george floyd

PODCAST EPISODE #83: Ed Ou, visual journalist, on finding detail in documentary

On his first day covering Twin Cities protests after the death of George Floyd, photographer Ed Ou briefly became the news.

Ou says he was set up with a group of journalists as curfew hit. He says state troopers fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and concussion grenades. Ou was hit in the head and received four stitches in the hospital.

That night, he still filed a report for NBC News.

And days later, after many journalists had left, Ou found a story unlike any I’ve seen from that time.

Earlier this month, NBC News released online Ou’s half-hour documentary, “The Intersection: Fatherhood at the Heart of George Floyd Square.” It’s a beautiful work of journalism, and frankly, the less I say beforehand, the better. But it’s embedded right here:

It’s the latest gem in a spectacular career that has taken Ou to multiple continents and earned him national honors.

Ou is my guest on Episode 83 of the Telling the Story podcast.

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PODCAST EPISODE #81: Tomas Hoppough, solo video journalist, Scripps National

After conducting this interview – and then listening back to it – I felt fired up to go out and tell a story.

I wanted to pick up my camera, put on an N95, get in my car, and do something great.

That’s the result of 45 minutes chatting with Tomas Hoppough.

He’s a solo video journalist with Scripps National, but that hardly describes the variety and quality of his work. He travels roughly every other week, mostly alone, with mirrorless cameras and lenses and the goal of two longform stories per trip.

He succeeds in that goal, and then some. He produces docu-style pieces that are vivid in both characters and aesthetics.

Tomas is my guest on Episode 81 of the Telling the Story podcast.

In the podcast, I mention several of Tomas’ stories. Check them out here:

  • Rising in Minneapolis: a powerful series of pieces with photojournalist Drew Snadecki in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd
  • Guns Down, Gloves Up: a half-hour special turned in less than two weeks after a powerful program in Virginia

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