Please Don't Do It!
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There are a number of news crews posted in position waiting for Hurricane Florence to unleash her wrath.
To all of you, stay safe, tell the story, don’t make it about you and please don’t stand out in the storm!
I know you think it’s cool, but it has been done by thousands of TV people, thousands of times before you and it is just so cliché.
Get the shots of the wind and the rain and the conditions. Standing in it makes you look like an idiot. The viewers already know it’s windy and wet, you don’t need to stand in it.
This time, make the story about the people that live in the area and how they are being impacted. Don’t make it about yourself.
You might think that standing in the wind and the rain will look great on your demo reel, trust me, News Directors don’t care. They care how you tell the story and that’s it.
I know many of you are not going to heed this advice and you will think you are really a big deal because you stood and yelled in the storm.
Just don’t be mad and email me after I use you as an example of stupidity on FTVLive in the coming days.
If you do a solid story and not look like an idiot standing in the rain, feel free to send that my way as well. I would love to put up an example or two of Reporters that know how to cover a story, do their job and not make it about them.
God, that would be refreshing…
