kare-tv

Four stories that floored me at the NPPA Best of Photojournalism Video Workshop

I’m fortunate to occasionally get asked to speak at journalism workshops, which gives me a good reason to attend those workshops. It’s hard to carve time away from my family, especially on weekends. But I do it for the chance to embrace an atmosphere of passion, enthusiasm, and devotion to a complicated profession.

I especially embrace the critique sessions. Whether one-on-one or in a small group, they offer substantial windows for substantive conversation. Journalists ask my advice, and I dispense it. But I always learn plenty myself, and sometimes I wind up asking my own questions.

Such was the case earlier this month.

I spoke alongside my E.W. Scripps teammate Justin McCray at the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism Video Workshop in Nashville. Our presentation was Saturday. The critique sessions came Sunday. And three-quarters of the way through, I watched a story that could easily be its own workshop presentation.

That story – and several others – left me stunned. I hope they have a similar effect on you:

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PODCAST EPISODE #75: Lindsey Seavert & Ben Garvin, “Love Them First”

Best Documentary. Best National Feature Documentary. Best Minnesota Made Documentary. Audience Award. Audience Choice. Best Production Design. Best Director.

Film festivals nationwide last year piled accolades on “Love Them First: Lessons From Lucy Laney Elementary,” a feature-length documentary produced primarily by two journalists from one Twin Cities TV station.

Lindsey Seavert and Ben Garvin had each worked at KARE-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul for several years when they embarked on a series of stories about a local elementary school. That series quickly became the foundation for a documentary, and that documentary has since left an extraordinary mark on the education world. Its main character, Lucy Laney principal Mauri Melander Friestleben, has even appeared on the Today Show.

You can watch it right here:

Seavert and Garvin are my guests on Episode 75 of the Telling the Story podcast.

“With a flicker and another flicker, you can set the world on fire and create systemic change,” Seavert told me. “That’s really my hope: that we’ve sparked a national conversation about how we measure children.”

They’ve sparked it. And last month, Seavert and Garvin were honored at Columbia University with a duPont Award – or, as one colleague of mine called it, “the Pulitzer of video.”

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5 lessons from the 2019 National Edward R. Murrow Award winners

A few years ago, the RTDNA added a new category for its esteemed Edward R. Murrow awards in journalism: Excellence in Innovation.

But this year, as I survey the national winners that were announced last week, I see innovation everywhere.

It shows on the local level, thanks to ambitious companies including the one (TEGNA) for which I feel proud to work. It thrives on the national level, where everyone from ESPN to Univision is flexing its storytelling muscles. And it particularly shines in the digital realm, where news organizations need not worry about breaking the rules because they’re creating them.

Over the past few days, I carved out hours to watch this year’s winners. Here are five lessons that have already embedded themselves in my own journalistic mindset:

THE STORY: The legacy of the zero tolerance policy (Univision Noticias Digital)
THE LESSON: If you’re focusing on one person’s story, immerse yourself in it.

Per Univision’s research, more than 2,500 children were separated from their families at the US-Mexico border by American officials. This is part of the US government’s “zero tolerance policy.”

This story stood out because the journalists involved focused on one child and dove deep.

The Univision crew follows a six-year-old Guatemalan girl named Adayanci Pérez as she returns home after three-and-a-half months. The details are harrowing. Pérez returns to school and barely smiles, looking shook around her teachers and classmates. Her family can’t read the PTSD diagnosis she received before her return because it’s in English. Revelations like these fill the nine-minute mini-doc, and they unleash so many questions. They were only uncovered because of the commitment and time investment of all involved.

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

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 STORYRemembering 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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PODCAST EPISODE #67: Adrienne Broaddus, reporter, KARE-TV

“See the invisible.”

Adrienne Broaddus used this phrase early during our interview, and I instantly got it and loved it. She was discussing her approach to covering Hurricane Florence, which she did for a sister station in the Carolinas instead of her home station, KARE-TV in the Twin Cities. The award-winning reporter spoke of the people she met at a homeless shelter and said, “The people who were there, I wanted their voices to be heard. That’s one of the foundations of great journalism.”

She used her time in North Carolina to find individual stories and unique details that weren’t getting covered amidst the macro focus of the storm. It defines her approach in general, and it indicates a reporter who is confident in her voice and how to utilize it.

Broaddus is my guest on Episode 67 of the Telling the Story podcast.

I reached out to her weeks before Florence, intending to discuss different topics. Broaddus had just captured a pair of Salute to Excellence awards from the NABJ. She had also just spoken at the Sound of Life Storytelling Workshop, where we crossed paths on the presenting circuit. We weaved around each other’s busy schedules for weeks – and then postponed the interview further once Florence arrived – before finally getting to chat.

It was more than worth it. I have known Broaddus for several years and have always been a fan of her clarity of purpose. She showed it in our interview. She spoke about how her faith guides her reporting and why she proudly carries the mantle of “hope dealer.” I think it’s a worthy listen for any storytelling trying to find his or her voice.

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I just worked remotely with a world-class photojournalist. Here’s what I learned.

Three months ago, I did something that would be considered blasphemous to the storytelling gods:

I blew off an invitation from Boyd Huppert.

When a 100x-Emmy winner reaches out to collaborate on a story, you should respond within minutes and say, “Absolutely, and where can I send the fruit basket to say thanks?” Boyd is not just a fabulous storyteller; he has been a constant source of inspiration, a guest on my podcast, and the author of the foreword for my book, The Solo Video Journalist. But on this day, I had to blow him off.

I had a good reason, though: my wife was in labor with our first child.

A day later, when our daughter had arrived and I had gained a few minutes to scroll through my messages, I saw Boyd’s note again and responded. He had discovered an extraordinary story involving a family in his region (the Twin Cities) and a 50-year-old man in mine (metro Atlanta). He proposed a video swap: I would shoot in ATL, and his team would shoot in MSP. When I realized I could shoot my part upon returning from paternity leave, I leapt at the chance.

Why? Of course I welcomed the opportunity to team up with Boyd. But I got especially excited about getting to work with his photographer. Boyd’s pieces for KARE-TV’s Land of 10,000 Stories segment are both poignantly written and immaculately shot, by photographers who regularly rank among the best in the country. I delighted at the chance to peek under the hood, use their footage, and study their techniques.

I got what I wished.

Boyd worked on this piece with Kevin Sullivan, a multiple finalist for NPPA Photographer of the Year and a recent Regional Edward R. Murrow winner. (He has since left KARE-TV to take a job with the Mayo Clinic.) Sully is a tremendous talent, and I dove into his video the way a child shovels through packing peanuts to get to a gift. I found treasure after treasure, from impeccably framed shots to beautifully captured moments. Here are three lessons I’ll take away for my own work as a photographer: (more…)

3 GREAT STORIES: Starring innovative storytelling in local TV news

Every week, I shine the spotlight on some of the best storytelling in the business and offer my comments. “3 Great Stories of the Week” will post every Monday at 8 AM.

Verify: Homeless camps (4/14/17, WFAA-TV): Across the country, local TV stations owned by TEGNA have been rolling out a segment in their newscasts called “Verify”.

(I say this, in full disclosure, as a TEGNA employee at WXIA-TV in Atlanta.)

I have seen this segment be successful in many forms, but I have never seen it as compelling and relevant as it seemed here, in this piece from WFAA-TV in Dallas. Reporter David Schechter and the Verify team respond to a viewer question by bringing along that viewer to find the answer.

Something about this just … works. Maybe it’s because of the buy-in of the viewer, Felecia, who grills her city councilwoman while developing more perspective about the homeless camp by her neighborhood. Maybe it’s because of the chronological, peek-behind-the-curtain nature of the storytelling. Mostly it’s because this segment took an issue many stations won’t touch (homelessness) and made it engaging in a new way.

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PODCAST EPISODE #53: Chad Nelson, photojournalist, KARE-TV

Last June I flew to Cleveland to cover the championship parade for the NBA’s Cavaliers. I stood in a swarm of a million Clevelanders and witnessed one of the most stellar scenes in sports.

I also witnessed one of the most stellar sights in photojournalism: the editing of Chad Nelson.

The photographer from KARE-TV in the Twin Cities had been, like myself, called to help our sister station in Cleveland. We worked on separate stories, and after I completed mine, I stopped by Chad’s desk to say hello.

Within minutes, I was receiving a master class in color and composition.

I had always admired the care with which Nelson treats his video, but in Cleveland I gained a deeper appreciation. Nelson works at a station that prides itself on its storytelling culture, and he carries that culture in every story he shoots.

Last month, it paid off. Nelson received three pieces of extraordinary news:

  • He was named the NPPA’s Central Top Region’s Photographer of the Year.
  • He was named a finalist for the NPPA’s Ernie Crisp Photographer of the Year award.
  • He was also named a finalist for the NPPA’s Editor of the Year award.

Now he is my guest on Episode #53 of the Telling the Story podcast.

We talked about quite a bit but focused on two of Chad’s great stories from last year:

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3 GREAT STORIES: Starring bonds between spouses, families, & new friends

Every week, I shine the spotlight on some of the best storytelling in the business and offer my comments. “3 Great Stories of the Week” will post every Monday at 8 AM.

Skeptical cop befriends homeless veteran (2/15/17, KARE-TV): In his first appearance in this segment this year — but definitely not his first appearance overall — Boyd Huppert gives a master class in how to imbue a piece with emotion and connection.

The headline above makes clear the substance of his story: it deals with a homeless veteran who finds a source of grace and generosity in a local police officer. But Huppert writes — and photographer Rob Collett edits — with a deft touch, revealing critical details in a way that both surprises and enriches.

Those of us who teach storytelling often talk about the importance of “reveals” and “moments”, but Huppert excels at earning those moments. When they appear in this story (I won’t spoil them here), they feel more meaningful because of the rich visuals and character development that have led to them.

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3 GREAT STORIES: Best of 2016, audio/video edition

Every week, I will shine the spotlight on some of the best storytelling in the business and offer my comments. “3 Great Stories of the Week” will post every Monday at 8 AM.

The tradition continues.

Every December, I look back at my “3 Great Stories” posts from the past year and decide on which stories, I feel, rose above the rest.

I often find I enjoy the stories the second time almost as much as the first.

I posted my favorite written of the year last week. This week, without further ado, I present my three favorite audio/video pieces of 2016 — and an honorable mention — along with what I wrote about them back then, with minor edits for clarity:

HM) Celebrating 75 years of Red Rocks Amphitheater (9/5/16, KDVR-TV): Maybe it’s too easy.

Maybe it’s too easy to attempt a 20-minute special when the subject is such a ready-made stunner.

And maybe it’s too easy to do so with not one or two photographers, but more than a half-dozen.

But there’s nothing easy about the craft and creativity that went into this exquisite show from KDVR-TV, honoring the captivating Red Rocks Amphitheater on its 75th birthday.

Everyone involved deserves credit for such a compelling tribute to a fitting subject, but I want to specifically shout out the photographers. Yes, they had the built-in benefit of covering one of the most visually beautiful sites in the world, but they didn’t waste the chance, continually finding unique stories to tell and presenting characters as memorable as the amphitheater itself. Every piece is a winner, but I particularly enjoyed the segment with Blues Traveler, shot by Bryant Vander Weerd, Chris Mosher, and Isaias Medina.

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