As we get closer to the May 1-2 Digital Revenue Summit in Chicago, we’ll profile some of the winners from our Digital Innovation Awards contest. Some of the winners from that contest will present at the conference.
Today, we’ll feature Jon Forsythe, Director, Editorial Video (McClatchy). The Miami Herald, a McClatchy newspaper, won best use of video.
Name: Jon Forsythe
Title: Director, Editorial Video (McClatchy)
Tell us a little about your video strategy?
From a national perspective, the McClatchy Video Lab focuses on three key areas – support, training and original production for our newsrooms. Locally, our newsrooms focus on approaching each story with the audience in mind and considering the best medium from which to tell the story. The entire newsroom is responsible for contributing to the video efforts, from reporters to photographers to digital editors. Video approaches are considered from the outset from everything from big investigative projects all the way down to timely breaking news coverage.
What do you think is making it so successful?
Simple – prioritization, persistence and experimentation. Having dedicated video staff in the newsroom who are aggressively producing, sourcing and ensuring that the right videos are associated in the right places (stories, social platforms, newsletters, etc.) ensure that our visuals are reaching just about anybody who is consuming our journalism. It’s a true team effort.
Any videos you are particularly proud of?
We are particularly proud of the Miami Herald staff’s extensive breaking news coverage of Hurricane Irma and the investigative series ‘Fight Club’, which exposed the brutal conditions at some juvenile facilities and led to statewide reform of Florida’s Dept. of Juvenile Justice.