Page 38 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

THE MULTIMEDIA ASSIGNMENT EDITOR AND PRODUCER

news event, so before just sending a crew to cover the story for each
medium, you must ask the questions just mentioned.
First, decide how best to cover the meeting for each medium. For
all media, don’t forget the basics. Get multiple sides of the story by
working with multiple sources. One-sided stories with one source are
not acceptable. Continue to answer who, what, where, when, why,
and how, along with the “so what” (i.e., is the story worth doing?).
The producer (or producers) will work with the assignment editor and
other staff members to decide the best way to tell the story. Here is
just one way of telling the story.

• Print: Cover the meeting in detail. Don’t forget specifics of who
speaks (both residents and officials), what they say, and the
votes for and against the store proposal. Show a diagram of the
store’s location. Talk to residents and get photos from people
who live near similar stores in similar cities. Compare and
contrast them. Get specific financial information about what the
superstore will provide for the community and city’s tax base.
28 We easily have one main story and two or three sidebar stories
here. They can be gathered at the city council meeting and over
the phone. Pictures, maps, and diagrams can be taken and
e-mailed to the newsroom.
• Radio: Cover the meeting in general terms. Here, you want to
focus on the sound of council and neighbors interacting. The
talk should be interesting and emotional. Remember, the best
sound bites and actualities are for emotion, not information.
State the facts. You don’t have time to go into detail about what
happened. Stick with the basics. You can direct listeners to the
print or online sources for more detail. Most of the story can be
gathered at the meeting. However, there may be some good
natural sound opportunities in the area where the store will be
built, for example, sounds of traffic and nature. Radio reporters
usually cut several versions of the same story, each with a
slightly different focus.
• TV: The meeting is not the story for television. Meetings make bad
TV. Here you need to focus on the neighborhood. You’ll want
to show where the store would be built. Talk to neighbors,
developers, and the city council before the meeting. Show what
comparable stores look like and artist drawings of what this
store will look like. Don’t miss the meeting since you’ll need to