Documentary Pitch #1

I was thinking about investigating the quality of care (or rather the lack thereof) provided by the worst nationally ranked VA hospitals. There are a handful of these medical centers that are consistently low ranked by the VA each year, whereas other's ranking fluctuate from year to year, and another handful are consistently ranked at the top.




  • What’s the trouble? An explanation of the problem, issue, conflict, dilemma, or question that you think is at the heart of the story, the thing that makes it interesting to you.


I would like to investigate the differences between these two institutions to see where the disparity lies. One possibility I have considered, is the difference in the size of the client population. 50,000 service members make their home in El Paso and Fort Bliss, and there is a sizable population of military retirees living there as well. I don't know how the veteran population of Boise and the surrounding area compares, but I think it might be interesting to see if there is some correlation between the veteran population being served, and the quality of care being provided. This is just one question that I am considering for this topic pitch.

  • Characters or interview subjects. Who are the characters in the story? If you’re not sure, what kinds of people might you talk to?
I have several friends (former army buddies) that I could interview over the phone about this subject.


  • Point of view.  What’s your stake in the story?  Why does it interest you?  What do you want to find out? 
I have experience with two such institutions, both of which are on the opposite ends of the scale: the Boise VA, which has been top nationally ranked for several years in a row, and the El Paso VA which has been at the bottom. As a veteran, I am aware of, and sensitive to, any problems or issues facing the veteran community.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 11, 2018 at 3:53 PM

    This seems like a great topic to explore in depth and one that you could bring a lot too with your personal experience. If you do this piece the main things that you would need to keep in mind is building credibility and being honest. There so much sheer information about health care out there and it can be complicated so making yourself trust worthy would be really important. I wonder if you could find any sources of other veterans experiences or even of people who have worked in these hospitals.

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  2. UnknownMarch 11, 2018 at 7:48 PM

    This is an interesting topic! I think that with your personal experience, you can really get to the heart of the issue with the care of our veterans. I think because of the sheer distance between each center it may require extra fact-checking, but I think that it will be awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 12, 2018 at 8:09 AM

    I think this is a very interesting pitch, because it is both an important national topic and something personal to you; that gives you an advantage in being able to provide insight to both the micro and macro aspects of what you are talking about.

    The one thing I am curious about--for myself as well as you--is how easy it is to record people over the phone/Skype/ect. It can already be difficult to get good sound quality when our own voices are the only thing we have to worry about, so making sure the interviews are clear is key.

    Other than the tech aspect, though, this seems like a great story.

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  4. BballengerMarch 12, 2018 at 9:14 AM

    Hi Bryan,
    I share everyone's enthusiasm about this pitch. The key, I think, is not to treat this as a work of journalism (though it certainly deserves that kind of treatment) but as a story that implicates you, the narrator. Your own experience as a veteran who received care at a "good" and "not so good" VA should probably be the backbone of the story. John's question about recording via phone or Skype is a good one. I have had students successfully record interviews that way, though I can't remember what they learned about technique. I'll dig around.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMarch 12, 2018 at 1:38 PM

    Hello Bryan,
    This is something that I think needs to be explored and something that many people are not aware of and I think it would be a great idea for a radio documentary. I think it would also be very strong if you could put in your own experiences in the piece because you are a veteran and can shed light on a subject for people like me who have no experience in stuff like this whatsoever.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownMarch 13, 2018 at 6:42 AM

    I'm personally curious about how much funding has to do with the quality of care vs other factors, as that feels like a really good place to research. Furthermore, I don't even know where the funding for these hospitals come from vs traditional hospitals, so I'd like to be told that in your essay.

    Great topic idea.

    ReplyDelete

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