The Weather Person Unleashed

Posted May 25, 2020
Share To
 
 

TV newsrooms are funny places.

The business natrually attracts creative people who want to tell stories, and then, as soon as they get into the news business, the stations or networks immediately set out to crush most people before they can even get started.

There are inherent rules and limits as to who is allowed to make pieces, shoot stories, write scripts or go on the air. 

Generally, in a newsroom that might employ 120 people, there are perhaps a dozen, perhaps fewer who are actually allowed to 'make stuff.'

This is inherent crazy

And a waste of enormous potential talent.

Since the birth of the television industry, this was inevitable.

It was inevitable because the equipment that was necessary to make television news was both extremely expensive and incredibly complicated to operate.

A newsroom with 120 people might field only 8 reporters and 'crews' a day.

That was not a function of the best way to report or cover stories - it was a function of the cost and complexity of making the product.

The advent of the iPhone changed all of that.

Now instead of fielding 8 camera crews and 8 reporters, you can field 120 reporters every day.

And why not?

All it takes is a creative person, an iPhone and a bit of training.

That's the part we offer.

The training.

The story above was conceived of, reported by, shot by, edited by, scripted by and produced by Lauren Due, the weather person at Spectrum News 1 Texas.

She may have been hired to stand in the studio in front of a green screen and deliver the weather, but she is capable of doing so much more. 

She did the story above during the bootcamp.

It was all done on an iPhone, by her alone, in one day.

She has a natural touch for storytelling. 

And she is not alone.

AND - she shot this story with her one year old daughter Natalie strapped to her back. 

THAT is the future of journalism.

And it's a great thing.

Empower and unleash your staff

You will be amazed at what they can do.

Even with a baby on their back!  

 


Recent Posts

There is a great deal of concern, well placed, that few people under the age of 30 watch TV news. Viewership of TV news in general has fallen off, so naturally, TV executives across the boards are searching for a solution. How to appeal to a demographic that spends most of their time on social media?


Sometimes when you are searching for something, the answer is right before your eyes. For years, I have been looking for a new and powerful way to cover breaking news stories - and now, I think, I've got it.


When we run our video storytelling bootcamps for TV news organizations, our primary focus is on what we call ‘the viewer experience’. It is a given that the journalism is well researched and accurate, but if no one is watching; if there is no ‘audience engagement’ with the story, then you are in fact showing it to no one, which is tragic, and avoidable.


Share Page on: