Trigg returned with an educational presentation about budget for journalists. As he mentioned in his last visit, money is the root of all good and evil. Money is what makes the world go round.
Every successful business keeps track of finances in some way. Every business has a budget to follow. The money a business takes in (revenue) and spends (expenses) is what makes up budget. "Money in, money out." Debt may also be a part of the budget. The government obtains its revenue through city fines, taxes, etc. I can only imagine the number of parking fines given out on USF campus each day. These fines go into the university budget to help pay for things that we may not even "need." Like the Bull statues in front of the Marshall Center. Do they look pretty? Sure. Do we "need" that? Absolutely not.
All government budgets in Florida are public, so we may obtain copies of these budgets. Trigg gave us a comical example of a story created out of budget increase and decrease findings. The budget will let you know where the money is going. If money was used toward a company trip to Vegas, the public may not respond well to that.
It is key to look for certain increases in the budget when reporting, such as personnel increases, to find out if there have been government raises.
Trigg reiterated how important it is to ask questions. There is nothing worse than obtaining false information and allowing it to be published when you could have saved yourself by just asking questions. Do not burn bridges with budget officials because they are a great source to have.
Trigg proved that budgets may seem boring, but they may be transcribed into interesting, informational stories in the end. "The devil is in the details."
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