af194506@ohio.edu
On Tuesday, April 7th, the members of the Athens MidDay team spent about an hour with Brian Lawlor, Senior Vice President for Television at the E.W. Scripps Company. Mr. Lawlor answered questions we had about the new direction journalism is heading, and our place in it as we approach graduation. A concern I have had and one I raised with Mr. Lawlor was: at what point do journalists give up the quality of their product for quantity of news stories?
One-Man Bands
The Washington Post ran a story in December about the changing of television news crews to one-person teams.
"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." Washington Post, 12/11/2008
I had a taste of this increase in workload during my internship with WEWS in Cleveland. During my time there, the teams consisted of a photographer and a reporter. The reporter would research the story, arrange interviews, conduct the interviews, and write a piece. While they were doing that, the photographer would drive the live-truck, shoot the video and interviews, and then edit all the pieces into one finished product that would then be sent back to the station. The reporter and photographer would then work together on the live-shot. However, thanks to advances in technology, this is all changing.
"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." Washington Post, 12/11/2008
Quantity vs. Quality
At what point does the integrity of the coverage fall inferior to the amount of news provided to our audiences? The Washington Post's article put it this way:
"Veteran TV journalists say their concern isn't the quantity of news that can be produced but the quality, because not all TV journalists are skilled enough to do a job formerly handled by specialists. 'There are some people who will be very good at this, and some not as much," said Bill Lord, WJLA's news director. "If you're forcing everyone to do things against their skill levels and desire, your product suffers.'"Washington Post, 12/11/2008
Any trained individual can be decent or even good at all aspects of the journalism field. But can they be great at everything? Probably not. As journalists we are ethically inclined to be honest and fair. But are we not also inclined as professionals to provide the best product to our consumer?
Mr. Lawlor said the Scripps company is combating this fear by training photographers and journalists to handle the new demands of their career. The week long training sessions are held by the best in the industry and provide members of the staff with valuable lessons they'll need to compete in this new field of journalism. They learn now what we are learning here at Ohio University. However, my concern does not lie in my ability to perform certain aspects of my job, but in the degree to which I can do it well.
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