Friday, June 4, 2010

The "Hoosiers" factor

If you've ever seen the Gene Hackman movie "Hoosiers" about a small town basketball team, you've gotten a subtle message about television news markets.

Toward the end of the film Hackman takes his team to the state championship. The day before the game he walks them around the court, takes out a tape measure and shows them that the basket is still ten feet high and a foul shot is still fifteen feet. It is the same, whether you're playing in a backyard or on the world's biggest stage.

The same holds true for television news. A package is a package, whether it is done in market 210 or at the network. In each case you still need good video, nat sound, strong writing and creative editing. Along with solid reporting skills, of course.

So it makes me shake my head when so many young people think they have to start in a tiny market, or can only jump a certain number of markets for their second job. I'm not sure if college professors are telling kids they have to start really small, or if it is simply a myth that is so old it has become reality to some.

The truth: plenty of people have gotten their first jobs in New York or at the network. if you're talented, the sky's the limit. You have absolutely nothing to lose by sending your tape to any station. Limiting yourself to markets 100-210 can only set you back two years if you truly have talent. You may eventually end up in a small market, but you may not.

The same applies for a second job. If you can turn a package with the best of them, once again, take your best shot.

The rules of broadcast journalism don't change from market to market. I've seen great products in tiny markets and horrible ones in large markets. The business is getting younger, as veterans see the handwriting on the wall and bail out.

When someone tells you you have to start small, don't believe it. When you're told that maybe you can make it to market 50 in your second job, fuhgeddaboudit.

Talent knows no age or experience. If you've got it, aim high.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Ending a package: don't let your story drop off a cliff

Imagine you've been reading a story in the newspaper. It's an interesting story that has held your attention. You're getting to the good part and then just as

Pretty annoying when I don't finish a sentence, isn't it? Incredibly, that's how many reporters these days finish up a story.

I cannot tell you how many stories I've seen that end with a soundbite followed directly by a tag-out. And when you end a story that way, you've basically given the viewer a package without an ending.

(On the other side of the coin, we have the "opening-line-of-the-package-is-the-same-as-the-lead-in syndrome, but that's a topic for another day.)

Stories need an ending that wraps up what the viewer has just seen, and that is best provided by a line or two of voice track. When you end a package on a sound bite, and then tag it out (probably because you can't think of anything else to say) it's jarring to the viewer.

Imagine fairy tales without "and they lived happily ever after." So Prince Charming put the glass slipper on Cinderella's foot. The End. If you were reading the story that way to a kid, the child would ask, "And then what happened?"

Think of it as a "cool down" when you exercise. You don't go all out on the treadmill and then pull the plug. You gradually slow it down as you finish your workout.

When you reach the end of your script, you need to look back at the whole thing and come up with a few words that sums up the package. Tie it all together in a smooth manner, then tag it out. Your packages will have a smoother flow and feel more comfortable to the viewer.