JRN 411 Podcast Assignment: The Terrible Podcast

For the podcast assignment in my convergence journalism class, I followed The Terrible Podcast.

In its fourth season, the hourlong offering is run every two to three days. It provides an in-depth look at the happenings of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It garners its name from one of the most recognizable symbols of Steeler football, The Terrible Towel.

The podcast is hosted by David Todd, a radio personality at 970 ESPN in Pittsburgh and Dave Bryan, the creator of the Steelers Depot, an extensive blog covering the team.

I came across the program on social media, as both Todd and Bryan are two of my favorite follows on Twitter. Todd does a great job of covering the entire Pittsburgh sports scene, especially the Pirates for ESPN.

Bryan is probably my absolute favorite follow on Twitter, as he still shows the emotions of a fan like me, but he brings an immense amount of research and knowledge to the table.

As a hardcore Steelers supporter, I appreciated the dialogue of the podcasts as they focused on the team – and nothing else. The two men did not share their opinions on pop culture, music, or anything else. Instead, they packed each hour with analysis and discussion on the happenings of my favorite team.

Being an intern at 97.1 the Ticket, I learned firsthand that for a daily talk show, ratings will not support a sports only format. However, with a podcast, the audience is targeted with a unique offering that they specifically choose.

In this case, Steelers fans are given a very insightful look at the team. With it being the offseason, most of the episodes I listened to focused on recent free agent acquisitions and the potential moves the team could make in the upcoming draft.

I utilized the TuneIn Radio version of the podcast, allowing me to run around the track while consuming the program through my smartphone.

A visit from John Azoni

Earlier this semester, my convergence journalism class was visited by John Azoni.

Azoni is a local filmmaker and artist who spoke on working in what he described as a booming industry.

“Media art is in demand everywhere,” Azoni said. “Companies and people are engaging in this now because videos tell a story that paper articles cannot.”

Azoni helps create these tales at two local startups. He serves as the Creative Director for both Epic Motion and Tell, two Michigan based companies that shoot, edit and produce videos.

Epic Motion creates unique wedding videos that give a behind the scenes keepsake that couples can cherish forever.

“I get feedback from some of the videos that we do, and it is so rewarding,” Azoni said. “When someone just thanks you and says that they the thing you helped to make will be showed to children and grandchildren, it is pretty cool.”

Azoni estimates that the company will do around 35 weddings during the year, with the majority taking place in Michigan. However, Epic Motion has profiled ceremonies in Chicago, Cleveland, and even as far away as Spain.

A video package costs between $4,000 – $11,000, a big investment for most couples. However, Azoni and his team take each individual project very seriously.

“We send a questionnaire to each couple before we go and shoot,” Azoni said. “It asks where they first met, background information, and the defining moment of their life together.”

In addition, they collect the speeches from the best man and maid of honor before the ceremony and send out a brief video to the wedding party informing them on the process of capturing the day.

“Anybody can just sit in the corner with a camera rolling,” Azoni said. “Our goal is to do much more than that and really deliver a quality product that delves into the moment.”

Azoni’s other employer is Tell, which does similar work like Epic Motion, but instead of weddings, focuses on profiling companies.

In class, Azoni shared a project that he and his team had recently completed for a company called Ginkotree.

The video can be seen here.

Azoni said that with the shooting, editing and correspondence with Ginkotree’s representatives, the finished product took just over a month.

“At the end of the day, you want what the client wants, and they loved it,” Azoni said.

Azoni graduated from the College for Creative Studies in 2007. He can be followed on Twitter here.

JRN 411 Photo Composition Project

At the student paper where I serve as News Editor – The Oakland Post – there is one specific rule that always must be adhered to if a story is going to be published. Every article must have a multimedia element.

A corresponding photo not only strengthens a piece overall, but it allows the reader to visualize what has occurred in the story. While journalists are always taught to paint vivid images with their writing, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words – and most editors will cap an article at about 500.

While most publications have photographers on staff, a reporter may not always have the luxury of having someone on site to simply shoot photos. In fact, as the trend of papers consolidating continues, some publications are unfortunately laying off their entire staff of photographers, as seen here and here.

Therefore, journalists today must be ready to not only write, tweet, and collect quotes while covering a story, but they must also be ready and willing to take photos.

While it may sound difficult to immediately be ready to shoot for a story, following some of these principles will help.

This slideshow will explore three specific principles, the rule of thirds, utilizing lines, and avoiding mergers.

When looking through the lens of a camera, simply divide the area of a potential picture into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. It is almost as if imagining a tic-tac-toe board over top of the frame.

When looking for a great picture to couple with a piece, it is important to remember that lines can really change a photo from just good to great. Diagonal lines are easy on the eye of the viewer, and allow for an easy path to be followed in the picture.

Last but certainly not least, it is important to avoid mergers.

Tree branches, light poles, and in the case of this slideshow – a historic landmark – all unfortunately can emerge from a photo subject’s head or body accidentally. It is very important to avoid these embarrassing mergers, which can usually be accomplished by simply changing the angle of a shoot.

It is important to note that a very expensive camera is not needed for quality photos. All of the examples in this slideshow were taken either with a cheap digital camera or a smartphone!