Month: April 2009

Preparing to lead a newsroom

The news business is notorious for promoting well-qualified journalists into leadership positions with little or no preparation. Some of them do just fine but others struggle with new and different responsibilities. It’s a big leap from producing a newscast to…

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Breathing for broadcast

All the effort you put into writing and shooting a story may be wasted if your narration doesn’t measure up.  Voice coach Ann Utterback says how you sound can make viewers decide to click away or stay tuned for the…

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The big camera debate

Some veteran TV photojournalists have argued for years that bigger is better when it comes to video cameras. Only a heavy professional model could produce rock steady, broadcast quality images, the long-timers said.  Or at least they used to. Oscar…

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Never stop learning

The best journalists I know are life-long learners. They’re good at their craft but they never think they know it all. John Gross is one of them. He’s a photographer and feature reporter at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis who’s won his…

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Doing more with less

Almost every broadcast newsroom in the country is facing the same challenge. How can they continue to produce quality journalism on more screens with fewer people? “It’s a struggle but we’re doing it as a team,” said Dan Salamone, news…

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Getting started with online video

Most newsrooms understand that they need to include video in their online offerings. If they haven’t started doing it yet, they’re behind the curve. But what’s the best service to use for posting video if you’re not going to host…

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Online jounalism jobs increase

The American Society of News Editors annual survey of employment at the country’s newspapers is rich in information for journalism job seekers. First, the news is troubling for anyone who has dreamed of spending a career working at a daily…

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TV jobs, salaries decline

Fewer people making less money are producing more television news than ever. That’s the bottom line from the latest RTNDA/Hofstra survey released on Sunday. Jobs and salaries in local TV news dropped by more than 4 percent last year, but stations still…

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Saving newspapers: The musical

The news about the news has been just a little depressing lately. Layoffs, cutbacks, stress and overwork are plaguing the profession we love. But all is not lost! The good news is that journalists in general have kept their sense…

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Newscast repetition higher than thought?

The Kovsky Miller Media Research firm just released data on the amount of story and topic repetition in newscasts. It may or may not be a surprise to you just how much of the content is rehash. For the years 2004-2008, the fim…

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