Rachel Wood Speaks

JournalismNext by Mark Briggs

This chapter highlights the importance of video in journalism. Many stories are best told with video. Other forms of reporting wouldn’t have the same effect on readers and viewers. Video can evoke feelings that pictures can’t always.

Nowadays, high school students are taking classes that teach them how to shoot and edit video. These skills will benefit them in the future when they dive into journalistic careers. They will be prepared with experience that most people in our age don’t have.

I thought it was good advice for Briggs to say that the only way to learn how to do video was by getting out there and doing it. People can attend classes and have teachers tell them how to shoot good video, but practice makes it that much easier.

Briggs tells us the difference between full documentary-type videos, and those made for breaking news or highlights. It is important to know when to use each one. Documentary videos are planned out and the journalists have time to decide who to interview and what to shoot.

Highlight and breaking news stories, however, are spur of the moment. They happen quickly and have to be reported quickly. This makes it crucial for journalists to be able to know how to shoot and what to shoot in a timely manner.