First story- it’s in the books

Brian Anthony Miller, NBC5 Next
I began researching this story in an investigative reporting class at Columbia College. Sam Roe, the Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, directed the class to the Web site of the Illinois Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. Mr. Roe’s intent was to show us anyone can find a good story if they know where to look- the board’s discipline reports.

I was looking for something that stuck out. After scrolling through a few months of Discipline reports, I spotted a couple from northwest suburban Crystal Lake who were fined $10,000 each for auctioneering without a license. After debating if anyone would care about a story like this and wondering about the details, I set forth on a mission to find out what happened.

It wasn’t until a few months later that I would get to turn this story into the enterprise piece I had envisioned it becoming. Trying to find a story written about William and Bonnie Speechley proved to be difficult. I could find nothing written specifically about this case. I tried Google, then Nexis, then the local newspaper’s websites. Nothing. And for my intention of an enterprise story, one that had never been reported before, this was a very good thing.

On Monday, I began making calls and tried to get the ball rolling on this story. I called the Illinois State Association of Auctioneers (located, by the way, in Wisconsin- go figure) and spoke with Maxine O’Brien. She gave me some good quotes and clarified her association’s views on eBay stores and the Illinois Auction Act. She was not familiar with the Speechleys’ case, but when I told her about the fines, she said “Good!” Her opinion on the case was obvious. She told me to call an administrative assistant, Susan, with the Illinois Auction board, so I did. Susan said she could not comment on anything that was related to this case, but she was present at the hearing where the decision was made to fine the Speechleys. Then, I contacted Sue Hofer of the IDFPR. She gave me some good information, but would not comment on the specifics of the case.

The first snafu I encountered was that my main source for the story- the Speechleys-were on vacation. After leaving a couple of messages on Monday and Tuesday, I got to speak with Bill Speechley on Wednesday. After some persuasion, I convinced Bill this story needed to be told, and the story would not jeopardize his chances of having the fines dropped by an administrative judge.

I interviewed Bill at his office, A Video and Image Company in Crystal Lake. Despite a few technical mistakes by me, (I interviewed Bill with a window behind him due to space limitations- a mistake I regret making) the interview went quite well.

I then set off to get the other elements of this story. I found an owner of a sell it on eBay store that was doing business without a license. I told him about the story and the Speechley case. I offered him a deal. I would not reveal his name, identity, or take any shots of his business in exchange for an anonymous interview. I agreed not to show his face and he agreed to sit down and talk. You could say I have my first confidential source as a journalist. And no one will ever know who that source is.

I am not a good editor, and my camera skills need some work. But content-wise I feel like I nailed this story, despite having to leave out some good information due to time restrictions of the piece. I shot this story on Wednesday, and I spent most of Thursday editing at the college. I would have never finished without the help of Aaron Owens, the nighttime work aid and Avid genius at Columbia. He really helped me out a lot– so if you’re reading this– THANKS AARON.

I learned a lot and in the end, I felt like I did a pretty good job- not great, not terrible- but pretty good–and I’m ready for the next story on NBC Next.