The average paycheck in local television news was up2.5 percent in 2009 and salaries in local radio news wereunchanged. Both were down the year before–more than 4 percent for TV and almost 2 percent for radio–so that’s an improvement. Considering there really wasn’t any inflation in 2009, Papper says, “news people really did hold their own.”

Long term, however, the picture is bleaker. Over the last five years, inflation has eaten up every salary gain in TV news and more. Paychecks grew by less than 3 percent but inflation rose more than 13 percent. In other words, if you’ve been in TV news for five years, your buying power now is less than when you started out. That’s depressing.

A few job categories did better than others last year. The only TV salaries that changed much were for reporters, managing editors and art directors. All were up by about 10 percent. Thebiggest losers? Sports reporters, whose average salary dropped by about the same amount. Ouch.

As always, the bigger the market the higher the salary. But this year’s data was unusual in one respect. Papper found almost no difference in salary changes by market size and staff size, which he called surprising. Basically, the salary picture was about the same across the board. Not awful. But not great.

Sourced from: NewsLab

Tamara Keith of NPR says that’s harder than it sounds but she’s come up with some useful tips on how to do it well.

Try to have just one thought/idea per sentence.  You may have lots of short sentences, and it may look weird, but it sounds better…

Whenever possible frame your stories so they are about someone doing something for a reason, or several people doing something for a reason.  It will help you keep your focus and make your writing and reporting more interesting…

Create scenes by describing the setting, the person you’re interviewing, etc…Little details take stories from simply being a statement of fact to something deeper, more revealing, more engaging.

Write quickly, Keith advises, and don’t nitpick every word. Instead, spend time revising your work, paying particular attention to these pitfalls:

1. Clichés – frequently they are saying something that’s completely contrary to the point you’re trying to make.  And just generally, they’re bad bad bad.
2. The verb “to be.” It was, they were… What do you mean by that? Show it don’t say it. Show the picture. Give a sense of what it’s like. Make people think about it. Not a litany of facts.
3. Participles – -ing words.
4. And or but in the middle of a sentence.
5. Two people of one gender in the same sentence, it makes the pronouns confusing.
6. A long phrase at the beginning of the sentence. For example: With the sun shining in her face and insects attacking her legs, the survivor contestant started crying.

I second that list, and not just for radio!

Keith, by the way, now covers business and economics for NPR–a tough beat if there ever was one. She shares some of her suggestions for making those stories “relatable and interesting” in a post I wrote for RTDNA’s Money Matters.

According to the study, knowing how to write “print style” or “Web-friendly” stories is a must.  The majority of stations (85%) reported that their producers “frequently” or “sometimes” wrote Web-friendly stories.  Almost all the stations (93%) said their reporters “frequently” or “sometimes” write Web-friendly stories.

Producers, in particular, are also often required to resize or reformat still images and video for the Web.   Producers at well over half (59%) the stations “frequently” or “sometimes” work with still images; similarly, half of the stations said reporters “frequently” or “sometimes” are manipulating still images for Web use.   These findings reinforce the need for multimedia journalists to have an understanding of Photoshop or similar progams.

Producers and reporters also are resizing/reformatting video for the Web. Over half the stations (52%) said their producers perform that task “frequently” or “sometimes.” Reporters work with Web video slightly less: about forty-percent do.

When it comes to higher-level Web production, newscast producers and reporters are less likely to do as much.

We defined multi-media production as creating an integrated package for the Web (such as slide shows) that includes such elements as text, graphics, still or motion video and sound… Less than twenty-percent of stations said producers performed such tasks “frequently.” A third said producers did multi-media “sometimes.”  Just over half the stations reported that producers “never” do multi-media packages.

The findings were similar for reporters. Less than a fourth of the stations (21%) said their reporters were involved in multi-media production “frequently.” About a third said its reporters “sometimes” did it, and at close to half of the stations (45%) reporters “never” did multi-media.

Producers and reporters were also embedding raw documents in stories, adding links and making some use of HTML, but not at very high levels.

Photojournalists were most likely to be involved in putting  additional materials from reporter packages such as extended raw video, natural sound pieces or full sound interviews on the website.

So, how important are Web skills when it comes to hiring for TV jobs?  More than a third (38%) of news directors say such proficiency is “extremely important” when they decide on a new producer hire. Over half (53%) say “somewhat important.” Very similar results were found for reporter hires.  Forty percent of news directors consider new media skills “extremely important” when making hiring decisions, over half (53%) say “somewhat important.”

The research paper, “New Media Skills Competency Expected of TV Reporters and Producers: A Survey” was presented at the AEJMC convention in Denver.  Thanks to Nancy Dupont for the tip and to Suzanne Lysak for sharing the paper.

According to the report: among all cell phone owners:
• 54% have used their mobile device to send someone a photo or video
• 23% have accessed a social networking site using their phone
• 20% have used their phone to watch a video
• 15% have posted a photo or video online
• 11% have purchased a product using their phone
• 10% have used their mobile phone to access a status update service such as Twitter

Gegg says mobile is a vital part of the station’s multimedia strategy.

“Our viewers and users are always on the go, so with our mobile products (including our apps for the iPhone and Android), they can get the news they need at anytime, and anywhere. Our page views on our mobile product climb every month,” Gegg says.

For example, he points out that from May to July 2010, mobile usage of WMTV content climbed 51 percent.

“Also, we consider our viewers/users our eyes in the community. As noted in a recent Pew study, 54% of all cell phone owners have sent a photo or video via their cell phones. Viewer-submitted photos and video is so valuable to us during severe weather and breaking news situation,” Gegg says.

In addition, WMTV reporters and photographers send video and pictures from breaking news scenes that the station can post instantly on the website and social media sites, as well.

Gegg says mobile strategies are going to become increasingly important for journalists to understand.

Media Shift recently explored the various ways in which the content farm works.

But the approach to churning out that content varies from how-to articles (Demand Media), vertical topics (High Gear Media), hyper-local (Patch.com) and sports (Bleacher Report, SB Nation). And at some sites, writers get paid a small amount, while at others they toil for free.

A roundtable of representatives from various content farms talked about the ways in which this is different from citizen journalism and why some people may want to write for free.

Content farms may provide opportunities for writers to get noticed and a forum for those who are passionate about a particular topic or who want to promote a particular agenda or point of view.

Frankly, I think the term is still a bit undefined, but the potential for impact on journalists’ salaries is there, as well as on the overall profitability of news sites. It’s a term we’ll want to learn more about.

Plan ahead and multi-task

 Because a solo journalist is responsible for everything from transportation to transmission, another time saver is to map the route to each location before leaving to avoid backtracking and other delays. Navigation systems like Garmin or Nuvi are must-haves for many VJs.

Multi-tasking behind the wheel is part of almost every VJ’s day. “While on the road, I make phone calls to interview subjects,” says Torres. “It’s still legal to talk on the phone while driving in Colorado.” He also works in close collaboration with KUSA’s assignment desk editors, who will make calls for him while he’s shooting.

Find fast, free WiFi

Torres says it’s a good idea to search the Web in advance for locations with strong WiFi signals to save time feeding in the story. “The reason I file by WiFi is because the transfer rate is usually faster,” says Torres. “My favorite place to transfer from is a hotel. I’ll usually set up in a lobby and log in to their WiFi for free.” Witha phone company air card, Torres says it usually takes about 40 minutes to send a 1:40 package. Using a WiFi connection and the free FTP program FileZillait typically takes about half as long. On a really fast connection, Torres says, he’s fed packages in as little as 3 minutes.

Torres often works the late shift and it’s part of his job to cut a separate V/O-SOT on his story for the morning news. Instead of feeding that piece in from the field, he’ll save time by putting it on a USB thumb drive and taking it back to the station.

Solo journalists also learn to save time by asking for help when they need it. Some VJs have been known to enlist a bystander to find people to interview so they can keep shooting b-roll.

Torres has been a backpack journalist since 2004 and he’s worked hard to become a better photographer. You can see the result of his effort in this story, which just won an honorable mention in the NPPA regional competition for best solo video (in depth).

Sourced from: NewsLab

“Stay in school forever,” one 2009 grad advised this year’s class. “It all goes down hill from here.”

How tough is it out there? The perecentage of students who graduated in the spring of 2009 who had at least one job offer dropped by nearly 10 percentage points compared to a year earlier. Less than half the graduates had landed a full-time job by the end of October. And finding work was particularly hard for racial and ethnic minorities; the employment gap was the largest ever recorded.

The pain isn’t spread evenly, however. Print journalism majors had an easier time finding work than broadcast students, the report says, and they made more money. The average starting salary at daily newspapers was $27,000 compared to just $24,900 in television–the lowest-paying of all the sectors surveyed. Advertising and PR jobs were among the highest paid at $31,000 plus, and even radio jobs paid more than TV: $29,000 on average.

Any glimmers of hope? A few. Close to 60% of graduates who reported their employment status in 2010 had found full-time work. Even so, only about half of all 2009 journalism grads who had jobs were actually working in a communications field.

Lauderdale says we’ll probably never go back to the days of a single-platform job and that means the “old formula” for finding a job is often not enough.

She says that before the year 2000, you needed a degree, experience with a college media outlet and possibly an internship.  Now, Lauderdale says, you need:

• A degree that covers all platforms
• Emphasis in 1-2 specific skill sets
• Experience with student media
• An internshp is essential
• Basic computer/Web publication skills
• Double major is a plus
• Entrepreneurial skills a plus

When it comes to writing, Lauderdale says everyone should know AP Style, grammar, spelling and timecode (or how to log media).

“Every journalist needs writing and image composition skills,” Lauderdale says.

Bottom line on getting a job?

“Graduates need more than a degree,” Lauderdale says.  “They need  technical ability, internship experience, clips on a portfolio site, a non-academic reference and a love of storytelling.”

That’s what multimedia guru Stephen Quinn believes.  Quinn, who teaches at Deakin University in Australia, shared a bit of his enthusiasm about mobile journalism at the World Jounalism Education Conference in South Africa.

Quinn calls mobile phones a “Swiss army knife” option for journalists.

“They’re compact, light and discreet,” Quinn said.  “Using cell phones forces journalists to think differently.  This new notion of mobility changes the way you perceive and operate in the world.  It’s all about connection.  Reporting involves thinking about how to find wifi, you have to be thinking about battery power.  And our concept of news is broadening – if I can get there, it’s news.”

Quinn says these new capabilities also change audience expectations.

“They know we can get there and expect to get the info,” Quinn says.  Plus, he believes it will help us reach new audiences.

“Mojo appeals to different demos; it appeals to younger audiences,” says Quinn.

Quinn says mojo is part of a change in visual standards, too.  He believes people become more accepting of low quality video, if the content is something they find compelling.

Quinn shared a list of free software programs that mojos can use in live reporting:

• Qik
• Kyte
• Bambuser
• Shozu
• Flixwagon
• Livestream

Quinn says his favorites are Qik and Bambuser for their ease of use.  He also likes the relatively inexpensive tools created by Vericorder.

When it comes to its uses and limitations, Quinn says right now the technology has not evolved enough to make mojo useful for long-form journalism.  However, Quinn says mojo is great for breaking news as evidenced by cell phone coverge of  protests in Burma, elections in Iran, the Jakarta hotel bombings, Haiti quake and the Moscow subway bombings.

Still, Quinn urges journalists not to get all caught up in the “shiny.”

“Pocket journalism is powerful, but needs it still needs a brain behind it,” Quinn says.

Maybe. Including “vox pops” or person-on-the-street sound bites or quotes won’t automatically make a story stronger. Often, they’re just window dressing. I can’t count the number of times I was sent out to get citizens’ reactions to some development or other and most of the people I talked to had no idea what I was asking about.

Does that mean the public is stupid or woefully uninformed? Not necessarily.At least half the problem with this kind of reporting is that we ask the wrong people the wrong questions.

Choose the right place

Where do you go to find people for reaction stories? A public place near the office with lots of people, right? It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that few shoppers or commuters have informed opinions about every issue you could possibly bring up.

When you’re working on a reaction story, you’ll have better luck getting usable sound or quotes if you find people who actually care about the topic. That means you have to go to a place where they’re likely to gather. Need parents for an education story? Try a school parking lot or a soccer field. A health study? Ask people going and coming from a free clinic instead of a supermarket. It takes more effort, obviously, but the payoff is usually worth it.

Ask the right questions

Finding the right people is only half the solution, though. You need to ask questions differently than you would when talking to officials or other people who are accustomed to being interviewed. Don’t start with an agenda and ask them to fill in the blanks. It’s almost never productive to ask what people think of a pending proposal to…whatever.

Ask open-ended questions about the topic in general to learn what people are really concerned about and what they think should be done. If they don’t tell you what you expect to hear, maybe that’s your story.

Stories, not anecdotes

“Real people” often show up at the top of stories and never appear again. You know the drill: “Joe Smith has been looking for work for seven months, since he was laid off from his job at the manufacturing plant. He’s not alone….”

Anecdotal leads turn people into props or window dressing. If you really want to tell a character-driven story, the story has to be in large part about the character. And that doesn’t just mean bringing him or her back at the end. You know that drill too: “For Joe Smith, the bad news on unemployment means he’ll have to keep looking.”

Stories are stronger when characters get more than a hello and goodbye. An anecdote may be a good way to hook the audience but central characters will keep them reading or watching all the way to the end.

Sourced from: NewsLab