Once a month for the past six months, WFLA-TV and Tampa Tribune staffers have gathered to trade craft tips and techniques at a gathering hosted by the station’s photojournalists. The name of the session is apt, given their new relationship as media partners: “Another Level.”
While the sharing of resources is nothing new between Newschannel 8 and the Tribune, moving in together in March has certainly taken the relationship to another level.
“Being in the same building and closely working together is a brand new relationship for all parties,” says Rich Murphy, WFLA’s chief photojournalist. “All of this change will certainly affect the visual journalists, across the company and culture. We must all come to appreciate each other’s worlds and learn new ways to do our jobs.”
At the most recent meeting, Tribune Science & Technology writer Kurt Loft introduced himself this way: “I was told that I would learn the most about TV by being around photographers.”
By all accounts, to fully take advantage of multimedia convergence in the Tampa Bay area, three things must take place: training, technology acquisition, and teamwork.
Steve DeGregorio, multimedia editor, is working with Allyn DiVito, senior editor for photography at the Tribune, to coordinate a video training program for the paper’s 23 photojournalists
Media General has committed $750,000 over three years to purchase digital equipment for 24 photographers. This accounts for a $31,000 equipment allowance per Tribune photographer in addition to an aggressive cross-training relationship with WFLA photojournalists.
By 2002, each Tribune photographer will have in their camera kit two 2 Nikon D-1 digital cameras and a Canon GL-1 video camera and complete accessory kits.
“We know that we need to move in that direction, too,” says Murphy, the WFLA photo chief. “When the still guys hung out with us they kept telling us that in our entire package there were only two or three stills that could work as frame-grabs,” Murphy recalled. To fill that gap, the station plans to equip its photojournalists with digital point and shoot cameras.
The task would be simpler, of course, if video or still images were interchangeable among platforms. Journalists already working in converged settings have discovered that video that works fine for television may not work on the web, for example.
“We feel we need to reward someone who has the patience to download video with a sterling piece of tape,” says Jeff Rowe, who coordinates efforts by the Orange County Register, the Orange County News Channel, and the newspaper’s website. “A lot of TV news will hold a shot, then go to another shot that they hold. That just doesn’t work as well on the web. People want a 10-second sweep of an area so they can place it visually.”
Convergence will mean more work for some. There will not be any photo editors on the TBO team, says Kirk Read, the site’s general manager. “Initially there is no immediate plan to hire a photo editor for TBO in our two-year growth plan. We might have to adjust to better provide the quality that viewers will demand. Initially, we will rely on the expertise that exists in the Tribune and WFLA photo management teams.”
The convergence of cultures requires the ironing out of bugs, such as salary inconsistencies. According to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and recent Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) surveys, there is $10,000-12,000 gap for print and video photojournalists.
“We have solid anecdotal and survey statistics that show that on average print photographers earn about $10,000 more than their TV colleagues. Entry level salaries are vastly different,” says Bradley Wilson, executive director of NPPA. Wilson also maintains that, “at the top end of the scale, TV photojournalists make a lot more then their print colleagues.” WFLA’s Murphy says he’s “confident that those issues will be resolved in a fair manner.”
Says multimedia editor DeGregorio: “We’re trying to create a culture here that values information no matter where it is, and photographers are a critical part of this project.”
