Local TV News: A broken toy?
by: Jacqueline A. Ingles
I have been working in TV news for nearly five years. And, while I do not believe TV news is a broken toy, I do think it is a toy that has been assembled without instructions— perhaps a few screws are missing or loose.
What do you mean by this you ask? Well, local television stations have a great deal of power to enter your living room or business on a daily basis and provide you with need to know information. In other words, the layout is there for greatness, but somehow, stations are taking the turnoff that leads to mediocre. I believe this is happening for the following reasons:
1) If it bleeds it leads: Almost all stations are quick to jump on crime. Nine times out of ten, if there is a crime that has occurred, this will take precedence over education reports, economic reports, etc. Sure, the crime may only impact a neighborhood, whereas the others stories reach thousands of people–it is the salacious nature of crime that pushes it to the top of the list. Now, do not get me wrong, if a serial killer is on the loose, by all means, let people know to be on the lookout. But, how many times do you hear about crime stories like a murder and there is no follow up? One day, the murder is covered and perhaps, if a news director thinks it is warranted, you will cover the funeral. Maybe. This motto has also given rise to niche journalism. Why should you have to wait through crime stories if your only interest is sports? That is why ESPN is likely to get to ESPN 50—they can cater to sports by state and still keep viewers coming.
2) 1:30: Ever read viewer comments and hear, ‘There is so much more to this story?’ Often times, there is, but reporters are given a minute and thirty seconds to tell a story. On occasion, my work has exceeded that mark and producers simply say, ‘Make some cuts, my show is over.’ That is the bottom line,. Make the cuts to make the time slot. It is very hard to provide an in-depth, thorough piece of work in television news. I no longer have doubts why so many journalists seek to enter long-form journalism. I will also add, this is where newspaper writers have the advantage over TV reporters. Words can take you places video cannot and can get you there in a more descriptive way. Plus, you can re-read a print article. How many people outside of those interviewed actually go to a station’s web site and re-watch a story?
Police involved in medical bill dispute: kxan.com
(compare the video version to the print version)
Note: In the story above, I could have made a three to four minute piece, but, I was limited. Even the man’s wife commented below the story how there was so much more to say. Bottom line, I had to get to the nuts and bolts to my viewer in less than two minutes.
3) Daily Turns: This definitely coincides with #2 on this list. Meeting deadlines is stressed so much in local news it can come at the cost of having a great story compared to a good story. It is understandable that without a deadline, producers run the risk of empty shows. But, there is a flaw with the system. For example, lets say you are working on a domestic violence survivor story and you are calling around all day and do find a survivor that will go on camera. BUT this person will only go on camera if agree to not use their true identity and only shoot their hands. While this is done a lot to protect abuse survivors, most news directors want their audience to not be looking at hands, but the person’s face as they speak. So, this being the only interview you can get, you rush out, grab it and decide to go with it. Then, at 3:30 p.m., (assume your deadline is 5 p.m.), a survivor is located that will show his/her face, provide photos documenting their abuse, etc. Well, by this time, it is too late to interview survivor #2, ingest clips, edit and then FTP in. This is not to say your story would is not already good, but it could have been great–time just did not allow it.
Note: I do believe planning ahead on certain stories can lead to better reports. Sure, a reporter can call around days before to find a domestic violence survivor. If you have the ability to do so, great. However, I have often planned stories and then at the last minute come in to find we are short staffed and I am on to a more lead-able story.
4) Misuse of Technology: Modern technology has made a good amount of gadgets (iPad, Skype, flip cams, etc) available to reporters. But, just because the technology exists does not mean you should use it. Ever see a Skype live shot compared to a true live shot? Skype is grainy, not very good color and can be on a bit of a delay. Considering all those factors, you still see stations turning to Skype live shots just so the anchors can say, “Joining us via Skype is XYZ.” Stations need to stop sacrificing quality for the sake of using an emerging technology. Or, you often times see reporters shooting packages with flip cams just to boast that they shot with a miniature camera. Sure, if your live shot goes down and you can throw up a Skype live shot to save the day, more power to you. And yes, sometimes, using a flip cam can lead to better video. For instance, I was shooting a package about teens that managed to have city council pass a ban on texting while driving. I wanted to film the teens while driving but the big camera made that impossible, so I turned to flip cam.
Overall, know when to use emerging technology and have good reason. Don’t use it to be a show off or be fancy when their is no real benefit to your viewers.
I would like to hear from other reporters, producers and photographers about changes that could be made to rebuild the news toy. What could be done differently? Let us know on Twitter @SPJGenerationJ or use #GenJ in your tweet.
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.
Tags: advice, broadcast news, Gen J, Gen Jers, generation j, journalism, journalist, journalists, new media, news, newsroom, newsrooms, Society of Professional Journalists, spj, storytelling, tv news, twitter, young journalists, young reporters
December 30th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
I think you express some of the common frustrations of many reporters, not only for TV but for print too. I agree with many of them. But here’s the thing – we have the Internet now. The 3 minutes of a more in-depth look at your story may not be able to fit into a broadcast, but you could post the whole package on the station’s website. Yes, this means reporters and producers have to do more editing and write one voiceover for the TV version and another voiceover for the Internet version. But it could be done. The challenge to all of us in the news business, in my opinion, is to learn how to use the Internet and its cheap, plentiful space for the more in-depth stories we want to tell until we can find another way.
January 4th, 2012 at 5:38 pm
Another problem, at least in my area: Female anchors and reporters at several stations wearing sleeveless blouses and skin-tight outfits. It’s an ugly return to sexism at its worst, recalling the “weather bunnies” of the 1950s and 60s.
For a while, my community – South Florida – benefitted from having numerous excellent female anchors and reporters whose professionalism and reporting skills led the pack.