By Kieran Farr The presidential candidates frequently remind voters that small businesses are the engine of our nation's economy. How have small businesses in San Francisco fared after the bursting of the housing bubble and subsequent economic fallout? I'd like to profile 3 small San Francisco businesses representing diverse sectors, such as tourism/retail, b2b and construction. Mayor Gavin Newsom recently announced a local economic stimulus package as the threat of job losses looms over the Bay Area. This story would give Bay Area residents insight on the real, everyday issues facing small businesses given the current economic outlook.
These pieces will be extended video profiles driven by the business owner, employees and clients or customers, instead of a story driven by a reporter's voice-over narrative. The business stakeholders will have an opportunity to directly express in their own words the impact the national crisis on their local business. This style isn't permitted with traditional broadcast TV reporting and erects a barrier between the subject and the viewer. These pieces would remove the barrier of reporter voice-over to let the subject fully drive the profile. Input from academic experts will pepper the stories to give broader national and economic context.
While I'm relatively new to video journalism, I've built a quick portfolio of pieces: http://www.vidsf.com/user/kfarr/ My time has been limited to produce in-depth content as we work on our startup and I drive a cab to pay rent. A spot.us payment would enable me to focus on stories that require a much longer preparation process. Here is an earlier attempt at doing something long form about the Cab industry here in SF: http://www.vidsf.com/2008/aug/27/cabbies-face-financial-burden-from-impending-yellow-cab-contract-changes/
I will produce 3 x 3-minute profiles on 3 different San Francisco small business (9 minutes total, if not a little longer). Each will feature an interview with the owner or a manager, an employee and some representative customers. I'll also interview at least one academic in the field of business, economics or public policy to give their feedback on each business. These profiles will be published on VidSF.com. Depending on the outcome of these initial pieces, a future funding request could support followup profiles in a few months.
