By: Mike Brannen

I might be biased in saying journalists are the only people who can justify having a cell phone or smartphone out in the open, or carried in the hand, at all times. With the nature of our business and the technology available to us, we are seemingly required to be accessible at every instant.

Yet, I see non-journalists, people in no way associated with the news biz, constantly toying with their phone. I wonder, what’s so important that they are doing?

Case in point, one of the TV reporters I work with in Seattle told me a story from about 2008. She was at a fundraising dinner, and immediately after the meal, she noticed everyone at the table with their face down, looking at their phone. She was without a smartphone, but admitted her phone was sitting on the table. While she says the story was about how she was “out of touch” and in need of a new smart phone, to me the story really was about the insensitivity of people these days.

It bothers me when I am having a face-to-face conversation with someone, and they insist on spending most of it looking at the phone than making eye contact. Such a display tells me you that you are not interested in what I have to say, and you clearly would rather be talking to someone else. How would you feel if someone verbally said, “I’ll stand near you, but I won’t look at you and I’ll have my attention focused elsewhere.” What audacity, but that’s exactly what happens!

So, I ask you, please be considerate and keep the phone aside when you are out with folks who are trying to talk to you.

Unless you are a journalist. Then I understand.

Mike Brannen is a morning newscast producer for KIRO7, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. He recently received a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed his thesis, Motivational Use of Twitter. He previously worked multiple positions at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri during the past four years.

By: Jacqueline Ingles

Interns often pick my brain about ‘messing up’ on camera and ‘stumbling’ over words on-air and how mortified they would be. I will be the first to say that far worse things are going to happen to you in front of and behind the camera. These instances shouldn’t be seen as failures, but learning experience and rites of passage.

Here are a few things that have happened to me that I can chuckle at now, but wanted to hide in a hole when they happened.

1) THE FLYING TAMPON

Back while reporting in Georgia we had a massive flood hit Hamilton County in north Florida. I headed out to meet with the director of FEMA for an interview.
Since my purse is more like a mini camera bag, I jammed by lav mic into it and headed out. When I met him and took out my microphone, some how, a tampon, wrapped in its bright orange covering, got tangled in the cord. When I grabbed the microphone out of my bag, the tampon flew threw the air and hit the FEMA director right in the thigh!
What made matters worse is that he didn’t address it and nor did I. It was like the big orange elephant in the room. Eventually, the interview ended, he turned away and I snatched that personal product right back up.

Now, what I should have done was likely made a joke and said something like, ‘Isn’t that ironic, a tampon hits you on a flooding story!’ Would have really been a better ice breaker than being completely uncomfortable.

2) WIND GUSTS ARE A DRESSES WORST ENEMY

This embarrassing moment actually happened this past Easter weekend thanks to unpredictable Texas weather. I headed out to an area lake to talk to boaters about drought conditions and how water levels are low. Clad in my pink dress, I took to the shore. While shooting b-roll, a wind gust rolled through and decided to take my dress bottom up over my head. Well, everyone lakeside was able to see my bunny print underwear. Nothing ruins your street credibility more than that. But, lesson learned: Don’t wear flowing dresses out on windy days. I was able to quickly laugh this one off, but I am still haunted that there are viewers out there that can legitimately say, ‘I saw her in her undies,’

3) FROZEN STIFF

During a liveshot following the gay pride parade last year, the anchor tossed to me and off I went on my live introduction. Then, out of no where, I completely lost my train of thought and blanked on live television for roughly the seven longest seconds of my life. What came out next was a series of ‘ughs’ and sighs and me breathing. It was so bad, my photographer was shaking his head like SAY SOMETHING. I did, eventually, but I cannot even remember what it was. At the time, I was completely new to live shots in the field. What was going through my mind was, ‘Jackie, you are an idiot and you completely embarrassed yourself.’ Well, usually I am my own worst critic but it really was that bad.

What I have learned is to have a go to line. If I blank, which sometimes in the rush of things can happen, I always remember, you have a script in your Droid phone, it is OK to look down and if all else fails toss it back in the anchors hands.
I should have just said, ‘The parade was a good time, let’s take a look.’ But, when the camera is rolling on you, sometimes thoughts don’t fire normally in your brain. It has been 17 months since that ‘episode’ happened and it hasn’t happened since. Yes, I stumble at times, but the recovery is quicker and each live shot is an opportunity to sharpen skills. The fact is, unless you go out of bounds on live television (get naked or say a swear word), your news director understands you are learning. Young reporters should learn early on, they are human beings too and humans are allowed to make mistakes.

4) GOOSE IS TO GEESE, DEER IS NOT TO DEERS?

Packages usually get a buzz banner at the top for readers to see and hopefully keep their attention. One of my first stories was about deer hunters and how they were bringing tons of money into the local economy. I went ahead, wrote my script and had my producer look it over. When it aired, I was patting myself on the back for reporting on something that I had never done. Then, came story review day at the station. What my news directors brought to my attention is that the banner that ran through the entire package read, “Deers Bring Hunters, Money.” I am an absolute stickler about grammar and the English language. I could not believe I made such a simple mistake. Deer, the word, can be both singular and plural. In my run to get things done, my genius self added an “S” on. Once I noticed this, it didn’t matter what the package was about, you could not take your eyes off the error. I am not sure what could have been worse, calling a flock of moose meese?
I actually made the experience into a joke and always tell my producers, let’s make sure deers don’t run through this script. Now, we are hunting for those elusive mistakes!

A lot of people may question why I would admit to embarrassing moments and if I worry about employers reading this. I am not worried one bit. These mistakes and mortifying moments absolutely made me a better reporter. What would be more heinous to do would have been to not learn from these experiences. I know that more errors and mistakes are ahead in life. It is how you handle these mistakes and failures that will determine your success in the business.

Jacqueline Ingles is a multi-platform reporter for KXAN-TV in Austin, Texas. She writes, shoots, edits, fronts her story and then provides a more in-depth story version on her station’s web site daily. She founded the blog “In Ingles Please” in early 2010. A native of Chicago, Jacqueline received a master’s in broadcast journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She also graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University-Chicago

By Mike Brannen

Working in a newsroom is like living in an amphitheater in which Socrates or Plato would lecture. Ethics are at the center of every disputed discussion, with each side presenting valued arguments justifying their positions. Of course, reaching an agreement is quite a feat.

When it comes to journalism, I am entitled to my opinions, many of which were shaped during my college classes on reporting. After graduating in Missouri, I landed a job with the CBS affiliate in Seattle. Naturally, I have butted heads with co-workers from time to time on the way we operate. Every newsroom faces this.

Perhaps the most difficult ethical topic (at least in the TV news biz) involves what is appropriate for air, and what is appropriate for social media. I am led to believe most news managers’ instant reaction is this: what isn’t fit for air isn’t fit for tweets or Facebook updates. Newsrooms have a right to take that stand, and for the most part I support it.

However, this hard and fast view may be a disservice to our audience.

Steve Sternberg of USA Today wrote a fantastic article exploring social media’s powerful role when people face disaster (i.e. Japan). He writes that in times of crisis, social media has empowered people to “share vivid, unfiltered images, audio and text reports before governments or more traditional media can do so.”

Social media is a buffet of information. Some is interesting, some is boring. Some is appealing, some is trash. Some is true, some is false.

We journalists choose to present information we are certain is true. It at times feels like a curse on our profession, because there are some stories where we just know something is true, but we haven’t determined the facts for ourselves. Therefore, we can’t share with the audience all that we know.

Filtering information for social media would be a dilemma for Walter Williams, founder of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism, and author of the Journalist’s Creed. In it he wrote, “I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.”

Williams supports free information, but defining his “welfare of society” is subject to interpretation. When it comes to times of crisis, do we lower the threshold over what’s tasteful or not?

Are we more likely to show violent graphic images? I think most journalists wish we had the power to disseminate all information freely without consequence, without fear of harm or retribution. But, we do filter information because we understand the sensitivity of our audience. They say the truth hurts, but journalists are tough enough to take it. Journalists are called to this profession because we believe knowledge is power.

So like Socrates and Plato, wisdom is a virtue we seek. And like the Greek philosophers, journalists who possess wisdom face the predicament of what is ethical and who is right. Unfortunately, as it has been for centuries, there’s never a hard and fast rule that will satisfy everyone. So the debate continues…

Mike Brannen is a morning newscast producer for KIRO7, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. He recently received a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed his thesis, “Motivational Use of Twitter.” He previously worked multiple positions at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri during the past four years.

By: Jacqueline Ingles

The best advice from my college journalism professor was to always remember journalists are like doctors, people choose to specialize in different things. For example, an ER doctor loves the rush and being under the gun and I think a reporter who strives for breaking news is pretty comparable. But for some of us, we want to do it all, like a general medicine doctor, that is why we have general assignment reporters.

Last week, a fellow Medill graduate in my class, James Foley, was taken prisoner in Libya. He was reporting there for his newspaper when his van was shot at and he was taken prisoner by armed men.
James is still being held prisoner as his family awaits word if he is safe, etc. Stories like this typically make headlines and the entire world gasps that “an American journalist” would be taken prisoner.
I believe a free press is necessary and journalists do play an important role in our society. However, I know that James wanted to do international reporting and that job comes with inherent risk.
Did James think he would be taken prisoner? Probably not. Did he likely know the possibility existed? You bet.

I am praying for James to return safe, but I think there is a great lesson in his story: know what you are signing up for.

Niche journalism has definitely arrived in the field and it is here to stay. Some people are great food writers, movie reviewers and then we have journalists who thrive on politics and love sitting through House sessions. For me, that is like watching paint dry. On the other hand, if there is crime scene tape, blood spatter and a body, I want to be the first on the scene in the thick of it all. I have a few friends who even got out of the business because they couldn’t do crime.

The likelihood when you start off reporting is that you will be a general assignment reporter and cover it all. Then, some people naturally find their fit as an investigative journalist, a political reporter, consumer reporter, etc.

I think before someone specializes in a niche they really need to ask themselves a few questions. For example, if you are thinking you want to cover the military and wars, you might ask yourself:

1) Would you be willing to be an embedded reporter and travel to Iraq or Afghanistan?
2) Do you want to spend time on military bases and likely be interviewing generals, strategists, etc?
3) Did you know that there are handbooks on military titles and how people should be supered in broadcast work and how to abbreviate for print?
4) Are you willing to travel far?
5) Are you willing to learn about international affairs?
6) Are you willing to deal with the red tape that goes along with getting access to bases and officials?
7) Would you be willing to live overseas and/or be away from home for long periods of time?

Every person needs to use critical thinking skills before committing to a certain job. I cannot speak for James Foley, but I have no doubt the dangers of heading to Libya crossed his mind before he got aboard a plane there. The obvious thing to keep in mind is to never do anything you are not comfortable doing.

Jacqueline Ingles is a multi-platform reporter for KXAN-TV in Austin, Texas. She writes, shoots, edits, fronts her story and then provides a more in-depth story version on her station’s web site daily. She founded the blog “In Ingles Please” in early 2010. A native of Chicago, Jacqueline received a master’s in broadcast journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She also graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University-Chicago