Imagine you're home watching TV, doing your laundry, or just relaxing. The doorbell rings. You open it and find a reporter and photographer, camera rolling with a blinding light in your face. Your instinct would be to back up, slam the door, or both.
Sometimes you need ambush tactics in this business. Chasing Bernie Madoff? No problem. Knocking on the door of some corporate criminal? Fire up the lights. But if you need an interview with someone who has just gone through something traumatic, it's best to leave the camera in the car.
The last big tragedy I worked involved the murder of ten people in a very small town. I was the first member of our crew to arrive in the middle of the night and was directed to the command center. I asked to see the person in charge. When an official came out I introduced myself and told him who I was representing.
He backed up a bit, looked over my right shoulder, then my left.
"I don't have a camera with me," I said. I stuck out my hand. "Sorry for your loss."
He exhaled and relaxed.
As the story played out, we were called upon to seek out sound bites from people who knew the victims. This involved the old fashioned duty of going door to door.
And in every case, we left the camera crew waiting in the car. A block away.
Tact and compassion will get you far if you're covering something delicate. Ambush journalism will get the door slammed in your face.
On the third day of that story someone actually drove to our sat truck and told us one of the victim's family members would talk to the media at a certain time. When we arrived, I noted that not all the crews covering the story were there.
Had being tactful gotten us an invitation? Had using ambush journalism left some other crews out of the loop?
Trust me, no one really wants to knock on the door of a stranger who has just had a family member murdered. But if you have to do it, start out as a human being before you change into a reporter.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Take a photog to lunch week, year two...
(UNDATED) A television news "holiday" is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, much to the delight of hungry photographers everywhere.
"Take a photog to lunch week" has taken on a life of its own since its inception in the late 1980's. Originally conceived by a reporter who wanted to bribe a photog to edit her resume tape, the week is now highlighted on calendars in photog lounges all over the country.
"It doesn't cost a lot, but it means so much to a photog," said John Shooter, President of the National Society for the Prevention of Blue Video, better known as NSPBV. "A little appreciation goes a long way with this group. Any reporter smart enough to buy lunch for a photog will come back to the station with some world class stuff. And if you spring for dinner after hours, you'll think you were shooting with Steven Spielberg."
The organization has also issued a list of suggested restaurants for the event, none of which have drive-thru windows.
Reporter Jim Goodhair bought lunch for a few photogs last year, and was amazed at the results. "By the end of the week my work had taken a huge leap. You should have seen these guys; they set up umbrella lighting on every story, reflectors, fog machines, you name it. One rode the mast on the live truck to give me some aerial b-roll. At the end of the week I had a new resume tape and jumped from market 210 directly to the network. All for the price of a few Chinese buffets."
Most photogs admit this event highlights the "it's the thought that counts" concept. "I nearly impaled myself with the legs of my tripod when my reporter picked up the check," recalls photog Ray Cathode. "If I'd known in advance I would have ordered dessert. But seriously, I really go the extra mile for that reporter to this day."
News Directors, Assignment Editors and Producers have always frowned on the event, however. "This really plays havoc with our schedule," said News Director I. M. Beancounter. "For goodness sake, they actually take thirty minute lunches all week. I don't see why a reporter can't buy them something they can wolf down in the car."
While the event runs from June 16th-23rd, photogs acknowledge that reporters don't have to participate just once a year.
"Take a photog to lunch week" has taken on a life of its own since its inception in the late 1980's. Originally conceived by a reporter who wanted to bribe a photog to edit her resume tape, the week is now highlighted on calendars in photog lounges all over the country.
"It doesn't cost a lot, but it means so much to a photog," said John Shooter, President of the National Society for the Prevention of Blue Video, better known as NSPBV. "A little appreciation goes a long way with this group. Any reporter smart enough to buy lunch for a photog will come back to the station with some world class stuff. And if you spring for dinner after hours, you'll think you were shooting with Steven Spielberg."
The organization has also issued a list of suggested restaurants for the event, none of which have drive-thru windows.
Reporter Jim Goodhair bought lunch for a few photogs last year, and was amazed at the results. "By the end of the week my work had taken a huge leap. You should have seen these guys; they set up umbrella lighting on every story, reflectors, fog machines, you name it. One rode the mast on the live truck to give me some aerial b-roll. At the end of the week I had a new resume tape and jumped from market 210 directly to the network. All for the price of a few Chinese buffets."
Most photogs admit this event highlights the "it's the thought that counts" concept. "I nearly impaled myself with the legs of my tripod when my reporter picked up the check," recalls photog Ray Cathode. "If I'd known in advance I would have ordered dessert. But seriously, I really go the extra mile for that reporter to this day."
News Directors, Assignment Editors and Producers have always frowned on the event, however. "This really plays havoc with our schedule," said News Director I. M. Beancounter. "For goodness sake, they actually take thirty minute lunches all week. I don't see why a reporter can't buy them something they can wolf down in the car."
While the event runs from June 16th-23rd, photogs acknowledge that reporters don't have to participate just once a year.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Your GPA doesn't mean a thing
Many of you have just graduated from college. And that means you'll have to head out into the cold cruel world where you don't get a spring break and mom doesn't do your laundry.
As Bruce Willis would say, "Welcome to the party, pal."
I'm always tickled that young people put their grade point averages on their resume. While it is nice to have a transcript filled with A's & B's, in the world of television news this piece of paper will never be seen. You could be the valedictorian of your class, but if you don't have a decent tape you won't find a job. News Directors will always hire someone who has an internship and some street experience at a college station than someone who has been a student of "television news theory" and doesn't know one end of a camera from the other.
The only thing that matters is that you got a degree. No one cares how you got it, but they do care what you did while in college. If you worked as an anchor on the college television station, great. If you wrote for the college newspaper, terrific. But if you knocked out nothing but term papers, it doesn't matter.
If you're still in college, make sure you spend whatever time you have left doing something away from the books. Get an internship. Work at every college media facility. Get some hands on experience.
Trust me, most people learn more in their first month at a television station than in four years of college.
As Bruce Willis would say, "Welcome to the party, pal."
I'm always tickled that young people put their grade point averages on their resume. While it is nice to have a transcript filled with A's & B's, in the world of television news this piece of paper will never be seen. You could be the valedictorian of your class, but if you don't have a decent tape you won't find a job. News Directors will always hire someone who has an internship and some street experience at a college station than someone who has been a student of "television news theory" and doesn't know one end of a camera from the other.
The only thing that matters is that you got a degree. No one cares how you got it, but they do care what you did while in college. If you worked as an anchor on the college television station, great. If you wrote for the college newspaper, terrific. But if you knocked out nothing but term papers, it doesn't matter.
If you're still in college, make sure you spend whatever time you have left doing something away from the books. Get an internship. Work at every college media facility. Get some hands on experience.
Trust me, most people learn more in their first month at a television station than in four years of college.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Perhaps things are turning around...
Hey, two of my clients got jobs in the past week! There's light at the end of the tunnel!
Hang in there, gang...
Hang in there, gang...
Monday, June 22, 2009
How corporate let the fox into the hen house, and continues to feed it chickens
I vividly remember my first corporate "embrace the internet" meeting. The suits were going on and on about how the internet was going to open up new avenues for local stations, how it was going to generate a second source of income. How our new mission in life was to "drive viewers to the internet" as often as possible during a newscast. The techno-geeks in the crowd nodded, the rest of us rolled our eyes.
After the meeting, one of our producers came up to me and said, "So let me get this straight. We're now supposed to tell people to turn off their television sets and turn on their computer? What's that going to do to our ratings?"
Well, you didn't need to be Stephen Hawking to see the writing on the wall. People turned off their sets, went to their computers, and stayed there.
When I was growing up we had this old Italian pastry shop named "Sal's" that everyone in the neighborhood loved. But on the weekends during the summer Sal made this to-die-for lemon ice which turned the place into a hot spot on Sundays.
It was the only place in town to get it, so that's where we went.
Television is no longer the only place in town to get news. So people no longer have to go there.
Imagine if you will that your station decided to shut down it's web site. Well, at least the news portion of it anyway. Just leave the phone numbers and station bios. Then imagine that your anchors stopped saying, "For more on this story, go to IMissedItNews.com" about fifteen times every newscast. Imagine that you don't have to flesh out your story online, that what you see on the tube is all you get.
What would happen? Where would viewers who liked your station get your newscast?
Well, duh, they'd have to turn on the television set.
Here's a wild idea. Let's have all the NDs in one market agree to shut down the news portion of the website. And, what a wild concept, drive the viewers to the TV set. What would happen? Well, viewership would go up.
A viewer missed a story and had to call the station for info? Great! Your station has just made a personal contact, and by helping someone has gained a loyal viewer.
There are those who argue that the internet provides a revenue stream, but people buying internet spots would have bought TV anyway, or are taking money away from the TV side. It's just a shell game.
It's time for corporate suits to realize that technology is not only hurting this business, it's killing it. Time to get back to basics, and make news appointment television.
If that happened your newscast would be just like Sal's lemon ice. If you wanted it, there would be only one place to get it.
After the meeting, one of our producers came up to me and said, "So let me get this straight. We're now supposed to tell people to turn off their television sets and turn on their computer? What's that going to do to our ratings?"
Well, you didn't need to be Stephen Hawking to see the writing on the wall. People turned off their sets, went to their computers, and stayed there.
When I was growing up we had this old Italian pastry shop named "Sal's" that everyone in the neighborhood loved. But on the weekends during the summer Sal made this to-die-for lemon ice which turned the place into a hot spot on Sundays.
It was the only place in town to get it, so that's where we went.
Television is no longer the only place in town to get news. So people no longer have to go there.
Imagine if you will that your station decided to shut down it's web site. Well, at least the news portion of it anyway. Just leave the phone numbers and station bios. Then imagine that your anchors stopped saying, "For more on this story, go to IMissedItNews.com" about fifteen times every newscast. Imagine that you don't have to flesh out your story online, that what you see on the tube is all you get.
What would happen? Where would viewers who liked your station get your newscast?
Well, duh, they'd have to turn on the television set.
Here's a wild idea. Let's have all the NDs in one market agree to shut down the news portion of the website. And, what a wild concept, drive the viewers to the TV set. What would happen? Well, viewership would go up.
A viewer missed a story and had to call the station for info? Great! Your station has just made a personal contact, and by helping someone has gained a loyal viewer.
There are those who argue that the internet provides a revenue stream, but people buying internet spots would have bought TV anyway, or are taking money away from the TV side. It's just a shell game.
It's time for corporate suits to realize that technology is not only hurting this business, it's killing it. Time to get back to basics, and make news appointment television.
If that happened your newscast would be just like Sal's lemon ice. If you wanted it, there would be only one place to get it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)