Al's Morning Meeting

Lynn French, quite plainly, is one of my favorite people. Not just one of my favorite photographers or favorite journalists, but one of the best people I know period. She is assistant chief photographer/multimedia journalist at KPNX-TV in Phoenix and often works alone as a backpack journalist. When I led a backpack journalism seminar last spring at Poynter, of course I invited Lynn to come and help teach it.

I asked Lynn to share some thoughts about how to succeed when you are working in the field alone. Here's what she writes:

Three Things Every Backpack Journalist Can Do to Tell Better Stories

I would guess that nearly every backpack journalist (BPJ) in America has shown up for a story with camera in hand and heard the interview subject say, "But where is the reporter?" Or the even more depressing, "Oh, it's only you?" This is where we have to hold our chins high and reply, "When it gets on the air, you will never know the difference."

Lynn French

There are plenty of message boards, blogs and water cooler sites to debate whether that is true or not. Today, I am hosting a haven for those who go out solo. I'll talk about a few things that will help you tell your community's stories and bring a little more fun into a hard job. It won't stop the perplexed look on your subject's face in the beginning, but it may make a difference in what airs in the end.

Practice Putting the 'Journalist' in Backpack Journalist.   

Television and movies have trained our viewers as to what a TV news crew is supposed to look like.  When you call people and ask for an interview, they often envisions a satellite truck pulling up to their house beaming every minute back live to the station as a multiperson crew lugs dozens of lights into their living room, a sound guy hangs a fuzzy boom mic over their every word, at least two giant cameras catch their declarations and the well-coiffed correspondent nods in agreement waiting to pounce on their darkest secret. So when the guy in a polo shirt and khakis carrying their home handycam arrives wanting to talk about gas prices, it can be a big disappointment. This is when we have to work to gain their trust and let them know that we can tell their story brilliantly on tonight's 6 p.m. news.  

No one is born a professional football player; they have to practice -- a lot. The same applies to us. You can't grab a camera, run out the door and expect to be accepted as a professional journalist. As soon as you can't find where to plug in the microphone, your interview subject is going to think you don't know what you are doing. You risk them being less forthcoming in the interview or even choosing not to do the story. Practice setting up your camera gear -- not just once or twice, but to the point where you can hold a conversation and seem completely at ease.
  
Build your interviewing skills at every opportunity. Use that conversation time while you are setting up to get some basic information out of the way so when you are ready to roll tape, those questions lead to the good sound bites for your story. This is two-pronged. Strong interviewing skills let the subject know you do this all the time and further build that trust in you. Shorter, sharper interviews are less tape to log and more time to write and edit.

Contribute to Editorial Meetings

I love the freaks, weirdos and oddballs of Phoenix. They are my people, and their stories are my beat. No one assigned it to me, but I keep an eye on their world and try to take our viewers there occasionally. As you think about your newsroom, reporters have brands -- crime hound, boring business guy, fluffy feature girl, dude who never brings ideas to the morning meeting and gets stuck with another foreclosure story and then whines about it and, of course, smug reporter who pitches ideas from "Al's Morning Meeting" every day and pretends they are his own. 

It is easy to pigeonhole BPJs into "one-stop shopping" sidebar stories. You won't always be able to get out of the "gas prices for the gazillionth time" story, but you can gain some control over your destiny. By the sheer act of pitching stories, you will build your brand as a contributor. Jump on the story you want when it comes up. A little enthusiasm goes a long way. Willingness to run out the door right now and attack a story now makes you "the BPJ who wants it."

We aren't going to shake the BPJ tag no matter how hard we try, so build it into a better brand. One of our BPJs here at KPNX, Pete Scholz, recently took a story I pitched in the morning meeting about "my freaky people" and gave it an appropriate style that is not our regular on-air look. As much as I wanted to do the story, Pete did it better. To watch the story, visit this link, click on the "Editor's Picks" tab and then on "Graffiti Emerging As Art."


Make the Station/Newspaper Web Site Your Domain
 
You have put in nine long hours on your story. You are ready to call it a day and the "Web folks" now want a text version, extended video clip and slideshow. It is going to be an hour-and-a-half of your life you won't get back. This is about personal investment in doing the things that others will not do so you may choose from the things they cannot do. Not every story is worth that missed dinner with your family, but some are. By mastering those Web skills, you add to your abilities to be a journalist on different platforms. You give the subject the power to share their story with the world. The above scenario happens weekly for one of KPNX's BPJs, Mike Warner. He produces our franchise "War Stories" about the Phoenix area servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. He only gets a day to turn them, but he never neglects the Web elements. I know these folks are thankful for it.

Saddle up and Put the 'Backpack' Back in Backpack Journalist  

Let's be honest: One of the big reasons BPJs are popping up in place of traditional photographer and reporter positions is that it's cheaper to hire one person than two. It's also cheaper for BPJs to travel. As we hit the annual summer news slowdown, evergreen stories and promotable pieces are as good as gold. This is the perfect opportunity to hit the road to bring your viewers stories from people and places they probably have not heard about. It is not a paid vacation on the company to drive rural routes, but a chance to do some real storytelling on your terms. 

You have to walk into your news director or editors' office with a plan and a budget. A simple, "I want to go to the Grand Canyon for a few days to shoot some stories" will not fly. Be specific and sell your stories the same why you would in the morning meeting. "I would like to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. In a two-day trip I should be able to shoot four packages, including the effect of the Glen Canyon Dam water release on the fishing season, an update on the regrowth of spotted owl habitat after the Warm Fire two years ago, how far the bathtub ring has dropped at Lake Powell in a year and a feature for the weekend shows on the street of mini-motels in Page. I can stay in Lee's Ferry for $59 a night, it should take three tanks of gas at around $180 and two days of per diem at $70."

Richard Adkins, a videojournalist at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., and a former boss and dear friend of mine, did exactly that and headed to the Carolina coast a few weeks ago to bring back a collection of beautifully produced stories. Here is my favorite.

I can talk about life as a BPJ all day. If you have any questions or comments, I can be reached at lfrench@kpnx.com.