POWER PERFORMANCE

POWER PERFORMANCE Multimedia Storytelling for Journalism and Public Relations

Tony Silvia and Terry Anzur

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication This edition fi rst published 2011 © 2011 Tony Silvia and Terry Anzur Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientifi c, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Offi ce John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offi ces 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offi ces, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www. wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Tony Silvia and Terry Anzur to be identifi ed as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Silvia, Tony. Power performance : multimedia storytelling for journalism and public relations / Tony Silvia and Terry Anzur. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-9868-4 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-4051-9869-1 (paperback) 1. Mass media–Authorship. 2. Broadcast journalism. 3. Reporters and reporting. 4. Public relations–Authorship. I. Anzur, Terry. II. Title. P96.A86S55 2011 070.4'3–dc22 2011001827 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs (97814443406170); Wiley Online Library (9781444342192); ePub (9781444340624) Set in 10.5/13 pt Minion by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited

1 2011 Contents

About the Authors vii Foreword by , NBC News/MSNBC ix Introduction xiii

1 The Role of the Storyteller 1 Profi le: , NBC News 22 Resource: IJPC.org, The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture 25 2 Reporting Stories across Media 28 Profi le: Linda Hurtado, WFTS-TV 55 Profi le: Casey Cora, http://oakpark.patch.com 58 3 Writing the Story for Print and the Web 61 Profi le: J.R. Raphael, Contributing Editor, PC World 97 Profi le: Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times and tampabay.com 101 4 Video Storytelling on the Air and on the Web 105 Profi le: Joe Little, KGTV-TV San Diego 152 Profi le: Jessica Yellin, TV Reporter, CNN 155 5 Presenting the Story on Camera, on Air, and Online 159 Profi le: Poppy Harlow, CNNMoney.com 187 Profi le: Owen J. Michael, KABC-TV 191 6 Practicing Public Relations in a Multimedia World 194 Profi le: James Lee, Lee Strategy Group 218 Profi le: Ann Kellan, Intermedia Marketing & Production, Atlanta 221 7 Ethical Journalism in Multicultural Media 224 Profi le: Corey Flintoff, National Public Radio, www.npr.org 245 Profi le: Frenita Buddy, Hope Channel 249 8 Putting Your Skills to Work 252 Profi le: Kris Van Cleave, WJLA-TV 263 Profi le: Lila King, Senior Producer, CNN.com 267

Index 271

About the Authors courtesy melanie marquez

TONY SILVIA

Tony Silvia is Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and the author of four other books, two of those titles, Student Television in America and Global News: Perspectives on the Information Age, published by Blackwell. He is a regular presenter at national conferences, consults with newsrooms, corporations, and non - profi ts, and is a frequent contributor to seminars at the Poynter Institute. His career in television news spans more than two decades, as a general assignment, political, consumer reporter as well as anchor at local stations. In addition, he regularly consults with newsrooms and non - profi t organizations on issues like effective storytelling, media ethics, and diversity. His work has appeared on CNN, where he served as a features correspondent in the network ’ s science - technology unit. He holds both a master ’ s and doctoral degree from the University of Birmingham, England. viii About the Authors courtesy bob lasky

TERRY ANZUR

International journalism educator Terry Anzur consults broadcast and online video outlets on talent development and is a news anchor at KFI - AM in Los Angeles. She developed her coaching techniques while on the faculty of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. She holds an AB in Communication from Stanford University and was a Benton Fellow at the University of Chicago. Her on - air experience includes a national talk show on the network that became MSNBC, as well as anchoring and reporting for KTLA- TV in Los Angeles and CBS stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and West Palm Beach. She has reported from Washington for the NBC - owned stations and has anchored at local TV stations in , Miami, Atlanta, Providence and Charleston, WV. She began her career in print journalism at the Trenton Times newspaper, United Press International and the Associated Press. She is a Fulbright senior specialist and was the lead consultant on the Maldives Media Training Project. For more information, visit: http://www.terryanzur.com/ .

Foreword courtesy

LESTER HOLT

NBC News/ MSNBC

Job: Co - anchor, Weekend Today Anchor, NBC Nightly News , Weekend Edition Market: National, based in Hometown: Sacramento, CA Education: Attended California State University, Sacramento Career Path: Internships: KCRA TV and local radio, Sacramento, CA Radio reporter and weekend anchor, KCBS- AM San Francisco, CA Reporter, WCBS- TV, New York Weekend anchor and reporter, KCBS- TV, Los Angeles Weekend anchor and reporter, WCBS- TV Anchor and reporter, WBBM- TV, Chicago x Foreword

Reporter, CBS News magazine, 48 Hours Anchor, MSNBC, Fort Lee, NJ Anchor, NBC, New York

I started working in the news business while I was still in high school. I worked at a radio station in Sacramento and I was interning at a TV station. In 1979, when I was just starting my junior year of college, I left school to take a job at KCBS- AM news radio in San Francisco. It was one of the fi rst broadcast stations to have a computerized newsroom. I was a morning drive reporter and I anchored on the weekends. They had a little promo for me. It said, “ Breaking news with Lester Holt, the fastest mike in the West.” I loved breaking news; I was always the guy with the scanner in the car, chasing police cars and fi re trucks. Later, when I moved to New York, that experience translated into being very comfortable on TV in front of a live camera and at the anchor desk. You become more conver- sational because you are telling people a story as opposed to just reading it. How I deliver the news as a network anchor came from years of doing live coverage on a pay phone or a two - way radio. On the Today show, I spend most of my time preparing for interviews, doing my homework. There ’ s a lot of adlibbing because that ’ s the nature of the show. For Nightly News , I write quite a bit in the fi rst block of the show. I go through every piece of copy. My days as an anchor on cable at MSNBC taught me to read up on stories and be ready for anything. Suddenly a story breaks and you have to be an instant expert. My preparation is to be aware of the stories we are doing but also scan the wires, read the papers. Be aware that a story that has been bubbling on the back burner of the stove could suddenly fl are up. I am constantly making sure that I understand the stories and their bigger meaning. I tell students that one of the most important things we do is give perspective and more information. It ’ s not just the words, but your tone and what you choose to emphasize. One thing I’ ve always missed about radio was the immediacy. I could push a button on my walkie- talkie and be live. I could drop a dime at a pay phone and be on the air. For much of my career, televi- sion has been very cumbersome. Your report depended on whether there was a live truck or a satellite truck available. With multimedia tools, the world has shrunk considerably. I was in Haiti not long ago, making the drive from the Dominican Republic to cover the earthquake. I took my BlackBerry and pointed it toward myself, shot video and began to give narration as we were driving through the country. I emailed it and I was on the Today show a few minutes later. I didn ’ t need a crew, I didn ’ t need a producer. I didn’ t need anybody. Blogging and tweeting add another dimension. It’ s another way to add perspective. Sometimes you can’ t fi t everything into a 90- second Nightly News spot. But you can offer more texture, or still photos, in a blog or a tweet. People know we ’ re out there and it ’ s added value. I’ m a big proponent of the multimedia revolution because it allows us to do our job better and more effi ciently. Technology enhances storytelling. With tweeting and blogging we can be a bit more informal. There ’ s something about the TV camera that implies more formality. We choose our words more carefully because it’ s a big stage. But then we get on our BlackBerries or iPhones and start tweeting and it becomes a more personal refl ection on the story, what it smells like, what it feels like. It can give people the background and the texture for the entire story. Shrinking resources are the new model. We see people having to do more than they used to, because there are fewer people in the newsroom. I really love what I do. I love telling stories. The thrill has never worn off for me. I work with a small group of tight- knit people. As we draw down in terms of resources we become more focused and rise to the challenge of getting the broadcast on the air. In a war zone or a disaster zone Foreword xi like Haiti, you have to become creative. I ’ ve used Twitter, cell phone video and Skype. I probably wouldn ’ t think of those things when doing a story in Manhattan. But when you ’ re in a diffi cult place, you start thinking out of the box and realizing you have a lot of tools in the box. You eventually fi nd the right digital outlet. We have a lot more ways to get the story out, even if it’ s just a tweet. I always tell people that if you want to be an anchor, you have to love reporting. You have to enjoy that moment of being the fi rst to tell somebody something. My son is anchoring weekend mornings on a station in Florida and he sent me a photograph from the control room, with him in one monitor and me in the other, competing with each other. I talked to Stefan a lot before he got his fi rst job. I tell all journalism students that they are learning the actual tools of the trade. You no longer go to college and they teach you stuff, and then start a job and fi nd out that none of it applies. If you are shooting on DV and editing on Avid or another computer program, you are doing what the professionals do. I told Stefan that it’ s hugely important to be coming out of school with all of the tools. All you are lacking is the experience. When Stefan was looking for a job, I told him that you want to end up in a market where there is room to grow and where there are people with experience to be your mentors. You want to be a small enough fi sh in a big pond where there are people to look up to. I also feel strongly about respecting the people we cover. If I ask you to do an interview, I owe you respect. It doesn ’ t mean I will avoid the hard questions, but I don ’ t believe in badgering people or looking down on them. At one point, Stefan thought he might be going to Haiti. He asked me for some advice. I told him to remember that you are not better than the people you cover, simply because of a cultural or socio- economic difference. Just because we’ re the media doesn’ t make us special. It’ s crucial to respect the people that we cover and talk to them as equals. The book you hold in your hands is a fi ne step in the direction of making the news business better. The authors, both highly respected for their work in the industry and as journalism educators, help provide a strong foundation for the next generation of storytellers. The ability to adapt as new tech- nologies develop, to use what we now call multimedia skills to tell better stories across more media, is at the heart of Power Performance. Both those now in the classroom and others already in the newsroom can benefi t from the advice given and the skills taught in the pages ahead. As it takes me back to my own beginnings in radio, I ’ m reminded that we all have to get our start somewhere. This book is a great place to begin. Everyone says the news business is in trouble. It’ s not. We just have to learn to adapt. I believe there will always be a need for people who can put words and information with pictures. Whether people will still be watching it on television 15 years from now, I can ’ t say. The screen could be on a refrig- erator or a mobile phone. But the need for video/audio content won ’ t go away. We need good people and good storytellers. If you are coming out of college now, all you have known is shooting and reporting your own stories, but it ’ s not so different from back in the days when I was a beat reporter on the radio in San Francisco with a tape recorder playing audio through the telephone. At the end of the day, it ’ s basic, raw reporting. It means asking the tough question. Technology allows you to go more places and be better. Don ’ t get discouraged. You ’ ll fi gure it out.

Introduction

The constantly changing universe of multimedia is the focus of much study and endless debate. This book is about what does not change: the basic human need for a good story. As a storyteller in the present day, your tools may be a camera, a microphone, and a com- puter. But you are carrying on a tradition that dates back to the fi rst person who used the wall of a cave and piece of charcoal to draw pictures that might point the way to a success- ful hunt, or the fi rst sculptor using stone as a tablet to record the outcome of an epic battle. From the beginning of human history, we have depended on storytellers to pass on our legends to the next generation, to share practical information needed for survival, to encourage our sense of community and to inspire our faith in something greater than ourselves. And, yes, we also want to be entertained while we are being informed. Effective storytelling has long been a blend of words, sounds and pictures. In the days when most people could not read, religious stories often came to life through images and music in a house of worship. Wandering minstrels spread the news of the day while per- forming their songs. Playwrights and actors gave us insight into the human condition by portraying archetypal characters and dramatic situations on a stage. The printing press made it possible for storytellers to reach a wider and more educated public, leading to the development of worldwide mass media in the present day. What all effective storytellers throughout history have in common is the ability to engage the audience, not merely cap- turing attention, but challenging the users, viewers, listeners or readers to process informa- tion and apply it to their own lives. We recognized the need for this book because of the way in which multimedia has broadened our own experience in the newsroom and the classroom. There are many text- books that address the fi ne points of writing and reporting for the page or for the airwaves, but they are often limited to “ how to write the news in English for an American audience.” Today’ s multimedia storytellers must think globally while they are reporting locally. A local story on a community web site can be downloaded by someone halfway around the world. Even in many countries where the offi cial media is government - controlled, student journalists can view global media online and via satellite. They not only watch CNN, they