Aim for the heart : write, shoot, report and produce for tv and multimedia / Al Tompkins.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Aim for the heart -- The shape of the story -- Find memorable characters -- Write inviting leads -- Verbs and adjectives -- The art of the interview -- Why pictures are so powerful -- The vital role of lighting -- Video and visual techniques -- Caution this may get graphic : thinking visually -- The sound of the story -- Working as a backpack, vj and one-man-band journalist -- Tell the story online -- Ethics and broadcast journalists : seek truth and report as fully as possible -- Ethics and broadcast journalists : act independently -- Ethics and broadcast journalists : minimize harm -- Let's get critical -- The power of enterprise reporting -- Surviving and thriving in today's tv newsroom

'An indispensable guide to our craft -- from an indispensable guy in our craft' - Brian Williams, Anchor and Managing Editor, NBC News Al Tompkins reminds students about a disarmingly simple truth about broadcast journalism: people remember what they feel. If you aim for the heart with the copy you write and the sound and video you capture, you will never fail to grab your viewers and compel them to keep watching. With humor, honesty and directness, Tompkins bottles his years of experience and insight in a new second edition that offers students the fundamentals they need to master, with the practical know-how they can immediately put to use. Aim for the Heart is as close as you can get to having Tompkins's training sessions at the ready, from which students: / learn to listen when interviewing; / write an inviting lead; / get a memorable soundbite; / see how to light, crop, frame and edit compelling video; / learn the art of being a one man band, and / translate their broadcast story into an interactive online story.