Newspaper Video Journalism (Part I)

This is the first of what I expect will be several blog entries chronicling my summer research project with the Dallas Morning News. For the next six weeks I will be studying the newspaper's efforts to integrate video journalism into the the company's news mechanism. My focus is both academic and professional. I will report my observations and discoveries in the academic arena through a paper and/or at a yet-to-be-determined academic conference. This blog will serve as a venue where I can share these experiences to a wider professional audience. I hope it's beneficial and welcome the opportunity to contribute to the journalism industry.

Full Disclosure: I teach photojournalism at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, from which I hold a B.A. in Photojournalism (1990) and an M.S. in Digital Media (1998). I have worked for the Temple (TX) Daily Telegram, the Abilene (TX) Reporter-News, and the San Angelo (TX) Standard-Times, where I was a staff photographer for five years.

DMN photojournalist David Leeson, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, was instrumental in making this project a reality. I first met David, also a graduate of ACU, when he taught an advanced news photography course there in the summer of 1986, an experience which played a major role in my decision to become a professional news photographer. Since then, we've continued to be good friends and he's always welcomed opportunities to advance the profession. He and DMN photo director William Snyder, understand the significance of their video program and recognize the major impact their work could have on the entire industry. I greatly appreciate the access and the opportunity to document their efforts in this new chapter in visual journalism history.

The buzz this past week was on the subject of video still frame quality and their usability in the printed newspaper. Apparently, San Jose Mercury-News staffer Richard Koci-Hernandez spoke on the subject at the 2006 NPPA National Summit (I did not attend), which was reported by multimedia journalism guru Mindy McAdams and also by Bryan Murley at Reinventing College Media. These blogs are definitely worth reading and generally draw numerous insightful comments from readers. Also on the subject was a Photo District News article written by Daryl Lang, who interviewed David Leeson at length for the article.

Well, so what do we know? We know that at least two newspapers are printing video frame grabs on a regular basis. We know that the high-res HD video format is one reason this is now possible. We're also learning that a quality frame grab requires sharp, well exposed video. Auto iris or auto exposure won't cut it. Shooting on manual exposure with careful attention to shutter speed is paramount. This is a degree of technical precision reminiscent of the days of shooting transparency film.

The DMN video team is constantly looking for ways to increase the efficiency of their workflow and improve quality of their product. One workflow step that has been given a great deal of attention is the post-processing of video frame grabs...and it shows. The still frames are beautiful. They're also big. Leeson's son, David Leeson II, works in the video operation and has developed a unique method of boosting the resolution of the image that's nothing short of magic.

Something else I want to mention is that I am shooting as much video as possible for this project. I have the lofty goal of including a video with every blog post, but...we'll see. Below is the first video installment, which shows David Leeson using his Sony Z1U HDV camera to shoot a photo illustration for the paper. What makes this unique is not the fact that a frame grab would be used in the printed paper, but rather because this was not a video story. Leeson also carried a Canon EOS 1D on the shoot, but as you will see, it was the HDV camera that had the magic.

QuickTime MPEG-4 (m4v) / 2:03 / 11.6 MB / Get QuickTime