I’m sure that the news today that NBC and Fox have agreed to create an entity to shoot pool video in several markets has sent shockwaves through newsrooms across the country.  But I say take a deep breath, step back a bit and take a global view - and you’ll agree with me that this is a great idea.

Is it really necessary for every station in a market to send a videographer to shoot the mayor’s ribbon cutting ceremony?   How does this give you a strategic advantage?   How does this set you apart from the competition?

Take a look at your assignment board right now.  What percentage of your videographer resources is tied up in shooting photo ops?   One-half?   One-third?   Couldn’t you better utilize these crews for enterprise stories that will more directly affect your viewers and set you apart from the competition?

All the assignment editors in your market could hold a daily conference call to divvy up the pool shoots for the next day.  You could also cover overnight news the same way.  Station A has the overnight beat today, station B tomorrow etc.

Your producer will still write the VO copy in your own news style, and your editor will pick the video to be used.  It will be no different than what viewers will see in everyone’s newscast tonight from these photo ops.  The coverage will be similar but slightly different.

Yes, there is the concern that your ownership group may take advantage of the pooling arrangement to cut back on your videopgraphy staff.  But at the same time they could make that decision today in these turbulent times without a pool deal.  If more cutbacks did occur, having a pool arrangement will allow you to better utilize your remaining resources.

If I were a news director right now - I would be on the phone today trying to make this happen with my fellow ND’s.  What about you?

What do you think about this idea?   Send me a comment and let me know.

Jim

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Willi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.