Dumb Local TV News

A friend who works in the news department of a local TV station sent me an e-mail recently. In it he lists down some of the reasons why, he believes, local TV news is not the best source of information.

Here's what he wrote:

Local TV news is set up to be stupid. Allow me to enumerate the reasons:

1. Reports are generally limited to a running time of 1 minute 30 seconds. You can cram only so much information in that amount of time. This is a big limitation especially if you wish to do a really in-depth story on an issue that has a lot of data.

2. In general, people who apply for TV news on-cam work do so not because they want to be serious journalists. They just want to see their faces on TV and hopefully become famous. That is their main motivation.

3. Most people who apply for the position of TV reporter have mass comm or other related degrees. Writing and other "journalistic" skills are not at all honed in such courses given their generalized scope. It is also not unusual to see a newbie TV reporter being deployed to cover complicated senate sessions or court hearings.

4. Very little "writing" discipline is observed in TV news. Grammar even in Tagalog newscasts are practically ignored. This can be attributed to the fact that most script editors do not even bother to review the rules before they unleash their "editing" prowess on the reports submitted to them. This lack of "writing" discipline in the newsroom leads to the propagation of wrong writing rules invented by script editors who just want to appear they know what they are doing.

5. In TV news, soundbyte is king. This antiquated rule forces the whole TV news production team to use short, keyword-centric phrases from their interviews. Unfortunately, such phrases are more often than not just motherhood statements.

6. In TV news, premium is given to drama. In fact the writing structure used for TV news is called "dramatic unity" which basically means you have to start with the most dramatic part of the story. Again, unfortunately, more often than not the dramatic parts are not the most important or most substantial. Compare this to the print structure called the "inverted triangle" which says you start your story with the most important detail.

7. On cam people think popularity is credibility. It is not unusual to see airhead news anchors/readers/reporters being promoted as credible sources of information.

These are just a few of the things that doom TV news to be regarded as the stupidest source of information.

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Make Money Online

This will be a little off topic but would still be helpful to mass communication students.

If you're course curriculum includes a subject on marketing, read on.

If you're interested in making some extra cash for your weekly allowances or to finance a budget-heavy school project, read on.

If you're planning on having a future free of financial worry, read on.

I just recently discovered an e-book that could very well serve as a roadmap to financial success. If you're reading this blog then most likely you're familiar with blogs, social networking, and perhaps even affiliate marketing. If that's the case, then it's imperative that you get yourself a copy of Willie Crawford's 20 Ways To Make $100 Per Day Online.

This 247-page e-book will open your mind to the many ways you can start making money online. The e-book's title says it all -- 20 online business models that can help you earn at least $100 on a daily basis. If you're a college student you'd know that $100 can already go a long way.

The book provides not only a list of 20 online business models but more importantly an outline of steps to actually make each one work. If you've ever done research on the topic of online money making ventures, you would know that there's just too much information out there. This e-book will save you time, money and energy in the long run.

In the name of full disclosure, I should tell you that if you do purchase 20 Ways To Make $100 Per Day Online through the links I provided I will earn commission. I should also tell you that once you have your own copy you can also sell the e-book through your own blog or website. The good thing about it is that the company behind the e-book will give you the full purchase price. That means just one sale would cover your own purchase cost.

I sincerely hope you would consider buying the e-book. You won't be disappointed.

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Writer Needed For TV Show

An old friend of mine is looking for a TV writer for a new TV show her group is set to produce. The show's scripts will be done in conversational Tagalog. This writing opportunity is perfect for young, dynamic and outgoing individuals who enjoy traveling all over the Philippines. Pay is per episode and is within industry standards. The selected applicant will be working closely with a production team.

If you're interested send an sms to 0920-9051765. Indicate that you got the information from this site www.pinoymediainsider.com. Please note that this is an urgent requirement since production of the program will be starting soon.

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The 5 C's of Cinematography

Going to film school obviously offers a lot of advantages. Aside from getting detailed instruction on the art and craft of filmmaking, the student will be able to take advantage of opportunities to network with other students, faculty members and film industry insiders.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or financial resources for film school. But, as directors like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and many others have proven, film education can be had in other ways. Self-study can go a long way if the film student is willing to put in the work.

For those who are more inclined to take the self-study route, I recommend the book The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques by Joseph V. Mascelli. Written in the 1960s, this book is considered by many industry insiders as a classic reference.

Here, Mr. Mascelli outlines the fundamental camerawork techniques and concepts filmmakers must know foremost of which are the 5 C's: camera angles, continuity, cutting, close-ups, and composition.

Some may scoff at the idea of having a set of rules affect the filmmaking process and insist on creating their projects with no rules at all. While that may also be a valid idea, it must be considered that for most commercial work the rules are usually held with some improtance and should therefore be learned first. And, as they say: to break the rules, you must first know the rules.

Mass communication students especially those with documentary projects lined up in the near future will benefit from reading The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques.

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How To Get Into The TV Networks

So how does a new masscom graduate get a job in the TV networks?

The most obvious way is to simply submit an application. Hopefully, the networks' human resource departments will notice your resume and give you a call. This, of course, is a passive approach.

As I pointed out in the previous post, the number of masscom graduates is just too big compared to the number of available TV network jobs. Obviously, an applicant will need to have some kind of competitive edge over the others to stand a chance of being hired.

That advantage need not necessarily pertain to the applicant's qualifications, skills, talents or looks. More often than not it has to do more with connections. There's no question an applicant who has the backing of an insider has the clear advantage over one who has none. That's just the way it is.

Luckily, masscom students have the perfect opportunity to establish such connections: their practicum. What better opportunity could there be than this. During their practicum, masscom students can familiarize themselves with actual TV work, get to know production people, and possibly make themselves known to key players.

It's just too bad many masscom students nowadays take their practicum for granted. I have seen some practicumers spend a whole afternoon just gossiping with each other or tinkering with their cellphones. Some don't even bother to show any initiative to get involved in actual production work in spite of clear instructions from their assigned superiors. Some don't even bother to make themselves known to the production staff. I'm not sure if they're just shy or simply too lazy to make any effort.

If you're a masscom student it would be to your best interest to make good use of your practicum. Familiarize yourself with actual production work, show off your talents and skills, build connections with the people already working in the networks, and make it known to everyone that you plan to work with them in the near future. In short, treat your practicum as an audition. Hopefully, when the time comes you will be able to call up the people you networked with for information on job openings or even some help with your application. I know of some people who actually got invited to apply because they left a good impression during their practicum.

This advice is obviously of no use anymore to those who have just recently graduated. To them all I can say is good luck. May you do better in the exams and interviews than the hundred other applicants.

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Are There Enough TV Network Jobs In The Philippines?

Hundreds of mass communication or communication arts students will be graduating this month. While some would probably take a little vacation first before they hit the job market, many of them will most likely go out to look for their dream jobs. I wonder how many of these new graduates will seek employment in a TV network. I hope not all of them.

Let's look at what's out there. There are currently six TV stations/networks in the country excluding the smaller UHF stations. These are ABS-CBN (channel 2), NBN (channel 4), ABC (channel 5), GMA (channel 7), RPN (channel 9), and IBC (channel 13).

I'm not sure if there are that many in-house employment opportunities at ABC. Right now most of their programs are produced by blocktimers or independent production companies. As for the three government-controlled stations NBN, RPN and IBC, their job openings are too few and far between. In RPN's case, the very few openings it has from time to time are mostly in the news department.

This leaves us with ABS-CBN and GMA. The two networks have the most number of job openings at any given time. The obvious reason is that they have many in-house productions that require a lot of people. Still, it is highly unlikely that the combined number of job openings at these two networks would be enough to accomodate all the new masscom graduates who want to work in TV.

I don't mean to discourage these year's masscom graduates but this is the reality. There are just not enough openings at the TV networks for everyone.

(Next time: How To Get Into The Networks)

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Learn Filmmaking Without Going To Film School

I've always wanted to direct short videos such as music videos, commercials, short films and other similar projects. But, because I have never had any formal studies on filmmaking or cinematography I thought I won't be effective enough to produce a decent output.

I'm sure other mass communication students and graduates have at some point felt the same way. There's just no denying that having some training on filmmaking or cinematography beats having none at all. Unfortunately, masscom or communication arts courses here in the Philippines do not sufficiently provide the training in these two disciplines. A semester or two of photography or TV production is just not enough.

But, there's still hope for the masscom student or graduate who wants to become a director without having to attend film school. Award-winning director Quentin Tarantino has proven that there are other ways to learn the craft. In fact, Tarantino's advice to aspiring directors is to avoid film school altogether. He says, "When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films.'"

By his own account, Tarantino learned filmmaking by watching a lot of movies. Today's aspiring directors can surely benefit from this approach. Next time you watch a movie, a telenovela, or a TV commercial try to take note of the finer details, the camera shots, movements, angles, lighting, actors' blocking etcetera. You can try it now with the short film titled 'The Follow." This is one of the eight popular short films produced by automobile manufacturer BMW in 2001 and 2002 to promote the performance of its vehicles. If you want some inspiration to get you started on your own short film this series may just do the trick.



My personal thanks to my friend adventure videographer Randell 'Buko' Raymundo for introducing this excellent series to me.

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