December 2011
3 posts
DeGeNeRaTiOn NaTiOn: Feature Story: A Reflection →
Kyle,
I feel like I’m talking to myself in a mirror here. We had different problems, but we had problems nonetheless and they were pretty frustrating. I keep telling myself, like you said, that now is the time to make mistakes. It’s true, because now that I’ve done it, I’ll never forget about the ND filter again, but it still bugs me every time I look at that grainy...
Slightly Embarrassed, Slightly Amused
The problem is my face.
No, a twelve year old child didn’t tease me with a lame remark about being ugly. The problem is probably my face.
I used to be manly. I had a beard.
I was so popular in class, and I was ready to build decks, eat wings, shoot animals, and do other manly things.
Then I shaved.
And, this week, I did a story about butterflies.
It’s definitely the face.
...
Nightmares of a Journalist: Volume II
It was a nightmare.
It was the second nightmare of my young reporting career. The first was when my interview, James Gordon of the NDP, took a phone call when I was interviewing him live, LIVE on our web broadcast for the election. The story is in this blog.
The second was doing my feature story.
I was doing an interview with Mike Farwell, the colour commentator for the Kitchener Rangers. He...
November 2011
12 posts
Christine's Journalism Blog: My Tales as a TV... →
It’s been great to hear how excited you guys are after coming back from that event. I still don’t understand why everyone is so thrilled with meeting Lloyd Robertson though. The real catch was James Duthie, who I see multiple times on TSN while I’m watching hockey. (Note: No disrespect to Mr. Robertson, he’s a broadcasting legend.)
As for the last part of your post, who...
Trying to Put My Training to Use
Bring it on, Iggy.
Jarome Iginla is my favourite hockey player. He has been for a long time. I watch his Calgary Flames play whenever they are on TV in Ontario (including tonight conveniently enough), I have an Iginla jersey, I have his autograph, and I follow his stats pretty closely. So, I think I know him pretty well. You could say we’re pretty close friends.
And, as such, I can tell...
And I'm Your Host, Chris Metzger
You can call me “one take host”.
Well, technically I guess it was two takes, but it’s not my fault. We had to cut a story that didn’t work out so the host segment had to be shot again because we referenced that story in our opening, and in the transitions as well.
Not my fault.
Host is pretty fun, especially when it’s not live. There’s no stress, because...
DeGeNeRaTiOn NaTiOn: 519 Online Newscast →
I can only imagine what it was like having you on the studio camera and Oje as host. Lots of laughs, lots of takes and lots of lost focus. I hope you guys started at 9 to get it shot on time.
This is not trying to put down Oje, but I have been in class with the two of you for long enough to know it was probably an… interesting combination.
I haven’t watched this week’s show...
Bare Footed Wanderers and Squirrel Whisperers
Field trip!
This week we covered the Occupy Toronto movement. Not surprisingly, there were some interesting smells in the park: the smell of people living there in tents for weeks, smoke from the ‘sacred fire’, and dare I say, marijuana.
There were also some interesting people: the man sitting at a table singing what seemed to be ‘Amazing Grace’, the man with a maple leaf painted on his face, and...
Deja Vu
It’s like I was there.
This week I decided to look at the CBC’s coverage of the Occupy Toronto movement on the day we went to cover the story to see how our coverage compared to the CBC. Most of it was the same. The CBC talked about the eviction just like we did, and the decision of the judge.
The biggest difference between the two was that we talked to protestors and the CBC didn’t. When we...
Insert Clever Blog Title Here: Meeting Brother Sam →
Yeah man, that was pretty sweet. I had no idea it’d be that easy to score an interview. I’m a sports guy and it’s insane to try to get an interview with anyone. Or maybe I’m just doing something wrong.
In any case, the interview was well done for sure, and that’s a sweet experience to have for someone not even finished with college yet. You guys did a great job and...
Mind Games and Head Injuries
“Don’t make me call your mother!”
It’s a sentence many of us have heard. For most of us, it send shivers of fear straight down our spine. “No, please, anything but that,” we’d think to ourselves.
But perhaps now, professional athletes will hear this famous and familiar line from reporters.
James Reimer is the goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs...
How Much Can a Rubber Bullet Really Hurt?
Tear gas and rubber bullets.
Well, a guy can hope, right? This week we are covering the ‘Occupy Toronto’ movement, closely associated with the overriding ‘Occupy Basically Everywhere’ movement. We will produce a story from Toronto, shooting, editing, hosting, and uploading on location before we return.
Our show is hoping to feature a number of different angles on this...
Olive's Branch: 9.2 Sexism Sells →
Well, since everyone else is re-blogging this post, I thought I’d share my thoughts as well.
Along with Brent, I acknowledge that I am not as serious about gender inequality as many females are. That doesn’t mean it’s not important, because I believe everyone should be equal, but I find it a bit overdone.
This is a bunch of isolated examples, not that it doesn’t happen...
People Actually Care About This?
I’m not sure what’s more disturbing…
The fact that Fox News thought this was newsworthy, or that people actually watch this programming (or else Fox wouldn’t run it).
Granted, it is a piece on entertainment. I’m a sports guy, I’m not going to try to pretend I enjoy entertainment. I really don’t. I don’t care how long Kim Kardashian’s...
"Everyone Knows I'm in Over My Head" (the Fray)
Well, this week I’m the switcher.
This is problematic in a way, because I don’t know what a switcher even is, let alone how to use it. I couldn’t pick the switcher out of a room full of technical gear.
I don’t even know what a switcher does. Judging by the name, I’m guessing it switches between live feeds and canned pieces, but that’s just an educated...
October 2011
13 posts
RACHEL SCHOUTSEN: "But for now you can call me... →
Rachel,
I was also really happy with our Halloween show. I thought you and Zach did a great job. Your script was really interesting and conversational, and whoever thought of that idea with the apple at the end was a GENIUS!
As far as my story goes, I felt like it was well done (if I do say so myself). We had good B-roll and our interviews went together well to tell the story. Caitlin did a...
One Word Answers
I’m a sports guy.
I love watching sports, reading about sports, playing sports, talking about sports… you get the idea.
So, it makes sense that this week my story would be about sports. Well, kind of. The Cambridge Hawks, which is the minor hockey team in the city, are spending Halloween trick or eating. No, that’s not a typo, the kids are getting canned good for the local...
Deep Deep Thoughts
Who knew the CBC was so big?
Our videography class took a trip to the CBC this past week, for my first ever post-secondary field trip. I didn’t even know there was such thing! And yet, the first thought I had was so profound, so deep, so emotionally charged: “Wow, this place is huge!” There were floors and floors, and rooms and rooms.
Then, eventually, the learning occurred....
Courtney Langstaff: An update from 519 Online News →
Courtney,
I’m scared for when my day to be editor will come, but I’m sure that I, like you, will learn a lot. I’m more comfortable on camera than behind it, but that is something I need to work on.
I’m also really happy with our story from last week. It was really great for us to get that footage, and Alyssa and I put a lot of work into that story. Though her name...
The Lighter Side of Sports Reporting
Every once in awhile, it’s good to just have some fun.
The piece I’m critiquing this week is an old piece, from last season, about a year ago, but I haven’t seen anything like it since, so I wanted to share it. After scoring his first NHL goal, Jordan Eberle was the subject of a spoof report that was very well done… so well done, in fact, that some of my friends were...
Ghosts and Hosts
This show won’t be for the “easily scared”…
Okay… so it probably won’t be very scary, but this week, after some debate, we decided to do our second themed show. Our first was about Oktoberfest, and this one is about Halloween, so the hosts will dress up, we are decorating the studio, and all the stories will be related to Halloween in some way.
For my story...
Amir's Blog: Statistics and Facts about Distracted... →
Amir,
This is a great story idea. It is definitely a problem, and a problem that I am guilty of as well. I rarely text or call and drive, but I am definitely guilty of changing CDs, and especially talking to people in the back seat of my car.
I have always been very intolerant of drunk driving, but have put off distracted driving as a non-issue, not a big deal, and something that is just a big...
Language Barriers, Non-responses, and Other...
Well, for my first story reporting for 519 Online News, Alyssa and I picked an easy story to ease into it, right? Wrong.
Right away, we knew it would be tough, because our story is about sharks, and there are no sharks around here. At this point, it looks like a Canadian documentary, Sharkwater, is going to let us use some clips from their documentary, but we are awaiting their final reply...
Saying One Thing, Meaning Another
This news story is related to a blog post I made last week about Don Cherry and his comments on Hockey Night in Canada’s first period segment called Coach’s Corner. The CBC, who broadcasts Hockey Night in Canada, also has a news station which is probably Canada’s largest news station, and watched by millions of viewers. They ran a short story about the fact that the three former...
RACHEL SCHOUTSEN: 519 Goes Live on Election Night!... →
Rachel,
I’m sure a lot of us showed this off to our families over Thanksgiving. I know I did too.
This comment could have been applied to a lot of the posts about our election coverage, but I felt bad for all the people who didn’t get to ever interview a candidate because they didn’t show up on time. It was kind of like the “big fish” of the night that everyone was...
Don Cherry: CBC's Car Crash? Their Grumpy Uncle?
He’s a national icon. Donald S. Cherry. When he talks, people listen. He constantly goes close to that invisible “line” and sometimes crosses it. Crosses it like he did on Thursday night.
In Cherry’s segment: Coach’s Corner, watched by millions of Canadians every Saturday night, (Note: This time it was a Thursday because it was the season opener) Cherry sounds off...
Uhh... Just Hang On While I Take This Call...
It was my worst nightmare.
Well, that can’t be true, because in the big picture, it wasn’t that bad. And, to be honest, the thought of this happening had never crossed my mind… until it happened.
Literally 10 seconds before we went live on air for our election show with James Gordon, the NDP candidate from Guelph, he got a phone call. Now, I watched him take his phone out of...
Amir's Blog: Japanese company markets Tsunami... →
Amir,
This is a great story idea. It’s really interesting, and I had no idea Japan was working on this. It sounds like this technology could really be useful, and Japan is often ahead of everyone else at developing things. I thought it was really funny that they said it can be used as a kid’s play house.
I’m not sure how expensive this is, but it would definitely be useful in...
September 2011
11 posts
Francona Needs To Pull Up His Sox
It’s not a groundbreaking story, but it’s likely interesting to sports fans, and it’s really well done in my opinion. Terry Francona, the longtime manager of the Boston Red Sox is not going to return to manage next year — at least not with the Sox.
Speculation as to why the change is being made is running rampant, but different people give different reasons.
I like this...
Mullet Man Returns
In his prime, Jaromir Jagr was one of the best players in the National Hockey League… and he also had some of the craziest hair. Jagr’s mullet was probably just as popular as his skills.
After leaving to play a few years in the KHL in Russia, Jagr is back in the NHL, but without his mullet, and for the Philadelphia Flyers. Jagr’s best years were spent with the Pittsburgh...
4 tags
Olive's Branch: 2.2 Hey Weatherman, get out of the... →
Haha, Olivia, I could almost see you in my head spewing off about this. I agree with you that the weather person can be distracting, but to be honest, I never thought about it this way until you wrote this post.
Perhaps this is because I rarely pay attention to the weather. If it’s going to rain tomorrow, A) I’ll probably be able to tell when I go outside and B) I can’t do...
Roger Clemens Walks Down the Street... And Again
Add Roger Clemens to the list. The list of high profile athletes who are found innocent in court. This time, like many, it was ruled a mistrial, due to inadmissible evidence being used against Mr. Clemens.
ESPN covered this story on their website, and possibly on television. What I was quite surprised at was the lack of visuals that ESPN had to go with this story. Throughout the 2:42 story,...
Hockey Players Run Wild
Wow. It must have been a very long summer.
Hockey is only in its exhibition stage, the preseason, and hockey players must have really missed smashing into each other during their time off, as more suspensions have been handed out than in recent memory.
Although, perhaps it’s not just the players reacquainting with each other. There’s a new sheriff in town. Brendan Shanahan has...
RACHEL SCHOUTSEN: Creating Awareness on... →
I agree, this is a great story. My grandma had Alzheimers, and it is a very heartbreaking disease to say the least, and having someone whom you love not recognize you is one of the worst feelings out there.
I agree with the story, that there is a dilemma about when people would want to know. Especially when it’s a disease without a cure, perhaps people wouldn’t want to know that their...
Coverage? Or An Obsession?
Next thing you know, what Sidney Crosby ate for breakfast will be national news.
I know it’s Sidney Crosby, the best player in the world, but can hockey not do anything without him? Another day, another story, top of the headlines for TSN.ca. A story saying nothing we didn’t know already. Sidney Crosby is trying to return, and won’t return until he is 100% healthy. Is this news?...
Look Out! Ball!
Well, this sounds familiar. Someone gets hurt at a baseball game. Earlier in the season, it was the Texas man at the game with his son. Trying to snatch a ball that was thrown into the stands, the man fell over the railing and plunged 8 feet to his death, with his son looking on and crying for his dad. Sounds that haunted the outfielder who threw the ball to the man.
Today, a 12-year old boy is...
Bridget's Broadcast Blog: Story Idea: Sexting --... →
Bridget,
I think this would be a good idea for a story, despite my agreement that it is a foolish activity, especially because those pictures can be forwarded to anyone, but anyways…
I think one main problem you would have (and you kind of addressed this) would be finding people who are that age to talk about their sexting experiences openly. With the level of maturity of say, a 14-year...
E:60 Point of No Return, A Great Watch
ESPN has a series that is often played on TV called E:60 which goes in-depth on different issues in the world of sports. Many of the stories are features on different athletes who have had interesting experiences in their lives. This particular story is about DJ Williams, a football player with the Green Bay Packers whose father was abusive and addicted to crack cocaine. This story is very well...
Baseball's Concussions
The story I would like to see reported is a larger story on concussions in baseball. Recently, Francisco Cervelli was injured with a concussion and is now injured indefinitely for the New York Yankees. This is an increasing trend for Major League Baseball, and other higher profile players have been concussed lately. In Canada, this could be localized by talking to Justin Morneau, who is the former...