Best performance by a photog: and the Oscar goes to....

It's no secret to those of us who have worked in the business for a long time that photogs are generally the smartest people in the newsroom. They have road maps in their heads, can fix anything from a viewfinder to a carburetor, read newspapers all day when they're not busy, meet more people on the street than the average reporter, and hear all kinds of gossip hanging around courthouses and city hall.

So some stations that have gone the one-man-band route have asked some of their more creative shooters to start a career as a reporter.

One of those is a guy who used to shoot wonderful stuff for me. Rick Portier, also known by the genteel blog name of "turdpolisher", now knocks out packages which are highly entertaining. (I think my sarcasm rubbed off on him.) What's amazing to me is that his stuff is better than that of a lot of reporters out there who have been doing this for years.

Anyway, check out his work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmdI82AHG_I

Warning: If you're a News Director considering going this route and think you're going to get a photog to wear a jacket and tie, fuhgeddaboudit.


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