WUFT Political Anchor: What I've learned so far

If you've read my blog then by now you may know that I love making lists and giving advice. This is not because I feel that I am a know it all, but it's because I tend to learn a lot from doing (and even more from hindsight). I hope to share the things I learn and the mistakes I’ve made, not as a way to tell you what to do, but to show you what I’ve learned/am learning. This blog is for me too! I hope to look back in a few years and re-watch some of my "old work"/the things I went through/learned to see if I have been practicing what I've been preaching. All rambling aside this post will be about anchoring/on-air presence and what I've learned about it.

Having been a Political Anchor for WUFT News for a little over a semester now (and a WUFT News reporter for over a year), there are a few tips I have to give about Live TV and being on air:

1) Nervousness. It's okay to be nervous. I once had a teacher tell my class that if you aren't a little nervous before every broadcast, then you don't care enough. While I think this may be a teensy bit extreme, I will say that being a little nervous is okay (even good sometimes). This is because it does make you care about what you're doing and that's good. But, don't let your nervousness overtake you. If you're shaking like a leaf, then you won't give a solid delivery. People want to see confidence in the person who's giving them their news; this helps to build trust and rapport with the viewer.

2) Cold Reads. DON'T DO IT. This is when the first time you're reading a story is live on air. I repeat, DON'T DO IT. Now, I recognize this is not always possible to avoid. There may be breaking news or some last minute changes, so obviously you may have to read some things cold. But if it's within your power to read your script before the show, do so! Please don't think that because you can read and speak properly that you will be fine. NO! There may be words you don't know how to pronounce, tricky strings of words that may trip you up and numbers. There may also be words that need to be emphasized or paused before/after and you won't give as great of a delivery if it's your first time reading it. Once you're a veteran journalist, then it's up to you, but for now, READ IT!

4) Resting Face. A journalist from CNN who attended the FAMU Multimedia Short Course with me (see my last post) talked about "resting faces." It's what your face looks like when you’re listening to someone else talk or just relaxing/not doing anything. Depending on how your face looks in that moment, people could misinterpret it. I know this is something I struggle with. My resting face looks pissed off. So sometimes on air I look ready to fight and the story is happy or just neutral. My goal for the rest of the semester is to work on looking more pleasant and less ready for battle.

5) Voice/Pace. A lot of students, including myself, struggle to find their "on air voice." I can't tell you how much I cringe when I hear a journalist put on a weird voice to read the news. But for some people it works. During my Summer 2013 internship with CNN, I worked with Suzanne Malveaux. She told me that as a woman you do want to find the "bass in your voice" so as not to sound like a higher pitched and thus, younger girl, but as someone of authority. However, she also said you shouldn't really change my voice. Think about it, how strange would be if I spoke with a deep voice like Toni Braxton or Sade and then in real life used my real voice (hint: my real voice is NOT close to that deep)? If a viewer met me in Publix they'd be really confused. So, I don't plan on changing my voice. I think that if I speak slowly (which inadvertently causes me to lower my voice a bit), I’ll be fine. But hey, that's what works for me; everyone's got to find his or her own sound.

I upload most of my WUFT Political broadcasts to my YouTube channel, so feel free to check them out and tell me what you think.

NABJ's "FAMU Short Course"

Producing isn't easy!

Now this is not to say that I've never had respect or admiration for television news producers, but after taking in walk in their shoes, my hat is off to them. ALL of them. I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a Multimedia "Short Course" at Florida A & M University, which was sponsored by the National Association of Black Journalists. This program was kind of a like a mini multimedia journalism bootcamp which was jam-packed into two and a half days of non-stop news, media, learning and fun. My role during the program was to produce the first of the weekend's two webcasts. I have never produced television news before and it was one of the most stressful, exciting and rewarding times of my life. The show didn't turn out perfect, not by a long shot, but I am proud to say that I was able to get it done. 

Day in the life: With swine flu becoming more prevalent, should pregnant women vaccinate?

It seems americans are split when it comes to deciding whether or not to vaccinate themselves during flu season. There are many reasons behind the choice to vaccinate or not to vaccinate, some are based on fact and research and others are based on myth. Regardless of your stance, one thing you do need to know is that this flu season the H1N1 strand of the flu or the "swine flu," is most prevalent. Swine Flu Symptoms include cough, fever, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms you should see your docotor immediately. But, if you want to prevent yourself from getting the flu altogether, doctors recommend you get the flu shot as soon as possible. Those most at risk this flu season are children, the elderly, young adults and pregnant women. My story focuses on the latter and why so many of them aren't getting the vaccination. I spoke about stand ups in a previous post, take a look at the one I did in this story and tell me what you think. You can also take a look at the "Google Flu Trends" chart to see how the nation is handling the 2013-2014 Flu Season. To find the nearest vaccination location in your area, use the "Vaccine Finder":

Tiffany Sessions: 25 years later

As a night side reporter for GTN News, I had the opportunity to produce a story following a break in the 25 year old "Tiffany Sessions Cold Case." The University of Florida student went on a walk on February 9, 1989, but never returned. Her family and several law enforcement agencies have been searching for her ever since. New information is leading detectives to believe Tiffany was abducted (and potentially killed) by convicted serial killer, Paul Rowles. Rowles died in a state prison in 2013, but this new information could lead us one step closer to finding Tiffany.

Review of "Don’t make me think (Revisited): A common sense approach to web usability."

I’ve recently read through the book “Don’t make me think (Revisited): A common sense approach to web usability,” and I have to say it really opened up my eyes to the world of being a “user friendly” web operator. In saying this I mean that there is so much more that should go into creating and maintaining a successful website. For example, I created this blog for the Advanced Interactive course that I am currently enrolled in at the University of Florida. However, in making this blog I didn’t put much thought into what you as the reader would get out of it (sorry!). I honestly just assumed that if I posted things and made them witty and easy to read then people would read my posts and that would be the end of that. But this book challenges you to dig deeper. On the internet there are a million different things competing for your attention. In personally know that even when logging on the web with one specific task in mind, within seconds I have at least four to five other tabs open on my browser window. As I write this post right now I have a tab open for Facebook, Pandora, Essence Magazine, Elearning, and BuzzFeed. That’s insane when you think about it! I say all of this to say that as an online consumer it takes something more than “catchiness” or “quirkiness” to grab and hold one’s attention. When I look at all of these things that I have open, more than half of them where due to links that I found on Facebook and ended up clicking on. And that’s just it, it’s the ease with which I was able to get to another site that made it so enticing to click. If I knew in order to get to that funny BuzzFeed post I’d have to jump through a million hoops and give a pint of blood, then I would have never clicked on it. And it’s with this mindset that we as web operators should be creating and managing our website. Chapter four of the book, “Don’t make me think (Revisited): A common sense approach to web usability,” really does a great job of explaining this concept. Essentially it says that people on the Internet don’t want to have to think too much to do anything (harsh right?). But when you think about it it’s true! If there are two things competing for your attention on the internet, both equally “important” to you, but one is easier to get to, which one are you going to go for first and probably stick with longer? The easy one, duh! So in sum there are few important tips that any blogger, website manager/owner, etc. should employ based on this book. For one, don’t give users too many hard and lengthy choices to make in order to get to you content. Just don’t do it. And two, if you keep your site full of brief, timely, unavoidable, and (my own addition) easy to access, you’ll probably have more eyes looking at your content for longer.

Day in the life: The makings of a stand-up

Stand-ups. They can be a reporter’s best friend or worst enemy, especially when you're a one-man band. It just reminds me of the fact that people really don't realize how much work goes into a minute and a half story. This picture is a still from a recent story I did on the soaring prices of propane. Due to this unusually blistery winter, the demand for propane has significantly increased, causing shortages in some parts of the nation and a rapid increase in it's cost. I had the pleasure of speaking with a local distributor about how he was holding up. Getting through the interviews and shooting footage was the easy part of the day for me, it was my stand-up that really took the most effort. It took me forever to think where to stand, what to say, make sure my mic was working, make sure my camera was focused/well lit and make sure I was also creative. The fact that it was freezing outside did not help. When the manager, who had gone inside at that point, came back out and saw me shooting the stand-up, he thought I had been talking to myself (#reporterprobs!). I just laughed and explained what I was really doing. I saw all of this to say that stand-ups are an area which I am actively working to improve as a reporter and I can't wait to see what they'll look like a year from now. As I just said I am definitely still learning, but I have a few tips that I use to help my stand-ups turn out decently.

 1) Think of what you're going to say ahead of time! There's nothing worse than having the camera rolling and you're just standing in front of it dazed and confused trying desperately to figure out what you're going to say. Trust me, I’ve done it so many times before (including for this stand-up) and it just wastes time, tape and battery life. Turn off the camera and take a minute to plan out (if you can) what you're going to do and say.

 2) Make sure the camera is in a secure place Not following this rule could land you in big trouble. A much as we want to get that perfect action shot/stand-up, you've got to treat your camera like your baby. That means you have to make sure that whatever you're doing, the camera is on a steady base (preferably the tripod) and it's not near something that could knock it over/break it.

 3) Make sure your shot is focused/ well-lit and your sound is good This comes out of a lot of trial and error (at least for me). But be sure to focus your camera on the spot you'll be standing (if you're a one man band) and adjust your lighting accordingly. I know that in this business time is of the essence, but it might not hurt to do a couple of takes. That way you can play them back to check audio and visual quality before moving on. There's few worse feelings than playing back a "rock star" stand-up, only to find your audio is bad, camera is unfocused, or you're shot is dark/overexposed.

 4) Shoot multiple versions! Unless you're shooting your stand-up at the end of ALL interviews, it wouldn't hurt to shoot multiple versions of your stand-up. Usually at this point you're not entirely sure what your story will include (from start to finish) and you want to make sure your stand-up will make sense with whatever angle your story takes. So, don't say the same thing every time. Also, don't always assume you won't end your story on your stand-up, so make sure you shoot some with a tag. You can always cut it off if you don't need it, but it be there if you do need it and don't shoot it.

 5) Get Creative! Once you get the basics down, it'll be time to get creative with your stand-ups. The easiest way to have an "active stand-up" is to walk a little, from one point to another. More advanced stand-ups may include driving, multiple shots/angles, nat pops, matched action sequences and so on. While every stand-up doesn't HAVE to be active you should ALWAYS strive to make it active, especially if your story lends itself to that. One of my favorite reporters to watch is Jennifer French of WSYX/WTTE, Columbus, OH. Check her out!

Day in the life: Puppy Mill raided

Here's to another update on what I’ve been doing this week as a reporter. I said in an earlier post that I really enjoy reporting and sharing information with people, but there are some stories that really make me sad. This story happened to be one of them. We got a tip about a puppy mill that was being run in a Levy County home. Over 60 dogs were taken from this home in bad condition. The owners were breeding these dogs and selling them on Craigslist. I was so horrified to think about all of those poor dogs living in those conditions. I really don't like having to report about stories whether there's mistreatment, crime, pain and suffering (among other horrible things), but I also realize that doing so is a part of keeping the public informed. For example, wouldn't you be upset if there was a killer on the loose in your city and no news stations warned you about it? Stories like these aren't pleasant, but it's my job to inform the public about ALL things news, the good and the bad. So how does the story end? The puppies turned out to be okay and are being placed into loving, secure homes. The owners? Well, they're not doing okay. They're being charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty.