Lynn Walsh

As young or new journalists many of us are faced with the stigma associated with being “the new guy.”

The extra phone calls, the posting of web content, the small errands — the list of assignments you receive can sometimes bring you back to the days when you were just an intern.

Just because you are “the new kid on the block” it doesn’t mean you are not a valuable and important part of your news organization. Even though it may not feel like it at first or the adjustment period is taking longer than you would like, hang in there, because they would not have hired you and picked you from probably countless other applicants if they didn’t want you there.

That said, being new also means you have to prove yourself, gain trust and in turn gain more responsibility. You are not going to get any of those things though without stepping up and becoming a leader, someone your boss and colleagues can count on.

For me that has meant being willing to train and be patient with my fellow reporters as I teach them basic video skills like shooting and editing. It has also meant using my love of social media to let my editors know about new online tools that may be great additions to our website or social media coverage.

How do I do this? By sharing and communicating with fellow reporters and editors about interesting websites, great news stories and local events that I find interesting and could see as possibly being worthwhile to my news organization.

You can do this too! It really is not that hard and you are probably doing it already don’t even realize it. The great part about it is that it doesn’t even take that much time. It can be as simple as sharing an e-mail with fellow staff members or spending a few minutes a week just talking to your editor or boss about industry related news. (Sometimes conversations with editors or supervisors can get too caught up in the daily beat you cover. It’s OK to break away from that once in a while!)

The worst thing you can do is assume that everyone else at your news organization has heard about the great new FREE audio recording app you found for your smartphone or that everyone else has also received an invitation to try out a beta version of an up-and-coming social media site.

This goes beyond gadgets and technology too. Just because you signed up to receive updates form the FBI or Department of Justice doesn’t mean everyone did. If there is ever potential for a story based on information you received from an e-mail alert or press release, do not hesitate to speak up. The worst thing someone can say is that they saw it or that they are not interested in having anyone from your news organization cover it.

One thing to keep in mind: do not overwhelm anyone either. Forwarding press releases form the Governors office daily or stories from ESPN and other national news organization may get a little redundant and become annoying, especially if there is a pretty good chance the person is already aware of the situation or story.

Whether you feel like the “newbie” or not, now is the time to step up and show your newsroom what you can do as a journalist!

Being able to attend trainings, especially ones lasting more than a few days, is a privilege in this business. So, when you are able to attend them or selected to attend them, I think you need to treasure every minute of them and most importantly be prepared.

This week, I am attending a Web 2.0 training at the Knight Digital Media Center in California. As this week quickly approached, saying I was excited about the opportunity was an understatement. I was eager to meet fellow journalists, learn new tricks and increase my love of journalism even more.

In general, as a training date gets closer and closer, the key for me is preparation — without it I do not think I would be able to enjoy or really learn much from them. So, as with other trainings I began to prepare mentally and electronically.

Here are some ways I prepare for trainings so I can have the ultimate journalism experience, without interruptions:

* Communicate with your news organization ahead of time. Make sure it is clear what, if any, your responsibilities will be while there. Will you be expected to blog? Post updates on social media accounts? Respond to e-mails? The list goes on and on and I think it is crucial in making sure you get the most out of your training. The best way to approach these questions is by asking and having an open conversation about all of this with your boss and editors.
* Let people know you will be gone. Whether it is a source or colleagues. Take the time to send out personal e-mails or to make phone calls to let people know you will be out of pocket for a while. Be sure to set a vacation responder on your e-mail and your voicemail message. If you are OK with being contacted let people know the best way to reach you.
* Share valuable story information or have it easy to find. While you may not be in the newsroom, it doesn’t mean your beat is going to stop moving. If you were working on a major story, let someone know where it stands and where the information is, just in case anything happens. Forward e-mails to other reporters about story leads you received. Copy documents and databases to CD’s or keep them in a place that is easy to locate just in case someone in the newsroom needs to get their hands on it. The same goes for any social organizations or responsibilities you may have too.
* Make sure you leave home AT HOME. From the littlest things like emptying garbage cans to paying bills, make sure you leave yourself enough time to get things at home done so you are not thinking or worrying about them while attending training. Let friends and family know where you are and give them a heads up that you may be hard to get in touch with during the training.
* Come prepared. Make sure you have enough business cards, all of your electronic chargers, pens, a computer if you need one, etc. You want to put your best face forward, so take the time to cover your bases. Check out what the weather is going to be if you are traveling somewhere and pack accordingly. Not sure what the dress code is, it is OK to ask the organizers. And be sure to bring cash and have some on hand, especially for airports and parking.
* Contact old friends. This is only if time and the schedule allows for it (be sure to check with your organizers.) Check your Rolodex and contact people who may be in the area and see if they can grab dinner, drinks, breakfast, etc. It can be a perfect opportunity to reconnect to an old friend or colleague.

Working for a news organization means more than obtaining interviews and writing stories. For most of us, we are also writing content for multiple media platforms, expected to keep a social media presence, shoot video, take photographs and interact with our readers and viewers. On top of all of that, a lot of the content we produce happens instantaneously through the Internet and social media networks.

While it can be overwhelming, the great thing about technology is that while it keeps changing it also finds ways to get easier to use and more portable. Using a laptop is great, but even the smallest ones can get in the way when you are shooting video, live tweeting and taking notes.

It is for that reason, that I am thankful for my iPhone. It’s small, extremely portable and does more than I could ever imagine. Here are some tips on using your iPhone to produce content for your news organization.

1. It’s all about the apps! You are expected to do a lot but luckily there are a lot of free applications that make your life a lot easier. From Twitter to Facebook to photo-sharing sites, be sure you have applications downloaded and are familiar with them before you head to the story. Here are some I cannot live without:

Facebook: Great for posting stories on your own page or your news organizations page. The key is to share information that will get comments from viewers and readers and to keep them informed.

Seesmic for iPhone: I use this to monitor my Twitter accounts. There are lots of options out there but this one works best for me, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of live tweeting. It’s great because you can have different windows for different accounts, different users and different search terms. I have windows for my personal account, my news organizations account, #HISD for the school district I cover, all school board members and other reporters covering education in my area. I have my personal account logged in and my organizations account so I can tweet from both if I have to (Seesmic always give you an option to choose which one before you tweet). It also allows you to do share pictures very easily.

Ping.fm bookmarked on Safari: This site, if you are not already using it is a truly a technology blessing. You register all of your social media accounts with the site and when you post something through the home page, it updates all of the sites at once. Another great feature is it allows you to send information through text messages, which can save the battery life of your phone.

Instagram: This is a picture-sharing site that allows you to edit pictures and make them more artistic while also allowing you to share them. It is gaining a lot of users and most recently was featured on the site Mashable for its use by NPR.

UStream, URecorder and Qik: These are all live video streaming applications that will allow you to broadcast live, save video for later and even send notifications to social networks that you are shooting live video on the web. What I love about these is that they work even if you are not connected to a WiFi network.

Cover it Live: A great live blogging tool to use. I have seen most people use it with their laptops but I think the mobile application is pretty easy to use.

2. Reserve the battery and always keep a charger on hand. A dead phone can really set your day behind, so always have your charger on hand. Also, prepare your phone for a longer battery life by trying these suggestion in this article by PCmag.com. I have done all of the suggestions and it really does work. Plus, all of the notifications can just get in the way some times. Live Tweeting can really drain the battery too, try texting tweets using ping.fm to save some of the battery.

3. Inexpensive accessories. The great thing about the iPhone is that it is so small that it is usually easy to keep steady while shooting video. But, to make it easier there are lots of cheap ($10) accessories you can buy that connect your iPhone to Tripod. Along with steady video, sometimes sound quality can be an issue, try getting a microphone. For more information on some inexpensive accessories worth trying I would check out this article by Mashable.

4. LIVE video streaming is a great tool. The great thing about the iPhone is you can stream video live using many different applications. This gives viewers instant access which they love. It also provides you and your station with content a lot faster. If you are streaming the live video to the stations account (which I would recommend) anyone who has access to the account can online and download what you recorded. The video can then be used in newscast or posted immediately to the website and you have a little less to do and can continue talking to people and gathering information.

5. Time management is key. Balancing the amount of time you are live tweeting, sending photos, shooting video and responding to comments can be the hardest thing. For me I find it easiest if I do it all in a certain order. For example, live tweeting is something our viewers respond to, so I focus most of my time on that. But, I have to remember to not just continue to send out tweets, I have to look at the account and respond to viewers and answer questions as well. I reserve live video streams for when I am talking to one person and not while they are talking to a meeting. Pictures a great way to show who is at the meeting, what is going on, etc.

6. Be flexible. The great thing about reporting from your phone is that it is so small; you can have it your hand while you are working a camera, taking a picture or recording audio. When I am covering an event or a meeting or working on a story, I always have an audio file recording sound. I use a video camera to record video, but if I move the camera or stop recording for some reason, I always have the audio file in its entirety. For still photographs, I use my iPhone for the most part, but also have a digital camera on hand too. Use your instincts, but the more options you have the more you will be able to offer and take advantage of reporting from your phone.

7. Be organized. When reporting on a story and posting updates on social media it is important to be organized. With the iPhone updates, you can create folders where all of your video applications are in one spot, all of your photography applications are in another, etc. I also recommend keeping e-mail inboxes separate so it is easier to find mail and you are not searching for something in a mail folder that has your personal and professional accounts linked. Keeping push notifications off will keep you more focused and be less annoying (you won’t be interrupted by a friend asking you about dinner plans on Facebook while you are working).

Social media and online communication tools are providing journalists with endless opportunities to create more and better news coverage. New technologies also allow us to interact with our viewers and have immediate discussions about the stories we cover every day.

Posting to Twitter and Facebook while covering a meeting or after a story has been published is just the beginning though. What about using social media and online interactive tools while reporting live from the newsroom or in the field? Below are some ways to use social media tools to enhance live reporting.

1. Location-based services. On the scene of a big event? Or maybe there was a big drug bust in a neighborhood? Big stories draw a lot of attention from viewers, especially those living on the same block of the story location. With so many people logging onto websites like Facebook and Twitter from their mobile phones it is easy to see where a tweet or post on those sites came from. Sometimes people do not want to go on camera, but they may share their opinions about the safety of the neighborhood or heavy traffic in comments on social media sites. Look to see where the comments are coming from and if they are close by say that. Think of how much more meaning a comment from someone that is 100 yards from the story has over someone who is on the other side of the city. (I would be careful not to share actual usernames, etc. because you are identifying the persons location.) Try iPhone application Layar, Facebook Places, Foursquare.

2. Behind-the scenes. On top of populating your website, you know have Twitter, Facebook, and lots of other sites to keep active. What goes on behind the scenes during a live broadcast in a newsroom or out in the field is something most journalists see every day, but viewers do not. Use this to your advantage and have someone take pictures, record short videos, etc. and upload them to the station blog, Facebook account or other social media outlets.

3. Don’t tell them, show them. Graphics and pictures of people are great. But what if you can show someone the actual Facebook picture of an alleged criminal? Instead of just taking the picture on the profile and making it into a graphic, why not use your phone, a computer screen or a tablet to scroll through their profile while you are talking about the story? People are so used to doing more than one thing at once that it will seem natural to them. If a story is gaining a lot of buzz online, show your viewers that. Show them how many people have shared it, show them the comments, show them how many people have “liked” it on Facebook. Use the popularity to your advantage because when people think something is popular they general want to know about it too.

4. Record more often. At times, especially when covering a beat, it can seem like there is so much information to share and so many stories to do. And realistically there is, but some are more important than others. Instead of trying to cram all of it into one story or do too many stories on the same subject, try recording shorter, simpler videos about it or writing short blog posts or even uploading documents to the web and sharing the link to them. Then when you are reporting live send your viewers to these resources. Tell them you were live tweeting from the meeting and they can view all of the tweets on your Twitter page for a play-by-play review.

A camera can capture great moments, making stories more interesting and realistic for viewers. But, video as a medium can also make a reporters job a little harder, especially if no one is talking to you.

As an investigative video journalist for Texas Watchdog, I run into this problem more often then I would like, but, along the way I have learned to prepare in advance for these situations. Whether it is a phone call that is never returned or an e-mail that goes without a reply, here are some tips on creating video elements even when people refuse to talk with you or are ignoring you.

1. Record all phone calls. I cannot stress this enough. While it may just be audio that is recording, it can quickly be turned into video using still images of the person you are calling or b-roll from a previous story. Just remember to begin recording as soon as you pick up the phone to dial. The sounds of the buttons dialing, the ringing on the other end of the call, the voicemail greeting of the person you are calling and the message or in most cases messages you leave are all important elements in the story. Whether it is used for nat sound at end or turns out to be the main SOT’s in your story, you will be better off with all of it than without it.

2. Put the camera on yourself. Instead of just telling your viewers you tried over and over again to get the answers. Show them. Set up a video camera and record yourself leaving the messages. Use these as Nat pops in the story or as major elements.

3. Use the e-mails. The same goes with e-mails. If you sent 50 different e-mails and never received a response, why not print them out and use them as b-roll or in a stand-up. You could also set up a camera and record yourself sending the e-mails from the beginning. Sometimes you know right away that you may not get a response other times you do not, but why not be prepared for it just in case?

4. Use the audio from the phone recordings. There are countless ways this can be done, but think of the impact it can have on a viewer or listener? You are not just telling them you called them, you can let them listen to the messages you left or the phone that just kept ringing and ringing. Sometimes you may leave a message with a secretary or assistant, include that, even if there was a conversation involved. In some cases, the conversation and the run-around that people in an office give you make the story even more interesting and can even become the story.

5. Bring the camera to them. Public officials attend a lot of public events and sometimes hold media time after certain meetings. Show up and ask the questions you want answered then. Just because it wasn’t on the agenda, doesn’t mean it cannot be asked while they are heading into or out of the meeting. If they do not answer or you have to follow them down a hallway with the camera because they will not stop, include that in the story. This shows viewers you tried to find out more and it provides more insight for the public into who the individual is.

In a newsroom the words “bad weather” often mean long hours, overtime and lots of live coverage. It is the sort of thing that as journalists we dread but can wind up loving.

For most of the country recently, “bad weather” has meant cold temperatures, snow and ice, which for many parts of the country is nothing new. But in other parts (like here in Houston, Texas, where I live) it’s an uncommon and unwelcome occurrence that shuts down cities and leave viewers and listeners glued to local weather coverage.

Being from the north and having previously worked for television stations in the State of Ohio winter weather and the stories it brings with it from icy roads to school closings are just part of the daily news rundown.

Anyone who has worked at a television station where snow and cold temperatures are the norm for parts of the year, would probably agree with me when I say it can get a little overdone. From the wall-to-wall coverage of “snowmageddon” to live newscasts that extend hours-beyond what is normally scheduled, weather stories eat up valuable story-telling time in newscasts.

How many stories can a viewer really consume and enjoy about the snowy road conditions, tips to prevent pipes from freezing and how to keep electric costs down? The coverage of winter weather becomes even less of a novelty when promised “10-12 inches” arrive in dustings of less than two.

So, you could imagine my reaction, when at 11 a.m. on a Friday morning, the local television news stations in Houston are still live on-air with wall-to-wall winter weather coverage — here we go again! (To set the stage: the promise of snow in Houston did not turn into much more than some icy roads for most of the city, except in the outlining areas where there was some accumulation, but nothing that came above your tennis shoes.)

The stations were doing the usual cold weather coverage: roads, ice, cold temperatures. After watching the live coverage continue in dismay, I noticed that not only did I need to reconsider my initial negative reaction but that the people around me, Houstonians, actually were getting into the coverage.

At the gym, people could not take their eyes off of the televisions — some were even stopping their cardio routine to get closer to the screen to listen. Not only were they listening, but they seemed genuinely entertained and interested in what the reporters and the anchors were talking about: ice, cold temperatures and some snow.

I was shocked! Until I remembered, I am not in Ohio anymore. I am in Texas where winter weather is not common, where people may not have experience scraping ice from their cars or driving through snow.

This is when it hit me, unusual weather, like temperatures in the 20′s in February in Houston, is something people are interested in. Having to walk on icy sidewalks and even bundling up to wait for the bus stops are not tasks that come as second nature to them.

The non-stop local news coverage of weather that can be overdone and exaggerated in many markets, was in this case warranted and it seems well received.