Goodbye Rocky…

Denver is now a one newspaper town. After months of trying to offload The Rocky Mountain News, Scripps has decided to close the newspaper and cease publication. Just two months shy of it’s 150th anniversary, staffers and readers were stunned. Of course the writing has been on the wall for a while now, but it still is hard to believe a paper as forward thinking as the Rocky can be taken down. Journalists everywhere are no doubt thinking one thing: am I next? If you have a moment I would strongly recommended checking out their 52-page special section highligting the paper’s last 150 years.

And if you drink, go take a few shots of scotch for the now unemployed staffers. God knows they are probably doing the same thing…

Candid Thoughts Regarding Freelancing

It has been just shy of eight months since I started freelancing after my internship with Backpacker Magazine and I’d like to think I’ve come to learn a few things. They are as follows:

• There are no paid holidays when you freelance: just days when you work, days when you travel and are working, and days when you think about the fact that you really should be working.
• The check is always “in the mail.”
• Life comes down to one word: hustle
•  Freedom is an amazing thing, but self disciple is a must.
• The grass is always greener on the other side. (This one obviously refers to all jobs)
• Make sure you have at least a few months savings built up to live off of during the transition time. Sadly I went from an internship to freelancing in one swoop which meant I never ate out.
• Nobody is going to make it happen but you. No boss, no editor, no coworkers. Sure they might be there to help, and they will end up giving you the green light, but if you don’t make it happen it just won’t.
• Friends will be insanely jealous and think you do nothing all day.
• Finally, it totally fits my personality, but it’s too stressful at times. 

Food For Thought: Flip Cameras, Video and Production Quality

I spent a few minutes tonight following #journchat on twitter and one conversation in particular stuck out. It was between a few PR pros who were discussing using video as a potential new avenue to pitch journalists. Now I must make it clear that even though 99.9% of PR Pros on Twitter seem to think this is a new idea, it’s not. Not even new to the tune of a few years. Video has always been in play, it just hasn’t ever been this easy or cheap.

I entered the conversation partway in.

jenwakefield: @jamiefloer but flip is so awesome i’ve bypassed video pros

(FYI, a Flip is a new super cheap HD camera which came out a few months back. It should be noted I own one and love it, but it’s hardly a video camera for professional use minus natural disasters or breaking news.)

Jamiefloer responded:  jamiefloer: @jenwakefield I know you love your Flip, but for things like time lapse, complex editing etc. we hire pros #journchat

Jen answered: jenwakefield: @jamiefloer yeah my video editing is pretty ghetto. but it’s free. tight budget=free is good #journchat

And that’s what got me thinking: “pretty ghetto. but it’s free. tight budget=free is good.” 

I’ve found myself in a lot of conversations lately over quality vs. quantity. Several media pros have weighed in with excellent opinions, and while I don’t agree with all of them, one thing seems to remain the same: publications won’t put crap in print, but a majority will online.

As a multimedia journalist competing with professionals who own $5,000 video cameras and $3,000 microphones, I’ve had to come up with unique ways to stay professional without selling my kidney. Sure my budget is tight, but that does not mean I revert back to “ghetto editing skills.” It would be hard to imagine I’d have a job much longer if I did. As video becomes cheaper, and editing software easier to use, we will no doubt continue to see low budget video on top tier sites. The big question however, is what happens when advertisers see the video? Will they spend the money to advertise? Or will they tell their six-year-old to go out and shoot their friends playing outside in branded tee shirts and then just throw it up on Youtube? Either way time will tell.

Have a favorite online video or video site? I’d love to hear about it. Thanks.

 

Rocky Mountain National Park During Winter

Took the morning off and headed up to the park. Brought along the video camera with the goal to capture wintertime.