The Blog of the Basic Reporting Class

Tips on Becoming a News Entrepreneur

2011-08-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

10 Tips

A Media Studies/Journalism Student Reports from the Field

2011-08-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when I updated you last, but in January I got hired as a Legislative Aide
for a law firm in Minneapolis. I helped their Gov Relations team at the state capitol
throughout the legislative session - sitting in on committee hearings, writing client reports,
tracking bills. It was great experience, as I'd never done legislative work before.

When session ended in May, the firm asked me to stay on. I've been doing a bit
more administrative work since then, but they give me political stuff when it comes up
(since session is over it's not as busy). I think it's a good place for right now - it's full-time
with benefits, so even the office work is worth it. Plus, I'm meeting good people and
they've said they don't want to lose me - so maybe I can get back to the capitol
again next year.

As for the skills I was taught at USF that have come in handy at work - everything!
But I would say specifically the journalism courses because a big part of the
legislative work I did required good writing skills; it was the main thing the firm
looked for and I had to submit writing samples. So although I'm not reporting,
I did have to be able to follow complex issues at the Capitol and write about
them for clients in a way that made sense to people who didn't follow politics on a daily basis.

An interesting story on social media: A Repub state senator here in MN used
Twitter to post what a Dem senator had said during a floor debate on budget
issues - the only problem was, the Repub completely misquoted her colleague
and it become a huge controversy because the Twitter post had the Dem saying
negative things about the disabled (which never actually happened). It was
taken up by the Senate Ethics Committee and got lots of media attention.
Just another reminder about the potential pitfalls of social media, if used carelessly.

We Buy the Folger Building: Playing Around with Storify

2011-08-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Professors Doing Tech Well - and Just the Opposite

2011-08-09T13:38:00.001-07:00

Springtime for bin Laden: Why we use humor to neutralize evil | Poynter.

2011-05-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Springtime for bin Laden: Why we use humor to neutralize evil | Poynter.

The Fight Song

2011-05-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Fight Song

2011-05-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Optimization Unpacked!

2011-05-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

Danny Sullivan's tips.

A very simple animation!

Linking to KDMC

2011-05-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

Knight Digital Media Center

Some student work from University of Florida.

Bin Laden's Demise in the Headlines

2011-05-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Newspaper fronts still a billboard of communal expression.

Simple Simple Slideshow

2011-05-02T22:29:00.001-07:00

How to Shoot a Basic Net-Quality News Video

2011-05-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Borrowed from the Knight Citizen News Network

Documentary-style video story

The best way to make a solid video story is to think about it the same way you think about writing a story. Indeed, it’s critical to think about how the video will “tell the story.” Once you envision what the story should “say,” it’s simply a matter of filling in the spots with the most appropriate footage. Here’s how.
Plan the shoot before you go out: Just like the elements of a good news story that are second nature to you (background, quotes from more than one source, documentation), there are basic elements of a shoot you will need to construct an interesting video story. You need a mix of shots:

Wide-angle—These shots, also known as “establishing” shots, give viewers a sense of the environment, so shoot the outside of the building or back up and shoot the entire room.
Medium—Somewhere in between wide and close-up, these shots are the ones you are probably most comfortable shooting.
Close-ups—These shots zoom in on who’s talking or what they are talking about. Remember: Always zoom first, then record, instead of recording and zooming at the same time.

A good mix would be 25 percent wide-angle, 25 percent close-ups and 50 percent medium or mid-range shots.

Breaking news/highlights/clips style video

For these types of video, you rarely know what the “story” will be in advance. You simply know that news is happening or has happened and you want to capture some essence of it on video.
For a breaking news event like a highway crash or a school shooting, you probably won’t get to the scene in time to capture the actual action. However, the reaction from witnesses and investigators as well as footage of the scene are well worth capturing.
Press conferences (if they are tied to compelling news events or delivered by news figures) can make good video and are about the easiest to shoot. You have a fixed subject and the lighting will be good (especially if there are TV cameras around).
Highlights clips, especially in sports, can be among the most popular content on any news site. Shooting sports video can be challenging, however. The constant movement of the subjects requires large capacity in the digital video file and can be hard to follow once the video is downsized and compressed for Web display. As a result, short clips of the best action is the way to go, either edited together with voice-over descriptions or linked to a news story as raw clips with caption information next to the link.

Other important tips to remember:

Be selective in shooting. There are two good reasons for this: You don’t want to waste tape and you don’t want to waste time editing.
Avoid panning, zooming. Stop recording when switching between wide, medium and close shots. Avoid zooming and panning if possible. Simply shoot a shot, stop recording, then adjust for the next shot and hit record again.
Hold your shots. Since you can make a shot shorter in the editing process—but not longer—make sure to hold each of your shots for at least 15 seconds. Even if it’s a wide environment shot that you’ll likely use for 5 seconds, shoot the full 15 seconds. You’ll be glad you did.
Be silent when you shoot. The camera will pick up every sound you make—a sigh, a cough, a chuckle or anything you say. So keep your lips zipped when recording because you won’t be able to edit out the unwanted audio later.

*The gridlines show you how to compose video using the “rule of thirds.”*

Frame your subject carefully. When framing your shot, it is best to avoid a static composition by keeping the main subject slightly off center. To do this consistently, follow the “rule of thirds,” which recommends dividing the frame, using imaginary lines, into thirds both horizontally and vertically. If you position your main subject (usually a face) near one of the intersections of these lines, you will achieve a pleasant, active composition.
Seek the best short clips. Understand that the best video stories are comprised of many short clips edited together, and your job is to get the best short clips. The best way to fully comprehend the array of clips you need to capture is to actually perform the editing—or at a minimum sit with the person who edits the video. It’s the only way to see what types of clips you shot work best and what types of clips you missed.

If you shoot video footage and hand it off to a Web producer or multimedia editor to await the final product, your video story skills will never improve.

As simple as it gets

A company called Pure Digital has released a new line of video cameras that make shooting basic video as easy as recording a conversation on an old microcassette recorder. The device is small and basically “idiot-proof” since it only has buttons for play, record, stop, forward and back. It has to be hand-held and doesn’t zoom, so it’s only appropriate for basic videography, like shooting the subject of a story so the audience can see and hear the person talk and sense their personality.

*Pure Digital video camera.*

The Tri-City Herald in Washington state purchased one of the cameras in January 2007 and deployed it within a couple hours. A reporter shot a video interview and published it on the site the same day. Web site director Andy Perdue had this to say about the trial:

“Was this video compelling? Not particularly, but it wasn’t bad. It provided a voice and face to the story, and it offered a multimedia element. It was no worse than what most local TV news stations offer at 6 and 11 p.m. Perhaps of greatest significance, our newsroom embraced this technology in record time: 2.5 hours!”

The version of the Pure Digital camera that holds 30 minutes of video sells for $129 at national retailers like Target and Best Buy (as of January 2007). There is also a 60-minute version for $179. “We plan to purchase one or two of these per month throughout the year and deploy them in our bureaus as well as in the newsroom,” Perdue said.

Do a trial run

If you are interested in learning to shoot video, get comfortable before heading out on assignment. Shoot some footage at home of your family or friends and experiment with different types of shots. Practice capturing a mix of shots, using different types of microphones, using a tripod and lighting. Shooting basic video is not difficult but, like most new technology, takes some getting used to.

Assignment:

Watch your favorite local TV news station.
Try to mimic shots you find effective.
Compare news stations.
Look for the rule of thirds.
Be a critic; it will help you improve.

Maybe HuffPost isn't a Plantation After All

2011-02-12T11:36:00.001-08:00

Food for thought. Nate Silver is a wise young man.

News reporting with a point of view: where to draw the line?

2011-02-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

News reporting with a point of view: where to draw the line?

Backing away from ‘multimedia specialist’ self branding

2009-09-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Backing away from ‘multimedia specialist’ self branding

Advice from a working reporter: Be a reporter first, to which you add multimedia skills.

Reporting Class Practices Interviewing a Cooperative Passerby

2009-08-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

Good job, class. You did ask Pat how much he made and by throwing out a high but still plausible figure -- I believe you suggested 100K -- he did answer the question. But since Patrick was doing this as an act of friendship, I cut his answer from the video.

If this had been a real interview, I certainly would have included his answer. Already we see a problem you will face as a student journalist. Your sources may think you are playing at being a journalist and that you won't use what they tell you. You need to make clear upfront that our assignments are not just class exercises and could find their way into print or online.

But even if you do that, since you are seen as a peer or even a friend, your sources may come to you after an interview and ask that some comment not be used. And when that happens, you will have an ethical problem, and we will have a nice class discussion.

By the way, it took me about 50 minutes to edit this little slice of life into rough shape. To get something more than blogworthy would have taken more interviewing time and more editing time -- and before I began I would have been better off consulting with someone who knows how to do this kind of thing right.

But even rough product is better than no product at all.

Your Blogging Responsibilities

2009-08-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Journalism I/F2009:
Your Blogging Responsibilities

Basic principle: Fulfill the basic blogging requirements and you get credit; that is, your grade will not be lowered. Blog well and you get extra credit.

1. Your own blog. You will create a personal blog to which I will link at our class blog. The minimum requirement is that over the rest of the semester you post there once every two weeks -- seven posts during the semester -- on any aspect of your growth as a journalist that interests you. Your post might be a reaction to a news item that you read in the textbook or in a newspaper or magazine or the Internet or something you hear or see on a news broadcast. You might write about something that is said in class or respond to something that happens while researching, reporting or writing a story. I am not looking for polished essay writing, though the better your entries are written the better I will like it. I am looking for quick hits, what you are thinking at the moment about journalism.

2. The blogs of your classmates. In addition to your posting once every two weeks on your own blog, you are also required to comment on the posts of classmates once a week. These posts can be short, a sentence or two in length.

3. The USF alumni blog. Any posting on these blogs will be considered extra credit.

If you have trouble setting up your blog, stay after class or make an appointment with me as soon as possible, so I can help you set up your blog.

Our Class Blog -- http://bloggnu.blogspot.com/

The USF Journalism and Media Studies Blog -- http://oliversmojo.blogspot.com/

The Ethics Class Blog -- http://bloggnu1230.blogspot.com/

How to set up a blog at blogger.com –
http://weblogs.about.com/cs/blogcreatetools/ht/blogger.htm

A Class Exercise

2008-09-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

The "War" Interview

2008-02-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

The “War” Interview

Your assignment is to find someone *on campus* who has first-hand experience of some aspect of war. Such persons might include: veterans of American wars or of any war or armed conflict that has taken place in their lifetimes; those who have not served but who have actively opposed such conflicts or who have supported such conflicts; victims of or refugees from such conflicts; loved ones of those who have fought in such conflicts; those who stood on the sidelines during such conflicts and are now having second thoughts pro or con….

The list is endless. For instance, ROTC students usually make good interviews, particularly at a school like USF where some faculty would prefer ROTC not be allowed on campus.

For most of the sources this class will choose, the basic question you are asking is how does your experience of war influence your attitude toward the current war in Iraq? What did you learn from that earlier experience? How were you changed by that experience? What action are you prepared to take now because of what happened then?

In some instances, your focus will be more on the future than the past. If you are interviewing an ROTC student, for instance, you might ask why that person decided to enlist and exactly how he or she thinks he or she will respond when faced with combat.

I urge you to get your subjects to recall specific events, not just to talk in vague philosophical terms but to talk about the things they saw, heard and did that affected them emotionally, not just intellectually.

Story length? As long as you think it needs to be.