One of the best parts about being journalists: the ability to take readers someplace new
Anyone who has taken the occasionally pleasant drive from the Triangle to Monticello knows you’re paying before knock, knock, knocking on Thomas Jefferson’s door.
There’s the “Highlights” ticket that gives you a quick walk around the first floor and the substantial estate.
There’s the “Slavery to Freedom Tour” ticket that gives you an engaging small-group, large-education experience.
And there’s the premium “Behind the Scenes” ticket. You go beyond the mystery doors by traversing up and down narrow staircases to sweat or shiver depending upon the season — because Monticello doesn’t have central air.
(If it’s particularly hot and humid and so crowded that sweat droplets drip onto Tom’s creaky wooden floors, you might get into a group that includes a precocious sixth-grader who admittedly knows a lot and wants to question everything said by a guide with a master’s in history.)
No matter how many times we visit Monticello, we’ll pay for upstairs access every time. (The precocious kid is a bonus.)
So, welcome, curiosity seekers. Dave Hendrickson, one of The News & Observer’s ever-clever editors, calls it an “all-access pass,” and that’s what we’re offering for those who want to tour sweat-free from the comfort of their iPhone.
Inside Look and other initiatives
We’ve written before about NC Inside Look,which takes readers behind the scenes to illuminate the people and places in our community. NC Inside Look is among four new initiatives we’ve launched this year, which also include:
NC Reality Check, an ongoing N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. (Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com)
Uniquely NC, an N&O subscriber collection of moments, landmarks and personalities that define the uniqueness (and pride) of why we live in the Triangle and North Carolina.
In the Spotlight, which covers topics of high interest and driven by N&O enterprise reporting.
If you’re perpetually curious, I hope you’ll enjoy our package of five “all-access” NC Inside Look stories available on newsobserver.com digital sites. The Sunday, June 9, print and e-editions are worth the time because of the smart design and visuals.
There are many best parts of being a journalist. The opportunity to show you answers or take you inside curious places is, well, a thrill.
Did you know the EPA’s largest campus is in the Research Triangle Park?
Do you wonder about the much-anticipated 18-mile portion of N.C. 540 and how it’ll change your drive through southern Wake County?
Have you looked up at One North Hills Tower and thought — as reporter Chantal Allam did — all of that angled glass looks like a modern-day shark’s fin jutting into the sky.
Remember the Rogers Restaurant and Motel building in Cary — so what is going on inside now?
And that copper dome — the other copper dome — what’s it like inside Raleigh’s majestic Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral?
Enjoy the stories. And please savor the visual experiences.
Drone visuals that tell the story
Pay close attention to Travis Long’s drone visuals — notably the shot from above of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral – and admire a perspective that you can only envision if you have Justice League super powers — or Travis’ hovering camera.
“Some of the challenges I consider when flying the drone is safety first and foremost. I need to consider factors like airspace, weather, line of sight, alternate landing spots and how to react if something unexpected were to happen while I am flying the drone,” Travis says.
“Aside from that, I’m using some of the same technical thought processes that apply to my cameras on the ground, including composition, light and exposure. Most of all I want to add a layer of context to stories that aerial photography communicates so efficiently.”
Visual Editor Scott Sharpe looks for drone images that offer “perspective and the patterns and geometry that are not visible from ground level.”
Science, artistry and journalism, too.
It’s an inside look from the outside.
And no need to climb any shaky stairs.
Bill Church is executive editor of The News & Observer.
