forrest sanders

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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PODCAST EPISODE #71: Forrest Sanders, solo video journalist, WSMV-TV

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If only Sam Raimi were on social media.

Then perhaps the acclaimed director of The Evil Dead, A Simple Plan, and the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man series would learn of how one of his earliest movies influenced one of today’s most talented journalists.

Forrest Sanders watched The Evil Dead as a student and became enamored with Raimi’s shot composition and pacing. He developed a passion for shooting and editing that evolved into a career as a solo video journalist. Today Sanders has his own honors: numerous Emmys, two new regional Edward R. Murrow awards won last week, and a variety of accolades from the NPPA. This past year he was named its National Solo Video Journalist of the Year.

Sanders is my guest on Episode #71 of the Telling the Story podcast.

I loved this conversation. Sanders has quickly become a leader in the storytelling community, and he speaks with both introspection and clarity of purpose. We chatted about the power of early influences, the need to fuel your passions, and the way to carve your own path in a newsroom where that might seem difficult. And yes, we discussed Mr. Raimi (and Brian DePalma too!) for several enlightening minutes.

Here’s an example of one of his finest stories, “The Funeral Man.” In the episode, Sanders talks about the journey to make it happen.

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5 lessons from the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism 2018 video winners

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I haven’t blogged in a few months, taking some time for a particularly busy season at work, at school, and as a dad.

But this occasion called for me to restart the engine.

Every year I pay particular attention to the winners of the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism Video Awards. It’s a one-stop collection of some of the finest photography from some of the most prolific and talented photographers in the country. This year I set new marks personally, placing with five different stories in six different categories. But I never stop learning.

Through their work, my colleagues across the country never stop teaching.

Here are five lessons I learned from five powerful pieces of journalism and storytelling:

THE STORY: Remembering the Stains on the Sidewalk, by Jed Gamber (WBFF-TV, Baltimore)
THE LESSON: Commit at every level, not just with the camera.

I remember seeing this story when it first showed up in my Facebook newsfeed. I was blown back then and was blown back watching it again this weekend.

Jed Gamber has won a cavalcade of awards for photography in his still-young career, and he has helped build a tremendous team at WBFF-TV in Baltimore. This story shows the standard he sets.

Gamber and reporter Paul Gessler follow a still photographer who’s documenting the city’s homicides every day for a year. The camerawork is immaculate, but Gamber doesn’t stop there. He uses a projector, he stacks photographs on top of each other with a series of smash edits, and uses subtle but effective camera clicks to provide audio cues.

The whole thing is a masterpiece, pushed by a moving, meaningful message.

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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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Introducing “The Solo Video Journalist”, my how-to book for aspiring MMJs

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I am a television news reporter for the NBC affiliate in Atlanta, Ga., the 10th largest TV market in the country. But I am also my own photographer, shooting and editing the video that becomes my pre-produced reports. From the start of my day to the finish, I am almost always on my own.

And I represent a growing reality in TV news.

The term “multimedia journalist” gets thrown around in the news business, but in television it has a clear meaning. It refers to a journalist who produces a report from start to finish, combining the jobs of a traditional reporter (researching, interviewing, writing) with those of a traditional photographer (shooting, editing). We now occupy a substantial part of TV newsrooms; per the latest survey, roughly nine of every ten local network affiliates use them in some capacity. When aspiring television journalists go to college, they are warned they will almost certainly start their careers – and likely spend a good chunk of them – as one-woman and one-man bands.

Yet no book exists that offers a comprehensive overview of what the job entails, with the insights and authorship of journalists working in the business.

So I wrote one.

I am proud and excited to announce the release of The Solo Video Journalist, available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is a how-to guide for a position in TV news that is long overdue for such analysis: the multimedia journalist, or MMJ.

(… or backpack journalist, or VJ, or any number of titles bestowed upon this position through the years. I went with “solo video journalist” because I think that term most accurately describes the job: producing video stories and journalism on one’s own.)

I have held this title since I entered the business more than a decade ago, and I have remained astounded at the lack of explicit instruction exists for those who do it. So many, both inside and outside the business, continue to envision newsrooms full of traditional reporters and photographers, neglecting the vital role MMJs have come to play.

The reality is far different.

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