To tell a story, use different tools
For a bit more than a year I’ve been obsessively tracking the movements in the Online reporting world. I consider myself a storyteller first and foremost, and I will do whatever I can do to help tell that story in the best possible way. That means using other technologies than just the printed word.
I’ve always been a gadget geek: I have owned my own digital recorder for nearly two years (and am considering an upgrade), a microphone (thinking of buying another two and a splitter), computer programs and other tools to help me learn, on my own, more about Online reporting.
But for those who are not tech-saavy, please read this great post by Mindy McAdams: First lesson in audio for journalists. This is a great summation of what you need to do to start collecting audio.
One thing I noticed after I started collecting my own audio was the ambient sound of a place. Just this afternoon I was in a newsroom meeting, and as I was thinking about audio (while the editor was talking about something else, sorry Don!) I listened to the fluorescent lights and the hum of the computers. I thought, if I were to conduct an audio interview in a place like this, I’d turn off the lights and the computers.
So to assist the newspaper’s fledgling audio hopes, I am being asked to collect audio for an upcoming story of my choice. Talk about pressure! I just hope I can convey the potential storytelling power of audio with whatever I submit.