My latest addiction: ESPN's E:60. What a great show on ESPN! Here is a piece on Vince McMahon, the mastermind behind the WWE (formerly the WWF). It's a well reported item and a good example of an in-depth feature. Sure it's on video -- not exactly the usual format for The Voice -- but it's worth the watch for it's savvy writing and reporting. Enjoy! And, do yourself a favor by watching a few more episodes. I also recommend this piece on Don Meyer.
Share your thoughts, insights and ideas about these pieces.
7 comments:
I watched the McMahon piece on TV yesterday and was fascinated by the subject matter and the amazing depth to the research and reporting done for the piece. That was remarkable. However, the piece on coach Don Meyer was that, in so many ways, simply blew me off my feet and even had me in tears towards the end. The journalistic use of the images of the crash, the black and white video, and the picture-in-picture aspects to all of the interviews was a unique and engaging aspect of the reporting.
The most important and most compelling parts of the video however were the story and the way in which it was told. The reporting and the research did justice to one of the truly remarkable and heroic stories out there. The narration, the tone and the quality of the writing, and the interviews and video evidence were all used so effectively that they took an amazing story and told it to its greatest potential. The emotional response triggered in the audience and the subjects of the interviews is indicative of this, for a story that creates such a response is truly a wonderful story told in a great way. E:60 is a segment on the rise and I urge all of you to keep up with its video segments. Amazing!
Although I was struck by the depth of the research that went into creating this piece and the effort that went into telling McMahon's story, I was struck most by how much a person's voice and footage of their life adds to a personal story. We are conditioned to imagine a personality from documented interactions, paint a visual appearance from subtle descriptions, and put a voice to quotes in text when we read an article, but this video is proof that writing usually only gives us most of the story.
There is a human quality to images and videos that instantly gives the viewer the extended details necessary to become attached to a subject. Although I feel that videos offer us such a great window into one's life and that they should be embraced in the journalism world, I feel that its main function should be to set the bar higher for us as journalists. It should be our goal as writers without the aid of a camera lens to paint these pictures as vividly as cameras can. We should be thankful for the use of the visual image and the recording of one's voice but we should use it as a reminder that our work as writers is never over and that our self-betterment is never complete.
The piece on McMahon was really interesting because I myself used to be a HUGE WWE fan and was tricked by its marketing scheme. (Totally thought it was real: the Rock ruled!) any-who... I really enjoyed how they presented his life through the numerous video clips and the way they were able to show the most important and prominent parts of his career, or continuing career.
Amazing how much power a 5 minute video documentary can have. I am now really interested in this topic and want to learn more!
from brett
After watching the piece about Vince Mcmahon, I felt somewhat nostalgic. When I was about 10 years old, I was utterly obsessed with the then WWF, partly because I refused to believe that the combat was staged. What I do remember about Vince Mcmahon was that he was utterly despised by the fan base, and endorsed wrestlers who were portrayed as bad guys. While Vince Mcmahon was supporting Triple H and The Big Show, I was screaming for The Rock to give them both the people's elbow.
Seeing this video only reaffirms my disliking of Vince Mcmahon. What goes on behind the scenes is similar to what happened on the show. He screwed over the stars on his show, clearly encouraged steroid use, and pummeled through whoever he had to to earn an extra dollar.
I find broadcast journalism incredibly inspiring. Being a mix of my two passions, film and investigative reporting/writing, broadcast journalism is something that I hope to explore in depth in the future.
I think it is interesting to consider the biases news told through film brings to the table. Literally, what kind of lens are you looking through when you are telling a story through film? As in the McMahon piece, interview is a huge component that allows the reporter to tell multiple sides of the story.
I can't begin to imagine how much excitement there would be if MA had its own new show, or weekly broadcast. I think once the website is up and running, this should be one of our priorities. I would love to step up to the plate...
Both reports were fantastic. The style of reporting reminds me of 60 minutes. Its all just really indepth research. In the McMahon piece, they did a great job of actually presenting the crucial information. It can be easy to get sidetracked in a story, but in E60's report, they were concise with the information, while at the same time devoting great focus to every detail. The story about ice rink pollution is also very good, pretty scary that little kids are being harmed due to poor rink management and responsibility.
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