"the present and future of an exciting industry"
March 31, 2011 Leave a comment
By VideoJournalismOnline
On VJO we’ve been looking ahead to the future. What’s in store? And how will the latest developments prove to alter the direction of online video journalism?
In the second part of VJO Interviews, Ross Cullen asks Alex Dibble, Umar Farooq, Chris Creegan and Phil Georgiadis where they see the industry going:
March 31, 2011 Leave a comment
By VideoJournalismOnline
What’s in store for online video journalism? It’s a question we’ve had in mind as we’ve researched and written about the topic.
So here Alex Dibble asks Ross Cullen, Emily Craig and Toby Coaker for their predictions about the future of VJO:
March 31, 2011 Leave a comment
The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) is about to finish the first year in which it offers an online video journalism module as part of its diploma.
This option, entitled Videojournalism for Online, will allow budding journalists to gain the skills necessary for producing short and focussed video reports specifically for the internet.
Within the new course there are four separate study units – equipment and techniques, videojournalism and news gathering, interviewing and regulation and compliance. Interestingly, the module emphasises that it will train students to “industry standards” – a poignant symbol of how integral online video has become to mainstream news media.
The 60-hour programme of study will teach students how to put packages together specifically for news websites, and it also includes a two hour video-editing examination towards the end of the course.
So far, five centres offer this course, and the first set of exams was completed in January. Lyn Jones, head of qualifications at the NCTJ, says: “The NCTJ introduced this skills-based option for trainee journalists as part of the Diploma in Journalism to compliment the core mandatory skills that all journalists need. Journalists in all sectors of the media are required to report stories online and using video as a platform gives trainees an additional string to their bow when seeking employment.”
Lloyd Bracey is the NCTJ’s chief examiner for video and online journalism and, speaking earlier in the academic year, explained the significance of the new module: “The videojournalism module is a long-awaited and much needed addition to the core skills suite, aimed at the increasing expectations of news organisations not traditionally associated with audio-video content to generate online content.
“It takes the trainee through basic elements of gathering material for online use – bearing in mind the wide range of ways in which such material is likely to appear – from simple clips to fully packaged reports. It’s been a challenging syllabus to design to strike the balance between necessary skills and advanced skills, but the resulting 60 hours of study will provide trainee journalists with the knowledge they need both to produce useful material and to inform their future career choices.”
Whilst it is still too early to analyse the success of this modules’ first year, the NCTJ’s head of examinations, Joanne Atkinson says that there are hopes to roll the module out to more accredited centres across the country by next September.
March 30, 2011 Leave a comment
screenshot courtesy of guardian.co.uk
Live event blogging was originally conceived as a substitute for video coverage- a way of keeping web users up to date in the absence of any pictures.
It started in the mainstream sphere through sports coverage- a chance for people in the office or without Sky to access some form of coverage.
Its success is clear- a simple look at the Guardian Sport website shows that whenever live sport ‘minute by minute’ coverage has been available on any given day, it invariably is one of the most read items. As you can see from the image (right) – today’s live coverage of the India vs Pakistan cricket World Cup match is the most viewed page in the sports section.
More recently the phenomenon has moved to news coverage. Staying with guardian.co.uk, they are currently running Middle East daily live blogs, as well as their regular politics live feed.
But, crucially, video content and live blogging do no have to exist entirely in separation; particularly in journalism, where holding the rights to various sports’ is not necessary to stream video content.
This screenshot from bbc.co.uk demonstrates how successfully text and video can be integrated into live event coverage
Here, text, graphics and tweets are used to augment video feeds from BBC World and the BBC News Channel, to add an extra dimension to the news coverage. Additional reports and viewer feedback further build on the video journalism.
Sky News’s ‘Live Plus’ service, available via skynews.com offers a less text rich service. Instead of a timeline of text updates for major events Sky tends to use tweets from their own journalists to build up a picture of the news to add to their video content.
As is visible from Sky’s screenshot, they also offer users the opportunity to ‘Chat’ via Facebook during political events- further incorporating social media into the experience.
It is clear, therefore, that the recent developments in the online coverage of live events have blurred the divide between traditional web journalism and live video content.
They exist not in separate spheres but instead in symbiosis- with each adding to the others’ strengths.
March 30, 2011 Leave a comment
Regular readers of this blog will know how important online video content is to both Sky News and the BBC News Channel
But I wonder how many readers actually watch news channels online? Both stream their news channels live through their websites at the click of a button, but is this a service which goes unnoticed?
The first thing to consider is the vast extra audience that this could add to both channels. While everyone in the world of journalism regards both channels as essential watching- tools of the trade, in terms of a national picture they hardly figure in the multi channel ratings. Last week, for example, neither channel could achieve more than a 2% share of the audience.
But their websites attract a far greater and broader reach- and therefore the opportunity to distribute their live news channels to a huge additional audience.
Usefully, the BBC News Channel’s controller Kevin Bakhurst regularly tweets audience figures for the Beeb’s output- and taking a look at these demonstrates the power of the Beeb’s online audience to grow the News Channel’s viewers.
On Monday, Kevin tweeted that as well as a large audience for the News Channel on TV, he added that the channel was also viewed nearly half a million times online.
Bearing in mind the channels’ relatively small daily audience, this is a major figure, which is not counted by the Rajars.
The News Channel live feed almost always crops up in the most viewed video content at any time on the BBC News website, so it does seem that more and more people are taking to watching live news online. Meanwhile, both Sky and the BBC stream their news channels via their iPhone services too.
Moreover this is a rare example of the BBC streaming live content online- and very successfully, more evidence of the boundaries between TV and online journalism became less definable, and increasingly merged.
March 29, 2011 Leave a comment
By Emily Craig
A US government press conference - the type of event to which only a professional journalist can gain access (Creative Commons licence)
The term ‘citizen journalist’ has become part of the media lexicon. Citizen journalists are those non-professional people out on the street who report information. And many of their reports are in video form, with their footage then uploaded online. ‘You might not be inclined to trust me’, they may as well be saying, ‘but you can see for yourself what’s going on’.
These journalists specialise in showing us what other professional journalists haven’t seen, many of whom are constrained in how they can practice their trade. Whether it’s a case of filling in a 40 page employee risk assessment or compromising on a story to maintain a working relationship with a press office, the professional journalist is not always a free agent. As Channel 4 reporter Jonathan Miller describes, officially-registered journalists are often corralled into attending dull press conferences or herded en masse to staged events. Meanwhile the real story, the news, is happening somewhere else out of sight.
That’s often the time when citizen journalists, with light equipment and local contacts, can get on with their reporting. At the very least, they’re more likely to be in the right place at the right time – and not on the coach tour. In such circumstances (a conflict zone, a foreign country, a remote or closed community), the local, citizen journalist probably has contacts that the professional journalist lacks.
So is the professional journalist a dinosaur doomed to extinction? There are scenarios when citizen journalists are able to showcase the best of their work and, by comparison, the professionals appear lost. But whilst at one level we are witnessing the ‘democratisation’ of journalism, many of the events reported as news are closed off to citizen journalists. A press pass means that you’re a member of an exclusive club – and big events like a national political debate or an entertainment awards ceremony are members-only. In these situations, citizen journalists find themselves ‘disenfranchised’.
Broadcasters are confident that by default they own the monopoly rights to sports and entertainment video journalism and the huge commercial investment that accompanies it. A broadcaster can guarantee stars and sponsors high-quality footage and maximum viewers. What is more, only a professional journalist will be cleared by security. The same broadcasters and agencies are then able to share their videos socially on internet sites like YouTube and UStream where citizen journalists also go to upload content.
For national politics, sport and entertainment, there are different rules for video journalism in comparison to other forms of online media. Anyone can sit at home and live-blog whilst watching a political conference or a football game on the television, but video requires someone to be there on the ground and in sight of what’s happening. The superbowl, the Oscars, the UK political leaders’ debates – people want expert footage of these events, with slow-mo replays or reaction shots. This kind of occasion calls for (more) expensive equipment and a team of journalists to film different angles on the shoot. There’s not much point hanging around at the back door or lingering on the sidelines.
So the big broadcasting beasts are getting social. They’ve paired up with the likes of YouTube for the Oscars and the US political debates. What’s a citizen journalist to do? There’s always ‘the alternative view’ – not from inside the tent, but outside it. A search for ‘political debate’ on video-sharing website Vimeo offers a variety of spoof takes on the format. And there’s always the need for analysis and interpretation…
At the moment, it looks like video journalism is not quite the democracy it might appear to be.
March 28, 2011 Leave a comment
By Toby Coaker
Away from the UK, I draw your attention to two trends in overseas online video journalism that could come to influence how the medium is operated here.
USA – Vidcaster
As Ross Cullen mentioned in his latest post, video journalists are becoming more impatient with mass-content provider Youtube. It provides limited control over advertisements, offers little in the way of traffic reporting, and promotes a repellent comment culture.
In the US, Vidcaster is fast becoming a preferable platform for professional video makers to distribute content. You can create your own website, which is hosted on the Vidcaster platform. Yet the key point is that you can host your Vidcaster site on your own domain so that appears to users as if its your own. Think of it as a vloggers wordpress. Like the latter, it allows immediate interaction with a variety of social media and video sharing websites – meaning that video journalism can be professionalized and marketed at a convenience not yet present in British journalistic culture. Follow the link below to watch an introduction by co-founder Kieran Farr:
Vidcaster offers users video site customization, as well as control over web distribution of content. In the US its now easier than ever to market one’s video journalism on the Internet. Let’s hope that a similar platform will emerge here soon.
France – Citizenside
As citizen journalism distribution becomes more established, one company has come up with a novel idea to encourage higher standards amongst its network of amateur journalists. Citizenside, a Paris-based syndicator of user generated content, sells its footage on to over 100 professional news organizations around the world.
Now, in like of heated competition from other companies, it’s decided to turn its journalism in to a video game. Users are rewarded with points for posting videos (and pictures etc.). The more points one accumulates, the closer one gets become to achieving virtual promotion (from reporter to correspondent to editor-in-chief of a region, for instance). The managers of Citizenside believe it is social validation that pushes people. Such an incentive will, it is hoped, encourage greater standards and thus the acquisition of more lucrative and engaging video content.
There are concerns that increasing the level of competition will promote ‘cheating’ and the doctoring of false material. We’ll have to see whether this technique will increase the ever-growing role of user-generated-content in online video journalism – it’s certainly an interesting idea!
March 27, 2011 Leave a comment
By Umar Farooq
The results are in. 20 very kind people and video journalism enthusiasts (I’m guessing) took part in my “Online News Video Watchers Survey” published on 13th Feb. The aim was to get to know:
1) Our audience, and…
2) …their viewing habits
The raw data
The facts and figures from the Video Watchers Survey (in their raw form)
So what can we conclude…
A fascinating set of results. From the research, based on the short sample, I think the following findings are interesting.
A big thank you to all the entrants who took part in this short experiment. I think the results point to habits of a modern-day video journalist. The details are interesting and I shall leave you with them.
* The links in this post can be accessed and shared on the VJO delicious page.
Thank you!
March 26, 2011 Leave a comment
By Ross Cullen
The rise in use of video by both professional journalists and citizen journalists has called for an increase in online portals to aid the editing and storing of such videos.
You grab your smartphone or high-powered pocket camera and go. You shoot; you capture; you record. You have a lot of footage that needs tidying up before, finally, you can tell the story. Where do you go?
To follow the upward trend in use of video and the posting of videos online, there has been a rise in the number and capabilities of online video editing websites.
As this is a fast flowing and developing medium, editing-software designers have also had to adapt to the changes. There are many of these sites and some of them rival each other directly with what they can offer.
Both A-Frame (website shown above) and Pixorial have realised that video journalists need somewhere to store their work online, without having to use a default mass-content provider such as YouTube. There is a need for websites that have a more professional and editorial feel than YouTube, which can be seen, at times, as a multinational giant overlooking the small, corner shop-keeper.
For pure, simple editing, many use YouTube’s software, (although that can feel a little raw), Adobe’s ‘Premiere Express’ and JayCut (website shown above).
There are also sites like photobucket (website shown below) which strive to promote the simplicity and pleasure of photo and video creating and sharing. On the other hand, other sites such as Kaltura, try to show off how their technical, unique editing platforms can help you.
However, the danger for these websites is that they can be squeezed for space in a growing and changing market, of which, as noted above, YouTube is the dominant power.
The Internet is now the base for video journalism, with the days of shelves of tapes and film reels long gone. Companies are moving their bases online as well, and offering the range of adaptable services that such a moveable medium demands.
VideoJournalismOnline 