by A.man.I

CNN CORRESPONDENTS TO COVER WHITE HOUSE
Congrats to CNN correspondents Suzanne Malveaux & Dan Lothian who will be covering the White House. Correspondent Chris Lawrence has been promoted to Pentagon correspondent. [Journal-isms]

KENNESAW STATE’S DIGITAL MEDIA LAB
Georgia’s Kennesaw State is poised to become a leading educational institution in digital media production thanks in part to AT&T which donated $47,500.00 to the university for its new Digital Media Lab. [PJNet]

WAGA I-TEAM INVESTIGATES NENE LEAKES

by A.man.I

As long as I’ve worked in the news business there has been talk of newsrooms switching to one-man-band operations. It isn’t exactly a new idea. In smaller markets it’s often the norm for a reporter do it all – set up the story, shoot, voice, and edit.

When I worked in Tampa at the local Fox O&O, the 24-hour local cable station Bay News 9 had, and still has several one-man news crews. It saves the company money, and resources. It’s not that I couldn’t do it, it’s just that as a reporter, having the added responsibility of all of that gear, shooting creatively, and then editing just seems to be a lot.

Over the years, I’ve watched the online media grow, and traditional media struggle. Some operations like my hometown station KRON-TV were way ahead of the curve. Management adopted a Video Journalist model years ago, although at the time it was unheard of in a major market.

My, how times have changed. It’s now being reported that WUSA in Washington D.C. is switching to a VJ format. The station is actually calling its converged media makers, “multimedia journalists,” but we all know what that means. Most of the old time traditional talent will probably be out the door to make way for lower paid, less experienced staff, who will carry more responsibilities than ever.

from the WashingtonPost

Reporters will soon be shooting and editing their own stories, and camera people will be doing the work of reporters, occasionally appearing on the air or on in video clips on Channel 9′s Web site.

It appears there would be opportunities for a newsman with my skills. When I worked at my first station, WJLA-TV in Washington DC, I taught myself how to edit on AVID. Then, when WTVT-TV hired me as a Reporter Trainee in Tampa, I had to shoot packages, edit, and write before they let me get my on-air reps in.

Once I was promoted to a general assignment reporter though, I worked with a trusted photog. I not only learned from those veterans who watched me struggle at times, I also was able to help out in a pinch. I could lay down my own audio track, sometimes I would A-roll a package, and once in a while, I would shoot a frame or two.

If I ever decide to work in news full time again, it seems that I have the skills to pay the bills. I can report, shoot, and edit, but working as full-time VJ just doesn’t have big appeal at the moment.

Some of my best news memories are with the talented photojournalists I worked with like Larry Towe, who talked management into letting me report my first story at FOX-13. I had great times with my best friend in news, Rod Finch. We turned work into a good time just about every time we worked together, no matter how bad the story was, or how impossible the situation seemed. I can’t forget Marc Rosenfeld who at any moment could flip out on anyone in the newsroom.

I enjoyed the team work and comaraderie the best, and it seems like working as a one-man-band is a lonely proposition.

by A.man.I

As a follow to an earlier post, NPR’s News and Notes has been canceled according to Journal-isms.

“Neither program was attracting sufficient levels of audience or national underwriting necessary to sustain continued production under these tough financial circumstances,” Dennis Haarsager, interim president and CEO, said in a message to NPR affiliates.

READ FULL POST HERE

Why is Oprah’s weight newsworthy?

by A.man.I

According to Richard Prince’s Journalisms, NPR’s show News and Notes could be going away.

from LAObserved

No official word from National Public Radio, but a source in Culver City says VP for News Ellen Weiss is coming out next week to swing the hatchet. If true, and apparently most there believe it’s true, the move would eliminate the two NPR shows produced locally and pretty much make the spiffy new Jefferson Blvd. studios unnecessary.

News and Notes is a great platform for the black blogosphere. Say it ain’t so.

by A.man.I

With the journalism profession looking more like a bloodied battlefield each day, I decided to share some of my thoughts about life after news.

I had to deal with some of the issues my journalism brethren are going through in 2007 when my last full-time broadcast employer (Black Family Channel) went out of business just eight months after I relocated my family to Atlanta.

For me the whole experience was liberating. Don’t get me wrong, I love reporting and video production. It’s just that the media biz, especially broadcast news is a burnout business to begin with.

If you work in mainstream news, it can easily consume your life, management may use you like a cheap trick, and though the pay is okay, there isn’t much job security these days.

Deep down I’ve always had the entrepreneurial bug, so I made my part-time production company (Visual Eye Media) my full-time job. I also started freelancing as a video journalist for the Associated Press, and I’m a freelance correspondent for a High Definition network called HDNews. Since I like teaching, I decided to return to school in 2004 to pursue my Masters in Mass Communications.

With all of that being said, here are a few ideas of how journalists can use their talent to make a buck or two (in no particular order).

1. Public Relations/Marketing – This is a no-brainer. Journalists should have a knack for writing releases, and pitching stories because we get pitched all the time, and pitch stories to management before being assigned. PR and marketing often go hand in hand.
2. Freelance – There still may be opportunities to report as a freelancer. It’s a hustle though.
3. Author a book – If you love writing, why not write a book? All it takes is passion for a subject, research, time, and a few re-writes.
4. Corporate Communications – Journalists are communicators, and corporations need people to write newsletters, and handle internal communications.
5. Media Relations – This is also a no-brainer for any journalist.
6. Publicist – You can help manage the image and visibility of high profile professionals.
7. Media Coach/Trainer – There are plenty of professionals who need to know the do’s and don’ts of interviewing, and what to do and say on camera.
8. Spokesperson – Be a mouthpiece for a corporation or non-profit.
9. Video Production – You need production skills, or know how to budget and coordinate a video project.
10. A/V Specialist – Just about every hotel, school, and other businesses need people to manage the audio/video equipment.
11. Get a Masters or Ph.D. and teach.
12. Go back to school and change professions.

If want to work in journalism, you definitely need to hone your multi-media skills, which probably means you have to know how to shoot & edit video, and write for the web, but just about everyone I know in news is trying to get out.

by A.man.I

Alamaba county creates a Barack Obama holiday.

OJ got sentenced to as many as 33 years in prison for the Las Vegas armed robbery.

The blogs Stereohyped and Mollygood are shutting down.