Righting the wrongs of broadcast journalism

By Whitney Thomas

“New Age” journalism is under a constant progression as journalists continue to find new and creative ways to tell their stories. Now more than ever, careers in broadcast journalism are being pursued. The rules of etiquette and punctuation stand firmly in the world of news writing, however, those that pursue broadcast journalism often forget that the standard doesn’t differ. 

Susan Zake, a professor at Kent State University, and her son Aaron Zake, who is a video editing professional have both set out on a mission to teach student journalists the proper way to pursue an on camera  story, and the type of equipment needed for adequate coverage using five important steps. 

The first and most important rule of shooting a professional video is ensuring that you have a stable camera by using a tripod, stabilizer , rig or gimbal. There is no excuse for a journalist to ever have an unstable camera when getting coverage, and they must alway consider their audience. “I start my students out with a C automatically when they don’t take tripods out on their assignments,” Susan Zake said. She makes her point and shows how by not doing so, can be seen as a sign of lazy journalism. Minus cameras, phones can also be used for coverage being that it allows the journalist to be more intimate and the interviewee comfortable.

 The next most important skill is setting your white balances, when recording. On a professional level camera this can be achieved by using the settings on the screen. Most cameras often allow you to preview as well. After that comes setting the camera. Pans and zooms are important for coverage, but can be sloppy if done wrong. When panning it is important to go slow, so that viewers are able to see what’s in the shot. The same rules apply for utilizing zoom. When zooming in and out of shots, journalists should move slowly and zooming out is said to be better than zooming in. After that comes close ups, and B-roll. Close ups should be the equivalence of still images. B-roll videos should always be stable. She emphasised that journalists can never have enough B-roll, everything is useful. 

Other than camera setting equipment, external sources such as microphones, lavaliers, and held hand recorders will also serve purpose for catching sound, and hearing information that could possibly be overlooked. Most reporters have no control over the weather when pursuing a story. The phrase “The wind is not your friend” can be very true. It can be hard to obtain sound when it is windy outside. Going into a more closed off space, and keeping a wind guard, fuzzy, or dead cat, will be useful in uncontrollable situations. 

Last but not least, listening when shooting, and understanding that anything could happen while you’re on set. There have been several instances where a reporter’s microphone goes dead, or the camera begins having technical difficulties. It is within professional standards that the journalist catches the mistake immediately before continuing production. Susan and Aron concluded the meeting by reminding student journalists to never edit videos from an SD card. 

Zaria Johnson, is a senior at Kent State University majoring in journalism who says she’s been working with Susan Zake since her sophomore year of college, and the results are showing. “She’s like a pusher, but in the best way. I’m naturally introverted but as a journalist that’s not realistic. She helped by pushing me out of my comfort zone,” Johnson said.

 Ashley Tanner, another CMA attendee said she enjoyed the session and all the information that was shared. “We move and work at a rapid pace as journalists, but this made me look at the smaller details and understand how important they are.” she said.