#1.) Investigations: Eugene property management company named in multistate antitrust lawsuit by Reilly Norgren
Eugene property management company Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC was named in an antitrust lawsuit due to an alleged attempt to decrease competition in Eugene apartment pricing.
“To me, journalism has always been about getting important information to your readers. After finding out that Greystar was named in this lawsuit, there was no question that a story had to be written,” Reilly Norgren, campus news and investigations reporter, said.
Norgren said the process of writing the article involved a large amount of reading.
“The Department of Justice had a press release that led to pages and pages of documents outlining the lawsuit. I remember reading dozens of pages of legal documents in the office and trying to piece the story together,” Norgren said.
#2.) Opinion: Morris: Dating in today’s generation has become increasingly difficult by Daria Morris
Opinion Columnist Daria Morris explored different opinions on the difficulty of dating in the social media age.
“When I wrote this piece, I did a deep dive on different statistics and theories that might contribute to why finding someone in our generation can be difficult,” Morris said.
The article delved into statistics, online dating and the prevalence of hookup culture in Generation Z.
Morris said she believed the article was widely read because many University of Oregon students may be tired of navigating the increasingly complex dating landscape.
“There are so many Generation Z students on campus that relate. I knew they would. It relates to my friends, classmates, strangers on campus and even myself,” Morris said. “A large portion of UO students want to find their person even though it’s hard. Not everyone, but many.”
#3.) Arts and Culture: The 10 best movies of 2024 by Sean Avery
The list-style article presented Arts and Culture Reporter Sean Avery’s picks for the best movies of 2024.
The article included movies like “A Complete Unknown,” “A Real Pain” and “Challengers.”
“I’ve been the (Emerald) film (and) TV writer for two years now, so it’s kind of a tradition to make an end-of-year top 10 list. I watch a lot of films, big and small, and I love exploring my favorites with readers,” Avery said.
Avery’s list included a top ten ranking, plus several honorable mentions, and “stragglers,” which are movies Avery has not yet seen.
“Once I start writing about a movie, it’s hard to stop. When I have ten movies to write about, it gets out of hand. I think I ended up writing around 2,000 words,” Avery said.
#4.) Campus News: Huge aquifer discovered underneath the Oregon Cascades by Sasha Love
On Jan. 13, University of Oregon scientists and partners published a study regarding an aquifer discovered beneath the Oregon Cascades.
“I wanted to learn more about it and look into the agricultural implications because I know water is a big deal for farmers, especially being from a pretty rural community in California,” Sasha Love, campus news reporter, said.
Love interviewed two UO researchers who were part of the study and an environmental science professor.
“I was honestly surprised it was so read because a lot of outlets already had covered it, but I think agriculture and water is often overlooked even though we rely on both every day and it was good to have a story about that,” Love said.
#5.) Breaking News: Eugene School District 4J Superintendent proposes multi-million dollar budget cuts by Lucas Hellberg
On Feb. 28, a proposal was made by the Eugene School District 4J to reduce the district’s budget by $25 million in the next fiscal year.
The proposal came after a drop in enrollment and staffing increases.
“This was a breaking news story. Breaking news coverage is about speed, accuracy and clarity. The focus here was quickly gathering key facts,” Lucas Hellberg, city news reporter, said.
#6.) Breaking News: One person injured by a “downed” tree outside Friendly and Fenton Hall by Corey Hoffman
On Feb. 24, a tree fell near Fenton Hall and Friendly Hall next to an ongoing construction site due to severe wind conditions. One person was injured due to the incident.
“I was actually sitting in class when the breaking came in and I left class right when it ended and ran over to the area. It was pouring rain but there was a lot of activity so it was important to be out there. I got there right as the ambulance was leaving and I talked with an official at the scene, which was right next to the construction site,” Corey Hoffman, campus news reporter, said.
Hoffman said the story was widely read likely due to suddenness and the injury caused by the incident.
“It’s not every day that someone gets hit by a tree right in the middle of campus,” Hoffman said.
#7.) City News: Lookout Eugene-Springfield plans to restore in-depth local news by Lucas Hellberg
According to the story, after a decline in local news coverage beginning in 2018, the digital news outlet Lookout Eugene-Springfield is set to launch this spring.
Lookout Eugene-Springfield has plans to increase local news coverage in the Eugene-Springfield area.
“Like any story, this one involved gathering background information, speaking with key sources and making sure the reporting was thorough and accurate,” Hellberg said.
#8.) The art of living ruthlessly: How Liv Ruth took the road less traveled to reconnect with her creativity by Mark Munson-Warnken
The story follows local artist and UO student Liv Ruth on her journey crafting with fiber arts.
“I met Liv my freshman year and have been watching her grow as an artist,” Mark Munson-Warnken, A&C reporter, said. “What really made the story was my ability to pinpoint patterns of motifs within her work. This allowed me to ask the right questions and really understand the context of her art.”
According to Munson-Warnken, the story didn’t take as long to write as previous stories he had written.
“(It) took me about two hours not including the hour of interview and hour of transcription I had to do. (I) really just said all the stuff that (I) had been marinating and I think it turned out well,” Munson-Warnken said.
#9.) Breaking News: SOJC Dean releases email following Daily Emerald records request for his travel activities by Tristin Hoffman and Tarek Anthony
On Feb. 21, School of Journalism and Communication Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda released an email statement regarding his travel activities. The statement came following The Emerald’s record requests.
“This story was quite unexpected. We had been requesting a few public records regarding his and a few other deans’ travel records and all of a sudden, we got word of an email from Molleda detailing both his travel and his relationships within the SOJC,” Tristin Hoffman, Emerald editor-in-chief, said.
Hoffman said due to the story’s suddenness, both she and Investigations Editor Tarek Anthony needed to make sure the story was published in a timely manner.
“With its unexpected nature, (Anthony) and I knew we needed to get the word out fast,” Hoffman said.
#10.) Arts and Culture: “Sunrise on the Reaping”: everything you need to know before the book comes out by Bella Graham
This Arts and Culture story delves into the upcoming latest installment of “The Hunger Games” series by Suzanne Collins.
“I knew with this book there was going to be a lot that we would want to remember from the initial series. I think Suzanne Collins has done a great job with these prequels of writing them so they are able to stand alone, but there are a lot of things, like already knowing how Haymitch’s Games end, that I think knowing them made reading the book better,” Bella Graham, A&C reporter, said.
Graham said much of the writing process involved revisiting the prior installments of “The Hunger Games.”
“Writing it was just a lot of going back to the original books and reading about Haymitch (and) things about the previous Quarter Quells or looking through press releases to see what Collins or her publisher had teased about the book. From there, it was going around campus and asking people about ‘The Hunger Games,’ which was fun to talk about,” Graham said.
