If you give us a week, we will change your life
Calling all video journalists
We stand by that promise because we, the faculty ready to greet you, have seen this week change hundreds of journalists minds, skill set and careers. You will gain a depth of knowledge whether you are a photojournalist or a reporter; whether your work lands on the 10 o’clock newscast, in a documentary, or online; whether you are a student or professional.
If you are a journalist who uses any video in your reporting, the News Video Workshop is for you. You will learn from an award winning faculty who shoots with DSLRs, HD video cameras and, in some cases, the smart phones in their pockets. These are some of the best storytellers working today. We volunteer our time at come to the Workshop to help you and the journalism industry we love get better and grow stronger.
You will leave Norman, Oklahoma (home base for the Workshop) a better journalist, a stronger storyteller and with a renewed commitment to journalism.
Registration is now open!
REGISTRATION INFO
The three enrollment levels are: Shoot ‘n Edit, Participant, and Student Participant.
Shoot ‘n Edit attendees bring their video cameras and their will to be challenged. Photojournalists and solo (backpack or multimedia) journalists who want a hands-on-learning experience or to take their work to the next level should register as a shoot ‘n edit. Get ready to be tested.
The Participant level is the best option for reporters, producers, or other journalists who do not, primarily, carry a video camera around to do their job. It is also a good option for individuals who learn better through observation than by trial and fire. You will attend all the same sessions as the Shoot ‘n Edit group. What is the difference between the two? You will not be in the hot seat and critiqued by the faculty.
College students can register at the Student Participant level. Like the professional participants, you will go through the same sessions, the same critiques. The only difference is you will not be put in the hot seat and grilled by the faculty. You will need your student ID at registration. You will gain and refine the skills and connections you need to jump-start your career.
| Before 2/8 | After 2/8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shoot ‘n Edit | $900 | $1000 |
| Participant | $700 | $800 |
| Student Participant | $375 | $475 |
* For those attendees planning on having a car the campus of OU requires a daily parking pass per vehicle. In order to park on campus for the week long Workshop, each day a new parking pass is necessary. At registration each participant who prepays, $10, for these parking passes will receive 6 individual passes. Anyone who does not prepay for them will pay $15.00 at the door.
NPPA and Group Discounts
- NPPA members receive a $145 discount. NPPA student members receive a $75 discount.
- Contact Julie Jones if you have four or more people enrolling either as part of a news organization or informally among colleagues. We have group rates.
- If you are a professor or a journalism program sending four or more of your students, contact Julie as well. We want to honor your commitment with an instructor discount.
*Student rates are for the participant level only. Students are welcomed to enroll as a shoot ‘n edit, but only the NPPA membership discount applies, i.e. no student discount at this level.
TRAVEL DETAILS
Flying: Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City
Driving: Norman, Oklahoma is a 30-minute drive from Will Rogers Airport down I-35. If you are not renting a car, an airport shuttle can transport you from OKC to your hotel in Norman.
Booking your flight: The NV Workshop opens for business March 15th (Sunday) at 10 a.m. We begin our sessions at 1 p.m. sharp. The week ends on March 20th (Friday) at 1:30 p.m.
Transportation during the workshop: You do not need a car to attend the NV Workshop. Shoot ‘n Edit attendees might prefer to have a car for the week, but even then it is not required. For those attendees planning on having a car the campus of OU requires a daily parking pass per vehicle. In order to park on campus for the week long Workshop, each day a new parking pass is necessary. At registration each participant who prepays, $10, for these parking passes will receive 6 individual passes. Anyone who does not prepay for them will pay $15.00 at the door.
Where to stay: There are many hotels around the OU campus, but Sooner Legends is offering a significant discount for NV Workshop participants. Contact Sooner Legeds directly at 405-701-8100 and mention NPPA to receive the discount.
Location for the Workshop sessions: Most sessions will be at Gaylord College of Journalism on the University of Oklahoma campus (395 W. Lindsey). Gaylord has state of the art projection facilities, large computer labs, and is an Apple Distinguished Program.
Getting to Gaylord: If you stay at Sooner Legends there will be a shuttle every day to and from the Workshop. For attendees with cars, Gaylord College is a 10-minute drive down Lindsey.
FACULTY
JULIE JONES - Workshop Director
Julie Jones is the national director for the News Video Workshop which has been held at University of Oklahoma since 1960. She holds a masters degree from the Cronkite School and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Before earning her degree in Minnesota, Jones was an award-winning video journalist working in the southwest. She has 29 Rocky Mountain Emmys, a national Murrow award for the documentary Born Too Soon, numerous film festival, Associated Press, Arizona Press Club and national NPPA awards for her enterprising work during that time. All of that exceptional work was only possible because of her week in Norman, Okla. Jones is a 1983 graduate of the Workshop. She returned as faculty in 1993 and took over the chair position in 2013.
She has teaching awards from the International Communication Association (ICA) and, in 2012, Kappa Theta Alpha named her one of the top ten professors in the US. The NPPA recognized Jones with the Joseph Costa award, named for a founder and first president of the nearly 70-year-old professional advocacy organization.
Dr. Jones combines her love of innovation and visual storytelling into her academic work. Along with her colleague John Schmeltzer, she developed one of the first mobile reporting class in the country in 2011. She has authored many articles on the pedagogical insights teaching the class has uncovered including a study on how social network patterns emerged on Twitter due to the social media practices adopted by the class. Her work has been published in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, New Media & Society, Journal of Social Media in Society, and MediaShift. She has also authored book chapters on visual storytelling (in Focal Press’ Communication Across Media) and lessons learned from the mobile reporting class (in Regent Press’ Global Journalism Education: Challenges and Innovations).
ADAM D. VANCE - Workshop Assistant Director
Adam Vance, one of your co-directors of the News Video Workshop, is a story in his own right. Born in Saigon during the Vietnam War, Adam was orphaned and brought to America as part of Operation Baby Lift. He was raised in New Mexico where he began his journalist career as a still photographer for the Gallup Independent while still in high school.
Recently, Adam made the switch to the government side of visual storytelling. He is the Station Manager for the City of Clearwater, in Florida. He has been tasked with working with city government and producing compelling stories for the local community, while running their local access television station. "Being on the other side of journalism has proven to be a new challenge, but still storytelling is still the same." says Vance.
Adam previously was KUSA-TV’s News Operations Manager, Chief Drone Pilot, Chief Editor and Photojournalist. He shoots and edits while also being in charge of the logistics of getting the news on the air. Adam is a logistical expert and one who likes to solve your technical needs. As a storyteller, Adam loves to offer viewers a unique perspective by putting a camera where you normally cannot.
Adam has a mass communication degree from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM. While pursuing his degree, he continued to work as a journalist with both the Amarillo Globe News and Scene 3 News.
Immediately following graduation he was hired by Albuquerque’s NBC affiliate KOB-TV. Later on, he joined KOAT-TV before embarking to Tampa with his wife Paulette. As a special projects photojournalist/editor and satellite truck operator for 10News/WTSP.COM, Adam had the opportunity to bring the Tampa Bay viewers multiple national stories including NASA launches, huge sporting events like Super Bowls, World Series, and Stanley Cup Championships along with countless hurricanes. Having completed 13 years with 10News, he has figured out this business is not only about storytelling, it is about people.
He joined the NPPA faculty to help a new generation of storytellers find their creative and their logistical, technical mindset.
His greatest stories are those about his wife, Paulette, and twin sons, Bryce and Connor, youth baseball phenomes.
STAN HEIST - Workshop Assistant Director
Stan is Sinclair’s Director of News Training and Development and chief of sUAS operations. Stan has more than 20 years of journalism experience as a chief photographer, university lecturer and in talent development at the corporate level. In his current role, Stan creates and delivers professional training programs in multiple disciplines, including reporting, producing, visual storytelling and newsroom leadership.
For more than a decade, Stan has taught journalists across the country to help become better storytellers. Outside of the US, he has been invited to speak to groups in Canada, Japan, and Denmark. Since 2006, Stan has been a faculty member of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) News Video Workshop and serves as the co-chair in charge of curriculum development. Stan has ten regional Emmy awards for in local news and was 2005 NPPA National Television News Photographer of the Year.
Stan holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland and is an active member of the NPPA, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the Association for Talent Development. Stan has an active FAA Part 107 Remote Airman Certificate and completed Sinclair pilot training at Virginia Tech.
TIM UNDERHILL
In 1997 Tim was named to the faculty of News Video Workshop sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association. He’s worked as a room captain for the critique sessions and is in charge of the lighting and sound for the annual event in Norman, Oklahoma.
Tim has served as a judge for several contests including the Emmy Awards, NPPA, SPJ and other competitions.
Tim’s work has earned awards from many of those same organizations including NPPA, AP, and the Emmy Awards.
Tim splits his time between news and production faculty assignments emphasizing visual storytelling. Tim serves as lecturer teaching courses in visual storytelling, video production, and news writing.
Underhill holds two degrees from Ball State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunications and a Master of Arts in Digital Storytelling.
When he isn’t working he can be found spending time as a Boy Scout leader. Tim is also enjoying family life with his wife and two sons backpacking, pedaling bikes and sampling craft beers.
GREG VANDEGRIFT
Greg Vandegrift, who joined the NPPA News Video Workshop faculty in 2004, has won national, regional, state and corporate awards over more than three decades as a storyteller; and since 2008, he has shared that reporting experience as a clinical professor of broadcast journalism at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was a full-time reporter for nearly 25 years, spending the last dozen of those years at the Minneapolis-St. Paul NBC affiliate, KARE 11. Greg has continued to freelance for KARE while teaching. He says reporters must learn to think about video BEFORE copy. As Greg likes to say, “It is ALL about the video!”
Greg’s reporting has been honored with two national Edward R. Murrows. He’s won an Iris. The National Association of Black Journalists recognized him for sports coverage. He’s also won multiple Regional Murrows and Regional Emmys. His work has continued to receive regional recognition since he began teaching full time. While at KARE, he twice won Best News Writing in the Best of Gannett contest, and he won the Minnesota Associated Press Writing award four times.
Greg's work has also appeared on the reels of three different Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year recipients (in alphabetical order - Scott Jensen, Gary Knox and Jonathan Malat). He is also proud to say he has told stories with Workshop faculty members Brett Akagi and Rob Collett. Greg says he has learned more about storytelling from photographers than anyone else.
In the spirit of a modern journalist, Greg has stepped outside of TV, writing multiple stories for News Photographer magazine. His St. Thomas journalism students get a heavy dose of storytelling techniques and principles in the classroom and in student media. He is currently the feature and general reporting adviser for the students’ web- based, multimedia news operation; and from 2012-2016, Greg was lead adviser. During that time, students won numerous awards for reporting on multiple platforms.
Beyond teaching at St. Thomas, Greg also produces videos for the university. One of his videos – a mini-documentary - was part of an exhibit at Rome’s MAXXI Museum and later in France at Pierresvives Cultural Centre of Montpellier.
Greg has shared his passion for storytelling across the country. Recently, in summer 2018, he had the pleasure of teaching at California Summer Arts Visual Storytelling Workshop at Fresno State.
Not to bury the lede, but Greg has been married to Jane for almost 35 years, and he is quick to note he wouldn’t be the person or professional he is without her. They have four boys, who are in college and beyond, including their own set of Minnesota twins. He loves the outdoors, especially water and winter in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. He boats in summer and likes to think he “walks” (really skates or snowshoes) on water during Minnesota’s wonderful – yes, he said, wonderful - winters. Of course, as a graduate of the University of Kansas, he gets into Jayhawk basketball … just a bit.
MIKE SCHUH
Before joining the CBS O&O in Baltimore in 1993, Mike told stories in Cape Girardeau, MO, Louisville, and Indianapolis. Mike has worked for about a dozen general managers and news directors, all who have very different thoughts about what news should look and sound like.
He has successfully adapted what he's learned here to keep his bosses happy while at the same time producing stories which keep him excited about his job. He is happy to discuss survival techniques.A Bakers Dozen of Sensible Schuh's:
Be a good employee.
- Don't whine.
- Pretend you are a freelancer — like you must impress the bosses every day or you won't be able to afford food.
- Surprise the producers. Give them more than they asked for in less time.
- Work hard on the little story and the boss will give you the big ones.
- Keep your mind on the story, not on the station gossip. Spend at least 5-10 minutes exchanging ideas about the story on the way to the story. Good ideas snowball.
- Communicate expectations, communicate needs, communicate wants.
- What do I have? What do I need?
- On the ride home, go through the sequences about what will work where.
- Offer solutions, not just problems.
- Stand up straight.
- Eat your vegetables.
- Wear glasses if you need them.
LES ROSE
Hey Brotherhood of the Broken Back…
It’s like this. You are here because, well, you get it. You have work days where you feel like the circus dog jumping through perpetual hoops of fire and flames. You shoot story after story afterstory and dozens of live hits and can you “spray” that ribbon cutting on your way back to the station? But in the back of your caffeine loaded noggin is a very real desire to get better. To get to the next level: but how?
“Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends” (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)
Here’s how! The week that will change your outlook, your abilities, and your career. So, I am perhaps one of the top three luckiest folks you are gonna meet in your life. I have a family I love, friends I love, and have honestly had TWO dream jobs in my lifetime. I spent 38 years shooting news: half local and half CBS News, give or take. I also in 2016 got the SECOND dream job: Professor of Practice at the Newhouse School, Syracuse. They wanted me and accepted my nearly 4 decades of experience as a good thing. And yes, I cannot wait to teach and help the next gen of journos. I am in heaven with the best students and colleagues ever.
The Career: Quickly: Spent 12 years at CBS News/KCBS in Los Angeles.7 years of “Everybody Has A Story” with Steve Hartman (along with years of Assignment America, 60 Minutes 2, On The Road, and local news feature stories with Hartman). 2 years for NBC News in Miami covering Nicaraguan, San Salvadoran, and Honduran war zones. OJ Simpson #1, OJ by the Sea, and OJ goes to Vegas. Menendez Brothers, Michael Jackson Molestation trial, and 4 mass shootings (Columbine, Gabrielle Giffords, San Bernardino, and the Orlando/Pulse Nightclub). Covered US hostage releases in West German, Nagano for Olympics and massive California fires, earthquakes, and the LA riots. Awards? Anything you win doesn’t matter when you’ve got a terrific wife and sons like mine. Love them more every single day. Best time in my life.
Fun Facts: Have been to over 1300 rock performances in about 700 individual concerts (38times for the Rolling Stones alone), I don’t know the model number of my cameras I just want them to help me tell a story, and I think women are the best thing on the planet Earth. They should always be respected, revered, and never underestimated. I think the First Amendment is worth going to jail for. My forehead makes a handy reflector and my belly is hopefully shrinking. I have taught every year with Al Tompkins at Poynter for almost 20 years and yes, many years here in Norman.
Fun Fact: The Diner in downtown Norman is so greasy you really do have to wear an outer garment. And the current threat to our freedoms from within? There has never been a more interesting time to be a journalism professor. Please meet my students out there, they’ll probably be wearing Orange!
MATT MROZINSKI
Matt Mrozinski is the Director of Photojournalism at KING 5 News and the founder of Storytellers. He is an eleven-time Emmy award winning photojournalist and has over 28 nominations. He was named a top six finalist three straight years for photojournalism’s highest individual honor, the NPPA Ernie Crisp Photographer of the Year. Mrozinski was runner-up for the award in 2010. Also in 2010, Matt was
named the best photojournalist in the nation by his peers as b-roll.net’s Photographer of the Year. He’s a member of four NPPA Station of the Year awards, the award given to the best photojournalism staff in the nation, helped KING 5 win Station of the Year in 2012 and runner-up 2013. As a staff photojournalist at KING 5, Mrozinski won back-to-back National Headliner awards for feature, won the coveted national SPJ Sigma Delta Chi award and was the NPPA West Coast Photographer of the Year in 2013.
Mrozinski routinely volunteers his time to improve journalism across the nation and world. He is the architect of the popular “Storytellers” website and professional community. Over 12,000 journalists and students frequent the site for advice and critique. “Storytellers” is used in university classrooms across the nation. It has become one of the premier resources for professional development and education for video journalism. In 2012, Matt and two of his colleagues used its success to inspire the Northwest Video News Workshop (NWVW) held at KING-TV. He is a faculty member for the legendary NPPA News Video Workshop in Norman, OK, has been a speaker at KNPA, WDIV-TV, Northwest Video Workshop, Seattle University, CUNY in New York, NY, and a contributor at the Ignite Your Passion Workshop in St. Paul, MN. “I’ll do everything I can to help shape the future of journalism”, Mrozinski adds.
Mrozinski loves sports, the outdoors, meeting new people and is a proud Pittsburgh, PA native.
JOE MAHONEY
Joe Mahoney is a photojournalist with I-News at Rocky Mountain PBS in Denver, a not-for-profit corporation developing as a very small team of highly-skilled, highly-efficient reporters with proven investigative skills. Our focus is high-impact, investigative journalism with an emphasis on data analysis, statistical analysis, data visualization and public records research. These are skills most newsrooms
currently lack. However, these are skills that are urgently needed to produce policy-changing, public-interest journalism.(2010-Present)
Previously, he worked for ten years as photojournalist at the Rocky Mountain News and, later, as the assistant director of multimedia until the paper closed in 2009. Mahoney was part of the teams that won Pulitzer Prizes for Breaking News in 2000 and again in 2003. In 2009, he was an associate producer and photographer for "Final Edition" that won a regional Emmy for Topical Documentary.
Mahoney has coached at the NewsVideo workshop since 2010 and at the NPPA's Multimedia Immersion since 2009. He is an adjunct faculty at Metro State University in Denver teaching photojournalism and is in graduate school at the University of Colorado studying Political Science.
He is married with two children and "Sam the Wonder Dog."
JOE LITTLE
Joe Little is a television news reporter and the Director of Storytelling at NBC7 in San Diego, CA. He’s a proud Multimedia Journalist and often travels the country with his Garden Gnome teaching his strategies for better storytelling, on camera performances and time management.
Joe has been awarded 12 individual Emmys and was a finalist for the NPPA’s Photojournalism Award for Reporting in 2017. His creative stories have taken viewers as far away as Pakistan; to a story completely contained inside a dumpster.
Joe's mantra: "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it."
It has served him well since 1999 as he zigzagged across the country as a television news reporter and anchor with stops in Hagerstown, Maryland; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; San Diego and Carlsbad, California. Joe has taught journalists and students from around the world how to improve their visual storytelling. He joined the faculty at the NPPA News Video Workshop in Norman, Oklahoma in 2013. Coincidentally, that was also the last year Joe used a stick mic.
His coverage of the 9/11 attacks is among Joe's greatest accomplishments. He was four miles away from Shanksville, Pennsylvania when United Flight 93 crashed. Joe was one of the first reporters on the scene. His accounts are included in a book called Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalists Report on 9/11. Joe’s expertise has also been included in a number of journalism textbooks.
Joe received his Masters from Syracuse University in 1999. But he credits George Mason University with building a strong foundation for his career. In 1998, he earned his BA in Speech Communication. While at Mason, Joe was a proud member of the Men's Basketball Team (Career Totals: 2 points, 3 rebounds). In 2010, the Department of Communication and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences named Joe the Alumnus of the Year.
The father of two amazing sons is engaged to fellow NBC7 Reporter Audra Stafford.
KEVIN HARTFIELD
It was nearly 3 decades ago that I first walked into a television station as an employee. It was a time just after film cameras, and a time of new video cameras and video tape. That was in Pueblo Colorado. I remember my first camera, it was a TK 76, and a 3/4 inch over the shoulder tape player/recorder. Those were the good ole days, tape editing, one live shot a day, and local news meant, news down the street. Now it's a new time, digital tape, HD cameras, and tape less cameras.
I currently work at KCNC TV, where I have worked for the past 28 years. I started out on the over night shift, later moved to a night shift. I thought I would be there forever. So I changed my way of thinking. I started to think more 'out da box', I started to look at video differently, I started to look at my role as more than just a photographer. So what happen? I made my way to become Director of Photography for a nationally syndicated kids program called “News for Kids.” While there I introduced a 'MTV' style of shooting and editing. The shows won an Emmy for Best Kids Program. I later moved to sports where I became a producer. I shot and produced collage coaches shows. I was all ways a restless photog. I returned to the news department where I worked general assignment, and special projects. I earned a Murrow for “Use of Video” for a photo piece that I shot and produced. This was a time before photogs were ever receiving Murrows. I also have produced 1/2 and 1 hour news and sport programs. I am a 3 time Photographer of the Year, given to me by the Colorado chapter of the National Association of Black Journalist.
I now work in the investigative unit at KCNC TV in Denver. In 2005 we received the prestiges Peabody award for a series of stories on Army recruiting. I learned a great deal about undercover cameras and working undercover. I have even built a few undercover camera rigs. Stop me and we'll talk about undercover gear.
My words of wisdom to you is to do your job to the best of you ability, and continue in this industry because you love to be a story teller. Take a step back and think “out the box”. And lastly, Life is about opportunity and challenges, you look for opportunities that challenge you, if you not challenged, look for new opportunities.
Have a great week!! Show me you tape!! Buy me a beer!!
EVELIO CONTRERAS
Evelio Contreras is a video producer for CNN Digital’s Original Video team. He is based in New York. Previously, he worked as a video journalist at The Washington Post, Las Vegas Sun and The Roanoke Times.
His work has been recognized by The National Press Photographers Association, Society of News Design and the Capital Emmys. He has coached students and taught multimedia at workshops including NPPA’s Multimedia Immersion in Syracuse, NY.
He grew up in Eagle Pass, a small border town on the Texas and Mexico border. It was there working at El Gram, a bilingual newspaper, where he learned about his interests in telling stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. He likes meeting new people and finding new ways to tell their stories.
JOHN SHARIFY
John Sharify lives and breathes storytelling and is grateful to those willing to share their stories. He is currently a Special Projects reporter for KING 5 News. One of the most honored broadcast journalists in the country, Sharify is a 72-time Emmy award winner. He has also been honored with eight National Edward R. Murrow awards, including three National Murrow awards for Writing. In June 2018, Sharify was inducted into the Silver Circle by the Northwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The honor goes to individuals who’ve made significant contributions to the broadcast industry.
John Sharify was selected as the 2015 National Press Photographer Association (NPPA) Reporter of the Year - in the country - for his work at KING 5 News. He was runner up Reporter of the Year in 2013 and 2017.
John Sharify started his career in broadcast journalism in N.Y.C. where he worked as a reporter at WPIX TV. In 1989, he headed to Seattle to ABC affiliate KOMO TV where he worked as a general assignment news reporter for the next eighteen years. In addition to his current reporting work at KING, John helps run two cable television stations in Seattle. He is the General Manager of Seattle Community Colleges Television (SCCTV) and Seattle Community Media, the city of Seattle’s public access station.
Sharify’s passion for storytelling has taken him around the world as he presents workshops in newsrooms on the craft of video storytelling. This is his 6th year on the faculty at the NPPA News Video workshop in Norman.
Sharify is also a documentary filmmaker. His 2010 documentary about the holocaust, “The Boys of Terezin,” has been shown in film festivals in Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, West Palm, Miami, New Jersey and Seattle. His latest documentary “Hear Our Story Now”, which he produced and wrote in 2018, chronicles two decades of work created by a Seattle organization called Music or Remembrance (MOR).
Sharify is a proud graduate of Princeton University. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing from Columbia University where he studied under Academy award winning film director Milos Forman. Sharify is honored to have presented a Ted Talk in 2012 about his National Murrow award winning documentary called “Climb of a Lifetime.” His all time favorite stories are the ones he wrote about his son Perry when he competed as a breaststroker at the Olympic Trials in 2012, and his story, twenty years ago, featuring his daughter Jade on ‘bring your daughter to work day’.
BRETT AKAGI
Brett Akagi can be described in three words. Hard worker. Focused. Passionate. These have guided him on an adventurous career that spans nearly 30 years. In that time he considers himself lucky to have won 21 Emmys in three newsrooms, contributed to national and regional Edward R. Murrow awards at KARE-TV and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4 NPPA Regional POY awards, national NPPA Runner-Up POY, worked with teammates Boyd Huppert, Greg Vandegrift, Scott Jensen and Jonathan Malat, and led the KARE-TV staff to 4 NPPA Station of the Year awards as the Director of Photography.
Akagi has a wide range of experience and worn many hats. He’s been a photojournalist, MMJ, video producer for a newspaper, assistant news director, university adviser and instructor for print and broadcast, professional and college mentor, consultant, Poynter Institute Ethics Fellow, and is currently the Chief Photographer at KCTV5 in Kansas City.
Akagi learned about the value of a great work ethic as a farm kid in Southwestern Kansas and found there are no shortcuts to success. He developed a laser like mental focus over the years, which helps in the field as a journalist, the newsroom as a manager and the classroom as a teacher. While he loves many things, like his family and cooking, the passion that drives him is storytelling. And if there is something he loves more than storytelling, it is teaching what he knows about the craft.
And that finally leads you to the NPPA News Video Workshop. If you want to be a better photojournalist, reporter, editor, teacher, leader or storyteller, Akagi and the entire instructional staff are ready to help push you to become better than you ever imagined – a hardworking, focused and passionate storyteller!
SHARON LEVY FREED
Lots of people say they're from Colorado but most are imports…from places like Oklahoma, California, or Texas. Not Sharon Levy Freed. She is one of the few, the proud, the Colorado natives.
And she’s been there most of her professional career. After graduating from Mizzou (mafia proud) her first shooting job was at KAKE TV in Wichita Kansas. 13 months later she was working in Denver…and has stayed there ever since.
Besides shooting news, Sharon has taught a gazillion photographers, editors and producers how to non-linear edit. She doesn’t teach tape to tape on a computer. Levy has an entire philosophy revolving around the strengths of true non-linear editing. Ask her what she thinks…and be ready for an ear full.
And Sharon spent three years, traveling the country teaching DSLR video for Canon Cameras. It is different than “video” and teaching brought her a whole new appreciation for still photography. When you teach, you learn…which is why she loves The Workshop.
Along the way Sharon has spent more than 6 months of her life (in week long increments) at the NPPA NewsVideo Workshop in Norman. She’s a recovering Workshop Director, and now enjoys being part of the Workshop Faculty.
Sharon is currently the Senior Technical Operations Manager for Daily Blast Live. This nationally syndicated talk show airs in more than 50 markets in and out of the TEGNA family. The show is live 4.5 hours daily. Sharon designed, implemented and manages the media workflow as well as take feeds, monitors the satellite transmissions and does lots of other technical tasks necessary to keep a project of this magnitude on the air.
On a personal note, Sharon has produced MANY MANY things over her years but her best productions by far are her children. Eighteen year old Sam and seventeen year old Anna, along with Dad Jay and dogs Rosie and Charlie, make up the family she’s always dreamed of.
KATIE SCHOOLOV
Katie Schoolov is a producer for CNBC in San Francisco, shooting/editing/reporting videos on the tech industry for their digital platforms.
She came to CNBC in 2018 after almost eight years as a video journalist for KPBS, the PBS and NPR affiliate in San Diego, where she shot and edited in-depth features on both sides of the border.
She is a San Diego native and returned to cover her hometown after working as a video journalist for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Las Vegas Sun. Before that, she was a print and video journalist for a daily newspaper in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she primarily covered ongoing election violence in Zimbabwe and the resulting emigration. She also interned for the Associated Press, producing internationally circulated videos and articles.
Katie has won RTDNA Golden Mike Awards, has been nominated for several Emmy awards, and was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. She also has multiple first place photography awards from the San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the San Diego Press Club. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where she also rowed for the Northwestern Crew Team.
She is passionate about impactful visual storytelling, and about NPPA - which has shaped her career in incredibly helpful ways. When she's not behind a camera (or sometimes she still is), she loves to snowboard, SCUBA dive, go on long runs with her dog, and travel the world. She's seen 37 countries so far, but her favorite stories still come from her own home state and just across the border in Mexico.
JOSEPH HUERTA
Every day Joseph Huerta is behind the lens, his goal is to open others up to new perspectives.
For almost a decade, Joseph has been weaving compelling images and sounds to help people find a connection to their community they may not have realized was there.
Currently, he is photojournalist at KING5, where he works alongside John Sharify and other journalists on feature stories around the pacific northwest. His path there, however, began with his first love - skateboarding.
Joseph's first experience with shooting came from creating skating videos in Sacramento. His early passion, as well as a chance encounter with a local news anchor, landed him a job at a station in his hometown.
There he was promoted to photographer. His skills then took him to the San Francisco Bay Area, working at KPIX and then KTVU.
In 2014, Joseph joined the National Press Photographers Association, where the lessons he learned there helped him turn KTVU into the NPPA West General Station of the Year.
Joseph’s devotion to the art and hard work has earned him over 30 awards, including 4 Emmy’s and a Murrow.
As a faculty member, Joseph’s goal is to push students to their full potential, help them, find the victories in every day assignments and show them how to tell the stories they yearn to.
To Joseph, this job is all about helping people understand perspectives, and as a faculty member he wants to open students to new perspectives on the industry he loves.
JED GAMBER
Taking the ordinary story and making it extraordinary. That’s the foundation of storytelling for Jed Gamber.
A 2014 (Y54) graduate of the Workshop, Jed credits his time in Norman as the turning point in his career. His hard work and passion for storytelling since then has led to several awards and recognition from the regional to the national level. In 2015 and 2016, Jed was named the NPPA’s East Top Photographer of the Year in while also being named Runner-Up for the NPPA’s Ernie Crisp National Photographer of the Year award in 2015. He spent three years as Chief Photojournalist at WBFF. Each of those years, the staff was named a finalist for National Station of the Year being awarded runner-up twice. WBFF won NPPA Regional Station of the Year each year under his guidance.
Also since Y54 Jed has been recognized by the Associated Press as their 2014 and 2016 Photographer of the Year, he's won an Edward R. Murrow award and 17 Emmy’s with statues for editing and producing to go along with Photography.
Before photojournalism, Jed was a Sports Anchor/MMJ at WCAV-TV in Charlottesville, VA. He is currently the Corporate Chief Photographer for a special projects team at Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Above all of these things, Jed is most proud of his job as Dad to his two boys, Lucas and Elias.
ROB COLLET
Since the fall of 1998 Rob Collett has been trying to capture moments that shape lives and communities. Rob has shared stories across the Midwest, starting at KHAS-TV in Central Nebraska, on South to KSNW-TV in Wichita, KS, then to Green Country at KTUL-TV in Tulsa, OK. From 2013 to 2018 Rob was part of the KARE-TV family helping the storytelling staff to two NPPA National Station of the Year wins. Recently he left TV to join the newsroom department of fortune five company UnitedHealthcare as a Senior Content Producer.
Rob is a 2008 Norman workshop graduate. He says this is where he had a proverbial light bulb moment. Norman flipped on his passion switch for storytelling. Rob believes a week in Norman will change your life, and he’s excited to inspire future storytellers as he was inspired all those years ago.
Rob feels blessed to share people’s stories. He has a knack for anticipating, and capturing moments. He credits this to many things including hand/eye coordination skills by beating his babysitters in Pitfall, Space Invaders, Centipede, and other fantastic Atari games. He also thinks it has something to do with his skinny chicken legs. They are like camouflage. People often mistake him for a tripod.
Rob’s work has earned him twenty six regional Emmy’s, numerous regional Edward R. Murrow awards, three national Edward R. Murrow awards, and in 2016 was awarded the NPPA Ernie Crisp National Photographer of the Year Award. The honor being the ultimate career goal.
However, his greatest achievement is his family. He has been married to the beautiful Brianna for five years and is a proud Dad to his boys William and Jack.
Oliver Janney
Oliver “OJ” Janney is the Field Operations Manager for CNN based in Washington, DC, and a graduate of the 2004 News Video workshop.
As a sophomore at Goucher College by day, and as the first overnight editor at WBFF-TV when the station launched their morning news program in 2000, OJ got an early start to his career. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies in 2003, he joined the ranks of the photography staff at WJZ first as a freelancer then as a staffer. In 2004, he was honored with an Emmy Award for quick turnaround new production with fellow NVW faculty member Mike Schuh.
In 2007, OJ took a position with CNN NewSource based in Washington D.C. As one of two dedicated NewSource photojournalists, he traveled the country covering breaking news stories and the 2008 Presidential race. In 2009, he was absorbed into the CNN Image + Sound Field Production department where he travelled the world covering news stories, crafting documentaries and honing his skills on higher end productions including marketing and promotional material for the network. In 2013, he and his team took first place honors in the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism contest for, “Operation Hope”, an hour long CNN Freedom Project documentary seen world-wide on CNN International. Notable assignments included the search for Malaysian Air 370 in Malaysia and Australia, coverage of the terrorist attack on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, the Boston Marathon Bombing and the ensuing manhunt for the perpetrators, the 2012 Presidential Race and coverage of the death of Freddy Gray in Baltimore and the riot and citywide-curfew that followed.
In 2015, OJ was promoted from photojournalist to manager and now oversees the 30 photojournalists based in the network’s Washington bureau. OJ believes that our jobs as journalists have never been more important than they are today.
*CNN sponsored faculty
Alanna Delfino
Behind her lens, Alanna Delfino finds the special moments that turn an assignment into a memorable story. A storyteller at Baltimore’s Fox45, Alanna specializes in producing daily news stories under deadline, with a creative, unique approach.
Alanna’s work has earned her several awards, including 11 NATAS Regional Emmy nominations, NPPA’s East Top Photographer of the Year and Finalist for NPPA’s National Television News Photographer of the year. Since joining WBFF’s photography staff in 2015, Alanna co-produced an Emmy award-winning documentary called “Aftershock,” which documents the deadliest year per capita in Baltimore City.
In 2017, Alanna joined UMD’s Merrill College adjunct faculty staff, where she teaches an intermediate news reporting class to undergraduate students. As an instructor, her goal is to educate students on the simple knowledge that quality video, crisp natural sound and subjective sound bites will lead to a well-rounded story. Alanna credits much of her success to professional mentors and hopes to be the same guiding light for her students.
As a faculty member at the news video workshop, Alanna’s goal is help participants step outside their comfort zone because that’s where the ‘magic’ happens. She also hopes to eat delicious barbeque.
Tawanda Scott Sambou
Tawanda Scott Sambou is an award-winning producer for CNN’s Digital Video news team. Based in New York City, she is a Swiss Army knife producer - from conception to execution, she pitches, shoots, writes and edits content that has reached millions of people around the world.
Tawanda’s passion for storytelling and dedication to innovation is unmistakable. With 20 years of experience, she has created a unique career path for herself covering some of the biggest news stories in recent history including Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti and the Boston Bombing. She also served as lead photojournalist/director of photography for some of CNN’s most high-profile documentaries such as “Black in America” hosted by Soledad O’Brien. Most recently, she was the lead producer for CNN’s groundbreaking project, “The First Time I Realized I was Black.”
Tawanda grew up in Macon, Ga. and started her career at WMAZ as a photojournalist in her hometown station. In 1999, she moved across the country to Las Vegas, NV. to join the KVBC photojournalist team.
When she’s not on the storytelling grind, Tawanda enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and daughter.
Nicolai Brix
Nicolai began his career as photographer at one of Denmark’s largest newspaper, Ekstra Bladet, where he worked for almost eight years. Eventually, he started taking on video and TV projects and found these assignments more fulfilling. This work prompted him to focus solely on telling video stories. Today, he runs the production company B-Visuals.dk where he produces stories for major international TV-networks, NGO's and other major corporations all over the world.
Nicolai is a 2016 (Y57) student graduate and the experience of being student changed the way he looked on the tv and video media as a storytelling tool. "If you give us a week, we will change your life" is SO true!!
The “driver” in Nicolai’s work is having an impact on the people who watch his work. He always strives to tell great stories with stunning visuals that have emotional impact. His “less is more” (or work smart) approach has served him well as the platforms his work is delivered on expands.. He uses a broad palette of tools beyond video including stills, 360 video/stills and VR.
As European Ambassador for Canon, Nicolai travels the world and teaches masterclasses on modern filmmaking and how to be a compelling storyteller.
* Canon Europe sponsored faculty
Carmaine Means
Carmaine Means is currently a CBS National Network News photographer and commercial drone pilot at the Los Angeles bureau.
Prior to accepting the network photographer position in LA, she was a Emmy award winning television news photojournalist at CBS 2 News in Chicago(WBBM-TV)where she worked in the news and production departments for WBBM -TV. She received her B.A. from Columbia College Chicago in television/film production. Her career began in Rockford, IL, at WTVO, ABC 17 in August of 2002, after spending a week as a student observer in March or 2002. From that point, she moved on to work at WVTV, WB 18 in Milwaukee, WI, in May of 2003. In December of 2003, she accepted a position at the Tribune owned, CLTV/WGN 9 broadcasting back in her hometown of Chicago. In 2005, she started working at ABC 7 Chicago and until moving across town to CBS 2 Chicago in 2014.
Since then, Carmaine won several Emmy’s for CBS Chicago and while working for ABC 7 Chicago from 2005-2014. Those stories include Coal City/Washington, IL tornado coverage, Bob and His Devices, CBS’ The Chicago Auto Show, 190 N, Windy City Live and At the Movies for ENG/EFP photography.
Some of her career highlights include being asked to be a judge for prestigious National Press Photographers Association(NPPA), "Photojournalist of the Year" in 2015 l, on the campus of Michigan State University. The White House National Press Association in sponsored by National Geographic and Nikon in February of 2015 & 2018.
Since the emergence of UAS/UAV's in television & cinema, Carmaine has been on the forefront of this innovative and expolosive use of drone technology in the the media industry. She set up the CBS 2 Chicago drone program in November of 2016 working alongside with news operations manager. This year since joining CBS Network, she has spoken on a panel sponsored by NPPA on the campus of CUNY(Colleges and University of New York). Presented and trained students at U of Nebraska for the FAA Part 107 preparation test.
She was recently asked to start and lead CBS Network News drone program. Her career path has been featured in Drone 360 Magazine, Chicago Woman, Women And Drones Blog, WGN Radio & Chicago Tribune's, DNA Info and most recently in Columbia College’s DEMO Magazine.
Brigette Waltermire
Brigette Waltermire is a recent graduate of University of Oklahoma, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in online journalism in 2017 and her Master of Arts in Journalism in 2018. During her time as a master’s student, she was an Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation summer news intern at the Enid News & Eagle in 2017. She additionally was the executive producer for OU [UNFILTERED] during its launch in the spring semester of 2018, which was an OU student coverage partner initiative with KWTV News 9, and coordinated coverage and acted as the written editor and general advisor for over 100 students. This was the largest media coverage effort during the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout. Most recently, she was selected as a Carnegie-Knight News21 fellow to represent Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication as students from around the nation report and produce in-depth, multimedia projects.
Brigette Waltermire is also a staff sergeant in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and has worked as a public affairs specialist for Will Rogers Air National Guard Base for the past six years. With the guard, she creates content and copy edits for the Air Observer, the biannual journal of the 137th Special Operations Wing, which was voted the best digital publication in the Department of Defense for 2015 and 2017 and has received several other National Guard Bureau and Air National Guard awards. Within her talented shop, she works throughout the year to tell the stories of the Guardsmen she works with and the multifaceted missions they execute for the Oklahoma Air National Guard. Her job in public affairs offers her many opportunities to seek creative ways to tell a story through a variety of media.
Some of her favorite memories related to Gaylord College come from her time as an NPPA minion. She volunteered her spring break for three years to help run the behind-the-scenes aspects of the workshop and acted as minion coordinator for #Y58. She has also acted as a software tutor each year for members of the workshop and would like to take the opportunity to warn everyone to NEVER log off from a Gaylord computer without first saving their media to the shared drive, since the desktops erase whatever is on them once they are logged out. While her reporting talents have been honed in mostly photography and writing, she has found over the years that the skills taught at the workshop translate to all aspects of her work.
“No excuses” was a mantra in Brigette’s life long before she became acquainted with Brett Akagi, and she feels strongly that this should translate to everyone’s attitude at the workshop. One of the moments during the workshop where she saw someone fail to take this away was the final day of the workshop for #Y55, when she randomly sat down next to another branch’s public affairs specialist. That person told her that they felt they could not really use anything they had learned at the workshop because they were not a traditional journalist. They were very surprised to discover she was a fellow professional who took exception to that attitude and gave them an improvised session on the ways the tools the workshop builds could be implemented. She vowed after that to make sure to never take those workshop skills for granted, and to specifically make sure each year she was present that she was doing her level best to make sure everyone was able to take away a skill no matter how they adapted it to their profession.
QUESTIONS
Do I need to bring gear? Shoot ‘n Edits need to bring: a video or DSLR camera that shoots video, batteries, tripod, and any other support gear (steady bags, SD cards, chargers, etc.). It is helpful to have a laptop and editing software, but not necessary. If you shoot on any standard format, we can accommodate. Please email Julie Jones or Adam Vance with if you are wondering about other formats.
What's the schedule? Daily sessions run from 8:30 in the morning until 8, 9, or 10 p.m. at night. Be prepared to have your days and nights full!
I am thinking about registering as a Shoot ‘n Edit. What should I expect? Shoot ‘n Edits are given three assignments during the week. Your raw and edited work will be critiqued by some of the best journalists in the business. We are here to help you become stronger in your storytelling and video skills. So, check your ego and open your mind. You will be tested but it will be worth the challenge!
I am thinking about registering as a Participant. What will I miss by not being a Shoot ‘n Edit? Participants live through the same week as the Shoot ‘n Edits. You will be doing the assignments side by side the Shoot ‘n Edits and you will learn from the critiques as well. Only difference? You are not sitting in the hot seat.
Who should I contact if I have more questions? Contact Julie Jones at [email protected]
