Lynn Walsh

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Curious about HISD’s building projects? See complete construction, renovation budgets for HISD’s school building program.
Thursday, Dec 09, 2010, 02:37PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

First it was in the red, now it is millions under budget — view the cost details of the projects in the Houston Independent School District’s $1 billion school construction program.

The bond program will build 23 new schools and renovate 134 others. Through state public information laws, Texas Watchdog requested detailed budgets of all of the construction projects and uploaded them here.

The best way to search: Use the search box located at the top of the page using HISD and the name of the school you are interested in. The page will have other documents on it as well so the fastest and easiest way to get the information is by using the search box at the top of the page. The best way to search is by school name and “HISD”

For instance, a search for Roosevelt Elementary will send you here. HISD will spend $16.1 million at the Greenspoint-area school, more than doubling its square footage.

The budget reports show the design fee the Houston district paid for the school ($840,000 at Roosevelt), whether land was purchased (for Roosevelt, it wasn’t) or how much HISD expects to spend furnishing the schools once construction is complete ($1.8 million in furnishings at Roosevelt).

Other details available in the budget documents for each school construction project include cost of a media centers, technology equipment and science lab upgrades, construction management fees, demolition costs and more.

Voters approved the bonds for HISD to build and renovate schools across the district in 2007. Since then, details about how much the district is spending, how much each project is costing and whether there would be enough money to fund the projects, has been fuzzy.

In July, a report from the nonprofit Council of the Great City Schools said the $1 billion construction program suffered from communication problems, lacked planning and was missing budget reports.

In August, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said publicly that the program was $39 million over budget.

But in October, an outside consultant said the HISD bond program budget was “healthy,” and was $4 million under budget.

HISD trustees are expected to vote tonight on proposed changes to the budgets for construction projects at more than 10 schools. Details on what schools are involved can be found here.

Did something catch your eye while looking at the construction project details for a school? Think the amount being spent is a little high? A little low? Did the school just get a new science lab, gym or classrooms? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feed in your newsreader. We’re also on MySpace, Digg, FriendFeed, NewsVine and tumblr.

A story written for Radio Television Digital News Association:

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

Nov 01 2010
By Lynn Walsh, Texas Watchdog

Stepping outside your comfort zone – no one likes to do it and it can be quite a challenge.

The trouble with being in the news business is that every day is not the same and there are always new topics, new subject matters and new people we, as journalists, find ourselves writing about, learning about and talking about.

Whether it is a feature story on a sport you have never heard of or a hard news piece on the economy, we have to know the details, those details have to be correct and we have to tell a story that the audience can relate to and understand. It can be easier said then done, I know, but there are some things you can do to make the transition from novice to expert a little easier or at least more comfortable.

Have websites ready. The great thing about the internet is that it is full of information; a downfall of the internet is that it is full of information. When it is crunch-time in the newsroom, just “googling” words and phrases and people is not going to always cut it; you have to know where you are going and if the information is helpful. Set up a Delicious account and begin saving bookmarks and web tools as you find them. If you see a great story on the economy, bookmark the site it mentions. Bookmarking sites as you see them makes it seem more manageable and less overwhelming.

Attend trainings and Webinars. Journalism training is everywhere and not all of it is expensive. Organizations like RTDNA offer Webinars for free to members. There are also a lot of online Webinar training opportunities offered by non-profits, business groups, etc. The key is to participate in a session that will teach you something new. If you never cover the economy, try attending a financial seminar, etc.

Make contacts. Attend events in the community and put yourself out there to be contacted. Try to attend a variety of events and not just events associated with your beat or specialization. You never know when you will need a contact in the medical field, oil and gas or a lawyer.

Be organized. Now that you have made contacts and have web resources keep them organized. The key is to make sure you can get to the information you have collected quickly. Try organizing business cards by career fields or creating an online spreadsheet with all of the data (that way it can be searched).

The more you prepare and are ready to cover a subject matter you are not familiar with the more comfortable you will feel while doing it. Think of it this way: you can learn something new and you might even enjoy it!

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

See the data for yourself: Houston ISD magnet school funding and enrollment numbers
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2010, 01:30PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Funding for magnet programs in the Houston Independent School District varies drastically — and Texas Watchdog is bringing you the complete data from the school system so you can see for yourself.

Some programs do not receive any additional funding from HISD, while others will receive more than $450,000 from the school system this year. As a story in yesterday’s Houston Chronicle explains, there is no set formula that dictates how much money a magnet program will receive from HISD.

Examples of funding disparities between elementary, middle and high school programs are numerous, as are funding discrepancies between similarly-themed schools.

To see for yourself, view the spreadsheet Texas Watchdog is making the data public.

We’ve also added a column to show each school’s the most recent accountability ratings from the Texas Education Agency. Keep in mind that the rating from TEA is for the entire school and is not specific to the magnet program; it is possible to have a successful magnet program at a failing school, as the state does not differentiate the accountability ratings.

Magnet programs in HISD are categorized based on theme and set-up. More details about how the magnet programs in HISD are classified can be found here.

The amount of magnet funding a program receives is in addition to the other money that the host school receives, along with school-specific grants, funds for the Apollo 20 program for failing schools, and other federal, state or local money.

Vanguard magnets are for students who are extremely smart or talented in certain subjects and are labeled as “gifted and talented.”

Some observations:

* All of the Apollo 20 middle schools — Key, Attucks, Fondren, Dowling and Ryan — get additional magnet money from HISD.
* Three of the four Apollo 20 high schools receive additional magnet funding: Lee, Sharpstown and Kashmere.
* HISD will spend $11.5 million in magnet funding on elementary magnet programs this year, $3 million on middle school programs and $2.4 million on high school programs.
* Architecture/graphic design magnet-themed programs will receive the most money this year. Foreign language-themed magnets will receive the second-largest amount of money, and integrated technology programs receive the least.

Keep in mind, too, that the table below may have more columns than your browser window can easily display at one time (depending on the size of your monitor) — so use the horizontal scroll bars to see the additional columns on the right.

A story written for the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA):

Green Room Blog
By Lynn Walsh

Flashing lights, awards and a room full of inspiring journalists.

That was the scene Monday night in the Green Room at the Radio Television Digital News Association Edward R. Murrow Awards show as journalists from across the country accepted awards for excellent electronic journalism stories.

If you wanted to congratulate someone for a win or ask someone how they were able to produce, write, shoot or edit such a great story then the Green Room was the place to be. After receiving awards in categories ranging from best use of sound and best use of video to best feature report and hard news story.

Of course there was lots of picture-taking with some of the most well known broadcast journalists in the news industry (Ann Curry, Brian Williams, John Roberts, Harry Smith, Jim Sciutto, Keith Olbermann), but the Green Room was more than a photo-op; it was a room where colleagues could congratulate one another on a job well done and most importantly gain knowledge and insight from other award-winning journalists.

While interviewing the awardees for the RTDNA YouTube page I was reminded of two things; one the role and importance of new technology and two the need for great storytelling.

The winners Monday were able to tell a story to audiences across the country while eliciting emotions and providing valuable information.

The key to telling a great story many said is capturing great characters. Capturing great characters can mean spending a lot of time with the subject of your story, something many awardees put into action while working on their broadcast pieces.

But, it is not just the people in the story that make a broadcast narrative roll off the tip of the tongue. Many awardees expressed the viewers and listeners need for information and without fulfilling that need they will tune out and be left unsatisfied.

While storytelling may be more of an art than using new technologies that does not mean the newest gadgets available to journalists are not helpful when it comes to putting together award-winning stories.

Over and over again, awardees mentioned how by using an iPhone or small recording device captured they were able to capture the best sound in the story. Most of the winners did not have huge production crews but merely the phone in their pant pocket to capture the natural sounds and video that surrounded them at the scene of their stories.

Online tools, like Twitter, were also valuable to many of the awardees as they monitored breaking news and tracked down sources to interview.

The knowledge and desire in the Green Room Monday far outweighed the bright flashes of the camera—something, that in a time when some may say the future of the news industry is bleak, should be inspiring to journalists everywhere as we continue to search for the truth and tell stories that matter.

Videos produced for RTDNA Edward Murrow Awards multimedia coverage:

Brian Williams:

Ann Curry:

Keith Olbermann:

John Roberts, 2010 presenter:

John Roberts, 2010 presenter:

John Roberts, 2010 presenter:

A story written for the Radio Television Digital News Association:

NPR’s Social Media Outreach Helps Gain Younger Audiences
By Lynn Walsh, Texas Watchdog

NPR is not just for members of the older generation results from recent National Public Radio social media surveys show.

According to the NPR surveys, the median age of an NPR radio listener is 50, Facebook fan is 40 and Twitter follower 35. NPR received more than 50,000 survey responses from their Facebook fans and Twitter followers and learned:

-55 percent of NPR Twitter fans follow between 2-5 NPR Twitter accounts
-About 75 percent of NPR Twitter followers and Facebook Fans interact with NPR content on a daily basis
-NPR Twitter followers and Facebook Fans interact with NPR using the radio, podcasts, mobile apps and the Internet
-More than 3 million of NPR’s Twitter followers drive less than a fifth of the amount of referral traffic than the 1.25 million Facebook fans

The statistics go on and on and offer an amazing insight into how a news organization that is known for its popularity among the older generation is not just using social media but is capitalizing on it and seeing results with younger generations.

As reports show, news consumption is on the rise and these surveys prove that younger generations are consuming news just in different ways. According to a recent article featured on the social media and technology website, Mashable, NPR is not the only news organization seeing an audience shift in news consumption:

“Here’s a stat just for news sites: The average Facebook user who “likes” content on a news website is 34 — that’s about two decades younger than the average newspaper subscriber. We’ve known for some time that the future of journalism and social media are, at this point, inextricably linked; this stat provides a little hard evidence for that conclusion.”

Looking at surveys by NPR and as a follower of many news outlet’s social media accounts I think it is important to point out a few key finding in the NPR surveys.

1. NPR actively uses multiple social media accounts to interact with viewers. NPR has Twitter accounts based on subject matter (@NPRpolitics) and specific to shows (@NPRamericanlife.) The accounts not only exist but are active accounts in which they each interact with followers. According to the survey this is paying off:

“Following more NPR accounts equals a richer experience. We asked Twitter users to rate a series of statements on the 1-5 scale. Heavy users of NPR Twitter accounts (following 10+ accounts) were more likely to click through links posted Twitter than more casual followers of NPR Twitter accounts (1-5 accounts): 4.2 vs. 3.9 on a 1-5 scale respectively.”

2. NPR Twitter and Facebook followers are news-centric. According to the survey, this applies to consumption of news by NPR and other news organizations. Social media followers are reading, viewing and listening to news using multiple platforms and multiple news organizations. Social media is a great tool to get news headlines out to the public, NPR said.

3. NPR Twitter and Facebook followers get most or all of their news online. Social media users prefer getting their news from online organizations. The debate over the future of print publications will continue and there may not be a known solution or answer anytime soon. One thing we do know is that online news consumption is a favorite among many.

NPR has capitalized and managed to effectively reach a younger audience through the use of social media. The use of multiple social media accounts, a variety of mobile apps, and the ease of free online access to podcasts has helped the news organization remain a major player in the ever-changing world of news while at the same time introducing a new, younger audience to what they have to offer.

The use of social media and new technologies by NPR is just one example of a news organization thinking out of the box and pushing forward during the challenging time news organizations are facing. NPR seems to be embracing the challenges and changes news organizations across the world are facing, are you?

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Learn how to investigate schools and school districts with our TrentTV Webinar, now on YouTube
Thursday, Oct 07, 2010, 04:49PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Learn some tips and tricks on investigating school systems on the latest episode of Trent TV.

The September episode can be viewed below or on the Texas Watchdog YouTube page.

Watch live streaming video from newmediatvorg at livestream.com

Questions about investigating school districts or general education investigation questions can be directed to Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org or @LWalsh and @TexasWatchdog on Twitter.

Next month Texas Watchdog staff will shed light on environmental investigations. The show will air at 11:30 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 26, on the Texas Watchdog homepage or at www.newmediatv.org.

Viewers are encouraged to submit questions to Texas Watchdog prior to the live broadcast to News@TexasWatchdog.org and @TexasWatchdog on Twitter.

Trent TV is a free monthly training webinar for journalists, blogger, activists, and citizen-journalists. It can be viewed LIVE once a month on www.newmediatv.org. Archived episodes can be viewed on our site, on www.newmediatv.org or on the Texas Watchdog YouTube page.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

HISD magnet programs to undergo performance reviews
Thursday, Sep 23, 2010, 06:33PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Magnet programs across the Houston Independent School District will soon receive a full performance review that is expected to be complete by the end of the year, according to a presentation given to school district trustees Thursday.

In August, HISD trustees approved an outside review of all of HISD’s magnet programs. The review will be conducted by an outside group, Magnet Schools of America, and will not cost more than $275,000.

The review will be divided into two phases, according to HISD. Phase one will focus on community and district feedback; phase two will focus on individual magnet programs.

HISD has scheduled the parent and community forums for Oct. 11-15, with four sessions in the evening and two daytime sessions. Location and time details have not yet been announced. Magnet Schools of America will visit individual magnet programs Oct. 25-29.

Magnet programs in HISD have come under fire before. In April, trustees debated whether or not apply for federal funding to bring more magnet programs to HISD. Then and now, magnet schools remain a hot issue in the district between board members, parents and HISD administrators.

Before the presentation started, trustees and HISD Superintendent Terry Grier began to criticize the current ways in which magnet programs operate within HISD.

“There are lots of comments about the magnet program review taking away choice, but we are looking at providing more choice, but quality choice,” said HISD’s chief academic officer, Chuck Morris.

Trustee Larry Marshall said open enrollment, where parents can chose to send their child to a school outside the zone in which they live, is just the beginning. “This is kind of like the first shot over the bow, and this board better get ready,” Marshall said. “Somewhere down the line open enrollment has to be revisited.”

When students chose to attend a magnet program out of their zone, students living within the magnet program zone get blocked out. Grier said every year his office receives complaints from parents because their child cannot attend their home school and are forced to attend a school that is farther away.

HISD trustee Mike Lunceford said he wants to see the terms used to describe magnet schools defined more clearly. “We have to define what terms mean. What does it mean to be ‘exceptional’? What does ‘quality’ mean?” Lunceford said.

At the board workshop meeting Thursday, Grier said he was concerned with the way magnet programs are currently being funding. “There is little rhyme or reason about who (magnet schools) gets what money,” Grier said. View his entire comments in the clip below.

Magnet schools in HISD currently range from stand-alone schools to school-within-a-school programs. Morris said some magnet schools call themselves magnets but have never received board approval to do so.

According to HISD, a preliminary report is expected Dec. 1, and the evaluations are expected to be complete sometime in late December.

Magnet Schools of America is a private nonprofit that was originally based in Houston before moving to Washington, D.C., in 2000.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Learn how to investigate schools and school districts on next Tuesday’s TrentTV webinar
Thursday, Sep 23, 2010, 02:16PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Investigating education can be overwhelming. With all of the meetings, lots of staff turnover and complicated budgets, it can be hard to know where to start.

That is why Texas Watchdog is dedicating the next episode of “TrentTV” to education. Learn some tricks of the trade that I’ve picked up while covering the Houston Independent School District.

From understanding the different allocations of funds to scanning over school board members’ conflict-of-interest forms, TrentTV is going to cover it all. Join us for our broadcast at 11:30 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Sept. 28, on www.newmediatv.org.

Trent TV is a free monthly webinar for journalists, citizen-journalists, activists and bloggers. The episodes are streamed live in partnership with New Media TV. All previous episodes are available on our YouTube channel.

Follow along in the discussion on Twitter — follow us at @TexasWatchdog or search for “#TrentTV.” Contact me with any questions or topics ideas you would like to see discussed on Twitter @LWalsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org or 713-228-2850.

A story written for the Radio Television Digital News Association, RTDNA:

Will Twitter Become a News Organization?
Sep 20 2010
By Lynn Walsh, Texas Watchdog

At a time when more Americans are spending time consuming news, Twitter, arguably the most popular social media site, has announced changes to the way information is viewed, shared and consumed on its site.

Soon, video can be viewed directly on the site; this includes clips, short movies and even live video. These changes, combined with the many examples of news breaking first on Twitter, raise the question: Will Twitter become a news outlet?

From the captured Japanese journalist who used Twitter to announce to the world that he was alive to the recent shootings at Discovery Channel, Twitter continues to break news to the world. MTV has hired a TJ (Twitter Jockey). Could Twitter journalists be next?

It is debatable whether Twitter will be a lasting site or if something new will take hold and dominate the social media world. What I do not think is debatable is whether or not social media and crowd sourcing is going to last. It will!

How will this change the way we, as journalists report the news? How will this change the future responsibilities we will have in a newsroom? What does this mean for how we break stories?

I do not have all the answers and I am not sure there is just one correct answer to any of those questions, but I do think there is a way that we, as journalists, can embrace the changes and adapt to whatever new technology brings our way.

Embrace it and use social media sites to your advantage. Social media is making interview subject, the general public and information more accessible. When people and information are more accessible, our stories can be better, more informative and make more of an impact. If you cannot find a phone number for someone, no worries – search Facebook, “tweet” them or connect with them on LinkedIn. Yes-this means you now have to maintain a presence on these sites, but why wouldn’t you? The benefits far outweigh the amount of time it takes to establish that presence.

Crowd source and do it often! Journalists are no longer privy to certain information about press conferences, major announcements from political candidates or celebrities or natural disaster updates like they used to be. So what if FEMA announces an update about a natural disaster before your station does? That is their job and the information is getting out there. Now, step up and forward the story: use social media to find people who are stranded, help spread details about locations of safe areas and dangerous areas, etc. Use crowd sourcing and information found online from viewers to help you do just that.

Be Flexible. As technology changes and as people consume news differently, our job as journalists is going to change. Expect it and enjoy it. Trying out new technologies is fun. Be the first to live tweet from a local city council meeting. Be the first to live stream from your phone while conducting an interview. Be the first to engage your audience online with question and answer sessions, etc. The first time your big interview is viewed may not be on the nightly newscast, be prepared for it and, most importantly, think of creative ways to keep the story relevant once it does air on television.

Will Twitter become a news organization? I am not sure it will, but what I do know is that we should embrace it. We should become Twitter journalists because we want to. There are people who want to see the news as it happens not hours later on television. There are people who want to help us as journalists, embrace them, use their information and thank them. It is Twitter and other social media sites that make it very easy. Maybe thank them too!