Oregon Media Insiders

Technology is never going to end and usually creates more employment. I never had a problem with quality looks of TV journalism just the quality of content that seldom is there. I'm still working on why a journalist is standing at a crime scene that happened hours or days ago...what's the significance?

But won't Columbia grads miss covering Twiggy The Water Skiing Squirrel ?

SCJ

Problems with your theory on VJs.

Most reporters can't shoot worth a damn and have no desire to learn. So when reporters start shooting, the video and editing will look like crap.

Most photogs don't have a good camera prescence, or aren't real good looking, or don't write well (befpre you start knocking me - I'm an award winning photog who would make a terrible on air talent)

When you eliminate the good reporters and photogs because they can't do the other half of their job, you will be losing good journalists. The news product will suffer.

Then when you have poorly-trained, non-technical, writer type who also has to run a live truck, you're asking for disaster. Live trucks at the most simple level aren't easy to run. Plus I wouldn't trust any of the reporters I've worked with to raise a mast.

So, technically, yes you could implement VJs into a newsroom. But your product on pretty much every level will suffer. Sure people will eventually learn to do two or three jobs at once. But I have interns from one of the top broadcast journalism colleges work in my station and NONE of them have the desire or ability to shoot. They learn enough to get their first job in a really small market but can't wait to move up and get rid of the camera.

By the way, newsrooms rarely put any time effort or money into training anyone or anything. So I'm not confident you would have well-trained anything out of this plan.

Some photogs see thier craft as art, something a reporter could never dream of doing.

There are subtle things that a real phtog can capture that would totally get by a VJ.

It may not matter in ratings or overall story quality, but it adds a feeling of trueness to the picture and images, the things TV are made of.

I've not had the chance to watch any local news done in HD. Can anyone tell me if its had any significant impact on the quality of the stories told? How does your average talking head shot look? Do skin blemishes and whatnot look really bad?

The focus on lower cost technology and "VJ" reporting misses the main point. The true meaning of the digital revolution is it will change the nature of how we tell stories.

With one person doing more jobs, storytelling will gradually become less neutral ("showing") and more personal ("involvement"). This is a natural function of the reporter doing all the jobs, is directly connected to opinion journalism, and could eventually move journalism away from balanced reporting.

As companies discover it takes fewer people to do the same job, journalism will turn into more of an "elite" profession, with fewer (talented, hardworking, dedicated) people doing more things.

With less people to do the job, there is less editorial oversight. Reporters will figure this out, and as they always have, learn to play the system. Editors and producers will be too busy, sitting in an edit booth making movie trailers... the “greatest hits

Where can I get an HD cam for 1200?

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

When you write “…instead of the storytelling becoming more trivial, moving to VJ's can make it more vital

I think the key to the VJ model is enjoying a happy medium of balance across the board. You can't deny that a one-man-band / Reporter&Photographer / Videojournalist can be a valuable asset to a news station of any size. I doubt many out there disagree with the fact that on some stories (meetings, press conferences, memorials, in-depth stories with a plethora of interviews over long distances), one person is typically able to handle the workload. There are obvious exceptions to the rule, but a smart news management staff who has, ideally, been out in the field with a one-man band, should be able to figure that out.

However, there's the big elephant in the room when it comes to 70-percent of the product that's going on air (breaking news, spot news, features, walk-and-talks, MOS's, 30-minute documentaries, stories on moving vehicles or out on the highway or when you're shooting houses of convicted child abusers). I think the big misunderstanding for news managers converting over to the VJ model is that they are neither willing to set foot in the field to see the cut-corners, the dying quality, the lack of intelligent b-roll and the inability to connect to an interviewee, nor are they willing to ask these soon-to-be videojournalists about the type of equipment that would work best for them in the field. News managers seem more than willing to write a paragraph or four on an interoffice memo to declare the station is moving into "the next stage of streamlining newsgathering and connecting to audiences in a digital era," but they're unwilling to have that conversation with the people who are ultimately producing the entirety of the newscast (aside from wire stories).

The V-J model will only work if it's integrated, at most, half and half with the traditional system of having reporter / photographer teams in the mix as well. Some one-man-bands are incredibly successful with investigative pieces or in-depth stories because they are smart cookies who grew up with the know-how in high school in college. However, there are too many instances when another set of eyes and ears can contribute to a story and provide a stronger product (and inevitably, contribute to the bottom line of making money) for managers to simply convert 100-percent to an un-proven model.

Take a look at how KVAL did it, or even KEZI for a while in Eugene and the outlying bureau stations: one to three one-man bands providing different types of stories to complement the rest of the newscasts. Honestly, I think a few one-man bands makes the product BETTER in the end.

And then you've got KMTR, who's figuring things out for themselves: all one-man bands doesn't necessarily work when you've got packages to turn and late breaking news or potential live hits that have to wait (or get cut from the show) because everybody's too busy with one of their eighteen jobs.

I think the part that many companies don't get (and it sounds like the major thing KEZI in Eugene isn't getting) is the fact that you cannot rely entirely on the VJ model as a solve-all to putting together a good product. You need to be willing to keep some of the things that worked (teams) as well as investing a hell of a lot of money into the people who are going to be out in the field on their own, trying to turn stories for the newscast before getting a live-hit. A station with four dayside reporter / photographer teams and two or three VJs can turn a solid half-hour or coverage in a smaller market, with a plethora of packages, VO/SOTs, perhaps some live PKGs. On the other hand, six or seven VJs end up turning six or seven VO/Bites, maybe a live VO and a hell of a lot of national wire stock and still-store maps to fill a newscast... and what kind of advertising would like to hop on-board to that, anyway?

Thanks for all the comments, some good points made! But I just have to say I don't miss "VJ-ing" in the 80's,(Read One Man Banding) in the small markets as one worked their way up the ladder. I'm skeptical of the belief that one person can consistently turn out fair, balanced and quality TV in the demanding arena that passes for local news.

Scott W.

BTW LS, keep up the good work...wee-uns from back in the day Ocho appreciate it!

I've been a VJ (in a small market) and worked with a three person team (in Portland). There is no question that technology may eliminate the live truck engineer, but its not a question of technology when it comes to the craft of taking pictures and telling stories.

The reason there are photogs and reporters is that these are different crafts needing different skill sets. The two need to understand each other and partner together in order to work more effectively, but it is very rare to find someone who can do both well.

And that brings me to my final point - when one person does both jobs neither is done in an excellent fashion. I remember trying to listen to someone answer my question and think of the followup while worrying whether my camera was aimed correctly during an interview.

Keep reporters and photogs separate so they can do their jobs!

...of this guy:

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Lynn Siprelle * Fairy Blogmother