May I give thanks for the opportunity to tell stories that matter, that make a difference, and leave the viewer a better informed citizen.
May I not profit off exacerbating the viewer's base emotions and capitalize nonchalantly off the death, destruction, and mayhem that goes hand in hand with broadcast journalism.
May I not let the sadness and despair from the misery and death I see overcome me, but may my ears never become dull to the sound of a fellow human being crying out in pain.
May I always treat subjects with respect, for they graciously allow me access to intimate parts of their life, and they expect me to use that power to paint them not flatteringly, not deprecatingly, but accurately.
May I not become "that reporter" who somehow believes they are superior because they are on television, the reporter who treats photogs like shit, the reporter that looks at a subject with hungry eyes for the quick soundbyte and not to try and understand and relate to them as a human being, the reporter whose ego comes first and journalism comes second...for they are not reporters, they are just on tv.
May I give both sides to every story, so that even two diametrically opposite and bitter opponents can both look at the same piece and think they were given their fair shake.
May I have the courage to speak up against my producer if I believe the story cannot be run in an accurate and fair manner in time for the show.
May I defer to the wisdom of those with decades of experience in broadcast journalism in the event of a disagreement, but be ready to defend my beliefs if I feel strongly about the matter.
But most of all, may I remember that I have the power of the microphone, and that power can be used to illuminate, inform, and even to do good, but it can also be used to slander, misrepresent, misquote, and cause needless trauma. May I have the courage of my convictions to practice the former over the latter.
The Intern's Guide
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Labels:
interns
So you're in college and you're thinking about taking that internship at the local tv station? When you start your first day, it's important to keep one thing in mind: your internship will be what you make of it.
News stations want interns because they are a cheap source of labor to make beat checks (daily calls to local PD/Fire/etc.) and do the mundane tasks producers and reporters don't want to do. And while your station might train you on basic tasks which they expect to be a part of your responsibilities, they're not going to tell you what you need to gain out of your internship to make it a productive experience that will help land you that first reporter job.
Remember the challenge you face when you eventually start sending out resume tapes: most likely you'll be up against over a dozen other applicants for the same job. If you're applying in a starter's market (if the job listing says you don't need to have at least one year of experience), you'll probably be up against other interns like yourself as well as those coming from smaller markets.
Since the competition will be tight, you have to use your internship to put yourself in the best position so that you separate yourself from the rest of the pack. To help you maximize the time you have with the station, I've put together a list of rules I learned myself from my internship.
1. Come out of your internship with a resume tape. This is the single and most important goal you need to try and accomplish. Learning the quirks and protocol about a newsroom is very important, but your tangible goal will be to walk out the door before your last day with either a DVD or your video uploaded to YouTube.
To go over the basics, what I learned from my first station is that you want to keep your demo reel short and sweet, preferably in this format:
- 10 second intro with name and contact information
- 5 standups
- 2 packages
- 10 second outro with name and contact information
Have a graphics person or photog put together your intro graphic, and try to make it nice if you can, as it's the first thing your potential news director will see.'
Then select your 5 *best* standups, preferably you talking in front or something or demonstrating something to the viewer, and cut out the "Live in Somewhere, I'm Joe Smith" and try to keep it as short as possible. You can even cut out a 10 second chunk of a longer standup you've done, unless you're actually interacting with the scene or demonstrating something cool, then I'd leave the whole thing in. Which brings me to rule #2.
2. Make interesting, compelling, demonstrative standups. Go google "reporter resume tape" for a second, it's ok I'll wait. Pick a resume tape that comes from someone who hasn't actually been on air yet. Most likely, you'll see them in front of a park setting, police station, and varying other non-descript locales that might or might not have anything to do with what the would-be reporter is talking about. Remember when I said you'll be up against over a dozen other interns for the reporter position? This is how you set yourself apart. Write a standup that interacts with the background behind you. Walk and talk. Recreate the crime scene for the viewers by pointing, indicating, and moving. Don't just stand there and tell me something, *be* the story. Impart some knowledge on me. Find a way to use your hands. For example, our station did a story a while back about alcoholic energy drinks sold at gas stations that look almost identical to normal energy drinks. The standup I saw for it had the reporter picking up the alcoholic energy drink explaining to viewers that though it looked identical to this other energy drink (then picks the other one up), this one in fact had alcohol, a fact which escaped many gas station employees who didn't card for the alcoholic beverage. My favorite standup from my own resume tape was when I was in the ninth ward in New Orleans, I came upon a house that had been hollowed out on the inside, a note had been left on the door saying the government had failed them, and a spray painted marking had been left on the front wall indicating how many bodies they had found, as well as what organization had come to check on the house. I started by walking up the steps, explaining to viewers these markings that were on every house, what they meant, then I pointed to the note that had been left on the door, and finished the standup by having the photog open the door and walk inside to witness the devastation within. It wasn't the most amazing standup, but it beat standing in front of the house and just talking about it. Just be creative.
Now if you can, try to be out on a real story so you can shoot standups in front of accidents, fires, actual crime scenes, etc. Of course, navigating that will be a bit tricky. The standard practice for this is to eventually start going out with the reporters to see how they work, and to maybe shoot a standup if there's free time. But I'll tell you something else which helped me much more than going out with the reporters, which brings me to rule #3.
3. Go out with the photogs as much as possible. After you begin your internship, make friends with the reporters. Yes, of course, in all likelihood not all of them will be willing to take the time to help you out, but you need to try anyways. Pick the friendliest one there, or ask the other interns if they know which ones are chill and which ones are egotistical Ron Burgandys.
But the real gem, which helped me much more than going out with reporters, is going out with the photogs. See, at most stations, there are reporter/photog teams, but then there are extra photogs sitting around to shoot smaller stories, or breaking news situations where the reporters are already out on assignment and can't make it in time.
Those are the ones you want to make friends with. See, photogs sometimes have to get interviews from police or whoever happens to be on scene, and most of the time they just want to shoot video and not have to write down details, think up interview questions, and be responsible to give that information to the producer.
That's where you come in. If you're sitting around and hear a photog get sent out, go with him/her. Bring a notepad. When you get on scene, ask the photog who you should talk to. Walk up and introduce yourself. Make sure to get down all the details. Time it occurred? How did it happen? Have they released information about the suspects? What age(s)? Is there a phone # where you can call to get followup questions before the show? As my news director says, details matter.
That way, the photographer can just shoot video and not worry about all that other stuff, and you put yourself in a position where you are intimately familliar with the details of the story. When you come back, ask the producer if you can write the story. They'll probably say yes, as it would take them time to go over the details again with you just to write a 45-second story. And if you prove yourself, you can start doing this regularly, becoming a pseudo-reporter who does everything except front the stories for the newscast.
And if you keep it up, you'll be putting yourself in the best situation to be out on real stories, shooting real standups, rather than the bland front-of-the-police-station standups. This is how you set yourself apart.
4. Write creative packages. You can revoice a package already done by another reporter. Or, even better you can write a package on a story you went out on with a photog and shot a standup for. Pick an interesting story that won't bore a news director who's seen thousands of packages at his station, let alone hundreds by other interns competing for the same job as you.
5. Don't just sit there looking pretty. Ask questions. How does ______ work? If you simply show up on time, sit there on Facebook and msg your friends, you'll be wasting valuable time. Of course you can't be busy all the time, but try finding a photog on the downtime and explaining some of the basics of nonlinear editing, whatever system is being used. For some reason, people I talk to are afraid of learning editing systems, like it's advanced calculus or something. The only thing you need to learn is enough to drag and drop 7 clips to the timeline (5 standups, 2 packages) and move them into the correct order. It's nothing really, and you're going to need to learn these skills in the future sometime. Why not start now and cut your own resume tape?
6. Start looking at job postings now to get an idea. Check out www.newsblues.com and www.tvjobs.com . Newsblues is good for looking at specific markets if you're partial to certain locations. TVJobs is better for just getting job listings across all markets. Don't rule out markets ranked in the top 100. Once you have your resume tape together, you're going to want to be familliar with what the typical news director is looking for in a job application. Both those sites cost money, but they're relatively cheap and are great investments for when you actually apply.
7. Don't get discouraged. Getting that first job is tough. You're going to have to probably move somewhere that's half in the middle of nowhere depending on what market size. You're going to have to deal with some pretty big egos, other interns who will give you the "Oh, is that really your standup? Yeah I'd change that," watching reporters go live and thinking "Wow I'll never be that comfortable on camera" and a host of other things which will feed doubt into your head. And it doesn't get any easier once you actually get the job.
But the rewards are well worth the hard work it takes. Being out every day, meeting new people, the adrenaline rush of going live, getting into places other people can't, and all the perks that come with being a reporter. Finally, before you're done with your internship:
8. Put your stuff up on YouTube. It's not hard, it doesn't take that long to register an account, and it might get you the job. My news director told me I was the first person he had hired solely from a YouTube page and no physical resume tape. The advantages are obvious: you can, in one email, attach your PDF/Word resume and a link to your video allowing a news director to see your stuff immediately rather than waiting days to receive a tape in the mail, which will be accompanied with the rest of your competition. Pick a professional username that you can use, so that you can use your channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/kdreporter) instead of the individual video links (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Cz3_4MS9o).
9. Read these two books. I swear, it will help put things in perspective. These aren't cheesy memoirs, they are real world excercises in writing packages and other challenges that face a reporter. They are:
- It Takes More Than Good Looks, by Wayne Freedman. There's just so many gems in this book it's hard to put into words how much of a must-read book this is for aspiring reporters.
- Writing Broadcast News, by Mervin Block. Block is somewhat of an OCD case when it comes to proper writing, but read this and you'll be schooling your producers on how to write concise and engaging stories.
Hopefully these rules will help you rise above your competition and beat out the rest in getting that first job. Just remember to make sure the few months you have at your station are well spent. If you're sitting there just chillin, you're going to get beat out by others who are using their internships more productively.
Most importantly, have fun!
News stations want interns because they are a cheap source of labor to make beat checks (daily calls to local PD/Fire/etc.) and do the mundane tasks producers and reporters don't want to do. And while your station might train you on basic tasks which they expect to be a part of your responsibilities, they're not going to tell you what you need to gain out of your internship to make it a productive experience that will help land you that first reporter job.
Remember the challenge you face when you eventually start sending out resume tapes: most likely you'll be up against over a dozen other applicants for the same job. If you're applying in a starter's market (if the job listing says you don't need to have at least one year of experience), you'll probably be up against other interns like yourself as well as those coming from smaller markets.
Since the competition will be tight, you have to use your internship to put yourself in the best position so that you separate yourself from the rest of the pack. To help you maximize the time you have with the station, I've put together a list of rules I learned myself from my internship.
1. Come out of your internship with a resume tape. This is the single and most important goal you need to try and accomplish. Learning the quirks and protocol about a newsroom is very important, but your tangible goal will be to walk out the door before your last day with either a DVD or your video uploaded to YouTube.
To go over the basics, what I learned from my first station is that you want to keep your demo reel short and sweet, preferably in this format:
- 10 second intro with name and contact information
- 5 standups
- 2 packages
- 10 second outro with name and contact information
Have a graphics person or photog put together your intro graphic, and try to make it nice if you can, as it's the first thing your potential news director will see.'
Then select your 5 *best* standups, preferably you talking in front or something or demonstrating something to the viewer, and cut out the "Live in Somewhere, I'm Joe Smith" and try to keep it as short as possible. You can even cut out a 10 second chunk of a longer standup you've done, unless you're actually interacting with the scene or demonstrating something cool, then I'd leave the whole thing in. Which brings me to rule #2.
2. Make interesting, compelling, demonstrative standups. Go google "reporter resume tape" for a second, it's ok I'll wait. Pick a resume tape that comes from someone who hasn't actually been on air yet. Most likely, you'll see them in front of a park setting, police station, and varying other non-descript locales that might or might not have anything to do with what the would-be reporter is talking about. Remember when I said you'll be up against over a dozen other interns for the reporter position? This is how you set yourself apart. Write a standup that interacts with the background behind you. Walk and talk. Recreate the crime scene for the viewers by pointing, indicating, and moving. Don't just stand there and tell me something, *be* the story. Impart some knowledge on me. Find a way to use your hands. For example, our station did a story a while back about alcoholic energy drinks sold at gas stations that look almost identical to normal energy drinks. The standup I saw for it had the reporter picking up the alcoholic energy drink explaining to viewers that though it looked identical to this other energy drink (then picks the other one up), this one in fact had alcohol, a fact which escaped many gas station employees who didn't card for the alcoholic beverage. My favorite standup from my own resume tape was when I was in the ninth ward in New Orleans, I came upon a house that had been hollowed out on the inside, a note had been left on the door saying the government had failed them, and a spray painted marking had been left on the front wall indicating how many bodies they had found, as well as what organization had come to check on the house. I started by walking up the steps, explaining to viewers these markings that were on every house, what they meant, then I pointed to the note that had been left on the door, and finished the standup by having the photog open the door and walk inside to witness the devastation within. It wasn't the most amazing standup, but it beat standing in front of the house and just talking about it. Just be creative.
Now if you can, try to be out on a real story so you can shoot standups in front of accidents, fires, actual crime scenes, etc. Of course, navigating that will be a bit tricky. The standard practice for this is to eventually start going out with the reporters to see how they work, and to maybe shoot a standup if there's free time. But I'll tell you something else which helped me much more than going out with the reporters, which brings me to rule #3.
3. Go out with the photogs as much as possible. After you begin your internship, make friends with the reporters. Yes, of course, in all likelihood not all of them will be willing to take the time to help you out, but you need to try anyways. Pick the friendliest one there, or ask the other interns if they know which ones are chill and which ones are egotistical Ron Burgandys.
But the real gem, which helped me much more than going out with reporters, is going out with the photogs. See, at most stations, there are reporter/photog teams, but then there are extra photogs sitting around to shoot smaller stories, or breaking news situations where the reporters are already out on assignment and can't make it in time.
Those are the ones you want to make friends with. See, photogs sometimes have to get interviews from police or whoever happens to be on scene, and most of the time they just want to shoot video and not have to write down details, think up interview questions, and be responsible to give that information to the producer.
That's where you come in. If you're sitting around and hear a photog get sent out, go with him/her. Bring a notepad. When you get on scene, ask the photog who you should talk to. Walk up and introduce yourself. Make sure to get down all the details. Time it occurred? How did it happen? Have they released information about the suspects? What age(s)? Is there a phone # where you can call to get followup questions before the show? As my news director says, details matter.
That way, the photographer can just shoot video and not worry about all that other stuff, and you put yourself in a position where you are intimately familliar with the details of the story. When you come back, ask the producer if you can write the story. They'll probably say yes, as it would take them time to go over the details again with you just to write a 45-second story. And if you prove yourself, you can start doing this regularly, becoming a pseudo-reporter who does everything except front the stories for the newscast.
And if you keep it up, you'll be putting yourself in the best situation to be out on real stories, shooting real standups, rather than the bland front-of-the-police-station standups. This is how you set yourself apart.
4. Write creative packages. You can revoice a package already done by another reporter. Or, even better you can write a package on a story you went out on with a photog and shot a standup for. Pick an interesting story that won't bore a news director who's seen thousands of packages at his station, let alone hundreds by other interns competing for the same job as you.
5. Don't just sit there looking pretty. Ask questions. How does ______ work? If you simply show up on time, sit there on Facebook and msg your friends, you'll be wasting valuable time. Of course you can't be busy all the time, but try finding a photog on the downtime and explaining some of the basics of nonlinear editing, whatever system is being used. For some reason, people I talk to are afraid of learning editing systems, like it's advanced calculus or something. The only thing you need to learn is enough to drag and drop 7 clips to the timeline (5 standups, 2 packages) and move them into the correct order. It's nothing really, and you're going to need to learn these skills in the future sometime. Why not start now and cut your own resume tape?
6. Start looking at job postings now to get an idea. Check out www.newsblues.com and www.tvjobs.com . Newsblues is good for looking at specific markets if you're partial to certain locations. TVJobs is better for just getting job listings across all markets. Don't rule out markets ranked in the top 100. Once you have your resume tape together, you're going to want to be familliar with what the typical news director is looking for in a job application. Both those sites cost money, but they're relatively cheap and are great investments for when you actually apply.
7. Don't get discouraged. Getting that first job is tough. You're going to have to probably move somewhere that's half in the middle of nowhere depending on what market size. You're going to have to deal with some pretty big egos, other interns who will give you the "Oh, is that really your standup? Yeah I'd change that," watching reporters go live and thinking "Wow I'll never be that comfortable on camera" and a host of other things which will feed doubt into your head. And it doesn't get any easier once you actually get the job.
But the rewards are well worth the hard work it takes. Being out every day, meeting new people, the adrenaline rush of going live, getting into places other people can't, and all the perks that come with being a reporter. Finally, before you're done with your internship:
8. Put your stuff up on YouTube. It's not hard, it doesn't take that long to register an account, and it might get you the job. My news director told me I was the first person he had hired solely from a YouTube page and no physical resume tape. The advantages are obvious: you can, in one email, attach your PDF/Word resume and a link to your video allowing a news director to see your stuff immediately rather than waiting days to receive a tape in the mail, which will be accompanied with the rest of your competition. Pick a professional username that you can use, so that you can use your channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/kdreporter) instead of the individual video links (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Cz3_4MS9o).
9. Read these two books. I swear, it will help put things in perspective. These aren't cheesy memoirs, they are real world excercises in writing packages and other challenges that face a reporter. They are:
- It Takes More Than Good Looks, by Wayne Freedman. There's just so many gems in this book it's hard to put into words how much of a must-read book this is for aspiring reporters.
- Writing Broadcast News, by Mervin Block. Block is somewhat of an OCD case when it comes to proper writing, but read this and you'll be schooling your producers on how to write concise and engaging stories.
Hopefully these rules will help you rise above your competition and beat out the rest in getting that first job. Just remember to make sure the few months you have at your station are well spent. If you're sitting there just chillin, you're going to get beat out by others who are using their internships more productively.
Most importantly, have fun!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Modus Operandi
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Labels:
commentary
It's a strange transformation, switching from viewer to reporter.
The perspective I carried with me from outside the tube was of a critical nature, molded by a strong agreement with Jon Stewart et al.'s critiques on whether the media truly fulfills its duty to inform and illuminate its viewers in the industry's quest to maintain profitability.
The other view came from the fact that nobody I knew, who was both under 40 and not in broadcast, watched local news.
These two essential notions shaped my preconceptions of broadcast when I decided I wanted to become a part of how people became informed about the community around them.
Now that I have crossed the boundary from consumer to producer of local news, it's interesting to be on the flip side. What news is deemed worthy of inclusion in the newscast. What, if any, cohesive and consistent framework of criteria for story inclusion is used. Whether stories are shots in the dark, or are maintained as consistent narratives. What events are deemed notable enough for inclusion within that narrative structure.
The way broadcast news works is pretty much the way broadcast news has worked for a long time now. Logo updates, technology upgrades, After Effects, Pathfire, XDCam, HDTV, and even the Internet have not changed the fact that VO's are 25-30 seconds, VOSOTs are 45 seconds, Reporters are off the top of the a-block (mostly), "Good" PKGs start with natural sound and in no circumstances should be over 3 minutes (and that's stretching it), soundbytes under no circumstances should be over 15-20 seconds (and that's stretching it), always use active voice, never use big words or words that aren't conversational, etc.
Though many of these essential cornerstones of broadcast journalism are intuitive, I feel that we still must differentiate between rules that rely upon dogmatic tradition and those that make sense, no matter how long that rule has been in application. We must not be afraid to make changes, because adaptation as an industry is essential at this point.
The crisis local print newspapers are facing is a canary in a coal mine for our industry. The era of a news cycle with the release of information coming once a day in the morning is being kept alive on life support by those who need the "feel" of that paper in their hands... a demographic that is gradually disappearing. Local newspapers have been forced to adapt, and those who don't transition to maintaining a stellar internet presence will become extinct. Some newspapers are even experimenting crossing over into videojournalism, an avenue that might become direct competition down the road. And with our own local television news cycles coming only at set, predetermined times a few times a day, it's hard not to see that with more on-demand programming, print's challenge will very soon become our own as well.
Which brings this long pedantic diatribe to my point: What this site is about.
It's for others in the same position, broadcast journalists who are figuring out the personalities and egos of their industry, feeling the strange juxtaposition of being so upset you want to bang your head against a wall one minute and loving your job so much you thank your lucky stars your news director somehow picked you out of a bin of resume tapes the next, sharpening of the knife that is your journalistic acumen and being witness to lowest common denominator journalism in your own market, and the lessons learned which hopefully will prepare someone else who will act with more foresight than I did in a given situation.
It's for those who want an inside peek at what it's like to be a television reporter. The trials and tribulations, ethical dilemmas, and observations on the challenges of becoming more than just being on tv but an actual journalist.
And it's to start a discussion about what aspects of broadcast journalism need to change, and what aspects we need to keep in order to entice younger generations to start watching local news.
If enough traffic picks up, comments will be enabled in the near future. Of course, you're always free to email me at kdavis2600@gmail.com with your own experiences or thoughts, all of which I will try to post.
In no way shape or form will I attribute any absolute certainty to the opinions, observations, and anecdotes contained within.
Just think of it as if Alice chronicled her journey to those below as she began down the rabbit-hole.
The perspective I carried with me from outside the tube was of a critical nature, molded by a strong agreement with Jon Stewart et al.'s critiques on whether the media truly fulfills its duty to inform and illuminate its viewers in the industry's quest to maintain profitability.
The other view came from the fact that nobody I knew, who was both under 40 and not in broadcast, watched local news.
These two essential notions shaped my preconceptions of broadcast when I decided I wanted to become a part of how people became informed about the community around them.
Now that I have crossed the boundary from consumer to producer of local news, it's interesting to be on the flip side. What news is deemed worthy of inclusion in the newscast. What, if any, cohesive and consistent framework of criteria for story inclusion is used. Whether stories are shots in the dark, or are maintained as consistent narratives. What events are deemed notable enough for inclusion within that narrative structure.
The way broadcast news works is pretty much the way broadcast news has worked for a long time now. Logo updates, technology upgrades, After Effects, Pathfire, XDCam, HDTV, and even the Internet have not changed the fact that VO's are 25-30 seconds, VOSOTs are 45 seconds, Reporters are off the top of the a-block (mostly), "Good" PKGs start with natural sound and in no circumstances should be over 3 minutes (and that's stretching it), soundbytes under no circumstances should be over 15-20 seconds (and that's stretching it), always use active voice, never use big words or words that aren't conversational, etc.
Though many of these essential cornerstones of broadcast journalism are intuitive, I feel that we still must differentiate between rules that rely upon dogmatic tradition and those that make sense, no matter how long that rule has been in application. We must not be afraid to make changes, because adaptation as an industry is essential at this point.
The crisis local print newspapers are facing is a canary in a coal mine for our industry. The era of a news cycle with the release of information coming once a day in the morning is being kept alive on life support by those who need the "feel" of that paper in their hands... a demographic that is gradually disappearing. Local newspapers have been forced to adapt, and those who don't transition to maintaining a stellar internet presence will become extinct. Some newspapers are even experimenting crossing over into videojournalism, an avenue that might become direct competition down the road. And with our own local television news cycles coming only at set, predetermined times a few times a day, it's hard not to see that with more on-demand programming, print's challenge will very soon become our own as well.
Which brings this long pedantic diatribe to my point: What this site is about.
It's for others in the same position, broadcast journalists who are figuring out the personalities and egos of their industry, feeling the strange juxtaposition of being so upset you want to bang your head against a wall one minute and loving your job so much you thank your lucky stars your news director somehow picked you out of a bin of resume tapes the next, sharpening of the knife that is your journalistic acumen and being witness to lowest common denominator journalism in your own market, and the lessons learned which hopefully will prepare someone else who will act with more foresight than I did in a given situation.
It's for those who want an inside peek at what it's like to be a television reporter. The trials and tribulations, ethical dilemmas, and observations on the challenges of becoming more than just being on tv but an actual journalist.
And it's to start a discussion about what aspects of broadcast journalism need to change, and what aspects we need to keep in order to entice younger generations to start watching local news.
If enough traffic picks up, comments will be enabled in the near future. Of course, you're always free to email me at kdavis2600@gmail.com with your own experiences or thoughts, all of which I will try to post.
In no way shape or form will I attribute any absolute certainty to the opinions, observations, and anecdotes contained within.
Just think of it as if Alice chronicled her journey to those below as she began down the rabbit-hole.
Friday, October 24, 2008
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