{"id":223,"date":"2008-11-10T14:25:43","date_gmt":"2008-11-10T18:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/blueprintamerica\/?p=223"},"modified":"2009-07-02T15:31:15","modified_gmt":"2009-07-02T19:31:15","slug":"the-dig-on-the-grid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/blueprintamerica\/blogs\/the-dig-on-the-grid\/223\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Grid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rick Karr, Blueprint America correspondent
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the biggest frustrations of being a journalist is that sometimes, the biggest stories don\u2019t get covered.<\/p>\n

One of the greatest pleasures of being a journalist in public broadcasting is that our bosses realize when a huge story\u2019s being ignored \u2013 and then correct the oversight. That\u2019s why it\u2019s especially exciting to be part of Blueprint America.<\/p>\n

Blueprint America came into being with generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation<\/a> in order to take a close look at America\u2019s crumbling infrastructure. That last word \u2013 infrastructure \u2013 is why the story\u2019s been ignored. It\u2019s too nerdy, wonkish, and complicated. It isn\u2019t sexy.<\/p>\n

But tell that to the 13 people who died when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed two summers ago. Or to residents of three dozen homes in an upstate New York town that may be slowly sinking into the ground because an aqueduct hundreds of feet below them is leaking up to 35 million gallons of water a day. Or to tens of millions of people in eight northeastern states who lived through the Great Blackout of \u201802. For that matter, tell it to yourself when the next president says the nation will have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to fix our roads, water supplies, electrical grid, and just about every other system that keeps this country ticking \u2026 all because we\u2019ve been putting off maintaining them for decades.<\/p>\n

In other words, it may not be flashy, but it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

Blueprint America is a true multimedia effort. We\u2019ve already collaborated with the PBS shows NOW on PBS, Expose, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also covering the story for public radio, which has allowed me to get back to my roots in public broadcasting<\/a>. American Public Media \u2013 the folks who bring you Marketplace \u2013 have joined with us to cover infrastructure on the popular Saturday and Sunday show Weekend America<\/a>. My first piece for that show, entitled \u201cThe Leak<\/a>,\u201d aired October 25th, and covered a leaking aqueduct \u2013 which, by the way, supplies about half of New York City\u2019s tap water.<\/p>\n

My second piece<\/a>, which aired this past weekend, looked at the crunch that\u2019s hitting public transit systems nationwide: It\u2019s the best of times for them, because high gas prices are prompting more and more people to ride, but it\u2019s also the worst of times, because high gas prices \u2013 among other factors \u2013 are forcing them to consider jacking up fares or slash service. My Blueprint America colleague Kristina Cafarella and I went to St. Louis \u2013 where the transit authority has put the matter to voters \u2013 to see how transit cuts would affect disabled folks who absolutely depend on public transit.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also partnered with the innovative public radio web site PRX<\/a> (Public Radio Exchange), which offers content up for any of the nation\u2019s hundreds of public radio stations. We\u2019ve done a series of four, short \u201cnews-you-can-use\u201d stories comparing John McCain\u2019s and Barack Obama\u2019s positions on infrastructure matters.<\/p>\n

All of this material \u2013 and a lot of additional information \u2013 is available at the Blueprint America web site, which also includes a blog that we\u2019re hoping becomes the go-to resource on the issue.
\nIn short, this is the kind of reporting that only public broadcasters can do. I hope you\u2019ll check it out.<\/p>\n

Blog post originally appeared on Inside Thirteen<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rick Karr, Blueprint America correspondent One of the biggest frustrations of being a journalist is that sometimes, the biggest stories don\u2019t get covered. One of the greatest pleasures of being a journalist in public broadcasting is that our bosses realize when a huge story\u2019s being ignored \u2013 and then correct the oversight. That\u2019s why it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1028,4281],"tags":[2744],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","category-the-dig","tag-blueprint-america"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dig ~ On the Grid | Blueprint America | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dig ~ On the Grid | Blueprint America | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rick Karr, Blueprint America correspondent One of the biggest frustrations of being a journalist is that sometimes, the biggest stories don\u2019t get covered. 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