The TOP 15 Tips (On Video) You Need To Know To Be A Successful On-Air & TV Reporter in 2018.
There is not one single unique skill that’s required to pave a pathway to success as a TV reporter. It’s more so having in your possession a collaboration of talent and skill sets. Recently a professor and I were discussing this, and an intellectual debate unfolded in front of our class. It was his recommendation that I post this such article along with the top 15 reporting tips video below, because we were both in agreement, that many TV reporters, and many on the internet who call themselves one, are failing at their craft. The common and repeated editorial mistakes made by many reporters of today might have got them fired years ago.
Specifically; copying, pasting, reiterating, imitating or borrowing what someone else has already reported and trying to make it your own is not reporting. There must be something called attribution, as in the phrase "According to..." when it's not your original report. By attributing, you give the original storyteller credit and respect, allowing you also to distance yourself from the originally reported story if it's wrong.
Jumping in front of your home cam and regurgitating something that has already been reported-well that’s not really original either. But just what if, what if, you tried to make a phone call to someone connected to the story you’re regurgitating, which would give your regurgitated story a fresh informational spin. That’s called making an effort to “advance” the story. I’d be more inclined to say that qualifies as reporting. Reporting is:
a) fact checking
b) getting new information
c) landing a new interview
d) changing the narrative
e) being willing to be second yet correct, just to name a few!
"...Copying, pasting, reiterating, imitating or borrowing what someone else has already reported and trying to make it your own is NOT reporting."
The major area of concern for a lot of us who teach reporting, is the plethora of false news that’s flooded our news content market nowadays. That’s the underlying theme to this video. And this You Tube clip climaxes with my recommendations on how to be better individually, and as an industry. In our list dominant world, these are my Top 15 Tips To Be A Great Reporter.
Marc L. Watts runs a broadcast training learning center in Los Angeles called Marc’d Academy. His next reporting bootcamp is June 9th. If interested, sign up here at www.marcdacademy.com or bootcamp@marcdacademy.com. Marc has nearly two decades of on-air experience, regular news and sports. And he’s one of the nation’s foremost experts on what constitutes quality on-air and TV reporting. Marc has been honored with more than 45 awards, and also has enjoyed a distinguished career in broadcast media management.