Tips for covering state government
Anyone who's ever been assigned to cover the statehouse for television or radio knows it's a tough job. Not only do you …
Where public radio rules
Never having to worry about where the money comes from. Giving little thought to the ratings. Paying zero attention to the Web. That's the reality of public radio in Germany, where funding comes from taxes and ratings roll in just twice a year. Inforadio, the all-news …
Show meetings make a difference
By Michael Castengera, University of Georgia Increase efficiency. Improve morale. Reduce turnover. Raise the ratings. How, you ask? One word – communication. Yes, I know …
How to simplify routine stories
Every newsroom is stressed to the max these days, with too few people producing news on more platforms than ever. How can you free up time for enterprise reporting or multimedia projects? By saving time on the routine stories. Simple templates can speed up the collection …
Organizing an internship program
by Margie Ruttenberg I remember that big, bright, noisy newsroom. I was 18 years old. I was an television news intern, and I must admit, I was a bit intimidated. …
An electronic Tower of Babel
by Mike Eisgrau I'm retired after 47 years in the broadcast news business, 24 of them on the air as Senior Reporter, Editor, and News Director of the late, great, WNEW Radio News in New York. I've had to oversee young reporters, at WNEW, as news …
How to develop a corrections policy
A wag once said that being a journalist means never having to say you're sorry. Emerson Stone begs to differ. The former vice president …
Avoiding early burnout
A reporter in her early 20s starts losing her hair. Another loses weight and has symptoms of depression. Everyone knows journalism is a tough business, but that doesn't make it any easier to cope with the stress of feeling overworked and unsatisfied in your chosen …
When to post an exclusive on Twitter
Sometimes, the most amazing stories just fall into your lap. NJ Burkett, a reporter at WABC-TV in New York, says a viewer phone call led him to a story about a trail of personal information found in the street on the Upper West Side …
How to be an interactive journalist
Amy Wood is a social media maven. She's on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. She blogs, vlogs and chats. Oh, and in her spare time she anchors the news at WSPA-TV in Greenville, S.C. Why does she do it and how does she manage to get it …
TV storytelling tips
KGO-TV reporter Wayne Freedman has been telling stories for 30 years, and for almost that long, he's been willing to tell the rest of us how he does it. In his book, It Takes More than Good Looks To Succeed at TV News Reporting, Wayne …
Making meetings matter again
Meetings are TV poison, right? Who wants to look at BOPSAT (bunch of people sitting around talking), anyway? …