Newspapers beginning to ‘get’ video

At ONA 2006, WashingtonPost.com’s Chet Rhodes explains how the newspaper is training its reporters how to shoot video. And the training takes just 55 minutes, Rhodes says. Newspapers all across the country are doing the same (or training their still photographers), and in one respect they have an advantage over TV sites: they’re learning how to produce video for the web, not TV. And yes folks, there’s a difference. Jeff Jarvis explains how his City University of New York class enjoys WashingtonPost.com’s video because it’s “still somewhat raw, not overproduced.” This is a key point that alludes most TV people who were raised on concepts like urgency, pacing and “broadcast quality.” I wouldn’t be surprised that newspapers ultimately end up innovating just as many successful, original web video concepts as TV sites. If not more.