AR&D Reinventing Local Media

Darren Brown, multimedia journalist for KWTV/Oklahoma City, says he has the COOLEST job in the place.

Sample his work through the links below, and you’ll see several effective storytelling techniques.  They include effective use of the background in an interview, shown here,  and encouraging the interview subject to show-and-tell.  You might also appreciate Darren’s candor.

 HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

I got into the VJ/OMB thing about 4 years ago.  I started in production way back in ’87.  Started with studio camera, then tape room stuff, etc.  But I always thought the photogs had the COOLEST job in the whole place.  I started shooting in ’94 and, truth be known, I think that I have the COOLEST job in the place these days.  I’ve been shooting/reporting for our website News9.com for almost 2 years now.

I get a kick out of reading message boards and blogs that decry the whole VJ/OMB movement as blasphemy.  The guys who write that stuff are either ignorant or just plain scared, or both.  It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s called JOB SECURITY.  I wanna be the guy who management says “Now wait a minute, if we lose him, we lose a photog, a reporter, an editor, a writer, and one of our helicopter shooters.”  

BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

Often my biggest challenge working by myself is time management.  Luckily, my deadlines are nothing like they used to be in news.  However, working alone, it’s easy to get caught up in what I’m shooting and lose track of time etc.  Sometimes, it would be a great help to have someone else there to occupy the subject while I’m getting my b-roll.  I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten about 20-30 miles down the road and realized “Damn! I forgot to get an exterior.” (Or a CU, or any manner of great shots)

Since I work alone, there’s no one else to blame if my product sucks.  Sometimes that can be very humbling.  But I try to learn from it.

The biggest reward for me is knowing that I did the story “my way.”  All those years I was shooting, I always thought “Well I would do it THIS way.”  Of course, I wouldn’t be rude enough to tell that to a good reporter.  Be careful what you ask for.

WHERE CAN OUR READERS ENJOY YOUR WORK?

Here’s a sampling:

http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=10263667

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9939740

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9831751

http://tinyurl.com/ccgpfb

The problem with this story comes with the lady behind the counter. Her glasses are reflecting so much daylight you can’t see her eyes.

Multimedia journalist Galen Culver of KFOR-TV/Oklahoma City says:

“I should have swung her around a little more. I might have kept the dark background and still been able to keep her in the shade without so much reflection. A little more work there would have counted.”

To a beginning photographer or multimedia journalist, this concept doesn’t make a lot of sense.  But it soon will.

If you have a story that involves one person and they’re moving from place to place, let the person walk into the viewfinder and walk out of the viewfinder.  Don’t follow.

“The more you do this, the more freedom you’ll have to mix and match your shots in the editing process,” says multimedia journalist Galen Culver of KFOR-TV/Oklahoma City.

Those of us who have edited video appreciate the flexibility this approch allows when deadlines are tight and your slot is coming up fast.

Viewers call it out of focus video — a technical problem.  Fortunately, many photojournalists are no longer taking this approach.
 

You probably know the idea:  Protect the identify of the people you’re shooting.  The old way of thinking was:  “We need video, can’t show faces, so let’s shoot backs of heads, legs, and feet — or show faces out of focus.”  

Even when I spoke to photojournalists, sharing viewer insights, at the NPPA workshops several years ago, the approach didn’t make sense to them.  It was a waste of their ability to tell a story.  And they were right.

Even though you’ll see it on the air, it’s a waste of your time, viewers’ time, and makes for bad television.

In this under two-minute learning Learning Video starting with part of a story by WNBC-TV’s Gabe Pressman, you’ll learn how get around this problem. 

Asking tough questions is an effective way for reporters to set themselves apart from the competition and build a valuabl brand of journalism. 

KIMA-TV’s Melissa Wagner proved the Yakima, Washington station serves as a viewer advocate by holding an official accountable in connection with a school incident causing a buzz.

You can learn from this example.  My comments are at the bottom of the screen. 

News director Robin Wojtanik credits Melissa:  “She knew what to ask, she knew what answers our viewers wanted.”

Viewers love this type of story — and will go out of their way to watch it.  It’s about jobs.  No, not more bad new — but good news in a well-told story you might learn from.

Viewers see stories like these as “balanced news.”  As you’ll see, it’s not a soft feature that viewers say they want, but don’t watch.  This story has a “face” and valuable information for viewers.

My comments are at the bottom of the screen in Ken Screven’s report on WRGB-TV in Albany, NY. 

Many multimedia journalists complain that they need to be on the street reporting and shooting.  Not sitting through long, boring editorial meetings.

So how can you speed those meetings up without sacrificing planning?  Suggest the meeting leader ask these four questions of everyone regarding their “meatiest” story.  If the leader of the meeting doesn’t take this approach, you should.  It’ll keep you on your game, getting the best ideas from the group to make your story better.  In fact, by going the extra steps, your story will be more promotable.

You’ll find the first question alone saves a lot of time.  When people have to headline their story, it forces them to focus on the most important element.  If you or they have trouble capturing the story in a headline, the story is likely to lack a focus or viewer benefit.

Using these questions as a guide can cut meeting time in half according to one news director. 

Several new video journalists have asked for help: “Can you put some tips on one page that I can use when I meet with new sources once or twice a week?  Something practical I can print and take with me.”

Sure. Use this to complement the Learning Video Developing Sources to Break Big Stories posted here on April 12^th:

One of the most powerful franchises we ever tested — and helped develop — is Crimetracker.  It alerts viewers to crime trends so they can protect themselves.  It drives many viewers to our client stations because viewers say, “My station doesn’t have anything like that.” 

KEPR-TV, Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, Washington, covers the news with a team of multimedia journalists, including Chelsea Kopta who broke this story about crime trends.  It helps to build the Fisher station’s reputation as a viewer advocate under the direction of news director Robin Wojtanik.  My comments are at the bottom of the screen.