Why generic video is a killer for TV news.

Yes, the title of this article is a strong statement. TV news is up against some large hurdles, the largest being making sure your newscasts and stories actually have impact for the viewer.  If they don’t, viewers leave.  Generic video creates an instant disconnect.  That’s why I defined it and talked about ways around in Show it, explain it, and that’s why I am dedicating a second article.  It is important to understand that this common crutch really kills credibility.

If viewers watch a story, and the video doesn’t make sense with the words two things happen:  The viewer gets confused and misses half of the story, and the viewer starts wondering if the person reading the story knows what he/she is even talking about.  Think about it, would you do a presentation for a group of people and not use the correct power point diagrams?  Would you notice if the graphics don’t make sense and become angry that the speaker keeps flashing them up anyway, just so there is something on a screen?  This is how generic video comes off to TV news viewers.  It is confusing, and frustrating.

Viewers want to grasp what you are saying and showing to them.  Video and sound help imprint it in their busy minds, so they actually remember what was said, who said it and what it meant.  That is too powerful a tool, to just write a story, and hope the video makes sense.  You must know what your images are, and relate the facts to the video.  Otherwise you are telling viewers to go elsewhere, because your station is clueless.

So if you want to stand out on the job, and as a journalist period, show video, use sound, and explain it.  Vow to never put a piece of video into your package or your newscast that you don’t reference in some way.  It’s time to say goodbye to generic video.

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Want a great writing critique? Ask a photojournalist.

Yes, you read the title of this article correctly.  If you want a really great writing critique, ask the guys and gals who focus on the images.  Why?  Because, in television news, the words are dependent on the images.  The video and sound should truly tell the story.  This is even true when using graphics to explain a subject.  The visuals, combined with sound and words, are what makes this medium such an incredible pull for viewers. (despite the smaller screen you are using to read this article.)

Photojournalists really understand the powerful connection between the images and the words.  They also know a lot of tricks to help you work around it when the stories are not as visually appealing as you would like.  If you ever get a chance, sit down and watch a newscast with a photojournalist.  It is fascinating to hear their rants vs. the rants of non-photogs in the business.  Will you agree with everything?  Probably not.  But you will gain a lot of insight from the thought processes of a very visual mind.

So while you listen to the critique, keep an ear out for how many times the photojournalist mentions that a story did not make sense.  My guess is you will hear that pretty often.  Then take a closer look at the story.  Chances are your copy and the visuals do not mesh at all.  It really is fascinating to watch how often that happens in TV news.  There is a large disconnect, especially in vo’s and vosots between the visuals and the words being used to describe the story.

Photojournalists help you understand just that.  Your words describe the story.  They don’t simply tell it.  There is a difference in TV news.  Let a photog help you see that for yourself.  Get a critique.  Who knows, the insight could make your writing style even better.

 

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Why photojournalists should put together photo essays even if your station doesn’t often air them.

Okay, I can hear you talking to your computer screens now, calling this idea (and me) crazy.  Photojournalists hoof it all day, bust their butts, are exhausted at the end of it and don’t need more work with no reward.  Hear me out though.  This is meant to help you keep perspective.

Perspective on what?  Why you hoof it all day, bust your butt and work yourself to the bone.  There is an art to your craft.  Artists need time to just create.  I am not saying turn a piece every week or month.  But when a story really gnaws at you and you shot the heck out of it and only a small part of your great video was used, save the video and turn a photo essay.  Even if you will probably get a “No” answer, give it to an EP and ask where it could air.  Put the piece on YouTube.   Show it to your spouse or your favorite reporter.  Send a link to the photojournalist that inspired you to become one yourself.  Post a link on the  SurviveTVNewsJobs Facebook page.  Experiment and take ownership in having a piece that is just yours.

Too often nowadays TV news is a grind.  You churn and burn and it feels hollow.  You end your day wondering, “Did I make a difference at all?”  Great pieces can and do come along that keep the fire alive, but sometimes you get in a rut.  This is a way to keep you focused.  It is a way to remind you, and the reporters you work with, that TV is worthless without your video and audio.  It helps you push yourself to improve your storytelling.  It can also lead to other opportunities.  I know a great photographer with many Emmys who was able to prove he could also write and associate produce, in part, by putting together well thought out photo essay pieces.  It also feeds the artist in you.  We fellow TV journalists need to see your perspective in this way sometimes.  It helps us remember the true power of this medium too.  So please, turn an occasional photo essay, for all of us.

 

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Why photographers are a reporter’s best friend.

Chinese philosopher Mencius said:  “Friendship is one mind in two bodies.”  This is the basis of why I tell young and/or inexperienced reporters that their best “friends” in a newsroom should be the photographers they work closely with every day.  Being of “one mind” about the stories you tell on a daily basis is the difference between below-average to average TV news stories and great, memorable storytelling that gets viewers to pay attention and your work noticed.

Whenever I move into a new newsroom, the first thing I do is take inventory of the photography staff.  Who’s good?  Who’s average?  Who’s motivated?  Who’s not?  And most importantly… who gets “it?”  Do you know what I mean by “it?”  I mean simply: storytelling.  It is THE number one thing that can take your career as a reporter to limitless heights.  (For more on storytelling see this article https://www.survivetvnewsjobs.com/?p=306)  Most of us know it when we see it and you should definitely look for it whenever you start in a new shop as well.  Once you have identified the “players” among the photography staff, buddy up with them!  Why?  Because they can make your daily life easy as well as set you up for a successful career path.  On the opposite end of the spectrum… news photographers can also make your life a living hell if you dis them.  Think about that last point for a moment.  You work your tail off turning your story (or in most cases today, stories) for that night’s newscast(s).  You find good “characters”, ask all the right questions and write a gem of a script.  You get it copyedited and it’s ready for the photog to edit into a masterpiece of local news storytelling.  But there’s one problem:  You are the reporter who gives “orders” to photographers rather than asking nicely when you need something from them.  You are the reporter who sits in the truck playing on your smartphone while the photog busts his/her butt breaking down the live shot in the cold.  You are the reporter who calls every story “my story” rather than “our story.”  So, guess what, Mr. or Miss Photog is magically having “editing problems” or just can’t get an edit to take.  Suddenly, that masterpiece of storytelling that was filled with characters and nat sound becomes just another news package slapped together so it can make air.  Think it cannot or does not happen?  Wake up Alice, you’re in Wonderland!  It can and does.

On the other hand, what if you’re the reporter who always helps carry equipment and break down live shots?  What if you’re the reporter who ends every recorded interview by asking the photog if they have any questions for the interviewee?  What if you’re the reporter who asks the photographer to brainstorm ideas on making the standup different and visually stunning?  And what if maybe you’re the reporter who always, and I mean always, tells the photog what a great job they did on “our” story today/yesterday or last week with another reporter?  Well, suddenly Mr. or Miss Photog is busting their hump to get some extra nat sound and a few extra tight shots to really make the story sing!  Keep it up, make it a habit and you’ll soon be getting that effort everyday when you work with that photog.  Then, that photog will tell the others on staff how cool it is to work with you and you’ll start getting the same effort from every photog you work with.  Next thing you know you’re work is noticed as excellent by your bosses and eventually the newsroom you target as the next stop on your march to TV news greatness!

 

The best friend I’ve ever had “in the business” is a photographer.  He just so happens to be what I would consider among the absolute best in the business too with an entire room filled with Emmy and other high level awards.  But there was a time when neither one of us knew what it meant to make really good TV.  We didn’t even know the term “storytelling” much less what it took to do it.  But as our friendship developed so did our relationship as co-workers.  We discovered that we both wanted to know what it took to be really good at making really good TV news stories.  So, we set about teaching ourselves.  We constantly challenged each other to learn and try new things in our stories.  It didn’t take long for both of us to start down the path to great storytelling.  Had we thought of each other as “just a photog” or “just a reporter” rather than as the most important part of the daily equation, neither one of us might have gone on to the successful  and long careers we enjoy.

Unfortunately, there are many, many people in this business who do view TV News Photographers as “just photogs.”  Don’t be one of these people.  TV News Photographers really are THE most important part of the equation.  TV news is at its best when it truly harnesses what no other news medium can harness:  effectively blending moving pictures, with sound and words.  When it makes you feel like ”you are there.”  A reporter can write the words and even say the words.  But without a photographer there is no way you are grabbing all three and making viewers feel connected with great TV news storytelling.  So don’t forget about your true “best friends” in the newsroom.  As Mencius suggested, be of “one mind in two bodies.”  Make sure you make it clear to photogs that you know how important they are to making everyone in the newsroom more successful.  Your job today, and career down the line, will not be sorry and you just might come away with some really good friends too!

 

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