In covering any kind of calamity, remember the story is only as good as its human equation.

The burning down of an empty house may be good footage. But a similar blaze in which a family is forced to flee with only a handful of possessions is a human story.

On all stories, shoot the people first and fullest. The wrecked train, burning house or whatever will still be around, minutes after the human factor is beyond camera range.

The news cameraman-director-editor-script team should also digest one more reminder:

People are most interested in other people.

The human denominator is the best known and often least-used device to which to explain a community problem.

Imagine a water main rupture. An entire sections of the city is without water service.

How does a family adjust to living without water? Where do they get this commodity which we take for granted?

These are the human aspects to the story. These are the angles that will sink in and make an impression on the viewers – not the reams of statistics as furnished by the Water Board.

In brief: News is People.”

So You’re Going to Shoot News Film
Leo G. Willette
WWL-TV
1960

Now where have I’ve heard this sort of talk before…oh yea – the denizens inhabiting that group on Facebook.