When they stop asking, we're done

Today's story was about a Norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship that had returned to San Francisco after a 15-day trip to Hawaii. The goals were pretty straightforward: get passengers and video of the ship.

5pm live shot with the cruise ship in the background.

Because the ship's capacity is about 2,500, there were thousands of people getting off the ship, and thousands waiting to get on, so no problem finding people to talk to. But it struck me, every time I spoke to people who were about to get on the ship, they pumped me for information. I identified myself as a local TV news reporter, and instantly, they assumed I knew everything about the virus, how many people got sick, how it was being cleaned up, what precautions the on-board crew was taking. Gratifyingly, I knew a lot of the answers.

It reminded me how the public assumes journalists are in the know. That's a good thing. The minute people walk past a TV news truck and don't bother asking, "What's going on?" we're done. I always tell young TV reporters and videographers, and even experienced ones, we should  welcome inquiries from the public. Engage the public, strike up conversations with passersby, show little kids all the buttons and monitors. We can't survive if people don't care what we know.

One of the passengers I spoke to told me she received an email from the cruise line warning her of a delayed departure, because the ship was being scrubbed to get rid of the virus. Rather than just note that for my story, I asked her if she could forward me the email. She hemmed and hawed a little about using up some of her phone's travel data plan, but finally did it. Beginning reporters sometimes worry they're being too forward or too intrusive by asking for personal things. But it never hurts to ask. The person you're talking to can always say "no." Better to try than to never know if you could have gathered an extra element for your story.

Newhouse students should know they're working with pretty much the same equipment we use in San Francisco. The cameras are a slightly different version of the Sony NX5U, the Adobe Premiere non-linear editing software is comparable to Edius. Even the remote server is recognizable to students: FileZilla. You're getting real-life training at Syracuse.

One of the great things about TV reporting is, no matter how well or how poorly you did that day, once the live shot's over, there's nothing you can do about it. It's OVER. You get a chance to unwind, ponder how you'd do it differently the next time and start thinking about the unpredictable adventure that awaits tomorrow.

Finished!

Takeaways:

1. Be nice to the public, AKA our customers. When they don't care what we do, we're toast.
2. Ask. The worst that can happen is you get a "no."
3. Don't beat yourself up at the end of the day. You can't do anything to change what's happened. Instead, learn from your mistakes and enjoy the fact your TV reporting job allows you to try again tomorrow.

The first 30 seconds....

Today's story was, for the third day in a row, about an intruder breaking into a home while the family was still there. Weird - three days in a row. This idea, admittedly, came from the newspaper. I wasn't all that optimistic when I received my assignment, because the father who fought with the intruder refused to give his name to the newspaper reporter. Moreover, assigning me to cover this story was pretty risky, because I had to drive from San Francisco all the way to Oakley. This meant, if the story didn't come through, if the dad wouldn't talk to me on camera, then I would have wasted an hour driving WAY to the east and would be a long way away from potential backup stories in San Francisco.

In the end the story did come through. I talked not only with the dad, but also with his 18-year-old son who actually beat the intruder with a piece of wood to make him let go of dad. Two really great interviews and a good story. But it didn't happen by chance. When I first knocked on the dad's door, he answered with a black eye and other bruises on his face, a result of the fight with the intruder. I had woken him up from a nap and he was also loopy from the pain medication. Not a good way to start asking someone if he wants to be on camera for Channel 5 TV. But I think what convinced him to do it was my professional appearance and demeanor.

Something beginning reporters don't often realize is they have about 30 seconds to establish a rapport with the people they hope to interview. Within that first 30 seconds, they must show they're smart, credible, serious, genuine and able to tell a story accurately. Remember, the people you want to talk to are sizing you up from the second they see you, even before you open your mouth. Therefore, how you dress makes a difference. How you carry yourself makes a difference. What you say and HOW you say it makes all the difference. My approach:

• Be transparent. I hate it when people don't tell me who they are right off the bat, so that's the first thing I say: "Hi, I'm Simon Perez with Channel 5." Wear your station ID on a lanyard so everyone can see it.
• Be polite, be direct and get to the point. "I'd like to talk to you about the intruder who broke in to your house last night."
• Show empathy, but don't be too sappy. "This is the third day in a row I'm covering this kind of story. Isn't that crazy?"
• Understand the public isn't on TV every day and may be a little nervous. Assuage this fear. "We can talk anywhere. I'd just like to chat about what happened. It's all on tape so if we mess up we can start over."

With that, the man agreed to talk to me a couple of hours later, after his son had returned from school. The interview went off without a hitch.

During the couple of hours I waited for the son to come home, I went to shoot some other video for the story. To get that video I had to park on a sidewalk.

This is something beginning reporters must get used to. "The Media" has some privileges when it comes to parking and setting up our equipment. But you must be a little pushy sometimes. I'd never do this with my personal vehicle. However, because the nearest place to park was about half a mile away, I chose this spot. After all, "I'll only be a minute." :)

Moreover, after I parked, I had to walk along the trail to get the video I needed. It was a haul, especially hauling the camera and the tripod. But that's part of the job. MMJs need to be in good physical shape. There's no one to carry the equipment for you, and you need all of it to make the video look good. There's no excuse for not taking the tripod with you. "It's too heavy" just doesn't cut it.

Here's how far I went. Notice the tree over my left shoulder.

Takeaways:

1. You've got one chance to make a first impression. Blow it, and your chances for an interview go way down. Get it right, and people will tell you all kinds of things.
2. Be a pushy parker.
3. Get in shape. Prepare to sweat. Being an MMJ is strenuous.

Shoot first, ask questions later

Today's story took me to a sad scene. A 12-year-old boy was running across the street to catch the local light-rail train to school. He scampered into traffic, and as he was dodging cars, he fell into the path of the train. He died.

These stories are always difficult ones for journalists. No one I've met in 25 years of reporting likes to do them. No one. But we all know we have to. To make the best of it, I always tell myself:

"You can ask anyone, anything, one time, politely."

I repeat that in my head as I approach and knock on the doors of families who have lost loved ones. It gives me courage.

Today, my uncomfortable moment came when sobbing relatives of the boy laid flowers and lit incense at the scene of the tragedy. I looked through the camera's viewfinder and felt a pang of guilt, of self-consciousness as I recorded their grief. Was this the right thing to do? Would I want someone to do this to me? But I also remembered another cardinal rule of TV, which is to shoot first and decide later whether you want to use that piece of video. So many beginning reporters will let their discomfort prevent them from getting the shots they might need later. It really is OK, as long as you're not trespassing, to shoot everything. The ethical considerations come when you choose what to put on TV.

After the family had created its memorial, I went to the boy's middle school to see if the staff and teachers had anything to say. I figured, at the least, I might hear about how students were being reminded to be careful crossing the street. Instead, I found what TV reporters almost always find at schools - total DEFCON lockdown. "MEDIA APPROACHING! WARNING! WARNING! PREPARE THE OUTER PERIMETER!" Good grief. Schools have watched too many movies of TV reporters snatching fifth graders out of classrooms, stringing them up by their ankles and forcing them to talk. (No, I haven't seen that movie, either.) I don't know what it is about schools, but the reception is rarely even civil. I walked to the door and planned to specifically follow the rules as listed - "all visitors must report to the principal's office." Instead, a harried P.E. teacher cracked the door and immediately told me, "We have no comment." "To what?" I thought. I haven't even asked a question. I tried to get him to let me talk to the principal, but he refused to let me in. "Please get off the school property." Whatever. Eventually, someone came out to tell me to call the central administration number. As is usually the case, a missed opportunity to get the word out about how kids need to be safe taking public transit to school.

So after all that, I returned to the accident scene to prepare for a 5pm live shot, when I was told at 3pm to head from San Francisco to Antioch. Again, standard fare. A good reporter is always prepared to drop several hours of work for a new story the bosses think might be better. In this case, a cute four-year-old girl had told police where the burglar was hiding in her house.

This is a screen grab of the GPS route to Antioch. Notice the estimated arrival time. Show up on the scene 45 minutes before the 5pm live shot and figure it out. Stressful. A videographer was sent ahead of me and was able to shoot video and get interviews with the family and the girl.

Still, I found myself reminding myself, there's no real benefit to freaking out. The story is going to get done one way or another. The live shot will happen at the designated time, one way or another. Tomorrow will come around, one way or another. Staying calm and focusing on the task at hand makes you a better co-worker and a better reporter. You can exude stress or you can exude calm. Who would you rather work with? Don't waste the energy and mental capacity on things you can't control.

Cellphones are everywhere these days and can really help make a story come alive. No longer do professional TV crews have to be on the scene to capture an event as it's happening. The mom of the four year old used her phone to shoot the police officers hauling the intruder out of her house. That was a money shot I needed in my story. But, the file was so big, and I was in such a hurry, I didn't have time to wait for it to come through via email or text. So, I pulled out my cell phone and shot the video playing on her cell phone. Here's what it looked like:

By the way, ALWAYS shoot cell phone video horizontal, NEVER vertical.

After 10 days, I'm still struck by how much time I spend on the road. Getting to places is such a big part of TV reporting. Here are two views - one not so pleasant, one pleasant.

Highway 4 East during rush hour headed to 5pm live shot in Antioch.

Headed home across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.

Takeaways:

1. Shoot first, ask questions later.
2. You can ask anyone, anything, one time, politely.
3. Do your best on every story, and be prepared to throw it all away in favor of a different one, no matter how much work you've done.
4. Keep your eye on the ball. Your goal is to be as successful as possible in the time you have, whether that's 8 hours 15 minutes, or just 15 minutes. Panicking doesn't make the clock run more slowly.
5. Your cell phone is a legitimate news gathering tool, especially in a pinch. Almost always, in TV, some video is better than no video.
6. Learn to love being in the car.

What Caddyshack can teach you about TV reporting

Today I followed up on a Sunday announcement that San Francisco's mayor was proposing a radical change to the way people get to and around the city. He wanted to tear down a major highway and re-route the commuter rail line. This story has all kinds of angles, but a TV story with "all kinds of angles" is pretty much useless. You must find a narrow focus that relays specific, comprehensible and, hopefully, useful and interesting points to the viewer. You only have about 90 seconds, after all. In this case, I narrowed it down to three:

1. What are the traffic implications of tearing down the highway?
2. How much would it cost to re-route the rail line?
3. How valuable is the land that would be opened up by moving the train tracks and existing station?

Arriving at a narrow focus can be as simple as asking yourself, "What are viewers asking themselves?" Much like Chevy Chase advised "Be the ball, Danny" in Caddyshack, reporters must often try to "Be the viewer." You have to assume the mindset of the viewers and think of the questions they might have when they hear about something in the news.

A few other thoughts:

Sometimes, you have to think way, way ahead. We wanted to make an animated map for this story to give viewers a bird's eye view of the new train route. But making animated graphics is much more complicated than the standard graphics that list bullet points on a page. Animation requires the graphics department to get involved to do its magic. That means reporters, early on in the day, have to visualize what they want the map to look like and even what they want to be saying as the map appears in the story. This can be extraordinarily difficult if you haven't finished gathering all your information yet. "But I don't know where it turns north?" "But I don't know how much it costs?" All legitimate questions, but still, it's your job to help make the story look good. So the skilled reporter can come up with a line of script that is generic enough to be valid at 10:30am and also valid at 6pm when the story airs. You can fill in the details in other parts of the story when you've gathered them. The graphic needs to be done now (in the morning) so it'll look good later (showtime).

Go ahead, ask. As I lined up interviews, I got one of the premiere real estate developers in the city to answer his phone. He agreed to an interview and I offered to come to his office. He said: "I'm in the Russ Building." I had the following conversation with myself in about two seconds:

"Hmmm, I don't know where the Russ Building is. Should I know? Is the building so famous and prominent that if I say I don't know, the interview subject will think I don't know what I'm doing. I worked here for 10 years, how can I not know? That's a little pretentious to give the name of the building instead of the address. It's not like City Hall. Maybe I can ask someone later. Did he say Russ or Rust? Would that make a difference? Oh screw it, it's always better to be sure and risk being seen as ignorant than blow the whole interview because you can't find the office."

The Russ Building in downtown San Francisco. Interview on the 27th floor.

Really, all that happened in about two seconds, and then I said into the phone, "Can you tell me the address?" Beginning reporters often are afraid to ask questions they think are stupid and might harm their credibility. This fear is founded in some cases. Reporters should know the background of the stories they cover. If you're doing a story on shameless cheating in the NFL, asking, "Which team does Tom Brady play for?" does show your ignorance. But asking for directions, or how to spell a name or the specific charge being filed are all things that show a reporter cares about accuracy and is not careless.

 

Takeaways:

1. Your story must be focused. Otherwise you'll try to include too much information in 90 seconds and the viewer won't get anything out of it. Three points made well trumps a dozen scrambled ideas jammed together. "Be the ball."
2. Being a team player can mean leaving your comfort zone. Other members of the news team have their own jobs to do, and sometimes you have to put their needs before yours.
3. Yes, there are stupid questions. Good reporters should know the answers to those. But there are also simple questions that aren't so obvious. Don't be afraid to ask them. "Where am I?" can make a big difference if you're standing on the dividing point between a city and a county.

Be flexible, be safe

Today's story was about a protest at San Francisco City Hall ...

Do you have any idea how many stories could start with that phrase? The protest mentality in the Bay Area is astounding. One might call it the essence of democracy; one might call it excessive bitching. Regardless, it often makes for news.

Today's story was about a protest at San Francisco City Hall lamenting the dearth of "affordable" housing in the city. The latest tech boom jacked up housing prices (to buy and to rent) as high as some of the pot heads who spend their days in the medical marijuana dispensaries. The protesters took over the grand rotunda of City Hall and chanted their grievances: "Ed Lee (the mayor), can't you see, we don't need no luxury!"

My assignment, received at about 10:30am was to do a live shot for the noon on the protest and then dig a little deeper into the issue for the 5pm and 6pm shows. Because the protest was to begin at noon, the idea was to go live right in the middle of it. In the old days, that meant dragging a loooooooooooong cable from the live truck, up the steps and inside City Hall. Today, that means checking out the LiveU and having the videographer wear it on his back (like a backpack) as he's shooting the live shot.

Me with KPIX 5 videographer Gregg Welk.

The technological advances are pretty cool. What once took several people, tethered to a massive vehicle, can now be done with one or two people, totally free of any physical limitations (as long as they've got a cell signal). My videographer was long-time friend Gregg Welk, who had been at work on the morning show since 4am. This was his first time using this particular cell phone/live TV transmission unit. But because he's done this for about 20 years, he was ready, willing and capable of learning something new on the fly. That's definitely part of TV. If you want to only do it the way you've always done it, you're going to get left behind.

After completing the live shot at noon, I went to conduct an interview with "the other side" to get balance for the story. Protesters complain prices are too high; developers say they can't make money if everything's dirt cheap.

So I decided to do the live shot in the Mission District neighborhood, where many of the protestors say there's a big price problem. Upon arriving, I realized this may have been a mistake. The place I chose for the live shot was shady, to say the least. I didn't feel comfortable leaving the truck - not for my safety, but for fear the truck would be broken in to.

When it came time to do the live shot, more trepidation. I'm used to the TV camera being an idiot magnet. People do the stupidest things when a camera's around. Do you really want 50,000 to see you on TV grabbing your crotch and smiling? Really? But the videographer I was working with for the later shows kept an eye out and shouted out warnings to passersby that we weren't to be messed with.

The live shot went off without a hitch, but I was reminded how vulnerable TV reporting crews are during live shots. We really are focused on each other (reporter and videographer) and anyone could, if they wanted to, pounce. It seems the public is less intimidated by (or impressed with) TV news crews. Journalists need to be aware of this and take the right precautions. There's really no point is trying to do TV in a situation where the story is going to be derailed by a meathead who thinks it's funny to grab the microphone or flash gang signs in the background.

Just for fun:

Every time I see this sign, I post it on social media. I love it.

One of my favorite things about San Francisco.

Takeaways:

1. TV technology is changing faster than ever. The time it took to advance from film to videotape was decades. Now we advance from digital tape to digital files to non-linear editing to FTP to LiveU to Periscope in a matter of a few years. If you can't keep up you get left behind. A successful TV journalist is one who can - and is willing - to learn new technology.
2. Be safe. Beginning reporters, especially, are often willing to push the envelope to get the story. They don't want the reputation of being the employee who complains and can't come through. But think about it. A live shot compromised by an unruly crowd doesn't do the viewer much good. Much less a crew beaten and bloodied, or worse.

Exclusive is the Holy Grail

Today's story was about weather. One of the tenets of local TV news is weather affects everyone - doesn't matter where you live, how much money you make, how many kids you have. It rains on everyone equally. Therefore, anytime there's unusual or extreme weather, TV stations kick into high (higher) gear.

Today we had a viewer email in a cell phone photo of a funnel cloud. FUNNEL CLOUD!!!!!!! Those aren't too common in the Bay Area. Moreover, this viewer is a fan of our morning meteorologist, Roberta Gonzales, so she emailed it only to us. Immediately the first thought in the minds of all the newsroom managers was Exclusive! We can do a story no one else can.

While it might seem trite, it's a well-founded strategy. Focus groups say the same thing about local TV news over and over again: "You guys are all the same. You tell the same stories. You have the same equipment. You even wear the same royal blue rain coats in bad weather." So any time a local TV station can tell a story that distinguishes it from the rest, it's going to happen.

Our interview subject was lively and engaging and the story turned out to be a fun one - not all that significant, but definitely a chance for us to tell a story no one else could.

A couple of other random thoughts:

The traffic is terrible in the Bay Area, worse than last year and worse than when I lived here in the 2000s. Because one is so often caught in traffic jams, the temptation to look at the cell phone is truly irresistible. It's impossible to look away. And it's also stupid and dangerous. Interestingly, because I can always get to places quickly in Syracuse, it doesn't seem to be as big of a problem - I can check email after I arrive to my destination. But because I'm stopped on the road so much in the Bay Area, the phone seems more tantalizing. MMJs have a gazillion things to do already, but trying to multi-task behind the wheel is a recipe for disaster. Get a hands-free earpiece and keep your eyes on the road.

Syracuse University's Newhouse Broadcast and Digital Journalism students should be proud of their new $18 million studios. The KPIX 5 studios in the fifth largest market in the country are larger, but that's about it. Same anchor desk, same green screen, same robotic cameras, the works. Click on the photos to advance the slideshow.

Takeaways:

1. Weather rules local TV news. Get used to it. If you don't like standing in the rain, the sleet and the snow, then this isn't the job for you.
2. Exclusive rules local TV news. Stations are desperate for ways to be different. News directors value reporters who pitch exclusive ideas.
3. Personalities make a difference on TV. We got the exclusive story today because the viewer felt a real connection with our meteorologist.
4. Put down the damn phone when you're driving. Get a hands-free device. It's just not worth it, no matter how pressured you feel to do just one more thing.
5. Newhouse rocks.

You never know everything. And that's OK.

Today's story focused on the David vs. Goliath battle between the mom-n-pop stores San Francisco is known for and the Big Box chains that see Big $$ in the city. Target has been particularly successful at prying its way into the chain-wary City by the Bay.

What was different about today's story was Target was targeting a now-closed sporting goods store in the Russian Hill neighborhood, rather than trying to set up shop in an area already populated with big box stores. As you can imagine, the neighboring one-off business owners didn't like it.

So, a pretty straightforward list of elements to gather for this assignment:

• statement from Target
• complaints from the neighbors
• video of existing Target stores in other parts of the city
• sound bites from customers who say they do or don't like shopping at big box stores.

And the day did go according to plan, up until this part:

https://youtube.com/devicesupport http://m.youtube.com

For all the benefits non-linear editing brings to TV journalism (faster, more creativity, easier duplication), there's still no way to describe the anguish of watching your computer not do what it's supposed to do on deadline. I tried to export my video story several times at 5:30pm, the requisite 30 minutes before showtime at 6pm. But it just wouldn't work. Fortunately, I was in San Francisco and could drive back to the station, but that still doesn't make up for the three fewer days I'll live stressing out about why the computer didn't work the way it was supposed to.

In the end, it was operator error, as I was exporting to the wrong place. (sad face emoji goes here)

This is the lesson of the day. Although I had never used the non-linear editing software KPIX now uses before I arrive last week, I studied hard for a few days and thought I had most of it down. The fact is you never know everything about anything. There's always more to learn. With that humble attitude, you can embrace the opportunities for intellectual growth this job offers.

On another note:

KPIX 5 Morning Meeting

This is the way the day begins in every newsroom in the country. It's called The Morning Meeting. This is where reporters pitch their story ideas (in person or by phone) and producers and managers conceptualize the big picture of how the day's newscasts will play out and how resources will be assigned. Sit in on one of these and you'll learn putting on a TV newscast is a lot more than just: "Hey, let's start with Simon's story." Probably more interesting than the editorial decisions of which stories to cover are the logistical calls on who to send where with what equipment and when. Truly, it's a symphony of moving parts that culminates in a polished newscast - most of the time. I continue to be amazed at how, for all the technology, the ability to send signals 22,000 miles up to a satellite and receive them back on earth again, so much of TV news is: how do you get there and how fast can you drive there?

Takeaways:

1. You can always learn more. When something goes wrong, don't miss the chance to figure out what went wrong and make sure it doesn't happen the next time. Moreover, embrace the opportunity to learn, and be happy your job isn't repetitive daily drivel like this.
2. Local TV news is fun, if for nothing else, than the challenge to physically get people and equipment to the right place before deadline. Whether that challenge is met is usually determined by the decisions made in The Morning Meeting.

Experience and the little things

Today began with a presser (TV lingo for press conference) where the San Francisco Giants announced plans to turn a stadium parking lot into the city's newest neighborhood. Not much of a challenge, but still a chance to remember there are a few tricks of the trade that can help make the story work better, especially as an MMJ.

The scene was anything but glamorous:

About 20 minutes before the press conference begins.

Still this scene shows a couple of things beginning reporters can learn.

1. Notice three tripods are already set up well ahead of time. These serve as placeholders, a way for videographers or MMJs to claim a good  spot before the crowds show up. Show up late and prepare to battle with the other tardy people for what's left.
2. The man sitting at the left is the audio technician working for the Giants. He's set up a mult box (multiple outlet box) where about 30 reporters can plug in their cables to get audio. Although a wireless transmitter would work, a cable is much more secure when working with a mult box. Always have an audio cable with you, just in case. My tripod is farthest to the left, which meant the shortest distance to the mult box.

Because I showed  up early, I used some of the  extra time to post to social media. An MMJ's day is hectic and there never seems to be enough time, so when you have a moment, take advantage  of it.

During this interview, I heard an alarm tone in my ear. I turned around and saw in the viewfinder the battery was running out. What to do? Try to finish the interview? Just one more question? Nope, play it safe, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel. I asked her to stop so I could get another battery from the truck, which was nearby. Better to get the interview right while you can; it's not going  to get better back at the station.

The day went pretty typically from there. Running around town getting information and interviews and racing to put the package together for deadline before the live shot. Again, knowing the equipment and the systems really helps at crunch time.

Oh yeah, and as we were breaking down the live shot I got this text:

Of course the answer was yes. This is part of the job. People call in sick, get sent on assignment out of town. It doesn't happen every day, but a good MMJ is part of the team. Leaving for work at 8:30am and returning home at 12:30am the next day isn't easy, but it beats punching a time card at 9am and 5pm every single day.

Takeaways:

1. Experience helps. Talk to the people who've been in your market a while (especially the videographers) and learn from them. Be nice to them. What they know will help you be more efficient and work more quickly.
2. Know the equipment. Familiarity with your tools makes things faster.
3. Be a team player. What goes around comes around. Being dependable and willing pays dividends later.

Here's the Giant's neighborhood story:

Here's the story about the vigil for the mother and daughter killed by a drunk driver that aired at 10pm and 11pm:

Just like Bo, the PIO knows

Today's story was about the Golden Gate Bridge District's plan to expand the ferry terminal in Sausalito. Tons of tourists like to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to Sausalito and then take the ferry back to the city. So many are doing this now, the people who live in Sausalito feel overrun. They don't want more bikes so they don't want a new, bigger ferry terminal that would make it easier for more bikes to come to the town.

Priya David Clemens, Golden Gate Bridge District spokesperson

Call number one - to the District spokesperson to get the background.

There's a reason why when journalists leave the business and go into public relations, they call it "going over to the dark side." Public information officers (PIOs) are paid to tell the story the people who pay them want told. Journalists should always keep that in mind when relying upon PIOs for information. In fact, one of the common criticisms of MMJs is they're so stressed for time, they rely on public relations too much and often don't get the full story.

Still, this does not mean journalists should avoid public relations folks as they execute their stories. The really good ones can make a reporter's day go more smoothly and efficiently. That was the case today, when I ran into a reporter I'd worked with 15 years ago, who had just recently "gone over to the dark side."

When I asked for an interview, she volunteered to meet me at the ferry terminal itself, saving a ton of time: shoot the video for the story and get the interview in the same place. She came prepared to talk about the controversy and not pretend it didn't exist. Sure, she took and told the side of the District, which is her job, but which I also needed for the story. Soon after the intervew, as she promised, she sent me information on how to find graphics and more background information on the story.

In the end, my day was made a lot easier by someone who knew the story and who knew what she was doing.

Takeaways:

1. Don't ever forget journalism and public relations are not the same thing. Journalists work for the public, PR folks work for their bosses.
2. Just because #1 is true doesn't mean journalists can't rely, in part, upon public relations professionals to get the story done. PIOs are often in the know and can provide timely information that helps make deadline. A good reporter will cultivate relationships with PR folks who are reliable.

If X then Y

Tonight's story had us covering the Filipino community's support for Manny Pacquiao in his "Fight of the Century" against Floyd Mayweather at a restaurant popular with Filipinos. Live at 6:30, 10 and 11.

No problem, until I realized the fight was supposed to begin at 9pm. A little math:

12 rounds x 3 minutes each + 1 minute between rounds = 48 minutes

If the fight goes the distance, it'll be over at 9:48pm, 12 minutes before the 10pm show begins. This called for a plan. This is what my videographer and I came up with:

1. if the fight was over early, say a Round 2 knockout at 9:10pm, we'd have time to do post-fight interviews and still put a package together at 10pm.
2. if the fight went longer, say a Round 6 knockout around 9:30pm, we'd have time to do one post-fight interview and do a live VOSOT at 10pm.
3. if the fight went the distance, ending at 9:48pm, we would only have time to do a live interview at 10pm.

The fight did go the distance, so we employed Plan #3. Even though we were in the middle of a crowded restaurant full of disappointed Pacquiao fans we were sure of what we needed to do and confident we could get it done. All that's because we thought ahead of time, came up with a plan and stuck to it.

Takeaways:

1. By definition, live TV is unpredictable and fluid. That's why it pays to have a plan, and more importantly, a backup plan. A little forethought goes a long way toward helping you see through the fog of deadline pressure.

So much stuff - and it's all necessary

I spent the first couple of days back at KPIX assembling equipment that I'll be using over the next two weeks as an MMJ. It struck me as I went from newsroom to ENG shop (equipment room) to business office that there is SO MUCH STUFF a reporter needs to do the job - and all of it's necessary. Sure, you might be able to get by without a lavalier microphone by using a stick mic, but when it comes right down to it, even the smallest piece of equipment that malfunctions or is missing can totally crash a day's worth of work.

For example, I spent a good hour trying to track down a charger for the camera batteries. The obvious stuff (camera, tripod, microphones) is easy to think of. But it's the little stuff that's just as necessary to pull off the job.

Here's rundown of what I collected, to ensure I, as a one-man band, could produce TV stories that would be informative, look professional and make deadline. Thirty-four items in all.

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Takeaways:

1. Never underestimate the importance of every little thing. The day you forget it is the day you'll need it.
2. Time spent before the deadline crush saves time during the deadline crunch.

SYR -> SFO: Return to reporting

Today I flew the friendly skies from Syracuse to Newark to San Francisco. It's my annual return to KPIX, the TV station where I worked from 2002 to 2011. My former bosses have been kind enough to let me come back to work as an MMJ for two weeks. My goals:

• learn the latest technology being used in local TV news
• enjoy the rush of reporting on deadline (and convince myself I can still do it)
• bring back stories and experiences to the classroom
• see old friends and experience the beautiful city

Please come back to this page for updates as I continue to use the past as prep for the future.

On the way in to SFO - tandem landing.

A fitting finale

The final day of my two-week return to TV seemed an appropriate sendoff; it epitomized the unpredictability of the job. Simply, three stories in one day.

Story 1: Follow up on the kid who took his boss's Maserati and crashed it into the public transit repair shop. 

The crashed Maserati photo as it appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Specifically, we wanted to find the owner. Here’s how TV news sleuthing works: The police department wouldn’t give us the name of the owner because he’s a victim. The district attorney’s office didn’t have the name because the owner didn’t press charges about the car being stolen. All we had was the picture, which clearly shows the license plate. With that, we can get the owner’s information from the DMV. The owner had such a generic name it was pretty much useless. However, on a whim, I decided to do a Google search for name + Maserati, and a magazine article came up. Lo and behold, a guy by this name is a big-time CEO who, on his daily commute to work, drives a Maserati.

Hey, we’re getting somewhere.

Problem is, his company’s headquarters is in Maryland. But a search of the company’s website shows it’s got an office in San Francisco! Maybe, just maybe, this guy is so rich, he’s got a Maserati in every town where he’s got an office. In the end, I went to the office, and it turns out he wasn’t the guy. A lot of effort to end up at a dead end, but this is what it takes to ferret out a story.

Story 2: The NASCAR race is in two days and that means massive traffic jams around the track, which is just north of San Francisco at the gateway to wine country. On this story I was paired with a videographer and our job was to remind people to avoid the area around the track and include this detail – 85% of the people who drive past the track on race day, aren’t even going to the race, they’re headed farther north for wine tasting. If they went another way, they could avoid two-hour delays.

Denny Hamlin heading from the garage to the track at Sonoma Raceway.

This story went as planned and we even got to enjoy the roar and rumble of the NASCAR cars. But at 4:30pm, a half an hour before our scheduled live shot at the track, we were told to hurry up and feed in the traffic story, and head to . . . 

Story 3: A fire had broken out near Interstate 680, forcing the California Highway Patrol to close the roadway. Moreover, there were houses burning, and with the drought, there was a chance this could get big. Truth is, there’s a chance every fire could get big. So, we leave the raceway at 4:59pm heading toward the fire for a 6pm live shot at the top of the show.

Story 1 - San Francisco; Story 2 - Sonoma Raceway; Story 3 - Fairfield fire.

Here’s where the logistics of TV news gets complicated and where more than a little luck is necessary. To be successful for a 6pm live shot, we needed to find a location to set up the truck where the fire would be in the background, where we could leave the truck for the live shot without getting kicked out by the firefighters, where we could shoot video and conduct interviews with witnesses. OK, so we've now dealt with the location. Then there’s the time constraints: travel time, shooting video time, interview time, editing time, feeding the video back to the station time, live shot set up time, all before 6pm when the show starts.

Here’s what we saw on the way in:

On Google maps, I zoomed in to the area where the fire was and figured out the back way in avoiding the freeway, which was closed. I was basically guessing by looking at a map on an iPad. But this is where experience and luck comes into play. Get this part wrong, and we could waste precious minutes trying to find a location that fulfilled all the criteria listed above. Get it right, and we get on at the top of the show with all the elements.

We guessed right, found a safe parking space with a good vantage point, and hopped out of the truck and began shooting.

iPhone photo of CalFire helicopter water drop. By the way, it's up to the reporter to get out of the way or be doused.

My photographer (I was working with one today) ran straight to the fire and got great pictures. The fire won’t keep burning forever, hopefully, so there’s a certain hurriedness to covering these events. Wait too long and there won’t be any video to shoot.

Meanwhile, I dedicated a few minutes to social media, shooting video and photos that the station and others could re-Tweet. I think we were the first ones to get video from the ground of the fire (various stations had already broadcast helicopter video). It’s at events such as these that a reporter or TV station develops a reputation for being first. Once you get that reputation, viewers and followers will come back to you the next time something happens. It’s like CNN – not a lot of people watch daily, but when a war breaks out, that’s where people go. Nonetheless, I was a little worried, as I shot my video and photos for social media, that I wasn’t dedicating time gathering information for my live shot. It was a choice – one or the other, not both.

In the end, we did the job. Live report at 6pm, with video; live report again at 6:30 with video and a live interview, plus live camera shots throughout the show. An exhausting day but one that reminded me of the power of TV. It’s the only medium that can take you to the scene and show you what’s going on right now, live. Newspapers and radio can’t do that. That’s why TV stations push so hard to get on the air at breaking news events. It’s the only way to distinguish ourselves.

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Takeaways:

1. Once again, it’s important for aspiring TV reporters to figure out whether they can handle the unpredictability of this job. “Yes I love it” or “No, I hate it” are both acceptable answers. Only one means you have a career in TV news.
2. Logistics plays an important, if not well-recognized, role in successful TV news stories. Figuring out where to go and how to get there are skills one develops over time. There’s nothing the folks back at the station can do to help you, really. You’re out in the field making the final calls based on what you see on the scene. A wrong turn can mean a 30-minute delay that jeopardizes or crashes a live shot. The right turn can mean you beat the competition.
3. Covering breaking news means getting the video and interviews and information you can right now. The event doesn’t go on forever and dallying can cost you.
4. Social media can be an important tool in establishing your reputation as a go-to source for news – breaking news, exclusive news, interesting news, whatever. Using it expands your reach to a broader audience. However, there’s a delicate balance because time dedicated to social media is time not spent on getting your story ready for the TV broadcast. Reporters have to learn to do more while trying to do it all well.

Oh, what a RUSHHHHHHHH!

That’s the feeling you get when you’re racing against deadline, trying your best to make it to a live shot, and then, with just a few minutes to spare, you have to calm down, bring your heart rate back to normal, and have it look as though this was the plan all along. That was my experience today.

The assignment: explore a civil grand jury report blaming, in large part, San Francisco’s mayor for all the debacles on the city’s waterfront over the past couple of years:

• The America’s Cup race didn’t make as much money as planned;
• A condo project was voted down by residents;
• So was the original Golden State Warriors stadium project;
• A refurbished cruise ship terminal won’t make as much money as expected.

File video of the events, excerpts of the report, interviews with the critics and the mayor – all pretty simple and obvious elements to the story.

The interviews went OK; as usual it took a few calls, but the right folks came through. I’ve noticed the station uses Skype to conduct interviews without much fuss, which is another example of technology changing the way TV reporting happens. In the old days, either the camera went to the person or you had to pay thousands of dollars for a satellite interview. No longer; Skype, with its noticeably lesser quality of both audio and video, is accepted. So one of my interviews was via Skype.

The mayor was out of town and his office directed us to another agency that provided an insipid statement thanking the grand jury for its “input.” Nothing addressing the criticism of the mayor. A major PR fail. Ignoring the story doesn’t mean it won’t air, it just means your side won’t be included.

The Civil Grand Jury report photo I took with my iPhone.

Another way advancing technology has changed the way we do TV: in the old days, getting excerpts of documents took a concerted team effort, with the photographer shooting the documents and the graphics team creating the desired images. Today, I just printed out the document, took photos of the parts I wanted with my iPhone and then imported the images into the editing software (Final Cut Pro). Once in Final Cut, it’s easy to add motion to the still images, making them look more professional and almost like video. Cool.

Once again, I was forced to use file video, which provoked that feeling of not being in control. It’s so much easier to shoot your own video and then edit it because you know what you’ve got. Using file video means having to review everything, and then writing around the video that isn’t there. Moreover, there are the extra steps of actually finding the video and downloading it from the server. Not a big pain, but certainly more time consuming than just shooting the video on the scene.

By far the best part of the day was the last 25 minutes. I left the station at 5:35pm for a 6pm live shot – the lead story. I wasn’t quite sure which was the fastest way to get to City Hall, in part because I haven’t been here in a while, but also because the traffic at rush hour can make some ways take much longer than usual. I, of course, picked the wrong way. The feeling of seeing the minutes tick by on your watch as the stoplights turn from red to green to red four times over without the car moving is at once maddening and exhilarating.

This is the adrenaline rush you either love or hate; the pressure that either makes or breaks your career in TV. If you can handle it - embrace it - then this is the job for you. If not, and that’s fine, then better to move on to something else.

As I drove up to City Hall with about three minutes to go before the beginning of the show, I found my photographer on the phone with the station trying to establish the live signal, adjusting the camera and setting up the lights – ALL AT THE SAME TIME! I pitched in, and said, “Let’s make it look as though we’ve been here all day.” As I advise my students, “the viewer doesn’t care.” Doesn’t care about the traffic, the technical problems, the interview who cancelled. Our job is to tell the best story we can in the most professional way possible, no matter what.

For all the crazy stress I was feeling at the time, I think the live shot came off OK. Even better, I was in my element.

Takeaways:

1. Technology is simplifying the way TV reporting is done, especially for MMJs. An iPhone can become a second camera and a graphics machine. Reporters must master these tools or be left behind. It’s not rocket science.
2. Racing against deadline, especially when it’s a live shot at the other end, is one of the most thrilling parts of being a TV reporter. Think long and hard about whether that’s enjoyable for you before embarking on a career in local TV news.

Playing it safe in Oakland

The beauty of local television news is every day is a new day. No matter what happened the day before, it’s a clean slate tomorrow. After yesterday’s success, today was bound to be a little more difficult.

While reviewing the Oakland City Council agendas online, I found the Public Safety Committee had this item on its agenda for next week:

Subject: Banning Automated Purchasing Machines

From: Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney

Recommendation: Adopt An Ordinance Of The City Of Oakland, California, Amending Title 8 Of The Oakland Municipal Code To Add Chapter 8.21 Prohibiting Automated Purchasing Machines Which Buy Back Personal Electronic Devices Or Electronic Equipment

Reviewing agendas often leads to nothing, they’re so boring. But sometimes, there are nuggets that make for interesting stories. After all, what government decides, we all have to abide. This one piqued my interest, more than anything else, because I didn’t know anything about it. After a little research, I discovered other cities had banned these machines, which allow you to turn in your old cell phone for cash, kind of like an ATM. The city doesn’t want these machines set up in Oakland because it thinks making it easy to exchange phones for cash will be an incentive for people to steal more phones. Already the number of cell phone robberies in Oakland has doubled to nearly 3,400 since 2009, when there were only 1,600.

So what do I need for this story? Cell phone video, video of the machines and interviews with the council member, police and someone from the company that makes the machines. Pretty simple.

The council member’s office agreed to an interview, but not until the afternoon. The station found tons of file video of cell phones and the machines. But the video was at the station in San Francisco and I was in Oakland, which mean I wasn’t in control. The more people involved in producing a story, the longer it takes. But in this case, I was willing to rely on the file video, because I really had no choice.

The Oakland Police Department Public Information Officer didn’t call me back until 5:37pm! This was after calls to her at 11am. Surely the folks there know how TV works, right? “The story’s running at 6pm tonight.” It’s amazing how often people whom you expect to understand the rhythm of local TV news – TV time – just don’t. In the end, I couldn’t include the police.

And the machine manufacturer is in San Diego, so it only offered a phone interview, ugh – phone interviews bring television stories to a dead halt. So I just asked them to email me answers to questions.

So by 3:00pm, all I have is one interview with the council member; I have to make a call. The story airs at 6pm. And my call is, “that’s it.” This is going to be one of those uninspired one-interview stories (just the council member’s aide) and a bunch of broll. It’s time to head back to San Francisco to get the file video and edit the package.

Again, because there are lots of professionals in the newsroom, the file was ready and the graphics and editors were standing by to fill in the holes in my story super fast.

Compared to yesterday, this story didn’t have the day-of video, compelling interviews and creative standup one would hope for, but, tomorrow’s another day.

Even though I worked as an MMJ, I wasn’t by myself today. Evan accompanied me. He’s a former Oakland Police Officer who now works as an armed guard. Our station, and many others it the Bay Area, now require reporters to cover Oakland with someone with a gun. We’re not allowed to go alone. Why?

I must say I never felt threatened during our day. So it was strange to have Evan sit with me in my car as I researched my story online and made phone calls. He accompanied me to Oakland City Hall where I conducted my interview, and he was vigilant, checking on not only me, but looking out the windows to keep watch on my car parked nearby.

Working a story with Security Guard Evan Frazier in Oakland, CA.

I guess this is part of being a television reporter today; MMJs, because they’re alone, are even more susceptible to having their equipment taken. 

Takeaways:

1. No matter how well you plan, you still have to depend on the public to make your story a reality. Sometimes those people get it, sometimes they don’t. Regardless, you have to make deadline, so that means your stories may meet your standards or not. The good thing is once today’s chapter has been written, we get to write another one tomorrow.
2. The public doesn’t fear the media or hold it in such high regard as it used to. I can remember going on assignments where people cowered, whispering, “Oh, that’s the TV station.” Nowadays, especially in cities like Oakland, but also in San Francisco, the bad guys treat us like any other potential victim in possession of expensive equipment. TV crews, and especially MMJs, must be on the lookout for threats to their safety and never trade health for a story.

One-stop shopping

When your assignment destination is Sausalito, it’s going to be a good day. The folks who live there are a little tired of all the tourist buses rumbling through town, so they decided to put some restrictions on where the buses could go.

A pretty simple story – get video of the buses and sound bites with the upset neighbors.

Everything went according to plan and the story turned out pretty well – no hiccups. Still, there were a few things I remembered about being an MMJ and shooting, writing and editing my own story.

This was an ideal MMJ story -  one-stop, Sausalito. Sure there were various locations within the town, but it wasn’t the more difficult assignment of going from San Francisco to Berkeley to San Jose, which I’ve done.

Another thing that swung in my favor today was the producer’s decision to “break out” other aspects to the story, rather than asking me to include them. Sausalito isn’t the only locale getting fed up with the tourists – San Francisco is also thinking about limiting buses around Alamo Square where the Painted Ladies are, and soon might even restrict who can go down crooked Lombard Street. Had the producer asked me to include those elements in my story, I would have had to

• go shoot the video in those places, and then break the rule of only going to two places max for an MMJ story or
• ask the station to include file video of those places in my story, which would have meant I would no longer have complete control over how my story went. The more people who are involved in producing and editing a story, the longer it takes. Because I could do it myself, I knew how much time I had and what the final product would look like.

So my video of the buses was pretty good and so were the interviews, but I needed something for a standup. Hopping on and off a bus wasn’t really an option because they’re moving and to shoot it myself would have taken a lot of setup and time. But as I was shooting video of downtown Sausalito, I saw something that sparked an idea for a standup. I believe this is one of the advantages of being an MMJ – by looking through the viewfinder, one can come up with ideas and lines to include in a story that don’t jump out if one is just working as a reporter. 

In this case, this is what I saw:

Downtown Sausalito, CA

Check out the story to see how the standup turned out.

Takeaways:

1. MMJs really need to have a tight, tight focus on their stories. It’s a big help when producers can have the anchors tell other parts of the story, leaving a single, simple core element for the MMJ. Mike Sugerman’s rule still rules: MMJs should go to a maximum of two places to shoot video.
2. MMJs can have an advantage over a separate photographer/reporter team, because the MMJ thinks as both. Sometimes looking through the viewfinder leads to an idea that wouldn’t have arisen otherwise.

Use all the resources at your disposal

Today’s story was on the effect of San Francisco proposing to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Particularly at restaurants, any increase in labor costs can be a big burden.

This was one of those ideal days, where the sun shines, there’s no traffic and all the people you call agree to an interview right away. In no time, I lined up the head of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and a restaurant owner to explain how this increase would be bad for business. In fact, the restaurant owner said he was going to have to cut staff and replace employees with iPads customers could use to order their food.

Now the only thing remaining was get some video of the tablets in use. Hmmmm. The restaurant owner didn’t have them yet; the restaurant association lady’s suggestion didn’t pan out. Who do I know who might have a clue? My wife! She worked in the restaurant industry when we lived in San Francisco, and even though she was now all the way across the country, her recommendation came through. She led me to a San Francisco company that creates this specific kind of software. The lesson: rely on anyone you know as a source for leads – you never know when an idea from far away is even better than a close one.

Another resource that’s becoming more commonly used is the smart phone. Several of the long-time photographers I’m working with say the iPhone can take great still photos and video and they use them frequently as second and third cameras for their stories. You can drive a car over an iPhone for a story about potholes; you can walk over an iPhone for a cool cutaway shot with your interview subject. In today’s story, the iPhone allowed me to shoot a standup giving the viewer the perspective of the restaurant tablet (It’s a little difficult to explain, but you’ll get it if you watch the story).

Another reason today went well – all my interviews were within a five-block area in downtown San Francisco. This cut down my driving time, which gave me more reporting time. That time allowed for a creative standup as well as a video tease I Tweeted and posted to Facebook.

My final lesson for the day was to appreciate the professionals you work with. If you build relationships with the folks who shoot and edit and produce and assign stories, you can rely upon them to help you out in a pinch. My story was late getting to the server, and the super-experienced editor in charge of making sure my story was in the right place at the right time took the time to make me look good. She tweaked and adjusted and exported with the sole goal of making the story shine. It didn’t have to be this way. Prima donna reporters who think colleagues are their servants don’t always get a helping hand when they need it most. Just remember, on camera doesn’t mean on top; others in the newsroom have important jobs, too. When you need them the most, they can be lifesavers.

Takeaways:

1. Leave no stone unturned when you’re trying to track down sources and leads. Someone who’s not even in the same time zone can open doors you never thought of.
2. New technologies, such as smart phones, can be useful tools to help tell a compelling story. They’re not replacements for professional video cameras, but they can augment traditional storytelling equipment.
3. When you can economize on the time you spend driving, shooting and editing, use what’s left over to promote your story and make it different.
4. Respect your colleagues and build bridges. You may be a self-sufficient reporter who can shoot and edit with aplomb. But there will come a time – you can count on it – when you need help. That’s not the time to try to make friends. Do it ahead of time, so in the moment of crisis, your co-workers are more than willing to save you.

There's no time like TV time

TV time is a special thing. It's really unlike any other kind of time. To TV people, the time 6:01:30 makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, people who aren't in TV don't know how to keep TV time.

Today's stressor was trying to line up people for a story on the San Francisco Pride Committee (which organizes the LGBT parade and other weekend events) excluding the military from this year's edition. This is relatively controversial given homosexual members of the military can now serve openly. So, essentially, the military accepts gays, but San Francisco's premiere gay event doesn't accept certain gays. That's the background.

One key interview was with the state representatives of the National Guard, who are sorely disappointed they were banned from the event. But, because Murphy seems to always have a hand in setting up a TV story, all the PR folks for the National Guard were on a training mission in San Luis Obispo today - way far away.

Eventually, I was able to get one gay member of the California State Military Reserve (a support group to the National Guard) on the phone and he agreed to talk to me. I thought I was clear in saying we needed to conduct the interview around 3-3:30pm at the latest, because the story aired at 6pm. After not hearing from him for about an hour, I asked for confirmation via text and he promised he'd be ready "around 4, maybe a little earlier." To regular folks, that's close enough.

I also was reminded today that one of the basic tenets of journalism is to tell both sides of the story; it's only fair. The other side of this story is obviously the SF Pride folks, the ones who made the decision to ban the military. My phone calls, emails and repeated visits to the office proved fruitless and, in the end, I was not able to include their response in my story. This is deflating and disheartening. I can't help but feel as though I didn't give the viewers what they needed to decide for themselves whether the ban was a good idea. To a lesser extent, I also feel the Pride people deserved the chance to defend themselves from the military criticism. However, reporters cannot force people to talk, and there comes a point when all that's left to say is "we tried, but they never got back to us."

Takeaways:

1. Clearly communicate to your interview subjects what you want and when you want it. TV time and the corresponding deadlines are not understood by lay people. Seconds make a difference to us, not to them.
2. Always make a herculean effort to get both sides of the story. Don't take the easy way out and call someone for reaction just before the show starts and then say "they never got back to us." If we want to maintain (revive) a reputation as journalists with integrity, we must give people a fair shot to have their say. But sometimes, no matter how genuine the effort, the reporter just cannot get the other side.

"If you didn't get it, you didn't get it."

Today’s original story was on Texas Governor Rick Perry’s comparison of homosexuality to alcoholism; a comment he made at a forum in San Francisco. Rather than just cover reaction to the quote, which would be decidedly obvious and not all that enlightening, the plan was to go further – to explore the business and financial consequences of the statement. That was a germane angle, because the whole point of Perry’s visit was to highlight what he thought were the advantages of doing business in Texas as opposed to California.

So I called several public relations experts to get their analysis of Perry’s mistake. Only one called back, and he was in Santa Clara, a full hour south of San Francisco. After waiting about 30 minutes, I decided it would be better to take the time to drive there and back for a sure interview, rather than continue to wait for a closer interview that might not come.

These are the logistical decisions reporters have to make all day long, every day. Interestingly, they don’t really have much to do with journalism, they’re more about the mechanics of getting the job done on time, which, however, does allow your journalism to make it on the air.

Once in Santa Clara, the interview went well, right up until the pile driver kicked in at the construction project across the street. I let the subject finish answering the question we were on, but then decided to move inside. Continuing might have worked, but not worth the risk. It’s sometimes uncomfortable to ask interview subjects to stop or move or start over, but that always beats the alternative, which is poor audio or video. Tempting as it is to believe, video and audio never miraculously improve when you get back to the station. Either you get it right in the field, or you don’t.

After all that, my story changed and I instead covered the decision by the electric carmaker Tesla to share its battery patents. This required driving even farther south to Los Gatos for an interview and then east to Fremont for a live shot in front of the Tesla factory.

I found myself getting back into the groove of enjoying the challenge of making deadline, rather than dreading it and wondering if I’d make it. I think there’s a certain endurance one builds up to dealing with the deadline stress, and after nearly a week, I’m getting into stress shape. Beginning reporters should take comfort in knowing it does get easier.

Takeaways:

1. Try to enlighten the viewers by telling them something they don’t know. The obvious story is often easier, but not necessarily better.
2. When it comes to interviews, certain and far beats maybe and close. These are decisions reporters learn to make with experience, but having something for sure gives you something to build your day around.
3. Reporters must make sure their video and audio is good as it’s being recorded in the field, no matter how embarrassing or uncomfortable it is to ask a subject for a do over. “If you didn’t get it, you didn’t get it.”

Know your audience

 One lesson re-learned today is “remember who your audience is.” So often in journalism, we write about things we know well, without recognizing our audience may not be as familiar with the subject of the story.

My assignment was to cover the guy who hacked TweetDeck, owned by Twitter, based in San Francisco. What’s hacking? Who knows what TweetDeck is? While many avid Twitter users know it, lots of people don’t. That means covering the story with a broader view. In this case, my focus was more about how security on the internet is tenuous at best rather than getting into the coding vulnerability that allowed the hacker to penetrate TweetDeck.

I was also reminded of how to overcome a common obstacle: What do I say in my standup? One of the best strategies is to turn one of the good sound bites of the interview into the standup. An added benefit is you can use the first part of the interview to lead in to the standup, which adds variety. In this story, the standup was a re-worded description the internet security expert gave me.

Takeaways:

1. Know your audience. Don’t forget the people watching the local newscast after Jerry Springer aren’t the same as the people watching the local newscast after the network news.
2. A standup is a key part of the story that helps the viewers know who’s telling the story. Paraphrasing a good sound bite is good way to come up with an idea for a standup.