Plan ahead of time, learn the skill and be persistant

I had a hard time with my first story of this semester, which was about the public concern for violent crimes in Columbia. The reason was simple: I did not do adequate research before I set out to collect the materials. I got the idea from my neighbor Alice Sandre, who told me about a home invasion on the East Broadway. I was half way through with my TV package when I realized the story was really hard to visualize, and it was too late for me to switch to another story. The topic might be interesting, but it was not a good one for TV journalism. What b-rolls could I get to demonstrate people's anxiety about their safety and how could I show the statistics of violent crimes? I used to think that TV journalism is easier than the print, because with the print, journalists had to do in-depth coverage.

It was the first week of my Broadcast 2, and also the first time that I was supposed to do a TV package in one week. I felt very stressed. Though I understood that in the real world, the situation could be even tougher, it still took me some time to adjust to the pace. It was a good experience to learn to well manage my time. Time is gold for journalism, especially for TV journalism. I cut the town in time slots between my classes. I also became aware that to work with a very tight deadline as a professional journalist, I should always have backup plans. We can never tell what will happen next, and we are never sure whether we can get useful information that works with our story until the project is done. All we can do is to plan ahead of time, and do research in every possible way.

Another challenge I am faced with is the lighting for video photography. In my previous experience, I did not have much worry about it. Now the maneuver of lighting turns out to be a big issue. A great portion of my first raw tape was not usable. In addition to frustration, I recall a Chinese proverb that "you always feel regretful that you have not read enough when you are in need of knowledge." Yes, I may go back to reshoot the things I need, because I am a student. However, in the real profession, what will happen? If I do not have the time or chance, I will certainly lose my job. That is no fun.

My second project was about how a volunteer program helped storm water management in the city. I found that some background knowledge was necessary for a good project. News production sometimes is not simply for the sake of news, but converged process of gaining knowledge with story advancement. I acquired useful information about storm water and became aware of the issue. One of the reasons that I decided to learn journalism was that I hoped to broaden my vision. To be a journalist, good writing or interviewing skills are not sufficient. Good stories need start with good knowledge, acuity and unique perspective.

I also found stand-ups quite intimidating. As non-native speaker, I was always busy with remembering what I had to say before the camera, and I knew it made me look very awkward. Nervousness was what I had to combat, and I hoped more practice may help.

Though there are many challenges before me, persistence is the way to work them out. Journalism requires hard work, and it is rewarding, because we serve the people with most up-to-date information.