Views from the News

Aaron Taylor is the television production coordinator at TROY TrojanVision News. For 18 years, he has taught young reporters how to become successful broadcast journalists. He helps students produce 15 newscasts a week and teaches them how to create in-depth news stories. As TrojanVision’s television production coordinator, you welcome in young journalists and help prepare them for the professional world. What is it like to play a part in making student’s aspirations a reality? It’s amazing. Yes, we do produce newscasts every day, but the purpose of that is to give the training to students to go out and succeed. I measure my success based of the success of the students that are under me. Every time one of my students gets a job working somewhere, or I tune in and I see one of my kids on television, or I’m checking out they moved to a bigger and better market; that makes me happy. What is it like watching an unexperienced reporter flourish over college into a professional

Being a journalist carries a lot of weight. It is my responsibility to communicate important information to the public so people can create be well informed opinions, and then turn around and elect officials to represent them. This applies at the national and local level. Locally, journalists must cover state and city elections. Without this coverage, citizens in smaller areas would likely know nothing about each candidate. For students who aspire to become professional reporters, acquiring the skills necessary to cover these elections is a vital part of becoming a reliable journalist.   For student journalists, this means we must cover the executive officer elections for the school’s governing body, the student government association; as this “local news” is what our college community needs to decide who to support.   Here at Troy University, Troy TrojanVision News has been covering the election process for weeks. We were there at the first SGA exec interest meeting, allo

Being a journalist carries a lot of weight. It is my responsibility to communicate important information to the public so people can create be well informed opinions, and then turn around and elect officials to represent them. This applies at the national and local level. Locally, journalists must cover state and city elections. Without this coverage, citizens in smaller areas would likely know nothing about each candidate. For students who aspire to become professional reporters, acquiring the skills necessary to cover these elections is a vital part of becoming a reliable journalist.   For student journalists, this means we must cover the executive officer elections for the school’s governing body, the student government association; as this “local news” is what our college community needs to decide who to support.   Here at Troy University, Troy TrojanVision News has been covering the election process for weeks. We were there at the first SGA exec interest meeting, al

Creating and maintaining a professional social media presence is important for a journalist. Social media allows viewers to connect with you beyond the limitations of traditional media. Here are some easy ways you can make sure your social media pops with professionalism.  Professional profile photo Your social media followers want to see you, as this mimics a face to face interaction. As a journalist, your face is important, as it is part of your brand. Because you can expect business professionals and viewers to view you profile photo, it is important to make sure it displays the best representation of you. Make sure your profile photo is a well-lit and clear image. A headshot, from your shoulders up may be a good option. Avoid selfies and funny faces. A simple smile is all you need.  Brief and informative bio The bio section of you profile is your first chance to describe yourself to newcomers. You may list the schools you have attended, the degrees you hold, your

When I stumble upon someone, and tell them that I am a broadcast journalist, people tend to focus on the whole “being on camera” aspect of the job.  From what I have witnessed, people are quick to say they would like to be on television without knowing what exactly goes into it. Yes, expensive cameras and high-tech editing software make a newscast more flashy and visually appealing, but it is the *words* being said that are at the root of broadcast journalism.  People should focus less on the “broadcast” element of broadcast journalism, and more on the “journalism” part. Journalism is the number one aspect that goes into creating a newscast, otherwise the news would be an over-produced reality show of some sort.  Simply put, the words matter most.  Broadcast journalists operate just like print journalists, expect with more equipment. We go out, interview experts on a topic, gather the public’s opinion, ask informed questions, fact-check material and present it to ou

You’re a journalist. You’re out in the field, not at the news station, without a camera. You also don’t have a tripod, or any other fancy bells and whistles typically used to record a news story. What do you do? Well, you don’t have to quit your TV news job to become a print journalist, you can actually create your story with something you already have; a smartphone.  When I think of cellphones, I envision those chunky, flip phones; you know, the ones you could slam shut after a heated phone call. Those devices are obsolete compared to today’s smartphones. Photos tended to be blurry, missing those fine details.  Smartphones can record great video. Apple devices can record in high-definition or even 4k , meaning that today’s smart phones are up to the standard of many broadcast television news stations. So, why not use them? Last week, I was in a pinch. I had one hour to grab an interview and some broll for a news package I needed to create, as well as get a quick int

As I sit here at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, it baffles my mind that someone could undervalue the time and energy it takes to be a student journalist. I don’t think most people understand what it’s like, so I’m here to share my experience.  Student journalists are real journalists. Us student journalists have a lot on our plate sometimes. We juggle writing articles, editing news packages, conducting interviews, researching data and much more, while also being college students in 15 plus credit hours with personal lives.  I’m not complaining. I love it, and I have to in order to do it.  Alongside my studies, I am plugged in on campus. I have multiple meetings each week, some that I lead. When I’m not in a meeting, in class or eating, I’m probably reporting.  News takes no lunch breaks, so I sometimes skip mine to grab a quick interview with a university official or student. Just like the real journalistic world, news happens 24/7. In order to cover stories, I remai

So, you’re making a newscast. Who do you need? A news anchor or two, a weather anchor, a sports anchor, a couple reporters and that’s it, right? Not exactly.  There are faces behind the faces, and as deep as that sounds, its true. Behind every anchor is a director calling the shots, a camera person framing the angles and an audio technician balancing sound levels. The production team brings the show to life. Before every newscast, the production team is preparing for the show. While some team members may actually be broadcasting another live program, other team members work to create graphics for each story in the newscast. Those name graphics, fancy over the shoulder graphics and monitor graphics don’t make themselves. The production team whips them up in editing software. At Troy TrojanVision News, our production team arrives at least two hours before every newscast to prepare the show. They work hard in a booth beside the studio, creating graphics, as the producers upda

Being on television is glamorous, right? All you need is nicely groomed hair, a stylish blazer, an upbeat voice and to be literate, don’t you? This is a major misconception. Despite what you may think, bringing the news to viewers daily can be a stressful job; one that not everyone is cut out for. Perhaps the biggest untruth is that anchors show up five minutes before the newscast, read the news then leave. Anchors often times serve as producers for the show they host, or at the very least a writer. If they aren’t out in the field reporting prior to the show, they sit on computers hours before a newscast in the newsroom writing scripts and editing footage; except this office job is really rushed. Deadlines are a crucial part of creating news, and anchors must have their show completely produced before going on air. Every second is timed, and every word is calculated to fit perfectly within the time restraints of the show. An anchor could work on a story for two hours, o

The thrill of hoping my news story gets done in time gets my adrenaline pumping. The balance of fact checking and being reliable, while also working on a tight deadline is such a rush.  In one year, I plan to graduate from Troy University with a degree in broadcast journalism. Because of this, I have recently been weighing my options for potential news markets to start off in; which is insane to me. By the time I graduate I will have been preparing to enter the news industry for eight years, and I often find myself looking back at where I started.  I was around the age of 13 when I first taught myself how to edit video. I would record low quality videos on my little, black camcorder and edit them in Windows Movie Maker. I had so much fun adding fonts and transitions to what I created. I produced mini shows and forced my younger brother to participate in them. I knew I liked editing and telling stories, but I don’t think I realized I could do it for a living until high scho

Sources! Sources! Sources! Sources are an essential part of creating a news story. Whether it be for radio, television or print, news cannot be reported without them.  So, what exactly is a source? A source is someone who provides a journalist with information. They can be a well-educated, insightful professional who provides detailed facts or simply a citizen sharing their opinion on the topic at hand. The latter is the type of source I am talking about now.  Often times I find myself searching for an average, everyday person to share their thoughts. Whether it be on new legislation, something controversial or even someone’s thoughts on a community service project, people are often reluctant to stand in front of a camera and be interviewed.   I get it, I really do. A camera can be scary for some, and I have to remind myself that not everyone is used to it. I often find myself coaxing people into doing an interview, and people usually commit once they know I can edit o

Apart of being an effective journalist is localizing stories. What does that mean? It means I examine the impact broad, national or international stories are having on our local communities. Every story must put people first, so by looking at how people are being affected in a smaller community, we understand the real implications of a large newsworthy event.  The Chinese Coronavirus has made many headlines lately, and rightfully so. CNBC reports that 563 people in China have died so far from the disease, with a confirmed 28,000 cases reported.  The outbreak has been devasting for the people of China, which is why countries are keeping a close eye on international travel to and from the region. People fear the spread of the virus.  How could an outbreak in China be localized? Well, now it’s in the United States. As of Wednesday, NBC reports that 12 cases of the disease have been brought into the U.S. This may remind some Americans of the Ebola outbreak that happened back