My Schtick With Help from "Bob"

Last week in class we had the discussion of "web extras" and how as B-2 reporters we are responsible for providing a different print story to put online right up next to our video story, and also any extras to add to the story that we could find. One student (who for all intensive purposes will be known as "Bob" for the rest of this blog) seemed to have an issue with this.

"Bob" and I have had several classes together in our journalism education. It seems we are on similar paths, I just chose a different way of getting through mine. And he never fails to say something to irk or offend me. Why should our time together in B-2 be any different?

Bob proceeded to walk over to his buddy after class and comment very loudly and in slightly more colorful words than I will use, that the web stories and extras were bogus. And that he was a TV reporter, and TV reporters should only produce stories for TV, leave the print to the newspapers. 

Well...I have news for you Bob...REAL news. Newspapers are now online. Television stations are now online. This makes them direct competition. Newspapers are now offering video and radio sound-bites to go along with their traditional print stories. 

Bottom line: we have to compete. 

So, Bob, if you want to keep your job, or even get one for that matter, step it up. You are a journalist, your passion should be for the news, not for the medium. 

I would like to say that Bob's offensive comments ended there. But of course, they didn't. Bob said, and I quote, "I don't work for a freakin' newspaper. I shouldn't have to write those stories." Well Bob...you're right. You're not working for a newspaper. 

Writing for the web is different than writing for a print source. In writing for the web your story has to tell the exact same story as your TV story, but make it descriptive enough that people don't need the video to accompany the story and short enough that they don't lose interest. Web writing needs to be tighter than newspaper writing because of one key difference: internet attention span. 

When reading the paper there isn't that tantalizing button looming above what your reading that says "Facebook" or "E-mail". When you've got the paper, you're sitting down to read the news. When you're on the web, there are far more distractions, so get to your point, describe it well, and supplement it with your video and extras. 

The moral to my little schtick... 

Adjectives in front of the word journalist are now obsolete. We are no longer "newspaper" journalists, or "radio" journalists, or even "TV" journalists. We are just journalists.

Prepare accordingly.