LocalNewser dispatches from the frontlines of local news

It’s 2010: What’s on Your Resume Reel?

Don't End Up in the Dreaded Discard Pile

Okay, let me say right up front: I can't stop calling them resume tapes.  I grew up making resume tapes--after the news, in an edit bay, agonizing over the perfect liveshot that had that one fatal flaw (crap!  why did I pause like that???)... first they were on 3/4, then Beta, then a short stint on M2--God help us--and ultimately they migrated to DVD. But by then, I wasn't making the tapes any more, my agent was.

A far cry from the first time I remember hearing the term "tape."  I was working in advertising, Mad Men style, in New York, but not happy, and suddenly taken with the idea of being a television reporter.  I got a news director in Grand Junction, Colorado on the phone and we had a nice chat, until he said "send me a tape."  I had no idea what the hell that even meant.  I had studied history--but not journalism--in college.  I didn't have a tape.

At any rate, reels are a fact of life, though a lot's changed.  The job of a reporter's changed.  So, as this new year and decade start--a question: what's the state of the art in selling your talents on tape with a reel?  Is it still montage/live package/second package/anchoring?  Or is it something else?

Tomorrow I'm teaching a class on reels at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism here in New York (home to new media guru @jeffjarvis).  In advance of the class, I picked the brains of some news directors in markets large and small:  what do you expect?  What do you like? What do you hate?  What's going to get a reporter the job?

Here's a quick rundown of what they said:

1.  Yeah, We Like Webclips.  But We'll Still Need a Reel, and Make It a DVD

"Web links are ok, but video quality and whether i can watch full screen is an issue.  Use DVDs
Make sure your name, phone number and email address is on the resume reel.  Use your personal email address"   -Atlanta news director

"I'm still a fan of demo reels being on DVD (no one plays tape anymore) rather than just being an online link--because they are easier to pass around  and work with in general.  I might watch a demo online, but usually do so just as a first pass and end up asking for more on a DVD."  -Hartford/New Haven news director

2.  Follow the Standard Format

"Montage, a few great packages, and a sample of some anchoring work."  -Hartford/New Haven news director

"DVD should start 15 seconds with name, phone number and email address.
-Give me 15 seconds of montage.
-If you're applying for a hard news position - they almost all are these days - don't show me how well you ride elephants, throw a football or the cute     crap.
-I like to see three stories.
1. Breaking News/Live
2. Hard news, investigative, enterprise story
3. A story you're proud of an why."

-Atlanta news director

What About the Stuff You Choose?

"Custom make your reel for the job for which you’re applying.  If the employer wants investigative, don’t fill your reel with features.

Make me want to open my eyes.  I watch reels head bowed, eyes shut.  You have a limited time to make me look up, bring me to the screen.

Students must take the stories they produce for campus TV seriously—it’s what will get them their first job.  Think through the stories you want to  produce.  Producing features all semester is going to fill your reel with features.  Investigate, research, develop contacts on campus that can lead to  important news stories.  Students must start working on their first job three semesters before they graduate.

Write in a conversational style.  Subject, verb (STRONG VERB), object.  Active voice.  Avoid “to be” verbs:  is, are, was, were, be, been, being…  Write  for the “ear” because viewers are busy and rarely can sit down to watch a newscast.  When you have great video—write to it so that the viewer must  come back to the screen.

Show me who you are with active stand-ups (montage).  This story telling element is called a stand-up, not a stand-still.

Pay attention to you image—TV is about image.  Tattoos, piercings, crazy hair styles will get your tape ejected.

I borrow this from Graeme Newell:  The first line of your package should be the strongest of the piece. It should grab your attention, leaving the  viewer curious for explanatory details.  Don't start with history. Never begin a package with background information or past happenings. Avoid the  temptation to tell the story chronologically. Packages that "begin at the beginning" are doomed to start with old and outdated facts."

-News director, Paducah, KY

Key Advice from News Directors on Getting a Job, Especially Your First Job

"Students must know where the students that graduated before them are working…those older students, now employees, are going to move on and why not be the one to fill that vacancy?  Again, don’t start looking for your first job when you graduate—network with former grads."   -News director, Paducah, KY

I really want good writers. Write to your video.  DON'T call me to make sure I got it.  Feel free to email once, maybe again a couple of weeks later. Don't apply for a job you are not qualified for, no matter how good you are. I'm not hiring a grad student for their first job in Atlanta. They need to understand the goal is to get a job - get a job anywhere, evene Helena, Montana.  -Atlanta news director

I got a graphic demonstration about how bizarre the whole reel process can be one day in Miami.  A friend I'd worked with elsewhere was looking, and asked if I'd walk his tape into my boss.  I did, and got to see first hand how a news director watches a person's carefully-crafted reel--their best stuff.  I briefly explained how I knew the person, and handed over the tape.  The news director rolled over to his Beta deck and popped the tape in.  There was a short slate, and then my friend appeared on screen and started the first line of his montage.  The news director hit eject, pulled the tape out, and threw it in the garbage.

I was stunned.  He had seen and heard maybe five seconds of this person's work.  The look of horror on my face got me this telling quote:  "I know what I like."

Remember that.  That's the one part of the hiring equation you can't do anything about.  They know what they like.  And the most kickass montage can't save you from that.

For fun, here's a reel of mine.  Feel free to comment, if you think it'll help reporters looking for work.  What's good and bad about this reel? Would you hire this guy? I don't love this reel, by the way, so don't worry about hurting my feelings. (I grew out of that in the news biz a long time ago)