Monthly Archives: January 2020

The subject of solo video journalist safety begs examination – by every journalist

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Before November 8th, 2019, Paige Pauroso had begun to carve a modest reputation as a solo video journalist with little concern for limits.

At her first job in Lubbock she drove eight hours solo to cover an execution. Three months into her second job, at WBTV in Charlotte, she stood among 70-mile-per-hour winds on Myrtle Beach during Hurricane Dorian. Weeks before the November book, when a post in the Storytellers Facebook group asked for suggestions on strong hard news reporters, one commenter replied, “Paige at WBTV is amazing!”

“I used to joke at my old station that I didn’t sense fear,” Pauroso told me. “It didn’t cross my mind easily.”

Since November 8th?

“I think every local journalist in the country now knows me as the journalist who got whacked in the head.”

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A brief (but necessary) ode to NBC Left Field, a storytelling unit no more

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On January 10, a Tweet came across my feed that saddened my heart:

“Today is Left Field’s last day,” it said. “Thank you for watching our videos over the past few years. It’s been a thrilling ride and we’ve loved every minute of it. Our stories will live on.”

The Tweet came from NBC Left Field, a video storytelling unit launched in June 2017 with the self-described goal of “understanding human beings through film, technology and heaps of creativity.”

For 31 months, they delivered. I discovered Left Field when one of its early videos, a piece called “Hunting for Addicts” produced by Emily Kassie, won an NPPA Best of Photojournalism Award for solo in-depth storytelling. I clicked on Kassie’s clip, was enthralled by its craft and content, and immediately slid to YouTube to learn more about the unit that green-lit her story.

I was extremely impressed.

Every video brought immaculate photography, creative storytelling, and some innovative move that I’d inevitably file away with the intent of one day incorporating in my own work. In 2018 I received the chance to speak on a panel with Kassie and managing editor Bob Bikel, and my admiration grew greater.

I don’t know why Left Field shuttered, but I want to use this platform to briefly acknowledge the diverse, clever, passionate storytellers whose work brought such inspiration. I invite you to check out their YouTube page, where their stories remain.

In the meantime, here are a few pieces I’d recommend:

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