Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

I wrote an article for Craft class this week, (the blog title is a work in progress) about the opening of a new exhibit at the WTC Memorial site on Liberty Street.  Really touching gallery, definitely worth seeing.

At first, hearing the stories of Lee Ielpi and others involved in the tragedy, I wanted to present a different story: how despite the passage of time, people are still striving to keep 9/11 relevant in the court of public opinion.  But, when discussing the angle with Jan, I blurted out a sentence which ruined the rest of my afternoon . . .

“I find it funny they are opening such a business-oriented gallery during such a financial crisis.  You think there’s a lesson somewhere in this story?”

The result of such a statement was the aforementioned article.  Yet, after I wrote the article, I realized that I really wanted to take it much further.  Heath Meriwether and I struggled to come up with something to make it pop.  Yet, come deadline, I didn’t have any quotes to support such a claim.

Now, I’m not a financial whiz kid but I think New York’s economy (until this week) was better off that it was in late 2001 and 2002.  The city’s and state’s involvement in the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan, in conjunction with federal cooperation in a similar ilk was a catalyst for stabilization.

The federal government’s bailing out of AIG recently hearkens back to a financial model used post 9/11.  (I need to research this further.)

The question is: After a taxing (no pun intended) campaign in Iraq and Afganistan, and with the economy already hurting prior to Monday’s Wall Street collapse, is there enough money in Uncle Sam’s wallet to help ease the pain?  Or will any of this really matter come Monday morning?

Or should I stick to updating you folks on other televisions I think are wicked cool?

Thoughts?  Comments?  Criticisms?