I love this excerpt from American journalist and NBC anchorman Lester Holt's foreword to the fantastic book, "Power Performance: Multimedia Storytelling for Journalism and Public Relations". He emphasises the timeless importance of storytelling and the ever-changing roles technology and social media have in the development of the journalistic practice.
'Technology enhances storytelling. With tweeting and blogging we can be a bit more informal. There’s something about the TV camera that implies more formality. We choose our words more carefully because it’s a big stage. But then we get on our BlackBerries or iPhones and start tweeting and it becomes a more personal reflection on the story, what it smells like, what it feels like. It can give people the background and the texture for the entire story.
Shrinking resources are the new model. We see people having to do more than they used to, because there are fewer people in the newsroom. I really love what I do. I love telling stories. The thrill has never worn off for me. I work with a small group of tight-knit people. As we draw down in terms of resources we become more focused and rise to the challenge of getting the broadcast on the air. In a war zone or a disaster zone like Haiti, you have to become creative. I’ve used Twitter, cell phone video and Skype. I probably wouldn’t think of those things when doing a story in Manhattan. But when you’re in a difficult place, you start thinking out of the box and realizing you have a lot of tools in the box. You eventually find the right digital outlet. We have a lot more ways to get the story out, even if it’s just a tweet.'
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