It's an understatement to say I've learned a lot during my short time at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Not to mention that getting to cover spring training is kind of swell (even more of an understatement). But some of the most important things I've learned are things I've picked up myself outside of the classroom and actually shooting, writing, interviewing, editing - all that practical stuff. I realized early on that these were things that needed to be written down somewhere and preserved for the future. Some are universal, while some are tailored more to myself. As I come up with more in the future, they'll each get their own post and be put into the master list in this post. So without further ado, I give you Sean's Journalism Lessons:
1) If you can do it now, just do it
2) Don't be afraid to tell your interviewees where to stand
- Also known as the "Be a Nice Tough Guy" rule; applies to all technical aspects of an interview on video
3) Don't rush the camera angle - get it right, and talk to the person throughout to make it less awkward
4) If you don't approach a person who looks as though they might not talk to you, you have an infinitely worse chance of talking to them than if you simply asked them
5) Crouch, because you (*me personally*) are too tall for people to look you in the eye normally for video
6) Don't underestimate the time it takes to edit video/audio
- Also known as my dad's "1 min = 1 hr" theory
7) For the love of God, no dependent clauses in broadcast
8) Find the simplest way to do something*
- *Correctly
9) Above all else, interviews have to be conversations
10) Authenticity lies in the details
11) Never let the writing get in the way of the reporting
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