The multimedia challenge of print reporter to TV journalist

As more and more newspapers begin to produce more and more television -- whether the mixture of media is on 24-hour all-news cable TV channels or contributions to traditional broadcast TV -- more and more reporters are now expected to not only think and write well, but also look good and speak well.

According to many in the industry, the convergence of print reporting and television broadcasting can be, at times, the challenge of a reporter's career. Some apprehension exists as print journalists face the transition. Do they embrace their newfound stardom, or are they dragged reluctantly into the world of TV?

The goal at one of the nation's leading newspapers is not to try to turn print reporters into TV personalities, but "to make them more comfortable doing what they do best," which is delivering the story they've already covered, said Tina Gulland, director of television projects at the Washington Post, who oversees the relationship between the 780,000-circulation Post and NBC, Msnbc and the local 24-hour cable news station, News Channel 8. Gulland said that while it's not mandatory that all print reporters at the Post make television appearances, it is encouraged.

The formal training involved in making the switch to TV broadcasting, however, is minimal. Role-play sessions are in place to teach the types and length of questions to be asked, the different ways to improve their delivery and how to conquer the concern of "How will I look now that I'm about to be exposed on air for all to see?" Intimidating? For some yes, but for the majority, the answer is an unexpected, "Not really."

Within a reporter's hectic schedule, trying to find time to attend training sessions can be almost impossible. Gulland called the conversion process "orientation," or "on-the-job-guidance." The budding TV performers are gently guided through the differences in placement of their print stories. For example, a written news article may read well in print but may not sound as accurate when delivered on-air. The written piece must be reworked and altered to fit the television mode.

The broadcasting methods at the Post are Q&A sessions -- or interviews -- that range in length from three to 10 minutes. In television, timing is everything, and there are many aspects of TV with which print reporters are unfamiliar.

"For most," said Gulland, "as they are already accomplished journalists, I think there is some fear of 'I don't want to look like a fool.'" In today's rapidly growing world of communication technology, television broadcasting has become just another aspect of the print reporter's job.

Keith Hartenberger, manager of news and programming at the Chicago Tribune, coordinates the training aspects of print reporters appearing on television -- including on-camera appearances, story production and writing for television. "The technology, specifically in the cyber-world, has required anybody in journalism to become acquainted with a new and different set of skills." A TV journalist with many years of experience and the resident expert for the Tribune Intergroup Development Unit, Hartenberger said, "Journalists have not only had to learn new technical skills but now, especially in the newspaper world, they're being asked to make multimedia contributions."

TV trepidation
At Nevada's Las Vegas Sun, which contributes to the local 24-hour cable news station, Klas (Channel 8), on-air participation is voluntary. "All [reporters] started with one degree of trepidation or another," said Michael J. Kelley, managing editor of the 33,000-circulation Sun. While feature writers at the Sun are rarely on the air, business and government reporters appear quite frequently. "Our expert reporters on different beats get showcased ... Not every day, just when it works," said Kelley.

"This is a great news town, there's a lot of stuff happening here all the time," said Kelley. "It's the fastest growing city in the United States." Over time the Sun and Klas have developed a good working relationship. Kelley said, "We have a studio in our building here, with a camera that is operated by remote control at Channel 8." Generally, the relationship has been very beneficial to both parties; the Sun provides Klas with more reporters than it could otherwise afford, and in return, the station offers the Sun a larger audience.

Training is currently handled in part by a Sun staffer, Denise Gorelick, who said that Klas will be participating in the this summer's World Television Journalism Conference, sponsored by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. According to Kelley, the theme of the conference is television in the modern age. "For us, it's the modern age, there's no preventing it," said Kelley. "It's silly for a newsroom to try to wish away television or digital communication. What we need to do is to harness them and make use of them ... so it's up to us to make it work on our behalf."

Contrary to the position taken at the Post and the Sun, on-air reporting is compulsory at Florida's Orlando Sentinel, said Keith Wheeler, deputy managing editor of multimedia. Wheeler said that certain reporters will make more appearances than others will, but the bottom-line dictates that sooner or later they will all report in front of the TV camera. While the delivery of the training format may differ slightly, the 280,000-circulation Sentinel's reporters are again, smoothly led into the new and somewhat daunting setting. Much like the other papers, training is slanted toward making the reporter feel as comfortable in front of a camera as he already feels behind print.

On a daily basis, the Sentinel provides a Q&A session, called "Talk Back," to the 24-hour cable news station, Central Florida News 13. Reporters do weekly sections on TV -- restaurant and movie reviews, politics or business -- whatever their area of expertise and they are expected to perform when called upon. However, "TV takes second priority to print reporting," explained Wheeler. "If a reporter is scheduled to do TV but has to get an interview or cover a story, that comes first."

TV benefits paper
The Sentinel recently conducted an audience survey, which showed that 23 percent of viewers watch the TV coverage because of the newspaper. And 22 percent of readers surveyed indicated they now read the newspaper because of the news broadcasts they see on TV. "Television is becoming the way of the future," Wheeler said, "we are hoping that people will continue to read the newspaper because of what they see on TV. That's been our goal and it's working."

Mike Griffin, a political reporter at the Sentinel, said that during election time, he would be on camera daily. How does he feel about the transition from print reporter to TV? "At first it was a big leap. Most of the reporters here were resistant, myself included," Griffin recalled. "Television had a reputation of not having a lot of depth [and] there was concern that we'd become like TV."

The Chicago Tribune's Hartenberger shared similar thoughts: "There are exceptions, of course, but I believe there's more of an interest in being 'on' television rather than 'doing' television." He said that reporters tend to move on to the next bigger market, rather than hone their skills in smaller markets, which also means becoming part of a community and understand it in order to improve. Instead, reporters tend to stay long enough "to get a handful of good live shots and dramatic stories for their resume tape and move on," he said. "Consequently, you end up with shallow stories, consultant-driven stand-ups -- 'walk and talk' -- and coverage that consists of the day's crime news ... and the obligatory kicker that's either a story about cute kids, cute animals or a balloon launch somewhere."

Tom Garritano, manager of intergroup operations for the 720,000-circulation Tribune, offers an introspective overview of the metamorphosis of the print reporter to television journalist. Garritano has managed the unit that produces the content from the newspaper since its inception, almost four years ago.

"When we first started, we had just one camera on a stand outside the editor's office, and we would just grab reporters ..." he said. But through the years, the scope of the whole process has changed and grown. At the outset, the emphasis was on getting as many people with as much information as possible onto the screen and into the rest of the media, including Cltv (ChicagoLand TV), the local cable news station. With progression, came the realization that some reporters were much better at on-air delivery than others, even though the others had valuable content to contribute. The problem was this: how to train the "television-challenged" so that their skills would not be wasted. Those with the superior ability to source out a story began training with professional television people who had worked in the industry for years. The concentration was, and continues to this day to be, on presentation and vocal skills. The process is usually two to four sessions in length, but can run longer, when necessary.

Some print reporters just can't make the conversion, although not for lack of trying -- for some people it just doesn't come naturally. With that thought in mind, at Cltv, television is completely voluntary.

Broadcast news
The Tribune works in close association with Chicago's WGN-TV (Channel 9). The newspaper provides Channel 9 with a high volume of news content in exchange for columns, written by WGN-TV reporters, for the paper. For example, a WGN staffer writes the "Adventures in Shopping" column, which currently runs in the Tribune. "So in that case, it's kind of coming back the other way," said Garritano. Two years ago, the Tribune built an actual television studio, which houses state-of-the-art cameras and computer equipment, in the paper's building. A Tribune-designed intranet system has the capability for remote control of the on-set cameras and lights from anywhere in the world. "A day doesn't go by that we don't have someone from the Chicago Tribune appear on either Cltv or WGN from that stage," said Garritano. The format is the same one that is used at the Orlando Sentinel -- "Talk Back" with the anchor (this is not surprising, as both papers are owned by Tribune Co.). However, the spot can also be placed directly into a digital server, making it available to the news station whenever it is needed.

"What the plan is, and what we hope, is that the viewer gets a small piece of the story, and they're interested in more, so they go to the web site or the paper," said Garritano. The Tribune does a section with WGN every night called "Tomorrow's Headlines Tonight," comprised of three small pieces of news. "The idea is the viewers will then read the whole story in the next day's newspaper," Garritano said.

At the Tribune, Hartenberger also teaches newspaper photographers to shoot and edit video of their stories, working on content development and identifying stories and topics that could be "good" (see The Cole Papers, April 2000). On the differences he has seen within the newspaper as a result of the connection with television and the Web, Hartenberger said, "Of course, there are the physical and technical differences. Each newspaper is now set up to handle multimedia needs -- television, radio and newspaper." He said that it's obvious when you walk into the Tribune newsroom that multimedia is a prominent part of the way business is done. "Multimedia has become a part of the culture -- it is not an 'experiment.'"

According to Hartenberger, the Tribune is looking for a new breed of journalist, who can report, write and produce in varying forms. How do the trainees feel about the convergence of print and television? "There's always a mix of responses -- from interest and anticipation to reluctance and doubt," Hartenberger said. "The transition has become less dramatic through the years as multimedia becomes a more and more accepted part of the world of journalism."

That the hard-edged line that used to divide print and television is softening is no revelation to today's journalists. The boundaries are down and the line has been crossed. The comfort zone of visual anonymity that once existed for yesterday's print reporter is almost gone, although there will always be a place for those who have that special ability to get the story no one else can. Technology has dramatically altered the presentation of the news and the way in which the public wants to receive it. It's a new age with a new approach to journalism that continues to evolve.

-- Aimee Beck

See also Cross-media training

From THE COLE PAPERS, May 2000, Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved.