Will this move catch on across the television industry? I know that several stations across the country have experimented with the “one-man band” approach, but will it become the standard?
From the Washington Post:
The march of technology and the shrinking economy are beginning to take a toll on the traditional means of television news-gathering: the TV news crew.
Under a new agreement reached this week with its labor unions, WUSA, Channel 9, will become the first station in Washington to replace its crews with one-person “multimedia journalists” who will shoot and edit news stories single-handedly.
The change will blur the distinctions between the station’s reporters and its camera and production people. Reporters will soon be shooting and editing their own stories, and camera people will be doing the work of reporters, occasionally appearing on the air or on in video clips on Channel 9’s Web site.
For decades, TV journalists have worked in teams, with the lines of responsibility regulated by union rules or simple tradition. Stories were covered by a crew consisting of a camera operator and a correspondent (and further back, by a sound or lighting technician); their work was overseen by a producer and their footage assembled into a finished story by an editor.
But technology — handheld or tripod-mounted cameras, laptop editing programs and the Internet — have made it possible for one person to handle all those assignments, station managers say.
The change is driven by increasing financial pressure on TV stations, as advertisers disappear from nightly newscasts and audiences scatter to the growing number of channels and Web sites.
In fact, separate from its new union agreement, WUSA — owned by McLean-based media giant Gannett — plans an across-the-board cut in reporters’ salaries as it increases their responsibilities. Multimedia journalists will earn 30 to 50 percent less than what traditional reporters have been earning, with salaries topping out at around $90,000 annually, according to people at the station.
9 Comments
Hey Chuck, anybody can shoot news, tell me a story buddy with a beginning, middle and end. It’s people like you who have allowed GM’s at Coroporate TV stations to dumb down the news in twenty second VO’s and quick nothings.
This trend is an opportunity for the news business in general. With a high-speed connection and a decent video/audio set-up (hardwear and softwear) I can be an independent contractor feeding news to anyone. Individuals and small groups of individuals are going to see the opportunity here and adapt quickly to it. The blogs and the e-news sites will become the places where people get their news. I feel excited at the possibilities.
This has been going on for a while. Within the last 20 years, news managers took the power photogs and reporters had while working stories. It’s not enough for us to just tell them on the phone this is a big story, or we have captured something great on tape and this should be the lead. TV news used to be done with News Directors calling the reporters and photgs, asking "How is your story doing…is it a good lead?" The typical newroom today simple has their show rundown ready to go before lunch, without consulting with their photog and reporter. The result, in my opinion, has lead to reporters and photogs not caring, and bad lead stories. Most reporters today don’t realize when they have a great story on tape even after looking at the tape, unless the photog tells them "HEY THIS IS A GREAT STORY ON TAPE"! The result is what we face today, NEWSROOMS being spun by GM’s who themselves somehow have forgotten that TV is still pictures and sound……AGAIN…TV is still pictures and sound. P.S. Lenslinger works at one of good stations. I would his opinion.
Yes, and the station with multimedia reporters will present it them as "less is more," though I’m certain the reporters won’t say the same about their salaries.
–Mike
Y-a-w-n…
You would be surprised at how many stations already do this. Anything smaller than market 100 and your likely to be a one man band. This isn’t new – just new to those big markets and a way to save money.
I think viewers will subconsiously notice the difference. Would you be as intrigued by a story on the discovery channell if a non-professional was shooting it?
This is horrible. Say goodbye to storytelling. This is a top ten station and this is happening. Will the viewers notice the difference, not like it and change the channel.? Will that mean ad revenues go down even more? Or will the viewers not care about quality and it be the right fiscal move?
It’s the beginning of the end. There were a few folks at the Savannah stations I worked for that did this. And NY1 has been doing it for years. Some were really good. The rest were Not. Try shooting your own standup.
NPPA (National Press Photographers Assoc) has been claiming this is not the case for years, but I have always seen this as a bottom line business. If I can get a decent gig at WLOS when I land in Asheville, great. I don’t see it happening. The Art is getting sucked out of almost everything except personal expression.
Congrats on the new gig, too by the way. Somehow, I am not surprised. Quality just seems to rise to the top.
Mike