Los Angeles Reporter's Clinic

Find good stories!  News directors like to hear stories that are controversial.  Anything that has to do with racism, anti-semitism, abortion, protests, etc.   are good.  They will get the news director's attention.  They certainly get the viewers attention.  You can find sources at NAACP, Jewish Defense League, Anti-Defamation League, Gay Rights advocates.   Try to get these types of stories on your tape.

Make sure your best work appears first.  The story should have live reports (if you have them).  If not, stories with the most exciting and interesting video should be your first story.  News directors are always intrigued by attention grabbing video.

When you send your DVD to the News Director, try to use bright color dvd sleeves.  Make it easy for the nd to find your reel on their cluttered desks.

Tape Tip #1

Make sure your disk/tape is clean and without scratches or broken pieces.  When a news director sees a disk in poor shape, it says a lot about you... mainly, that you don't care.