Recently the police called and told me there was a reporter on the ledge of a tall building who was ready to jump into another career. She was depressed and ready to set fire to her dreams. Could I come and talk her down?
Sure, why not. I do it all the time.
I arrived and took in the scene.
I recognized the reporter, an attractive young woman who had a ton of talent. I'd seen her stories; she had a personality that jumped off the screen and turned excellent packages even though she didn't work in a big market. Why she was on the ledge was a mystery. She stood there, lower lip quivering, looking down at a street filled with traditional nine-to-five careers that would bore her to death.
And yet she was about to jump and leave something she loved behind.
"Hey," I said. She turned to face me and said nothing, her eyes filled with tears and hurt. The cops said I had to be very tactful and not spook her, that I needed to be gentle and soft spoken.
"What the hell are you doing on that ledge? Get off there!"
She wiped her eyes and furrowed her brow. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," I said, moving closer to the ledge. I reached it, about ten feet from her, and looked over the edge. "You wanna jump into that?"
"It's safe," she said. "No more resume tapes, no more contracts, no more crazy managers."
I pointed over the edge at the undead heading for their jobs. "Look at them. Same thing every day for the next forty years. Watching the clock. Nothing to look forward to. No dream."
"I'm tired of waiting," she said. "Suppose I never get a better job?"
"You'll get one."
"I've been sending out tapes forever. Everyone says they like me, but it's always a hiring freeze, or the timing isn't right, or the economy stinks."
"The stars have to align."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I've read your blog. You always say that."
"Because it's true. Timing is everything, but eventually talent finds a good home."
"I'm not sure I want to wait for those stars." She turned and looked back over the ledge. "At least down there I wouldn't have to worry about anything."
"Don't you care that you'll be bored out of your mind?"
"I do, but I think I could deal with it."
"You think you could make a difference down there?"
She paused a moment, leaned back and looked at me. "Why do I need to make a difference?"
"Because you can," I said. "Your stories can inspire, save lives, help people make ends meet, educate. You can change the world in a small way. You remember how it feels when you've done a story and it makes a difference?"
She nodded and smiled, took a step back from the ledge. "Yeah. That is pretty nice."
"Success isn't defined by market size."
She shook her head. "Damn you and your logic. I hate when you do that."
"So, why don't you go back to your career, make a difference, and let the opportunities come to you instead of chasing them so hard? Why not live in the present?"
She leaned over the edge, took a look at the zombies below, and stepped back onto the roof. "Okay. I guess I can do that a little while longer."
-
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Even the best of us can get caught by a hoax
As I read this bizarre story about the Notre Dame football player with the non-existent girlfriend, I was not only shaking my head in disbelief but laughing at those who were slamming the media for not checking more thoroughly. If you put yourself in the position of a reporter on this story, what would you have done? I mean, who would make up stuff like this?
It also brought to mind two hoaxes I've run into over the years. These are stories we ran into that sounded so real, so emotional, that they had to be true. They're not quite as elaborate as the Notre Dame tale, but we still got caught with egg on our faces. Well, more like an omelet.
-The missing mom that wasn't: So we get this report that this mother of a few small children has disappeared. The usual search begins, first with police, then the whole community. Posters are made with the woman's photo, and seen everywhere, on every storefront and telephone pole. Dozens of stories are done over several months, emotional stories focusing on the tragedy of a mother ripped from her small children. And what will become of the poor kids who had their mother taken away? Was she dead? Kidnapped but still alive? Would the kids ever see mom again?
Well, they would, because mom was shacked up down the road, alive and well.
-The Christmas Grinch: A few days before Christmas a family is spotted living under an interstate overpass in the cold weather. Stories are done on the family's plight, and the community comes forward with a ton of Christmas spirit. A landlord offers a place to live. Viewers come by and donate a ton of stuff... clothes, furnishings, you name it. And of course plenty of people drop by with cash.
This seemed like a great story to shoot on Christmas morning... the homeless family in a nice warm place, opening presents, enjoying their new home in their new clothes.
Alas, they were long gone. Apparently this was simply a scam designed to prey on the generosity of others.
I dare say there are probably very few reporters who would have dug up the truth on either of these before it came to light. The key to a good hoax is believability, and, apparently, emotion. Sometimes the story sounds so real that it seems impossible that it could be false.... and that's why the hoax works.
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It also brought to mind two hoaxes I've run into over the years. These are stories we ran into that sounded so real, so emotional, that they had to be true. They're not quite as elaborate as the Notre Dame tale, but we still got caught with egg on our faces. Well, more like an omelet.
-The missing mom that wasn't: So we get this report that this mother of a few small children has disappeared. The usual search begins, first with police, then the whole community. Posters are made with the woman's photo, and seen everywhere, on every storefront and telephone pole. Dozens of stories are done over several months, emotional stories focusing on the tragedy of a mother ripped from her small children. And what will become of the poor kids who had their mother taken away? Was she dead? Kidnapped but still alive? Would the kids ever see mom again?
Well, they would, because mom was shacked up down the road, alive and well.
-The Christmas Grinch: A few days before Christmas a family is spotted living under an interstate overpass in the cold weather. Stories are done on the family's plight, and the community comes forward with a ton of Christmas spirit. A landlord offers a place to live. Viewers come by and donate a ton of stuff... clothes, furnishings, you name it. And of course plenty of people drop by with cash.
This seemed like a great story to shoot on Christmas morning... the homeless family in a nice warm place, opening presents, enjoying their new home in their new clothes.
Alas, they were long gone. Apparently this was simply a scam designed to prey on the generosity of others.
I dare say there are probably very few reporters who would have dug up the truth on either of these before it came to light. The key to a good hoax is believability, and, apparently, emotion. Sometimes the story sounds so real that it seems impossible that it could be false.... and that's why the hoax works.
-
Monday, January 14, 2013
Why the "everybody gets a trophy" society leaves you feeling like a failure
There's an incident that occurred in my dad's store that sticks out
in my mind as both funny and prophetic. One day a woman came in with a
small child, and while I was slicing cold cuts her little darling
started to climb into the dairy case. My dad, who didn't subscribe to
the customer is always right theory, said, "Miss, please get your son out of the cooler."
The woman was aghast. "He's just expressing himself. I don't want to damage his self-esteem."
My dad. "If you don't get him out of the cooler he'll see some damaged self esteem."
Woman grabs kid and leaves. This may have been more than 30 years ago, but it was a precursor to the theory that everybody gets a trophy.
Flash forward to a seminar I attended in 2001 at the Kneeland project in Austin, Texas. Named for Carole Kneeland, the late news director whose quote sits on the top of this blog. At one point we took a tour of her old station and saw a thing called a "brag board" which was filled with compliments. The theory being that management should share good feedback with the staff, and make compliments public. Great idea, and should be great for morale.
So I implemented this idea, putting up a white board and occasionally writing stuff like "great package" or "excellent video" and adding the name of the person responsible. People liked getting public displays of praise.
Or so I thought. Not having any kids, I'd forgotten that everyone is supposed to get a trophy.
You guessed it. Someone who didn't get one complained. Didn't get a public compliment. Boo-hoo. Long story short, I erased the damn thing and used it for newsroom memos. (This was filed under "no good deed shall go unpunished.")
Flash forward to present day. The most common complaint I hear is one I made when I was a reporter. "I never get any feedback." Back then it meant you were doing okay, and it pretty much means the same thing now. But in many cases, the young generation has been so conditioned to get a ribbon just for participating that when said ribbon isn't presented with fanfare, the result is a feeling of failure.
Or this: "Management sorta likes me but doesn't love me." You want that Sally Field moment at the Academy Awards. "You like me! You really like me!" (Look it up.) And you want it everyday.
A few points:
-News Directors love people they can depend on who aren't a problem. But sometimes they take these people for granted and forget to let them know they're appreciated. It's just like high school; the good students get the good grades while the students who don't behave in class waste the teacher's time. NDs often spend so much time dealing with the staff's problem children that there's nothing left for the good people.
-Many managers are socially awkward and simply don't know how to say thank you.
-Many managers are minions of the devil.
-This is the real world. You get a paycheck. That's your ribbon for participating. You also have a future with a goal. That's the trophy you want. And, sorry to say, not everyone gets one.
-
The woman was aghast. "He's just expressing himself. I don't want to damage his self-esteem."
My dad. "If you don't get him out of the cooler he'll see some damaged self esteem."
Woman grabs kid and leaves. This may have been more than 30 years ago, but it was a precursor to the theory that everybody gets a trophy.
Flash forward to a seminar I attended in 2001 at the Kneeland project in Austin, Texas. Named for Carole Kneeland, the late news director whose quote sits on the top of this blog. At one point we took a tour of her old station and saw a thing called a "brag board" which was filled with compliments. The theory being that management should share good feedback with the staff, and make compliments public. Great idea, and should be great for morale.
So I implemented this idea, putting up a white board and occasionally writing stuff like "great package" or "excellent video" and adding the name of the person responsible. People liked getting public displays of praise.
Or so I thought. Not having any kids, I'd forgotten that everyone is supposed to get a trophy.
You guessed it. Someone who didn't get one complained. Didn't get a public compliment. Boo-hoo. Long story short, I erased the damn thing and used it for newsroom memos. (This was filed under "no good deed shall go unpunished.")
Flash forward to present day. The most common complaint I hear is one I made when I was a reporter. "I never get any feedback." Back then it meant you were doing okay, and it pretty much means the same thing now. But in many cases, the young generation has been so conditioned to get a ribbon just for participating that when said ribbon isn't presented with fanfare, the result is a feeling of failure.
Or this: "Management sorta likes me but doesn't love me." You want that Sally Field moment at the Academy Awards. "You like me! You really like me!" (Look it up.) And you want it everyday.
A few points:
-News Directors love people they can depend on who aren't a problem. But sometimes they take these people for granted and forget to let them know they're appreciated. It's just like high school; the good students get the good grades while the students who don't behave in class waste the teacher's time. NDs often spend so much time dealing with the staff's problem children that there's nothing left for the good people.
-Many managers are socially awkward and simply don't know how to say thank you.
-Many managers are minions of the devil.
-This is the real world. You get a paycheck. That's your ribbon for participating. You also have a future with a goal. That's the trophy you want. And, sorry to say, not everyone gets one.
-
Friday, January 11, 2013
Finding video with your ears
I got this comment after my last post about b-roll:
"When I'm training new photogs (or more commonly these days, MMJ's) I always tell them to shoot with their ears. Interesting sounds will always take you to interesting people and pictures."
That's from a fabulous photog named Rick Portier who used to shoot video for me and now does the same for other lucky reporters in Louisiana. Anyway, Rick raises a great point. A lot of your best b-roll comes with great nat sound, and as a result, gives you some great nat sound breaks from which to choose.
So this weekend, or on your day off, try this exercise. Take a pen and pad with you to the local mall. Walk the entire length of the mall and write down every sound you hear. Cash registers, kids riding those mechanical horses, makeup girls trying to sell you stuff, whatever. Do this until you have 100 pieces of sound.
Then take the list back and think about the video that went with each piece of sound. What would have made great b-roll? Great nat-sound breaks? Think about the writing opportunities... specifically, how could you have written into or out of these pieces of sound?
Training your ears as well as your eyes will help you take your packages to the next level and make them more interesting. For the next few weekends, try this and eventually it will become second nature.
-
"When I'm training new photogs (or more commonly these days, MMJ's) I always tell them to shoot with their ears. Interesting sounds will always take you to interesting people and pictures."
That's from a fabulous photog named Rick Portier who used to shoot video for me and now does the same for other lucky reporters in Louisiana. Anyway, Rick raises a great point. A lot of your best b-roll comes with great nat sound, and as a result, gives you some great nat sound breaks from which to choose.
So this weekend, or on your day off, try this exercise. Take a pen and pad with you to the local mall. Walk the entire length of the mall and write down every sound you hear. Cash registers, kids riding those mechanical horses, makeup girls trying to sell you stuff, whatever. Do this until you have 100 pieces of sound.
Then take the list back and think about the video that went with each piece of sound. What would have made great b-roll? Great nat-sound breaks? Think about the writing opportunities... specifically, how could you have written into or out of these pieces of sound?
Training your ears as well as your eyes will help you take your packages to the next level and make them more interesting. For the next few weekends, try this and eventually it will become second nature.
-
Monday, January 7, 2013
The daily backup plan
If you've been a reporter for any length of time and worked for different News Directors, you know the story assignment process is never the same. In some stations you're required to bring two or three story ideas to the morning meeting, in others you're simply handed your assignment by a ND who is channeling a dictator.
But regardless, at some point you'll get an assignment that you simply don't want to do. It might be impossible to get video, ridiculously hard to set up, something with no news value, or something you find personally distasteful.
So you either complain or ask for something else.
And chances are you'll hear this. "You got something better?"
And if you don't, you're stuck with that loser of a story.
I've been on both sides of this argument. As a reporter, I learned real quick that I needed to have a bunch of story ideas in my pocket for days when I got handed an assignment that was a real dog. As a manager, I was always amazed that when I asked for "something better" I ususally heard, "I can find something."
Sorry, no time. So out you go to walk your dog.
Remember, the Assignment Editor is not your mother. In a perfect world, the AE is simply a logistical magician, one who pairs crews who like each other and makes sure they're not driving an hour out of their way for a v/o. But too many reporters rely on the desk to hand out assignments.
You're a reporter, so it's your job to find stories. The more you find, the easier your job will be. And the more you have in your back pocket, the less chance you'll get stuck walking the dog in tonight's newscast.
-
But regardless, at some point you'll get an assignment that you simply don't want to do. It might be impossible to get video, ridiculously hard to set up, something with no news value, or something you find personally distasteful.
So you either complain or ask for something else.
And chances are you'll hear this. "You got something better?"
And if you don't, you're stuck with that loser of a story.
I've been on both sides of this argument. As a reporter, I learned real quick that I needed to have a bunch of story ideas in my pocket for days when I got handed an assignment that was a real dog. As a manager, I was always amazed that when I asked for "something better" I ususally heard, "I can find something."
Sorry, no time. So out you go to walk your dog.
Remember, the Assignment Editor is not your mother. In a perfect world, the AE is simply a logistical magician, one who pairs crews who like each other and makes sure they're not driving an hour out of their way for a v/o. But too many reporters rely on the desk to hand out assignments.
You're a reporter, so it's your job to find stories. The more you find, the easier your job will be. And the more you have in your back pocket, the less chance you'll get stuck walking the dog in tonight's newscast.
-
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