Multimedia Minutes: Running Out of Time?

October 21st, 2010

Running out of time on your stories?

This drives all of us crazy at one time or another.  So what can multimedia journalists do to get more done in less time? 

It comes down to getting what’s most valuable done, as Bob Dotson, National Correspondent for the Today Show, told me in a Skype interview.

Benefit from the world’s largest library of on-demand learning videos.  Look under Recent Posts for articles and videos about dozens of subjects multimedia journalists and students ask about.

WHY THIS BLOG IS VALUABLE:  WHAT A GENERAL MANAGER SAYS

Regarding the blog videos, I’d say the most value is in their regularity and frequency.  It’s good having something like that coming at the younger talent in the news room because it not only helps them in their growth, but makes them feel they’re on the “inside” and we’re engaged with them.  — Greg Raschio, General Manager, KVAL-TV/Eugene, OR

Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 5 Comments »

Multimedia Minutes: Four Most Important Questions in Story Planning

April 21st, 2010

If you ask these questions, you can immediately improve your visual storytelling.  If you struggle with the first question, you might want to find another story.

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Multimedia Minutes: Unhappy with the Stories You Get?

April 17th, 2010

Several multimedia journalists complain their stories lack the key elements — like a human angle.  Under deadline pressure with stories handed to them, they don’t have the time to put a face on their stories.  Sound familiar?

Official soundbites don’t engage viewers unless they’re exceptional.  What interviews with officials do you remember unless you held them accountable with a tough question viewers wanted answered?

Several MMJs have gotten around this problem by developing their own sources — even if just at the rate of two new people a week.

Look at this basic model I created.  Over time, you can develop first time sources to eventually help you generate major stories with the human angles that other MMJs can’t find.

Developing sources as so-called “whistle blowers,” revealing big government waste, for example, comes with developing trust.  Most reporters never reach that level.  But you have to start somewhere.

To make this practical, plan to meet two new potential sources a week — even if it’s to briefly introduce yourself and your commitment to covering that person accurately and fairly.  The usual response is “I didn’t think reporters would take the time to do what you just did.”  

People aren’t shy about telling you what’s wrong with TV news, so when you ask them what stories you should cover, they often have ideas and people to contact.  And remember not to limit your contacts to the usual high profile officials or public information officers.  They won’t give you anything they don’t give your competitors.  For administrative assistants, for example, it’s another story.

It’s a great start to cultivating sources and enterprising stories — and it beats complaining you don’t have the time to find human angles.

Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 1 Comment »

Multimedia Minutes: Staying Sane by Staying Organized

February 17th, 2010

How do you make time your friend?  More time management tips from MMJ Marc Schollett who anchors three newscasts and reports several stories a week for a Traverse City, Michigan TV station.  Marc practices what he preaches, making it look easy. 

MMJs who follow the “multi-story” appoach we recommend report excellent results.  Rarely do you run dry.  You’ve created several options for yourself by making several calls and sending several emails checking out several stories.  Result:  Lots of information, news hooks, and human angles to keep you sane and successful.

What are your challenges as an MMJ?  Let us know:  bkaplitz@ar-d.com

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Multimedia Minutes: How to Get Ahead When You’re Behind

February 5th, 2010

When you’re running a day behind, how do you get a day ahead? 

Multimedia Journalist Marc Schollett anchors three newscasts a day and sets up, shoots, reports, and edits several stories a week for a Traverse City, Michigan TV station.  He’s figured out a way to do it.

To learn more to make yourself more valuable, choose from a variety of learning videos under Recent Posts.  Look for videos about more time management tips and those answering questions MMJs ask most frequently during our AR&D workshops for MMJs across the country.

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Multimedia Minutes: Time Management Tips from a Successful MMJ

January 29th, 2010

When you enterprise your own stories, you’ll find they’re much more engaging than the stories you’re handed.  One of the nation’s most successful and prolific multimedia journalists, Marc Schollett, anchors three newscasts a day and enterprises several stories a week.  How does he do it? 

Marc Schollett took our recommendation to work on multiple stories simultaneously to heart.  The idea was that if you’re making calls on only one story, you likely won’t get all the elements you want to turn it “day of.”  But if you enterprise several stories — like crime trends in the schools or which companies are hiring again — you put the odds in your favor. 

The messages and emails you send out today start yielding results tomorrow and the rest of the week.  As one MMJ told us, “It’s much better than the usual approach which doesn’t allow you enough time to get the strong elements you want.”

WANT A LAUGH?

You might enjoy some fun at the expense of TV news courtesy of Charlie Brooker and the BBC, which my colleagues Terry Heaton and Galen Culver wanted me to share. 

Ouch! 

Learn alot by watching the videos listed on the top right under Recent Posts.

Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 9 Comments »

Multimedia Minute: Tip for Faster Editing

November 9th, 2009

Question:  “How can I save time editing?  I’m pushing my deadlines and once missed my slot in the newscast.”

One basic approach is to avoid shooting an interview and “B” roll separately.  When possible, shoot the person describing the subject of the story.  You may still want to get additional video to be sure, but if you plan well in the field, you’ll save editing time.

These examples are from KFOR-TV/Oklahoma City multimedia journalist Galen Culver.

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Multimedia Minutes: Top Ten Tips from an MMJ Anchor

October 30th, 2009

Work on tomorrow’s story today is one of the top ten tips from multimedia anchor Marc Schollett of TV7-4/Traverse City, Michigan where he anchors three newscasts a day:

TOP FIVE DO’S

1.)   Plan ahead. Be working on tomorrow’s story today if you can. Spend a few minutes each day making phone calls for stories that are not going to be turned today. It provides a depth to your coverage that would be almost impossible to get in a “day of” piece. This can be a great strategy in dealing with agencies or people that are notorious for being slow in answering media responses. It makes it almost impossible for them to duck your questions, if you don’t give them a deadline they can just let pass.

2.)   Use your tripod.  Legs make things stable. You have two, a tripod has three. It wins every time. Shooting is slower with a tripod, but editing is so much faster.

3.)   Spend a few minutes talking to your interviewee before you start and as you are leaving about anything other than either of your jobs or the story you are working on. You might be surprised this is how some of the best sources are developed. Talk about their motorcycle in the driveway, the deer head hanging on their wall, the kid’s pictures in the family room….anything. They will see you as a person, and not just the person on TV, and be far more likely to call you in the future. I can’t tell you how many people call me and say “you interviewed me about this, but I wanted to let you know about something completely different.”

4.)   When time is tight, keep it simple and clean….and get it done.

5.)   Be excited about your stories. Most of us can watch a story and tell right away if the VJ was excited to do it. How? If they are excited, its well thought out, thorough, creative, and has certain energy. If you are not excited for your stories, find new stories. These days you may be able to have more say in what stories you are doing. It doesn’t mean you will get to do fluff, but enterprise some stories and turn them well, and your news director may give you a little more freedom when it comes to story selection.

If they know you are going to turn a thorough, energetic story that connects with viewers they are more likely to let you do it, even if it falls outside the “normal” stories your station runs.

TOP FIVE DON’TS

1.)   Don’t think of you video as an afterthought. Good video might save a story, but poorly shot wallpaper video will certainly ruin one.

2.)   Don’t complain about carrying gear. There are hundreds of darn good reporters out there who are carrying resumes right now who would kill to be carrying gear.

3.)   Don’t forget what it’s like to be a viewer. See each day’s story as if you were watching it from home. Did you get the take home message across? Did you like video? Did it all make sense? Would you want to watch it again? Would you need too?

4.)   Don’t rush the writing. That’s where real mistakes are made.

5.)   Don’t use being a one man band as a crutch or an excuse. It’s the wave of the future and a great skill to have.

Posted in Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | 197 Comments »

Multimedia Minutes: Time Management Tips for Journalists

October 22nd, 2009

If you think you’re trying to do too much in less time, maybe you can learn something from TV7-4/Traverse City, Michigan anchor Marc Schollett.

He began as a multimedia journalist in 1997 at a small station with a tiny news operation. He wasn’t just a photojournalist. Within a matter of months, he was also the news director, weatherman, sports anchor and the only reporter and anchor.

While it was challenging, Marc says it forced him to learn every aspect of news gathering and producing. Two years into his career, he moved across town to the NBC affiliate, our client station. While Marc shed some of those responsibilities, shooting his own video was still an expectation.

What’s the “secret” to making time to anchor the 5, 6, and 11 and serve as multimedia journalist?

There are certainly stories where having a photojournalist would be more than a luxury, but I have found with a little creative thinking I can work around most obstacles. I can honestly say that the days when I am thankful that I “one man band” it far outweigh the days when I wish had photojournalist.

With my schedule, every minute counts when I am out in the field. I still need to get back and show prep to anchor the 5, 6, and 11 newscasts. It’s not uncommon for reporters in this market to drive an hour or two each way for a story, so when I am out shooting, I need to be extremely efficient. Having a shooter would free up time in the car, and make shooting things like stand ups and headlines faster. But there are some real benefits to working alone.

I always know exactly what I have shot so I can start writing to my video while I am still on the scene. Sometimes the entire story can be inspired from a single shot of video. Since I know what I have the minute I shot it, I can start writing in my head much sooner than someone who has to get back and take a look at the video.

This has to be challenging.

Sure there have been challenges. Mackinac Island is a huge tourist destination up here. There is an underwater power cable that provides electric service to the island. One summer day, the cable broke, and the island lost power for days. I was sent up to do a story on the repair effort.

It takes 2 hours to drive from the station to the ferry, a 30 minute ferry ride and then I still had to get halfway across the island to the repair site. Did I mention it was pouring rain this day? Did I mention that motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island?

So I get off the ferry with my 35 pound tripod, full size DVC pro cam. and gear bag, and I had to borrow a bike to ride 5 miles to the repair site. Needless to say, the few tourists who ventured out in the rain, got a good chuckle seeing this dripping wet reporter in a suit, with a tripod strapped to his back and cam slung across his shoulder peddling a borrowed three speed bike around the island. That would have been a nice day to have had someone carry gear and shoot video.

You told me that multimedia journalists can score interviews others can’t get.

I get to tell the exceptional stories of everyday people. As any reporter, they will tell you sometimes it’s just plain hard to get people to feel comfortable enough to really talk. I find some of the most amazing people with the most compelling stories are the most reluctant to go in front of camera.

But when I am trying to set something up over the phone, and I can tell the person: “Oh we don’t have a crew that is going to interview you, it’s just me and a camera, and we are just going to talk like we are here on the phone. They relax. It’s not so overwhelming for them. I come in and we can just talk around the kitchen table. Often their family or friends outnumber me, so they feel as if they can let their guard down and be real. Those are the stories that really have impact. Sometimes I think that kind of connection is just not possible if the subject of the story is not at ease.

New multimedia journalists are concerned that something has to suffer, and that’s without anchoring three newscasts. Any insights to help them?

Doing multiple jobs creates concerns that something might slip. That’s for sure. I have found that the only way to get everything done to a standard that I find acceptable is to be extremely efficient and organized. It took awhile to learn just how much video I need to tell a story, too little, and your story falls flat, too much and you waste time.

Ask too many questions in an interview, and you are not only wasting time at the scene. But also when you get back you have way too much to log. So I try to make sure I get the elements I need, and spend more time focusing on the writing. Great video rarely makes the story, but great writing can compensate for cutting a corner here or there if time is of the essence. I have also found that it takes a team to make sure everything gets done right. These days we are all wearing a lot of hats in every newsroom across the country. Prioritize those things that are critical.

Spend time on the difference makers, and reevaluate the need for all the window dressing. We may think something is important in terms of production value, a swoosh or an animation — but the viewer would most likely prefer if that time was spent nailing down some facts or digging a little deeper.

Sure we all have a lot on our plates these days, but if you can prioritize, stay organized, work out more than a day, you might be surprised just how much you can do even with time constraints. I produced, shot, wrote and editing my Murrow winning documentary without missing a single show.

I had a shooter for 30 minutes one day to shoot stand-ups. But other than that it was all done while trying to balance the rest of my workload. It can be done, and sometimes you can surprise yourself with just how much you can get done at a high level if you just keep focused.

Tell us about your “One Touch Rule.”

Juggling is not something I am very good at. I tend to have a one touch rule. If I pick up a tape, I edited it now. If I go shoot an interview, I log it as soon as possible. Things can pile up way to fast. One touch!

If you set it down, it’s too easy to not pick it up again for awhile, and then next you thing you know you are way behind. It’s a cliche, but don’t put off anything you can do now! The key for me is to stay organized and have a plan.

I make phone calls in the morning setting up something to shoot that afternoon. I get to work at noon, then grab gear and go. The story I am shooting that day will air the next. After my shoot, I get back to work, and start logging and editing. I show prep, and anchor the five and six, then finish editing the piece for the next day before the eleven o’clock show. I use that time as well to make promo for the next day.

Since the piece is done, I know exactly how to write promo copy for it. I use that time as well to prepare my web pieces so that everything is all set for the next day before I leave work that night. That way, I am always working a day ahead.

As for Web links to a story: Since our stuff rotates out pretty quickly on our Web page, they can just go to our Fact Finder section on our Web page and see what I am working on that day. I turn a Fact Finder package daily and post them there every night.

Bob’s Note: The Fact Finder page is:

http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/fact_finder.aspx

Marc’s news director at the time this article was written, Doug DeYoung, added these insights from his leadership perspective. They speak to doing more with less:

We have always been a video journalist shop and have always had to be smart and do more with less. From day one a video journalist has to be efficient with time. This means shooting with a purpose in the field, know what you need and what you have before you leave the location.

Use your car time to prepare for the interview, know the top 2 or 3 questions you are going to ask and then follow up from the answers. Chit chat ahead of time, do not spend the time on camera that delays you later in an edit bay.

From my standpoint it really comes down to how you choose to use the resources you have and how you report stories. You can spend a lot of time each day chasing news of the day and get little recognition because every station has the same information. We still cover news of the day but with short clips, video box graphics and maps.

We use our limited resources asking the tough questions, holding people accountable for spending tax dollars and following up on feedback from our viewers. This approach has made our stories stand out and created comments on our website. As the Web has grown, the video journalist has become the Multimedia journalist. They update the web or send information and photos from the field back to the station for posting the latest information we have.

Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 25 Comments »

Don’t Make This Mistake

April 26th, 2009

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.

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