We all know the value of video in TV news, but great video alone isn't enough. As a wise photojournalist once told me, "Sound is the other half of the picture." I think of that adage often when I'm asked to critique stories in which …
Police invariably keep journalists so far back from crime scenes that it's almost impossible to see what's going on with the naked eye. That's the situation KTUU's Jason Lamb faced earlier this month, as police prepared to search a frozen lake for the body of …
Finally, some good news. Two pending cases against police departments for civil rights violations have been settled in favor of the photographers. What's not clear is what impact the settlements will have on the continuing problem of professional photojournalists being arrested for doing their jobs. In …
A new mobile app aims to give YouTube a run for its money in the "citizen journalist" assignment game. Rawporter is the latest competitor to YouTube Direct, giving newsrooms the ability to request and rebroadcast video from anyone who happens to be at or near …
Television's need for pictures can be a two-edged sword. Great pictures can make a story memorable, because viewers remember what they see longer than what they hear. But a lack of pictures can turn an important story into a throw-away anchor reader, giving it less …
Covering fires is a routine part of a television news photographer's job. Clint Fillinger has been doing it for more than 40 years in Milwaukee, so he knows the drill: Stay behind the yellow police tape and roll on everything. But this fall, while doing exactly …
by Mark Anderson, former NPPA photojournalist of the year Some of you may know that my dad recently passed. He was my hero and defined the words gentleman and optimist. When he was stationed over in France for the war, he and his Army buddies loved …
If you cover breaking news in just about any local market, you've probably had to come to terms with a new reality. Someone else is going to get pictures before you do. Their video may not be as good as yours, but they've probably captured …
What do you get when you put two terrific storytellers in charge of a PR shoot? A great story, that's what, and some useful lessons on how to capture stunning video with compact, light-weight equipment. "The Sewing Machine" is a video produced by former NBC reporter John …
Working alone in the field can be a challenge, but it's a challenge that Michelle Michael has mastered. Since 2003, she's been shooting, writing and editing her own stories for the US Armed Forces Network. This year, she won the NPPA Solo Video Journalist of …
It's the latest "must have" gadget for TV news, or so it appears from all the references I've heard lately to the GoPro camera. Small, rugged and light-weight, it shoots in HD and sports a wide-angle lens so it goes where other cameras can't. It's often used …
I'm of the belief that planning makes stories stronger, and I often talk about planning as the step that comes between reporting and writing that is too often skipped. An outline like the one on the left--just a few words jotted down in a notebook--helps …
