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The opportunity of multimedia reporting

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Michael D. Reszler is Senior Editor/Online at the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press.

Video and multimedia might seem like 'one more thing to do,’ but savvy editors are discovering they can use these new tools to tell the story better.

At one time being a newsroom editor was about two things: words and graphics (both photos and illustrations).

Today, as newsrooms have become 24-seven operations publishing in print, the Web and even cell phones, editors increasingly are being challenged with developing and using new reporting tools. While the new reporting tools are growing as fast as the Web, many newsrooms now find themselves confronted on a daily basis with the need to do multimedia and video reporting.

For many, multimedia and video is seen less as a reporting opportunity than as 'one more thing’ to add to the ever-growing list of activities they need to do for the Web. However, as Jane Ellen Stevens, a multimedia journalist and newspaper industry consultant, explained, editors need to see multimedia and video as new opportunities to do what they have always done “ report on what is happening in their community and tell stories.

Doing so requires more than simply committing to doing video. Instead, as Stevens explained, editors need to rethink the structure of their entire newsroom, transforming their news gathering from a print-centric enterprise to a Web-centric one. For Stevens, newsrooms should not focus on simply capturing video for its own sake, but they need to see multimedia as a reporting tool in their arsenal, with video being one tool.

The approaches newsrooms take to multimedia reporting and video vary as much as the approaches they take to print content. One newsroom that has pushed the envelope on using video is Roanoke.com. As Roanoke.com’s editor John Jackson explained, the site had been doing video in some form since 2002, but in the summer of 2004, the newspaper decided to push its use of video even further. That is when they decided to launch “TimesCast,” their daily Web video news show (http://www.roanoke.com/multimedia). The show reports on both traditional major news and offbeat news.

The daily Web show was initially met with skepticism within Roanoke’s newsroom, Jackson conceded. Over the last two years, however, the site has learned a lot about producing both standalone video and its daily Webcast, he said. The newsroom has had to change the way it budgets for the “TimesCast” and prepares reports for the show. While questions remain, more reporters and editors within Roanoke’s newsroom are working with the “TimeCast” staff to contribute to the report, and the site continues to learn about using video on its site.

Things to remember about multimedia reporting and video.

It is about the story

As Jane Ellen Stevens noted, too often organizations make the mistake of thinking multimedia and video is about putting video on their site. Instead of asking how much video can we put on our site, Stevens said, editors should ask the question they have always asked: How do we tell the story? Sometimes that means video, and other times that means graphics, and still other times it may simply be a text story.

Senior newsroom leaders need to show their commitment to video and multimedia reporting.

If an organization is going to make multimedia reporting part of their regular reporting, then leadership needs to show that commitment by giving people time to develop and practice their multimedia reporting skills. For Stevens that can mean releasing reporters from their normal duties. Roanoke’s Jackson emphasized that the support of both his local and corporate leaders was essential to getting “TimesCast” launched.

You don’t need the “biggest and best” when it comes to equipment.

Editors should not make the mistake of equating Web video with television video. They are not the same. As Jackson explains, they started with a couple of video cameras, a computer with video editing software and lights for their studio. While newsrooms may be tempted to buy expensive equipment, Stevens reminds us that newsrooms are doing great work using iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, free software found on Macintosh and PC computers.

Don’t give up

Roanoke’s first attempt at video was not perfect, Jackson said. Over time, the staff fine-tuned the news budgeting process, developed a better media player to display their video and continually enhanced their editing skills. Stevens reminded us that developing multimedia reporting is not going to happen overnight. Instead, processes need to be put in place for evaluating what is and is not working “ both for content and processes.

Fortunately for newspaper editors, today there are lots of resources that they can consult as they continue their newsroom’s multimedia and video reporting skills.

Jane Ellen Stevens recommends the following sites as good examples of multimedia storytelling:

Touching Hearts — series story package (turn off pop-up blocker) http://www.heraldsun.com/heart/ (NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
The Fair “ a columnist’s take on the fair: http://transom.org/shows/2004/200404_fair.html
Freeing Sex Slaves — op ed by New York Times Nicholas Kristof and Naka Nathaniel:http://nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2005/01/29/opinion/20050129_CAMBODIA_FEATURE.html

If you want to learn more about multimedia storytelling, there are many helpful sites on the Web. The following will give you a good place to start:

Knight New Media Center, a partnership of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication: http://journalism.berkeley.edu/multimedia/
J-Learning (part of the Institute for Interactive Journalism): http://www.j-learning.org
Jane Ellen Steven’s blog http://bcs.blogs.com/
Mindy McAdam’s (a good resource for Flash multimedia reporting)http://tojou.blogspot.com/ *

:: Tue 11/04/2008 @ 03:04

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