Reporting Olney: At the Heart of the Story

We drive up Broad Street, pass the Olney Transportation Center and turn right on Godfrey Avenue. We drive around in a loop, recognizing stores we've gone into, business owners we've interviewed, and the streets we've walked. Three months ago, Olney and Logan were just another stop on the subway en route to Center City or Cecil B. Moore. It was another Philadelphia neighborhood sitting on the edge of new revitalization or imminent decay.

We learned quickly, however, that our neighborhood deserves more than the cliche generalization we expected. Someone once told me that Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods, a city where residents are staunchly proud of their communities. The last three months reporting in Olney and Logan has proven this point.

As journalists, there were no right or wrong way to get the story. Sometimes we scheduled interviews weeks in advance, and other times, we walked through the streets with a camera and notepad and a story walked right up to us.
Problems that exist in most Philadelphia neighborhoods are also echoed in Olney and Logan. A seemingly endless cycle of crime, poverty and struggle can be seen everywhere. Residents want more lights on their streets, increased police presence and good schools for their children.




In the short time that we have covered our two neighborhoods, a police officer and a Korean business owner were shot and killed in Olney. But unlike the news vans that barge into the area to get a 30-second sound bite posthumously, we stayed and we tried to cover the stories that are often overlooked in the city's busy newsrooms.

We've met an amazing array of people, from the legendary Philadelphia singer Willa Ward, to a Logan resident who is losing her house to foreclosure.


We've met community members who are trying to keep their local newspaper alive, and people who're holding onto their family businesses in a time of economic downturn. Every person we've met so far had a compelling story to tell. Their stories may not be "breaking news" or Pulitzer-winning investigative stories, but their ordinary experiences and incredible tenacity holds an important message for all of us.
At the heart of the story, in all of our stories, has been the common thread of the human experience and the strength of Philadelphia's neighborhoods.

Group 9 Olney/Logan- Mari Saito, Casey Snyder and Julio Nunez