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Sunday, September 22, 2013

How the New York Times does photojournalism


I just discovered a new blog-style page by the New York Times. It’s called “Lens: photography, video and visual journalism”. The page is simple and made up of a slideshow of pictures and videos. For example, today, the first story I saw was about window washers who scale skyscrapers and put themselves in danger to get a job done. Well, any publication could produce a written piece about the challenges that come with the job. Pictures would even add to the story. But the Times took this to a whole new level. They sent a reporter out onto the ledge with a go-pro video camera and a microphone. The minute and half long clip isn’t so much about the act of widow washing, but about the experience of the reporter. The brief training and trust in something so foreign to a journalist is very important. Open mindedness also seems key in such a situation. The reporter even admits that when it was over, he had a big smile of his face because he got the shot that he needed for his piece. From this site I learn that you’ve got to get creative in storytelling. Entrepreneurs of journalism must think of ideas that are going to set them outside of the box and bring their pieces to a new level.

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