The mass shooting in Orlando has been very raw to cover. Mass shootings simply are. All hands are on deck. Everyone works long hours. Everyone bands together with a passionate sense of purpose to serve the community. The things the crews see and talk about, over and over, can be very hard to take. Some will take to FB and lay out the pain. Some will quietly seek counseling. But most just grit their teeth and say, “This is part of the job I must be strong.” That is largely true. It is part of the job. But I really do not think people choose to be journalists to cover […]
Crew View: Do You Really See It During Major Coverage?
Management Issues, Political Hotbed
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Jun 162016
How Millennials Are Going To Change The Job Interview Process For The Better.
Job Interviewing, Picking A Shop
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Apr 262016
For the last 10 years or so the job interviewing process has largely gone downhill in many newsrooms. Many stations did little vetting. Many barely let candidates see much of the newsroom before being rushed out. If you asked a bunch of questions during an interview, you were labeled a potential trouble maker. More companies are not wanting to pay for plane tickets or meals. Some require the candidate to pay upfront for all these costs. And many would “tease” with one job description, then place the new hire in a different job once he/she arrived. The thing is, most millennials are very aware of their wants and goals and […]
How to break down a lot of information.
Survival Kit, The Latest, Writing Help
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Mar 302016
Lately this question has come up a lot in my coaching role. The journalist has complicated stories that seem like they should make air. But it is so hard to boil the stories down, they try to avoid the content. This is a natural phase in learning to be a journalist. Let’s talk about some basic guidelines to help you put that story in the newscast, without lunch bagging it with too much information to understand the point. First let’s talk package techniques. Simplifying Package Information Think Set Up Package focuses on impact and video support Substantive tag of key facts you need to report, but that don’t work well […]
TV Survival Skills. The 10 Things You Need To Do To Be Successful In The Modern Newsroom
Anchoring, Reporting, The Latest
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Feb 252016
1. CAN YOU FIND EXCLUSIVE STORIES? No really…can you find the story that makes politicians and PIO’s lose sleep?? Better yet, can you do this even with news of the day? Do you have fast attack investigative skills? You better! Everyone can get PIO info and sound. You have to be able to separate from your competition to get paid. How do you do that?? Know the process and procedures of paperwork- school districts, police and sheriff- what documents exist and when do they become available? Time is quickly wasted, opportunity and credibility forever lost by not knowing procedures. Can you get a great tip confirmed? Most reporters cannot. You […]
Was that tease worth the wait?
Survival Kit, Tease Writing
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Feb 182016
The teases section on Survive is consistently the most read section. Frankly tease writing is not as natural for journalists. It involves different skill sets and we go in depth on those. But there is a basic teasing question that you must ask yourself every time, to make sure you’re living up to your main purpose: providing accurate information that benefits your viewers. This is especially true for stories you tease. They tend to be more emotional in nature or have a clear WIFM. They also tend to be stories tease writers oversell in an attempt to make sure the viewer stays. So you must ask yourself, was that tease […]
How to brand throughout the newscast
Producing, Survival Kit, The Latest, Writing Help
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Jan 202016
It’s no secret that writing for TV news nowadays is as much about marketing as writing clearly and concisely. You are expected to sell the news philosophy for your station as much as time out your newscast correctly. In fact many stations require you mention your station brand at least 5 times a newscast. Many producers just write in the pitch line as you introduce live reporters to get it over with. Joe Smith works for you. Joe Smith is on your side live in…. Joe Smith is your eyewitness tonight. There are other ways to brand, that are less throwaway. You can even do it in a way that […]
