Shane Hoffman-Journalist Reporting Old School Style (3rd Feature)

In radio reporting you have to make a lot of calls. In this day and age it seems like everyone and their cousin directs you to a media representative to talk to you about whatever your story is on. They're supposed to be there to help you but sometimes they seem more like crafty politicians than allies, spinning your questions to fit in their answers and giving you robotic like soundbites filled with information you could have easily gotten off the web. It's a cat and mouse game really. Sometimes you feel like the cat. Most of the time you feel like the mouse.

These interactions can be frustrating, especially when you're on a strict deadline. Sometimes, you have to take risks and instead of calling you just have to go to the source old school style...unannounced.

This weeks story involved a elderly man from Columbias Paquin Towers, a low income housing complex filled with mostly disabled workers and the elderly. I had originally thought about calling their supervisor to ask for permission but I decided against that and instead just went there to get the story. No calls. Just courage combined with a journalists enduring passion to get the best angle on the story.

The man I talked with, David Dolones, was sitting at a table when I walked in sipping a cup of coffee. I asked him if he would be willing to answer a few questions and he said he didn't mind. What followed was one of the most powerful and real interviews I've ever conducted. The ONLY way I got it was by going there unannounced.

Sometimes in this business you have to take a risk in order to get the right source for your story. It may not always go your way, but no matter what it's experience that will hopefully add to your self confidence as a reporter. I'm still a student but I'm learning new things about the profession every week. And who knows? At this rate, I may start going old school more often.

Senior Citizens Struggle to Afford Basic Needs

As health care costs and living expenses continue to rise, senior citizens and those organizations attempting to help them are among the hardest hit.

66-year-old David Dollens lives at Paquin Towers in Columbia each day and knows firsthand the challenges seniors face every day.


Although Dollens claims to be the richest man in the building, he says with living prices on the rise, most tenants have to skip meals because they can’t afford to buy groceries.

“If I’m the richest one in this building you’ve got some poor devils in this building I aint kidding you.” Dollens says. “People in this building I don’t know a one of them that eats three meals a day. They don’t do it. They can’t afford it.”

The federal stimulus plan is designed to help seniors by making the cost of living more affordable. The plan includes an allowance for low income seniors and disabled veterans to receive a rebate check. Dollens says the plan amounts to virtually nothing in the long run for seniors.

“The little old stimulus check that they’re gonna get is supposed to be $250.” Dollens says. “That’s gonna be nothing.That’s totally, totally nothing.”

MU’s Adult Day Connection, a state licensed senior care clinic, is facing similar financial problems. Amy Byergo, director of Adult Day Connection, says the demand is increasing over the past few months for the centers services.


“Our utilities, our food, gas prices, all of those things are really affecting seniors on fixed incomes.” Byergo says. “They don’t have the ability to go out and look for new sources of income and so those rising costs are really affecting the seniors that we work with.”



Medicaid covers the center’s $71 daily fee however Medicare does not. While assistance scholarships are available through the United Way and the City of Columbia, Byergo says many seniors who need the centers assistance still cannot afford the fee.

“That’s one of the primary concerns when they come to us. What our daily fee is and can they afford it.” Byergo says. “And often times or the majority of times families cannot afford our daily fee.”

As the economy continues to worse more senior citizens worry about the future. Dollens says many tenants living at Paquin Towers can only afford Medicaid, which he says in many cases won’t completely cover burial costs.

“They cry because some of them don’t believe in cremation. Because they’re going to be cremated because that’s all they can afford.” Dollens says. “They need to change that, at least so people have enough to be buried.”

As seniors continue to face an uphill battle, organizations like the CMCA and the Adult Day Connection will continue to do their best to provide support. In the meantime, many seniors in mid-Missouri and in America will continue to face difficult choices, in a difficult economy.