And four become three…

 

While I’m about a week late in writing about this, I figure it’s worth mentioning that one of the four taxi technology recently declared bankruptcy. And it just so happens that the company of note is Taxi Technology Ltd. – the vendor which was surprisingly accomodating when it came to agreeing to an interview for my web video. I was slightly suspicious at how eager the company spokesperson was to meet with me. I now realize that he was likely hoping for a chance to frame the company in a positive light.

What this means for the drivers who signed on with Taxi Tech is yet to be determined. But it likely means that affected drivers will have to start over with a new company and shop around to determine which vendor they feel offers the best plan in terms of monthly rate, options for acquiring revenue from advertising sales, and which system is the easiest to use.

What this also means is more headaches for the TLC. The affected drivers are surely disgruntled and the Alliance is probably using this occurence as a way to illustrate why the system should never have been mandated in the first place.

Worth Watching

 

Wow. Talk about inspirational! This Wall Street Journal clip is how a web video about the GPS should be done.

This video is done in true web style – no voice overs, no tripod, and creative in tone and footage. From the elderly woman who’s baffled by all things 21st century to the singing taxi driver, this clip is definitely worth checking out.

While it is true that the Wall Street Journal reporter was fortunate to catch such vivid characters on film in a ride-along with a jolly taxi driver, I truly believe that there is no such thing as a “lucky” journalist. Well, at least there no such thing as a a lucky lazy journalist. A good journalist makes his or her own luck by being at the right place at the right time, hanging out longer than everyone else, and showing up when no one else does. This video is proof in the pudding!

*I have to give a shout out to Amy (fellow classmate) for passing the clip along to me.

Veering off course

Important FYI: For the sake of my sanity, taxis have absolutely nothing to do with this post.

“Is it over for frontline reporting?” – That was the subject of the panel discussion I attended last night. The event was hosted by the London-based Frontline Club, a unique media club that combines “eating, drinking, and thinking.” While I was studying journalism at City University in London, England, I attended Frontline club events almost religiously and was privy to relevant discussions led by journalists from all over the world. When I heard that the club was hosting an event in New York, I knew I had to be there – especially considering one of my favorite City profs would be moderating the discussion.

Thanks to my Professor John Owen (NewsExchange), I had the opportunity to chat with Chuck Lustig (ABC), Robert Fisk (Independent), Ron Haviv (VII Photo Agency), Francesca Unsworth (BBC), and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad (The Guardian) before they took their seats on the panel. During the panel discussion, the journalists debated the pros and cons of embedded reporting, the use of freelance reporters, the difficulties in budgeting and prioritizing for foreign bureaus, the issue of access etc.

One of the most interesting questions raised was how to best utilize local journalists in place of parachuting foreign correspondents into a given region. The bottom line appeared to be that while embedded reporting is not ideal, it’s better than nothing and should be supplemented with in-depth local journalism whenever possible. With the Iraq war as the back drop, the discussion became heated in no time, with the big media (ABC/BBC) being forced to justify their approach to covering the war. One thing that annoyed me was the fact that many people in the audience had such an aversion to admitting that media is business, and yes, ratings do matter when it comes to setting the agenda.

In true Frontline spirit, the discussion was extremely engaging and informative. Check out their site at http://www.frontlineclub.com/index.php to see when the club will be hosting their next event in New York – I can promise that it will be more than worth your time and energy.

Change of course

 

As I’ve mentioned before, I am at a crossroads with this taxi magazine feature. The bottom line is that I can’t actually produce the story that I pitched to my professors. This has taught me a valuable lesson about the dangers of committing to writing a feature that I might not be able to come up with.

After much thought and discussion, it appears that my feature will no longer be a third-person account of the taxi strike and surrounding issues, but rather a first-person account of the difficulties I’ve had in information-gathering.

While I know that a first-person narrative will be challenging, I’m keen to step out of my comfort zone and make an honest attempt.

Another day, another dollar

 

For anyone interested in the taxi industry, I recommend checking out New York Hack – a blog maintained by Melissa Plaut, taxi driver and author of the book “Hack.”
Her most recent blog entry is a commentary on the Oct. 22 strike. Plaut discusses the technology requirement and claims that this debate has next to nothing to do with money and everything to do with “dignity and respect.”
I beg to differ. But hey, what do I know. I’ve only been researching this for two months and am getting the run-around from any and all interested parties. Hmmm.
For the duration of the strike, the TLC was smart enough to allow for cab-sharing and flat-rate fares which meant more money in the pockets of the drivers who chose not to stay at home. While dignity and respect might be part of the issue, if cab drivers can be convinced to get behind the wheel for the sake of a few extra dollars, then I highly doubt that dignity and respect are their chief concerns.
Granted, most drivers need the extra money and would be hard-pressed to turn down an opportunity to make some extra dough. Which brings me to my next point.
As far as I can tell, this technology debate centers on money – whether it be income tax evasion, off-the-meter fares, the five percent credit/debit transaction fee, or the money made from the “strike.” Money is the common denominator.
Yes, privacy and “dignity and respect” are cause for concern. But having known about this upgrade since 2004, you’d think the drivers would have voiced their opposition years ago. Or is it that the financial impact only became frighteningly obvious when the installation deadline reared its ugly head?

Road Block

 

I half-expected the past two days to be helpful in terms of drawing conclusions from the information I’ve gathered. I thought maybe, just maybe, scheduled interviews with the TLC and vendors would be fruitful in answering some of my questions. Instead, what I’ve ended up with is more questions. A lot more questions.

Everyone I’ve spoken with speaks with such conviction that it’s almost easy to buy what they’re selling. And then as soon as I put down the phone, I’m thinking ‘wait a second…’. Yet after multiple conversations with a variety of sources, I’m really back at square one.

My inclination is that the drivers and the TLC stand to gain something by pitching their arguments in the language that they’re using. As I’ve said before, I definitely get the feeling that neither side is being upfront about their motives and intentions.

Stuck in reverse

It’s been quite the ride, if you will, trying to figure out all the different motivations and interests involved in this taxi dispute. Even after a month or so of digging, the spin I’ve been getting from every direction has got me going in circles.

When I chose this as an investigative topic, I didn’t realize that I was literally going to end up becoming a sleuth for a month or two. The information I’ve found is somehow so elusive, the interviews are extremely contradictory, and much of the existing media coverage is useless at best.

It seems that there are holes in everyone’s stories – from the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), to the drivers, to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, to the brokers and fleet owners. While the exact motivations for a) the TLC’s decision to mandate GPS and b) the Alliance’s outrage with the requirement are not entirely clear, it is likely true that the inherent reason for the action and the retaliation is money.

For the drivers, a “Big Brother” conspiracy is much more marketable than a line that goes something like “cabbies are getting the short end of the financial stick. ” And as for the TLC, a “we want to make things more efficient and give something back to the passengers in return for the 2004 fare increase” sounds better than “we want to make sure all fares are done on the meter and we’re also a little interested in the whereabouts of the drivers.”

With two days left until the magazine feature is due, I have a lot of notes and audio, a ton of questions and very few answers.

Stop, look, and listen

I feel as though I’ve reached the point of saturation – information overload, if you will. Apparently, there comes a point when you’re so far inside a story that you can no longer see it for what it is or what it could be.

I have done so much reporting, so much information gathering, that my head is literally filled with miscellaneous taxi-related matter. So much matter, in fact, that the information has been crippling my ability to envision the direction of my magazine feature.

Today’s class discussion taught me a number of things: primarily, it’s definitely 100 percent better to be saturated with information than to have holes in your reporting. It looks as though I’m not as far off track as I was feeling and what I really need to do is take a step back and try to see everything I’ve learned from a bird’s eye view. By looking down from above and approaching my notes and transcribed audio from a more distanced perspective, I think I’ll be in a much better position to take this story and hit the ground writing.

Ah, another lesson learned.

Taxi Strike? Didn’t Notice.

If there hadn’t been so much hype leading up to Monday’s taxi “strike”, most people in New York never would have noticed that it was even taking place. It is estimated that about 95 percent of all cabs were on the streets that day, down from the usual 96 percent on any given day.

A successful taxi strike isn’t one in which wait times at Penn Station are no longer than 15 minutes. An effective taxi strike isn’t one in which the streets are lined with yellow cabs, appearing to be business as usual. A unified taxi strike isn’t one that pits drivers against one another where the few strikers namecall those who choose to hit the streets.

Perhaps this is why Monday’s “protest” will likely have zero effect on the technology requirement issue. Taxi drivers knew about this technology since back in March 2004 – meaning they had more than three years to launch an effort to put a wrench in the city’s plans.

One step forward, two steps back

 

While the ride-along with Bill was productive in many ways, it was also a sort of sensory overload coupled with an overwhelming inundation of information. I feel like I took in so much that I lost sight of the focus of the narrative for my magazine feature.

After a class discussion today, i realize that my piece needs to be more timely, relevant, and narrow. It appears that one of the most interesting aspects of the business is the amount of fares and transactions that are done in cash and which go unclaimed as far as taxes are concerned.

This brought up the obvious question as to whether the recent uproar against the GPS and credit/debit card technology has more to do with potential lossed income than it does with any sort of privacy concerns.

How the drivers react to the new technology (will some of them find loopholes or ways to beat the system?) and how it will affect their bottom line will the main focus of the story.