emily kassie

Introducing The Solo Video Journalist, 2nd Edition, an updated how-to guide for aspiring MMJs

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I used to be an anomaly.

When I arrived in the 10th-largest market in the country, I was one of the few who worked as a solo video journalist – or a reporter who shoots and edits my own stories. There were maybe a handful of us, and the newsroom wasn’t geared towards our interests.

More than a decade later, the state of my newsroom – and most others – has been upended.

According to the latest RTDNA survey, more than 90% of local TV newsrooms use solo video journalists – or multimedia journalists, or MMJs. More than half of newsrooms in market 51 or lower use “mostly” MMJs, and four out of five newsrooms in Top 25 markets use them in some way. Soloists are no longer a position of the future; we are present across the board in local news, and we’re finding opportunities beyond broadcast as well.

But for a long time, no book existed that offered a comprehensive overview of the position and gave instructions and advice specifically designed for it.

That’s why I wrote one.

Four years ago, I announced the release of The Solo Video Journalist, which featured interviews with nearly a dozen MMJs and broke down every step of the solo storytelling process, from shooting to interviewing to writing to editing.

Today I’m thrilled to announce The Solo Video Journalist, 2nd Edition, with more interviews, significant updates, and advice tailored to the updated landscape of video journalism.

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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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PODCAST EPISODE #61: Emily Kassie, award-winning documentary filmmaker

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Her credits include the New York Times, NBC Left Field, BBC, and Huffington Post.

Her awards include the NPPA, Overseas Press Club, and the Ellie.

Her projects include captivating documentaries of varying lengths, shot anywhere from south Florida to East Africa.

And she’s 25 years old.

Emily Kassie has carved an extraordinary space for herself less than five years into her professional career, but it’s no accident. She shoots with skillful craft and composition, and she covers heavy topics with an expertise and sensitivity that allow her stories to shine. But more than that, she fights for those topics, which so often get pooh-poohed in mainstream publications and stations as too difficult or uninteresting for a mass audience.

She is my guest on Episode #61 of the Telling the Story podcast.

I always seek guests who have developed a clear voice and can guide others in doing the same. Kassie fits this mold perfectly. I sensed in our conversation a journalist who knows what she wants to accomplish, who to seek out for help, and how to execute projects that live up to her pitch – often as a solo act, shooting and editing her own reports. I admire how Kassie uses her talents and focus: to fight for those who don’t often enough get their stories told.

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5 lessons from the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism 2017 winners

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In the five years that I have captained this blog, I have written this post four times. It remains one of my favorite annual pieces to pen, because it involves one of my favorite annual traditions: watching the winners of the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism video awards.

Every year I sit down, click on links, and marvel at the winners. And every year I take away new lessons that, I hope, will boost my own work. This year I was named a NPPA finalist for three of my stories, and I won the association’s prize for Solo Video Journalist of the Year. But I found, in the Best of Photojournalism winners, work that inspires me to improve and compels me to keep crafting.

Here are five lessons that will stay with me – and perhaps you too:

THE STORY: Light Will Prevail, by Ryan Oliveira (KXAS-TV, Dallas)
THE LESSON: Sometimes the best treatment for raw emotion is restraint behind the camera.

A mass shooting last fall at a baptist church caused a crush of media to descend on the tiny town of Sutherland Springs, Tex. Residents struggled to grasp with the horror and loss, and they didn’t hide their emotions.

In this story, which took first place in the category of General Hard News Photography, Ryan Oliveira of NBC5 in Dallas met the rawness with distance and technique. He largely kept his camera back, focusing instead on framing and lighting exquisite shots to capture the intensity. I cannot say enough about his sensitivity here, and the same goes for his teammate on this story, reporter Noelle Walker. I have no doubt they were moved by what they saw in Sutherland Springs. It showed in pieces like this, that eschew boldness and instead show tenderness and sympathy during a tragic time.

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