I stream, Ustream, We all (should) stream
A college buddy of mine is streaming his destination wedding in Puerto Rico today, for folks who could not attend. How cool is that? You may have seen this cat before. His name is Ayo Scott, and he’s the son of the famous McArthur artist “genius,” John T. Scott. The elder Scott taught at my beloved alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana, for 40 years before his passing in 2007. Ayo was my classmate there. Anybody who knows Ayo knows that he is an outside-the-box guy, whose art echoes his Dad’s love for New Orleans and experimental media. Ayo was just featured in Black Enterprise for his rapidly growing line of T-shirts that commemorate the spirit of The Big Easy.
As for an artist’s spirit, I believe, by nature, it is part voyeur and part exhibitionist. I think one has to have a keen interest in one’s surroundings to capture it fully in any given medium. An artist also must be willing to give away part of his or her soul in order to share the work with the greater public. After all, to create art is to give people a peek into one’s psyche and belief systems.
For these reasons, Ayo’s choice to livestream his wedding should come as no surprise. It is an expression of his desire to share a work of art: his matrimony. As journalists, I think we should begin to think of ways we can be more candid in the making of our masterpieces. Before, I sign off, here is a list of the top 5 things I think my fellow journos should “stream.”
Morning meetings
I started out at a newspaper in Upstate New York, many moons ago. What I enjoyed most was the morning meeting, where editors and reporters discussed, bantered and often argued about what made the paper. In an age where the general public assume we scramble to put only the most sensational stories on the cover or above the fold, we should start thinking of giving them an inside peek into our arduous decision-making process. If we demystify it a bit, we can restore credibility and authority in many markets.
Press conferences
If news breaks, people should not have to wait until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. to find out what is going on. One journo with one cell phone should do the trick. Platforms like Qik or Ustream have mobile apps that should make it easy for us to gather solid soundbites. Once we return to the newsroom, we can pull from the livestream coverage to provide deeper context for readers.
Headline interviews
If your newsoom has an interview with a politician or celebrity, why not livestream all or some of the session? If newsrooms make this a standing online feature, as in new streams every Tuesday morning or so, readers might make this appointment online TV viewing. Create a YouTube or Blip TV channel for broadcast and you’re sure to cull some clicks.
Journalist roundtables
It is obvious. Journalists tell great stories. Generally though, they tell other people’s stories. Why not create a revolving livestream session where staff journalists share their recent exploits? This could be really good exposure for younger journos or reporters in smaller markets, who probably will not get that Keith Olbermann interview for quite some time.
The design session
Some of my most rewarding work has been in magazines. Assembling a “book” is like a work of art. Designers and writers meet and decide how typography, photos and white space interact on a page to produce a visually appealing display. As flowery as this might sound, there is often a clash of the titans when art meets editorial! Let the world in on this discussion. You might think that viewers do not care whether the logo on the cover is fuschia or turquoise this month, but readers might. Plus, it’s cool for readers to see what shots from the photo shoot did not make the cut. Better yet, go full-on Ayo: livestream the whole photo shoot!