Updates

From the time I started writing my story, I have been concentrating on improving where it lacks human element. This is very difficult to do because of the distance. I am not in China, so I cannot hit the streets to find sources. I have a lot information for the story from the online research that I have done and newspaper articles that I have read about the subject. These articles have helped in the development of the story, but I need more. The story needs an expert’s voice and that’s where the National Jewish Research and Medical Center comes in. I think with their expertise I will be able to give my readers an accurate and convincing news story about the affects of pollution on the human body and most importantly how it may affect athletes’ performances.
So far I was able to get Medical data from the National Jewish Research and Medical Center about the health effects of air pollution on the human respitory system through e-mail. However, I need to speak to a medical expert from the center, so I will continue to call them and ask to speak to someone until I get the help that I need. Fortunately for me, my story is based on an event that has not yet taken place and the pollution issue in China has not been fixed. I can continue to work on it until I write a great story.I also have been trying to get contacts in China. The two girls who I was hoping would help me from the University of Beijing have fallen flat from the surface of the earth. In the beginning, they sounded very promising and I thought I was going to get some great pictures from them, however I have not heard from them in the last two weeks. At this point, I really don’t think they will come through for me. So, what I have done since is that I have e-mailed several universities in the U.S. to try to find contacts. I sent e-mails to the University of Miami, University of Missouri, University of California and University of Florida. I have gotten a response from UM and they put me in contact with their International student and their Exchange student programs to find potential Chinese contacts. I informed them that the contacts do not have to be Chinese. If they have connections with China and live there, I want to talk to them. I spoke to the directors of both of those programs and told them what we are trying to do at our school. They both were very enthusiastic about it and even admit that their university has never done anything like that. They told me that they will contact me sometime this week once they get in touch with potential students. Right now, I am hoping that this works because I have a few other story ideas; however I need contacts to develop them.