Convergence Speakers Showcased Characters, Challenges, Trust And Relationships
CHARLESTON, SC (July 10, 2010) – Through three days and nights of speakers, presentations, and panels, visual journalists attending NPPA's Convergence '10 this week studied the state of photojournalism today, the technology and ethics of digital storytelling and multimedia, as well as examining media access to news, photographers' copyright and contract issues, the practice of buying photographs from the general public, and the impact of journalists and news organizations using social media.
Panel discussions and individual speakers also addressed a range of topics from freelance business practices and equipment selection to video editing software and how to find successful niche markets. And award-winning journalists from print, broadcast, and the Web also taught workshops where participants learned the deep details of how they go about producing and publishing their stories.
"The only thing that matters is getting the viewer to care," two-time NPPA Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year Darren Durlach of WBFF-TV in Baltimore told Convergence '10 participants on Saturday.
"People care about the story when they relate to the people involved, and you want to find the story within the story. If you find a character, someone who you find to be interesting, then most likely your audience will find them interesting. During your story, come back and check back in with your character. People will be wondering about that person they've met. While every 'action' in your story has a 'reaction', it's the 'reaction' that the viewer at home will relate to. A viewer will only care and find a story memorable long after it's ended if his has 'moments.' Moments don't have to be big, but they're what you look for in stories."
Durlach told the audience, "You want your story to peel like an onion; every few moments, you want the viewer to learn something new. And then have a great ending to your story. The ending is more important than the opening; the ending is what they'll remember forever. And don't forget," he said, "talking heads are boring."
Earlier in the day Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post showcased the Pulitzer Prize-winning documentary project "Ian Fisher: An American Soldier," and he shared with Convergence '10 attendees the story behind the story about how his newspaper made the decision – and the investment of time and resources – to the long-term two-year project of following a high school graduate into the Army, and through basic training, and on into the battlefields of Iraq.
When it was time to start putting the package together, Walker's story on Fisher had more than 130,000 still photographs and 136 hours of video and video interviews. From the time editors came up with the idea until the first publication date, "Ian Fisher: American Soldier" took three years total. Talking about how he pitched the concept to Army public affairs officers in the beginning, Walker said he told them, "We can't tell every soldiers' story, but we can tell one soldier's story and by doing so tell every soldiers' story."
Walker was accompanied in Charleston by the project's producer, multimedia picture editor Meghan Lyden, and the Post's assistant managing editor of photography Tim Rasmussen, who along with Walker told the story of how editors pulled "Ian Fisher: American Soldier" together for the print product and the Web.
"I challenged Craig to do the best work of his career," Rasmussen told the audience. "We set the bar as high as we could, all of us, from the very start. For this story to work, it was all about Craig earning the soldiers' trust and building relationships."
Also during Convergence '10 the organization's board of directors met, and NPPA executive director Jim Straight told the board that in the coming year NPPA's staff will focus on the core mission of serving its members by offering educational opportunities, an updated Web site and new digital tools, as well as expanding the membership base by adding new members.
Straight also told the board that today is a good time for everyone, trustees and members alike, to remember that "NPPA is a business, and like any business we're here to serve our customers ... and NPPA's mission is to serve our members and to offer education."
During the board meeting NPPA's Advocacy Committee members reported on Advocacy's efforts in the past year as well as the topics they'll be focusing on in the coming year, including NPPA's letter to President Barack Obama last week protesting media restrictions on journalists who are trying to cover the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the ban on clean-up workers that has apparently been preventing them from speaking with journalists. That letter, sent by NPPA's president Bob Carey, was a joint effort with Advocacy Committee members Alicia Wagner Calzada and NPPA's general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher.
The most-watched on Livestream video following the wrap-up of Convergence '10 has so far been the panel discussion that opened the conference, "Where Is Journalism Today?" It is archived online and looped for viewing here.
Watch archived Livestream video of this year's Convergence '10 speakers and panels
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