2nd Edition
The Solo Video Journalist Doing It All and Doing It Well in TV Multimedia Journalism
The Solo Video Journalist, now in its second edition, offers a comprehensive overview of the solo video reporting process from start to finish.
Drawing from years of professional experience in the field, the author covers all aspects of multimedia journalism, from planning for a segment, to dressing appropriately for multiple roles, to conducting interviews, and editing. The book contains interviews with more than a dozen top storytellers from around the United States and offers practical advice for how to succeed in a growing media field. New to this edition are Career Chronicles – chapters that detail the career paths possible for modern journalists – and a fully updated chapter on the importance of building a digital and social media presence.
This book is an excellent resource for students learning skills in broadcast, multimedia, backpack, and television journalism, as well as for early-career professionals looking for a back-pocket resource in solo video journalism.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD, by Boyd Huppert, KARE-TV
PREFACE TO THE 2nd EDITION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION: I am a Solo Video Journalist
PART ONE: BEFORE THE STORY
Chapter 1: Planning Your Day
Chapter 2: Looking the Part
Chapter 3: Gearing Up
Chapter 4: Thinking Digital
CAREER CHRONICLES: The Atypical Lane
PART TWO: IN THE FIELD
Chapter 5: Shooting Video
Chapter 6: Shooting Interviews
Chapter 7: Recording a Stand-up
CAREER CHRONICLES: Solo as a Springboard
PART THREE: PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Chapter 8: Logging and Writing
Chapter 9: Editing the Final Product
CAREER CHRONICLES: Getting In at an Older Age
PART FOUR: LOOKING FORWARD
Chapter 10: The MMJ Survey
Chapter 11: Learning from the Best
Chapter 12: Thinking Big
INDEX
Biography
Matt Pearl has worked in local television news for nearly two decades and is regarded as one of the top multimedia journalists in the country. He received his degree at Northwestern University with a BS in Journalism, and an MFA degree in Narrative Media from the University of Georgia, and has since gone on to win numerous awards for his work, including dozens of regional Emmys. Currently, he is a news reporter for WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia, a position he has held since 2009. He has worked at various news stations and spoken at conferences about being a multimedia journalist. He has been named the national Solo Video Journalist of the Year multiple times by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
PRAISE FOR 1ST EDITION:
This book will teach you how to tell a visual story well, using all the tools. The new edition of Bob Papper's classic shines a light for the digital age and will show you the way.
Bob Dotson, former NBC News National Correspondent and New York Times best selling author
Papper’s text has long earned accolades as a comprehensive and engaging guide to broadcast reporting, covering everything from interviewing to ethics, from writing for the ear to writing for the eye, from effective narrative techniques to the basics of proper usage and grammar. For those of us teaching Broadcast Journalism during these rapidly changing times in news, this new edition is a terrific addition to our teaching toolkit.
- Judy Muller, Professor, USC Annenberg School, USA
This edition has excellent tips for writing sound broadcast news copy and has now been updated with information from Papper’s outstanding surveys of the news industry, advice from professional journalists, as well as ideas on the best practices for using new technology such as drones.
-G. Stuart Smith, Professor, Hofstra University, USA
This latest edition of Papper's well-respected style manual for broadcast news comes only two years after the previous release. Papper restructured the manual to forefront fundamentals of broadcast journalism, beginning with a chapter on ethics. Modest revisions follow….The manual is strongest when it remains focused on the details of style and usage elaborated by real-world examples….While the title suggests an audience limited to students of broadcast news, the style and usage sections of the manual have value for writers of any discipline composing podcasts or other new media work.
--G. Wilsbacher, University of South Carolina
