by Beth Johnson | Aug 30, 2011 | App Articles, Honing Skills, Management Issues, Political Hotbed
We promise this situation will happen to you. It happened to us at several stations, in small to large markets. General Manager walks into an editorial meeting and says “So what are we doing to cover such and such, ( fill-in the blank, new road widening project, ...
by Beth Johnson | Jul 5, 2011 | App Articles, Survival Kit, Writing Help
We all have news wording that makes our skin crawl: “area residents,” “alleged” and “budget woes” to name a few. Recently on Twitter a group of us started listing phrases that make us cringe. Then one producer tweeted, “What do you use instead?” Great question and...
by Beth Johnson | Jun 22, 2011 | Anchoring, App Articles, Honing Skills, Producing, Reporting, Survival Kit, Videography
It’s a phrase that makes many journalists cringe and roll their eyes: “People, we need to think out of the box.” What does that mean? Well, it means don’t pitch the same story ideas over and over. It means the station wants more than police blotter stories. It also...
by Beth Johnson | Jun 16, 2011 | App Articles, Getting Along With Peers, Know Your Newsroom, Political Hotbed, Reporting, Videography, Writing Help
Chinese philosopher Mencius said: "Friendship is one mind in two bodies." This is the basis of why I tell young and/or inexperienced reporters that their best “friends” in a newsroom should be the photographers they work closely with every day. Being of...
by Beth Johnson | Jun 8, 2011 | Anchoring, App Articles, Management Issues, Political Hotbed, Producing, Reporting, Videography
Many TV stations, like many football programs are constantly changing the “coach.” If the ratings don’t go up quickly the news director is gone. That means a new chance to be fired, since the new boss will want to make an impact right away. First impressions truly...
