How would you define a memorable TV news story? For reporter Boyd Huppert, it’s a story that connects with viewers, that goes beyond the facts to touch people in some way. To achieve that goal, Huppert looks for a character and a concept that will tie his story together. And when he writes the script, he makes sure the viewer knows early on who and what the story is really about. How does he do that? For starters, Huppert makes sure to capture what he calls a “handshake shot” to use when he first mentions a character’s name. And when he introduces characters he includes meaningful details about them whose importance will become clear as the story progresses. The story Huppert referred to aired as part of his regular franchise, Land of 10,000 Stories, on KARE-TV in Minneapolis. He’d set out to do a business story about a craft brewery in town (Beer Drinking Gets Surly), but he wound up focusing on the family behind it. All the facts and stats he collected are still in the piece but Huppert’s approach makes viewers care about the story, even if they have zero interest in beer. Huppert defines focus as “a […]

From part-time, overnight camera operator in market 83 to best TV news photographer in the country in just six years: How did Nathan Thompson do it? Natural talent? Not at all, Thompson told NPPA’s News Photographer magazine. Instead, he credits hard work and a deliberate, methodical approach to learning on the job. When he started at WTVF in Nashville four years ago, Thompson carried a notebook everywhere he went, writing down editing tips, areas for improvement, station deadlines–you name it. “Anything I’d learned I’d just write it down so I could go over it later and just secure it in my memory. “The key is not assuming you know how to do everything–even if you’re good, you could be wrong and the person you learn from could be younger or less experienced than you,” says the 2012 winner of NPPA’s Photographer of the Year award. “You have to be humble enough to say I am able to learn from them.” Thompson also believes his success is partly due to his commitment to finding great characters and sticking with them. “The key to making your stories interesting is to make the people in [them] interesting.” he says. “People matter.” You can […]

One way to keep viewers engaged in a story from beginning to end is to write it as seamlessly as possible. What that means, in my mind, is making sure that every line connects to the next, whether it’s all narration or a mix of narration, sound bite…

Here we go again. Two more journalists have learned lessons the hard way. If they thought their personal lives were somehow separate from their professional lives, they’ve had to think again. And while the two cases were vastly different, the outcome was the same. Both journalists lost their jobs. Lesson 1: What you post on your personal Facebook page is not private. Duluth news director Jason Vincent was on vacation when he posted that a “drunk, homeless, Native American man” was on his list of ‘animals’ that had wandered into his yard. It didn’t take long for the word–and the outrage–to spread. Vincent quickly apologized and deleted the post. The station, KQDS, said it did not condone his behavior and was truly sorry the incident happened. But within days Vincent was out of a job. Lesson 2: If you get story ideas because of what you do outside of work, tell your employer where the stories come from. Jason Volentine reported that an atheist group wanted a Michigan town to remove a church and cross from its city seal. But he never disclosed he had a connection to the group. When his bosses at WXMI in Grand Rapids found out, Volentine was out of a job. […]

A recent survey of journalists around the world found that more than half of them use social media to find news stories and about 45% use social media to verify stories. In the United States, over 60% find or check stories via Twitter, Facebook or simi…

A recent survey of journalists around the world found that more than half of them use social media to find news stories and about 45% use social media to verify stories. In the United States, over 60% find or check stories via Twitter, Facebook or simi…

After several dismal years, the employment picture for new J-school grads continues to improve. According to the annual University of Georgia survey, more 2011 grads found jobs for the second year in a row. Within six to eight months of graduation, 62% said they were employed full time, compared to 58% the year before and just 55% in 2009. The bad news? The gains in the job market were modest, the researchers said, and 2011 graduates faced job prospects still much more limited than did graduates four years earlier. On the salary front, too, there was good news and bad news for recent graduates. For the first time in five years, salaries rose for those leaving school with an undergraduate degree, with the average starting salary hitting $31,000. The down side? When adjusted for inflation, those grads still earned less than their peers did in 2006. Even so, newly-employed J-school grads say they’re more satisfied with their work than any previous class, going back 25 years. How could that be? “I think it probably reflects that if you’ve got a job, you’re pretty happy with it,” says lead author Lee Becker. Long term, however, the report paints a grim picture. The […]