Covering a courtroom drama
Posted on October 1, 2007
Trent Nelson, a photographer from the Salt Lake Tribune, was at the Warren Jeffs trial last week and blogged about his experience. It’s an interesting read, particularly since it makes me feel like I’m really getting an inside look at what a pool photographer goes through during a trial like this.
I also like the 60-second audio slideshow updates he produced for each day. What a nice way to enhance the audio, even in a situation where the photos may be limited.
You can watch the audio slideshow series here (unfortunately the index page doesn’t list all of them): Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9
A video of the reading of the verdict also was published by the newspaper to YouTube. Interestingly, this clip is linked from the paper’s Web site — meaning it seems that they ONLY published it to YouTube and don’t have it on their site at all.
I’ve noticed more and more papers are using YouTube. I think it’s a great form of viral marketing, but if you’re going to do this, you should take full advantage of the marketing potential by branding the video and including links to your site in the summaries.
Speaking of opportunities, the index page shows some missed ones. The long list of links doesn’t invite the reader. If it weren’t for the subject matter, my eyes would glaze over. But this page, the video and audio slideshows are great examples of how content can make up for any obstacles to quality (the style of the video, repetition of some photos and audio levels).
If you’re interested in this case or even the least bit fascinated by the polygamist lifestyle, you’ll watch/read it all and be hungry for more — not just because of the topic, but because of how the content is presented. THAT’s what makes storytelling skills so important. THAT’s what makes journalists unique.
In addition to the missing 60-second update archives, the leadership tree and community comparison graphics could have been so sweet if they were interactive. I know the constraints of resources, time and newsroom priorities; I deal with that every day at my newspaper. But I think this story warranted the extra time to create the interactive graphics and a better overall design.
MNPW: The master speaks
Posted on August 22, 2007
Ken Speake, a “master storyteller” who worked in TV for more than 37 years and KARE-11 in Minnesota for 28 years, talked to the Multimedia News Producers Workshop group about, well, storytelling.
And he showed us some samples of his work, too, which reminded me of a CBS News Sunday Morning tone/style. They’re informative and fact-based, but personal and pull out the emotional side of the story. He is retired now, and he still talks about his first story at KARE, which won a silver medal at the New York Film Festival.
OK, so what can this TV reporter tell us online newspapers about video? After all, *we’re* supposed to be doing things different and better than TV, right? Not so fast. These guys and gals have been working in their craft for years. And it’s wise of us to learn from their experiences.
And, after talking to him, we may have more in common with TV than we think — or, rather, we SHOULD have more in common with TV than we think.
For instance, he explained that his workflow process was highly collaborative. He was responsible for telling the story. He’d shoot the video and write the script, and then he’d hand it off to the editor to put it together. That person would do “the second half of the storytelling,” he explained.
Hmm. Sounds a lot like what newsrooms are forced to do because of time/resource constraints — reporters and photographers recording the video and then handing it off to an online editor back in the newsroom.
To make this process successful, he said, TRUSTing your coworkers is CRITICAL. And he admitted he didn’t even sit with the editor and most often would never see the piece until it aired. It’s their job to do the editing, he said.
I think this may be hard for a newsroom to accept that is so used to having control of a project throughout its entire creation.
OK, so how do you tell a good story?
>> Become relaxed with yourself and spend time with the people you’re interviewing. “It’s an attitude thing,” Speake said.
If people show up with an arrogant viewpoint as a TV reporter, you’ll find resistance. But if you show up and say you want to help them tell their story, they’ll be more likely to help you.
Humble yourself. Be modest. Make yourself vulnerable. Make yourself human. Ask for help from them.
>> Be curious. Learn something from the story and challenge yourself to present it in a new way.
>> Report with your ears. Notice your surroundings because something better could be going on that no one else is noticing.
>> Gather sound. Find the “evocative” sound.
>> Listen hard so you can really hear what the person is saying and can ask the right follow-up questions.
>> Think ahead of time. An example of this is the release of the swans in a video he showed (unfortunately, I can’t find it online). He took waders with him so he got close shots of the swans from the front as they swam into the water. None of the other photographers thought of this, and they were stuck on land, shooting the backs of the birds.
>> Don’t be afraid to break the rules.
And speaking of breaking the rules … we ended the session with an discussion about how online newspapers are different from TV because we “never” use narration (that’s what the attendees said). So what advice can Speake give us in telling those type of stories?
That’s a tough assignment, he said. If you don’t use your own voice, the challenge is to get all of your story on tape. Listening carefully and stringing the cuts together becomes even more important.
But are there times when the reporter’s voice can or should be incorporated? The Web interview is being formed to be a “the subject tells the story,” but are we limiting ourselves by doing this? Maybe we should break the rules once in a while?
Angela Grant brought up this same concern in a recent post “Use a FREAKIN voiceover already.”
Web reading impacts book publishers, too
Posted on August 21, 2007
I’ve been focusing my attention so much on what’s going on with newspapers, that I hadn’t thought about its effect on books, as shown in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll:
The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn’t read any, the usual number read was seven.
That choice … is reflected in book sales, which have been flat in recent years and are expected to stay that way indefinitely.
Analysts attribute the listlessness to competition from the Internet and other media, the unsteady economy and a well-established industry with limited opportunities for expansion.
If the root of what newspapers are doing is telling print stories, it’s wise to look at what’s going on with comparable industries. People clearly are changing the way they’re consuming information (not just news).
It also underscores how important it is for newspapers to redefine their business as information providers. If people identify a newspaper as being only a “paper” we could likely start hearing quotes like this, as they apply to news video:
“If I’m going to get a story, I’ll get a movie.”
A multimedia/online news growing pain
Posted on July 12, 2007
Mindy McAdams is calling for more breaking news multimedia by showcasing a breaking news audio slideshow produced by photojournalist Dan Limmer about a protest in Kennebunkport, Maine, and providing an analysis of the piece.
At the end of her post, she brings up a most interesting question:
Dan thinks it might be problematic if a package like this one were edited by someone who never went to the scene:
“If a paper employed a producer, it would help overall in time/resource management. But in a news situation, I would want to be sure the multimedia was mixed in context to the photos and in accordance with ethical standards. That may be difficult for someone who wasn’t there.
The concept of editing audio and integrating still photos (the “vision” aspect of the multimedia) can’t be overlooked as challenging and time consuming. Going back to square one after already mixing sound once because it doesn’t flow or tell a story is a drag. Fortunately, this one came together on the first try.”
It’s a very important question: Will a producer who was not on the scene tell the story accurately? Obviously, the photographer could sit down with the producer and ensure that the real story comes through. But in cases where that’s not possible, what will be done to ensure that the finished product is accurate and true?
This is one of our growing pains.
I agree with Mindy and Dan that it’s quite difficult for someone who wasn’t on the scene to put together a multimedia story — it’s like writing a print story from someone else’s notes.
For this type of project, reporters/photographers are doing more than “spraying the scene” with video or recording an interview for an audio clip. They’re creating STORIES while they’re out in the field, and video, photos and audio are gathered with a storyline in mind.
Pass off the content to someone else to put together, and you risk wasting any creative intents by the reporter/photographer and, more importantly, getting the facts wrong.
But, whew, that’s a lot of extra work for reporters/photographers to do. Newspapers are cutting personnel, and leaner newsrooms means there’s more on everyone’s plates.
Not to say that reporters/photographers aren’t eager to learn new online skills. But they’re still expected fulfill their print obligations, and multimedia is one more thing they would have to get done for the story that could take them away from covering something else. Really, when it comes down to it, which is going to win: Multimedia or another news story?
So what’s the solution? With tighter resources, it doesn’t make sense to send two reporters to a scene — one for print and one for online. And it just gets us away from the integrated newsroom philosophy (which I fully support), so it’s not a viable option.
It’s got to be a change in workflow philosophy to reverse publishing.
When the newsroom ALWAYS thinks online FIRST — and decides the best way to tell that story (text, audio, slideshow, video or an interactive graphic/database) –THEN takes that story and modifies/edits it for print, the reporter/photographer always will be the creative behind the multimedia.
It WILL work. Editor & Publisher reports: Gannett’s Democrat and Chronicle, under the new “Information Center” directive, has learned that the online features can drive print circulation.
Editors discovered this in September when they prepared a multimedia package on local sex offenders, which included a database of registered felons and various audio and video reports. The Web package was prominently placed on the homepage Sept. 28 to promote much of the same material in a Sunday print presentation three days later. The effort resulted in the biggest Sunday single-copy sales of the year, with 4.9% more than any other Sunday. That record was broken two months later when the same approach was used for a report on police overtime.
Unfortunately, all is not rosy with this method; reporters/photographers still feel stretched too thin:
Still, the increased workload and broader news scope are stressing some staffers, who also worry about accuracy and the need for down time. “They are stressed out,” says Lou Mleczko, president of the Detroit Newspaper Guild, which represents newsroom staffers at Gannett’s Detroit Free Press. “It reduces the amount of time available to do reporting and other things they have to do. Errors are appearing online, and that is because there is not enough time to look things up. Editors are in such a panic to get things up on the Web.”
Maybe the answer is to switch everything around. Instead of having the same staff try to do both, why not keep the teams with concentrated focuses, but flip the resources. Instead of having our main production efforts going to print production, and a small online team, why not have the main production efforts be for online, and employ a smaller set of editors to package the print product?
Until we figure out the best workflow, I think management will look for ways to make the current systems most efficient, and that probably will mean we’ll see many organizations channel content through an online editor/producer. It will be essential for that person to make sure they tell the story accurately.
(BTW, all this leads me to wonder: Am I working myself out of a job? I’m a journalist, and I love to tell stories. But I don’t go out in the field to do the reporting — the reporters and photographers do that. So when my ideal scenario happens, what happens to the online producer?)
What AP looks for in storytellers
Posted on July 5, 2007
Sandeep Junnarkar spoke to Ted Anthony, founding editor of asap, about how the new service has grown during the past two year, how it is tackling multimedia storytelling, and what skills AP looks for in new hires. (Link via News Videographer)
Here’s an excerpt:
OJR: Can you tell me about the qualities you are seeking in journalists to tell stories in alternative ways?
Anthony: … We were looking for people who were flexible in their storytelling–and by that I mean people who wouldn’t say, we don’t do things that way. Too many news organizations in today’s world are populated with many people who say, we don’t do things that way. Those people are not going to be doing things at all if they keep up that attitude. We have to be willing to acknowledge that there is a certain core group of values and skills that we have, but that beyond that we are in this brave new world and we have to be able to think critically about how a story should be told and whether a story will resonate, will echo if it’s told in the best way. I really was aiming to hire people who are willing to say, “okay, we will not be bound by convention.”
We’ve started using asap multimedia on our site, and I’m impressed with some of the projects — such as Dan Deacon’s soundboard explained, A look inside the Yale Yearbook, and The return of the hat.
I like ‘em. They’re edgy and interesting. And, honestly, much better designed and consistently well-put-together than some of the other AP multimedia I come across.
Don’t forget we’re journalists
Posted on June 18, 2007
“The publishers have sighted gold in them thar video player hills. All the newspaper people have piled into the wagons and are heading west toward Video, in the hopes of striking it rich. Imagine! Those pre-roll ads get higher rates than banners! Let’s do video!!!! The rush is on!”
Sound familiar??
Chuck Fadely’s all riled up about the push for video, any kind of video, on newspaper Web sites. Get a cheap camera, throw it in the reporter’s hands, post it on the Internet, and sit back and watch the page views climb, right?
Not so fast, says Fadely:
“Here’s the bottom line: to get good narrative video, with clean audio, that is engaging to the viewer, requires a full time video person, who has spent a year learning all the technical stuff about audio, cameras, and video editing programs. It takes about $10,000 in video and audio gear and another $10k in computer and software.”
Yeah, I know, we’ve heard this debate before. I don’t think they necessarily need “expensive” gear, but his point, I think, is that if management wants video, they have to invest in it, too.
What struck me most, however, was this quote BEFORE he got to the bottom line:
“Video is an emotional medium that grabs the viewers by the throat and makes ‘em weep, laugh, and scream. … Does your reporter video fit into that “magic” category? Does your ‘random’ video make you weep? (It makes me weep, but not because of the story…)”
Sure, an expensive camera and editing software will help make your video polished, but it’s your skills at a journalist that will turn that video clip into a story. (And using the audio tips below that outline what makes a great story apply perfectly here.)
Filling up your sites with talking heads or VOSOTs can be done quickly and easily (and expensively, too!). But these videos become shovelware that readers will eat up voraciously during breaking news but only casually on a daily basis.
It’s the power of the STORIES (even short user-submitted ones like this) that can differentiate newspaper Web sites from YouTube clips of a Panda sneezing.
Tell the story so you can see it
Posted on June 18, 2007
In Al Tompkin’s latest Poynter Centerpiece, he interviews Valerie Geller about how to write visually — an essential component to good audio storytelling. Geller should know; she’s worked with more than 500 radio stations in 27 countries and teaches radio journalists about visual writing. Here’s what I see as some of the highlights that we can apply to audio podcasts, slideshows and online video:
Says Geller:
“Many people do not think of radio as a visual medium. But a talented storyteller who writes with dazzling detail can tap into all of the imagery and emotion stored in the listener’s brain and make him feel that he really is “seeing” the story. While telling a story in just a few words is key in writing powerful news copy, the visual element is important to keep listeners engaged.”
What makes a great “story”?
“WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN, HOW, but also:
>> HOW does this story affect my listener?
>> HOW can I describe things more visually?
>> HOW can I make someone care about this?
>> HOW, or in what way, do I care about this?
>> HOW come I am putting this story on the air?
>> If a problem is presented, HOW can it be solved; what are the solutions?
>> HOW did this happen; could it have been prevented?
>> HOW else can I tell this story?
>> HOW would I tell it to a friend?
>> HOW can I make it better?
>> HOW would I tell it if my very life depended on not losing a listener?
>> and HOW would I put this on a demo to get another job if I needed one?”
And men and women don’t hear the story the same way, she explains:
“Visual descriptions are especially important to men. Brain research shows that men are more stimulated by visual details, and language that describes events with accurate visual elements tends to make them pay closer attention to a story.
Women, on the other hand, are emotive. If a woman can “feel” an emotional connection to a story, she is more likely to listen closely and take in the information. For a story to appeal to both men and women, it should deliver information using both visual and emotional language.”
More storytelling samples from Ira Glass
Posted on March 25, 2007
Need some more inspiration? Glass has a new TV show on Showtime, a version of his This American Life radio show.
Here’s a summary of the show’s concept from PR Newswire:
“Each episode will be hosted by Ira Glass and will explore a single theme or topic through the unique juxtaposition of first-person storytelling and whimsical narrative, allowing for the show’s distinct and original voice. The visual interpretation of the television series will reflect the structure and spirit of the radio show that has grown to be one of the most popular and innovative radio programs in the medium.”
Of course we know there’s discussion about how newspapers are getting into video, and how TV is behind. Andy Dickinson points out the need for radio to get on board, too. I’m curious about the fact that PBS didn’t pick up this idea and run with it. Seems like a missed opportunity. Until I found this quote from Glass:
“But what about taking the show to public TV? Don’t even suggest that option to This American Life host and creator Ira Glass.
” ‘Public television is terrible,’ Glass said, breaking up a roomful of TV critics in January. ‘I work for a public radio station, and many of the stations which carry our show are affiliated with public TV stations. So this isn’t the greatest thing for me to say, but it’s the truth. In terms of innovation and what they do, you know, it’s just not that interesting most of the time.’
“Sad to say, Glass is right. Besides, PBS didn’t come to him, Showtime did, and courted him for years before the famously nerdy host of the Chicago-based radio program said OK.”
Ouch.
Check out the trailer here:
(Thanks to Will Sullivan, who posted a heads up about the show’s debut on the NewspaperVideo newslist)
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