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Laura McNamara New Media reporting

Portfolio: Laura McNamara

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A sample of my reporting work including television, radio and podcasts, photography and writing.

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Page 1: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

Laura McNamara

New Media reporting

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Mixed Media

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Photography

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Candid Portrait Laura McNamara: Photography

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Landscape Laura McNamara: Photography

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Wildlife Laura McNamara: Photography

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Foliage, Fruit & Seed Laura McNamara: Photography

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Floral Laura McNamara: Photography

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Sport Laura McNamara: Photography

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Black & White Laura McNamara: Photography

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Night Laura McNamara: Photography

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Layers & Depth Laura McNamara: Photography

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Ag Steward of the Chortí Maya

There is a group of indigenous people in Honduras thatlive off an average of $300 a year - less than one dollar aday. At least two months out of every year they starve.That’s the reality as Billy Collins sees it. Billy has beenworking with the Chortí Maya, the direct descendants ofthe Mayan Indians, for five years.

I met Billy in Copán Ruinas, a charming town in WesternHonduras not far from the Guatemalan border. The small,cobblestone-lined town is “base camp” so-to-speak forvisiting Honduras’ famous ancient Mayan ruins. That’swhy I am here: to see the ruins. But, it’s been three daysand I have yet to explore them. Instead, I’ve beenexploring the harsh realities of the Chortí Maya, realtiesthat Billy, his wife Mary and a handful of others arecommitted to changing. And, they’re making thosechanges largely through agriculture. I spent an entire daywith Billy touring villages of adobe huts with straw roofs -bumping and bouncing along dirt roads that areconsistently washed out by the wet season’s frequent rainsto get to them.

While Billy and his wife are involved in more than ahandful of projects with the Chortí, their SALT project, orSloping Agricultural Land Technology, is among one ofthe biggest. It’s a project that’s aimed at training theindigenous people how to cultivate their rolling,

mountainous lands more efficiently and effectively.Through a double hedgerow terracing technique, Billy saysthe Chortí Maya can double, even triple their current cropyields…

Billy stresses that his project is not a welfare program.

“We know that welfare does not work in the UnitedStates,” Billy said. “There is no end to trying to feedpeople. Here in Honduras, with a little education, they canfeed themselves.”

The training begins at a six-acre farm (3.5 manzanas)developed by Billy, his wife, additional project leaders andthe locals. The land was originally communal property thatbelonged to the Chortí Council. The council gave theproject permission to use the land for five years. However,in order to avoid trouble in the future should the leadershipof the Chortí Council change hands and the land agreementexpires, the Chortí people have decided to legallydesignate the land as an agricultural training center. Thiscenter is where the local villagers come for three full daysof training in SALT techniques. Billy says that’s all thetime it takes to start drastically changing the lives of theChortí people. He says the project is currently workingwith 100 Chortí families…

Published on www.agwired.com in a relaxed, blogging style asdesired by the client. This sample is incomplete. Click here to viewthe entire article and additional media.

Page 16: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

Scott Dixon’s GotMilk at 92nd Indy 500

In a race down to the pits, No. 9 Target Driver Scott Dixonwith Chip Ganassi Racing sped past Vitor Meira during thefinal pit stop during a yellow-flagged caution to take thewin at the Brickyard. Reporters commented on the look ofshock on Scott’s face at winners circle and Scott confirmedthat he was a bit surprised.

“It’s almost like you’re in a dreamland,” Scott said. “It wasquite crazy. You know it’s something where you expectsomebody to pinch you and you wake up and you’re justsort of asleep in your bed back at home. It still hasn’t sunkin yet.”

Scott’s win is the first Indy 500 win to come after thereunification of the IndyCar Series and the Champ Series.The series split 12 years ago in 1995 and finally mergedagain this year. Scott said the reunification certainly meansthe talent pool for this year’s race was a bit deeper, but hesays the real competition will come next year when theformer Champ Series teams will have had a year to makeadjustments.

Scott said his day started off right with a good night’s restand his wife’s pancakes for breakfast. He did admit he wasa bit anxious going into the race.

Scott said the entire month went pointedly smooth with hiscar and his crew and he didn’t want to see something like apoor pit stop slow his momentum.

Scott, who won the IndyCar Series Championship in 2003,said this was his biggest IndyCar win to date.

“This is much more sweeter because it comes, you know,you work three weeks solidly and it comes down to oneday to get it and have everything fall into place. It’s quitespecial,” Scott said…

Scott averaged a speed of 143.567 mph during the 92ndrunning of the Indianapolis 500 and led for the last 29 lapsof the race, the longest racing stretch all day.

Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay called the winbefore the race. In a speech before EPIC membersSaturday night he said the Ganassi cars would be thebiggest competitors out on the track at the Brickyard…Ryan was the top finishing rookie at the race and his 6thplace finish marks Team Ethanol’s best Indy 500 finish todate.

When asked about Scott’s win, Ryan said “It’s nice to seethe fastest car out there win.”

Published on www.domesticfuel.com in a relaxed, blogging style as desired by the client..Click here to view the entire article and additional media.

Page 17: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

Here’s a novel idea when running a business that managesmore than a thousand employees:

“We try to do basically everything to make them feel theyare like partners not workers. Everybody is on bonussystem, everyone can basically gain more from thecompany’s success…”

Those partners Yedod Snir is referring to are the 1,350locals that make up the direct workforce of Aquafinca St.Peter Fish, a Tilapia producer based out of El Borboton,San Francisco de Yojoa, Honduras.. Yedod is Aquafinca’sproduction manager.

Central America is a hotspot for cheap labor and, sadly,

greedy businesses that cruelly exploit their workers. But,

during a trip hosted by FIDE, Honduras’ Foundation for

Investment and Development, I, along with a small group

of other ag journalists learned about businesses based in

Honduras who lead with impressive example. Among

those model operations we toured, Aquafinca St. Peter

Fish stood out from the rest as a world-class facility. One

well-seasoned ag reporter with our group, who wished to

remain unnamed, confidently asserted that Aquafinca

would put similar production and packaging facilities in

America to shame. Certain exemplary standards at

Aquafinca, he said, are simply unheard of in the U.S.

“I’d put this facility in the top one or two percent in the

Teaching Them to Fish

world,” the reporter said…

The operation Aquafinca runs is a tight one, a clean one,

and a hugely successful one. But, even though Yedod

estimates that the company earns between $35 million and

$40 million in gross revenue each year, he says

Aquafinca’s priority is not fish:

“We have a saying: It’s not about the fish. It’s about the

people,” Yedod said…

Yedod says the company offers the highest salaries in the

area and subsidizes 55 to 100 percent of food for its

workers and their families. Aquafinca offers education

through its own school. With a psychologist and two

doctors on staff, four health clinics offer workers and their

families free medical attention…

Locals who want to start their own Tilapia farms are not

only encouraged, but offered free assistance and

expertise... Yedod says raising Tilapia… is an industry that

has great potential to help Honduras move away from

poverty…

In addition, Aquafinca uses leftover scraps and skins to

produce fish feed, fish oil and biodiesel. The company uses

the biodiesel it produces to fuel its operation and is 100

percent energy self-sufficient.

Published on www.livewithjay.com in a relaxed, blogging style as desired by theclient. This sample is incomplete. Click here to view the entire article and additionalmedia online.

Page 18: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

Ultra-Marathon Fires Up Ecotourism on OmetepeIt’s a feeling that you can’t fully understand until you’vebeen there and encountered it for yourself. Josue Stephenssays he fell in love with La Isla de Ometepe in LakeNicaragua when he first docked on the volcanic island’sshore…

“Even though it’s just a one hour ferry ride, it’s like adifferent world there,” Stephens said.

Now, the most audacious of extreme adventurers havetheir chance to thoroughly explore Ometepe during theFuego y Agua 100k and 50k - the island’s first-ever ultramarathon racing event.

Stephens is the founder and organizer of the race that willbring an estimated 60 professional runners zigzaggingthrough Ometepe’s white, sandy beaches, traditionalvillages and dusty, dirt roads. On December 13th… runnerswill attempt to conquer the challenging slopes of both theConcepción and Maderas volcanoes.

“If it’s raining, it’s very possible they’ll be in mud andwater up to their knees,” Stephens said... “They’ll have toback climb out of the crater and it’s a very steep lava flowtrail, that they’ll be climbing out of.”

Runners will battle temperatures that range from 65 to 95degrees… and steep, single-track ascents and descents,including “a narrow trail [that ascends] almost straight upthe [Maderas] volcano for about 10 kilometers,” through adense, tropical jungle.

“When they get on the single track in the jungle, they’ll be

hearing howler monkeys,” Stephens said…

Stephens established this event as a grassroots movementto promote various eco-tourism projects on the island.Local businesses will provide all site-specific resources forthe race, including aid stations, safety guides, food,medical care, and lodging. The race will contribute to theislands two volcanic national parks and help raiseawareness about illegal poaching within the parks.

“We’re helping to raise awareness about how to maintainthe trails, to keep people from cutting too many trails, andto prevent erosion,” Stephens said. Stephens has alsoorganized a trash pick-up day that will occur two daysbefore the race in an effort to demonstrate the importanceof proper waste management to the island’s variousmunicipalities…

In conjunction with Fuego y Agua, local children fromthroughout the island will have the chance to compete intheir own race, the Calzado para Ometepe 5k and 10k.Stephens says the idea is for the race to encourage localschools to organize their own cross-country teams…

Stephens, who grew up in Latin America, says that he hashad his heart set on giving back to a culture that has givenhim so much…

“My parents were missionaries and, although I don’tnecessarily ascribe to the same beliefs or motives, I havealways wanted to go down and work with the people,”Stephens said. “It’s a part of me because I grew up withit…”

Published in the Nica Times. Thissample is incomplete.

Page 19: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

The Boy Scout CEO

He's known as the "The Last Boy Scout CEO." The leaderof Sioux Steel Company says he takes an atypicalapproach to successfully running his family-ownedbusiness. It’s an approach that he jokes could leave peoplethinking his Board of Directors begins each meeting with aheartfelt "Koom-bay-ah." While Scott Rysdon assures thathis company, which provides progressive engineeringsolutions for grain storage and handling, isn't a hippie fest,he says it is one that puts the customer first…

"Honestly, when people believe that they're being servedand you care about them, they turn around and care aboutyour other employees and the customers," Rydson said.

He adds that the same principle applies to his employees:

"All I'm trying to do is tie them together in sort of a bond,"Rysdon said. "It's not like we're all wearing hemp clothingand sitting around burning incense, you know. But, we'retrying to tie people together in something more meaningfulthan just a job."

And he wants to offer them more than just cash too.Rysdon says he artfully melds a bonding atmosphere witha competitive edge in the market by complimentingaverage wages for his employees with more valuable"perks…”

"We don't pay the top wage,” Rysdon said. “We don't paythe lowest. We try to stay in that fifty percentile and thenadd from there things that add value to their lives that aremore important than just dollars... You keep them workingfor more than money. That's what I believe…"

Rysdon says his company has met such lasting successbecause the company's vision has remained focused on thelong-term, not the quick buck. Instead of chasing afterquarterly earnings, Rydson says Sioux Steel continuallyfocuses on offering its customers the progressive agengineering solutions it promises by identifyingconsumers' needs.

"That's what we're trying to do, is to solve today'sproblems," Rysdon says…

Rysdon runs on the "boy scout" mentality of integrity. Hisgoal is to provide consumers quality service and operationthat endures, while remaining competitive.

"We're not going to roll over," Rysdon says. "In my mindbeing a boy scout isn't rolling over. You've got to beprepared and tie a different knot. And sometimes you'vegot to tie it pretty tight and make sure that you hit themhard… but at the same time there are certain areas we'renot going to compromise on."

Published on www.livewithjay.com in a relaxed, blogging style as desired by the client. This sample isincomplete. Click here to view the entire article and additional media.

Page 20: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

Monsanto Talks Sustainability

The recent surge in profitability within the agriculturesector is giving farmers and ag companies a bit of room tobreath. But, Monsanto says, just a bit. Michael Doane,Monsanto’s Sustainability Team Lead says that withprofitability comes responsibility: a responsibility for theagricultural climate of the future. There are big questions,Michael says, that beg to be asked, and, hopefully,answered. How do we meet the growing demand? How dofarmers fit into the growing needs of the recent future?What will the world look like for our children? Will it be aworld, Michael asked, that puts a lot of pressure on itsresource base?

“We’re going to have to produce more food on the sameacres between now and 2050 then we’ve produced in thelast 10,000 years combined,” Michael said. “That’s prettysubstantial. That’s going to get us to twice the level ofannual food production in 2050 versus today.”

Michael says responding to such demands is aresponsibility that must be shared throughout the ag sector.But, he says, Monsanto is eagerly doing its part to help.

“This conversation about sustainability kind of hit us rightbetween the eyes,” Michael said. “We went out and startedtalking to a lot of people about agriculture; and what doingmore with less would look like; what would be importantthere.”

Ultimately, Michael says, Monsanto’s goal is to makefarmers more productive and, consequently, morefinancially successful.

“Our goal is to make every farmer we serve better off thenext year than they were the previous year,” Michael said.

And, Michael says, that goal is meant to benefit farmers allover the world.

“In developing countries we think we also need to do that,”Michael said. “So, we’ve committed to helping 5 millionresource-poor farmers, who are simply trying to feed theirfamilies, do that.”

But, as much as Monsanto recognizes its role in securingthe future of farming and the future of feeding the world,Michael says finding long-term, sustainable solutions willbe a team effort.

“It’s going to be the ‘we’ collectively that does this,”Michael said.

Published on www.agwired.com in a relaxed, blogging style asdesired by the client. Click here to view additional media includedwith the post online.

Page 21: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

Ethanol: Official Fuel ofIndy Racing LegendsMany consider Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time Indy 500champ, “a true King of the Brickyard.” But not only isEmerson an IRL legend, he’s a BIG supporter of ethanol.Perhaps even a “King of Ethanol.” Emerson is a Brazilianethanol producer and spoke at Thursday’s Ethanol Summithosted by General Motors.

The IRL racing legend told the story of his long history…of racing with ethanol. Although the IRL fully switchedfrom methanol to ethanol last year, Emerson is wellacquainted with racing on the biofuel. At age 14, the Indychamp used ethanol in motorcycles and go-karts.

Emerson will get another chance to represent ethanol at theraces. He is this year’s flex-fuel Corvette Z06 pace cardriver. This is the first time the official Indy pace car willrun on E85.

“The message of the pace car will be showing to the worldthat a passenger car, even a high performance car like thecorvette, will run E85 and runs beautiful,” Emerson said…

He called the IRL’s switch to 100 percent ethanol, “theendorsement of ethanol in the world through motor race.”

The poorest of Africa spend 70 percent of their income onfood. That’s the reality the Deputy Assistant Administratorfor the U.S. Agency for International Development AfricaBureau put before the 300 attendees of the 2008 U.S.Africa Agribusiness Forum this week. That’s the realitythat Franklin Moore wants the public and private sectors inthe U.S. and Africa to face. Franklin says Africa’s foodproblems are a part of a worldwide problem.

“The world’s in the midst of a global food crisis unlike anyother food crisis,” Franklin said. He says the poorest onebillion are living on just one dollar a day, while nationsaround the globe are experiencing high food prices. Thatmeans, the poor are having to choose between food, healthcare and school…

All this, Franklin says, is the result of “fundamentalimbalances in supply and demand, particularly of majorfood staples.”

Franklin says the good news is, correcting theseimbalances opens up a wide spectrum of opportunity totransform and help modernize African agricultural systemsthrough private investment - not just private though.Franklin urges companies and governments to worktogether and engage in public private partnerships in aneffort to reduce global hunger…

Published on www.agwired.com in a relaxed, blogging style as desired by the client. Thissample is incomplete. Click here to view the entire article and additional media.

Africa Demands Food

Published on www.domesticfuel.com in a relaxed, blogging style as desired by the client.This sample is incomplete. Click here to view the entire article and additional media.

Page 22: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

The Art and Science of SoilConservation

The air we breath is often taken for granted. And, PeggyJames, Natural Resources Conservation Service liaison toThe Nature Conservancy says, so too are non-profits.

“Non-profits are like air,” Peggy said. “They’re all aroundus but we hardly notice it. They are an integral part of ahealthy, artistic, viably economic, productive societyworking towards sustainability.”

Sustainability, Peggy says, is crucial to healthy living and,well, feeding and eating, worldwide. She echoed thesentiments of Hugh Hammond Bennett, the man the TNCconsiders “the original crusader for farmlandconservation:”

“For everything we do - all we share, even whatever weamount to as a great people - begins and rests on asustained productivity of our agricultural lands.”

Peggy adds, that non-profits, are the key to preserving thatstandard of sustainability. She says the 1.4 million non-profit organizations in the U.S. are growing at a faster ratethan the American economy…

For Peggy, the TNC certainly fills a crucial need. With abrief recount from Wellington Brink’s biography on HughHammond Bennett: Big Hugh: The Father of Soil

Conservation, Peggy conveyed the harsh consequences ofthe people in the Western Plains living with uniformeddisregard for their environment during the spring of 1935:

“Far below them the dust piled ten foot drifts acrosshighways and covered rail lines to slow the movement offreight and passenger trains. Grit ate into motors of trucksand automobiles and seeped through cracks of houses toplague discouraged housewives… In Kansas visibility wassometimes down to less than 300 yards at midday…People lost their way in black blizzards within 100 yards ofhome… Death rates from pneumonia and other diseasesrose rapidly… Gone were the stir of herds and tractors andbusy prosperity… this was the Dust Bowl of the earlymiddle thirties… to which the people of the Plains grewmore or less inured… “

Peggy says… we can’t forget the importance forconservation and practicing sustainable agriculture andliving. She calls it a science and an art.

“We define it as the effort to frame social and economicpolicy so as to preserve the minimum disturbance of theearth’s resources, its inhabitants and environments for thebenefit of both present and future generations,” Peggy said.

The TNC consists of one million members and works in 30countries, protecting 102 million acres around the world…

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Page 23: Portfolio: Laura McNamara

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