Many targeted special reports fail along with their promotion. They’re not relevant to the vast majority of viewers.
To improve your chances of success, apply these criteria based on our insights into what drives viewers to watch one story over another.
Good editing skills can make or break a story.
How advanced are your editing skills? What stage do you consider yourself in?
We see five levels of growth, starting with the most basic and advancing to mastery of editing, which includes full knowledge of editing software and capabilities, which helps to save a poorly shot story.
If you’re not getting enough feedback, ask for it. It’ll make you more valuable at a time when that’s essential for job security. Multimedia journalist or whatever your position, you deserve to know what to celebrate and how you can raise the bar.
WRGB/Albany, NY news director Lisa Jackson, shown here with reporter Randy Simons, provides consistent feedback in one-to-one’s, small group sessions, staff meetings, weekly, and sometimes even daily emails.
This approach answers one of the most frequent complaints from news people: “I don’t get enough feedback.”
See how specific, constructive, and candid the feedback you deserve can be as you read one of Lisa’s recent emails:
Team:
An incredibly hectic week! We covered breaking news and we broke a few stories. Thank you all for the good ideas, hard work, and hustle.
We continue to show daily progress in branding our newscasts so that viewers will appreciate the extra steps we take every day that set us apart from the competition. We showcased our Fact Finders, we answered viewer email questions, we broke important stories and we’re planning for more opportunities for the anchors to contribute — those are branding goals and nice job delivering them.
Here are a couple of examples from tonight, and suggestions to make them stronger.
Plane in the Hudson Followup
ALBANY INTERNATIONAL IS ALL TOO FAMILIAR WITH THE DANGER THAT BIRDS POSE TO AIRPLANES.
IN-FACT, LAST YEAR THEY RECORDED FORTY-TWO BIRD STRIKES AT THE AIRPORT.
TONIGHT RANDY SIMONS SHOWS US THE PLAN … TO NOT ONLY BATTLE THE BIRDS — BUT SOME OTHER THINGS… THAT COULD REALLY ”FOWL” THINGS UP.
Good: We identified two angles this morning to follow up on yesterday’s plane in the Hudson. Angle 1: How common are bird strikes and what is Albany International doing to prevent them? Angle 2: What should you do to increase your chances of getting out safe?
To Raise the Bar: Write that into your copy. For example: Yesterday’s crash raises two big safety questions: How common are bird strikes and what is Albany International doing to prevent them? And What should you do the next time you fly to increase your chances of getting out safe? Our Fact Finder team ….we start with ….
This give us credit for identifying important safety issues, and viewers appreciate that we’re fact finding to get them answers.
Fire Depts. Not Getting Money
THE STATE’S FISCAL WOES ARE NOW HAVING AN EFFECT.. ON THOSE WAITING FOR GRANT MONEY, FROM THE STATE.
IN NOVEMBER, GOVERNOR PATERSON OUTLINED NEW “COST-CONTROL” MEASURES — MAKING IT MANDATORY THAT AGENCIES SEEKING GRANTS, GET PRIOR APPROVAL FROM THE STATE DIVISION OF BUDGET.. AND THE OFFICE OF STATE OPERATIONS.
THE NEW MEAURE MAY BE AN EFFORT TO CONTROL SPENDING — BUT AS MARCI NATALE REPORTS — IT’S LEAVING SEVERAL AREA FIRE COMPANIES… IN THE RED.
Good: It’s an exclusive story that may affect a lot of families.
To Raise the Bar: Need to make the relevance much more obvious. Focus on “Why do I care?” Will I have to pay more to make up the difference? Will they have to cut back on other equipment that might put my family at risk?
Making Good on Our Promise
EARLIER THIS WEEK — MARCI NATALE BROKE THE STORY — OF HOW MEMBERS OF THE ALBANY FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE BEING TOLD, THEY CAN NO LONGER VOLUNTEER IN THEIR OWN TOWNS.
MANY OF YOU EMAILED US ABOUT THIS ONE —
AND ONE OF YOU POINTED OUT — WE REFERRED TO PAID FIREFIGHTERS AS “PROFESSIONALS” — WHEN IN FACT, “ALL” FIREFIGHTERS ARE PROFESSIONALS — PAYCHECK OR NOT.
AND YOU’RE RIGHT… GOOD POINT!
TAKE EMAIL ANIMATION
REMEMBER — IF THERE’S A QUESTION YOU HAVE — OR A STORY YOU WANT COVERED — E-MAIL US AT “NEWS AT CBS SIX ALBANY DOT COM.”
IT’S OUR JOB TO GET YOU ANSWERS!
Good: We turned a mistake most stations would just sweep under the rug, into a branding opportunity that makes good on our promise of nailing down the facts because accuracy matters. Because viewers rarely see this it makes an impression. It’s a lemon because of the initial mistake, but you turned it into lemonade.
To Raise the Bar: Keep the original email. Quote from it to capture the viewer’s indignation. And use his name at the end, Sam, you’re right. Thanks for the email so we can set the record straight.
Keep up the good work and have a great weekend! Lisa
__________________
Whether your news director offers you this feedback or you ask for it, it’s a great way to accelerate your learning. Not incidentally, WRGB’s latest news ratings were their best in years.
Several multimedia journalists have asked what they need to do to progress to the position of anchor. Many factors are at play, of course, but it is do-able.
For example, anchors like Larry Hatteberg (KAKE/Wichita, KS) began as video journalists, earning their stripes and credibility. Viewers tell us that in addition to liking the anchor’s personality, knowledge of the area and journalistic skills are major reasons for watching one anchor over another.
One valuable way to get a handle on anchor growth is to think of success coming through five stages. As you see below, it starts with the most basic ability to read aloud well. That won’t get you much anymore as stations trim budgets.
But if you’re a multimedia journalist, you have a head’s start for the second stage as a true “journalist,” not just a news reader.
The fourth stage is about getting results, making a difference through the station’s brand of journalism. Most anchors never get there. They often fall short because just doing a report during sweeps usually isn’t enough to impact on viewers. It takes stories that are relevant to the vast majority of viewers done with memorable moments reflecting the station’s brand of journalism.
The fifth stage is an exclusive club. Anchors who rise to that level make an emotional connection with viewers. They’re “like family” as one viewer put it.
Unfortunately, some don’t even have a clear understanding of their station’s brand, meaning what makes them uniquely valuable in the minds of viewers. That’s an opportunity for you to set yourself apart. If your station’s brand is merely just a tag line to you, find out what it really means. It won’t guarantee you an anchor position, but it’s a giant step forward no matter how you contribute to your success and your station’s.
It’s Not About Me is sage advice from video journalist Darren Brown at KWTV/Oklahoma City.
5 TO REMEMBER
5 TO AVOID
About Darren Brown
Darren Brown has worked in television for over 20 years. Brown first worked as a camera operator and a tape operator, but found his true passion in TV news photography. In late 2007, Darren moved from TV news photography to become a videojournalist for News9.com.
An Oklahoma native, Darren graduated from Rose State College and the University of Oklahoma. Darren has worked at NEWS 9 three times, as well as KAUZ in Wichita Falls, Texas, KOKH in Oklahoma City and KOB in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As a videojournalist, Brown sees and experiences events and people the general public doesn’t usually get to see, and feels it’s his responsibility to bring those experiences home to the viewer.
Darren believes storytelling is the essence of his job, and strives to convey every story he does in the best way possible. “Some stories have great visuals, and others just have great characters,” Brown said. “Some have neither, but they’re stories that just need to be told.”
Darren Brown is excited to have moved to News9.com as a videojournalist. He plans on bringing the same journalistic integrity to the website that viewers have come to expect from NEWS 9 over the years.
“Stick around, we’re just getting started!” he said.
That’s exactly what KFOR-TV/Oklahoma City multimedia journalist Galen Culver did to capture a story about bikes.
Galen, who created “Is This a Great State or What!” in 1991, points out: “This is a nice point of view story shot with a small hand held camera. The bikers took turns holding it in different positions and trading it back and forth. It made for a nice story element.”
Sometimes you need the help of the subject of your story to capture the most memorable angles.
Multimedia Journalist Alex Dunbar’s top five Do’s and Don’ts, which he keeps in mind in his work at WSTM-TV in Syracuse, NY.
Do’s
Don’ts
