Tips on doing Web video from Ricardo Lopez

Listen below to excerpts of advice Miami Herald visual journalist Ricardo Lopez (left) gave my online journalism class on Feb. 28.

I captured the audio with my Olympus DS-30 using a lav. The photo is from the new media panel during Comm Week. Will Payne, from Current TV, is on the right.

Ricardo Lopez discusses video with online journalism class

Ricard Lopez, a Miami Herald visual journalist, gave a presentation to my online journalism class about video Thursday evening. He was joined by Candace Barbot, a photojournalist convert to video.

Ricardo last spoke at UM during Communication Week, leading one of the new media workshops and participating in the new media panel. Check out advice he and other panelists gave students here.

See examples of his work and be sure to check out Chicken Busters, which is everyone’s favorite.


New media reporting panel

New media reporting panel

Watch the live Web cast: Live Web cast

Panelists:
Suzanne Levinson — Miami Herald, director of site operations
Phil Lewis — Naples Daily News, editor & vice president of editorial
Ricardo Lopez — Miami Herald, visual journalist
Brent McDonald — New York Times, visual journalist
Will Payne — Current TV, College Outreach

Phil Lewis has been at the Daily News for 30 years. The dynamic started to greatly change when they hired Rob Curley (now at Washington Post).

“We blew up our newsroom and we took a third our newsroom and said, ‘You’re the print side,'” Lewis said. “We took two-thirds and said you’re our new media newsroom and everything you do goes to the Web first.”

Suzanne Levinson became involved with The Herald’s Web site in 1996.

“They felt so lucky to have an experienced journalist that knew HTML [to some extent].”

But their path has been different than the Daily News.

“We didn’t have a Rob Curley; we needed a Rob Curley,” she said, explaining that it was basically her and a few others on the online side advocating.

She said the tipping point for The Herald was when they realized ad revenue and circulation would continue to decline.

“Be willing to learn new things and be aware of the changing landscape,” she said as advice to students.

The new mindset of The Herald: “We all have open minds. It’s a change in the way they look at things, but they are all just journalists.”

Ricardo Lopez began with photography but evolved as a visual journalist. He learned new tools and began working with video and Web.

Will Payne is a part the newest outlet represented on the panel, Current TV. He discussed how their dynamic is different from traditional media.

Brent McDonald, of the New York Times, has a background in documentary film and was part of the Times’ multimedia pilot program in November 2005.

Discussing video journalism:
“It’s still a frontier and we’re still playing with how stories can be told. It’s still a collaborative process.”

First two Comm Week events: Attending workshop, liveblogging

I will be attending the following sessions Friday morning as part of Comm Week 2008:

Be sure to check back at 11:30 a.m. for the liveblog. I will also post a link to the live Web cast, if available.