Most of you are probably way too young to remember George Carlin's local news routine in which he tweaked the business for some of the silly things we put on the air. Al Sleet, the "Hippy Dippy" weatherman, had a forecast that went like this...
"Temperature at the airport is 88 degrees. Which is stupid, because I don't know anyone who lives at the airport."
Sleet would later finish his forecast with, "Tonight's forecast.... dark."
Then Carlin would morph into a sportscaster with this classic. "Here's a partial score... Pittsburgh, 37."
The man had a unique way of looking at the world, and if anyone invented the term "thinking outside the box" it was George Carlin. Someone who comes up with lines like, "Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?" is a person who obviously sees things in a different light.
Which brings up two points... we need to get the "stupid things" out of our newscasts, and reporters need to think a different way.
One the my first tasks in my first management job was to "get the stupid things out of our newscast." While I don't remember the specifics, I have seen and heard a few gems on local news of late.
A radio newscaster after an ice storm. "Police remind you that today you drive at your own risk." (Any other day, accidents are no one's fault.)
A local meteorologist. "We're expecting plenty of wet rain tonight." (Yeah, that dry stuff can be a real pain.)
Or a graphic I saw this week about a poll in which 86 percent chose one option, and the other options totalled 4 percent. (Apparently some anchors just have to look good, not be able to add.)
And finally, this classic. "The FAA ruled that the cause of the crash was the fact that the plane's wings were covered by icing." (Chocolate? Vanilla? How many cans of Betty Crocker does it take to frost a 737?)
Carlin wasn't too far off, was he?
Many mistakes of this nature comes from the simple fact that anchors and producers aren't proofreading their scripts or double checking their graphics and supers. And hitting spell check doesn't always work... I guarantee you there weren't a whole lot of writers present when that feature was designed. The lesson here is to double and triple check your work, and more than one pair of eyes is always better. News Directors, if they aren't already, should always check scripts before they hit the air.
Now to part two of the George Carlin lesson... thinking differently. These days most resume tapes almost have a generic look to them. If you've watched dozens in the same day, after a while they all start to look the same. You, as a reporter, have to look at things the way George Carlin did. What's different about this story that no one else sees? What is a question no one else would think to ask? What is the third side to this story?
I'll give you a few examples. You're assigned to do a story on high food prices. You get the obligatory supermarket video, show the downsized ice cream containers, talk to consumers about how expensive things are. All because of high gas prices, so you show someone filing up at the pump. Is there another side to this story? Put yourself in the consumer's shoes... if you have little money and can't afford food... maybe it's time to grow your own. So you head down to the garden supply store and find out they've sold out of tomato plants for the first time ever.
Another example. You're sent to cover a drunk driving accident. You get the usual video, the info from the cop that the driver had two previous DUIs, the arraignment date, a sound bite with the tearful victim's family. You're covered, right? Now put yourself in the victim's shoes. Why was this idiot still on the road? What judge let him keep his license? Why does the legal system allow this, and can you, the reporter, raise awareness to help change things?
It's not always easy to do this, but you can train yourself to "see" instead of just "look." Photogs look at things in different ways, and you must do the same. But stretch your creativity and find those angles that no one ever considers. Step out of your reporter's shoes and put yourself in the place of those affected by the story. See someone else's point of view, and you'll have a better story.
No comments:
Post a Comment