Reporters on the Job
ROLLING STONES, GATHERING STORIES: Journalists are often asked where they get story ideas. In today's issue, reporter Ben Lynfield got the idea to write about Jonathan Miles (page 1) while visiting a record store in Jerusalem.
"I was looking for a Rolling Stones compilation called "The London Years." But the Israeli store manager was upset. He was shaking his head and muttering about the state of Israel. He started telling me about this 'really good man who was helping Palestinian children' but was being expelled from Israel."
Intrigued, Ben decided to investigate. "Sometimes such leads pan out, and sometimes they don't," he admits. And, yes, he did find the album.
GERMAN SOLIDARITY: Reporter Paul Hockenos wrote today's story about the political fallout from the flooding in Germany (this page) from Berlin. The flooding has hit other parts of the country, but not the capital city. "We had a day and a half of heavy rain, that's it." Still, he says, there's a genuine feeling of solidarity in the city.
"It's brought people together. Everyone's talking about climate change and the environment," he says. And there are fund-raising efforts too.
Yesterday, a hairdressers' association asked its members to donate the price of a perm to help their colleagues in flood zones to get back to their scissors. "In the shops, there are cans with signs saying that the shop owner will match the donations. Even the sausage vendor on my street had one," says Paul.
David Clark Scott
World editor
