By Tanya Ruscheinski (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 1, 2012
Award-winning CTV investigative reporter, Jonathan Woodward, made the trip from Vancouver to speak to the students of UFV’s Journalism 301 class in a small classroom setting last week.
For over an hour-and-a-half on January 26, the small class engaged in an interactive presentation that explored the ins and outs of television broadcasting and helped prepare the students for their upcoming news report projects.
“It’s television that makes the impact,” said Woodward, noting that while print provides the “historical record,” it’s the visual elements that a news broadcast provides that can really make a story memorable.
One of the points that resonated throughout the evening, however, was the importance of people in news. Woodward explained how it’s the people that make a story memorable and it’s when you can engage with them in a one-on-one situation that you get the human side of a story.
“The best shots are when you come up to them after [a press conference] and you engage in them as a human being,” said Woodward. “If you talk to them as a human being then they open up… and when they’re connecting with you the camera is there, too, which means that they’re connecting with an audience.”
Woodward went on to talk about almost every aspect that students could expect to encounter as a reporter, should they choose to follow such a career path. No question was left unanswered, as discussion topics ranged from taking the right shots to on-camera presence and from writing for television to the role of social media.
“Be confident and be yourself,” said Woodward about talking in front of the camera. “A lot of people think when they start television that they have to talk like a news announcer, which usually means people start talking like this,” at which point his voice deepened a whole octave as he mimicked the stereotypical news anchor persona.
Instead, Woodward pressed the point that you really just need to be natural and invested in your point. “You want to be so interested in what you’re saying that you can’t help but emphasize everything,” explained Woodward.
Tom Konyves, professor and coordinator of the new journalism class, thought that having Woodward come in to speak was an important part of exposing the students to the world of broadcasting.
“I thought that this would be the perfect way to start off a brand new course being offered for the first time at UFV… and who better than young, enthusiastic Jon Woodward,” said Konyves. “I think he opened the students’ eyes to many of the inner workings of what it takes to be a professional broadcasting reporter.”
On top of it being important that students hear from professionals in the field that can provide another perspective on the material, Konyves also commented on how the timing of these kinds of presentations can work to the students’ advantage.
“I think it’s important for it to come at the beginning of the course because it shows that people who are working in the field are really dedicated to the work that they’re doing and hopefully that will be an added incentive for the students to try and excel in their assignments,” said Konyves.
As for the students of Journalism 301, news broadcasting projects will be taking place over the next few weeks, and with an arsenal of first-hand tips now in their pockets, the process should hopefully be a bit easier.
