftentimes, one will wait much longer than the five minute interaction they will later have with their physician. It hasn’t always been this way. Doctors used to make home visits and take their time explaining the situation to their patients. Why is this suddenly happening? Talk to doctors at the hospital in Athens.
Trend story: Looking at the cost of dying and why some patients are wanting to choose assisted suicide. (or to stop treatment) The debate about assisted suicide has come up a couple times. Most recently, a woman with terminal cancer went viral after making a video about how she had to cross state lines to find a way to die on her own terms. Dr. Kevorkian has been jailed for his very issue. And some European countries have now made it legal to choose a comfortable death over treatment. Talk to med students about medical ethics.
*Look Back: The rise of antibiotic soap and why the FDA decided to ban it. Most recently, the FDA banned the production of antibiotic soap. Antibiotic soap, advertising to kill germs and prevent diseases, meant to do good when it first came out. Unfortunately, over usage of antibiotic products created superbugs or antibiotic resistant bacteria that doctors had a hard time treating. Talk to some med students and pharmacists about this.
Localizer: Obamacare, is it better or worse for students at UGA?
*Doctors, with little time on their hands, sometimes make careless but life threatening mistakes when prescribing medications. Often times the pharmacist is left to catch the mistake and prevent a disaster. Profile of a local pharmacist.
*Some insurances don’t cover mental health costs. Why? CAPS has an overwhelming number of students needing help. They are incredibly selective about insurance and cant take long term treatment. Insurance tries to wrap up treatment as quickly as possible. Look at national data and interview CAPS.
medical economics problem: Doctors often work against the benefit of society by acting rationally in their own self interest. They over test patients and end up spending a lot more money than necessary in order to lessen the chances of getting sued.
*As consumers, we can get the price of almost everything we consume, except medical care. Why don’t doctors inform patients of how much treatment can cost? Being charged after the fact.
*Freakenomics- Does more sleep result in higher pay? Look at data and do some research/interview of your own. Compare with smoker’s ads that say that smokers make on average less than nonsmokers.

Sandra’s Brainstorming List

Long List: 20 Story Ideas

Why race?
Why raise?
How effective are charity races?
What are the intangible benefits?
How to train and raise simultaneously
What events are most effective?
Who are the big players?
How long does it take?
What draws racers in?
Solo or social?
Three stories to tell
Effect on the community
What’s new in charity racing?
What’s cool in charity racing?
The day-to-day: training and raising funds
In their words
Zeroing in: seeing if Athens has a small operation of a national trend
It all started when…: everyone has a reason to race and raise.
Bruce Wayne: charity racers’ day jobs
Snapshot to silver screen: one person’s story as a microcosm of a larger trend

Short List: Six Paragraphs

Profile:
- Three stories to tell: I’d like to tell the story of three people: one who began raising charitable funds through exercise not having done either before, one who exercised but at some point starting using it as a conduit to raise funds, and the third a regular giver who raised funds by some other means but one day decided to do it using exercise. What event in their life caused them to make the change?
- Effect on the community: I’d like to know what impact a certain individual’s charitable racing has had on his or her community. How has the community changed due to the event or someone’s story; how is it currently changing?
Trend:
- What’s new? I’d like to know what trends are emerging in charitable racing. What is their impact? Do they focus more on the exercise portion, the giving portion, or both?
- What’s cool? This may or may not go along with the previous one. What things are popular among participants of charity races?
Pick-em:
- The day-to-day: Corresponding with the behind-the-scenes pick-em, I’d like to see a day in the life (not on race day) for the charity racer. How do they train? How do they raise funds? This could also spill over into an ending of the story detailing the day of the event.
- Bruce Wayne: In real life, Batman, wasn’t Batman during the day; he was a rich tycoon. Corresponding with the off-the-beaten-path pick-em, who are these charity racers when they’re not racing and raising funds?

Budget Critiques by Sandra

Rush:
I liked this one, mostly because I discovered Rush for myself a couple of weeks ago while visiting Athens Church (they’re in the same parking lot). I didn’t go in – it was closed at the time (late night) – but I’m considering doing so and would even like to take my sister there the next time she visits me in Athens.

I think the author made a good use of Tool 40: Draft a mission statement for your work. He or she gave a good proposal of what he/she proposed to do. As someone who’s interested in visiting the site, I would have actually liked to see all the stuff the author proposed, as well as a first-hand account: I would have liked for the author to have gone in and bounced on the trampolines, somersaulted into the foam pits. That would give it the most tangible edge, in my opinion.

#TheWhoevers, CAPS, and Barre Exam
#TheWhoevers, CAPS, and Barre Exam left much info to be desired. The former was the worst, consisting only of questions. CAPS and Barre Exam do better by presenting an opening problem statement (Barre’s was shorter and definitely lacking), but then both just have questions too. Although the questions asked are relevant, the authors make no game plan on how to go about finding the answers to those questions. Tool 40 needs to make an appearance in all three; without it, these are just questions on a page.

[Indian] Dance Revolution
Tool 40 must be my favorite tonight (I promise I did read the rest!), because it comes up here too. Unlike #TheWhoevers, CAPS, and Barre Exam, [Indian] Dance Revolution has the problem in that it is just a statement: there are no questions or inquiries. In other words, I don’t know what the author wants to solve, and hence what story he or she wants to tell. Need a game plan, folks.

Brainstorming Ideas

20 Story Ideas

Community Events

– Local shops sponsoring events around town to help themselves and each other

Farmers Markets

– Exploration of the multiple farmers markets around Athens

Coffee shop lifestyle

– What’s the fascination with local coffee shops? Why are they any better than Starbucks?

Local, Local, Local

– Co-ops, farm to table, farmers markets, small businesses; a millennial trend that isn’t really a trend at all – the return to local-based economy

Hipsters

– What does it mean to be hipster? Is there a definitive point at which you achieve ‘hipster status’ or is it what you make of it?

Having it All

– The “having it all” lifestyle phenomenon—a woman is no longer permitted to just work or just be a stay at home mom, she has to try and have it all or is seen as lazy. What kind of lifestyle does this expectation entail?

Trend Alerts

– How are trends established? Where is the black market of ideas from which trendy stores receive their insider info? How do they catch on in time to stay relevant?

Big bad Outfitters

– How are small town boutiques surviving in the face of massively funded stores like Gap and Urban Outfitters sneaking into downtown turf?

Thrift Stores

– The draw of trendy hipsters to thrift stores since Macklemore’s song came out

Health Food

– How to maintain a trendy health food lifestyle on a college student’s budget

Fun for Pennies

– How to find and attend the best events of the season on a college student’s budget

Hip with the Youngsters

– The story of boomers and Gen-x-ers and how they stay adrift in a sea of ever changing tech and trends

Grocery Underdogs

– EarthFare, Daily Co-op, and La-Z Shopper—how do they compete with stores like Kroger and Publix?

Nesting in Athens

– How students establish a connection with Athens when they’re only here for 4 years (or a few more)—how they make Athens their home

Music Scene

– Athens is known for its music scene, but how can fledgling musicians compete in such an intimidating music market? How do they get going? What is the process they go through to get a foothold?

Grad Student among Children

– How is it being a grad student in a town full of undergraduates when every event is aimed at a younger crowd?

Special Snowflake

– In a trendy town like Athens, only the fresh survive. How do the hippest places in town differentiate themselves to stay alive in a dog-eat-dog trend-focused town?

The Plight of the GDI

– With the massive Greek population at UGA, it can sometimes feel difficult to feel apart of the action of the university and feel as if you’ve made a concrete group of friends—how do GDIs find a niche beyond the obvious Greek life?

Technological Integration

– Apps, widgets, social media, and geocaching—how does evolving with technological innovation keep the Athens lifestyle fresh and moving forward?

Bars vs. Pubs

– The advantages and disadvantages of pubs and bars—which style of social drinking atmosphere is better?

Profile Ideas:

Hipsters– this is the perfect story for which to conduct a profile. In a hipster town like Athens, it wouldn’t take too much digging to find a hipster to profile– their personal style, what it means to them to be a hipster, etc. and apply it to the movement in general. Or better yet, find a sort of store that supplies fashion and trendy items to said hipsters and do a profile of the owner on what their motivations are and how they themselves contribute to the ‘hipster’ lifestyle.
Community Events-– this would be another prime story to shape as a profile. The local boutiques for which Athens is known are constantly sponsoring and organizing events for the community. One example is the Cine Fashion Show from August. I could profile the coordinator for the event, Rachel Barnes of Dynamite. She is not only the event coordinator for Cine, but is also a manager at Dynamite Clothing. She would be the perfect person to do a profile on to cast a light on community events in Athens.

Trend Ideas:

Thrift Stores — we all know of Macklemore’s wildly popular song ‘Thrift Shopping’ which called attention to a potentially massive new frontier for clothes shopping. After his song was released, though hipsters would argue that they always shopped at thrift stores, collecting the newly cool-again pieces from the 80s and 90s for dirt cheap prices at thrift shops became the coolest way of shopping for fashion. This is a cut and dry example of trends and simply talking to fashion merchandising majors and thrift store owners would provide adequate source material.
Local, local, local— hip towns across the country are jumping aboard the buy local bandwagon and insisting that the best and only way to ensure merchandise and food products’ authenticity and quality is to locally source the products. Farmers’ Markets have always been founded on this principle, but in recent years, the backlash against big business has driven the masses to a new wave of cultivation. Small, local vendors are selling in bigger name stores, storefront family businesses are popping up everywhere, and even big name food corporations like Chipotle and Barberitos are being founded on the local farming principle. This is a perfect example of delving into a developing trend.

Pick’em Ideas:

Behind the Scenes– Farmers Markets— it would be incredibly simple to go behind the scenes at a local farmers market in Athens. The Athens Farmers Market meets every Saturday in Bishops Park and is FULL of local vendors. I could get in contact with the lead coordinators of the market and find out not only how the market came to be but watch the day-to-day or hourly functioning of the market on Saturdays to explore the extent of the project and how it affects the community.
Localizer– Big Bad Outfitters— a well known battle in our country is the fight between big and small business; the fight between capitalistic gain and local distinction. Small business Saturdays are a big movement in this fight between store types, for instance. To localize this issue, one needs to look no further than downtown Athens. Urban Outfitters has moved into a large commercial space downtown leaving controversy in its wake with townies and students decrying it for pushing out the ‘little guy’ boutiques and small businesses so ingrained in Athens’ downtown. An exploration into this smaller instance when compared to the larger issue in the nation would be an interesting perspective.

Brainstorming Ideas

Quick Story Ideas

Junkman Daughter’s Brother vs Junkman’s Daughter – Athens locale versus its Atlanta counterpoint, how the recent years of the Atlanta shop can predict the future of the Athens one?
State of Downtown music festivals – end of Athfest / age of Slingshot?
The competition for Athens tattoo cliental – downtown choices (Pain and Wonder, Walk the Line) vs around town shops (Midnight Iguana, Mothership, Labyrinth)
The influx of trash downtown following UGA Football games
Could Athens survive without football? Profit analyses of downtown business in the off-season
Athens Food Trucks – Is that still happening? Holy Crepe – Saphir Grici
The fight for late night food – 24 hour fast restaurants and is there enough/too many (DP Dough, Eddies Calzone, Zombie Donuts)
Zombie Doughnuts vs. Ike & Jane – is it even a competition against this local favorite?
Terrapin buy-out
Best Pizza in Downtown Athens – is Lil Italy actually terrible?
Price of Athens DJs – DJ Mahogany vs. them all
Little Kings Shuffle Club – will they lower age restriction with new institution of Michael’s Law
Can a bookshop survive downtown? – closing of Jackson St Books / survival of Avid
How to get around Michael’s Law – Where can under 21s go to hear live music in Athens (Globe, venues, restaurants, etc)
Too many boutiques? Are they all selling the same clothes?
Tracking what is locally made in local shops
Housing development – what is the average apartment listing price now?
Parking downtown – do we need another garage?
Athens downtown homeless – is it better to beg or busk
Nighttime street preachers – how effective/how wanted?

Expanded Story Ideas

Trash and Litter After Game day – Exploring the aftereffects of UGA Football Games after the dust settles and trash is left all around. The population of Athens almost doubles on game days and that brings an ungodly amount of waste with it. UGA prepares as best they can, with as many trash/recycling cans as possible, but how does downtown fare? What clean up procedures have to be taken on the streets and how does it affect the city’s infrastructure in the long run.
Athens Food Trucks – With the fad of food trucks now almost done and gone, is Athens feeling the same way? Local businessman Saphir Grici worked tirelessly to get legal permission to run his food truck, Holy Crepe, in Athens, but what ever happened to it? Has all hope disappeared as the food fad has or is he rebuilding his brand until he can launch it on the city?
Terrapin Buy Out – Though there is much success and happiness with local brewery Terrapin having been bought out by a major brewing company, is all the celebration smart? Will MillerCoors allow the brewery to hold to their brand and recipes, or doing buying out mean “selling out”? Should we be wary for other local Athens breweries like Creature Comforts?
The Battle for Athens Tattoo Empire – Tattooing is a fine art that is extremely expensive and highly regulated, yet Athens is home to at least three downtown tattoo shops as well as a host of other scattered across the inner loop. But which ones are in the best standing, business-wise and by word of mouth? Some shops, like Pain and Wonder, receive overwhelming praise from locals enough to also be a late night hangout, while those more scattered and looked down upon, like Midnight Iguana, face scrutiny from rumors of malpractice.
Can a bookshop survive in Athens?- As historic Jackson Street Books closed this year, this would be a piece reflecting on if there’s a chance for any of the remaining stores, such as Avid or even Bizarro? Are the only sustainable bookshops in Athens those that sell textbooks or can book stores whether the storm? Is Jackson Streets closing an ending to a well loved business or the beginning of an age of electronic books?

Budget Critiques

1. The budget proposal “CAPS” offers little in terms of answers to its own questions.. By providing a short anecdote and incorporating a “broken line” as Clarke suggests in Tool 40, you could illustrate the struggle of students attempting to use CAPS and then break the anecdote with questions of how to proceed and why they are choosing to go in for counseling originally, which can address the main proposed question.
2. The proposal #TheWhoevers is nothing but questions and offers to foundational facts to begin research upon. It might to be more impactful to the reader to provide a current state of marriage and its involvement in social media, then foreshadow that all may not be well with integration of the two. Building up to the point of a dilemma between the infusion of hashtags and phones into modern weddings would present a dynamic problem that could be examined and potentially resolved by the end of the piece.
3. The proposal Rush is set up to be improved with personal experience/or even self critique in order to better hit home the sentiments expressed in the budget. To better explore the physical and emotional effects of the facility, he can insert himself into the experience and write on his own inner dialogue of the experience.

Brainstorming List

Quick Story Ideas:

Religiously inspired fashion choices–How does faith influence what we wear? This idea arose from controversy over the burkini ban in France, but could be expanded to include clothing choices made by Jews, Hindus, and Christians alike.
Fall football fashion. How does what football fans wear to games make a statement beyond what team they support? What trends are most noticeable? Are name-brand items especially in prominence? What do these observations reveal about football culture?
Community Fashion School showcase in December
Plus-size fashion show in October (Rachel Barnes). Highly relevant in terms of rhetoric about female body positivity circulating on social and news media. Relate to Amy Schumer, Tess Holliday
Lickskillet artist’s market. Use as an example of how independent artists attempt to market themselves and their brands.
Tattoo art. What is art? How are society’s thoughts/reactions to tattoos different from how we react to other forms of art? How do we characterize the tattoo scene in Athens? What rivalries/comraderies exist between different tattoo shops in Athens? Is there a “type” of person that gets tattoos?
Ekkos Apparel–Ekkos Apparel was founded by Athenian Rachel Ehlinger to raise money for secondary education in Africa. How does Ekkos operate? How much have they been able to donate thus far?
Craig Page and Sweet Beijos Treats–local bakery founded by former PLACE executive Craig Page and his Brazilian partner. Perhaps relate to other local bakeries.
How has the rise of the film industry in Atlanta affected the fashion industry? (Based on group discussion. As the growing film industry in Atlanta attracts celebrities to the area, will designer brands follow?)
Frugal Fashionable Farmer–ties between fashion and sustainability at a local vintage-inspired artist’s farm
Southern Bon Vivant–the rise of a Southern online fashion and lifestyle magazine. What makes Southern fashion different?
Photographing Athens fashion. I’m less sure about this one, but I do think it would be interesting to photograph and write about styles observed downtown, perhaps during a specific event, but probably just on an average day. Athenians demonstrate such creativity in fashion, but I’m still not sure exactly how I’d flesh out the writing for this piece.
Trends, Athens-style. I am learning from my reading that velvet and bomber jackets, for example, are expected to be big trends this fall. How do we see these trends reflected on campus and downtown?
Many new boutiques open in the downtown area every year, but many close after a few years. Is Athens actually a good place to own a boutique?
My Athens Style (and associated hashtag). How do people connect over fashion in Athens.
What makes an Instagram star? Investigate fashion and lifestyle-inspired Insagram accounts and see what they have in common.
Interview Athens-native designer Lucy Blue. How did a small-town designer get started?
Interview a costume designer involved with UGA’s upcoming production of Jane Eyre?
Dead malls–the Athens GA Square Mall is filled with more and more empty storefronts. Explore changes in shopping habits that are contributing to this phenomenon nationwide.
This may be veering off-beat here, but I often find myself thinking about all the new student housing developments in the downtown area. How many people are actually living there? How full is any one of these buildings? How have student expectations about college living quarters changed over the years?

Expanded Story Ideas:

Athens Boutique Openings/Closings: I just had this idea the other day, so it is not exactly well-fleshed out. But each year, I see some new boutiques open and others close. And every time I see this happen, I wonder if Athens is a good place to own a boutique (because stores keep opening), or actually a terrible place (because stores keep closing). What are the more long-lived boutiques doing differently? What are challenges that Athens boutique owners face? There are abundant sources for this story–Heery’s, Dynamite and Cillies have been around for as long as I can remember and still seem to be doing fine (at least on the surface). Community is relatively newer on the scene, but has been highly successful (again, at least on the surface). Archived Athens Banner Herald/Flagpole stories on the openings/closings of stores would also be helpful here. Contacts: Sanni Baumgärtner, Dynamite, Heery’s

Costume Design: I am especially enamored with this idea at the moment, perhaps because I just thought of it and also because I particularly love Jane Eyre. But as I was fan-girling about the fact that UGA is doing a production of Jane Eyre this fall, it occurred to me to wonder how costumes and set design come together with a licensed script to create a production. I have grown up attending UGA theatre productions and have always been impressed with the quality of student performances and creativity behind the scenes (prop design, etc). I know from friends involved in the theatre department that students usually design costumes, props, etc., and I think it would be very interesting to learn about that process. How much liberty do costume designers have to make the designs their own? How do they get ideas? Who does the actual construction of the costumes? Contacts: Alexis Havrilla, former student prop designer for UGA Theatre; Dina Canup, dept. of theatre PR; Joan Buttram, UGA Dance department head (if venturing into costumes for dance department)

Southern Bon Vivant and Southern Fashion: I have been in contact with Molly McWilliams Wilkins, the creative mind behind the Southern fashion and lifestyle magazine Southern Bon Vivant. I have also been investigating Eide Magazine, a southern-based fashion and lifestyle magazine that went national in Spring 2014. I think coverage of these publications could be incorporated into an interesting piece on Southern fashion in general. The South is not associated with high fashion in the way that New York or Paris are, but certainly there are still trends in the South that make our approach to fashion different. What are those trends and how are they being covered? Is this still an untapped niche in the market? Contacts: Molly McWilliams Wilkins

Dead Malls: The Athens-area GA Square Mall is filled with more and more empty storefronts. This is a national phenomenon–Time reported in May of this year that “about one-third of malls in the U.S. will shut their doors in the coming years.” I would be interested to research this phenomenon on a national level and relate it to what we are seeing locally (closings at GA Square Mall and Tanger Outlets, for example).

Tattoo Art: As a person with tattoos, scarcely a week goes by without someone asking me questions such as “did it hurt?” or “why did you get it?” or “what does it mean?” Tattoo culture is certainly prominent in Athens, and there are a few relatively new shops that are less well-known than iconic shops like Pain and Wonder or Walk the Line Tattoo. My ideas here are still broad and under-developed, but I think I could produce an interesting piece on tattoo culture in Athens, rivalries and camaraderies between shops, etc., perhaps while incorporating some history on tattoo art. I have contacts at American Classic, Pain and Wonder, and Walk the Line alike who would speak well to this subject.

Photographing Athens Fashion: I have something of an artistic attachment to this idea, but perhaps need to speak with Dr. Suggs about its appropriateness for this class. I would like to do something of a photo essay, perhaps in accompaniment to a write-up on local boutiques and fashion culture, celebrating the variety of styles that can be witnessed in the Athens GA downtown area on any given day. I would accompany each image with a brief blurb about the individual pictured and what fashion means to them. Is this too out there?