Is there such a thing as… too in your face?
“60 Minutes” and later tabloid journalism began the push for ”in your face” confrontations between a reporter and a person considered caught red handed. Now it is the norm for investigative reporters...
View ArticleNew Boss: Sucking up without being obvious.
Many TV stations, like many football programs are constantly changing the “coach.” If the ratings don’t go up quickly the news director is gone. That means a new chance to be fired, since the new...
View ArticleWhy photographers are a reporter’s best friend.
Chinese philosopher Mencius said: “Friendship is one mind in two bodies.” This is the basis of why I tell young and/or inexperienced reporters that their best “friends” in a newsroom should be the...
View ArticleStep out of the box, will you?
It’s a phrase that makes many journalists cringe and roll their eyes: “People, we need to think out of the box.” What does that mean? Well, it means don’t pitch the same story ideas over and over. It...
View ArticleSo Cliché! How to avoid overused phrases
We all have news wording that makes our skin crawl: “area residents,” “alleged” and “budget woes” to name a few. Recently on Twitter a group of us started listing phrases that make us cringe. Then...
View ArticleIt’s GM’s agenda and you are stuck covering it “as news.”
We promise this situation will happen to you. It happened to us at several stations, in small to large markets. General Manager walks into an editorial meeting and says “So what are we doing to cover...
View ArticleStep out of the box, will you?
It’s a phrase that makes many journalists cringe and roll their eyes: “People, we need to think out of the box.” What does that mean? Well, it means don’t pitch the same story ideas over and over. It...
View ArticleSo Cliché! How to avoid overused phrases
We all have news wording that makes our skin crawl: “area residents,” “alleged” and “budget woes” to name a few. Recently on Twitter a group of us started listing phrases that make us cringe. Then...
View ArticleIt’s GM’s agenda and you are stuck covering it “as news.”
We promise this situation will happen to you. It happened to us at several stations, in small to large markets. General Manager walks into an editorial meeting and says “So what are we doing to cover...
View Article
