Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Local TV news: That sky already fell

All round Flash journalism guru and educator Mindy Mcadams' flags up this post from Steve Safran:Build a nice video site and take back online video.

Mindy adds..... "I would join Steve in urging those local TV operations to wake up, and fast -- but I would also urge my colleagues in the formerly print news business to think hard about what might happen if the local TV competition DOES step up. The golden age of online video experiments and innovation might be short, like the so-called golden age of radio".

That pushed my button with this return, below, but first a few things.

Congratulations to Hillman Curtis. Can a man who has achieved so much be sooo nice. He's won a webby for his films. Hillman wrote one of the seminal books in Flash that changed everything. In fact Hillman's book: Flash Web Design got me really into Flash.

I posted this short news report about his work.

Am I being naive, but are the Brits more hung up on titles than say the US, Germany or China? In the Uk you need to be something. Status and a business card is everything, which often means I reluctantly exchange greetings with people at conferences with..

"Hello I'm David" ( Pause)
"Hello I'm Rupery Myers, Head of Digital Comitext stystems 2000"
" Wow er, that sounds impressive"
"Oh I handle our companies digital strategy
David thiking: [everyone does digital strategy.. what the *** does that mean"
Hey I caught your bubble thoughts,, you know what I do.. I plan the future... so what do you do?"
"er things.....
Conversation ends.

You see I'm about to post a "how to" on viewmagazine.tv about a project for a major client who wanted an ad on CNN in less than 24 hours. The pitch went down to two people. Me and a Washington based company.
The story has some interesting twists, but I'm not sure you'd call me a video journalist on this... See you on view for the full story. However if you want to play along. Here's how the client pitched.

"Ok so you'll do it... good good.. our contact says you can"
Me swallowing my tongue: "er yeas... so what's the brief?"
"We don't have a brief except that we have bought the air time on CNN"
" No brief??£@????"
" We trust you, whow us wht yo come up with before you start putting together"..

So to that response to Mindy's post

Good read Mindy

My own view here in the UK is that infrastructural models and TV's job hierarchy which served it so well in its golden era, of course, needs an overhaul.

A new team competely (oh dear!) unless old dogs want to be taught new tricks?

TV execs will adamantly claim [and rightly so otherwise they shouldn't be there] they know good TV and how viewing audiences behave.

If they didn't
* Firstly, they would not say.
* Secondly, this new media stuff, that's not TV. "Damn it I have spent 30 years in this industry, no one's going to tell me how to do my job!".

But yes there has been change, perhaps marginal compared to the industry at large. But frankly there's a welcoming Darwinian nature about of all this: if you do nothing, it's likely you'll atrophy into oblivion. And, you and I have choices unlike a decade ago.

In the UK a good number of regional newspapers are turning to video journalism and there have been some notable successes within this paradigm e.g. The Hull Daily Mail and The liverpool Echo newspaper which sells footage back to local broadcasters. LOL

But there's also been a rush to video aping TV's model when CMSs could in themselves push/mix the paradigm. It's led some newspapers to ask what is the point of video online, when I also want users to read our work. My own tiny, miniscule idea was to wrap/integrate text around video masquerading as that headline picture.

On the catch up, yes that's interesting. I have recently completed some video journalism work with the Financial Times. At the point, which is where they're heading, they do the stuff TV is doing anyone in the newsroom


Good read Mindy

My own view here in the UK is that infrastructural models and TV's job hierarchy which served it so well in its golden era, of course, needs an overhaul.

A new team competely (oh dear!) unless old dogs want to be taught new tricks?

TV execs will adamantly claim [and rightly so otherwise they shouldn't be there] they know good TV and how viewing audiences behave.

If they didn't
* Firstly, they would not say.
* Secondly, this new media stuff, that's not TV. "Damn it I have spent 30 years in this industry, no one's going to tell me how to do my job!".

But yes there has been change, perhaps marginal compared to the industry at large. But frankly there's a welcoming Darwinian nature about of all this: if you do nothing, it's likely you'll atrophy into oblivion. And, you and I have choices unlike a decade ago.

In the UK a good number of regional newspapers are turning to video journalism and there have been some notable successes within this paradigm e.g. The Hull Daily Mail and The liverpool Echo newspaper which sells footage back to local broadcasters. LOL

But there's also been a rush to video aping TV's model when CMSs could in themselves push/mix the paradigm.

It's led some newspapers, particularly those not running the double play ( write the article/do the video which adds to the article) to ask what is the point of video online, when I also want users to read our work.

My own tiny, miniscule idea was to wrap/integrate text around video masquerading as that headline picture.

On the step, yes that's interesting. National broadcaster ITV has its local network up an running. The BBC has 800 plus video journalist who will serve local areas via its at-some-point-to launch broadband hub.

I have recently completed some video journalism work with the Financial Times. Like most newspapers who often generate primary news as well analyse and generate commentary, selling the article and accompanying video must be scary if you're a news broadcaster.

Sorry Mindy a couple of urls articles I have written in the same area

"Broadband's capacity offers scintillating innovation, it would be a shame to waste it"
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story3157.shtml

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