First Amendment Awards!

I’m SO excited to be attending RTDNA’s First Amendment Awards Dinner once again! 

I’ve had the honor of meeting and interviewing the honorees in past years such as Wolf Blitzer, Brian Williams, Rick Leventhal, Steve Capus, and SO many more. I can’t wait to soak up some of the awesomeness at this year’s event!

At this year’s 22nd annual event, RTDNA will be honoring NBC News President Steve Capus, along with Martha Raddatz of ABC News, Marci Burdick of Schurz Communications andJim Bohannon of Dial Global.

I will be live blogging and tweeting from the event…so if you can’t make it, I’ll make sure you get all the details!

Moreabout the event here. 

Save the Date

I’m super excited the 2012 RTDNA First Amendment Awards Dinner date has been announced! I can’t wait for the big event, which I’ve covered as a correspondent for RTDNA for the past 2 years. Click here to see last year’s coverage.  

The 2012 RTDNA First Amendment Awards will be held on Thursday, March 15th at the Ritz Carlton in DC!

The honorees and presenters have not yet been announced, but I will update you as soon as they are!

Click here for more information.

Get Caught Up.

Did you miss RTDNA’s Excellence in Journalism conference in New Orleans last week? Me too. But don’t worry, you can get the virtual experience and get all caught up on RTDNA.org. 

       

                       

                       

Check out session recaps; including Soledad O’Brien, Facebook for journalists, backpack journalism tips, etc. Feed your brain!

Learn from journalists like Lara Logan via YouTube interviews. 

Highlights like the keynote address from CBS News Chairman and 60 Minutes EP Jeff Fager.

And more top stories from the week-long event.

Excellence in Journalism

The deadline is fast approaching to register for Excellence in Journalism, RTDNA’s conference in New Orleans.

I’ve already wrote about what an awesome experience the RTDNA conference is, now journalists have even more reason to attend: Soledad O’Brien.

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien to Serve as Opening Super Session Speaker at Excellence in Journalism 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – Soledad O’Brien, CNN anchor, special correspondent and author, will serve as the opening Super Session speaker for the Excellence in Journalism 2011 Conference in New Orleans. 

As the host of “In America,” Soledad will sit down with retired ABC News senior Washington correspondent, John Cochran, and discuss and share her first-hand experience on telling stories of underreported communities and the challenges that go along with it.  

“This is going to be an extraordinary way to kick of the Excellence in Journalism Conference,” said RTDNA Chairman Mark Kraham. “I don’t think we could have picked better people in Soledad and John; two of the best minds in the journalism world discussing very real ways to tell critical stories as journalists.”   

O’Brien is a multiple award-winning journalist who has covered major events, from Hurricane Katrina and the South Asian tsunami, to the war in Iraq. In her critically-acclaimed documentaries, “Black in America” and “Latin in America,” she covers topics that affect millions of Americans. 

“Soledad O’Brien represents the sort of role model from whom both students and professionals at EIJ can learn. The breadth of her reporting repetoire is impressive and her message about covering communities long ignored by many reporters resonates as we strive toward partnerships among all journalists and journalism organizations,” said SPJ President Hagit Limor.

The Super Session will be held at 4 p.m., Sunday, September 25, 2011, in the Rhythms Ballroom at the Sheraton New Orleans.  An open question and answer session will follow O’Brien’s presentation. Following the opening Super Session, CNN will host the Excellence in Journalism 2011: Opening Night Reception located in the Lagniappe Room of the Sheraton New Orleans.  All registered conference attendees are welcome to attend.  

About the Excellence in Journalism 2011 Conference

On September 25 – 27, 2011, the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the largest association of electronic journalists, joins forces with the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) creating Excellence in Journalism 2011.  Our national conference in New Orleans will be more than a partnership; it will be a gathering of professional journalists with shared interest.  As a journalist, we want you to be part of it. Click here for more information about the conference.

#Twanchoring

Check out my latest RTDNA blog post on #Twanchoring!

By Nikki Burdine, LEX18

No, it’s not the new #planking, #owling or #horsemanning. This is actually work appropriate. (Although my coworkers and I have been guilty of horsemanning and planking in the newsroom.) I didn’t come up with the concept, but I think the title is new. Kind of like Chick-Fil-A, not inventing the chicken, but the chicken sandwich. But I digress.

Through my years of tweeting, I’ve become increasingly obsessed with the site, originally posting just for fun what my friends and I were doing, but then my use for Twitter evolved into more of a work/networking tool. Now, I  use it to engage viewers.

I’m not the only anchor who does this, or the first one. Check out @TVAmy, @rosemaryCNN, @fredontv,
@tjholmes, just to name a few. The master of live-tweeting is @TVAmy. If you aren’t already following her, get on it. You will learn a lot about how she engages viewers. These anchors all tweet during their shows. In between commercial breaks, sound bites, etc. So I followed suit and began twanchoring. But there are a few challenges and tricks of the trade to successfully twanchor. I’ve had a few other fellow anchors in different markets reach out to me about how to twanchor, so here are my tips.

Obviously, what you do on air is most important, so don’t let twanchoring become a distraction. To juggle both, I find writing teases ahead of time and copying and pasting them into a clipboard for future use works best.

Write a tease for the next package you’ll be showing, for what’s up after the break, what your meteorologist is teasing. All of these tweets can be drafted ahead of time, so when it’s time to tease them, simply copy and paste.

Always start with what viewers can expect to see in the show. I usually post a story on our website, “Coming up on LEX 18 News,” and tweet the link. People love the feeling that they are in on some inside secret, like they have a look into what’s happening before everyone else.

If the story you’re teasing is done by a reporter who is on twitter, include them in the tweet. “@ReporterXYZ will have more after this.”

I also write little mini-versions of the stories and tweet them during the show. For example, you have a VO about a new intersection that will be opening up the next day that will affect a lot of people. Post a little 140 character tweet—an abbreviated version of your VO in Twitter.

I always tweet the forecast as well. Here’s an example:

“Tonight: Isolated showers before11 pm. Mostly cloudy, low around 60. Tomorrow: Partly sunny, high of 78.”

Or something generic: “It’s going to be a great sunny week. Only a slight chance of rain mid week! Even a bit cooler!”

The purpose of twanchoring is to engage the viewer. So the best way to do that is to respond to tweets! And while you don’t have to follow-back, I suggest you do, especially if you want to gain followers who will come back for your twanchoring.

Also make sure you get the word out that you’ll be twanchoring. Post it on your Facebook fan page, work page, and Tweet it! If your station is open to the idea, you can even mention it during the show. I usually write something like this: “Folks! I’ll be live-tweeting during the show…so join me at @nikkiburdine! Look forward to chatting with you!”

Give the viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the show. Twitpic your view from the desk, your teleprompter, something funny the sports guy is doing during the commercial break. Feeling ambitious? Upload a video to TwitVid!

After the show, always post a link to the newscast posted online. “In case you missed us tonight, get caught up here!”

The only downside to #twanchoring: You will tweet a lot. This annoys some tweeters. I try to tweet something like “Your timeline is about to blow up as I live-tweet during the show. Apologies to non-Kentuckians.”

But a nice bonus: You get lots of new tipsters.

Maybe I should copyright #twanchoring?

Nikki Burdine is the weekend anchor and general assignment reporter for LEX 18 News in Lexington, KY. Follow her twanchoring at @NikkiBurdine.

RTDNA Blog: Holding Back Tweets to Be ‘First’ On Air

Check out my most recent RTDNA Blog: Ever Hold Back Tweets to Be ‘First’ On Air? Why timing is everything.

Please feel free to share your comments here or on the RTDNA blog. If I get enough good feedback I’ll write a follow-up post.

By Nikki Burdine, LEX18

Timing is everything.

Journalists are competitive by nature. We want to be the one with the information first, fast and of course accurately. We want to be the best. Ratings are our version of the Olympics, and we love training and competing. But does the competition ever get in the way of our job, which ultimately is to inform the public?

I love social media, and the ability to Tweet or Facebook the breaking news the second I hear about it. It’s a little bit of the, “look what I know!” Reporters know what I mean. We love being first. First on the scene, first on the web, first over the air. But is there ever a time when you shouldn’t let everyone (including your competition) know what you’re doing? Let’s say you get a tip about some breaking news and it’s not the obvious “car crash on Interstate X” that every station will find out about in a matter of minutes.

It’s the breaking news that’s in that obscure county, where most people don’t have contacts and have to rely on tipsters. First thing’s first, you grab your photographer and run out the door. But on your way there, do you Tweet or post on Facebook to your viewers what you’re doing? My first thought is yes, they need to know, especially if it affects them. But when you post it on the web, you also tip off your competition.

Case in point, I follow several other reporters in our market on Twitter and Facebook, and I can remember at least one story we wouldn’t have otherwise known about had I not seen the competitors “status update.” I’ve also been told from competitors that they heard about the breaking news from my tweets. Oops.

Additionally, while anchoring the weekend shows, I am responsible for web content. I post stories to the web, to Facebook and Twitter and stay in house before anchoring. Reporters call the station with their info while they’re out in the field, and often times I’ve held on to content if the competition wasn’t there before posting to the web. If the competition is on the scene and they know about it, sure, we post it right away. Or if it’s extremely important for the public to know, I post it. But there have been several instances when we will hold our information from going online until right before the 6:00 show. So as not to tip off the competition before the evening news.

Is this a bad practice? Is this unethical? If it’s not an immediate need for people to know about, what’s the rush? On the flip side, winning isn’t (so they say) everything. So isn’t our first responsibility to inform the public? What do you think?

Another point to consider is the way local news is evolving. Does posting your story to the web first, in fact, make you “first?” Does that give you the “breaking news” credit? Or does it have to be on the evening news? I think truly it depends on the market. In Lexington ,we cover a lot of different areas of Kentucky. Some of our viewers are always on Facebook and on our website, LEX18.com (this is evident with LEX 18′s more than 69,000 Facebook fans) but lots of our viewers don’t have internet, nor will they ever.

In the NYC’s and the Boston’s and the LA’s, what is the general practice? Do you post information as soon as you get it all the time? Or do you wait as to not tip of your competition in some cases? Is it better to be first or best? Do we have to choose?

It seems to me, the best practice is to post what confirmed information you have online as soon as you get it. Whether it’s on your Facebook page or your website, our number one priority is to get information to the public. We provide a service, and we should let our competitive nature subside as to make sure we are doing our job. I know it’s easier said than done, and hopefully writing this post will be my motivator to inform as opposed to waiting.

My Advice to Aspiring Journos

Aspiring journalists always seek my advice about getting involved. The best answer: Get involved. The best way to do that, is through professional organizations like RTDNA. I have been lucky enough to volunteer and work at the RTDNA convention last year, as well as several other RTDNA events throughout the years. Now RTDNA is seeking other students to volunteer and work at the convention. Guess where it is? NEW ORLEANS!

Last year it was in Las Vegas, which is always a good time! We worked hard and played hard, I met lots of great people and made several valuable connections. If you are interested in being a reporter, attend the convention. But better yet, work the convention. News directors from all over the country are there, as well as other reporters you can make friends with (and learn from!) The seminars are fantastic, the people are great and it really is a good time. Honest.

If you’re interested in working/attending the RTDNA Convention in NOLA, here’s the info.

Volunteer for RTDNA at this year’s Excellence in Journalism Conference in New Orleans!

On September 25 – 27, 2011, the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the largest association of electronic journalists, joins forces with the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) creating Excellence in Journalism 2011.  Our national conference in New Orleans will be more than a partnership; it will be a gathering of professional journalists with shared interest. As a student journalist, we want you to be part of it.

We invite you to volunteer for RTDNA’s editorial or logistics team.

Editorial team members are responsible for covering the conference from start to finish under RTDNA’s direction. Their work appears directly on the RTDNA, visited by thousands of news professionals each week. In the past our editorial volunteers have written stories; live blogged; shot, edited and posted video; taken pictures; ‘Facebooked’ and ‘Tweeted’ live events, live streamed sessions from their phones; conducted interviews; and recorded standups, all in front of influential news directors and news managers waiting to meet them and take resumes.

Our logistics volunteers work closely with RTDNA’s Program Manager in making sure that everything at the conference, from registration to AV setup to sessions, goes off without a hitch. Like the editorial volunteers, logistics volunteers will have time to attend sessions on their own and meet the hundreds of news managers and professionals who will be in attendance.

We are currently seeking six students for the editorial team and five students for the logistics team. Students who submit their applications early and meet the application criteria will be given priority. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. The final deadline for applications is July 31, 2011. Contact RTDNA Digital Media Editor Ryan Murphy at ryanm@rtdna.org with any questions.

Both volunteer positions require a fair time commitment and a responsible attitude. In return for your efforts, RTDNA offers its volunteers a free session-only conference registration. For more information about the conference, click here.

Be part of ‘Excellence!’ Click here to apply!

Congrats…and Some Much-Needed Inspiration

The news business can be draining on your spirit. Stories about fatal car accidents, robberies and shootings fill a reporter’s day. Making it hard to differentiate and find inspiration in a sea of monotony. Anytime I can find inspiration in this business, I soak it up. Thanks to the 2011 Edward R. Murrow winners, I have been restored.

Congrats to the 2011 winners:
•    NBC News (network television)
•    CBS Radio News (network radio)
•    The Associated Press (online news operation, national)
•    Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN (online news operation, local)
•    WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, IN (television, large market)
•    WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, NY (television, small market)
•    WTOP-FM, Washington (radio, large market)
•    WRVA-FM, Richmond, VA (radio, small market)

62 news organizations are being honored with 95 Edward R. Murrow Awards. The awards will be presented at the RTDNA Awards Dinner on October 10, 2011.

To watch the winning pieces, click here.

Simple Steps to Better Tweeting

My RTDNA blog, “How Journalists Can Utilize Twitter Better” was published today. Check it out!

By Nikki Burdine, LEX-18 In my two years of tweeting, I’ve picked up a thing or two. While some stuff still baffles me, I find myself being a resource for twitter-rookies, especially fellow journalists. Here are 12 things I’ve found that have made me a better tweeter. 1. Not many followers A few things might be contributing to your lack of followers. If someone follows you, chances are you have something they find interesting, and you may feel the same way. Check out their Twitter profile, and if it’s not too much trouble, follow back. I almost always follow back, with the exceptions, of course, for spam and people who never tweet. I’ve learned if you follow back, you not only gain a follower, but you gain a resource. For journalists, that’s a valuable tool. As a reporter, you never know where your next story will come from. I can list numerous instances when I’ve gotten a story idea or tip from a Twitter friend. Had I not followed back, they may have eventually unfollowed me. People take that stuff seriously, believe it or not. If someone doesn’t follow back, it can hurt their feelings. Silly, yes, but true. Don’t get me wrong, there are several people I follow that I know will probably never follow me back. @BritneySpears, @BarackObama, @KatieCouric, etc. Maybe this blog will get their attention?? (sigh).  But alas, I won’t unfollow them. However, if I follow someone else that I find interesting and I expect we have something in common, but they don’t follow me back, I will unfollow. It’s Twitter etiquette. I have lots of Twitter followers that are viewers in Kentucky. We may never meet, but they might have a friend who has a sister who knows someone who was just in an armed robbery. Source! Know your resources and use them. It goes back to the old saying, treat everyone with the same amount of respect, whether it’s @KimKardashian or the guy who works at at the corner grocery. You never know! 2. Watch Your Grammar This just may be a personal thing, but if all your tweets consist of double-negatives, profanity or things that just don’t make sense…guess what? Unfollow! As a journalist it’s extremely important your tweets are proper English. If you can’t tweet right, your work is probably just as bad. 3. Too much self-promotion, advertisements. It borders on spam. I am sometimes guilty of it, “Check out my story from today!” But I also try to tweet articles, quotes or just funny things that I find interesting. If my followers are anything like me, they’ll find it interesting, too. But try to keep the pictures of yourself posing in front of a mirror to a minimum. Try not to be impersonal, if your followers feel like you are just using Twitter as another generic soapbox, they’re going to lose interest fast. It’s easy for us as reporters to promote our stories too often, just remember, not everyone cares about that car accident. But on the flip-side, don’t under estimate the power of your tweets. If you are going to breaking news, tweet it! Chances are your followers are in your viewing area and would love to know if that road is closed. So, just try to be balanced about it. 4.  Not enough tweets! Why would someone follow you if you only tweet once a month? You’re not giving me anything. You’re a reporter. You have lots to say, I guarantee it. 5. You’re not getting your name out there! Who is your favorite athlete? @Ochocinco? Follow him on Twitter. Look through some of his followers, or people he follows and connect with them. For example, I follow my favorite journalists, reporters in other cities, public relations professionals, anyone in communications that I could possibly learn something from. Don’t limit yourself, follow away! Also, every now and then filter through your mass list of those you follow, and delete the ones that are less-than-valuable. Another way to get your name out there, share it on your station’s Facebook Fan page and your personal page. I’ve done that a few times and made some new tweeps fast. Some people might not even know your on Twitter! Make them aware. 6. Share the love RT, Thank people, and interact! If you are all about “me,” your followers will start to notice. See a tweet you like? Show some Twitter props with a little RT. One of your followers great about providing feedback, mentions or RTs? Say thanks! A simple “Thank you for the RT!” can go a long way. You could also gain a valuable source for a story. 7.  Don’t over-tweet! I admit it, I can be guilty of it. Usually during the 6 and 11pm shows on Saturday and Sunday nights. (I tweet during the newscasts). A friend of mine showed me her time line, it was just filled with @NikkiBurdine. Duly noted. I try to space my tweets out, because I’ve had to unfollow a couple of tweeps due to 25 tweets at one time. Annoying! 8. Don’t sweat the small stuff. A great life lesson, but also a good twitter lesson. I hate seeing people get in Twitter arguments! It’s so catty. If I start to feel agitated by someone on Twitter, I try (repeat, try!) to step away from the computer and take a break. Twenty minutes later if it’s still bothering me, then I respond. But I try to keep it classy. Name-calling is just so not cool. It’s a turn off to your other tweeps too. Trust me. And as a reporter, getting into a twitter screaming match is not a good look. Your viewers will see you as petty and lose respect. It’s not worth it. 9. Direct Messages. I get it, sometimes you need to send someone a message that should not go over the Twitter-waves. But not everyday. It gets annoying. Don’t DM someone five times a day. That’s just another message we have to respond to. But a note to reporters, don’t dismiss every DM either. You never know. 10. Be professional. I know that cute picture of you and your coworkers shotgunning beers is so adorbs, but does it need to be Twitpic’d to all your followers? Probably not. This is a rule reporters should be aware of, with the enormity of Facebook and the ability to find anything on a person online. On the same note, do share a few personal things about yourself. I’m not saying tweet your address, but something little that people can relate to. After all, one of the purposes of social media is to connect with people who share similar interests. But again, keep it classy. 11. Your Twitter Handle This topic reminds me of my middle school days when email was just booming. I created my first email address, “Tigger-something-@-hotmail-dot-com.” Yes, I loved Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. But when I got to college and was searching the real world for internships and jobs, the Tigger email address just didn’t cut it. Some girls never caught on to this, as I’ve gotten emails from aspiring reporters with addresses like “sexxybaby@-hotmail-dot-com.” Not cool. The same goes with Twitter handles. If your Twitter name is @hotgirl123, your followers will be along those lines as well—meaning 14-year-old-girls. Plus, who will find you on Twitter to follow you? Keep it simple, @YourName. Not available? Add something professional, like “ReporterYourName.” 12. Your Bio It’s been said your Twitter bio is the new “elevator speech.” How true is that? You must describe yourself and all of your glory in 160 compelling characters. And that’s your pitch to get people to follow you. I know, us journos are so much more complex than 160 gives us the opportunity to explain. So, you put a link to your website in the bio for more info. I link my Twitter bio to my personal website, nikkiburdine.com. I know having a personal website is somewhat of a luxury, so don’t feel bad if you don’t have your own dot-com. You should, however, feel bad if your about me section is lacking. There is no excuse. Create your own website via About.me. It’s super easy, clean and informative. Boom, boom, boom. Everything you need to know. Sign up for an About.Me account here. There are a ton of other free websites you can sign up for in addition to About.Me.Check out Flavors.Me, or WordPress. You should have at least one of these.   I can’t tell you how many times someone has followed me, I do the courteous thing and check out their page to see if they’re worth the follow-back, and their profile is hurting. No profile picture, simply the colorful default “egg,” nothing written in the ‘about me section,’ and no location listed. Now you may just be lazy or unaware of how important this is to your Twitter growth, or you may be a Spammer. And I loathe Twitter Spammers. If you don’t put the effort into your bio, why should I trust that you’ll put the effort into your tweets? Sorry, you won’t be getting a follow from me. There you have it. Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to a successful and obsessive-compulsive Twitter life. Enjoy.

RTDNA First Amendment Awards Recap

What a night! It was such an honor to attend and cover this year’s First Amendment Awards at the Ritz Carlton in D.C. We all need a little kick to get inspired after a hard days work, well this was just the trick. Some of the things these journalists said, that I look up to so much, were worth jotting down.

For starters, I had the privilege of simply being in the same room as journalists such as Byron Pitts, Rehema Ellis, Rick Leventhal, Wolf Blitzer, Russ Mitchell, Harvey Nagler, and on and on and on.

The program kicked off with a 9/11 tribute. Journalists were honored for their work on that day. The video montage was truly chilling. And each honoree got to share what they day was like for them. It was crazy to hear their recaps of it, and remember where I was on that day: walking to my freshman biology class in college. I think we’ll all remember where we were that day, but these journalists have an especially memorable experience.

10th Anniversary Tribute to 9/11 Journalists:

-Rick Leventhal, Fox News

-Martha Raddatz, ABC News

-Warren Levinson, AP Radio

-Byron Pitts, CBS News

-Charlie Kaye, CBS Radio

-Jeanne Meserve, CNN

-Rehema Ellis, NBC News

-Melissa Block, NPR

Here are some of my favorite quotes from those honorees:

“On Sep 11th, I was very afraid. But I always also very determined to do my job.” ~Rehema Ellis

“I got my first report on air by using a pay phone on 9/11.” ~ Ellis

“It’s most important that you honor and remember all the people that lost their lives that day.” ~Ellis

“It feels weird to be accepting an award on one of the worst days of my life.” ~Rick Leventhal

“I was doing what reporters do, listening ,taking notes, looking around, i was standing next to 3 NYC police officers. one said look up, and we saw a man and woman standing in an open window. we had hoped they were colleagues helping each other. at that moment, they took hands and jumped.” ~Byron Pitts

“It’s not about celebrity, it’s about the courage to go to dangerous places with eyes wide open to seek the truth,” said Byron Pitts.

“9/11 changed me and I hope it changed you. Its a reminder that what we do matters, the truth matters, and that we have the opportunity everyday to go out and search for that truth.” ~ Pitts

“We really for the first time weren’t just journalists, we were frightened Americans as well.” Martha Raddatz of ABC News.

Rick Leventhal: “To this day I can’t watch the video without getting chills and tearing up.”

Tell me about it. Here’s the 9/11 Tribute video:

Then Wolf Blitzer took the stage to accept RTDNF’s Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award.

What an experience to hear him talk. At one point, Wolf said, “Pre-blackberry days, Wolf found out Saddam had been caught when his beeper went off.” Wow!

“No one appreciates the freedom of the press more than journalists, especially when we fear we may lose that freedom.” ~Wolf

Then a Jeanne Moos package was shown on Wolf, it was hilarious!

Here’s my interview with Wolf Blitzer:

Other journalists that were honored, the beautiful Raycom VP of news, Susana Schuler. She was given the First Amendment Service Award. “It is a powerful time for us to be in this business. We should be enlightened by that, excited and emboldened that we can bring freedom to these democracies,” Schuler said.

The First Amendment Leadership Award was given to David Barrett, the President and CEO of Hearst Television.

Click here to see pictures from the event!

Click here to see my Cover It Live coverage.

Click here to see more interviews from the night.

Here’s last year’s coverage.

Me working at the dinner!