The Anal Retentive Video Journalist

To be honest, you can get away with passive reporting in the print world. You can let the story come to you in the field instead of actively pursuing it and piece your thoughts together afterwards. I’m learning that this doesn’t work very well in visual media. To write for a visual package, you have to know what your story is beforehand in order to get images that will do most of the talking for you. You have to be able to interview differently to be able to get that sound bite. This active reporting is good. It gives the story and the reporter focus. I think it’s also a little bit dangerous, though. Knowing almost exactly what you want to say about your subject can lead to a failure to notice differences between your presumptions and what is actually occurring. If you make an inaccurate assumption, your attempt at good reporting may be counterproductive, as over-preparation could cause you to overlook the truth that you are attempting to report.