Broadcast news researcher and educator Bob Papper says there’s one criterion essential for getting a producing job. “You have to be able to breathe on your own,” says Papper. So, that’s a joke, but it’s not that funny to news directors like Adam Bradshaw of FOX5 in Las Vegas. “Producers, producers, producers; we need producers,” …
Continue reading ‘How to apply for a newscast producing job’ »
Brit Stack was like many journalism students; she was learning about reporting and shooting, editing and writing and keeping her eye out for reporting jobs. But Brit was also smart enough to grab an opportunity, so when she got a chance to take a 6-week producing internship in Jackson, Miss., she jumped at it. “It …
Continue reading ‘Would you make a good newscast producer?’ »
What exactly is the value of a journalism degree? Are J-schools really preparing students for the media jobs of the future? The questions aren’t new, but they’ve come up again in connection with the selection of a new dean for Columbia’s prestigious graduate school of journalism. If you haven’t read it, Michael Wolff’s take in …
Continue reading ‘The great J-school debate, revisited’ »
New research about social TV holds some interesting possibilities for newscast producers. An article about the study from Time Warner Research Council found that interacting with social media actually keeps viewers more engaged with the programming than those simply watching the content. The researchers used biometric monitoring and eye tracking to gauge 126 Millennial viewers’ …
Continue reading ‘Keeping viewers’ attention for the newscast’ »
In an on-demand world, technology has and will continue to change the newscast producer’s job. “A digital rundown allows you to be more immediate. It’s the news, not the ‘olds,’” says Rick Russell, news director at WJTV in Jackson, Miss. “Producers must be organized and able to change things on the fly.” The station uses …
Continue reading ‘Producing newscasts for speed’ »
Forget buzz – the noise surrounding social TV is ear-splitting. In fact, it’s tough to find a publication dealing with media trends that’s not talking about various efforts to leverage social media and television viewing. But where are all the journalists in this discussion? Well, more than 200 local TV news stations are banking on …
Continue reading ‘Social TV may mean money and more loyal viewers for news’ »
Where are the jobs in TV news? Just ask news director Bruce Barkley of WAPT in Jackson, Miss. “Want to be a producer? asks Barkley. He’s not kidding, either. Year after year, news directors lament that for every reporter job they get dozens of applicants, if not more. For a producer job, some in small …
Continue reading ‘Help Wanted: TV producers in demand’ »
According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, “the Internet is slowly closing in on television as Americans’ main source of national and international news.” OK, so that’s not really a surprise, but what is interesting is another of the survey’s findings. In 2010, for the first time, the Internet has …
Continue reading ‘Serving the “Web-first” generation’ »
According to research at the University of Mississippi, a review of more than 500 job openings in television news revealed producer jobs topped the list. Here’s how about half the openings in the Top 10 TV companies broke down: producer (18.8%), photographer (12.2%), reporter (11.6%). Bob Noonan, assistant news director at WREG-TV in Memphis says producers are always …
Continue reading ‘TV news producers still in demand’ »
“The greatest innovator and producer in the history of television journalism.” That’s how Ralph Engelman of Long Island University sums up the late CBS News great Fred Friendly, even as he wonders whether students today have ever heard of him. Engelman’s new book “Friendlyvision” describes the man who was Edward R. Murrow’s producer on “See …
Continue reading ‘Who was Fred Friendly?’ »