AJC business and police reporters team up to cover spike in strippers
Business reporter Tammy Joyner and police reporter Megan Matteucci at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution teamed up to look at how hard times have led to an increase in strippers, based on the number of women applying for adult-entertainment permits.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that tough economic times are pushing more women to take jobs as strippers.
They write: “Among the usual aspiring actresses and dancers, there are more college students, single mothers trailing toddlers, health and office professionals and even a few age-defying grandmothers — all looking for well-paid work in a city with unemployment above 10 percent.”
The story idea came about when Megan noticed women lining up at Police Headquarters to apply for the $350 licenses to strip. Tammy says she’d written a story last year about how the economy was forcing people to do jobs they wouldn’t normally do.
“Hearing she had specific numbers perked my ear up,” Tammy says.
Today’s tip: Talk to your colleagues, especially those outside your department.
“Have those casual chats with colleagues because they may have something that may relate to what you’re doing or vice versa,” Tammy says.
One newsroom went so far as to have a take-a-photographer-to-lunch day to encourage that sort of cross-fertilization.
Megan Matteucci, police reporter
- Tammy Joyner, business reporter
At the AJC, Tammy and Megan expanded the stripper story by visiting clubs and talking with dancers, club owners, police officials, women’s rights groups, economists and adult-entertainment industry officials.
They found that the economic impact of the 3,829 strip clubs in the United States is $15 billion. “Even in this tough economy, a dancer can clear about $50,000 a year,” they write. The biggest U.S. markets for strip clubs are Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
“Look at the world in a different light in terms of what does it mean for people,” Tammy says. “Look for things that people wouldn’t normally do.”
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