Michael Rosenblum is a former New York Times executive who now runs a consultancy practice that provides video journalism training all over the world. Rosenblum believes that newspapers are perfectly positioned to make online video work to their advantage since TV thus far has kept its focus on its own programming, leaving the Internet for “leftover material.”

Rosenblum said that since print reporters are used to working alone and thinking on their feet, they have a further advantage over TV reporters in web video production, as TV reporters usually work with large crews involving much setup.

He offered some advice on how newspapers can best harness these advantages.

-Avoid “televisionization”- Don’t attempt to imitate broadcast news, but instead to integrate multimedia content to produce a new kind of storytelling.

-Build more interactive Flash elements and on-screen players directly into webpages to avoid pop-ups and keep video user-friendly.

- When producing video packages, move towards shooting on high-definition video, as some US papers have, from which one can directly take still images that are clear enough to use in print. The fewer devices necessary, the easier it will be for photographers to move into video production.

- Instead of hiring new online staff, let print reporters be the videographers. "For print reporters, get aggressive. Learn the technology. Become literate in video," said Rosenblum. “This is not about becoming filmmakers…This is about blending video into your reporting.”

-Give reporters video cameras to treat as “digital notebooks”, recording interviews and the news-collecting process as they go. “Those impressions and interviews can then be woven into a text, audio and graphical presentation online,” said Rosenblum. “It's a very rich new world."

Source: Media Guardian