When all hell is breaking loose, they say, the best camera to shoot with is the one you have on hand. And one lesson we've all learned from YouTube is that technical quality doesn't matter all that much when it comes to newsworthy video. That …
Idiot-proof, lightweight and compact--the Flip camera appeared poised to revolutionize online video when it was introduced a few years ago. Reporters and photographers quickly took to using Flips or similar point-and-shoot cameras to produce Web-only video blogs and interviews. Sometimes, Flip video even showed up …
We've all read the stories about the sea change in television news. From the ABC network news division to local stations from coast to coast, VJs are taking over, the stories say. The "one man band" reporter who shoots and edits once was found primarily …
With a newsroom staff of just 23, WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas, has a wide reach--and not just over the air. The station is a longtime market leader, drawing more than twice as many viewers for its late newscasts in November as the other two stations …
Who says local TV never tries anything new or different? The CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, WCCO-TV, has just launched a special section on its website that lets users track, comment on and contribute to developing stories. The Wire is a pretty simple idea at heart: a …
When it comes to online video, YouTube is top dog, with more users and vastly more content than any other site. But as a source of local news it's just a pup, and many television stations aren't quite sure if it's as tail-waggingly friendly as …
Live truck? Who needs it? The once ubiquitous SNG van is fast becoming obsolete. And it's not just Skype-plus-WiFi that's doing it in. Even if you can't get on the Internet, cell phone technology allows for the transmission of decent quality live video. And it …
For a long time a lot of smart people have been talking about the need for news organizations to deliver more content to mobile devices, but most of time, the discussions are a little light on how the move will actually change the job of …
The decade I'm choosing to call the "ohs" has finally ended and I'm happy to say good riddance. Looking back at ten years' worth of columns for American Journalism Review, I'm struck by how little has changed for the better when it comes to broadcast …
When I took a spin through the first 200 or so news apps on the Apple Web site earlier this year, WKRG in Mobile, Alabama, was the only local TV station featured. So, why is that? It may be that many local news organizations are …
CNN has iReport. Reuters has You Witness News. Now, smaller news organizations can get into the game of soliciting online video from their communities--for free.
Election nights are often a time for experimentation with new technology. Sometimes, it adds a new dimension to the coverage, like the slick interactive maps that can show results in real time. Sometimes, it's just bells and whistles for no apparent reason, like the "hologram" …
