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• PREFACE
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1. AIM FOR THE HEART
• Can Great Storytelling Make You Sexier?
• All That Is Great, But I’m on a Deadline
• Finding Focus: Aim for the Heart of the Story
• The Focus Statement: Three Words
• A Central Theme: Viewers Remember What They Feel
• Use Sound Bites That Connect to The Viewer’s Heart
• CHAPTER 2. THE SHAPE OF THE STORY
• Stories Need Surprises: Give Viewers Gold Coin Moments
• Story Frames: Structure and Restructure
• The G-I / B-E Grid
• Tried and True: Setting, Complication, Resolution, Summary
• Upside-Down: The What, Background, Main Action, Conclusion
• Dotson Storytelling: Hey, You, See, So
• Hourglasses Versus Pyramids: When Narrative Rules
• The Big Close: Resolve the Story
• “Well, Timmy”: Untidy Endings Are OK
• Sentences Have Shapes, Too: Power at the End
• How to Sound Like Morgan Freeman
• CHAPTER 3. FIND MEMORABLE CHARACTERS
• Put a Face on the Story: You Remember What You Feel
• One Event, Two Stories: Wife Mourns Loss
• One Event, Two Stories: Sentencing Ends Ordeal
• Little Pictures, Big Stories: Focus on People, Not Events
• How Many Characters Do You Need in a Story?
• CHAPTER 4. WRITE INVITING LEADS
• First Impressions: Get Them Hooked
• What Motivates Viewers: The Basics and Beyond
• Al’s Eight Motivators
• Some Do’s and Don’ts for Leads: Don’t Stall; Get On With It
• Attribution Before Action
• No More Fred Flintstone Leads
• The Live Shot Lead
• “Home” Is Where the Viewer Is
• Do Not Continue to Use the Word “Continues”
• Avoid “If You”
• Seldom Start With a Number, Name or Place
• Kill the Clichés: Especially the Clichés of Thought
• CHAPTER 5. VERBS AND ADJECTIVES
• The Thing About “ing”: A Passive, Verbless Style
• “To Be” or Not “To Be”: Verbs Drive Sentences
• Words Matter: When an “Accident” Is a “Crash”
• Avoid “Fantastic, Unbelievable, Gut-Wrenching” Subjective Adjectives
• CHAPTER 6. THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW
• Learning to Listen: Using Your Ears More Than Your Mouth
• Asking Better Questions
• Think About the Purpose of the Interview
• Ask Open-Ended Questions
• Mirror What You Hear
• Why Shorter Questions Produce Better Answers
• Why Do They Ask Such Long Questions?
• When to Use a Closed-Ended Question
• Ready for My Close-Up
• Find Focus
• Focus on One Issue at a Time
• Be Naïve
• Avoid Editorializing
• Setting Matters
• Be Tough
• Put the Burden of Proof on the Source
• Empathize
• Getting Started
• Practice Interviewing
• The Value of Short Questions
• Interviewing Reluctant Sources: Explain the Rationale
• Know What You Are Going to Say
• Identify Yourself
• Have a Business Card Ready
• Making First Impressions
• Discuss Ground Rules
• Protect Sources, Especially Confidential or Reluctant Sources
• Be Better Than Yourself
• Try the “You’re Not Alone” Approach
• Make Sure the Family Has Been Notified
• Ask Families How They Want Loved Ones to Be Remembered
• Consider Alternatives and Other Sources
• Thank People for Their Time and Effort
• Interviewing Juveniles and Other Vulnerable People
• The Journalistic Purpose
• Ways to Minimize Harm
• Other Considerations
• The “Golden Rule” for Interviewing Children
• A Few Interviewing Don’ts
• CHAPTER 7. WHY PICTURES ARE SO POWERFUL
• A Little Bit of Visual Theory
• We See the Big Picture First
• We See What We Want to See
• The Power of the Picture
• Visual Versus Verbal: The Eye Wins
• Use Words to Explain Images, Not to Match Images
• The Fannie Lou Hamer Story
• CHAPTER 8. THE VITAL ROLE OF LIGHTING
• Lighting Sets an Editorial Tone
• Construct the Light and Go for the Shadow Side
• In Bright Sunlight Add Light
• Be Careful
• CHAPTER 9. VIDEO AND VISUAL TECHNIQUES
• Let’s Get Visual: Capturing Compelling Video
• An Action Without a Reaction Is Only Half an Action
• Shooting More Than an Interview: B-Roll and Other Ways to Add Context
• Get Your Subjects Comfortable With the Camera
• Principles and Techniques for Photographic Objectivity
• Guide Viewers With Cropping and Framing
• Background Images Add Meaning to Your Story
• Camera Angles Can Indicate Authority, Power
• Use Camera Movement, Pans and Zooms as Tools, Not Crutches
• Keep Proportions Honest in Your Images
• Special Effects Are “Special”: Use With Care
• Shutter and Frame Rate
• CHAPTER 10. CAUTION, THIS MAY GET GRAPHIC: THINKING VISUALLY
• Think “Shapes”: A Checklist for Effective Graphics
• Understand First; Then Be Understood
• Know the Context of the Graphic
• Ask More Sophisticated Questions to Get Better Graphics
• Go Lightly on Numbers
• Be Symbolic
• Use Movement With Caution
• Write After You Make the Graphic
• Ask Others to Look at the Completed Graphic
• Get It Right: Graphics Are Precision Work
• CHAPTER 11. THE SOUND OF THE STORY
• Capturing Powerful Sound
• Sounds That “Take You There”: Get Close to the Action
• Use Those Headphones
• Choose the Right Mic
• Build in Silence
• Ethical Concerns With Adding Music and Sound Effects
• Do Not Rearrange Audio or Sound Bites
• CHAPTER 12. WHAT EVERY JOURNALIST SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GUNS, AMMUNITION AND ARMED VIOLENCE
• What Is a Caliber/Gauge and Why Does It Matter?
• Clips and Magazines
• Pistols, Shotguns, Rifles and Assault Rifles
• The Difference Between Automatic and Semi-Automatic Weapons
• Guns in Crime
• Questioning Conventional Wisdom: A Look at Why Students Kill
• Buying and Selling Guns
• What’s Legal?
• A Quick History of Gun Control
• Comparisons With Other Countries
• A Divisive Issue
• CHAPTER 13. FIELD TRICKS FROM THE PROS
• First Things First in the Field
• A Plan When Working Alone
• Don’t Limit Yourself to Traditional Video Cameras
• The Stuff You Need in Your Bag
• Field Tips for Covering Rough Weather
• Drones as Newsgathering Tools
• Story Ideas
• Assessing Threats and Staying Safe
• CHAPTER 14. TELL THE STORY WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE
• Why Online and Social Media Are Important to Local TV
• Drive to the Mothership
• What Your Newsroom Needs From You
• Tune-In Times
• Key Data Points
• Reporting and Writing for Online
• So What Works Online?
• Make It Interactive: Users Choose
• Find Ways to Meaningfully Involve the Public
• Map Data to Connect Viewers to the Story
• Save Elaborate Presentations for Projects With Long Legs
• Social Media Posts
• Write Tight
• Write in Chunks
• Link to Your Sources, but Verify Them First
• Who Is Behind the Website You Are Linking To?
• Copyright and “Fair Use” Guidelines
• Ethics and Social Networks
• RTDNA’s Social Media and Blogging Guidelines
• Online Skills You Need to Get Hired or to Keep Your Job
• CHAPTER 15. ETHICS AND BROADCAST JOURNALISTS: SEEK TRUTH AND REPORT IT AS FULLY AS POSSIBLE
• Seek Truth and Report It as Fully as Possible
• Be Thorough
• Be Accountable to the Public
• Set the Story in Context
• Use Undercover Techniques Carefully
• Who Said That: Evaluating Sources for Your Stories
• Guidelines for Evaluating Sources
• Guidelines for Interviewing Confidential Sources: Who, When, Why
• Bidding for News: The Challenge of “Checkbook Journalism”
• Be Honest With Viewers About Your Reporting and Your Mistakes
• Lessons from the Brian Williams Debacle
• Brian Williams and the Culture of “I,” We” and “Us”
• Attack Dogs, Watchdogs and Guide Dogs: A Journalist’s Commitment to Seeking Truth
• File Tape: Truthful Reporting or Lazy Journalism?
• CHAPTER 16. ETHICS AND BROADCAST JOURNALISTS: ACT INDEPENDENTLY
• Avoid Conflicts of Interest
• Refuse Gifts, Food and Special Treatment
• Disclose Unavoidable Conflicts
• Respect the Business Side, but Don’t Compromise News Coverage
• CHAPTER 17. ETHICS AND BROADCAST JOURNALISTS: MINIMIZE HARM
• Rights to Privacy for Private People and Public Officials
• When Public Records Should Remain Private
• Crime Victims and Privacy
• Covering Criminals and Criminal Acts
• Would Withholding Shooters’ Names and Photos Reduce Violence?
• Quick Fixes Feel Good and Solve Nothing
• Using Graphic or Violent Images and Language
• When It’s Unfair NOT to Show the Graphic Video
• Airing Graphic Video for the Wrong Reason
• Handling 911 Calls
• Identifying Suspects, Covering “Off-Limits” Stories and Other Tough Ethics Calls
• Identifying Juveniles
• Covering Suicides
• Covering Bomb Threats
• Covering Rape and Other “Unspeakable” Stories
• Questions Before You “Go Live”
• CHAPTER 18. LET’s GET CRITICAL
• Kill the Zombie Stats
• Be Skeptical, Not Cynical
• Question Evidence That Seems Reliable
• Seek Contrary Evidence
• Critical Thinking and Polling
• Should We Believe Polls?
• Who Paid for the Poll?
• Who Did the Pollster Talk With?
• What Did They Ask?
• Margins of Error
• What Else Can Add to Polling Errors?
• How Was the Poll Conducted?
• Why Are Polls News?
• Using Critical Thinking to Investigate Charities
• What a Tax Document Will Tell You
• Reading the Front Page of the I-990
• Big Claims, Little Meaning
• Be A Critical Thinking Watchdog
• Is the Statement Accurate and True?
• Question and Verify What You Find Online
• What Kind of Website Is It?
• A Quick Investigation Can Save Your Reputation
• Not Every Crazy-Sounding Story Is Crazy
• Al Gets Duped: Be Skeptical
• CHAPTER 19. THE POWER OF ENTERPRISE REPORTING
• Enterprise From the Start: Morning Meetings
• You Get What You Inspect More Than What You Expect
• Plan the Place and Space for Your Meeting
• Include Many Voices
• Include the Web in Your Planning
• Efficient Meetings Do Not Equal Effective Meetings
• Be Willing to Stop the Meeting
• How to Generate Enterprise Stories
• Seek the Ideas of Others
• Build a Diverse Contact List
• Look for Voices and Faces Seldom Seen on TV
• Be Willing to Interview Anyone Who Has a Great Story
• Explore All Sides to a Story
• Avoid the Pack; Go Where the Story Is Going Next
• Cover Follow-Up Stories With Care
• Write Thank-You Letters
• Look for the Story Behind the Story
• CHAPTER 20. SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN TODAY’S TV NEWSROOM
• How to Succeed
• Continual Learning
• Surviving Layoffs, Cutbacks and Reassignment
• What to Do If You Get Fired or Laid Off
• Know Why You Lost Your Job
• What Do You Really Want to Do Next?
• How Much Money Do You Want, and How Much Do You Need?
• Find a Way to Work Through Your Anger
• Learn About Your Severance Pay
• What About Insurance Coverage?
• You Can Negotiate
• Unemployment Insurance
• The Effect on Pensions and Retirement Funds
• Job Counseling
• A Buyout or Early Retirement
• It Is Not a Bad Idea to Consult an Attorney
• Avoid Pity Parties
• Hire a Good Employer
• A Word to Workers Who Do Not Lose Their Jobs
• Stressed and Overworked
• Time Management
• Avoid Office Gossip and Politics
• Leaders in the Newsroom
• Become the Go-to Person in Daily and Breaking-News Events
• Be on the Truth Squad
• Be a Teacher, Mentor and Coach
• Underpromise, Overdeliver
• Be the Champion of Your Own Promotion
• Take Ownership of Management Decisions and Find Ways to Be Openly Supportive
• Be an Adviser to Your Boss
• Manage the Boss
• Have Your Facts Straight
• Value the Judgments and Contributions of Others
• Discover All You Can About Your Viewers and Seek to Serve Them
• Be a Writing and Ethics Example
• Anticipate Major Events
• Know Industry Trends and How Ratings and Web Metrics Work
• Be Prepared for Ripple Effects From Hard-Hitting Stories and Newscasts
• Don’t Get Carried Away With Gadgets
• Lay Down Deeper Roots
• The Meaning of Life
• INDEX