Video Medium and an Example

In my personal opinion, writing for TV is easier than writing for audio. I know this may not be the case for everyone, but in the Video medium you don't have to rely completely on your words to tell the whole story. Your b-roll comes in for the assist. I also think that with the help of some good b-roll a story can be turned from cut and dry to something that's really cool. Granted, that also means that you have to have good b-roll and know the general direction you want your story to head. With audio, I found myself getting too lost in words trying to explain every little detail to my listener. I grew up with the idea of, why tell when I can show?

I found this example on CNN of Prince William being knighted. There is no audio component to the story (which I found slightly annoying) but the video does a very good job with piecing together the events of the day. Paired with the headline, you know what's going on. I think it helps to show the importance of good b-roll.

One side note, and this may be blasphemy to all that is convergence, but I am not a fan of the i-reporter series on CNN where people can send in their video. It's cool that they can send in video that a news organization might not otherwise have, but there comes a point when you have to consider the quality of that video before you piece it into a story.