I would much rather see a collaborative model pushed forward here, rather than the competition model or to paraphrase Howard Owens - a disruption model.

That model is valid when we talk about how these ventures are going to make money - Who is going to take revenues from who. But surely when we get down to the content we can move beyond that.

Reporters and photographers alike that are getting into this stuff, need to concentrate on the storytelling. They need to think outside the box, and to innovate.

Audio slide shows are the precursor to video. They will get folks thinking about how sequencing images can push that story forward and keep the audience engaged.

Slowly more and more still photogs will grab hold of the audio slideshow and slowly they will be enlightened by the stories they can make using video.

This is the time to try. This is the time to concentrate on how stories are told.

This is not the time to put TV photogs head to head with still photogs. We all have a lot to learn from eachother.

This is the time to recognize that print storytelling is not the only way for folks to tell stories that the utilization of multimedia storytelling techniques is the way to tell the story in the online age.

-seth

I agree. In an earlier post that’s exactly what I advocated - Get the pros in to help rather than lots of pro equipment

The thing about TV news is that it is collaborative. That used to be the case right through the production chain, but even ENG and single camera operators couldnt make a dent in the working relationships between camera crew, reporter and vt editor.

The problem is that these relationships arent there in many newspapers and the move to the web seems to seperating the photogs from the journos even more. In an environment where collaboration doent happen - by structure or as Michael says, by the lack of interest by one or other party - you need to find ways to get people working together.

Once you get that you can then start to experiment yourself with what the medium can really do.

The one man band can produce the commpelling stories and more power to them, thats what is so great about the web, and it should (rightly) put the wind up the trad media. But it would be som much better for the newsrooms looking to ‘go digital’ if one person didnt have to do it all.

Lets get a little bit of that TV attitude in to the print newsrooms.

What I have seen that can’t easily be replicated by TV PJs is the awesome imagery shot by still photogs - they truely have a gift. What I have also seen (and all too infrequently) is a merger of audio/video/stills into true storytelling. The one-man band can produce stories which compell the viewer to watch. Not every TVPJ or aspiring still VJ can hack it.

Sorry for the over generalisation there. Removed th eline.

I agree it’s a shame that photogs don’t get involved. Any video is better than none (most of the time) but it would be (and is) so much better when they are.

Just to clarify. It’s not that I “can’t see the point of any” audio slideshows. Rather, it’s what you said before that. I’m bored with dull audio slideshows. They’re all beginning to look and sound alike. Everyone is aiming for the same NPR-like tone. Mix it up a little bit. Change the pacing and tone. Quit being so ponderous with the audio.

As regards video and photogs, that post was borne out of a frustration and dismay that some photo staffs seem indifferent to video and its possibilities. I think that’s a shame. But I’m beginning to realize that, as long as someone is doing video, maybe it doesn’t matter.

Cheers.