Can you be a good TV photojournalist and a lousy storyteller? Absolutely. Fabulous images alone won't tell a great story. Award-winning videographer Nathan Thompson thinks of each story as a puzzle with five main pieces. If any one of them is missing, he says, the …
Do you write more than you read? One way to become a better writer is to read more. Here's how the Portuguese author Jose Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, once described his writing routine: "I write two pages. And then I read and …
We're starting the New Year here at NewsLab by looking back at the year before--just as we did at this time a year ago. In 2012, our readers not only wanted practical tips, they also gravitated toward posts about the state of the news business. …
It's a map. It's a timeline. It's photos and video and text and links. But that's not all you get from the new online tool Meograph. You can also add a voice-over to tell a complete story, with the bells and whistles providing context--the fourth dimension, …
The TV business runs on numbers. So it's really no surprise that networks from ABC to Fox are ramping up their efforts to offer news aimed at Hispanic viewers. The real wonder is that it took so long. For years, Latinos were mostly ignored by the …
This isn't a new idea, but it's remarkably successful and so, worth revisiting. Local television stations that are smart about using #hashtags on Twitter can build their audience and amplify their coverage. That's obvious when it comes to big events like Hurricane Sandy. By one count, …
Organized chaos. That's how Lee Zurik of WVUE in New Orleans describes his work days. And no wonder. He anchors two prime time newscasts every night and also serves as the station's chief investigative reporter. How does he manage to keep producing award-winning work? We asked …
What can you do when the network sucks up all the air time on Election Night? Convinced that cut-ins twice an hour just wouldn't cut it, anchor Amy Wood expanded her station's 2012 coverage online using a relatively new video chat tool, Spreecast. The result? "Nine …
Words have power and the most powerful word in a sentence should come last. I could have written: Words have power and the last word should be the most powerful one in a sentence. But that would have put the emphasis on "sentence" when I …
Great photojournalists are sticklers about their gear. They check it thoroughly before and after every shoot. They supplement the standard-issue package with specialty items, from dimmers to clothespins to GoPros. They experiment and improvise, always on the hunt for new accessories that will save time or …
What does social media have to do with journalism? Everything, says Bea Chang, social media manager at KARE-TV in Minneapolis. Facebook is one of the best ways to expand the reach of your stories if you know how to use it. And Twitter has become …
Video journalist Anne Herbst firmly believes in preparation. She does research on stories before leaving the newsroom. She shows up to assignments early so she can meet people and figure out in advance who might be a strong character. And she writes fast--an essential skill …
