Broadcast versus Print

Broadcast and print have many different needs and serve different purposes. In my story, there were big differences between the print and broadcast coverage. In the print coverage, the reporter detailed told a much clearer story with the names and actions of the people throughout. The TV coverage just skimmed the surface by using the 5 w’s and the conclusion if the incident. The writer for print was able to separate the major ideas into sections of the article, while the TV reporter gave the important facts. The print reporter made sure to connect actions to people or organizations (William Jenkins, Advanced Helicopter, or NTSB). The TV reporter gave the names of the victims and referenced the NTSB investigation, but did not go beyond that. The one place where TV beat print was the visualization. The TV report had pictures and audio of the incident, and the print had a satellite image. I tend to think the TV report sucked for not fully covering the story. Though the print reporter did cheat by including air traffic control audio and a video, but I do not consider that truly a part of the "print" piece, because that cannot be included in a hard copy newspaper, it is brought to us from the innovations the web has brought to print news.

I personally have experience working in broadcast news and have found that it is difficult to convey the exact message one seeks. In print, the words stand for themselves. Some may question whether the writer has a hidden meaning in the text, but for the most part, there is not much to dissect. In broadcast, it is not as much about what you say as how you say it. There may be good information in the story, but if the broadcaster has bad inflections in sentences or speaks in a way that nobody understands, the message will not come across as well. Most people reading printed material will re-read a portion they didn’t fully understand, but will not rewind the broadcast to rewatch a portion they don’t understand. In this way, printed stories can go into more detail than broadcast packages.