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When reality hits. Questioning why you want to be on TV

The smallest market that Nielsen ranks is Glendive, Montana, #210. It is among the more beautiful places you’ll probably never see. The Yellowstone River flows through the middle of town, according to the chamber of commerce, and you can see a triceratops skull found in 1991 and attend Buzzard Day, no date given.

Glendive is one of those places people would rather visit than live in, though. That’s probably why it only has 4,000 TV-viewing homes. I’m sure there have been some wonderful journalists who’ve gotten their start there. But being that Buzzard Day is listed among the top attractions, I’m thinking it was a lonely start.

So what do you do? You’ve gone to college for four years and made your parents proud. Someone has actually hired you based on a reel you’ll replay in ten years and cringe. And now it’s time to move to someplace like Glendive and become a full-fledged, paid journalist.

Most of us have been there. But the shock was much worse for the young woman who wrote to me recently, whom we featured in last week’s article. She actually had a job in one of the nation’s top markets doing “fun stories and the traffic.” Yes, she’s beautiful. But that didn’t keep her from getting laid-off. She’s managed to find a job way down the ladder. Not in Glendive. But way down the ladder.

“I am not only burnt out but discouraged,” she said during one of our e-mail exchanges, which she is allowing SurviveTVNewsJobs.com to quote.

See, she not only worked in that big market but it was also her hometown. The natural support network of friends and family isn’t there anymore.

On top of that, she’s come to the realization that she’s not a journalist. Among other reasons, she just doesn’t have the fire in the belly that’s required to persevere through all the indignities heaped upon you in that first TV news job.

“Yes I should be thick skinned and not let this run me down, but in reality I think my mental health is more important than keeping up a fake smile to get through this,” she said.

Early on in our e-mail conversation, she told me that hosting is actually what she’s meant to do, not reporting TV news or anchoring. I was actually relieved. Would you want a doctor or an attorney whom you could tell really wasn’t into their profession? It’s a recipe for malpractice. However, this young woman was being honest that she didn’t feel the calling to be a journalist. She isn’t going to pollute TV newsroom after TV newsroom with mediocre work just to have her face on television, all the while secretly yearning to host a talk show.

You may fill in the blank with the name of the colleague in your newsroom who meets that description here: ___________________. Extra points if you think TV news was originally just going to be a part of his or her five-year plan.

So I told her to go for it. God bless her for admitting she’s not journalist material. Plus, with media companies clamoring to create their own syndicated shows outside the Hollywood system and adding local talk shows adjacent to their morning or afternoon newscasts, there is a growing need for hosts with the skills to pull them off. This has the potential to be the best time for on-camera talent to work in local television since the days when stations produced their own children’s programming and hired a host to introduce movies.

In this young woman’s case, though, she’s under contract. I know how much she wants to leave and get on the host track immediately. But I urged her to either stick it out in her current reporting job or try to come to some mutual agreement with station management. Broadcast news is a small world. Word gets around. You don’t want to be known as the person who skips out on contract commitments.

However, fate ended-up coming to her rescue. Another company is about to buy her station. The ownership change, she says, is offering her an “escape.” She turned-in her resignation letter last week and hopes to return home soon.

Best of luck to her, wherever she’s reading this now.

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Matthew Nordin is an investigative reporter at WXIX-TV in Cincinnati. Join him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @FOX19Matthew

Why reporters need to be great tease writers too.

When talking about tease challenges recently on FB, a newsie mentioned it is hard to tease a story “not knowing what the reporter is ACTUALLY working on.” This is a common scenario in most newsrooms. I said the producer should ask for a tease line when the reporter calls in with elements. Now let’s talk about why the reporter should want to call in a tease line, or better yet, offer to write a tease. Reporters need to be great tease writers too, because it not only helps them curry favor with management, it also helps them write better stories.

A big key to great story telling and great tease writing is truly understanding what impact the story will have on the audience. This is the WIFM and sell combined. So by challenging yourself to become a great tease writer, you are kicking your story telling skills up a notch.

Great tease writers are also experts at using sound and video to capture the viewer’s attention, key elements in great storytelling. Think about it, most teases that really knock your socks off, leave an image or sound in your mind. Most people are visual or auditory learners. It is important to play on that fact.

Tight, powerful writing is also key to great tease writing and great storytelling. You can’t boil it down if you don’t understand the story. Powerful writing makes for many memorable moments as well.

So reporters, challenge yourself. Offer to call in a tease line with your elements each day. Look for the sound and video that really sells your story and offer it up. You will not only become the producer’s favorite, your own stories will improve.

That term is suspect: When to use the word and when to avoid.

By now most of you know we have a cliché list of words and phrases you just should not use. “Allegedly” is one of the very worst, and we explained how to get around it. Now let’s talk about another very overused, and obviously misunderstood term: “suspect.”

By definition “suspect” means: “to think (a person) guilty without having proof.” It is a term police, lawyers and judges use. Viewers get the essence of it, quite possibly more than most newsies. I say that because when you watch an a-block in most newsrooms around the country, you hear “suspect” being used, in a way it should not, constantly.

Here’s a common example, when describing a convenience store robbery with surveillance video. “Here you see the masked suspects approaching the counter with guns and demanding cash from the register.” Um, no. “Here you see the robbers pointing guns at the cashier.” The people with the guns, who then take handfuls of cash from the register are not “suspects.” They are the people who did it. Police may not know their names yet but, you can see in the video, they are the “robbers.” The people in the video are guilty, the video shows proof. You see them committing the criminal act.

Now here’s what to do, if the person is not wearing a mask. As we explained in “Getting around allegedly” if you see the person doing it and police confirm that’s what happened, simply attribute it. “Police say you are watching a man rob this store.” “Suspect” is not going to help you here. The man is seen holding the gun. State the facts. Attribute to police.

Inexperienced writers, if you are unsure, exercise caution. These concepts take a while to grasp. Remember, you must attribute. Words like “suspect” do not really protect you. Saying for example, “Police call Joe Schmo a suspect.” can still create problems. You can say police have identified a suspect and not show a face or say a name. Remember, unless the person is a public figure, the name is less important to viewers than the fact investigators are moving forward and possibly solving the crime. The safest bet, is to wait to say a name until there are charges. Once a person is arrested, they are no longer simply a suspect. So saying “Suspect Joe Schmo is charged with.” is not a protection. The term suspect, has to be used clearly, not as a crutch phrase.

Deadline looming: How to effectively crank out multiple stories.

The idea of cranking out more with less doesn’t seem to be going away. Turning more than one story, on more than one subject, in more than one city is not easy. Just keeping the facts straight and providing perspective on multiple stories is challenging. Then come the relentless deadlines. Sometimes the packages air 10 minutes or less apart. One of them, includes a live hit. Wow, just writing about all that leaves me breathless!

So how do you effectively crank out multiple stories? Veteran reporters who make these pressures seem like turning a straight vo/sot, say two things: Organization and time management. So what does that mean?

Think about how you will write the package, while shooting
Keep interviews no longer than 5 minutes MAX
Log accurate time codes
Log and/or write every free minute

First off, think about how you will write your package while you are shooting it. You want the first part of your package mapped out in your head for two key reasons. First, it will help you craft a bridge standup that will always fit. Next, it means you must do enough research before interviewing that you can keep those interviews to 5 minutes maximum. (You really should try to keep them to about three minutes.) The reason: the longer your interviews the more you have to log. (For more on how to keep interviews short read: Developing interview skills on the beat)

Speaking of logging, your time codes need to be accurate. This is not a courtesy to your photojournalist, this is crucial to make deadline. It needs to be considered as big a deal as getting your facts straight. When slamming on deadline, you need to make sure your photojournalist or editor uses exactly what you need, and can easily find it, without having to stop down and ask you.

Finally, every free minute you have should be spent logging and writing. This means using the view finder of the camera to log if necessary. I constantly had to battle this idea with reporters. I’ll log when we get to the live shot location, etc. Not acceptable! Log while you are in the car riding. Log your first story immediately, while driving to your second story. Log while you are eating lunch, if you get one. Do not waste a single minute. You want to get done quickly so you and your photojournalist can take your time when editing. You want to factor in time for equipment failure too. You will still get down time, it will just be at the end of your day.