Ian Shapira leads a double life. By day, he's a reporter at the Washington Post. By night, he's a graduate student in interactive journalism at American University, learning a whole new way of telling stories. And it hasn't been easy. Shapira is no rookie; he's been …
The Web was supposed to help news organizations expand their reach and make it easy for people to find the news they want when they want it. But when it comes to local television, it seems, that's just not happening. According to a new report from …
Reporters who want to anchor often get their first opportunity as a "fill in" when a colleague is away, say on a summer vacation. Some people slide right into the chair and do just fine. But others worry that something will go wrong and they …
Television news has always been a team sport. Almost nothing gets on the air that hasn't been touched by several sets of hands. Reporters, photographers, video editors, producers and managers all influence the content. But in many TV newsrooms, there's rarely much discussion about how …
For all the talk about the need for innovation, most local television newscasts still look almost the same as they did decades ago. Even some of the makeovers attempted in the past year or so haven't amounted to much more than tweaking. Some stations have …
As television newsrooms expect more of their journalists to work solo, the trend is affecting both the process of newsgathering and the product that goes on the air. Many news managers believe VJs offer more flexibility at a lower cost with little or no reduction …
Mark Twain is one of the most quotable of American writers, especially on the subject of writing. Two of my favorites: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." And: "Substitute 'damn' every time …
How many news sites make it easy for readers to report errors? Very few, according to MediaBugs, a pilot project in the San Francisco area that's trying to hold the news media accountable and get them to fix "correctable mistakes." The group reports that three-quarters …
If there’s one thing most solo journalists will agree on, it’s that doing it all requires terrific time management skills. Backpack journalist Kevin Torres of KUSA-TV in Denver literally backtimes his entire workday, setting mini-deadlines for every step. That way, he knows when he needs …
Travel the country as I often do and you won't find much local news on the radio. Consolidation has just about killed it. As a result, big city all-news radio stations and networks have lost their farm systems. "We don't have the minor league teams …
Too many stories depend almost entirely on officials for information and sound bites. Watch a newscast or read a news site on any given day and notice who gets to talk. Are most of them people with titles and business cards? Would those stories be …
The National Enquirer's story about what it calls "the Al Gore sex scandal" is a fascinating case study in journalism. Whatever you think about the newsworthiness of an updated police report about an incident that allegedly occurred four years ago and that police refused to investigate, …
