Here's a news feature telling a man-bites-rooster story. A farmer whose family has been raising chickens in this spot for generations suddenly finds himself the target of people in new nearby housing developments who want to stop his roosters from crowing. Sounds like a story with pretty good radio potential.

The piece is well-written and lays out the issues, and of course we get to hear some well-mic'd roosters. But the feature could have been livelier with a bit more effort. We don't hear from anybody who actually objects to the squawking birds. Telling us that many locals have passionately defended the farmer and that the rooster issue has become the hot topic at local barber shops and coffee houses, the reporter sets us up to expect tape. "Most people just shake their head and laugh," says the narrator. "Others are more animated." But do we hear those animated folks? Nope.