MY WEEK
This week I was on Spring Break, which allowed me to go home to Los Angeles and enjoy everything I love about LA. One of the many things I have come to like when I go home is being able to watch the local news. Since I started taking Broadcast classes last fall, I have started watching the news from a completely different perspective. When I’m in Columbia I try to watch the ten o’ clock KOMU newscast as often as possible, looking for things we talked about in class that week. It is quite a contrast watching local news in Columbia to news in LA.
Due to the fact LA is a big market, the news seems to be more about entertainment and less about the fundamentals of broadcast journalism. While home last week I saw an interview where the subject was turned so you could only see his profile. I saw another interview where a woman was talking to a reporter and the cameraman was standing across the street. Stations don’t avoid pans or zooms necessary or not in most cases. Usually when I watch the news in LA though, I watch CBS/KCAL because I interned there for the past two summers and know most of the people that work there. In order to “spice up” the newscast, CBS/KCAL has some of its anchors delivering parts of the newscast standing up next to television screens, or weather walls.
Most disturbing though was when I watched a local sports anchor deliver two separate sports casts and blatantly get two important and obvious things wrong. First he botched an upcoming match up in the Elite Eight and three days later he mispronounced Ichiro Suzuki’s name on air. Ichiro is the centerfielder for the Seattle Mariners, and probably the most well known Japanese baseball to ever play in the United States. As you can tell that bothered me because getting a fact or name wrong in sports casting is usually due to a lack of preparation.
JOURNALISM REFLECTION
Cnn.com did a great job with this headline because it immediately caught my eye, “3,000 killer bees sting man.” Being a journalist I couldn’t help but be curious and click the link. After watching the story while devastating, I though it was a good piece of journalism.
The reporter opens the package with close up video of a swarm of bees and audio of a man saying, “I just pulled them out of my mouth and pulled them out of my nose and kept my eye’s closed so that I wouldn’t be blind.” Then she states, “Red welts all over Jeff Moser’s body”, and the viewer sees the thousands of bee stings a man in Phoenix, Arizona endured while helping a friend move a shrub. This was a good job of referencing by the reporter and I thought she did a great job of humanizing the story and making the viewer feel Moser’s pain. One shot I really liked was when the reporter says, “His heart became weak” and the shot becomes blurry, as if someone is woozy or about to pass out. The story lent itself to strong, emotional sound bites, the best of which can be heard the
:42 second mark when Moser states why he didn’t want to die. Once the reporter finishes telling Jeff’s story she provides the audience with the data and facts about the types of injuries Jeff suffered and just how lucky he was to survive.
On the negative side, three shots after the first bite from Moser I felt the reporter used an unnecessary pan, I’ve watched the shot at least ten times and I’m not sure what they were trying to show. Bee’s maybe? I don’t know.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/03/30/killer.bee.attack.knxv
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Chris Vlahos blog 7
JOURNALISM REFLECTION
This week I saw a number of stories that interested me, but the one I found most intriguing was Matt Lauer’s sit down interview with Olympian Michael Phelps. This is the fist interview Phelps has done since his infamous bong picture was published. I have been fortunate enough to interview a number of athletes and sports broadcasters in my short career and I enjoy watching other broadcasters conduct interviews in order to see if I can learn something from watching them. As far as sports is concerned I find Jim Rome and Dan Patrick to be two of the best interviewers I’ve seen because they are not afraid to ask the tough questions, but they do it in such a way that it doesn’t come off as disrespectful. Ed Bradley was one of my favorite news interviewers, but I also think Barbara Walters still does a great job when interviewing different subjects.
This particular interview with Phelps reminded me of the Peter Gammons/Alex Rodriguez interview from a month ago, in the sense that it involved a superstar athlete giving his opinion on controversial news about himself. However, unlike the Gammons interview, Lauer doesn’t lob softball questions to Phelps. Instead he persists with a difficult line of questioning about how long did Phelps know about the photo. What went through Phelps’ mind when he committed the act in question. Lauer cues video from an interview he did with Phelps in 2004 when Phelps apologized for DUI. Lauer wanted to know if Phelps was giving him lip service once again. What I liked most was Lauer actually drew a parallel between the A-Rod story and Phelps’ situation. Then Lauer humanized the story and asked Phelps what he would say to the young boy or girl that idolizes Phelps.
From a broadcasters point of view, the interview seemed like it was edited a little too closely though because sometimes Lauer didn’t even pause to ask his next question. The interview used three different camera angles, a two shot of Lauer and Phelps, a one shot of Lauer and a one shot of Phelps. I liked the location of the interview. Phelps is an Olympian swimmer, which is why a pool is the perfect backdrop. Alex Rodriguez conducted his interview at his house, maybe it should have been at a pharmacy……no probably a baseball field.
This week I saw a number of stories that interested me, but the one I found most intriguing was Matt Lauer’s sit down interview with Olympian Michael Phelps. This is the fist interview Phelps has done since his infamous bong picture was published. I have been fortunate enough to interview a number of athletes and sports broadcasters in my short career and I enjoy watching other broadcasters conduct interviews in order to see if I can learn something from watching them. As far as sports is concerned I find Jim Rome and Dan Patrick to be two of the best interviewers I’ve seen because they are not afraid to ask the tough questions, but they do it in such a way that it doesn’t come off as disrespectful. Ed Bradley was one of my favorite news interviewers, but I also think Barbara Walters still does a great job when interviewing different subjects.
This particular interview with Phelps reminded me of the Peter Gammons/Alex Rodriguez interview from a month ago, in the sense that it involved a superstar athlete giving his opinion on controversial news about himself. However, unlike the Gammons interview, Lauer doesn’t lob softball questions to Phelps. Instead he persists with a difficult line of questioning about how long did Phelps know about the photo. What went through Phelps’ mind when he committed the act in question. Lauer cues video from an interview he did with Phelps in 2004 when Phelps apologized for DUI. Lauer wanted to know if Phelps was giving him lip service once again. What I liked most was Lauer actually drew a parallel between the A-Rod story and Phelps’ situation. Then Lauer humanized the story and asked Phelps what he would say to the young boy or girl that idolizes Phelps.
From a broadcasters point of view, the interview seemed like it was edited a little too closely though because sometimes Lauer didn’t even pause to ask his next question. The interview used three different camera angles, a two shot of Lauer and Phelps, a one shot of Lauer and a one shot of Phelps. I liked the location of the interview. Phelps is an Olympian swimmer, which is why a pool is the perfect backdrop. Alex Rodriguez conducted his interview at his house, maybe it should have been at a pharmacy……no probably a baseball field.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Chris Vlahos blog 6
STORIES
This week I got cleared to begin working and contributing to the KOMU news. After the initial excitement wore off I started to reflect on what I learned from my first four packages. I looked through my score sheets and thought about the importance of scripting a package.
Whether that means using the proper run time for sound bites, or correct CG titles I made more mistakes than I wanted too. Rather then get disappointed I realized that I would much rather make those mistakes in lab than at the station. My last package I focused on writing in the active voice and providing facts, which seemed to help my score and the value of the package and VOB.
To my displeasure the focus on my interviews was still soft, and I still can’t seem to perfect the art of framing my subject. When I’m out shooting the focus looks fine, but sometimes I notice the framing. This week I interviewed a woman that had a tendency to move back and forth. When we started the interview the framing was fine, but the bite I used came from the middle of the interview when she had strayed to the center of the frame. Two other things bothered me about my last package on the True/False Film Festival. First I lost eight points because the package came in at 1:22. I read it over multiple times because there is no reason it should be too long or short, but I still missed the time. Then I had a fact error, which was careless on my part. If I had made this fact error in a package at a real job, it may have cost me my job.
JOURNALISM REFLECTION
I watched a story on CNN, and was so amazed by the anchors behavior; I went and watched it again online. The story was about singer Chris Brown assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna, which caught my attention when it first happened in early February. Details of the assault continue to leak out from LAPD about what happened between the two famous singers causing a firestorm on the national media circuit. CNN’s coverage begins with Ashleigh Banfield, the anchor of “In Session.” Banfield discusses the ramifications of what Rihanna said to police, but once she finishes, CNN anchor Rick Sanchez doesn’t comment on what she said or transition to the other reporter. Instead, Sanchez tells the cameraman to “Get a Shot of the Twitter Board”.
I undersatnd Mr. Sanchez’s intentions, his producer may have told him to say it. However, I felt his response was unnecessary and robotic. Every time I watch CNN and see Rick Sanchez he promotes CNN’s interactivity and tries to draw people to the website, but he could have just asked Ms. Banfield a follow up question rather than using a viewer’s response. It seems like every major news organization tries to promote citizen journalism and interactivity, but this plug for CNN’s website takes away from the story in my opinion. This is an infotainment story, and after watching the clip multiple times I feel like the anchor thought he was the news. He waved the indictment around on the air, took his glasses off and swung them around. Later in the clip he continues to move his arms around in an obnoxious manner, drawing attention to himself.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/05/chris.brown.charged/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
This week I got cleared to begin working and contributing to the KOMU news. After the initial excitement wore off I started to reflect on what I learned from my first four packages. I looked through my score sheets and thought about the importance of scripting a package.
Whether that means using the proper run time for sound bites, or correct CG titles I made more mistakes than I wanted too. Rather then get disappointed I realized that I would much rather make those mistakes in lab than at the station. My last package I focused on writing in the active voice and providing facts, which seemed to help my score and the value of the package and VOB.
To my displeasure the focus on my interviews was still soft, and I still can’t seem to perfect the art of framing my subject. When I’m out shooting the focus looks fine, but sometimes I notice the framing. This week I interviewed a woman that had a tendency to move back and forth. When we started the interview the framing was fine, but the bite I used came from the middle of the interview when she had strayed to the center of the frame. Two other things bothered me about my last package on the True/False Film Festival. First I lost eight points because the package came in at 1:22. I read it over multiple times because there is no reason it should be too long or short, but I still missed the time. Then I had a fact error, which was careless on my part. If I had made this fact error in a package at a real job, it may have cost me my job.
JOURNALISM REFLECTION
I watched a story on CNN, and was so amazed by the anchors behavior; I went and watched it again online. The story was about singer Chris Brown assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna, which caught my attention when it first happened in early February. Details of the assault continue to leak out from LAPD about what happened between the two famous singers causing a firestorm on the national media circuit. CNN’s coverage begins with Ashleigh Banfield, the anchor of “In Session.” Banfield discusses the ramifications of what Rihanna said to police, but once she finishes, CNN anchor Rick Sanchez doesn’t comment on what she said or transition to the other reporter. Instead, Sanchez tells the cameraman to “Get a Shot of the Twitter Board”.
I undersatnd Mr. Sanchez’s intentions, his producer may have told him to say it. However, I felt his response was unnecessary and robotic. Every time I watch CNN and see Rick Sanchez he promotes CNN’s interactivity and tries to draw people to the website, but he could have just asked Ms. Banfield a follow up question rather than using a viewer’s response. It seems like every major news organization tries to promote citizen journalism and interactivity, but this plug for CNN’s website takes away from the story in my opinion. This is an infotainment story, and after watching the clip multiple times I feel like the anchor thought he was the news. He waved the indictment around on the air, took his glasses off and swung them around. Later in the clip he continues to move his arms around in an obnoxious manner, drawing attention to himself.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/05/chris.brown.charged/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
Monday, March 2, 2009
Blog 5
Story Ideas
As I expected one of my weaknesses have been my story ideas. While I work hard to follow leads and track down sources, some of the stories I pick don’t lend themselves to television. Realizing this I decided to rethink my strategy and re-evaluate how I choose my stories. I spent time talking to classmates, trying to figure out where they find their story ideas. I also took a walk downtown in search of anything. It took a day, but I think I found a good story. The True/False Film Festival is back in Columbia for the sixth year, which I thought would be a perfect story to cover. The festival runs from Thursday February 26th to Sunday March 1st and in my opinion has a number characteristics that contribute to a strong story. On Friday there is a parade that goes through downtown that should have strong visuals and great Nat Sound. I can use shots of people getting their tickets, and walking into movie theatres. In my interviews I’ll ask people how often they attend the festival, what they like about it, and how will it affect Columbia’s economy. Another reason I feel this will be a good story is because this weekend’s weather forecast calls for some extremely frigid temperatures, which should cause more people to find things to do inside, like go to the movies.
Journalism
I always try to blog about non-sports stories, but I couldn’t help myself this week after witnessing NFL Network anchor, Rich Eisen run the 40-yard dash. While covering the NFL combine in Indianapolis Eisen ran the 40-yard dash two times. All of the highly touted NFL draft picks attend the combine every year in hopes of impressing NFL scouts with a display of wit and physicality. The 40-yard dash is arguably the most popular event at the combine and Eisen wanted to show viewers what the task entailed. We have been told countless times not to ride the tricycle and in this particular instance I don’t think Eisen rode the tricycle. He may have sat on it, but he never rode it. I think by running Eisen showed viewers how an average person would perform at this task. What made the piece more effective was when the NFL Network ran a simulation that compared how Eisen ran with how some of the other athletes ran. I loved the idea and I feel that if the NFL Network would have made an ordinary person run the 40 instead of Eisen it may have actually been more confusing to viewers because they would not have understood who this other person was and why they were running.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZb3DRt6_Gk
As I expected one of my weaknesses have been my story ideas. While I work hard to follow leads and track down sources, some of the stories I pick don’t lend themselves to television. Realizing this I decided to rethink my strategy and re-evaluate how I choose my stories. I spent time talking to classmates, trying to figure out where they find their story ideas. I also took a walk downtown in search of anything. It took a day, but I think I found a good story. The True/False Film Festival is back in Columbia for the sixth year, which I thought would be a perfect story to cover. The festival runs from Thursday February 26th to Sunday March 1st and in my opinion has a number characteristics that contribute to a strong story. On Friday there is a parade that goes through downtown that should have strong visuals and great Nat Sound. I can use shots of people getting their tickets, and walking into movie theatres. In my interviews I’ll ask people how often they attend the festival, what they like about it, and how will it affect Columbia’s economy. Another reason I feel this will be a good story is because this weekend’s weather forecast calls for some extremely frigid temperatures, which should cause more people to find things to do inside, like go to the movies.
Journalism
I always try to blog about non-sports stories, but I couldn’t help myself this week after witnessing NFL Network anchor, Rich Eisen run the 40-yard dash. While covering the NFL combine in Indianapolis Eisen ran the 40-yard dash two times. All of the highly touted NFL draft picks attend the combine every year in hopes of impressing NFL scouts with a display of wit and physicality. The 40-yard dash is arguably the most popular event at the combine and Eisen wanted to show viewers what the task entailed. We have been told countless times not to ride the tricycle and in this particular instance I don’t think Eisen rode the tricycle. He may have sat on it, but he never rode it. I think by running Eisen showed viewers how an average person would perform at this task. What made the piece more effective was when the NFL Network ran a simulation that compared how Eisen ran with how some of the other athletes ran. I loved the idea and I feel that if the NFL Network would have made an ordinary person run the 40 instead of Eisen it may have actually been more confusing to viewers because they would not have understood who this other person was and why they were running.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZb3DRt6_Gk
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