One of the biggest challenges of a journalist is being able to bring fresh perspective to a stale story
Photo Courtesy: © Raimond Spekking / CC-BY-SA-4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
One of the biggest challenges in journalism is knowing how to continually cover a big story when there may be nothing new to report.
Big stories are really quite ambiguous, in sports it could be something as inconsequential as whether or not Brett Favre is retiring or not. Every day the audience expects something, even if there is no new news.
A more poignant example would be the Boston Marathon bombing, again the audience waits with baited breath for revelations minute-by minute, but despite the cameras being on non-stop, there isn’t a non-stop flow of fresh information.
That is often the struggle of a producer, always figuring out a fresh angle to tell a stale story.
Which leads me to my favorite article of the week, written by investigative producer Lynn Walsh contributing to the RTNDA (Radio, Television News Directors Association). She presents a very simple approach to dig deeper into big stories and cover them the way they are meant to be covered.
As always, our entertainment industry top ten of the week is in no particular order
Dig Deeper to Extend Big Stories: I think my lead probably set the stage for this one
Four Of Five Americans With Phones Don’t use Them for Getting Music yet – According to a report posted at Evolver.fm only 1 out of 5 Americans use their phones to acquire music, and while that sounds small it’s actually huge growth year over year. Their conclusion – phones, not computers, are the new entertainment hub.
The Challenges Facing Musicians in 2013: Who doesn’t love a free research report?! Right Chord Music in association with Farida Guitars compiled this very interesting state of the music industry report – well worth a read.
The Skills You Need For Radio Jobs: Steve Goldstein, Executive VP of Saga Communications, who own 88 radio stations across the US, was kind enough to answer my myriad of questions regarding the radio industry this week. We got into the future of broadcast radio, how to get hired in radio, the skills needed and more. Really insightful stuff, from one the brightest minds in radio.
So Who Gave the KTVU Anchor the Bogus Pilot Names? As most of you know my career background is in Television, so when the blooper of the century happened on KTVU earlier this summer, I had to cringe a bit while everyone else laughed. While the story has died down, there is some new discovery in how the names actually made it on air, and I’m a little surprised to say the least.
You Rawk!: Jacobs Media, my favorite rock radio consultants, knocks it out the park again when they discuss the integration of messaging and delivering. When the message says one thing, possibly produced or created by a separate department such as creative services or promotions, but the delivery says another, you get a confused audience.
Inside the Life of a Hollywood Actor: This was a really enjoyable interview, Matt Cedeno, star of Days of our Lives and the Lifetime Hit Devious Maids explains what it’s really like to be on set. We all hear stories passed down about Hollywood, but Cedeno lives it and really explains what Hollywood is all about. Interesting even if you don’t want to be an actor!
Avoid the Visual Clutter and Go for In Stream Audio Advertising : Anthony Mullen from Forrester research breaks down the streaming world that is taking over audio consumption and explains how the providers should approach advertising and revenue. Interesting read; also interesting how the artists are the ones getting short-changed on the revenue stream.
Francis Ford Coppola Interviews Apocalypse Now Screenwriter John Milius The behind the scenes story of Apocalypse Now may actually be more interesting than the movie itself, and that’s coming from a guy who respects that film possible more than any other. My dad was a Vietnam vet so he used to take us to every war movie there was, from Platoon, to Invasion USA, to Full Metal Jacket, to Apocalypse Now. Anyway I digress, the movie is fascinating on so many levels, but to hear director Francis Ford Coppola discuss it with the screenwriter is momentous.
Making it in the Music Business: Nice interview with Los Angeles based entertainment lawyer Jeff Biederman over at MusicCoaching.com. It’s always fun to learn about employment opportunities you might not have considered before or even known much about. Of course, being an entertainment lawyer isn’t exactly an easy route, but can be very rewarding.
That’s it for this week, if you have seen articles that deserve mentioning, add them to the comments below and we might include them in next weeks Entertainment Industry Top Ten!
About Brian Clapp
