I just wanted to call her. This past December, with one day off before nine days of winter break for my toddler daughters, I sat up in bed and reached for a book that had shuffled unopened around my end table. “BIGGER THAN BRAVERY,” read the title of an anthology of essays about, per its subtitle, “Black resilience and reclamation in a time of pandemic.” Many names graced the cover, from a half-dozen featured writers to the actor Courtney B. Vance, who gave a quote of endorsement. But only one name mattered to me: Valerie Boyd. She had edited the anthology. Several years earlier, she had been ..read more

I'm fortunate to occasionally get asked to speak at journalism workshops, which gives me a good reason to attend those workshops. It's hard to carve time away from my family, especially on weekends. But I do it for the chance to embrace an atmosphere of passion, enthusiasm, and devotion to a complicated profession. I especially embrace the critique sessions. Whether one-on-one or in a small group, they offer substantial windows for substantive conversation. Journalists ask my advice, and I dispense it. But I always learn plenty myself, and sometimes I wind up asking my own questions. Such was ..read more

I have spent nearly 20 years in journalism, almost always working on my own. Based on that experience, I can say with full confidence: the definition and demands of a solo video journalist, or MMJ, are always evolving. Five years ago, I followed the publication of my book, The Solo Video Journalist, by introducing the MMJ Survey. I put out a survey so that solo video journalists nationwide could offer their comprehensive views on the most popular job in local TV news. The survey was illuminating, and I encourage people to check out the results. Now it's time for a new one. A half-dec ..read more

When I started this podcast nine years ago, I assumed at some point I would interview Greg Bledsoe. At the time he was the reigning two-time NPPA national Solo Video Journalist of the Year. He was one of the most talented photojournalists in the country AND one of the most talented writers in the country. → The post PODCAST #86: Greg Bledsoe, solo video journalist, on the Family Geography Project appeared first on Telling The Story ..read more

I'm not sure what I expected. Did I expect, a month after tornadoes that ravaged towns across four states, everything to have magically recovered? Of course not. Did I expect, upon arriving in Mayfield, Ky. - the town that suffered the most damage and received the most attention - to see throngs of camera crews and reporters? Not necessarily. I didn't expect miracles, nor did I expect the eyes of the world to remain fixed on these few towns. I guess I expected what I ended up seeing: slight progress, continued emotional toll, and few journalists to witness the damage and potentially redir ..read more

“I’m not just reporting on this city and this university. I was a student here.” That’s how I introduced myself to viewers in dozens of stations across the country. In my first story as a national correspondent with E.W. Scripps, I covered the efforts of advocates in Athens, Georgia to gain recognition for a long-forgotten Black neighborhood. Linnentown existed adjacent to the campus of the University of Georgia … until the city and university used eminent domain to clear it out to build three new dorms. In 2021 the city apologized and pledged reparations to Linnentown descendants. The univers ..read more

I can’t stop following the Webb Telescope. Is it me, or are we as a collective society not making a big enough deal about it? Just before the end of 2021, a year that saw the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as numerous natural disasters, NASA launched the most powerful telescope in history into space. Over the next month, the Webb Telescope will unfold and reshape itself into an instrument that will potentially be able to explore the most observable distant galaxies in the early universe. It will begin detecting planets and gases and sending back images, according to NASA, by the ..read more

Last spring, when so many of us were frightened and nervous at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the world of journalism and the world as a whole felt chaotic and upended, Reshma Kirpalani leaned in. She cold-emailed a hospital group in south Florida to see if she could obtain access to its COVID unit, through videos shot by its employees. She received that access and embarked on a half-hour documentary ... that ultimately turned into five half-hours of an episodic series. She convinced her bosses at the Miami Herald and its parent company, McClatchy, to enable her to focus en ..read more

I've done 83 episodes of the Telling the Story podcast and, in the process, interviewed nearly as many talented storytellers and journalists. Episode 84 is different. This time, I interviewed someone on the other side of the camera - someone who was the subject on an in-depth story I produced late last fall. Her name is Emily Chan. She's the co-owner of JenChan's restaurant in Atlanta. I did a five-minute story about the restaurant last year, spotlighting hers to represent the challenges faced by so many in that industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. I spent six shoots in two weeks with Chan ..read more

We were all tested in 2020. Every life was touched in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic, which remains a constant factor in our activities and decisions more than a year since it began. Video journalists faced a wave of limitations and restrictions as we attempted to stay safe while doing our jobs, in a year where our jobs felt more vital than ever. I was reminded of this as I watched this year's winners of the NPPA's Best of Photojournalism awards for video photography and video editing. Some were shot before the pandemic. Most were shot during. All reflected dedication to the craft of journa ..read more