Another Station Goes with Multi-Media Journalists

This one's in Baltimore, a pretty big market. A friend of mine worked at a station in San Francisco where this happened and said it was pretty awful. The benefit to station managers is obvious-- it's a cheaper way to do news. I'm not saying there's not a place for this kind of work-- I think it's interesting and potentially a good tool in the newsroom, but there are very few people who can be master all things. For example, I think I'm a pretty good writer, but despite being around cameras for the better part of my life, I seriously doubt I could ever bring the kind of artistry and skill to videography I've been fortunate enough to see in some of my favorite stories.

The future of news? You be the judge.

Here's an article on the changeover in Baltimore:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-ae.wmar20dec20,0,7151631.story

My New Favorite Word

Saw a photographer on Twitter using this to describe coverage of the storm that's going to hit the East Coast:

"Snowpocalypse"

Look Before You Leap

As you are employed in t.v. news, chances are, you will not stay where you are forever. At some places, you stay more than 5 years and you're considered a lifer. That said, when you're checking out your next move, consider it carefully. It's amazing how we all make significant life changing decisions based on only a few hours at a station. Do your homework extra carefully. Call anyone and everyone who has either worked at that station or is in the market. Even someone who's worked across the street will be able to give you a sense of what a competitor is like.

When you go in for an interview, talk with EVERYONE you can. Ask (in advance) for them to set aside a little time for you to just wander around and talk with random people. One station where I interviewed (and later worked) just let me loose on the newsroom-- basically it was-- just go and talk to people. At the time, I thought it was the weirdest thing ever. Later, I realized how brilliant it was. I got a real sense of the newsroom. There were no suprises when I came to work there and they got feedback from people on how I would fit into the newsroom.

Ask tough questions. For example, to the news director: How long have you been here? What are your career goals (i.e., how long do you plan to stay here or will you leave the minute I'm hired?) What's your vision for the newsroom? Are people happy here? What are the biggest challenge in this newsroom?. What's its greatest asset? How do you see my role here? How much freedom will I have?

Finally, don't get blinded by the problems in your current newsroom. If you currently work in a place with a weak desk, you may be focused completely in on finding out whether the new desk is any good-- and completely overlook other issues that might not be an issue in your current shop (Is talent a handful? Do you have the staffing you need? Will the EP be a good fit? Etc, Etc)

In addition to the station, check out the management. Google the GM, News Director, EP. Find out where they've worked and ask around if anyone knows/likes them. Check out the station's website. Is this a place where you'd see yourself at home? Check out the local newspaper-- alot of times they'll have gossip on the happenings at the local stations.

Keep in mind my motto: "Management, not market size." You'll have the same issues in a big market as a small market, so make sure that where ever you land, you have a management team that's a good one and that can help grow you.

Finally-- remember, as a producer, YOU are a commodity!!! ((And don't sign a contract if you can help it.))

Think Before You Text

Your texts are not your own-- especially if you are using the company phone to send them. Always assume someone somewhere can read what you're writing and don't ever send something you wouldn't want everyone to read.

Case in point from the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-court-texting15-2009dec15,0,4565821.story

Need Broll?

I saw this through a photographer friend of mine and thought I'd pass it along. I wish I had known about this place when I was producing consumer pieces. We were always in need of broll.

When in Doubt, Roll them Out

I was chatting with a sat truck op the other day and he told me a phrase his old news director used: "When it doubt, roll them out." Meaning, in a spot news situation, if you're not sure you should send someone, send them. You can always pull them back. Now-- don't take this to extremes and send crews to a trash fire on the other side of town because it sorta kinda sounded exciting... but when you get that spidey sense and you think, "Eh, I'm not sure..." send them.

Likewise, if you have big breaking news, send them. Send everyone. There is no such thing as too many of your crews at a major news scene. On major breaking news, you'll always something for people to do. And on the off chance you don't and people are standing around, what's the big deal? Bring them back. What's tragic is being demoralized by the other station that's large and in change and covering every angle while your crews are fighting to get everything done with too few resources.

As a producer on big breaking news, or even when you just have more than one crew on the story, make sure you are in communication with the desk and crews on how to divvy up that story. Most of the time, this is probably as simple as "nuts and bolts" and "sidebar," but the more crews you have, the more chance you run that someone will step on someone's information or crews will use a lot of the same video. You may even repeat some of this stuff in breakout stories or intros in your show. A reporter in the field can't be expected to know what's in the rest of the show. You have to make sure you're communicating with everyone clearly (and early, so people don't waste time tracking down stuff for their package that someone is already covering in theirs).

Interesting New Website: Online Only Magazine

LonnyMag, the new online style magazine has nothing to do with news, but I keep thinking about it in terms of how it could be used for news websites, if at all. It's basically an online magazine where if you see something you like, you can click on it and instantly get routed to the item-- essentially hyperlinks connected to pictures of the item. Wanna buy that chair? Click on the picture and purchase.

Shades of CueCat (www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.5036/content.content_view.htm)
a few years back (any other former Belo employees remember this?)... but... in this case, I think it works. Of course, it helps if you're into decorating and fashion...

What could you do with this on a news website? Maybe a slideshow of top 10 holiday toys with links? It's interesting to mull over the possibilities... (www.lonnymag.com)

Speaking of hyperlinks, I have yet to figure out how to get them working here. So my apologies to all of you who hate to cut and paste.

Story Idea: Neighborhood Focus

I heard something that I thought might work in some of your markets. NPR had a reporter who was from Richmond, CA, the town where a teenage girl was gang raped at her high school. This reporter has access and insight that others might not have.

Is there an incident in your town that has left everyone scratching their heads? Maybe there's someone in the newsroom who's from that neighborhood who can do the reporting. Maybe it's an anchor who doesn't get to get out much. Maybe it's a photographer. I worked with a guy in Philly who was from one of the worst neighborhoods there. He would go back to schools to encourage kids. I wish I would have thought to suggest to our news managers that he do a piece on his old neighborhood. It would have been compelling and really added a layer of complexity at a time when young people were killing each other in the neighborhood with frightening ease and regularity.

One note of caution-- be very careful with reporter involvement. There's a thin line between "adding something to the story" and... "I am the story."

Holding through the Break

I seem to get a lot of emails about teasing, so I'll write a bit about holding viewers though the break.

The first thing I would do is have someone sit down in front of five tv sets and have them watch your programming and your other main competitors. Are you in commercial breaks when everyone else is not? It may be something as simple as adjusting your break times. When I used to produce shows, I think my first segment was up to 12 minutes long, but then I HAD to be back in programming by 15:00.

So that's one thought. The second thought is maybe finding a way to put a tease INSIDE your commercial break so that if a viewer is flipping around and they come upon it they see that--- AHA--- there is something good coming up-- I better stick around. This may not be possible depending on how your breaks are structured.

A third thought is maybe it's not the writing of the tease... but what are you selecting to tease? Your story placement might be what's off. Sometimes most of the effort is focused on the top of the show and then there is nothing sexy left at the bottom of the show-- it's a throw away. No matter how good a writer you are, if the story you are teasing is a dud, your tease will be a dud. Have you see EXTRA, ET? They do a really good job of getting something good at the top.. and then stringing you along through the end of the show. Some of the magazine shows have really nice tracked teases... sometimes they'll even just take the first few seconds of the pkg they will run and use that in their tease. Experiment and have fun. If it's a complete flaming disaster, you'll know not to do it again.. but maybe you'll also stumble on to something that works for you.

To help select which stories to tease, I'd check to see what's trending on google and twitter. Is there an obvious tie-in? Is something so overplayed on the web that by the time you get to it in your show, it's hackneyed? ...If your station has a good website-- what's getting the most clicks? Or what types of stories do best? That might help you select the strongest stories to tease.

Interesting Experiment

I don't know if I've mentioned this before--- but there's a (relatively) new global news source made up of freelance journalists. It has some interesting multi-media story telling. Check it out if you're interested in world news:

http://www.globalpost.com/

The Future of News?

Seen the latest copy of Wired? It has an article on a company that generates a lot of online content. They pay about $15 bucks for an article, $20 for a video. What's most interesting is how the stories are generated. It's based on search terms cross-referenced with how much those search terms can get in advertising. I don't know if I'm fascinated or terrified. Or both. The company, Demand Media, is making lots of money. It's behind eHow, but it also does a lot of other stuff.

"The Answer Factory" on www.wired.com.
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_demandmedia

USA Today article:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-10-25-ehow-richard-rosenblatt_N.htm

Demand's corporate blog:
http://www.demandmedia.com/blog/web-2-0-summit-content-the-key/

What's in a name? Pkg, mini-pkg or tracked vosot?

Terminology can be confusing. What one station calls one thing can be totally different when you get your next job in a new market.

In general, I consider a mini-pkg the same as a regular pkg except shorter. So in terms of writing of a mini-pkg, there might be nats off the top, quick sots and track... but it's generally not gonna run more than 1:00 or 1:05... whereas I think most station pkg lengths are 1:20 or 1:30 unless it's a special or promoted piece.

When I say voice a vosot... I'm thinking of a reporter who's just tracking a vosot script they may have just used for an earlier hit. They shoot a standup in the field and cover the middle part with video and insert a bite. Clearly a lot less work than sitting down and writing a whole new pkg. Also, probably easier to edit. I prefer the mini pkg... but maybe you have a reporter who only has time to do a vosot... or... maybe you only have one reporter on staff at night and you're looking to get more faces in the show (a vosot or looklive taped in the field may help you out with that). A funny story- there was once a producer in one of my old newsrooms who barked at a reporter complaining that their story was just a vosot... He said, "Listen, a pkg is just a vosot tracked."

Here's another term we used to use at a newsroom in Phoenix-- "Speedo." I think I've also heard them called "breakers." It was basically a 1:00 mini-pkg, but it had animations off the top and bottom and music under throughout. There was no anchor intro or tag-- it was its own complete unit (and therefore was really easy to float and/or kill). Basically, it was a way to bump in or out of a segment... or even wipe to in the middle of a segment. I liked using them for pacing. I'd pick some interesting story that was in house early and then send it back early for special edit treatment. I've seen some stations do something similar for national or international news "wraps" where they'll wipe between three different stories with music under and animations.

Feel free to experiment. That's the fun of producing! But be careful, because I've also interviewed at stations that thought this concept was an abomination. It depends on your shop/market/community.

TV Crew Dustup at Balloon Boy House

Could this story get any more weird? Photog gets into fight with stranger while staking the house. Apparently the stranger had been threatening another TV crew when this guy jumped in to help.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-heene-home-fight-101909,0,4388455.story

 

Get to the Chase

Chases. I love them. I know they generally have little to no news value but they're interesting to watch. It is what it is. When you're flipping through the channels and come across a chase, it's a hard thing to turn away from, even if it goes on for a half-hour with little happening. Something COULD happen and that's what keeps you watching. I'm not sure how chases do in ratings (I'll do a little research to try to find out).

When you have a chase, here are some ideas:

*Don't go back full to your anchors. If you want to show them, pop them in a double box and keep the big box as the chase. No one wants to see anchors talking about a chase unless they're also actually seeing the chase.

*Try to get an intelligent guest. Obviously, the police involved in the chase might not be able to do a phoner with you. Are there other departments in your area that are media friendly? They might be able to walk you through the decisions that officers make when they start chases, also what methods they use during a chase, and how they end. An officer from a local police academy might be a good phoner-- they teach the officers how to chase and use stop sticks. They might also know the rules and regs for giving chase. It might make some sense to call these people ahead of time to give them a heads up that you might want to use them when a chase occurs.

*Have a prop. An anchor I used to work with used to have a stop-stick on his desk. I'm not sure how he got it, but it was a great prop whenever we had a chase. It was something he could have in his hands to show what was actually happening on the ground.

*Get a map. Depending on your resources, it might be good to have a big city map with all the main highways on it. That way when someone says he's southbound on US 544, you can get a general sense of where that is. You can have the same map, just update it the location (ok, now he's east of US 544 in Old Lake Hollow). Again, I'd probably throw that map in some kind of double box so that the chase can be up at all times.

*If you have to cut out of the chase before it ends, make sure you let viewers know you'll be able to see how it ended in a later newscast. Or drive to the web if you have that capablity-- lots of stations are streaming their chopper feed on their websites.

Show Pacing

If you only have a pkg or two in your show, that means the rest is filled with vos and vosots, which euqals a lot of writing on your part. Don't forget that you can write pkgs too. I tend to like 1:00 producer mini-pkgs for the show. They accomplish several things. If you pick some interesting story from the feeds or something that's already in house that you need to put in, you can bang this out early and then NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN. So I think I've mentioned how I liked to work the show from the bottom, up. I might put a 1:00 mini-pkg prior to weather or sports or in the second block depending on timing needs. It's a way to give an interesting story a little play and also eat up a bit more time so you don't feel like you have the "vo" show. You can also throw one of these in the a block. Is there an important story that's been playing all day that you have to put in the show but don't need to devote a reporter? You can wrap that up into a nice little mini-pkg. Also, in terms of the a block, mini-pkgs give your anchors a break and really help in terms of pacing.

As for pacing, just remember to change it up a little every so often. So if you have a couple vos, throw in a vosot. Two vosots? Toss in a vo. Remember, these are just broad GUIDELINES. Form should always follow content. But for the most part, there's always some leeway in terms of sots you can add or subtract. Seems obvious, but make sure the vosot's sound is worth it. If you have a choice between the fire vosot where the sound is a witness describing how he escaped versus the shooting with the cop talking about the suspect, go for the witness. Put in the most interesting sound. Use nats like a soundbite. Look for natural sound on raw video like you would a sound bite (I'm think nats of a saw or snowblower, a good sploosh frmo a car on the road in a rainstorm, ambulance sirens, etc). They can be a nice breaker. Again, form follows content, so if natsor a soundbite's not there, it's not there.

The best way to see if you have good pacing is to watch your shows after the fact. A day or a week after, when your head has cleared from the previous day's challenges, you should try to watch a show like a viewer. Where do you start getting bored with your show? Where do you start getting bored in a story? This is where you should be changing things up or popping in something interesting.

My general guidelines for vosots/vos/gfx stories are below. Again, follow the rule of changing it up a bit every so often, even within a story. I liked to keep vosots/vos short... like 35/40 for vosots and 15-20 for vos. Just a guideline. Other excellent producers and tv news professionals think I'm nuts on this. To your own news judgement be true because you'll be the one explaining it if there's a problem.

So....

VOSOT
First graph: Anchor intro on cam or ots/at chroma/whatever
Second graph: in video
Third graph : in video or skip this and go straight to sot
Sot: 7-15 seconds. Less than :07, it tends to whiz by. More than 15 and you start to get bored.
Tag: on cam or back in video or on a graphic. Maybe even a second graph on vo or on cam.


VO
Similar deal.
First graph: Anchor intro on cam or ots/at chroma/whatever
Second graph: in video
Third graph: in video
Fourth graph: (potentially) back on cam.

Basically, if you have one anchor reading a couple of things, you might want to bring them back on cam for the last graph to re-establish them and signify a change. Likewise, when an anchor starts reading the next few stories, you want them to be established up top in some way, rather than, say, just wiping into them.

How do you get a complicated story down to a 20 vo? You don't. You either figure out a way to give that story more time/and visuals/sound or just rethink putting it in. Save quick vos for easy stuff. Your average traffic tie-up doesn't need more than 20seconds.

If you're having trouble, try to figure out... if I were telling this story to a friend and I had to break it down, how would I do that? Look for the most interesting details and try to include them, especially in the lead. Write to your video (obviously). Grab a quick graphic if you have to, even if it's just reinforcing words in the story. Don't forget to ask yourself-- why is this in the show? Generally the answer to that question will lead to what you must include in the story.

Dustup over Kanye Comments

Anybody catch how the word got out about the President calling Kanye West a jacka$% ? Apparently, CNBC was doing an interview with the President which ABC was able to watch live. The comments were made prior to the official interview starting...

AP has an interesting write-up...

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/entertainment/dpg_Obama_Opinion_Kanye_West_Debate_fc_20090916_3528261

Guilt and Innocence: Be Careful

We just came back from doing a story on the payments given to men who have been wrongly convicted in the state of Texas. It afforded me the opportunity to talk with the family of a man who was wrongly convicted of raping a fellow college student. Another inmate confessed to the crime and DNA tests eventually cleared Tim Cole, but not before he died in prison, having already spent 15 years behind bars.

What struck me from meeting his family was Cole's mother and her pain, now decades later, over not just her son's wrongful conviction, but how he had been treated in the media. The newspapers called him the "Tech Rapist." Tim Cole was attending Texas Tech in Lubbock at the time of his arrest. He was a veteran and had never been in trouble with the law. I can imagine the kind of coverage once he was arrested and convicted.

Remember Richard Jewell? Different from the case of someone who was convicted (and later cleared) but in general, just a few cases to keep in mind as you do your daily work.

New News Accuracy Ratings

They don't look good. Courtesy of the Pew Research Center:

http://people-press.org/report/543/

Critique of Wildfire Coverage

Ran across this article and found it interesting. One of the big criticisms is that stations weren't on early enough with fire coverage.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinions/ci_13277067

I don't know how accurate the article's criticisms are but I do know in big breaking news, it's crucial to get on the air quickly. It's all hands on deck. If you have a helicopter that can be over the scene, get it there. No copter? Try to get a live truck with a mastcam that can provide a continuous shot. Ask viewers for their pics. Use google earth to get a sense of the area.

Get everyone working the phones to find information and guests your anchors can interview live (police, Red Cross, fire, people living in the area, businesses).
Do whatever you can to get viewers the information they need. Especially in fire situations, this information is BEYOND crucial. People will use it to make decisions that impact their lives.

((One final aside-- if this is an area with place names your anchors don't use often, get pronoucers when you're calling police/fire for info.))

Labor Day

I am not laboring today but my thoughts and thanks are with those of you who are.

I am thinking about ordinary people's stories. Over the weekend, I heard the radio program "This American Life." They were set up at a rest-stop and just talked with people. They did something similar at an 24 hour diner a few years back. Both came up with some really interesting stories.

Since I am not working today, I have been doing some reading, flipping through a book from Studs Terkel called "Working." He also just went out and talked to people, all kinds of people, butcher, bake, candlestick maker, and asked them about their work.

You could do something similar today. If you have somebody sharp free, send them to a park and ask people what they do. Describe it. What they like about it or dislike about it. You might be able to put together an interesting story for the end of your A block. Or maybe use individual sots as a bump in or out of a segment.

Sometimes it's ordinary people can have the most interesting stories to tell.

Director's track

My father-in-law found this on You Tube. It sounds like the director's recording of a British newscast from the 80s. I thought it was interesting. Some things never change.


http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4617551

Story ideas

The challenge of producing is that you have 30 minutes to fill whether you have 60 minutes of news or 5. On either day, it's good to have a pool of story ideas. Here are some suggestions on how to find them:

=Join twitter and follow users in your area (lots of times by following their tweets, you'll get a sense of what's interesting in your community, even if it's not strictly "hard news").

=Does your station have a good website? What are the most popular stories today or on the local/national newspaper websites? Sometimes that can give you a good sense of what viewers will be interested in...

=Call every police/fire/govt PIO in the area, introduce yourself and tell them to stick you on their email list.

=Check in with each of the big industries in the area- or the area's biggest employers. Get on their contact lists.. check their websites. Just by the mere fact that there are a lot of people employed there means if something happens, it's news... viewers may work there or know someone who does...

=If you're not from the area where you produce, it makes sense to get involved in activities you enjoy... take a class, join a club or neighborhood association, volunteer. Sounds stupid, but the more people in the community you know, the better sense you get of what's important.. you'll also meet people who can send stories your way... even if they're not the lead.

=Small govt agencies are a good place to find stories. Hardly any media ever talk with them so sometimes just visiting can get you good info at the time or down the line.

=Do you have a university in the area? Get in touch with their PR people and get on their list.. read their paper.. etc. Lots of times you can localize national stories by finding local experts at your university.

=National stories are sometimes very easy to localize. Healthcare debate? Check in with local healthcare institution and how it will be impacted. NASA launching next week? Is there a local company who makes a gidget-widget for NASA?

=I used to skip the editorial pages for the comics until I started finding interesting little stories buried in the letters to the editor. Community newspapers often have good stuff too.

=Steal story ideas from magazines, radio, whatever. Cruise other TV station websites (out of market) for ideas you can localize (and show ideas you can use).

But of course, the BEST way to find stories is to get out in the field. I know it's no fun to come in on your day off... but once in a while... volunteer to come in and go out with a photog. Or see if you can get a get-out-of-jail-free-card one day when you're supposed to be producing. A good rule of thumb is for every story you go out on... you come back with at least one story idea.

Cleveland Bear Pkg

This is making the rounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlxi6Ec92kw

Viewer Sell

I think one of the consulting companies (forgot which one) uses the term "viewer sell." As in, what's the viewer sell on this story? It's nifty shorthand for "Why is this story in my show?" Obviously, if a story is in your show, it should be important... but, more than that, how does it impact your viewer directly? Some examples, courtesy of a great producer who sent a show my way to critique:

Swine flu & back to school preps. How are schools keeping your kids safe? How can you keep your kids safe? What are the symptoms? Where can you get a seasonal flu vaccine?

Airfare deals. It's not enough to say American's having a sale. What are some examples of the sale that might benefit your viewer? I live in Dallas, so if I were producing shows here, I'd look up the best deals for Dallas (Hawaii for $200, hurrah!). How can viewers cash in on those deals (through website, Twitter, travel agent)?

Basically, with ANY STORY your reporters go out on, you should be asking, how personally would this impact me as a viewer? Obviously, this will be difficult with a typical car crash/fire/etc... but even in spot news, look for lessons and news you can use to make it relevant to everyone watching. For example, I saw one story about a backyard deck crashing. No one died, but several got hurt. LOTS of people have decks.. can you get an expert to go with you to inspect someone's deck and tell people warning signs? You get the idea...

Online Consignment Shop

I think a lot of you probably know talent making less than big bucks but still are expected to dress up on air. There's a new consignment shop online for TV people. A woman from Talent Dynamics started it-- she gets clothes from talent in the Dallas area. It's a pretty cool idea... some nice stuff there.

https://tvnewscloset.com/

It happened last night...

The words "last night" should never be in the first paragraph of your lead story. If it happened last night... it should be last night's lead. What's going on tonight that's so important that you should lead your newscast with it?

Becoming a Producer

I received an email from someone already working at a station wondering how to become a producer. I say hurrah and hallelujah. We need more of you. Here is some of my advice to her:

Best way to learn is by doing. Whatever your current capacity, volunteer to write a story. Come in on your day off if you have to. An easy way to build up to it and build your confidence is pick a story to write on your own. Check the rundown, see a story that looks interesting, be it local or national. Grab the wire, find the press release, do some web research, make a call and ABOVE ALL look at whatever video is associated with that story. Write your own version. If the producer of the show has time to look at it for you... excellent (best way to approach-- hey would you give me 5 minutes to check out a script I wrote... even if it's after the show?) but often producers are pretty harried. If you don't want to approach a producer, you can still just compare your story to the one that finally made it into the show.

Do this a lot. Up your writing from one story to several. Time yourself. Brutally. Give yourself 10 minutes for vos. 20 for vosots. Whatever, just make sure you are keeping an eye on the clock.

You can do the same thing with rundowns. Go to the meeting. Check the wires, web etc for stories. Put a pretend rundown together on a sheet of paper (include what you'd tease). Approach a producer/EP/ND that can take a glance at it and give you feedback. Benefits are two-fold... you get good advice and they find out you are serious about wanting to be a producer.

Ideally, you can find a friend/producer as a mentor. Most producers will be open to this because all they get is young people who want to be reporters. Rarely is someone an aspiring producer so when we find one, we try to make time.

Keep doing both exercises till you start writing for real. Producers, as I say, have too much on their plate and will only be too happy to give you a story or two if they feel like they can trust you ( although I have heard producers say they'd rather write things themselves than have writers because sometimes writing's easier than rewriting).

When I trained writers into producers, I had them watch me one night and then the next night, they did everything and I watched them (just in case they got into a jam). Generally, these were writers who were very comfortable with their writing skills, just needed to make the jump to boothing.

Best way to do it is do it! Jump in, the water's fine!

((Resources....
Books: You may want to check out Power Producing from the folks at RTNDA (good seminars too)
http://www.rtnda.org/pages/media_items/take-a-sneak-peak-at-power-producer821.php

Also, Mervin Block's books on writing are decent.

Some websites might also be useful:
Poyner.org and newsu.org)))

Anchors Feeling the Pinch

Apparently salaries are down... layoffs... etc

http://www.depauw.edu/news/?id=23865

Interesting take on the Journalists Released

I don't know if anyone's talked about this much-- did the two journalists who were held in North Korea cross the line? Here's one take in a Time blog:

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/08/07/risks-and-recklessness-in-journalism/

Stories- What happened vs. What does it mean

When you do stories, think about the bottom line for your viewer. Translate the story in to that bottom line. For example, you can report that city council voted x, y, and z but you need to explain- "That means there will be less money for firefighters, or, that means library hours will be cut." Break a story down to its personal impact for the viewer. If it doesn't have a personal impact for the viewer, you may want to ask why it is in your show.

Best Stuff First

Whether it's a show or a package, always put your best stuff first. For example, I was watching TV in a medium market a few weeks ago and they were doing a big ongoing crime story. This station led when a nuts and bolts package, and then went to the exclusive interview with the sister or brother or someone of a person who had died. I about fell on the floor. I had no idea it was coming, nary a word about it in headlines or the lead.

Exclusive-- or anything new and interesting--- goes first. You can do some kind of quick taped set-up... but it should all highlight the fact that you will soon be hearing great stuff for the first time. Or skip the set-up and just get to it:

"For the first time since her sister's death, Suzy Q is talking about what happened. Here's Joe Schmoe with more."
Take Exclusive Pkg

Then...

"Police are still trying to track down the killer. Bob Bartsow has more on the investigation."
Take Nuts and Bolts Pkg.

Best stuff first!! People have short attention spans and a remote in their hand and they're ready to zap you!

Do as I Say & Not As I Do

Remember how I constantly harp on rereading copy to proof for mistakes? I'm not so good at taking my own advice. I've been writing for a new "live" blog for work, as in, I write it and it goes live to the web without benefit of a second set of eyes. I am fanstastic as catching mistakes in other people's copy. I am not so hot at catching them in my own. I'm trying to force myself to read everything aloud and SLOWLY. I'm finding with the web, the deadline is now-- not your next hit time or show.

It's really frustrating to see your own stupid mistakes.

Newspapers Better at Lives

I saw something that surprised me. I was trying to watch a press conference in another city and checked for it to be live streamed on various T.V. websites and found nothing. Then I checked the city's newspaper website and there it was. I will grant you, the presser was in the middle of the day and none of the affils had a show on, but isn't this something we should be thinking about? More and more people are getting their news by web... and if you're already there... why not try to work with the web folks to get it up live. You can go live on lots of phones and there's always Skype on a laptop if you have one.

Don't Lead with Soundbite

I can't tell you how many packages I see where the first couple seconds are someone's uninspiring soundbite. People do it because it's easy.

In general, it's not a good idea to lead a package with a soundbite. This is because there's generally something better-- say your best nats and video. Soundbites generally come out of nowhere and viewers tend to miss the first couple seconds of them if you use them at the top. Also, if you instead start with a little nats and track, you can set the tone for the piece and the viewer.

What's the plan Stan?

Something that a lot of bigger markets and networks do might work for you-- running through the plan with a reporter a minute or so before their liveshot. So after they are checked in tech-wise, you say "OK Suzie, we have got you in for a vosot, vo of people running, sot with john smith, runs :12, outcue have a great race. Wipe in to vo of the awards ceremony."

It is a quick easy thing to do that might catch a mistake and allows your reporter to touch base and vice-versa.

Slingbox

The photog I work with mentioned this and I thought it was worth passing along. He says some stations are using Slingbox- but in reverse- as a way to do liveshots beyond your truck range. Or to supplement your trucks. I couldn't begin to explain how but it might be worth chatting up an engineer to see if it could work for you.

Sending a reporter out of town

If you are fortunate enough to send a reporter out of town, make sure you maximize that opportunity and let us see standups to prove it. I was watching a mid-market show the other day and they had sent someone to DC. He might as well have stayed home. He did his standup at what looked like a chroma key and there were no cutaways of him anywhere in the video. The only way I knew he was in DC was his tag out. He should have shot ins and outs out on the street... maybe a birdge standup... and gotten cutaways for good measure. Maybe even a standup tease to put in the open? If you're spending the money to send him, might as well get as much as you can out of it.

Guest segments

Common mistake I see with guest segments... not having enough video to cover the segment. If the segment is 2:00 long... figure :15 intro, probably :10 to come out. Just to be safe, you'll want at least 1:30 cut. Err on the side of caution. If you don't, you end up seeing the same video repeated two or three times.

Whistle While You Work/Write While You Log

This is a tip I wish I would have come to much earlier in my career. While you are logging, let the video you are watching inspire lines. You don't have to ever use them. You don't have to force to work them in. Just try to jot down whatever comes to you while you are logging video and sound. You'd be amazed after doing this for a while how more fluid your writing becomes. And by this I mean, instead of doing a script where this come here and that comes next, it sort of organically flows from one thing to the next.

You probably have some really talented and created photographers in your shop. Look for the shot that inspired them and let it inspire you, even if you don't use the line you come up with in the final version of your script. After all, without the pictures, we're just print or radio, so the writing process shouldn't be divorced from what should be driving your script- the video.

Some examples while I was logging tonight:

0030nk Nats from welder
“Believe or not… that’s the sound of money…”

00711q 1:41:26 Decent nats of construx. Pan up of bldg to crane
“Look around New Orleans and you’ll see a skyline punctuated by cranes…”

Not Emmy material but hopefully better than I would have come up with had I just saw down with my laptop.

GRANTED your average car crash might not merit this kind of attention, but give all the stories you are writing a quick look (at the video) to see what comes to mind. There might be something small that can distinguish your writing/story/show. Put a lot of these little things together and your overall package becomes better.

Story Idea: Recruiting Station Shooting

We're working the shooting that happened at a recruiting station yesterday in Little Rock. Thought of a couple stories that could be easy to turn in any market. One-- how are people at your local recruiting station feeling? Some guy just randomly shows up and starts shooting, allegedly because the two men were in uniform-- it would certainly give me pause if I were working at a recruiting station.

A second idea-- the victims were part of a program called the "Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program". It takes new soldiers and sends them back to their hometowns to help recruit. Generally the soliders are just back from basic-- so it's kind of like-- look how I've changed and grown in just two months. The programs last for two weeks and then the soldiers are off for more training. Might be intestesting to see if there are recruits doing this program in your area.

Memorial Day

Holidays are typically both short on staff and news. You can go to the Memorial Day event and do the same old story or go to the same event and find one person who will make it truly meaningful. Chat people up at the event. Follow them home. Get old pictures. See how their story now compares to their story then.

Russian poet Yevengy Yevtushenko said "Every man has a story to tell." This is my motto. There are thousands of ordinary people who have made extraordinary sacrifices. Find one. Tell their story today on a day when you have the time and space to do so.

Newscrew Gets Slurry Bombed

Tease Writing 101

Tease writing can be tricky. The key is story selection. If you have stacked the show correctly, you should have one or two good things to tease in each block. Remember that you don't have to tease stories with news value. Put those stories in your show, to be sure, but they may not be teaseable. Consumer and health stories tend to be teasable. Think-- how many people does this story impact? The greater number of people impacted, the better the chance it may be teasable. Also ask, is this story weird or unique? Is this the sort of thing that people will be talking about? Also... anything with good video is always a bonus.

Along with story selection is story placement. Producers tend to put the stuff they are going to throw away towards the end of the show. I used to like to have "killables," stories I knew I could kill in a jam. But also keep a list of teasables, the solid stories you sprinkle throughout the show. They don't have to be pkgs. They don't have to be local. I used to read a lot of magazines looking for something evergreen I could stuff in a folder and pull out when I didn't have anything else. Attribute and check out the magazine's source material. Make a couple calls to flesh it out.

I think we get stuck with bad teases because we may not have a whole lot of juicy stories that day. So you tease something that is not worth it. Having a couple teasables in your back pocket can help.

If you are teasing a reporter story, talk with them about it. It can be a quick phone call or email that goes:
"Hey what have you got? Any good sound? Any good video?"
I like to put sots in teases. Reporters are logging it anyway and may have a 5 second soundbite they can give you.

Like with any writing, you ought to look at the video that will be used in your teases. That might help guide your decision making. Sometimes a story that sounded good-- when you check out the video-- is really not so much. Looking at the video also helps you write it.

Let the content drive the tease. Got great nats? Throw some in. Good sound? Put that in there too. Sometimes you can put together a :30 second tease that's almost like a little mini pkg. You can wipe into it or out of it, using it solo or with an animation.

Try to tease different stuff. Nothing is so boring as seeing the same thing over and over and over. It's also hard to write the same tease four times and still make it fresh. I remember hearing at a seminar-- tease deep, tease next. It's a pretty good, easy idea. Tease something deep in the show... and tease something that's in the next block. That way you string viewers along (in a good way).

I also like getting faces in the teases. If a reporter is fronting the story, maybe you tease their story with video in the headlines, but use a live or taped standup tease from them at the end of the first block. Vary it up if you are teasing the same story twice.

Write what you'd like to see on your teases so the editor knows what you want included. Put a timecode and info on how to find the video. Watch your show to make sure the tease video was not just the first three shots of the pkg.

Good Swine Flu Idea

Saw a station with a good segment on swine flu, excuse me, H1N1. They asked for questions from viewers about swine flu and then went to a doctor for sound. The segment was just three or four of these questions and then the doc's fifteen or twenty second soundbite answer to each. The segment was quick- the questions were interesting- thought I might pass it along.

Important Swine Flu Website

http://doihaveswineflu.org/

Swine Flu & Chicken Little

The swine flu is an important story to be sure, but please don't lose your minds. There's a fine line between informing the public and needlessly scaring them. So far, there have been no deaths in the U.S. and compared to the population at large, there have been very few cases here. The swine flu, even though it's a new strain-- is still the flu. No one runs in panic every Winter when there are other flu outbreaks. To put it in perspective, according to the CDC, just last week, there were 151 cases of the seasonal flu with two pediatric deaths. Over this flu season, close to 26,000 people got sick because of influenza and more than 50 children died.

Warning the Viewer

We sometimes have occasion to use graphic video. Understand that graphic video probably has a different impact on viewers than it does on you. You've been seeing this video all day. You have probably become a little less sensitive to its impact. Your viewer will be seeing this video for the first time. That can be jarring, especially if there's no warning or appropriate setup. Your viewer should not feel bludgeoned after watching a story.

Use graphic video judiciously. Ask yourself-- what does this add to the story? What if I don't show it? What would I lose? Would I understand the story as well? You may even want to explain to your viewers why you're using the video (We're using this to show how dangerous it can be to blah.. blah... blah...)

Don't use violent video as wallpaper. Don't throw it in a tease where it has no context and seems to pop out of no where. It cheapens your story and does a disservice to your viewer. Likewise, after the story airs, keep an eye on how it's used as file. You'd be amazed at how often an anchor is updating the story.. and while the orginial story may have had context and sensitivity, with the follow, the file comes up like-- woah! No warning! Where did this come from? And in 20 seconds, the anchor moves on.

Connecting with Your Web Audience

Found an article for newspapers and the web, but thought a lot of the stuff was interesting and applicable to TV stations. Check it out:

http://www.naa.org/docs/Digital-Media/Cookbook/Cookbook08final.pdf

Loser Producer

That'd be me for not posting for a while. I'm back with advice about breaking news.

If your show is going on while there's breaking news, consider it a gift and start making space. Before you ever go into the booth, have stories you know that are "killable." If there's a really big breaking story, feel free to toss everything (and I mean everything) out. Here's why. Viewers sample on big spot news stories. If you own the coverage they may come back to you as a regular viewer. If one station gets off of a story... viewers will go with whoever is on it as long as the spot news is high interest. Seems like a no brainer, but you'd be amazed how many stations go on to "other news." In my opinion, if there is something big breaking, there is no other news.

The trick is how to stay on a story without sitting on your anchors forever. I have a system I think I've mentioned before- "At bat, on deck." As long as you have something you're on and you have something to go to next, you can string the show along this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to plan four moves in advance.

Sometimes you can get a veteran reporter either in the newsroom or at a set position so that the anchors can get a break. So, for example, if the story is a politician who's been indicted, maybe this reporter has covered city council for years and can give you color on that person's personality, his supporters and detractors.

Think guests. Who can you get on the phone or Skype that can add something to the coverage? Is there a media friendly Fire PIO on the other side of town who is not involved but can get you a technical sense of what's going on? Is there someone who's been involved with a similar situation in the past that can give a sense of what the people there are going through now?

There are only a certain number of spot news situations. Run through the ones that have happened during your show in the past year or two. Think about who could have contributed to the coverage. Cultivate a list of folks for this purpose and call them now. "Hey Bob Ethyl-Methyl-Bad-Chemical Expert, would you mind if we call you to do on air interview the next time we have a chemical spill?" Thinking about spot news when there is no spot news is a sure way to be more confident the next time spot news breaks.

You may also want to talk in advance with your superiors. How aggressive are we about spot news? Do we break into programming? If so, under what circumstances? If I'm in a show, at what point can I toss out sports? Breaks? Find out your parameters. Again, it's helpful to check into these things out when you're not up to your neck in the middle of it.

Maps. Is there a generic city map you can have made in advance that the graphics people can then throw a dot on to indictate where the spot news is happening? It's not great, but it's something until you can get a pretty map made. Stations are also using google maps in spot news coverage. There's a street view that can show you what the neighborhood looked like prior to the spot news (is there a school across the street? Is it a neighborhood or industrial area?) Every little bit of info and elements help contribute to the overall product.

If you don't have a chopper, consider hiring a small plane. Again, I'd scope this out in advance. How much would it cost to take a photog up? Maybe there are a few small airports around town. Find someone you could work with in each one. Get prices and talk it over with your boss. You may NEVER use this information, but if something REALLY big happens in your back yard, don't you want to be the one who's ready?

Look at breaking stories that happen around the country. Imagine one of them happening in your town. What would you do? If you think about the possibility now, you'll be in a better position to cover whatever comes your way.

Grammar Game: Weird Plurals

I found this on Twitter. It's evil but fun. I missed four. So much for being a smarty pants.

http://bit.ly/yqEYx

Cops Kick Out/Arrest One Man Band in South Texas

Reporter/photog was covering a scene and was asked by police to move back. Story and video below:

http://tinyurl.com/bbakge

News Business: Glass Half Full

And then there's this... thoughts that news isn't dying but just transitioning into a new model.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10196386-93.html

Layoffs

A local station where I used to worked laid off a lot of good people last week. Layoffs are happening all over. If you're fortunate enough to have a job, it might make some sense to plan for the worst, just in case. I don't mean to be gloomy, but I think we'd all be in a better position to take a layoff if we take a couple precautions. Even in a great economy, good people get laid off or fired in newsrooms for no other reason than a new management team came in and wants to change things up.

My advice?

1. Always have a resume ready.
Keep an updated one in an online email account or somewhere where you can get to it easily.

2. Always have a tape or two handy.
As a producer, you might want to consider recording your shows nightly and then recycle them weekly. My friends last week were escorted from the building the day the were laid off. If you have a stack of recent tapes handy, you don't have to scramble about what to send out. Also, you should be recording show tapes regularly anyway for self-critique.

3. Have a cushion.
Nobody has extra cash, but now, more than ever, pay yourself first. Financial experts say have three months saved. That may seem unreasonable, but even a month helps. Take 5-10% off the top of your check and have it direct deposited somewhere (ING Direct has good rates and it's all online). If the worst does happen, you'll have a little cushion.

4. Network now.
Join Linked In if you haven't already and other social network sites like Facebook. Any way you can stay connected to former coworkers and friends is good. If you hear of openings, send them to people you know. Hopefully they will send them your way as well. Go to seminars like those sponsored by RTNDF, IRE and Poynter when you can to meet people and keep your skills sharp.

Business is Bad

Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism put out its state of news media. It's not looking great for local news. Apparently ad revenues were down 7% last year (in an election year!). Interesting stuff...

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/index.htm

P.S. On Small Versus Big Market

I forgot to add a really important point: when making a decision on where to move, consider management, not market size. I cannot emphasize this enough. I would MUCH rather be in a small market with awesome management than a large market with goofballs running the show. A good shop is worth a lot no matter what its market size. There are great managers is big markets too, but don't let market size alone drive your decision making or your career.

There is also something to be said for people who produce in their hometown, no matter what its market size. You are doing your community a great favor in that you care enough about your town to stay and make sure the news is covered and presented correctly. It is no understatement to say that as someone who grew up or has lived in the community, you are a huge asset to your newsroom. You have something to bring to the party! And sometimes you pass up lots more money to do so!

Small Versus Big Market

The main difference between small and big markets is help (and pay)!!!

With small markets, you are struggling to write the show yourself, make sure you know what's going on with the reporters, are we covering that shooting?, etc., etc. Basically, you have your thumb in everything. The higher market you go, the more help you get and the more narrow your job description becomes. So for example, in Phoenix, I had two or three writers and an Executive Producer. The EP and I split duties. I might look through the scripts the writers wrote and the EP would take reporter scripts. Or vice-versa. Or some of each. I'd write opens and teases and give them special treatment. We'd both be on the phone with reporters. We'd both take care of anchor concerns, depending on what it was. I was VERY lucky in that all the EPs I've work with have been rock solid and taught me a lot. Also, we were generally of the same mind so that I never felt like I wanted to do something and then got vetoed. My writers were pretty sharp too. Some wanted to be reporters, others wanted to be producers. Either way, it was nice to have the help. I would still write, but I'd be able to focus on other things a little more.

The higher up you go, the more you are concerned with the overall look and feel, concept and content of the show. You're not just cranking it out, you're also trying to give it an overall brand, graphics, etc. In my opinion, you should also be the catcher of potential tragedies, double-checking everyone's work (including your own) to make sure everything is running smoothly.

When I got to Philadelphia, I was a field producer (I filled in on a show a few times and did a couple specials). The show producers were still more focused on overall show stuff. There was one manager to run the crews (so 15 people aren't calling each crew), one manager to approve reporter scripts, and one manager who oversaw all other show scripts. There was also a staff of professional writers (meaning people of the producer's experience or more who chose to write instead of show produce). Each reporter would be assigned a writer who's responsiblity, in addition to everything else, was to write the intro for the reporter as well as make sure their pkg came in ok.

The Philly station was also interesting in that it was a union shop. As producer, in the booth, you didn't talk to talent. By that I mean, you couldn't give them direction (like wrap!!). You talked to the person who then talked to talent. That part seemed a little goofy, but in larger markets (including Phoenix) you often have someone who handles your liveshots for you in the booth. The thinking is that you have a lot of them and must manage the rest of your show. This is especially helpful when you have major breaking news and you're doing a lot of juggling.

Also in bigger markets you get better toys (chopper, multiple live trucks, sat truck, killer studios with a million fun places to put your anchors, editors dedicated to making your opens and teases look like they have rock star quality).

But the best part of bigger markets is you finally get paid. After years of eating Top Ramen and Peanut Butter, you may actually be able to buy a house and take a (well deserved) vacation.

That said, if you are a control freak (and most of us are) it can be hard to let go of some responsiblities.. and transition away from skills (like writing) that got you interested in producing in the first place.

Email: It's Personal

I touched on this in a previous blog post but it's worth a whole one. If you use your work email address for personal emails, consider this: Any email you send on your work address is company property.

I am a conspiracy theorist who suspects there is some superuser in each company holed up in an office somewhere reading everyone's emails. Even if that's not the case, remember Enron? Like a gazillion employee emails were posted online when the company imploded. For an article on it... http://tinyurl.com/bs5oyd

Step away from the Blackberry

Thought I'd do an entry on one of the comments posted on a blog below.
Anonymous wrote:

Maggie,

Check this out - the view of producers and their crackberry's - the cameraman's perspective:

http://www.b-roll.net/forum/showthread.php?t=23034

==============================

I checked it out and-- it hits a little too close to home! The post is about how a photographer couldn't get a question answered by his field producer because she was too busy tip-tapping on her Blackberry.

An admission: I do a whole lot of tip-tapping on the Blackberry. I check it constantly because I get emails constantly, both internal and external. I try to keep my personal emails on a separate device (that's almost a whole nother blog entry-- if you use your work computer for personal emails, understand these emails are company property). Hopefully, if I was engrossed in my blackberry, I hope I would have enough sense to snap out of it long enough to answer a question, or, in the case of an important email, at least to say-- hold on a sec, let me finish this up quickly.

Maybe the producer was not answering an email at all... but updating their Facebook page?

In any case, as for the question itself, whether to use a shotgun versus wireless, I tend to prefer wireless mics. That said, I generally try to defer tech questions to the people who use the tech. Shotgun or wireless? Well, what do you like for this one, Mr./Ms. Photog?

One of my favorite TV jokes: How many producers does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer-- Hmm, I don't know, what do you think?

White House Press Corps

Saw this on the Daily Show and thought it was funny.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

White House Press Corps

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Couple Quick Show Notes

I see a common mistake on TV all the time:
The tease video ends up being the first few seconds of the actual story.

Some editor just grabbed the cut tape and stole the first few seconds of it instead of going to the raw and cutting something fresh. This is weak. It tells the viewer that you're just repeating stuff and have nothing new to offer. This type of mistake is another reason to record your shows and watch them the next day-- it's hard to watch your show in the booth. Make sure if you see this to have a follow-up conversation with whoever edited the tease. Ask what happened. Figure out a way that it won't happen again.

Another common mistake I see:
Too many words stuffed into a font.

You only have a certain amount of space for a lower third. If you're writing a lower third that looks like it might have more words than usual, preview it. If you can't preview it at your desk, go to the booth and have the chyron operator pull it up for you to make sure the font doesn't look all smooshed together. Or, just figure out a couple words to cut out so you're not in the danger zone. Same goes for full screen graphics.

Field Trip

If you've never been out in the field, or it's been a while, it might make some sense to ask your news director to let you off field produce one day. It's a great opportunity to see the flip side of your job. You'll get a much better perspective on how long it takes to do things and how tough they can be. Ever doorknock someone who just lost their child? It's something you've probably asked a reporter to do. Intellectually, you can probably imagine it would be tough. Actually walking up to someone's door is a whole nother story.

If your news director doesn't want to let you out of the newsroom, come in on your day off. Maybe just go out with a photog for a half day. You will learn more than you might imagine. You'll also get to interact with your crews in a much different way.

The Next Job

There is a huge need for producers because there aren't a whole lot of people who want to do it (comparatively). I've said that for any reporter opening, news directors get dozens of tapes, but for any producer opening, they'll get like, four. And half of those may not be qualified. Stations cycle through producers because producers get hired away by other markets and/or get promoted into management positions. So! Good career choice. As a producer, your career is golden!

As for tapes, I've usually just recorded whole shows and sent them out. I'd try to record your show every night. Save one if it's good, but keep recording each night (as an aside, review your show the next day so you can self-critique). I've always liked being able to send an interested news director my tape with a note that says-- here's last night's show. As in, I don't have to save up a good show for you, I do good work every day of the week. On the other hand, if you have a kicking show-- by all means send that. Just make sure it's recent.

TVJobs.com is a good place to look for job postings. You can also target markets. Say you're dying to get to Austin. Call each station-- you guys looking for producers? Find out who the news directors are and send them tapes with a note: "Hey, I know you're not looking for anybody now, but keep me in mind if something opens up. If you have a sec, I'd love your feedback on my tape." I have no pride when it comes to looking for a job. But you'd be amazed how many news directors will chat with you even if they don't have an opening.

How I got my jobs:
In HS, a reporter came by our school for a story. I attached myself to her and asked if they needed any help. She said call the news director. I did and they needed someone to rip wire (AP wire stories came over printing machines and you'd have to monitor it to make sure you weren't missing breaking news) and do beat checks.
By the time I went to Cincinnati for college, I had a year experience. I hounded each of the TV stations there and one of them had an opening for a PA.
After college... FOX was starting news at its local affiliates. I had a friend who got hired there. She put in a good word and I got hired as a weekend assignment editor/weekday field producer.
Next, Phoenix. I targeted Phoenix as a market where I wanted to go. I hounded the news directors and eventually (within a year) something opened up at a station I liked.
For my job in Philly, it was just an ad on TV jobs I think. They called and like me.
Finally, for my current job, I found out about it through a friend and he recommended me.

I think the common denominator is just being persistent and not taking it personally if you get blown off. For a lot of postings, they may already have someone in mind but they have to post it anyway for legal reasons.

A great way to find out about jobs is through friends/former coworkers. Since you've been in your newsroom, there have probably already been people who have moved on. Keep in touch. Over the years, you may hear of something they're interested in. Tell them about it. Hopefully they'll do they same for you. I have also enjoyed going to meetings/classes through professional organizations like RTNDF and IRE. They're great places to learn and meet people. Again, stay in touch. You never know when they'll have an opening-- or, your station might-- and you can help someone good get a job in your shop.

What news directors are looking for? Warm bodies. Just kidding. Really-- it depends on the news director. I'd say if you're looking at a specific station, you obviously want to do your homework. Check out their station's website. What kind of feel does it have? Is it a real hard news place or does it do a lot of lifestyle pieces? See if you can watch a newscast online or get a tape. You want to get a sense of their culture so that you can tailor your pitch to them. More importantly, see if the shop is a good fit for you. If you live and breathe spot news and they're doing stories on "do these jeans make my butt look fat," it may not be a good fit. Sometimes, news directors have you critique a showtape. I love doing this, but it can be tricky. You want to offer enough criticism to show you have something to bring to the party but not so much that you sound like a cocky idiot. I tend to fall on the cocky idiot side.

I think most news directors are looking for someone who is sharp, innovative and organized. You have to be able to play well with others and problem solve. In terms of shows, I think it's important to stress that you enjoy spot news and don't have a problem juggling a rundown at the last minute. Be aggressive in terms of news. Don't be afraid to change things. Some producers put their rundowns in at 5pm and nothing changes till ten pm. That's unconscionable and lazy. Embrace change. Find the freshest stuff to put in your show. But also look for places to "produce" your show. Sometimes in smaller markets, you don't have any help and it's all you can do to write your show and get it on the air. Maybe give special attention to your open/headlines or teases. Always give the top of your show special attention because it's the news director's (and viewer's) first impression of you. Do what you can. Eventually, you'll be in a market where you have some help and you can focus on the "look" of your show as well as the content.

The Scripts, They are a Changing

How many anchors does it take to change a script?
One, but they keep changing and changing it.

=========================================

It's hard to see someone eviscerate your carefully crafted script, but try to take your ego out of it. In the end, anchors are the ones who have to read it. I always encourage anchors to make their changes an hour prior to showtime. That's fair for you to ask. And if you make a change to his change, go to him and tell him why. "I changed the lead so that we can get to the video more quickly... Or, "The desk tells me it's four people killed in the car crash."

If your scripts keep getting changed, go to the anchor when he/she is not busy. Maybe it's after the show or maybe it's when they first get in. Say, "I'd like to talk about scripts. I notice you change a lot of my scripts. What can I do to make them better for you?" Don't take it personally.

There are a million ways to write a script and just as many styles. When I am writing, I try to hear the voice of the talent who is going to read my script. For example, the script you write for Shepherd Smith of Fox Report is not going to sound like the one you would write for Brett Baier of Special Report (not that I write for either of them, just an example). Even within shows, there's a difference. Bob may be bombastic, whereas Suzy his co-anchor plays it straight. Consider the end user and write for their voice and their style. Your anchors are the biggest assets to your show. People watch or don't watch because of anchors. Help them look better by writing for their particular style.

Hopefully, any anchor you approach is open to working with you. If they come at you with something like:
"I'm tired of training producers. It's not my job to teach you how to write..."

You can come back with:
"I respect you as an anchor and think you do a great job. It's a privilege for me to work with you. I am trying to make the show better. I want to do anything that accomplishes that. Mr. News Director hired me because he thinks I'm talented and can do the job. I've got a lot to learn, but I plan to do great things with this show and I'm happy to talk with you about them."

Understand, that for some anchors, there is a revolving door with producers. They've worked with so many producers who end up putting in a year or two and then they move on. They feel like they have to groom each producer and it gets tiring. Keep their side of things in mind. You'll probably put in a year or two and move on to the next market too. Good or bad, you'll learn real lessons from this person that will help you down the road.

Being a (ring) Leader in the Newsroom

Unfortunately, you can't force people to respect you. What you can do is be patient, and make the right calls and wait for them to see how good you are. There are ALOT of bad producers out there. If you are only marginally better than the bad ones, your co-workers should thank their lucky stars they get to work with you. Make calls that make sense. Include people in the decision making process. Even when you don't need their opinion, ask for it.

One of the complaints from field crews is that you're at the mercy of someone in an air-conditioned building who has no clue what the story's like. Genuinely listen to your crews. Check your own ego at the door. Figure out who you can trust in terms of judgement. Some reporters just whine because they are lazy and don't really want to cover anything. Others are not trying to be a pain-- they have a legitimate issue and you need to adjust accordingly.

Utilize your anchors, desk folks, reporters, photos-- any smart people in the newsroom. Ask their opinion. Like I say... ASK. Doesn't mean you have to accept. But I'd say, when it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other, who cares? Cave and let them have it. You don't have to rule on everything.

Pick your battles carefully. Stand your ground on important issues. Again, if you are the one who is going to get hammered the next day for making a bad call, you need to be able to defend it. But in the end, you make the call. Period. That's why you're the producer.

If you make a call that's unpopular, you can say something like this:

"I hear what you're saying. I understand you don't like this call. But this is my call and I answer to Mr./Mrs. News Director about it. He/She will let me know if it's the wrong call. Let's do this tonight, and I'm happy to talk with you and the news director about this issue and my decision... tomorrow."

This obviously is a last resort to be used on really big issues only. More often, you need to work with folks, find where there's common ground and move forward.

Front-end coaching helps cut off surprises. Let people know what you expect before they even leave the building. In the meeting, Suzy Reporter is going out to cover a car accident, say, "Ok, what are we thinking we want to get with this? I think we should talk to the woman who was in the car. We should also try to get the police officer who came up on the crash. Is that what you were thinking Suzy?" This kind of conversation, EARLY, brings up issues Suzy may have with the story.

Follow-up is important too. A few hours after Suzy's gone out, check in. Say, "What did you get?" If she doesn't mention the woman and the cop, say "In the meeting, we talked about getting the woman and the cop. Did you get that? No? Go get that." If you have consistent trouble with one person, go to that person when you are calm and set up a time to talk with them.

I think it's important to bring issues to the person directly BEFORE you ever mention it to a manager. They could be completely clueless. I find a good way to start these things is... "How can I make your job easier?" As in, "Suzy, I noticed you miss deadline three times this week. How can we avoid that? How can I help? Are you getting assignments too late? Is there a phone call someone on the desk can make for you?" If you come in from a position of trying to find a solution, you're much better off. Being direct with people (not angry, not rude, but just direct) can help you a lot. Remember, talk about specific incidents, not about generalities. Genuinely look for solutions that start with you.

It also helps to have a trusted friend to review YOUR performance. This maybe your boss or an old boss or a fellow producer. Give them a situation as it happened (don't be defensive) and ask what you could have done better. Do this in situations where you think you nailed it-- and also in ones where you second guess your judgement. Be open to their comments and suggestions.

Throw people a bone sometimes. Reporters will pitch ideas sometimes that are BAD. But they like them. Let them go out on these every once in a while. It's hard to do Chester the Molestor all the time. Giving them a chance to do a story they pitch makes them feel like they have a say in their own destiny. You also may be surprised that the story they go out on is not so bad after all. Same goes for photogs... if a photog busted his/her ass to get you a story, do him/her a favor and put it in your show. The desk will send a photo to cover a fire in East Bejesus and you won't run it. That's frustrating. Throw in a 15 second vo, even if you don't have room.

Provide positive feedback. No one gets enough compliments in this business. Look for opportunities when people do a good job to thank them for it. "Hey, that sunset shot was nice." "Hey, great live shot." "Hey, thanks for the hustle on that garbage can fire. It didn't turn out to be anything, but if it would've been, we would have been all over it."

You are talented. But you are not talented in every area. None of us is. Lean on the talent in your newsroom to learn to be a better producer and journalist.

Keep Those Emails Coming!

I really love getting them and they often help me post a blog that's more relevant to what you need.

Decisions, decisions

As a news producer, you will have to make a lot of decisions. Someone emailed me recently asking for help on how to make them. Here's my advice...

Trust your Gut and Find a Friend or two in the Newsroom

Trust your gut. Deep down sometimes when you are making a tough decision, there is a little voice that says... don't do it! Or... go for it! But you toss that aside and don't trust your better judgement. Let me tell you.. and I speak from the experience of mistakes... never ignore that voice. You hear about something on the scanners.... and you think.. well we ought to go but... just go. You can always pull crews back (within reason). Same goes for story selection. Something inside says... well, maybe I ought to lead with such and such... just do it.

Have a friend or two in the newsroom.
Find the oldest guy in the newsroom, the one who's been in the market the longest, the one who lives in and loves the community. This may be a craggy assignment desk guy or reporter... or maybe an anchor. Chances are, this person gets ignored. This person can be your saviour. Or maybe it's just someone in the newsroom you respect. Who gets it right most of the time? If this person is on your shift... ask them... hey Bob, I was thinking about leading with xyz, what do you think? You do not have to accept their opinion, but it's probably useful to hear it. There are a lot of talented people in every newsroom. Let their talent and experience help guide you in your decisions. Notice I said guide, not make. In the end, as a boss once told me, "It ain't a democracy." He who gets yelled at the next day for making the wrong decision is ultimately the one who gets to make the call.

Finally, my Dad says good reading makes for good writing. It's the same for news. Watch, read and listen to a lot of local and national news and it will subtly refine your judgement.

Contracts and Negotiating Pay

I got an email about contracts so I thought I'd pass along some info I had in response to it.

I don't think contracts are a good idea for producers because producers don't get anything out of it. It's not like with an anchor contract where you can get more money or perks-- they're not paying you more because you're under contract. They just have peace of mind that you won't leave anytime soon. I get why News Directors like contracts. Producers are a hot commodity and they're likely to lose you if they don't sign you to a deal. That is not your problem. Your problem is trying to get the best deal for you-- and all of your negotiating power rests in the fact that you can get another job offer and leave. Don't give up that power lightly. I once had a station say they wouldn't even INTERVIEW me unless I agreed in principle to a 5-year contract. You know what I did? I said thanks so much and walked my act someplace else. I don't regret that decision one bit because I got plenty of offers after that one.

Instead of a contract, say you'll sign a no compete, meaning you can't walk across the street to work for the competition. If you must sign a contact, make it the shortest you can and leave yourself outs. What are outs? One example, on a two year deal, during the last six months, you're allowed "out" of the contract if you get an offer from a Top 20 market say... or your hometown... or a network. Make it as big a hole as you can for as long of the contract as possible.

YOU HAVE NEGOTIATING POWER!!! USE IT!! Don't be meek. Ask for more than you think they would ever in their right mind give you. You can always back off. Women especially have been proven, in general, to be poor negotiators. If you negotiate your first salary for 5,000 less than what someone else is getting, that might not seem like much, but when that first salary is used as a starting point for your next job, you can see how over a few jobs, you will get hosed big time.

While we're at it-- trying NOT to disclose what you are making currently. Instead, try to find out what producers are making in that market. Do that by asking anyone you know who works or has worked in that market. People gossip. Don't find out, as I did once, AFTER you've moved to a town... that a producer across the street is making 10 grand more than you. Or again in my case (same job), don't find out by watching a documentary, where a station in the same company was paying its producers 10 grand more. In a much smaller market. Ouch!!!!

No one will fight for you but you!!! And look-- you are valuable!!!! Get paid every penny of what you are worth because you will be working hard! REMEMBER: For every reporter opening, there are a million resumes. For every producer opening, even in big markets, a lot of times, there are just a handful of candidates.

Twitter and Skype

I know you are tired of hearing me preach Twitter.com and Skype.com but the Buffalo plane crash provides a good example of how you can use both to enhance your coverage.

Twitter is micro-blogging-- basically like the status bar on Facebook. You enter a sentence and it's posted. You also "follow" other Twitter users to see what they are saying. The more people you follow, the better depth and breadth you get. Sometimes you get a sense of what people are talking about before it hits anybody's radar screen.

For spot news coverage, use Twitter's search function... http://tinyurl.com/acpp6u

On big stories, like the Buffalo plane crash, people may use hashtags (#) to make it easier to search for a certain story. The hashtags I've seen used for the crash are #buffalo, #3407, and #clarenceplanecrash. You can find out what hashtags people are using at www.hashtags.org

You won't use things directly for air from Twitter.com, but it can give you a sense whether you're missing something. For example, people started posting home video of the crash, the tower recordings, and a Google pic of the house prior to the crash. Did you know about these? How quickly? What if that plane crash were in your backyard and you were going wall to wall?

You can also use Twitter to search for users in a given area and follow their "tweets" or updates. I use this a lot during storm coverage. People are really good about reporting what's happening in their area. Again, it's not something you'd put directly on air necessarily but it can give you a better sense of what's happening.

Skype is the videophone over the internet service that's free between users. You can also search Skype for users in a given area. For the Buffalo crash, you could call users in Buffalo. Maybe they're no where near the crash, but who knows? You might get lucky. Same goes for storm coverage. If you're wondering if it's hailing in Arlington, Texas, you can call a Skype user in Arlington and check. Instead of a phoner, you'd have a live picture of a person. Maybe they could even take their laptop out to the back deck and show you the golf-ball sized hail.

More on Skype

I tried out Skype for work. We were doing liveshots at a gas station so I used my laptop (with a wireless card) to show traffic. They popped it up in a double box for a bit during our liveshot. Again- it was super easy. In my humble opinion- easier to use than Livecast, another thing we've played with. Today we are headed to Lone Grove for tornado coverage. I will try to use it again there.

Something to think about in terms of your coverage- Skype, I believe has a search function for place. So if you are doing wall to wall coverage on a tornado in Lone Grove, you could search for users nearby and try to give them a call.

Thinking Outside the Box

What's a liveshot to you? Is it always toss to a reporter and then a pkg? It's easy to get into a rut in terms of what you expect from each reporter's live shot. If one reporter's got a dull backdrop, fine, take a package. If another reporter is out at a scene that's got stuff going on-- anything going on-- let them show it to you. Maybe they can do a quick (!) interview for you (set parameters in advance-- only ask two or three questions and wrap up quickly if it's dull.)

You may not even want to use video in a liveshot (Wha?!?@?!%?!). For example, if you've got great flaming flames in back of your reporter, show them live. Seems like an obvious point, but more than once I've seen shows go to a tape that is less exciting than what's going on live. It's because somebody's inflexible-- they had it in their head this was going to be a live vosot and it would be that whether it fit the story or not.

Try something new in each show. Don't be afraid to make changes. Be open to ideas from the field. Don't be locked down or you may be missing an opportunity to make great TV.

Do the Math

As journalists, most of us hate math. I know I do. But it behooves you to grab a calculator or some scratch paper once in a while. Case in point-- percentages.

So for example, if I asked, "How many of you like to do math?"
And the answers looked like this...

68% Hate math
4% Love math
25% Undecided

...you, immediately, would realize something is amiss. These don't add up to 100%
Sadly, when we're busy, we may be tempted to take percentages right of a press release or wire copy and guess what-- other people can't add either! So it always makes sense to double check the math. If the percentages don't add up, find out why.

Skype

Anybody using Skype for liveshots?

We've already played with Livecast.com (lets you go live from a cell phone or computer), and you may have heard of Qik.com (live from your cell phone).

Now we're checking out Skype.com, which allows you to go live from a computer. It started as a phone service between computers. Then they added a video element to it. Basically all you need is a camera, firewire, computer and internet connection (or you can just use the camera on the computer). We fiddled with it today and it's super easy. The picture quality isn't bad. But the best part- Skype's free between users.

A local station in Ft. Lauderdale has already used it for a liveshot:
http://tinyurl.com/c5slrn
There's also a Poynter article about that station's use of Skype, but for some reason the link I have won't work. If you go to Poynter.org and search "skype" it will pop up.

I've also heard Oprah is using Skype for interviews. Well, that settles it!

It's something to think about. Even without the video, Skype can get you interesting phoners. For example, when I worked in Philly, some college students producing a radio show were using Skype to call people in Iraq. Again, for free.

If nothing else-- if you're like half the population in local TV news, living in a town a million miles from the rest of your family, you can use Skype to stay in touch on the cheap.

Checking out Job Leads

Unless you have a REALLY good relationship with your employer, I would advise against informing them that you're checking into/talking with someone else about a new job. Employers can be highly sensitive about the prospect of losing you, especially to a competitor. And unless you have an offer on the table-- what's the purpose of telling them? What do you expect them to do with that information? In this unstable economy, with layoffs both at the network and local level, it doesn't make sense to arm your employer with information that might help them usher you out the door.

This is doubly true if you're under contract. The terms of your contact may preclude you from contacting a prospective employer or them from contacting you. Many contracts have a "right of first refusal," meaning, your current employer has the right to negotiate with you first before you open it up to other offers. Talking with a competitor may be a violation of your contract. TV companies are very serious about this stuff. They can and will take you to court over infringements, although, this seems to be a lot more common with talent as opposed to producers.

One possible exception to the rule is if the new job possiblity is within your own company. Some companies are very gung ho about promoting from within. Still, tread lightly, because your immediate supervisor may not be so gung ho at the prospect of losing you, having to hire your spot and then training someone new.

Car Dealers and Local TV

A while ago I worried about the demise of local car dealerships and how that might impact local TV.

Recently, I read a transcript (http://tinyurl.com/chgfrt) of Rupert Murdoch, owner of my employeer Newscorp, saying something to the effect that car dealer ads are something like 30% of local advertising. Yikes. I knew it was big. I didn't know it was that big.

Local News and Websites

I stumbled across an article about how TV stations can better their brand online. It's interesting:

http://tinyurl.com/cezjlw

Also, notice I'm using "Tinyurl.com" It's a handy website to shorten long website addresses.

Another Great Audio Example

The FAA released great audio tapes of the pilot of US Air Flight 1549 communicating with air traffic control. Conveniently, FAA put out both the tape and transcript. You could put together something really nice today with a full screen still over the audio. The right half the screen could have the transcript of the traffic and the left half still photos of the incident. I think still photos might work better than video because it allows you to focus on the incredible audio.

I wish I could be that calm when a show is crashing...

http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/accident_incident/1549/

Say What?

We talked about fonting audio that's hard to hear. Let's talk about audio you can hear just fine. For example, did you hear that tape of Christian Bale losing his mind on a movie set? You could hear what he was saying, but it would be even better if you have the visual reinforcement of words on the screen. We're TV. What else are you going to put up with that audio? Video of him? Distracting. It's hard to watch and process video while you're also trying to listen to what he is saying. Better to put a still pic in a graphic and font the audio.

The incident brings up an important point. If you're talent, be nice. Badgering your crew will guarantee a big bite in the derriere. Even if you're not talent, if you are ever around a mic, consider it hot and act accordingly. Have headsets in the booth? A lot of stations record the director's audio for discreps. It's not unheard of for people to check those tapes. So before you go mouthing off about what an oaf your news director is, or how your anchor is such a prima donna, just keep it in mind.

Shameless Self-Promotion

This is a promo for a documentary I worked on a few years back. Very good cause-- this guy has pretty much single-handedly saved the sea turtle population in his village in Mexico. For more info, check out www.papatortuga.org

Former Employees of KTVK

If you haven't heard about the reunion this summer, email me andI'll shoot you the info.

Weather Coverage & the Web

Al Tompkins with Poynter did a nice piece today on how an Oklahoma newspaper used the web during its coverage of the storm. None of these items are very big ticket-- you could try some of them in your day to day ops so that for your next storm or spot news... you'll be ready. Coverage on the web can drive traffic to your show and vice-versa. Plus, it's cool.

Here's the article:

http://tinyurl.com/c6xoag

Double Boxes

I've been seeing double boxes used a lot lately and here's something I've noticed. A lot of the double boxes have a "live" bug on them, but they're not specific to either box. So for example, on that plane crash the other week in New York, you'd see a liveshot of the plane in one box and video in the other. Sometimes in these situations, it's hard to tell which box is live and which one is taped. It might make some sense to have a conversation with your graphics people to see if two versions can be made up--- or if you can font "live" hot over the appropriate box.

Be Prepared for Bad Liveshots

There's a lot of new technology out there that can get us live. You can go live from your computer, live from your phone, etc. But as you may have noticed, the quality of these liveshots is not as good as if say, you had a live truck or sat truck transmitting the video. Keep in mind, the switch to HD makes the quality of the pictures stand out even more. I'm not saying don't use them-- I think you should always use whatever you have access to-- but I am saying compensate for bad pictures.

What to do? I've seen some of these liveshots put in a special graphic frame which makes the picture smaller and the poor quality less obvious. This doesn't have to be any big project-- just have something simple and generic made up that you can slip these shots into when they arise. That way you're not scrambling at the last minute and your show looks a little cleaner. You could also double box these shots with video on the other side... or squeeze into a full screen with bullet points. If your double box is big/little (big on one side, little on the other), I'd suggest you put anchor or video in big box, liveshot in the smaller. As always, use your best judgement and experiment.

Inauguration Pool

If anyone's interested on what it took to do the inauguration pool, one of the NBC photogs (@newmediajim) put out this post on twitter.com

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Honey & Money

So should you date people at work? I say, proceed with caution. There's an old saying, "Don't get your honey where you get your money..." and it's floating around for good reason. That said, if you're working overnights and have Mondays and Tuesdays off... who else are you going to date? Cops, firefighters, nurses... and co-workers.

If you DO decide to date someone at work, keep these things in mind:

1. Unless you're going to marry this person, you WILL break up at some point. Whether it's you or the other person doing the breaking up, it's difficult to see that person day in and day out, even in the best situations.

2. Respect your co-workers and be discreet. Shocking as this may sound, your co-workers may not be as into your love fest as you are. At work, pretend you are not dating and act professionally at all times. Save the schmoopiness for when you're off the clock.

3. Don't date anyone under your direct line of supervision (or above for that matter). So producers, don't date writers. News directors, don't date anyone in the newsroom. You're just asking for trouble and/or a lawsuit. There are a million people out there... find someone else.

I have dated folks at work. I ended up marrying someone outside of the business. For all of you struggling to find a nice guy/gal with whom to spend your off-time, may I suggest match.com? Widens the dating pool significantly.