New Website

Here's a link to my website. It's a continual work in progress, so feel free to check back occasionally.

http://ericdurban.weebly.com/

Enjoy the awesomeness!

It Ain't 2008 Anymore

Hello to my adoring fans,

Since I am no longer abroad and by my watch 2008 was last year, I've decided to change things up.

I am now operating the blog previously known as ericabroad08.blogspot.com, under its new alias: ericdurban.blogspot.com. Same great stuff, new name.

Feel free though to continue to refer to it as "the blog previously known as."

Thanks,

The Management

Opening Ceremony Fireworks

I was digging through my external hard drive and found this video from the fireworks finale at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies. It's pretty cool, so I'd thought I would share.

My Drive to School: in 57 seconds

My Drive to School: in 57 seconds from Eric Durban on Vimeo.

(captured with the FlipCam on my dashboard)

Craning To See the Action

(photos courtesy of Eric Durban, aka me)

(story courtesy of the Columbia Tribune)

A strong gust of wind blew over a construction crane that landed on a downtown apartment building this morning, resulting in no injuries.

Workers from Watkins Roofing were using crane to move debris off the roof of Booches, 110 S. Ninth St., when a strong gust of wind shifted the weight of the load and caused the crane to fall onto its left side, hitting the Niedermeyer Apartments building at 920 Cherry St.

The National Weather Service said the strongest wind gust this morning was 36 mph and occurred at 10:08 a.m.

Occupants quickly vacated the apartment building just after 10 a.m., and construction workers notified authorities of the incident.

The load of debris remains on the roof of the apartment building where it landed during the fall. Capt. Eric Hartman of the Columbia Fire Department said the city’s Protective Inspections Division was working to determine the structural integrity of the building.

A crew of five roofers was working when the incident occurred.

Niedermeyer resident Miles Barnhart, watching television in his living room, heard the roofers yelling and flew to his window just in time to watch the crane slowly fall to its left side toward his apartment.

The crane arm punched through his bathroom wall, he said, and debris flew everywhere. “I knew what was happening,” he said, smoking a cigarette and still shaking.

By 11 a.m., occupants remained outside the building sharing their stories of what happened. Ashley Bohine, 22, said she was sleeping when she heard yelling outside the window.

“The whole building shook,” she said. “I looked out the window, and there was a crane on the building. How does that happen?”

Bohine said she immediately began taking photos of the incident from her window and called her mom.

The Internet is a Big Place

This may sound like a "duh" statement, but the Internet is a big place. Like really big. Working on my capstone project has forced me to push the boundaries on your ordinary Google search. Google can provide you hundreds of thousands of search results, but there's millions more out there it doesn't get you. I was introduced to several databases that could provide help in my quest for knowledge and information. It's amazing to travel to the far corners of the Internet when someone provides you the tools to do so. Links that would have taken me hours to find on Google were right at my fingertips in minutes. Maybe it's weird that I get really excited when someone gives me a link to a cool new site, but information is key.

Search optimization is an extremely valuable skill to have these days. Those who know exactly how to phrase a search can find countless sources that other won't. Especially in the world of journalism, finding information in a timely manner is key. When deadlines reign, you can't waste 30 minutes trying to find this, that or the other. It could be the difference between you or the other guy getting the job. I spend several hours a day on the Internet, but if there's no roadmap then your lost. It's such a big place, you need to know how to get around. It's a lot harder than it seems.

Beat Boxing

I just took over 'The Beat' from a guy who graduated last semester. I'm going to be hosting it every week hopefully starting in the next two weeks. It's a KBIA radio show that brings in editors and reporters from the Columbia Missourian and we take a more in-depth look at issues and articles printed in the paper. It's a way to go beyond the story and talk deeper. Next semester I'm taking over 'The Beat', which will run several times a week. The plan is to speak with editors from various sections of the paper each day. Being able to speak with editors and reporters is a very interesting way to talk about the news and provide a new look at a story. Transparency is always something that media outlets strive for and I think this show really works towards that goal. The show is linked on the Columbia Missourian website and KBIA.com. Enjoy!

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/05/04/beat-mu-football-players-continue-quest-nfl/

Name Change

For those of you that don't know, Mizzou is one school in the larger UM System that includes Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis. We were then always technically known as the University of Missouri - Columbia. I'm sure though for anyone not aware of the UM System, the University of Missouri name would refer to the school in Columbia. Now the people in charge have finally seen the light. http://www.missouri.edu/news/name-restoration Starting in 2008 is when I first started noticing the name changes. When I got back to campus this year, one of the first things I recognized was the updated signs on each corner of campus (pictured above). The signs previously displayed the old name. This is just one of the amazing amount of changes I've seen since returning to school; definitely the most of any year. Who knows what's next?

Getting Started on the Capstone

So it's back to school for what should be my last semester in school. And the last semester means capstone. I'm excited about what's to come working with RJI Fellow Michael Skoler and fellow classmate Jacqueline Brixey. We're attempting to create a multimedia case study of new business models for journalism. Basically we're going to be analyzing business's and media that are succeeding financially and attempt to show how their models can be translated into journalism. It's going to involve a lot of business school type stuff which should be interesting. I don't have a lot of experience with business, but I think that'll be part of the fun. It'll be cool to learn a different side of journalism. So far I've been reading several case studies of company's like Facebook and LinkedIn. The hope is to complete a case study by the end of the semester and present it in front of a panel and at a workshop. I'm sure this project is going to test a lot of my abilities and probably my patience as well, but the challenge is intriguing. In addition to some reading, I've also gotten started looking in to a couple companies and trying to dig deep to find out what's making them successful. We shall see.

Houston County Police Utilize Simulator For Training

Follow this link.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain/article/2866/0/1535677/Atlanta.Morning.Edition/Houston.Police.Utilize.Simulator.For.Training

ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Officers there have been using a state-of-the-art virtual training device for the last several months. The 52,000 dollar simulator gives officers 300 realistic scenarios to deal with, ranging from an armed robbery to a suicidal man waving a gun.

Deputy Alex Busch says the new simulator enhances the level of training.

"It gives them shoot, no shoot scenarios and allows them to decide whether to use lethal force, which is there sidearm or less lethal."

Each training session is monitored and critiqued. Busch says the response from officers has been positive.

"They walk away, they learn something and they see their shortcomings and what they need to work on."

Now, Deputy Busch says, the department no longer has to send away many of its 110 officers for training.

Gwinnett County, Georgia Looks to Add Jobs

(I thought I would start putting the scripts up for the stories I write at WABE in Atlanta.)

GWINNETT JOBS / Eric Durban
7-27-09
ENCO: 05662 and 05663

With the economy in a downturn, Gwinnett County is making a push to bring over 36,000 jobs and 1 point 6 billion dollars annually to the area.

Gwinnett will use tax allocation districts to lure businesses into the county. The districts are redevelopment areas that use public money to fund improvements.

Chuck Warbington is the executive director for the village’s improvement district. He says the recent move of NCR to the county could bring energy for the initiative.

ENCO: 05662
TRT 0:00:07
“…got to have them both.”

“We’re targeting the whole gamut, not just corporate jobs, not just service jobs. They go hand in hand; you’ve got to have them both.”

Officials spent 18 months researching strategically placed areas to develop along the I-85 and US-78 corridors. Warbington says their study takes a lot of risk away from the developer.

ENCO: 05663
TRT 0:00:05
“…redevelopment to happen.”

“We are zoning in on where we want these types of jobs and these types of redevelopment to happen.”

He anticipates the 15-year plan will begin to find investors within the next two years.

Tornado Coverage in Kirksville, Mo.

On Thursday, May 14, I was fortunate enough to cover the previous night's tornado damage in Kirksville, Mo., about an hour and a half north of Columbia. And by fortunate I mean it was a very enriching experience to see tornado destruction first hand. You come away with a new perspective on storms like this when you're able to see things close up. Out of the several major natural disaster type storms, tornados are by far the most frightening to me. I think most of it has to do with their unpredictable nature. For example, the tornado in Kirksville destroyed one house, hopped over the church next to it and then came down again to destroy the house on the other side. How can anyone feel safe when something like that is around? Another guy and I made the early morning drive, leaving at 4:30 am, in order to report for KBIA's morning newscast. We arrived at Kirksville's damage site, other places outside of Kirksville had also been hit, around 6 am. It was a very odd scene that early in the morning to be walking around a subdivision that had just been destroyed. The sun was coming up to reveal that several families were most certainly not going to be returning to their homes that day. I thought I'd share some photos that I took during our three hours in Kirksville.


A few houses in the Lakeside Estates subdivision that were destroyed.


Another house in the subdivision.


Jim Robertson's Chevrolet dealership was entirely destroyed. The showroom was gutted and no car in the lot was left undamaged.


Cars were strewn about the lot and thrown into neighboring fields.

KBIA: The Beat

I just took over 'The Beat' from a guy graduating this May. I'm going to be hosting it every week next semester. It's a KBIA radio show that brings in editors and reporters from the Columbia Missourian and we take a more in-depth look at issues and articles printed in the paper. It's a way to go beyond the story and talk deeper. Next semester I'm taking over 'The Beat', which will run several times a week. The plan is to speak with editors from various sections of the paper each day. Being able to speak with editors and reporters is a very interesting way to talk about the news and provide a new look at a story. Transparency is always something that media outlets strive for and I think this show really works towards that goal. The show is linked on the Columbia Missourian website and KBIA.com. Enjoy!

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/05/04/beat-mu-football-players-continue-quest-nfl/

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

La Quebrada (Mexico) Cliff Divers

Here is a video of the famous cliff divers in La Quebrada, Mexico; just outside Acapulco. This is one of Mexico's most popular tourist spots, and for good reason. Kids are diving into a narrow inlet from heights up to 148 feet. The day we went there was a 13-year-old boy diving. I was legitimately nervous watching it happen. They scale the rock face with their bare hands and feet up to the spot where they are going to dive. Intense stuff.