Watching
Convergence Unfold
A student learns the power of multiple mediums
By Joseph Van Harken
Police hurriedly unraveled their tape at the shooting scene,
as stunned witnesses walked in and out of revolving doors, tears
dripping from their eyes.
Radio
reporters called in frequent short dispatches, listing the facts
as they unfolded. Camera crews captured images and emotion on
video. Photographers shot the stoic stance of S.W.A.T. team cops
decked out in helmets and shields. Print reporters scribbled in
their notebooks, making sure to get phone numbers so they could
verify quotes later that day.
I was a student reporter arriving at a Times Square office
building shooting, following a seasoned New York Times cops
reporter, Al Baker.
Baker told me to keep my eyes open. To look for people who
seemed like they didn’t realize what was going on around them.
Those would be the people who knew something, he said.
I let myself get caught in a whirlwind of information,
rumors, and secrets tossed between pedestrians and reporters. An
“I heard this” or “This lady saw that” was like gold in this
marketplace and as a student in New York, in Times Square, I was
learning how to trade from the best.
Here I was, in the middle of this breaking news scene,
watching news media converge in the field, but I couldn’t help
to wonder how my friends were getting their information.
I thought of one friend who is a UPS truck driver. I later
learned he was stuck in traffic and turned on 1010-WINS. He said
he heard Al Jones reporting, “We’re here in Times Square where
moments ago three people were gunned down in mid-town insurance
office. Police have shut down Broadway between 40th and 41st
while they investigate, we’ll keep you up-to-date as details
unfold. Back to you…” Another friend, who recently had a baby,
told me she was holed up at home with the TV on during morning
chores. She said she welcomed the voyeuristic view of drama just
blocks away and that she recognized the scene as a block she
walked by the other day. She felt a sense of shock when an
electrician was interviewed and described the gunshots as
sounding “like thunder.”
Finally, another friend who works in an office that has no TV
or radio told me how he found out.
“I’m signed up for breaking news email alerts from like three
places,” he said. After he got the email, he clicked on the link
for the full story where he found a text summary of the facts,
he said, along with pictures of the S.W.A.T. team.
His Web story excited me the most. I used to work as a Web
news consultant and I could picture what a good story would
have. Beyond the text and pictures it would include a short
video clip of the electrician. It would include a list of links
to related articles from the past, statistical information, and
resources for reporting office violence. And to close the loop,
it would have a message board so community members could post
their own thoughts regarding the incident.
That day was a rush. I reported from the scene all day and
filed a 600-word story by 8 p.m. that night. I gained much
hands-on experience in terms of “working a crime scene,” as they
say. But when I headed home, after I spoke with my friends, I
analyzed my thoughts and observations.
News radio tells the facts quickly, I concluded. Television
adds visual and color. The Web reaches people hidden from
traditional media, introduces the written word, shows images and
mixes in an element of interaction.
Interesting, I thought, there are so many ways to tell the
same story and each way has its own purpose.
But I have to admit, though some argue it’s antiquated, the
best and most developed story I consumed was on my doorstep the
next morning. It graced the front page of The New York Time’s
Metro section and had Mr. Baker’s name on it.
The only thing is, I had already read Mr. Baker’s full story
at midnight the night before, on nytimes.com.
