TV Station Competition: Friend or Foe?

I've read countless articles about TV network competition -- the inherent rivalry between ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. And then there are the cable stations -- MSNBC, FOX News, CNN. Between ratings, viewership, and content, it's clear that people have a lot to say about how each station conducts its news programming. And if these networks are constantly vying for attention, there's no way the people who work at these stations could possibly get along, right?

Well, that's questionable.

That may be the case in large market likes NYC (market #1) or LA (market #2) , where a high concentration of viewers makes the competition more intense, but from what I've seen, this isn't necessarily the case in small markets.

For instance, I work for YNN (Your News Now), a 24-hours cable news network featuring local news from the Central New York/Southern Tier/Northern Country area. I work in the Elmira-Corning bureau (market #176), where we compete with WETM (the local NBC affiliate) and WENY (the local ABC affiliate).

In the five weeks I've been here, I've made friends with people from both WETM and WENY. Since we all cover the same stories, we inevitably run into each other, and over time, those run-ins turn into friendships. I exchange phone numbers with reporters from the other stations and hang out with them when I'm not working.

Needless to say, in a small market, in which the reporters are generally young, fresh, and still very much in the learning stages of the industry, the competition is not so much "competition," but more of a friend. We understand each other by understanding the nature of our jobs. For reporting newbies like us, sometimes it's more important that we report on the most newsworthy events rather than worry about our stations' ratings.

The Difference Between a TV Reporter and Print Journalists? THE BEAUTY OF VIDEO

In the midst of training for my new job as a Video Journalist (TV reporter) at YNN-Syracuse in the Corning, NY bureau, my friends asked me, "Why do you need to train?" It became clear to me how unclear it is to others exactly what my job entails. This is why I feel as a journalist -- one who informs and communicates to the public -- it is my duty to explain what separates the role of a TV reporter from a print journalist: VIDEO.

As a journalist, writing is an essential skill. Before I was hired, I took a 90-minute writing test. From that, my bosses determined I had already acquired this skill set. But they didn't expect me to start working immediately to produce multiple news stories 5 days a week. Their mentalities were as follows:

"As long as you can write, great. We'll teach you the rest."

And teach me, they have been. During my time interning with YNN and studying at Syracuse University, I've learned to use multiple cameras and operate various video editing programs. But that doesn't mean I know how to use every kind of camera and every kind of editing program that exists.

You see, a video journalist in a small town must "one-man band," which means not only must I know how to write, but I also have to record video of myself, my interviewees, and other things that pertain to the story, then come back to the station, write the story, voice the story, and edit all those little video pieces together...MYSELF. I don't have a camera crew, nor do I have a video editor. Everything that airs on the evening news is something I've put together completely on my own.*

I have to make sure the people I interview speak clearly and well. I have to look put together and appropriate to appear onscreen myself. But most importantly, I have to get the shot. When something happens, I have to be there, and I have to get it on video; otherwise it's useless. If I miss an event, or the audio on my camera isn't working, or my video is blurry, too dark, or too bright, it's a complete waste. What airs on TV not only has to be newsworthy, but it also has to look good.

So far this week, I've spent two days learning how to operate a camera. I've learned all over again how to frame interview shots correctly, how to light them, how to prepare the camera for shooting both inside and outside. Re-learning all the techniques I learned in class two years ago -- and then some -- is proving to me how crucial the video is. After all, a picture is worth 1,000 words, right?

So, friends, that is why I'm in training. That is why I'm not immediately covering and producing stories on my own yet. It's a process, a learning curve. I probably won't be covering stories on my own until later next week, and I'm okay with that. I understand that in my business, the picture is as important as the story. It's all about the video, and I'm just doing my best to capture it the right way.

*NOTE: This is not to say that every station and every reporter operates this way. Reporters with seniority may always get photographers to go out and shoot video for them. In larger stations in larger cities, many reporters do get help, but when you're in your first, second, and maybe even third job, you're generally on your own.