Orlando photogs, you may re-apply ... NOW

[jr/shotglass]

Sentinel's photography staff is essentially fired, told to re-apply by today for new, more video-centric positions. Sounds familiar.

https://nppa.org/news/photo-upheaval-orlando-sentinel

 

[LongTimeListener]

Right-to-work state, yo.

 

[I Should Coco]

The goal of the upheaval, the shooters were told, is to increase the quantity of video on the newspaper's Web site and to increase their viewers.

Translation: Let's take the ONE thing TV stations do way better than newspapers — shooting video — and focus on that.

If anyone knows a newspaper web site with decent-quality news videos on it, please provide us a link.

Most of the video I've seen is a whole lot of sources talking into a smart phone camera (or worse, selfies of reporters talking into said devices), shaky video submitted by readers, or long, unedited police camera footage.

Who's going to click on that?

 

[Liut]

The goal of the upheaval, the shooters were told, is to increase the quantity of video on the newspaper's Web site and to increase their viewers.

Translation: Let's take the ONE thing TV stations do way better than newspapers — shooting video — and focus on that.

If anyone knows a newspaper web site with decent-quality news videos on it, please provide us a link.

Most of the video I've seen is a whole lot of sources talking into a smart phone camera (or worse, selfies of reporters talking into said devices), shaky video submitted by readers, or long, unedited police camera footage.

Who's going to click on that?

Some folks will, but I'm not disputing your overall opinion, believe me. Between trying to shoot stills for a gallery, keep stats, tweeting and shooting crap video, my work is mediocre often enough it sometimes makes me sick.

 

[BTExpress]

The minute I click on what seems to be an interesting link and it takes me to a video . . . I close the page.

Remember that story last week about the baby that had to be resuscitated on the highway, and Miami Herald photographer Al Diaz happened to be there?

It was a nice story. It had great photos. It did not need video.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

From the story:

The goal of the upheaval, the shooters were told, is to increase the quantity of video on the newspaper's Web site and to increase their viewers.

Oh, bull****. A memo and training would have sufficed. This is about cutting salaries and jobs.

Just ****ing admit it, and move on. No need for lying or corporate mumbo-jumbo.

Frankly, all the photogs ought to take a couple of sick days at the same time. Screw up the firing deadlines, if nothing else.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

One of the last times the Sentinel let photographers go one of them committed suicide.

 

[Starman]

Sentinel's photography staff is essentially fired, told to re-apply by today for new, more video-centric positions. Sounds familiar.

https://nppa.org/news/photo-upheaval-orlando-sentinel

Most likely at a cut in pay too.

One of the last times the Sentinel let photographers go one of them committed suicide.

No worries about pension payments.

 

[Liut]

One of the last times the Sentinel let photographers go one of them committed suicide.

That's awful. Sorry to learn of it.

 

[Tarheel316]

The goal of the upheaval, the shooters were told, is to increase the quantity of video on the newspaper's Web site and to increase their viewers.

Translation: Let's take the ONE thing TV stations do way better than newspapers — shooting video — and focus on that.

If anyone knows a newspaper web site with decent-quality news videos on it, please provide us a link.

Most of the video I've seen is a whole lot of sources talking into a smart phone camera (or worse, selfies of reporters talking into said devices), shaky video submitted by readers, or long, unedited police camera footage.

Who's going to click on that?

This. My shop went through that bull**** several years ago and thankfully we got past it.

 

[SFIND]

Between trying to shoot stills for a gallery, keep stats, tweeting and shooting crap video, my work is mediocre often enough it sometimes makes me sick.

Liut I can relate to that. Not only myself, but most other sports writers from around my area. Even the preps writer at the big 100,000 circ. paper in my area has to do all that himself too.

I've watched the view numbers for the videos I've shot. Generally speaking, while the average game article and picture gallery will get thousand(s) of views, the video from that same game will get 1/10. But we still have to do the video, along with all stat/notekeeping needed to write article(s) on the game, photos for photo gallery, and tweeting during the game. And I'll be the first to admit my video, while I think is above the average Mom with a camera in the stands, is no where near the quality of TV.

 

[Mauve_Avenger]

Between trying to shoot stills for a gallery, keep stats, tweeting and shooting crap video, my work is mediocre often enough it sometimes makes me sick.

Liut I can relate to that. Not only myself, but most other sports writers from around my area. Even the preps writer at the big 100,000 circ. paper in my area has to do all that himself too.

I've watched the view numbers for the videos I've shot. Generally speaking, while the average game article and picture gallery will get thousand(s) of views, the video from that same game will get 1/10. But we still have to do the video, along with all stat/notekeeping needed to write article(s) on the game, photos for photo gallery, and tweeting during the game. And I'll be the first to admit my video, while I think is above the average Mom with a camera in the stands, is no where near the quality of TV.

I completely agree. If a newspaper website really wants to compete with TV video they probably have to purchase decent cameras and train employees how to use them. Of course very few newspapers would actually do that.

 

[PeterGibbons]

It's been proven time and time again, NO ONE watches "news" video, about the only videos people watch on the internet are people getting kicked in the balls and the Tosh.0 kind of stuff.

I don't understand why newspaper executives keep thinking this is going to be what saves newspapers.

 

[BDC99]

It's been proven time and time again, NO ONE watches "news" video, about the only videos people watch on the internet are people getting kicked in the balls and the Tosh.0 kind of stuff.

I don't understand why newspaper executives keep thinking this is going to be what saves newspapers.

Yup. LOVE watching people get kicked in the balls, or animals doing silly stuff, or people crashing on their bikes trying to do some stupid trick. But if a video pops up when I click on a news story, I don't wait for it to play. I just go read it somewhere else if I can. And many people surf the net at work and have no sound, like I am right now, so the video is useless. And as has been pointed out, the quality of most newspaper websites' video is subpar.