Web Video Journalism versus TV Broadcast

Michael Rosenblum has posted what I feel is a crucial commentary that hasn’t been discussed to any real extent – that of the differences between shooting VJ content for the web as opposed to shooting for traditional broadcast television.

There is a difference and I think it needs to be expounded upon as to what I and other Solo Video Journalists do and why we do it.

The bottom line is this – at least for me, I haven’t stated to the best of my knowledge that I wanted to shoot for television broadcast news. I have eluded to the notion that what Solo VJ’s do could very easily translate over to broadcast television.

Web video journalism requires a different mindset – skills, equipment, etc. Even with my past experience as a photojournalist, I still have much to learn – and this May I’ll be participating in a two day Advanced Web Video Journalism Workshop run by Visual Editors that specifically addresses this.

This is a crucial point needing to be looked at.

Solo VJ’s shooting for internet delivery of their content, to a certain extent, have a greater freedom to experiment with shooting techniques to learn what works and what doesn’t – without fear of reprisal as typically exists in TV broadcast news venues.

There has even been the laughable comment that internet broadcasting doesn’t exist. That set into stone for me the GOB (Good Ol’ Boys) club of video shooters that prevent the very industry they want to save from moving into the 21st century. News is being consumed in multiple ways from multiple sources. TV news no longer rules the roost.

As I posted recently on the Home Theater Personal Computer (HTPC), viewers will not only obtain news content from TV, but web connected HTPC’s which will be able to acquire content from the internet – either streaming or in downloadable form, allowing for a more diverse range of news sources. In addition, the news will start becoming less neutral (and neutered) and will begin to take on more of a viewers political perspective that will allow the news outlet to target their content – and advertising – to that particular demographic. Technology is already being implemented that allows the viewing of streamed DVD quality – and even High Definition – movies over the internet – that same technology is going to allow news content from numerous sources to be consumed in the same way.

As much as I detest it – Fox News (I prefer to call it Fox Noise) has already established this practice – being known for its conservitive perspective on the news. Whether one agrees with Fox News or not, they have established a viewer base that allows them to distribute news and advertising content targeted specifically for their viewer audience.

The advent of internet broadcasting, which includes audio and video podcasting, opens the doors for citizen reporting in ways never seen in the history of mankind. It is our responsibility as journalists – whether professionally or as citizens, to report it with as much accuracy as possible.
These are very interesting times indeed.