Reporter Scripts
Sound bites are in lower case, script in upper case. Written for KBYU Eleven News.
Government Transparency Report Gives Utah a D-
ANCHOR LEAD: A RECENT STUDY DONE BY A B-Y-U PROFESSOR SAYS THAT UTAH GOVERNMENT GETS A "D" MINUS GRADE FOR TRANSPARENCY... OPENNESS AND INTEGRITY. ELEVEN NEWS REPORTER KATIE RYAN LOOKED AT WHY UTAH HAS A LOW SCORE... AND WHAT LAWMAKERS ARE DOING ABOUT IT. ###
PACKAGE:
F... F... F... SEVEN FAILING GRADES AND ONLY ONE A FOR THE B-HIVE STATE. A NEW REPORT FROM THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY MAKES UTAH GOVERNMENT *NOT LOOK SO GOOD.
"Only three states score higher than D plus"
YOUR MOM MAY HAVE GROUNDED YOU FOR GRADES THIS BAD...
"We're in the middle. We're in the middle of the road. We're 25 out of 50 states.
...BUT UTAH'S OVERALL D-MINUS DOES NOT WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. B-Y-U PROFESSOR JOEL CAMPBELL HAS DEVOTED THE PAST YEAR TO STUDYING 13 AREAS OF UTAH GOVERNMENT.
"I went and interviewed people in the professions, in the government, or observers of government and said 'how are we doing? how would you rate based upon your knowledge and your experience, how would you rate government on these issues?'"
CAMPBELL ALSO EVALUATED STATE LAWS AND PRACTICES TO CALCULATE THE GRADES.
The study says that here in Utah....state budget processes are clear as glass. But pension decisions are made behind closed doors.
"Do they have open meetings, can you attend their meetings, do they have open records, can you get their records? In our state, we failed on all of those things"
AS WELL AS POLITICAL FINANCING... EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY... STATE CIVIL SERVICE MANAGEMENT... LOBBYING DISCLOSURE... AND ETHICS ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...
STATE LEGISLATOR NORM THURSTON'S REACTION TO THE STUDY WAS...
"Meh"
HE SAYS THE LETTER GRADE... DOESN'T MEAN MUCH TO HIM.
"Knowing that Utah's in the middle of the pack or slightly above average, I find to be fair. But calling it a D minus is not particularly meaningful."
THURSTON SAYS THE STUDY HAS TOO MANY DETAILS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT... AND WHERE TO TAKE ACTION.
"The report itself doesn't cause me a lot of heartburn... I didn't see anything there that we were being criticized for that I felt overly compelled to remedy."
IN SALT LAKE CITY... KATIE RYAN... ELEVEN NEWS.###
ANCHOR TAG: THE STATES WITH THE TOP THREE GRADES IN THE COUNTRY WERE ALASKA... CONNECTICUT... AND CALIFORNIA.###
ANCHOR LEAD: A RECENT STUDY DONE BY A B-Y-U PROFESSOR SAYS THAT UTAH GOVERNMENT GETS A "D" MINUS GRADE FOR TRANSPARENCY... OPENNESS AND INTEGRITY. ELEVEN NEWS REPORTER KATIE RYAN LOOKED AT WHY UTAH HAS A LOW SCORE... AND WHAT LAWMAKERS ARE DOING ABOUT IT. ###
PACKAGE:
F... F... F... SEVEN FAILING GRADES AND ONLY ONE A FOR THE B-HIVE STATE. A NEW REPORT FROM THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY MAKES UTAH GOVERNMENT *NOT LOOK SO GOOD.
"Only three states score higher than D plus"
YOUR MOM MAY HAVE GROUNDED YOU FOR GRADES THIS BAD...
"We're in the middle. We're in the middle of the road. We're 25 out of 50 states.
...BUT UTAH'S OVERALL D-MINUS DOES NOT WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. B-Y-U PROFESSOR JOEL CAMPBELL HAS DEVOTED THE PAST YEAR TO STUDYING 13 AREAS OF UTAH GOVERNMENT.
"I went and interviewed people in the professions, in the government, or observers of government and said 'how are we doing? how would you rate based upon your knowledge and your experience, how would you rate government on these issues?'"
CAMPBELL ALSO EVALUATED STATE LAWS AND PRACTICES TO CALCULATE THE GRADES.
The study says that here in Utah....state budget processes are clear as glass. But pension decisions are made behind closed doors.
"Do they have open meetings, can you attend their meetings, do they have open records, can you get their records? In our state, we failed on all of those things"
AS WELL AS POLITICAL FINANCING... EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY... STATE CIVIL SERVICE MANAGEMENT... LOBBYING DISCLOSURE... AND ETHICS ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...
STATE LEGISLATOR NORM THURSTON'S REACTION TO THE STUDY WAS...
"Meh"
HE SAYS THE LETTER GRADE... DOESN'T MEAN MUCH TO HIM.
"Knowing that Utah's in the middle of the pack or slightly above average, I find to be fair. But calling it a D minus is not particularly meaningful."
THURSTON SAYS THE STUDY HAS TOO MANY DETAILS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT... AND WHERE TO TAKE ACTION.
"The report itself doesn't cause me a lot of heartburn... I didn't see anything there that we were being criticized for that I felt overly compelled to remedy."
IN SALT LAKE CITY... KATIE RYAN... ELEVEN NEWS.###
ANCHOR TAG: THE STATES WITH THE TOP THREE GRADES IN THE COUNTRY WERE ALASKA... CONNECTICUT... AND CALIFORNIA.###
Herriman Hills Initiative Causing a Conflict
ANCHOR: WE'RE RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF ELECTION DAY... AND PEOPLE IN HERRIMAN ARE VOTING ON AN INITIATIVE THAT'S CAUSING SOME TENSION IN THE CITY. ELEVEN NEWS REPORTER KATIE RYAN IS IN HERRIMAN TO SHOW US WHY SOME WANT THIS MEASURE TO PASS... AND OTHERS... SAY NO.
KATIE INTRO: YOU MAY REMEMBER SEVERAL YEARS AGO A DEVELOPER BOUGHT LAND IN DRAPER... THE NEIGHBORHOOD KNOWN AS SUNCREST WAS ON PRIME PROPERTY UP ON THE MOUNTAIN, BUT ENDED UP GOING BANKRUPT. THE PEOPLE HERE IN HERRIMAN ARE WORRIED THE SAME THING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THESE MOUNTAINS... AND THEY'RE TRYING TO STOP IT.###
PACKAGE:
PEOPLE IN THE GROWING SALT LAKE COUNTY TOWN OF HERRIMAN HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THESE QUIET, PEACEFUL HILLS IN THEIR CITY. THEY'RE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE. ON EVERY STREET CORNER... SIGNS TO EITHER VOTE FOR OR AGAINST THE HERRIMAN HILLS INITIATIVE. THE BATTLE IS OVER BUILDING HOUSES...
“The last thing we want to do is have it open for development.”
ON THE HILLSIDE. THE CITIZEN INITIATIVE STARTED ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO... TO DESIGNATE THIS AREA AS OPEN SPACE.
“This is an opportunity for us to have a beautiful amenity in our backyard that we can develop and have it as a pristine place to recreate.”
KAMI GREENHAGEN-JONES SPEARHEADED THE EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE LAND...SHE SAYS THE CITY ALREADY HAS A FEDERAL GRANT THAT WILL MATCH WHAT THE CITY RAISES.
“We came up with the idea for the initiative which it requests a 7 dollar fee essentially monthly per household in Herriman that would be paid over twenty years. And that money would only be used to purchase and maintain the mountain.”
SHE SAYS IT WILL COST ABOUT 28 MILLION DOLLARS TO PAY FOR THE APPROXIMATELY 2000 ACRES... AND SHE SAYS THE TEN OR SO OWNERS OF THIS PROPERTY ARE READY TO SELL.
“We know that the majority of the landowners do want to sell their land, and are in favor of selling that land to the city if they city could come up with the funds to do so.”
FUNDING... IT'S EXACTLY WHY SOME PEOPLE ARE VOTING NO. NEIGHBORS APPEAR TO DISPUTE OVER HOW MUCH IT WILL ACTUALLY COST TO BUY THE LAND.
“Roughly 20 million that they'll raise from this with another 20 million matching funds, but the purchase is going to cost up to 180 million…”
HOMEOWNER GLEN JOHNSON SAYS THE CITY CANNOT AFFORD THE PURCHASE... EVEN WITH THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AND GRANT MONEY.
“Clearly, when you're throwing money into something this vast, there is not a clear-cut plan, and there's not a cap on that plan for the funding, it's not worth doing.”
JOHNSON WELCOMES THIS QUIET OPEN SPACE… BUT HE SAYS THE HERRIMAN HILLS INITIATIVE IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY FOR THE CITY TO GO ABOUT ACQUIRING IT.
“They don't have everything secured from the landowners at a set price yet. Some of them they do, but not all of them. How many holdouts does it take to mess up the project?”
KATIE TAG: THE CITY SAYS THAT PURCHASING THE LAND AND ADDING THE 7 DOLLARS A MONTH WILL ACTUALLY SAVE THE PUBLIC MONEY IN THE LONG RUN… THEY SAY HAVING A NEIGHBORHOOD IN THIS AREA WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE COSTS BECAUSE THEY'D HAVE TO RUN WATER LINES, BUILD ROADS, AND ADD FIRE STATIONS AND OTHER UTILITIES IN THIS AREA THAT WOULD RAISE TAXES. IN HERRIMAN... KATIE RYAN... ELEVEN NEWS.
ANCHOR: WE'RE RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF ELECTION DAY... AND PEOPLE IN HERRIMAN ARE VOTING ON AN INITIATIVE THAT'S CAUSING SOME TENSION IN THE CITY. ELEVEN NEWS REPORTER KATIE RYAN IS IN HERRIMAN TO SHOW US WHY SOME WANT THIS MEASURE TO PASS... AND OTHERS... SAY NO.
KATIE INTRO: YOU MAY REMEMBER SEVERAL YEARS AGO A DEVELOPER BOUGHT LAND IN DRAPER... THE NEIGHBORHOOD KNOWN AS SUNCREST WAS ON PRIME PROPERTY UP ON THE MOUNTAIN, BUT ENDED UP GOING BANKRUPT. THE PEOPLE HERE IN HERRIMAN ARE WORRIED THE SAME THING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THESE MOUNTAINS... AND THEY'RE TRYING TO STOP IT.###
PACKAGE:
PEOPLE IN THE GROWING SALT LAKE COUNTY TOWN OF HERRIMAN HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THESE QUIET, PEACEFUL HILLS IN THEIR CITY. THEY'RE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE. ON EVERY STREET CORNER... SIGNS TO EITHER VOTE FOR OR AGAINST THE HERRIMAN HILLS INITIATIVE. THE BATTLE IS OVER BUILDING HOUSES...
“The last thing we want to do is have it open for development.”
ON THE HILLSIDE. THE CITIZEN INITIATIVE STARTED ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO... TO DESIGNATE THIS AREA AS OPEN SPACE.
“This is an opportunity for us to have a beautiful amenity in our backyard that we can develop and have it as a pristine place to recreate.”
KAMI GREENHAGEN-JONES SPEARHEADED THE EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE LAND...SHE SAYS THE CITY ALREADY HAS A FEDERAL GRANT THAT WILL MATCH WHAT THE CITY RAISES.
“We came up with the idea for the initiative which it requests a 7 dollar fee essentially monthly per household in Herriman that would be paid over twenty years. And that money would only be used to purchase and maintain the mountain.”
SHE SAYS IT WILL COST ABOUT 28 MILLION DOLLARS TO PAY FOR THE APPROXIMATELY 2000 ACRES... AND SHE SAYS THE TEN OR SO OWNERS OF THIS PROPERTY ARE READY TO SELL.
“We know that the majority of the landowners do want to sell their land, and are in favor of selling that land to the city if they city could come up with the funds to do so.”
FUNDING... IT'S EXACTLY WHY SOME PEOPLE ARE VOTING NO. NEIGHBORS APPEAR TO DISPUTE OVER HOW MUCH IT WILL ACTUALLY COST TO BUY THE LAND.
“Roughly 20 million that they'll raise from this with another 20 million matching funds, but the purchase is going to cost up to 180 million…”
HOMEOWNER GLEN JOHNSON SAYS THE CITY CANNOT AFFORD THE PURCHASE... EVEN WITH THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AND GRANT MONEY.
“Clearly, when you're throwing money into something this vast, there is not a clear-cut plan, and there's not a cap on that plan for the funding, it's not worth doing.”
JOHNSON WELCOMES THIS QUIET OPEN SPACE… BUT HE SAYS THE HERRIMAN HILLS INITIATIVE IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY FOR THE CITY TO GO ABOUT ACQUIRING IT.
“They don't have everything secured from the landowners at a set price yet. Some of them they do, but not all of them. How many holdouts does it take to mess up the project?”
KATIE TAG: THE CITY SAYS THAT PURCHASING THE LAND AND ADDING THE 7 DOLLARS A MONTH WILL ACTUALLY SAVE THE PUBLIC MONEY IN THE LONG RUN… THEY SAY HAVING A NEIGHBORHOOD IN THIS AREA WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE COSTS BECAUSE THEY'D HAVE TO RUN WATER LINES, BUILD ROADS, AND ADD FIRE STATIONS AND OTHER UTILITIES IN THIS AREA THAT WOULD RAISE TAXES. IN HERRIMAN... KATIE RYAN... ELEVEN NEWS.
Associate Producer Scripts
These scripts were written for KSL as aN ASSOCIATE PRODUCER OR news intern. These are VO, VO/SOT/VO, and readers for anchors. I do not own the content.
The C-E-O of a Utah based healthcare company announced his bid for governor today.
Democrat Mike Weinholtz announced in front of a crowd of supporters at C-H-G Healthcare in Holladay. Weinholtz says he's not a politician... And puts people first. “I HOPE TO APPEAL TO A VERY BROAD BASE. CLEAN AIR IS NOT A PARTISAN ISSUE. IT'S NEITHER A REPUBLICAN OR A DEMOCRAT ISSUE. NEITHER IS AND IMPROVING EDUCATION. NEITHER IS IMPROVING HEALTHCARE.” Two Republicans--- Incumbent Gary Herbert and former Overstock C-E-O Jonathan Johnson are also running for governor… And Democrat Vaughn Cook is in the process of gathering signatures. Tease:
You've seen crazy skiing videos before...But probably not without the snow. The viral GoPro video that shows you don't need mountains to hit the slopes. Story: We've all seen crazy GoPro skiing videos before, but this one may be the most unique. You may recognize the slope as 3 flights of escalators at the City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake. This video is the GoPro Youtube channel and the skier is Daniel Freed Schwartz. It got over 120-thousand views in just over 24 hours. Unsurprisingly, City Creek Center officials were not happy about the video. They say that anything that compromises the safety of their customers will be immediately addressed. Fires all around Utah today. This first one in Salt Lake City.
This video from Chopper 5 shows the aftermath. It took place near 21st South and I-215. You can see where the two brush fires were burning near each other. Crews were able to get the fire out and traffic appears normal. Another fire... this one in Southern Utah. Utah Fire Info tweeted out these pictures. It is in Solitude... about 10 miles from Richfield. Authorities say it was caused by lightening. It's now reached about 278 acres... with none of it contained. Higher temperatures and shifting winds are still fueling it. The weather cleared up and the balloons were finally able to take flight.
The Sandy Balloon Festival resumed this morning to clear, blue skies. The balloons couldn't fly yesterday because of the storms. Happy kids and parents were able to touch the balloons before they took off. Many woke up early for the first launch at 7 A.M. The festivities continue tonight at 8 at the South Towne Promenade by the Sandy City Hall. <"I REALLY HOPE I CAN SELL A LOT OF THESE PAINTINGS.">
That was 14-year-old Nathan who is just one of 17 kids trying to get their business off the ground. Kidz Biz featured inventions and creations made by kids ages 6 to 17. Customers could by space art, hair accessories, knitted phone cases, and more. The program is run through the Davis School Foundation. Kids were taught by Weber State and America First Credit Union about business and money management. The best overall award received a $100 gift card and $100 cash. Olympic history was made today... But no one won any medals.
Beijing became the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. China will see the winter games in 20-22. They last hosted the summer games in just 2008. There were few other competitors... With Kazakhstan being the only other choice. Many of other cities dropped out because of financial and political reasons. Crowds of people gathered in Ferguson, Missouri today to mark one year since the officer-involved shooting death of Michael Brown.
The memorial parade took place at the site of the shooting. Brown's father honored his son by putting stuffed animals in the middle of the street where he died. His father also says he will continue to stand up against police brutality. The justice department and a grand jury cleared Officer Darren Wilson.. The officer who shot Brown of any wrongdoing. |
Debris from the lost flight MH-370 emerged today on Reunion Island.
Reunion Island is off the coast of Africa near Madagascar. Investigators found the piece of the Boeing 777 wing. It's covered in barnacles.... And has likely been in the water for about 500 days. Investigators are hoping it will answer a number of questions... Including did it hit nose-first or in a controlled landing and did it hit the water at a high or low speed. "JUST THIS ONE PIECE OF WRECKAGE IS NOT GOING TO TELL US WHAT HAPPENED OR WHY IT HAPPENED, IT'S JUST GOING TO CONFIRM THAT IN FACT THIS AIRPLANE DID GO DOWN IN THE WATER." Oceanographers do say the debris could easily have been carried thousand of miles. Search coordinators are still focusing their efforts off the coast of Australia... Where they've been searching for more than a year. Nearly 239 people were on board the plane when it went down 17 months ago. China faced criticism from human rights groups when it held the 2008 Summer Olympics... And, now it's facing similar criticism for the 2022 Winter games.
The Asian Human Rights Commission criticized the International Olympic Committee for giving China the 20-22 Winter Olympics. They say it's inappropriate for China to win the bid because of their restrictions on the rights and freedoms of Chinese citizens. <"AT THE MOMENT, IN CHINA, WE ARE FACING THE LARGEST AND MOST FOCUSED CRACKDOWN BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISTS, AND PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR FREEDOM AND DIGNITY."> The commission responded saying this is a chance for China to improve its image. They're hoping hosting the games will help the government show the world they're willing to change. China's not the only Olympic host under fire...
Government officials in Rio de Janeiro called the waters "unfit" for swimming... But that didn't stop some of the athletes. Triathletes took to the waters yesterday to train for the 2015 games despite the warnings. Qualifier events for the Olympics took place today. More than 150 athletes competed in the international triathlon. They were guaranteed the water was safe. (( Alistair Brownlee British Gold Medalist )) <"I THINK THAT, AS AN ATHLETE, YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU CAN TO LIMIT PROBLEMS. IF YOU ACTUALLY GET ILL FOR SWALLOWING WATER DURING THE RACE IT'S NOT AN ISSUE AT ALL, JUST ILL AFTER THE RACE. WHAT YOU TRY TO MINIMIZE IS ILLNESS DURING THE RACE."> The British gold medalist didn't seem too concerned... But some other athletes were. They were taking measures to ensure they didn't get sick. Take a look at this!
This is video a passenger took of flames shooting out of the plane's engine on an American Airlines flight to Seattle from Philadelphia. The pilot quickly turned around and landed safely back in Philadelphia. The passenger who recorded the video says the engine sparked on and off for about five minutes. He said he heard a lot of "shaking" noises and most people on board remained calm. No injuries ...But a frightening situation for those passengers. It may be hard to believe it, but ski resorts will be opening their doors in just 100 days.
Resorts and winter lovers gathered at the Olympic Park to kickoff the countdown. They enjoyed free snow cones and watching free style jumpers as they shopped for discounts. Ski Utah says all of the resorts from Ogden to Brian Head were there to promote their season passes... And get excited for winter. <YOUR BLOOD STARTS TO BUBBLE A LITTLE BIT AND YOU START THINKING ABOUT THOSE FIRST SNOW FALLS AND THOSE FIRST TURNS YOU'RE GOING TO GET TO MAKE.> Resorts are selling season passes now... And most discounts will expire in September. |