John K. video challenges

While my major’s focus is in print, I do not expect an unusual number of challenges in doing news video for the Web. I have gained my journalism education at a time when the lines are distinctly blurred between news mediums and industry specialties. In my schooling, I have been continuously told that one cannot merely be a print or broadcast journalist for he or she will be called upon to appear on television, write, go on the radio, and combine numerous mediums for publication on the Internet. Additionally, I have grown up in a time where children are immersed in technology their entire lives. They have experience with and are comfortable with the technology that may seem foreign to those of an earlier generation. Thus, I am not a veteran print writer being ambushed by the rise of new technologies that I must incorporate into my work. Using a camera or applying content to the Internet is not something that worries me. Similarly, I have already taken an online journalism class, in which I learned the principles of Web reporting and how different mediums should be combined to complement one another and tell a story. Therefore, from a mental, preparation standpoint, the concept of Internet video journalism is not one that worries me or brings immediate concerns to mind.

I am also familiar with Windows Movie Maker, though not in any academic or professional way. Just for fun one summer, I made a surfing video of myself. While this is not very substantial, it did give me experience editing video and coupling it with music in with the Movie Maker software. So my familiarity with the technology is not too big of a concern.

However, I do see my lack of knowledge about video journalism techniques and terminology being a challenge. As a print major, I do not have the background in video concepts of my broadcast classmates. I feel that this will disadvantage me somewhat and make my learning curve steeper than others. Finally, if a large part of video journalism for the Web is adapting written stories, either in final or conceptualized form, I should not have too many problems because my print background will allow me to clearly frame a story, which will serve as a good basis for my video work. Still, there is something to be said for someone who approaches a subject with a fresh perspective and possibly different ideas and approaches than others. This, in fact, could play to my advantage. Overall, I am excited to learn another way in which to convey news and to become a better reporter.