TheRealShame's blog

I posted a draft of this as a comment back on the KEZI thread -- a few people saw it and liked it, so I'm reposting it as its own entry in the hopes that Lynn will front-page this and we can start a dialog about the VJ change, control room automation, and whatever else is coming down the pipe that gets your panties in a bundle.

I'll just say it: The VJ concept in and of itself is not a bad idea.

The current model for TV news (reporter, photographer, live truck engineer) dates back to a time when you needed specialized skills to perform all those duties.

Technology has finally caught up with our industry -- anyone with a $1,200 HD camcorder can shoot video that looks better than a $15,000 Sony manufactured 10 years ago.

Given the plummeting price of equipment, why in the world would a TV station only want cameras in the hands of 1/4 of the newsroom staff?? That's crazy! Shouldn't a newsroom that's in the business of gathering pictures have cameras in the hands of as many people as possible?

Live trucks still require some degree of engineering skill, but even that's changing -- first with omnidirectional and auto-directional digital microwave equipment, and not too far around the corner, WiMax will have enough bandwidth to stream live broadcast-quality video from a laptop computer, making the truck totally irrelevant in metro areas.

If you were to truly train a newsroom as VJs, and give them the time to turn great stories, I'm convinced a newsroom could produce a better product, with more news, more cameras, and more people.

So what are you going to do about it? Click through for my suggestions.