There are always plenty of stories on campus for student journalists to cover. And a few of those stories can be pretty exciting. But they are still campus-centered and often have little impact beyond the campus.

And yet there are many campus organizations that deal with issues that are beyond the campus borders and even beyond our national borders. Maybe these groups will get a write up for a publicity campaign about this issue or that. And that is all well and good.

But why not look into some of the issues raised by these groups and see if there is a town-gown connection or even a larger global connection?

When people think about trafficking in persons (TIP), the most common view is most likely people tied to sweat shops or child prostitution. And usually the images are of this happening in some other country.

Sadly enough, trafficking takes place in the USA and it affects people on a very local level.

This morning I got a Tweet from Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame. I am a follower. Wish I was a friend.) about a case in Washington, D.C., of two women obviously caught up in a trafficking situation.

(Here is my discussion at my personal blog site: Trafficking is a local and international issue

What struck me in the responses to the initial query was the number of places in the States designed to help people IN the States trapped in this practice.

I am sure there is a group on the Mason campus dedicated to helping people trapped in a trafficking situation. Maybe instead of just talking to the campus activists, the campus reporter could go out of his/her way and talk to some of the local groups in DC and NoVa also involved in the issue. I will bet that reporter will find that trafficking is not just something happening someplace else.

(Full disclosure: My wife spends a lot of time on this issue in her role as the #2 in the US embassy in Brazil. And she has directed the embassy staff to pay close attention to the issue.)

p.s. The issue is so important, that even the Armed Forces Network — the broadcaster service for the US military — runs PSAs educating members of the US military how to identify a trafficking situation and what to do about it.

One of the great things about the taxes we pay is that they fund a lot of research. And it is all “free” to us. (After all we did pay taxes, so is it really free?)

The U.S. Census Bureau has a lot of information to add facts and figures to any story.

Summer time is when a lot of people move.

And, true to form, the Census Bureau has some great data that can get you started on understanding the annual migration of Americans.

Story ideas: Summer time also means moving time. Some stats to help the story

One of the great things about the Census Bureau people as well is how willing they are to help you find the data you need and help you understand the data.

Give ’em a call or drop them an e-mail.

I just posted on the DC SPJ website a rather long item from the US Census Bureau with all sorts great data about mothers and Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day coming! Need some background data for a story?

Did you know:

• The average age of a woman giving birth for the first time was 25 in 2006?
• August was the month with the most births in 2006?
• Wednesday was the most common day to give birth that same year?
• There were 9.9 million single mothers with children younger than 18 in 2009?

Now you do.

The Gallup folks just released a survey looking at most desired country for immigration and those who immigrate.

And the possibilities for stories using the Gallup numbers, some Census data and a little shoe leather are limitless.

Young, Less Educated Yearn to Migrate to the U.S.

Canada more attractive to older, more educated adults

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifteen countries attract about 500 million of the roughly 700 million adults worldwide who say they would like to relocate permanently to another country if they could. Gallup finds the U.S. is clearly the No. 1 desired destination among these potential migrants, with more than 165 million saying they would like to move there, and neighboring Canada is a distant second with 45 million.

Rest of report.

There are some interesting numbers in the survey.

The United States is the country of choice for the youngest and less-educated groups interviewed.

So what do those numbers mean?

Here is one explanation from Gallup:

These differences may partly reflect the emphasis each country’s immigration policy places on different categories of migrants. In the U.S., Department of Homeland Security statistics show family-sponsored migrants account for the largest percentage of those who become legal permanent residents each year, followed by workers. The reverse is true in Canada, where government migration statistics show applicants with higher levels of education, job experience, and skills make up the largest portion of legal permanent residents, and those in the family category make up the second-largest portion.

While the U.S. and Canada have long histories as major immigrant-receiving countries, they also differ in how they welcome new migrants and integrate them into their societies economically, politically, socially, and culturally. Canada’s government actively assists migrants when they arrive, including providing free language-training vouchers. The United States on the other hand, according to a 2008 Independent Task Force report on immigration policy, has no national integration policy and provides little support for English-language classes.

SO, the U.S. policy of family reunification naturally would lead to more younger and less educated people showing up. Think about it, mom and/or dad are in the States and eventually get a Green Card. They then send for their children.

Younger and less educated.

But there is more. (There is always more when dealing with surveys and numbers.)

Where the immigrants come from and their choice of country to move to shows something about the immigrants as well. Take a look at age AND home region:

Canada won in the Southeast Asian respondents between ages 15-24 but the U.S. took all the others. After the age of 24, however, Canada wins hands down.

So there is a regional bias for Canada as well.

Why?

And as soon as the education level goes to completed secondary level, the U.S. falls behind:

This all has policy implications.

But for journalists, let’s look at something else.

What does your county or town look like?

What immigrant groups are there? What are their education levels? Why did they come to Fairfax or Arlington Counties? Why did they move to Maryland or the District?

For some of the answers you can go to the Census Bureau. (You just had to know I was going to promote that treaduer trove of data.) And for others you will have to <gasp!> go out and talk to people.

Let’s get you started:

Here is a table of Fairfax County.

S0501. Selected Characteristics of the Native and Foreign-Born Populations

It is data collected by the Census Bureau during the years 2006-2008. It part of the American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates project.

Once you open the table you will notice a few things.

In Fairfax County:

• 36 percent of the foreign born are white, 42 percent are Asian, 29 percent are Hispanic and 9 percent are black.
• 49 percent of the foreign born are in a college or graduate program, compared to 32 percent of the native population
• 20 percent of the foreign born have a graduate or professional degree, compared to 32 percent of the native population
• 29 percent of the foreign born have an annual income of $75,000 or more, compared to 56 percent of the native population.

Fairfax County is not a typical county. (We all know that.) How atypical is it?

Go look it up yourself.

So far the most I have seen on the reporting about how the volcanic ash cloud is affecting European travel has focused on just European travel. There have been a few comments about how the airline groundings have affected flights to/from the States but I have yet to see any stories about what the groundings really mean.

The cancellation of so many flights has to have a social and economic impact on not only Europe but also on individual communities in the United States.

For example, a couple of friends are stuck in Sweden because of the ash cloud. He teaches journalism classes at a Washington, DC-area university. He made arrangements for other profs to cover his classes last week but now he has to make arrangements for this week because he cannot get out of Europe.

How many other business men and women are stranded in Europe? And what kind of impact does that have on getting business done?

Yes, I know with smart phones and high-speed Internet connections, a lot of what once had to be done face to face can now be done in virtual meetings. But I still figure there has to be an economic impact on having key corporate people stuck on the other side of the pond. (Europeans stuck in the US and Americans stuck in Europe.)

I wonder: Are the State Dept. and Department of Homeland Security allowing European visitors to overstay their visas because of this situation?

Are local businesses, churches, charities, etc. being affected because people cannot get in or out of Europe?

CNN just reported the industry figures it is losing $200 million a day. What do the losses the aviation industry mean to the average person? Will the rest of the industry follow Spirit Air and charge for carry on bags or follow Ryan Air and charge for use of the toilet? How about imposing a new “disaster recovery” fee per ticket?

What about other industries? Have the travel restrictions affected more than just the aviation industry? How about UPS or FedEx? How about companies that depend on air cargo? (Can Americans get their brie? Has the cost of real brie gone up?)

I would bet anyone looking at his/her own community could come up with a local, local, local story that show the local, local, local connection to this incident. It just takes a little looking and asking.