What's in it for the viewers?

"What's in it for the viewers?"
That's the question you need to have answered before you leave the station to shoot the story. What's not going to work? A press release saying that a public hearing will be held somewhere about something at sometime. The "about" factor needs to be very clear. That's what's going to decide if a story is worth pursuing or not.

I was assigned to cover a public hearing about the weatherization program, a program which helps to reduce low-income families energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient. The press release? lengthy. But basically it tells nothing but the topic of the hearing. So I was supposed to go to the hearing and find some information from it to get some B-roll. So I drove about half an hour to Jefferson City, the venue is nearby the Capitol. To my surprise, the theme of the day is to evaluate new budget plans.
Different parties get the chance to talk to address their concern about the budget plans, most of them are administrative matters.

It was very confusing to figure out what they were talking about at the beginning, but after I talked to some people, I managed to find the gist of it.

But also, after I talked to some people, I realize zero chances of getting B-roll. First of all, these people aren't exactly located in our viewing area although I finally found someone who's local. So I got the contact for our local community service agency only to find out that they wouldn't release any third party information without the approval of their director, which wasn't in at that day. I ended up calling about 10 different construction companies asking them if they're currently involved in any weatherization projects. Nada.

Somewhere in the middle of this cataclysmic chronology, I called my producer a few times just to let her know about my situation. But hey, producers are pretty persistent people. So at the end she turned my story into a VO/SOT instead of a package due to the non-existence of B-roll beside the one taken in the public hearing.

The moral of the story? Make sure ahead that the story has something in it for the viewers. Double check before leaving the station for the newsworthiness of the story.

twitter: a noisy bird and a noisy channel

Here's one proof why citizen journalism isn't always reliable at times. For the past few weeks, it seems like swine flu have been mentioned at least once in everyone's tweet in a day. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. I'm talking about a lot of people, the majority of twitter users. So how many of these people are actually experts of swine flu? Some of the unofficial tweets are misleading since people just post whatever they have on their minds and address their fears. Twitter is, really, a noisy channel.

"This is a good example of why [Twitter is] headed in that wrong direction, because it's just propagating fear amongst people as opposed to seeking actual solutions or key information," said Brennon Slattery, a contributing writer for PC World. "The swine flu thing came really at the crux of a media revolution."

It all comes back to the idea of citizen journalism and how some controversies about it still prevail. Can everyone voice their opinion on any subject matter? And can that person be held accountable for his opinion? Slattery wrote that no actual solutions or key information are sought through this medium. My marketing teacher told us today that he's on twitter for its benefit to follow news officials, not so much for the sake of telling the world what he's up to for the day. Well, there's him and there are also people that I know who use twitter to connect with their friends, "meet" new people (pun intended), and talk to their boyfriends (yes, with the lovebirds' language) about things happening in their daily life that would eradicate the newsworthiness and relevance factor of a public information.

But really, I can't agree more with Al Tompkins who said that these social media users should think about the credibility of their sources before they post something. "Before you pass it on, wash your hands a little," he said.

Photo: xkcd

Creativity as an incidental camouflage

Photo: Mahfouz Abu Turk, Reuters

I decided to click on the link on USA today front page because of this picture in particular.
All alone by itself, this picture caught my eyes simply for all the guessing games behind it. I got the sense that the little girl was involved as a victim of violence. I didn't see those two hands that are supposed to be "comforting" her as an inviting gesture. My guess was they were going to perform a cruelty act by pushing her head.

But I guess not.

Those hands are those of her relatives, trying to give her some consolation after her family's home was destroyed in Jabal Mukaber, Jerusalem.

I like the angle of the picture and how it allows the expression of her face reveals her sorrow within vividly. I have to admit the two hands add a little unique twist to the picture itself, leaving a little mystery in it since the people whom those hands belong to are not in the picture. But the unique twist seems to be a little misleading for me. It could very well be that it's just me who experiences this and no one else is. To me there's a sense that the picture is used to grab attention which effectively works, I clicked on the link. But that's not what the story is all about. The fact that the little girl was getting some comforting by her relatives is camouflaged by the cutting-edge angle of creative photography.

Missing: modern "iconoclasts, critics and polemicists". Culprit: media consumption style?

An article in Jakarta Globe titled "The Thinker: In Search of Radical Public Intellectuals" written by Jennie S. Bev triggered some thoughts in my mind that I can relate to today's media consumption. I found it engaging.

Here's an excerpt:
"Radical public intellectuals are on the brink of extinction, especially as modern attention spans grow shorter. Producing knowledge now means real-time deliverance of information through the Internet, and intellectuals might be tempted to reduce their output to such simplification."

I honestly share the same opinion as the author. Although it appears to me that it could be a benefit as I work in the television industry. It's a little bit personal, I know. But really, could this paragraph be the quintessential answer at the top of the article about the whereabouts of today's radical public intellectuals?

I'm interested in knowing the historical roots of how a person can end up being an intellectual had he achieved the state outside the "walls of bricks and mortar' world of academics. If I have to guess, one would still have to read literatures and the works of past great thinkers that stimulate his mind to be able to "form theories through reflection and analysis," as Bev mentioned. Or perhaps in some cases, one doesn't have to. Although I would think it is most likely for someone to having done it in order to reach such stage. Think of Machiavelli, Voltaire, and Kant. Great philosophers and "nonacademic intellectuals".

The thing is, how do even we, academics, get access to philosophical theories these days? As for me, if it's not a part of a required reading from a course, I probably wouldn't have any access to it. That is sad, I know, but I can guarantee I'm not alone. In this new media age where every publication trapped in a competition to win its readers' attention, everything is done to fit the readers' lifestyle. A great deal of the population get their news from the internet these days. Or even news subscription on their cellphone. "Modern attention span grows shorter," and "intellectuals might be tempted to reduce their output to such simplification." I couldn't agree more. But if we use today's media as ways of learning and forming thoughts, does that mean we're not learning that much? I can't say yes to this.

So, perhaps there are other Machiavellis, Voltaires, or Kants out there, but they just have presented their output in different ways, philosophically-speaking.

Not much room for amateurism

Would you like to hear a story of how I turned a supposed-to-be an hour VO patrol into a five-hour mayhem? Not so much that I can be proud of.

I was on a VO patrol working on a story about the city of Columbia getting new buses next summer. I thought it was going to be really quick. Just do an interview with a city official and get B-roll of buses coming in and out from the station. Shouldn't take that long, right? Wrong.

I ended up having to go back 3x to the bus station just to get B-roll of the buses.

The first time, I shot the video, while worrying how to fix it being overexposed. It was such a gloomy day that day and the sky was almost white. And that's pretty much what I can see in my video. Everything is just white and way too bright. What I forgot was to hit the ND filter up a notch a little bit to create "virtual shade" and make the videos darker. I was thinking of calling my producer to ask what to do with it while I was still on the field. But of course, I didn't have either her phone number and the station's phone number with me at that time. I have my business cards with the station's number in them, but they're in my wallet and I happened to not have my wallet with me. Just my luck. So I came back to the station with all these videos looking like it's winter in Alaska. The producer sent me out on a second mission to shoot some more. This time by making sure I know how to use the ND filter correctly.

Before I went out, I took out the memory cards out of the camera and imported my interview clip. Then I put the cards back in. What I didn't realize was that I was putting the cards in upside down. So, the next time I was out in the field, the camera wouldn't record because it wouldn't read the memory cards.

Back at the station, I had to face the not-so-happy news director who told me the rules of TV equipment, "never force anything in," he said. I was both worried and a little dissapointed in myself.

Then the third time I went out to shoot, everything luckily went alright.

The moral of the story: always have the producer's phone number with you and be gentle when it comes to equipments.

Obama's plan to push immigration bill

Last night I read a very recent article of the New York Times about President Obama's plan to push immigration bill. Immigration laws have been one of the most-discussed issue for a while. The latest update is Obama has made addressing the immigration system as one of his priorities sometime in the near future.

Here's an excerpt of the second paragraph from the top:
Mr. Obama will frame the new effort — likely to rouse passions on all sides of the highly divisive issue — as “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system,” said the official, Cecilia Muñoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House.
I like how this paragraph delivers a neutral, general introduction by mentioning the potential controversy of the issue and still implies that it's done for the best.

It's a really wise thing to have lawmakers from both parties and immigration groups to hold discussions. On one side, there's a concern that with with all the Americans workers being laid off, why are we still providing jobs for foreign workers? “It’s going to be, ‘You’re letting them keep that job, when I could have that job,’ ” said Roy Beck, executive director from NumbersUSA.
And the other contradicting side lies with the reasoning to recognize illegal workers who have already been contributing to the workforce for years.

The article presents both sides in a quite balanced way, I think. Although I would like to hear groups who support the idea of making illegal immigrants become legal. I said "groups" as in more than one person. The article used Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, a Democrat from Chicago as an example. In general, this seems like an update article that doesn't really summarize the whole journey of the long-debated issues of immigration bills. There were a whole lot more of historical facts that could be tied in with the topic. There were no independent sources in the article who mention the idea of legalizing the status of the workers because of their contributions. Rep. Gutierrez mostly mentioned it as a way to preserve families. I'm not sure if this factor was left out because the writer assumes it's just already way too obvious.

Perhaps this just a web version of the story and the print version runs longer and more comprehensive than this?

Live shot/standup and high school theatre

Last week we did live shot/stand up practice in lab. Each of us was given a scenario and we have to come up with our own script for the stand up. When it was my turn, to be honest, it took quite sometime. I made so many mistakes in so little time. I think delivering a stand up is almost like a theatrical act. You need to know when your body has to start moving at the right timing and what the next cue in your line is going to be before you have to do a different thing. At that time my body just refused to correspond to what came out of my mouth. I kept on missing the timing. Apparently I had a hard time doing the choreography while delivering the lines. Not surprisingly, the more I'm nervous, the more I suck. (In relation to the latter case, my instructor suggested me to have practice meditation- which actually helped.)

Somehow this reminded me of my high school theatre experience. A simpler version of it, though. Simpler script, simpler delivery, simpler choreography, and simpler expressions. My instructor once told me, after I delivered a couple of lines, "you don't have to yell." I just smiled embarrassedly. And most of the times, you won't have a director telling you how to do your stand up as you would in a theatre production. The one-man band rules prevail. On a different note, it is a challenge to figure out how the stand up lines are going to fit with the story, having not written the story or logging the tape yet. One of my concern was, how would I avoid saying what's obviously going to be my lead for the story itself. So, I picked something that was more like a technical demonstration of the situation.

Anyways, I think doing a stand up and acting have something in common. You have to do it with your heart.
That's how people are going to believe what you have to say.

The Wise Words of CBS' Russ Mitchell

Today CBS' Russ Mitchell came to Mizzou to talk at Reynolds Journalism Institution (RJI). Mitchell is a news anchor for The Early Show, anchor for CBS Evening News and Sunday Edition, and correspondent for Sunday Morning. Not only he's easy on the eyes, I have to say that he has such a charming personality too. He started his lecture by pointing out a bad news: the state of the business (broadcast journalism) isn't great. There are layoffs going on everywhere. The business model has changed dramatically. These days, mostly in the network level, stations use digital journalist which is quite a turning point in the industry. "The name of the game is versatility now," Mitchell said. A reporter is expected to be able to do it all. Russell mentioned that a colleague of his, one of the best reporters he has worked with, got laid off because he said no when he was asked to produce and said no when he was asked to shoot.

One of the reasons what Mitchell likes about his job is he never knows what he's going to be doing in any given time of day. There are always challenges and surprises. He shared about his experience when he was working at the D.C and one morning he found out that he's being sent to Congo.

Financial reward is something that Mitchell stressed for all of us not to have expectation in. "Don't go in this for the money, you're going to be really disappointed," he said.

Some of the changes he saw at the network level:
1. News bureaus closing (from 3 photogs down to 1)
2. entry level position being eliminated, high talent just went away
3. digital journalists take over

One of the students asked if the entertainment industry is going to take the spotlight from broadcast news, Mitchell looked quite optimistic when he said no. I think this makes sense a lot since there are still going to be demand for broadcast news, no matter how pervasive the outcome that stations are cutting back on their expenses including on human resources. I honestly think that journalism is something that people can't live without. There are basic needs of transfer knowledge that people have to fulfill. And they seek for the truth from news outlets. Although there might be a difference on the demand for each medium, online or television, which is most likely to be generation-related. And I can see how entertainment industry will always prevail in the future. Especially in these struggling days, the more stressed out people are, the more dosage of entertainment television they will consume. At least that what I think.

One thing Mitchell wished he had done more while he was still in KOMU: live shots. More live shot practices would prepare you to be a better reporter, he said.

Photo: Weigy W. Samakoen

My Take on St. Louis Fashion Week

I went to cover the St. Louis Fashion Week last week and I hope to submit the piece for the Missourian. The Missourian editor asked me about the local ties of the story since the fashion week happened in St. Louis. I managed to find interns from Stephens College and MU by sending out random emails to anyone on the fashion week list serv. How did I have access to the list serv? I had always been interested in either doing a piece or working backstage at the fashion week. So I already sent out the internship coordinator an email long time ago before it all happened.

From my previous experience, covering a fashion show is very exhilarating. The exuberant vibe in the room usually has gotten into me and I'm just happy all the way when I cover the event. This time, it pretty much works the same beside some minor mishaps. There was no problem with the interviews at all, everything went great. I borrowed a camera from a friend and this is where it all started. The backstage: dim-lighted. Not good for taking pictures at all especially if the camera is nothing fancy. The backstage crowd: clamorous. The breathing space: none.




Photos: Dea Surjadi

I took a lot of quite good Sephia pictures but the others are just ruined by the flash or by the darkness factor. Everything is either too dark or you get the you-know-it's-dark-but-you-made-up-the-light-using-flash kind of thing. This has also made me realized that I need to work on my photography skill. Not only to get killer detail shots or scene-setter shots, but just to get a decent shot from a normal angle is sometimes still challenging for me especially when lighting comes as a factor too.

Tragedy at USC

A few days ago I was talking to my best friend who goes to USC and she told me that there was an accident on her campus. I googled it up and found an LA Times article about it. A USC student was killed in a hit-and-run accident and another one was critically injured. They were just walking in the crosswalk at the edge of campus.


Photo: LA Times

I know the story happened all the way in the west coast but I guess what really captivates me is that it's just a mishap that could easily happen to anyone on any campus. It could be any of my friends crossing from the J-school to Starbucks on campus. It could even be me. That's what really drives my interest and keeps me on following the updates until now.

It has just crossed my mind that the online medium is what entitles the magic to happen. The fact that I have the power to check back on the website every few hours looking for more details, possibly more pictures, more follow up, or anything that will satisfy my curiosity is what I'm thanking for at this moment.

Yesterday they posted more pictures related to the tragedy and some of them are quite emotionally moving. It's a slideshow of 6 pictures which I'm pretty sure that not all of them were printed in the paper. The pictures personalize the story on a greater level I went to the discussion and it's just really thought- provoking to see all of these comments. This is such great example of great public forum and simply to know there are strangers out there who show support and grief for the families is just staggering.

At this moment I'm praying for the best for the victim's families and hopefully the police will find the killer soon. For now, I will be checking for updates and won't rest in peace until they find the killer and decide the fair thing to do with him. I guess with all of these newspapers out there going online and online only doesn't really affect me or my age group at least. Although I'm quite convinced there are people who suffer from it: my grandma's generation.