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Multimedia Minutes: Best Advice I Received — MMJ Casey Ferrand
August 31st, 2010
What’s the best advice you received as MMJ?
Here’s what education reporter Casey Ferrand said following MMJ training at KTBS-TV in Shreveport, LA.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 4 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Watch Hands-On MMJ Training
August 31st, 2010
You can learn alot by watching this training session for new MMJs.
We believe in hands-on training, so you’ll see that from the start of this video. I didn’t want to distract from the training, so I shot this with a hand held camera from the corner of the room, but you can still learn alot from AR&D trainer-MMJ Galen Culver.
In this exercise, one of the MMJs plays an artist in a limited space. The challenge is to get a variety of shots. This was a fully engaged group of MMJs, so you’ll hear their suggestions in the background.
My colleague Regent Ducas makes a good point when he says “Keep it simple.” Photographers are learning so much so fast about reporting and reporters are learning so much about visual storytelling that it can be like drinking from a fire hose. Our recommendation is to take it one step at a time.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: “Best Advice I Received” — MMJ Rod White
August 31st, 2010
What’s the best advice you received as an MMJ?
Here’s what KTBS-TV’s (Shreveport) Rod White said following hands-on training by an AR&D team that included MMJ Galen Culver.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Capturing Emotion
August 31st, 2010
“A homeowner cried at a city council meeting.”
When Nick Caloway heard that, he knew he had a story. The MMJ at KTBS-TV in Shreveport found the homeowner to tell his story. See the strong elements Nick delivered and learn ways to raise the bar.
As my colleague Regent Ducas points out, this story and similar ones are ideal for you to follow up on. That’s good journalism — but especially important if you’re a viewer advocacy station.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 2 Comments »
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Multimedia Journalism: “Where’s the Wow?”
August 30th, 2010
In a Sea of Sameness, one of the most timely and relevant questions you can ask yourself is “Where’s the wow?” in your story.
This is the question my colleague Regent Ducas has been asking MMJs across the country during our training workshops with MMJ Galen Culver. This soundbite is succinct and worthy of watching.
The problem is all the stories look just about the same. In fact, many stories are so forgettable that even news people have difficulty answering this question we frequently raise: “What local TV news stories do you remember?”
The question gets several blank looks, then responses about non-local stories on ESPN and the Comedy Channel, for example. And several MMJs admit they don’t watch local TV news on a regular basis because it’s not relevant to their lives.
And what questions do they remember? Several mentioned Jay Leno asking Kanye West “What would your mom have said about this?” following his infamous rant during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. The only problem: This didn’t have anything to do with local TV news — and the story ran more than a year ago.
Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to observe: “If we can’t get our own people to watch regularly and remember stories, what chances do we have to pull in non-employees?
Don’t ponder that too long. Here are takeaways:
- Cover stories relevant to the lives of viewers, including yourself. If they’re not relevant, the most creative photography won’t matter. Viewers have no reason to watch it in the first place.
- Plan the wow. Don’t wait for Divine Intervention. Plan the wow. For example, we often ask workshops participants to shoot a story about “Eating Healthy in the Newsroom.” Just about all the stories we see look the same. Yep, news people eating junk food. You know what that looks like, so we haven’t grabbed any frames for you to see. What are the possibilities for wowing viewers with an inventive approach? Think different.
For example, bring in a few dollars’ worth of healthy vegetables — like spinach — setting them in front of a news person eating the salty, sugar-laden, fatty burgers complemented by sugar filled pop and a sweet dessert. Will they eat the healthy food? Regent and I can’t predict for sure, but it certainly adds drama to what can be a ho-hum story. It can add a wow!
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An honored TV storyteller with a keen appreciation for delivering a wow in visual storytelling is NBC’s Bob Dotson. This is one of my favorite stories of his:
Multimedia Minutes: What the Nation’s Most Recognized TV Storyteller Learned from this Video
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 8 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Squeezing More Time from Your Producer
August 27th, 2010
Need more time for your story, but concerned you won’t get it?
Here’s a quick tip from MMJ Galen Culver as he presented it to multimedia journalists at an AR&D training session in Shreveport, LA.
Of course, don’t let the producer down. The story should deserve every second!
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | 3 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Using Two Independent Sources
August 22nd, 2010
So many viewers question the accuracy and fairness of TV news that you need to go the extra step to convince them you do get it right.
Takeaway: See how to take credit for checking a major story with two independent sources to ensure accuracy. Viewers loved it.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 2 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Writing that Spikes Viewer Interest
August 22nd, 2010
“How do we write to pull viewers in?” is a frequent question. Alot of it depends on finding stories relevant to the lives of viewers. Watch how viewer interest spikes with “saving you from becoming a victim.” The two lines soaring show viewer interest second by second for 18-24 and 25-34 year old groups. The yellow line that doesn’t spike represents news people. They weren’t as impressed as viewers, so they learned alot about writing from this study.
Major takeaway: Stories you enterprise that keep viewers save are winners, starting with your opening copy.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Getting Credit for Revealing Crime Trends
August 22nd, 2010
Keeping safe from crime is a viewer hot button. When you reveal a crime trend, consider a promo like this to get credit.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | No Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Strong Writing Examples
August 22nd, 2010
Write to showcase competitive advantages.
If you don’t take credit for how you go the extra step, viewers won’t appreciate what you’re doing. See several examples in this newscast along with other best practices.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 2 Comments »