Web video could be the thing that brings journalism revenues back to sustainable levels while also providing marketers with a more reliable way to reach potential customers.
Since so many news outlets offer a full compliment of multimedia stories, featuring text, audio, graphics, video, slideshows and links, the skills in a journalist’s toolbox are expanding all the time. Newspapers, such as the New York Times and the Guardian, have been among the pioneers adding video to their portfolio of offerings and innovating with how video packages are created and shared (Ngo, 2012). Shows like TimesCast by the New York Times, Reuters TV by Reuters, WSJ Live by the Wall Street Journal and others are reinventing how news is consumed online, as well as how video journalism is done (Ngo, 2012). Sometimes they publish full video news packages, similar to what is seen on network television news. More often, however, news organizations are using video online to supplement a traditional news article, by adding a video interview or Q & A to give people the option of watching in addition to reading an article.
By increasing use of web video, news outlets hope to offer more user engagements and generate higher ad revenues, but the future of online video journalism is still unknown (Ngo, 2012). With little else to grasp onto as a potential savior for the news business, many remain hopeful that it will take off and provide a much-needed revenue stream tied directly with content.
This infographic demonstrates the potential for web video, showing that online video is already in high demand:
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| Source: http://dmakproductions.com/blog/infographic-online-video-what-were-watching-and-how-were-watching-it/ |
Skills to produce video packages online include script writing, shooting b-roll, shooting stand ups, narration, catching soundbites, producing animated graphics, etc (Kolodzy, 2013). These skills — in addition to the traditional skills of interviewing, researching and understanding the fundamentals of journalism — make for a well-rounded journalist ready to produce web video for a variety of news outlets and audiences.
In this YouTube video, a video journalist explains what skills she needs in her job, as well as what led her to her current position:
Reed (2013) explains that digital advertising still hasn’t offered news outlets the type of revenue they got from print advertising. Web video could help bridge the revenue gap because it is audience-centric and advertising can be embedded directly into the content (Reed, 2013). This is significant because much of digital advertising revenue has been going to service providers and tech companies rather than news outlets. In addition to understanding the value and potential of web video, as well as having the skills to produce it, Reed (2013) says journalists need to know how to share it and bring people to their content.
I remember when I had my aha moment about the importance of video skills for journalists today. So many news organizations are now requiring or favoring prospective employees who can do web video. As managing editor of a small print-only newspaper, I was hiring a reporter and I noticed a lot of the potential employees were touting their video skills, which we had no use for. I found a suitable candidate, who had a variety of skills, and we negotiated a good salary. Then at the last minute he turned down the job and said he didn’t want to risk losing his video skills at a print-only paper. I remember thinking, I’ve been here 8 years, I guess I’ve lost all my video skills. I left several months after that and went back to school to freshen up my skills.
References:
Kolodzy, J. (2013). Practicing Convergence Journalism. Routlede. New York, NY.
Ngo, S. (2012). Networks schmetworks. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from
Reed, M. (2013). Nine challenges facing the future of journalism. International Journalists’ Network. Retrieved from http://ijnet.org/en/blog/nine-challenges-facing-future-journalism
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