On Camera. How to Report, Anchor & Interview

347 Pages·2007·3.08 MB·English

by  Nancy Reardon (Auth.)

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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Reardon,Nancy.
On-camerapresentation:reporting,anchoring&interviewingforTV/byNancyReardon.
p.cm.
ISBN-13:978-0-240-80809-3(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-240-80809-6(pbk.:alk.paper) 1. Televisionbroadcastingof
news–Vocationalguidance. 2. Interviewingontelevision–Vocationalguidance. I. Title.
PN4784.T4R432006
070.1’95–dc22
2006011122
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Dedication
To my mother who always supported me ... in the past
My husband ... in the ever present
My daughter ... now and in the future ...
And all my dogs in the toughest times.
Foreword
As it was with so many reporters of my generation, I was a news-
paperman before I got into TV and my first newspaper job was
working the night police beat on my hometown newspaper, The
Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In those days, the police reporters at most newspapers did not
write much. They went to the scene of the crime, or the accident,
or some other untoward event, gathered the facts and called them
in by telephone to a city desk rewrite man who put it all into story
form and passed it on to the city editor or his deputy who decided
if it was good enough to deserve a by-line.
ThatwasnotthewayourCityEditorBillHitchwanteditdone.
Bill insisted that no matter where we were—on a nursing station
phone in a hospital emergency room, or a phone booth a block
from a three-alarm fire or on a cop’s phone at the police station—
when we called in he wanted us to dictate a lead to the story we
werecovering. Onceyougettheleadtoanewspaperstorywritten,
the rest of the story takes care of itself. You tell the important
factsinthelead, generallyfollowthatwithadirectquotethatadds
color and sets the tone for the story and then flesh it out with the
details that back up what you have stated in that first paragraph.
Bill believed only the reporter on the scene knew the real flavor of
whatwasgoingonthere, andsohemadeusdictatethestorytothe
rewrite man.
xx
FOREWORD
I digress to explain that I used the word “man” deliberately
because there were almost no women on the city side of the paper.
In those days, they were seldom allowed to venture very far from
the "society" department.
The rewrite man was there to help us get the story in readable
order,butitwasuptothereportertodictatethatlead.Billwasright
in his belief that only the reporter on the scene can convey what’s
happening there. That is, after all, the core of what journalism is
all about. But I would later come to understand he had a larger
purpose. He was teaching us to think like reporters and that meant
that the moment we arrived on the scene, the first thought that
went through our minds was, “what’s the lead here? What’s the
most important thing to say about all this?” It became automatic.
When you know that’s going to be the first question that rewrite
man is going to ask when you call in your story, that thought is
constantlygoingthroughyourmindasyougatherthefactsforyour
story.
I always had a fairly good reputation for finding the lead and
I believe that can be traced to what Hitch taught us in those days.
Years later, when I would take notes at presidential news confer-
ences,Iwouldalwaysputastarbesideanimportantquotefromthe
President. If he later said something I considered more important,
I would place two stars beside it, and then three if he later said
somethingIconsideredanevenbetterquote. WhatIwasdoingwas
prioritizing what he had said, just as I had done those many years
agoonthepolicebeat.SubconsciouslyIwasaskingmyselftheques-
tion that Hitch always asked, “What’s the lead here? What should
people care about?”
When the news conference broke up and I rushed to the White
House lawn to do a post news conference analysis with Water
Cronkite, I just looked at my note book, found the quote with
the most stars and said, “Walter, what I think is important here is
when the President said...” To this day, nothing annoys me more
than to ask a reporter returning from a news story what happened
andtohavethatreportersay, “Well, firsthesaidsuchandsuchand
then he said such and such...” Editors are not interested in what
xxi
FOREWORD
someonesaidfirst, theywanttoknowwhathesaidthatwasimpor-
tant. BillHitchtaughtushowtodothat. Hiswaywasnottheonly
way but it worked for me.
The communications landscape has changed dramatically since
those long ago days, but the basics of journalism have not and all
of us had to learn those basics from someone. Journalism is best
learned by the apprentice method. In your early years as a profes-
sional journalist, you will attach yourself to someone who knows
more about it than you do, and you will learn from them. But this
book will give you a head start. Between them, Nancy Reardon
and Tom Flynn have been journalists and teachers all of their adult
lives and they know what works. This book reflects what they have
learned, not just from textbooks but on the job-in the trenches as
they describe it. They lay out the basics of covering television sto-
ries, tell you how to go about it and then use real life experiences
to demonstrate why their methods really work.
This is a real “how to” book by two people who really know
how. But it is more than just a fine manual on broadcast journal-
ism, journalists and non-journalists alike will find it good reading, a
treasure chest of anecdotes, stories and a tall tale or two from the
most exciting profession of all—reporting the news.
- Bob Schieffer
Acknowledgments
I always laugh at the acceptance speeches when the Emmys and
Oscars are awarded. What are all those gratuitous thank yous for
anyway? Now that I’ve written a book, I see it takes a small village
of support from beginning idea to final publication. So don’t play
the music yet…
I want to thank: Dr. Amit Das from N.Y.U, now University of
Pennsylvania, for telling me to write this. To Sarah Crichton for
viewing the initial proposal and making super suggestions. To my
editor: savvy, creative Amy Eden Jollymore for believing in this
from proposal to completion. She and amazingly attentive project
manager, Brandy Lilly, have guided me every step of the way.
To the following friends, who took the time to read the com-
pleted proposal and offer suggestions and comments: Jim Stewart
(CBS News), Meredith Wagner (Lifetime), Dr. Peter Haratonic,
(New School), and Roseanne Seelen (The Drama Bookshop).
There are friends who were so necessary on this journey: To
Rolland Smith, who years ago when he was at CBS, took the time
to teach me. To Dana Tyler at WCBS, New York, who has been a
friendofmineandsupporterofmystudentsforyears. Iamgrateful
for the help and photography from my dear friend, Marie Wallace.
To Lucy Martin for her perceptive comments, and to the brilliant
ad-man, Bob Sauer. Bruce Torbet, who has been my cameraman
xxiv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
from the beginning, when I was so technically challenged, and
Steve Reilly who shot the video you will see on the CD-Rom.
AndspeakingoftheCD-Rom, I’msoluckytohavePeterMoser
onthisproject.HehasnotonlycreatedthespectacularCD-Romfor
thisbook,hehashelpedmeinsomanyotherwaystofinessethefin-
ished product. And thanks to Dr. Alisa Roost, who has constructed
the Instructor’s Manual.
To Warren Miller, the legendary New Yorker cartoonist, for his
drawings and his dear friendship. His genius and wit continually
awe me, and to Joanna, his wife, for encouraging this project.
IambeyondfortunatetohaveTomFlynn(writer/producerCBS
News) to walk hand in hand with me for the distance. And to
Katie Flynn, who took time from a busy acting career to do a
grueling edit of the manuscript. Wait, I hear the music...I’m not
finished yet!
Now...The sign off ...If I’ve left anyone out, forgive me. I’ll
remedy that in the next edition...that is, if the second edition
doesn’t become the rare book.
- N.R.
Introduction
My name is Nancy Reardon. Usually at this point, I go around the
classandaskyourname,askwhoyouareandwhyyouareinterested
intakingthisclass.Sincewearedoingthisclassdifferently,youwill
have to answer that question to yourself. Be honest. I am here to
help you learn, you are there to do the learning. In this book, I’ve
tried to anticipate some of your questions and some of your fears.
If you follow along and do your part, I can also anticipate your
success, can’t I? Yes, you say? I agree.
Television is a very competitive business. But as you can see by
turning on your local news every night, someone got the job. You
have to be smart and interested: interested in people, interested in
whatgoesoninyourneighborhoodandinterestedintheworld.The
one thing this book can’t give you is the caring, the curiosity and
the passion. Nor can I give you the courage to follow your dreams.
But, as a Broadway show song says, “The best of times is now.”
This is true if you are a novice with no experience in front of the
camera, or if you are working in a small market on your way to
bigger stations.
Thisbookwillalsohelpthosewhofeeltheysimplyneedtobrush
upontheirskills, whichincludesanyonewhocouldusesomework
in the interview process: authors, artists, businessmen and women,
anyone who will be facing the camera.
xxvi
INTRODUCTION
Nowisthetimetogettoworkifyouhaveaninterestinbeingon
camera in any field: entertainment, sports, legal, business, weather,
musicorfood. Thefactis, puttingitoffisaseasyasfindinganother
excuse. You will never have fewer things to do; you will always be
busy. You are not getting any younger. And speaking of younger,
although television has always been a young person’s business, the
areas of age are loosening up these days. There is a market for all
ages, genders and races.
I’ve written this book because if you look around, you won’t
find one that tells you the basic nuts and bolts of how to do the
job of anchoring, reporting and interviewing once you get in front
of the camera in the studio, or out on location. There are plenty
ofbooksyoucanfindthattalkaboutjournalism. Therearelectures
you can find on morals, ethics and the politics of television report-
ing. But you might as well be a top-flight investigator to dig up a
book that tells you how to report on camera. This is your simple,
straightforward HOW TO DO IT book.
So let’s get to work. Good luck. 3-2-1 Roll.
Writers’ Biographies
Nancy Reardon created the first On-Camera course at the
New School in 1982 and has been teaching there, at NYU and
inherGreenwichVillagestudioeversince. Asateacherandcoach,
she has trained many network and local reporters and anchors and
has taken her teaching on the road throughout the United States
and as far as Helsinki, Finland. She is a veteran New York actress,
having appeared in more than 10 Broadway shows as well as roles
in film and television.
Tom Flynn Writer and producer at CBS News for more than a
quarter century at the CBS Evening News and 60 MINUTES, he
was a founding members of 48 HOURS. He is the recipient of
the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, has been honored
by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with six
Emmy’s and many other honors including the IRE (Investigative
Reporters/Editors), Robert F. Kennedy Award, National Society of
BlackJournalistsAwardandEdwardR.MurrowFellowshipAward.
WarrenMillerhasbeenacontractcartoonistwithTheNewYorker
magazine since 1961. His work has been published in two col-
lections and in collections of The New Yorker, Playboy and the
CartoonistGuild.Hehasillustratedchildren’sbooksandalsopaints