Author: reporting

By: Tyler Addison

 

Mayor Girtz said that he and the Athens-Clarke County government will use residents’ feedback when making decisions regarding land use in Athens at a press conference on Friday, April 19 at the University of Georgia. 

“One of the things that we know is that we’re gonna have to have more places for multifamily housing as we begin to go vertical,” said Girtz “And so we brought this discussion to the public over the last number of months with a series of public presentations.” 

According to Girtz, the Athens government has conducted dozens of public input sessions and would like as much input as possible from different residents including students at the university.

“We’ve made sure that we’ve gotten dozens of public input sessions, and so we might encourage parents or homeowners or business people or retirees to attend those sessions, we’d like students at them as well,” Girtz said.

Public events regarding future land use concerns were only held starting March 21 and will conclude at the end of April. There is however, an online survey that will be available until April 30, 2024. 

“I believe they’ll implement part of it, but it’s kind of impossible for a government to make everyone happy and do all the things they say that they’re going to do,” said Emma Russell, a public relations major in her second year at University of Georgia. 

During the press conference, Girtz mentioned some of the more popular feedback from the public includes a desire for a more walkable city as well as more greenery and parks. Girtz took a moment to emphasize the importance of the outdoors and the positive effects it can have for mental health.

“Because for decades now, there’s been research into human psychology, cognitive development that says if you can get outdoors more often, and if you can see greenery, if you see the river, if you can see trees, that’s going to be healthier for you,” said Girtz.

While Girtz did not cite any specific sources to support his claims, there is scientific evidence supporting the idea that nature can have a positive effect on people’s mental health according to an article featured on the American Psychological association website in 2020, as well as an article from the National Library of Medicine. 

 

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Why I Wrote the Story:

This was my final major assignment for my reporting I class in spring 2024.

 

Q & A with Mark Mobley
By: Tyler Addison

Mark Mobley is an award-winning music journalist and radio producer who currently works as the director of marketing and communications for the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center.
Q: What was your relationship with music growing up?
A: My father was an Army bandsman. Really? Yeah, he played flute in the Third Army Band at Fort McPherson, which is now Tyler Perry studios. So when I came along as a kid, I just fell in love with music and started taking drum lessons. Kept my lessons off to piano, started composing. Gigged all around Atlanta in like university wind ensembles and orchestras and stuff. The earliest thing I remember hearing on the radio was Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay.” Then got into really weird classical music as a high school student and then went to FSU for percussion. I decided midway through that wasn’t really for me, that I didn’t have the discipline required to be an orchestral musician.
Q: What was it like being a radio producer?
A: I was at NPR. I started as a commentator. I was just a guest in the mid 90s and then I went full time to a show called “Performance Today.” I was in charge of all the music. So the host and I would program the show together. “Performance Today” is 90% concert tape from all around the world. I supervised people who acquired the tape and edited the tape and got it ready. Then I picked out what was to go on air. I also did some reporting and producing, but there’s also just the curation work of figuring out what goes on the air, that sort of thing. So I was with NPR on and off for about 20 years. Lastly working with NPR music as an editor and writer.
Q: What did you do as a music critic?
A: So my job was to cover both reviewing and interviewing and reporting arts in music specifically, but the arts in general in that area. There are all different types of music critics, I mean, the ones that people know now really are the people who write for websites like “Pitchfork” and you know, NPR if your music is still really robust, the online version of that. So you basically interpret music for people, you listen and you do your research. You figure out a way and words to describe what you hear and it’s very hard work, but it’s very exciting to do.
Q: Do you have any advice for people who are interested in pursuing music journalism or journalism in general?
A: Read a lot, write a lot. I did not go to journalism school. My closest friend and one of my best colleagues, who is now on the “New York Times” bestseller list as a nonfiction writer of books, Earl Swift. We did not go to journalism school we learned by doing and I think that’s the most important. The education is great. You’re getting good training. You’re learning a lot in a short amount of time, but there’s no substitute for actually doing the work. Listen to music that you don’t know, listen to different kinds of music. Just acquaint yourself with a lot of things. And if there’s a kind of music you don’t understand or you don’t like particularly well, listen to it again and see what makes it work. You know, because you’re gonna have to write about things that are not your deal.

Comments trimmed for length and clarity

 

 

Why I Wrote the Story:

This is the first story I wrote for my reporting class in 2024. I needed to conduct an interview that was relevant to music, and Mark Mobley was able to sit down and talk with.