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Multimedia Minutes: Can’t Get the Answers to Your Questions?
April 25th, 2010
How do you deal with an interview subject who side steps answering your questions? Here’s one proven way.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Kaplitz#p/u/82/N5iDmNNiCf8
You don’t need to be on 60 Minutes to ask follow up questions like this. As long as you do it in a respectful way, viewers will appreciate how you’re watching out for them.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 1 Comment »
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Multimedia Minutes: Asking the Tough Questions
April 25th, 2010
Skeptics criticize reporters for asking the softball questions. Comments include “They don’t have the courage to ask the questions we want answered.” So asking those questions will set you apart from the competition.
In this promo, WRGB-TV/Albany takes credit for holding officials accountable. Look at how a reporter deals with an official saying, “That’s a silly question.”
You might also watch:
Multimedia Minutes: Viewer Advocacy
Multimedia Minutes: Tough Time with Tough Questions?
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 2 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Adding Punch to Your Writing
April 25th, 2010
To showcase you do more than react to the news of the day, you need to write proactively. Through transparency, take credit for what you do that’s special. Here’s an example.
You likely can’t turn out a story like this a day. But the more often you can deliver on this type of fact finding, the more uniquely valuable viewers will find your stories on air and on the Web.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 11 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Producer Scorecard
April 24th, 2010
Checklists and scorecards represent powerful implementation tools. Without them, responsibilities and goals are fuzzy. Also, with a scorecard like this one, you can identify problems and address them quickly. This is an example. As a multimedia journalist, you should create your own scorecard to, well, keep score and get help where you’re not making progress
. To make this practical, use it as often as you like. Check the goals with your news manager. If you’re a news manager, make sure everyone’s goals are clear whether you call it a scorecard, checklist, or simply goals.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Building Blocks for Viewer Advocacy
April 24th, 2010
“Give us the steps we need to take to show we’re a viewer advocate.” That’s a common request as stations move from meaningless brands of journalism to brands viewers want. In fact, no matter your station’s branding line, viewers appreciate multimedia journalists who are watching out for them.
You may want to use this as a guide.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Can You See Your Target?
April 24th, 2010
The most successful multimedia journalists have a clear understanding of what success is. And that’s beyond the basics of getting the facts right and the video in focus. For example, when it comes to viewer advocacy — a brand of journalism for many stations — they know what to shoot for.
After the commodity news — the news of the day all stations over — strive to get answers to the most important viewer questions about the most important issues. Then fact find by going the extra steps. Use transparency to tell viewers what you’re doing, so you’ll get credit. But ultimately what stands out in viewers’ minds are the tough questions you ask, holding people in power accountable.
This presents a huge opportunity because your competition’s target is likely mushy. Besides, many multimedia journalists’ questions are softballs — the easy stuff. You’re in a great position to, in a nice way, hold officials accountable for how they’re spending taxpayer money or following through on their campaign promises.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Start with Video or Anchors in Promos?
April 24th, 2010
You sometimes see your video begin your station’s promos, and sometimes the anchor on camera kicks off the promo. Probably no surprise to you, but the video wins out. At least, every time we tested. This holds true even for strong anchors.This shows second-by-second viewer interest in our so-called Real Time Response research. The higher the line, the more viewers are engaged. That holds true for both the station’s staff and for viewers.
Also, when you’re providing video to promote your story, start strong. Holding the best shots for last or for the story itself loses you viewers. Unless you start strong, many viewers won’t stick around. After all, they see it as a commercial.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 4 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Visual Storytelling with a Timeless Twist
April 22nd, 2010
Learn visual storytelling fundamentals from historical video, which includes some surprising shots.
If you enjoyed this older video, you might like to see what Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite looked like years ago.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 1 Comment »
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Multimedia Minutes: Getting Excited over Shoes
April 21st, 2010
Multimedia journalists and other employees ultimately set one station/Web site apart from the competition. I was reminded of that when I received a card from an employee of Zappos.com. I had called to ask a question about an item on their Web site.
Elizabeth’s card accompanied a book — the “Culture Book” — with more than 300 pages about the culture including descriptions of the culture by dozens of employees.
Core values, which drive the culture, include “Be passionate and determined.” Elizabeth raved about the company, which has been so successful in the shoe business that Amazon bought it for more than one billion dollars.
If employees in the shoe business — and now other retail products – are that excited about their company and core values, imagine the opportunities we have in a field with much more a WOW factor.
TAKEAWAYS
If you’re a multimedia journalist:
Ask your news director about the station’s core values and culture.
Determine what your role should be, ideally.
If the core values seem mushy, write down your own and decide what you’ll do differently.
Discuss those values with your news director.
If you’re a news director:
Define the station’s core values in terms they understand — like “We ask the tough questions that viewers want answered.”
Get the reaction of your staff because they’re they ones to bring it to life.
If you’ve done this before, this will serve to reinforce your station’s beliefs.
BOTTOM LINE
Whether you’re in the shoe business or serving as a viewer advocate through multimedia channels, you need to stand for something. And, ideally, get excited about those beliefs. If not, find what does excite you. Elizabeth did.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 3 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Videography Skill Sets — Where Do You Stand?
April 21st, 2010
See yourself progressing through various levels of learning, starting with the fundamentals. Where are you? How will you get to the next level? If you’re not getting the training you need, ask for it. If that doesn’t work, find a mentor inside your station or out.
We developed this model in collaboration with multimedia journalist Galen Culver as part of AR&D’s continuing education for MMJs.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
