Researching your story (Video)
You've set up your script and now you're ready to find the elements to add to it. Where do you start? Find some video.
You've got several ways to track down video to use in your story:
Snapstream
Shadow TV
Truveo
YouTube
Online news outlets
Important: in order to post our material to YouTube, we only use 12 seconds of video from a single source
Snapstream
Shadow TV
Truveo
YouTube
Online news outlets
Important: in order to post our material to YouTube, we only use 12 seconds of video from a single source
Finding your video
- Use this guide to use the video searching tools Snapstream and Shadow TV. Snapstream video is higher quality and is preferred. If you find video you want to use on Shadow TV, check to see if that video is available on the specific station's website first. For example, if you find a video from KCRA on Shadow, go to KCRA's website to see if a higher quality video is available online. You may use Shadow video if you can't find an alternative.
- For big stories, you'll be able to find coverage on the major national networks like CNN and Fox News. But some beats- like world, tech, or science won't be as easy to find. Check out the sources pages for help finding websites with beat-specific videos.
- Make sure to look for coverage of your story from local/regional news outlets. Doing a story about China? Check Xinhua. Did your story happen in Wisconsin? Check WISC.
What are you looking for?
- Well, you won't know until you find it! Look through the coverage and identify what's most important or compelling. Find an interesting perspective. Notice trends.
- The first element of your story can almost always be a video. Why? Because even if you can't find much video analysis, you can usually track down a news report where an anchor or a reporter is providing some details about your story. Since you must set up what your story is about before you can provide perspective on it, it's OK to use video like this for your first element:
“If you think you’re having a bad day, at least you’re not stuck in a sewer drain. Rescue crews had to be called in for this guy after people reported seeing his legs sticking out of a manhole.
“Millions of children around South Africa are singing Happy Birthday to former president Nelson Mandela, who is turning 93 today. More than 12 million students sang a special version of the song written for the anti-apartheid leader before class started.”
- After that first element, you're looking for perspective. Look for an analyst or commentator explaining the impact or cause of an issue. Look for an anchor or reporter sharing compelling data or statistics. Think of it this way: you are looking for HOW and WHY rather than WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE.
- With rare exception, every story you write will have at least one video element, preferably multiple video elements. If you have scoured the web and are coming up empty-handed, talk to a staffer about what to do next.
Find something worth using?
- Use this guide to learn how to capture the video you want to use.
- Always name your video DATESLUG_SOURCE (Ex: 0516Socks_CNN)
- Add your downloaded video to a folder you create on your desktop called, you guessed it: DATESLUG (Ex: 0516Socks)