If You Can't Beat 'Em...

...become a contributing writer to their website. That's what I'm doing over at News Videographer - the on-line watering hole for newspaper multimedia producers. For some time now I've surfed the site, learning much about the on-line approach and taking on those who dismiss me as a TV News Neanderthal. A caveman I ain't. But if this discussion is going to evolve, perhaps I should lay down my club. When site founder Angela Grant offered me a spot on her growing roster, I saw it as an opportunity to seek appeasement. Thus, I'm stoked over the impending tractate - if only because the many fine print folk who read this rising site don't expect a TV cameraman to use a word like 'tractate'. Anyhoo, here's an excerpt of my inaugural post - the beginning of what I hope is a beautiful relationship...

I get it. TV News is SO gauche; a crass bastardization of the Edward R. Murrow dream slathered in glowing logos and happy patter. Guilty. As. Charged. But look beyond the triple-lit sets, plastic-wrapped talent and endless promos to the visceral images captured daily by street-level TV shooter. There you’ll find the fundamentals of visual storytelling, whether you’re looking to fill up your plasma fattie or simply debut it in on YouTube.

So what does a TV News Photog know about Multimedia? You be the judge. I've spent nearly two decades committing trivia to video on an often hourly basis. While I'm not above ferrying around overdressed reporters in equally garish live trucks, I most often work alone. Shooting the story, writing the script, editing the finished piece; I do it every day - often under miserable conditions. Sometimes it's meatball surgery. Other times it's Penny Opera. Either way, it's always on time. The stories I produce rarely lead their newscasts, but they're often the one story viewers remember at the end. What can I say? I know how to work a dog in a funny hat.

I dip my considerable lens to Angela Grant for allowing me to contribute to News Videographer and I promise to keep my ire in check. I also realize you don’t want to be like TV. That’s cool; not once will I suggest you sprinkle your piece with some overstuffed hair-do sporting a day-glow microphone. Just know that are thousands of TV news photogs like myself who are itching to plunder the shifting paradigm. Newspapers got a head start, but as the vestiges of Vaudeville finally leave my medium, it’s gonna be on like Donkey Kong.

Too warm and fuzzy?