News Videos That Caught My Eye & Wowed Me

Our assignment was to view a couple of news videos that caught my eye. Many of the videos from Poynter’s Al Tomkins’ aimfortheheart.com (appropriate!) http://aimfortheheart.com/story-samples/  were standout videos. The ones I chose to analyze are:

a.      15 Days: A Soldier’s Journey Home

What I Liked:

The concept

The focus on one couple/family

The time span

The beginning and ending being at the same location

The narration that complemented video

The interviews with the wife, soldier, child

The emotion at the end

What I Think Needed Work:

It seemed a bit too choppy; the reporter cut in, it seemed, like for every minute he had to give a minute of narration, which was distracting to me

There was no real coverage of the soldier’s interaction with his family, besides at the hospital, at the birth of his second child.                  

Adding a stat would have been great. How many soldiers?

Explain better how each soldier is allotted 15 days—and add why they are alloted this time and when they can take the time during their tour.

b.      Investigative Reporting: Hiding Behind the Badge

What I Liked:

Reporter going with his gut to uncover corruption by a small town sheriff

        Ongoing investigation

Breaking open a case through perseverance

        Chasing down interviewees

        Relying on photographer/teamwork