More than a year ago we reported CNN was hiring what they call “all-platform journalists” to expand their coverage in ten U.S. cities. So far, they’ve hired four. Victor Hernandez, director of coverage, says it’s because they’ve had trouble finding people…
Month: September 2009
Making Flip cams do more
Why social media matters to journalists
How newsrooms deal with trauma
Some news stories have lasting psychological effects on journalists. Just ask anyone who covered the 9/11 attacks or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But traumatic effects like stress disorders aren’t confined to major national disasters, as the staff of WGAL-TV…
Keep your multimedia voice healthy
What’s the most harmful thing you can do to your voice? That’s an easy one: Smoke. When I first started working at CBS News, I sat across from Dallas Townsend, the longtime radio anchor of the morning World News Roundup.…
Shoot with your ears
There’s something missing from a lot of television and online video stories, and without it, those stories fall flat. Every picture should have a sound to convey the full experience of what it was like to be there. That’s what…
Story structure for the Web
When it comes to writing, what works on TV or in print doesn’t necessarily work on the Web. Stories that begin with an anecdotal lead may send online readers clicking away, if they can’t figure out quickly what the story…
Backpack journalism explained
Whatever you call them–VJs, MMJs or backpackers–reporters who shoot and edit their own material are becoming more common in large market television stations. WUSA-TV in Washington, DC, was the first in a top-10 market to make solo journalists the norm.…
Live via Skype, deconstructed
Going live on TV used to require a truck and a signal–microwave or satellite–to get the story back to the station for broadcast. Obviously, that’s no longer the case. Now all you need is a Webcam and the Internet to…
Avoiding early burnout
A reporter in her early 20s starts losing her hair. Another loses weight and has symptoms of depression. Everyone knows journalism is a tough business, but that doesn’t make it any easier to cope with the stress of feeling overworked…