Multimedia can’t be a one-(wo)man show

Posted on February 15, 2007 by Melissa Worden

I love this post by Matt Waite, staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times.

He had an idea for multimedia today, and the Web team was too busy (I know how THAT is!) to produce it. So what’d he do? He gathered, edited and produced an audio clip.

He didn’t just tape some audio. He put the whole package together.

Bravo!

Here’s what he’s learned:

“But if you want to get and keep a job in journalism today, keep this in mind: The words ‘not my job’ should never leave your mouth. If you find yourself saying that audio (or video, or online, or multimedia) isn’t your job, time to stop and think. If you’re always useful, they can’t get rid of you.”

All this talk about how newspapers need to focus on the Web is fabulous news. Print reporters, editors and managers are finally getting it. Well, sort of … many are trying to make this transition with the same organizational structure and resources. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, however, is making some BIG changes.)

If newsrooms aren’t prepared, though, all the excitement and great ideas generated during this rush to produce more Web content are going to hit quite a bottleneck when they reach the Web editors.

Gulp.

Now we have a stressed out Web team and frustrated reporters.

So let’s not forget that we all work for the same team. We shouldn’t have an us vs. them attitude. We’re journalists. We gather facts and report. Print and online are just the delivery methods.

Web editors, and specifically the small multimedia departments, can’t do it alone. Chipping in to create an audio package (like Matt did today), shoot and edit a video interview or post a blog entry or breaking news, really IS a part of your job. And not only the reporter, but the Web team and the entire media outlet will reap the rewards.