Archive for April, 2006
Ground Control to Major Tom
The future is filled with a vast array of anxiety-inducing uncertainties — Who will be the next president? What will gas cost this summer? Will we live on Mars, or will our planet actually get overrun by talking, bipedal apes? And, of course, what in the hell will become of newspapers!?
It’s no secret, folks — my industry is sinking faster than Tony Danza’s career (does anyone watch his show??); circulations are down, costs are up, and it just gets worse every day, or so it seems. I mean, it’s a pretty wasteful process — quite a bit of resources go in to produce what’s basically toilet paper with words and pictures on it; and then, if your lucky, your work gets to line somebody’s bird cage.
I hope I don’t sound too down about this. There are positives. I think the one thing that will probably help papers to some degree is the Internet, and related Internet-based technologies. But that won’t happen overnight, and it may never even happen. The number of people with access to fast computers and fast web connections just isn’t high enough … who knows if it ever will be. Nevertheless, a lot of papers are heading into the virtual unkown.
The big buzzword is “convergence” — traditional, single-image and news copy storytelling giving way to a “fresh,” appealing-to-younger-generations kind of journalism. Reporters and photographers now regularly team up with web folks to produce multi-media pieces that incorporate sound, video, still images, blogs and funky, interactive Flash goodness, all in a neat package that aims to make learning fun … or at least, more fun than it is in print.
A part of me is optimistic about all of this. At best, this is just adding more tools to the greater good of storytelling; to me, that’s the most important thing I can do — tell people’s stories, get the truth out there and all that idealistic bunk — and this whole convergence thing is just giving me a few new ways in which to do it.
Another part of my thinks this is all getting rushed. Editorial managers at papers far and wide are seeing the writing on the wall and, rather haphazardly, asking their staff to “do some multi-media” — no training, and in some cases, not even purchasing the equipment. I wish I could say I’m exaggerating, but friends and colleagues and various publications have confirmed that sad reality.
Additionally, I fear that this will all come at the expense of GOOD storytelling — taking chances, spending the time needed. I fear that newspaper’s websites — and all their convergence content therein — will grow to mirror the slick, McNews product of the 24-hour news channel … namely, lots of “little content” … quick-hit stories, briefs, overly-stylized graphics and all that jazz. It could happen, and I’d hate that.
All the worries aside, my coworkers and I are giving it a shot. Over the last six months or so, we’ve started to produce these little, audio and still-image slideshows. We’re using personal equipment to get it done at the moment, and using a couple of different computer programs to edit and mix the audio, then create the slideshows. I’m told that the paper will eventually purchase better gear for us; there’s also talk of getting us a video camera. Convergence is coming to Columbia, folks, and whether I like it or not, it’s here to stay.
At the moment our web editor is making some sort of index for all the multi-media pieces. In the meantime, you can see them mixed in with our regular slide shows here. Also, you can see a couple I’ve done here and here.
They’re just fun little pieces — fluffy, not a whole lot of “news” value. In time we’ll start to incorporate multi-media into spot news and long-term news projects. These things take an awful lot of effort to produce, and we’re slowly getting our sea legs with the workflow. I’ll say one thing — after producing one of these pieces, I’m always filled with the urge to grab a camera, lens and just go make a good-old-fashioned still image. It’s satisfying on an almost Zen-like level.
[Oooooooeeeeeeemmmmm]
**
In other news, this guy that used to be the governor of my home state and now manages to “run” the whole country decided to pay a little visit to Mid-Missouri this week. He was here for a few hours to shake a few hands, remind donors that he’s still “their guy,” and try to convince a hand-picked group of seniors that the new Medicare Part D was not, in fact, created by Lucifer himself to destroy the elderly.
Our paper, along with almost every news outfit in the state, covered this debacle, from the moment Air Force One touched down to it’s departure and everything in between. I’m normally off on Tuesdays, but the prez’s visit was an “all hands on deck” deal, and I did what I could to help out. My beat was to cover protesters at the airport. It was a good gig, and it meant that I didn’t have to wear a suit; didn’t have to be anywhere near the man I’d love to see chased down the street by a flock of angry geese; and it gave me a couple of hours to take in the wafting aire of patchouli and sandalwood. Um, yuck.
I’m really proud of the work our staff did. On the photo end, this was my editor’s first presidential visit, and I think he did a bang up job of coordinating it all. Feel free to check out our efforts here.
That’s all I’ve got for today, folks. Back to working on the website, which I assure you will be up soon.
- gerry –
