I picked “Aim For The Heart” by Al Tompkins off my bookshelf out of sheer desperation for something to read after finishing “Gone Girl”. I used to live with a fellow coworker, who was a TV news reporter. When he decided to move back across the country to Iowa, he only took what fit inside his car. He left behind a handful of books written for reporters, like this one.
The title struck me though, and the tagline “A Guide for TV Producers and Reporters” made me think I could find something useful inside. After reading it, one chapter at a time over two weeks, I’ve come away with a greater appreciation for reporters and a deeper understanding of how newsrooms operate. Tompkins is a former reporter and news director with 24 years of experience. He now works for Poynter Institute.
Right out of the gate he asks the reader to ask why they chose journalism for a career. “If we can’t explain why we do journalism, than how can we hope to do it well?” Some of the answers given by journalists in Tompkins workshops were:
- To hold the powerful accountable.
- To give voice to the voiceless.
- To warn people of dangers.
- To seek the truth.
Then he moves on to tackle some of the basics most people learned in college, for example: “write to video” and “use active verbs, avoid the passive voice.”
All things we’re taught in school, but it never hurts to have a refresher. The best chapter of the entire book is the last one. Tompkins talks about balancing the stress of working in news with your relationships with a partner or family. In this business, to survive, you have to be able to be there for breaking news or big coverage. The pressure to work long and strange hours in news means the time spent with loved ones is that much more valuable. Be with them when you can.
He also touches on what makes someone successful in a hectic newsroom. That’s being able to stay positive, and help others achieve success by coaching, not fixing. I admit, I’m guilty of this. When the clock is ticking, I don’t have time to explain or wait for someone to get to the correct conclusion on the newest part of a story or the best lead. I often revert to the “If you want it done right, do it yourself” mantra. Tompkins argues by coaching those around you to be better producers, you create a stronger team and coworkers will in turn respect you for it. Coaches teach, Fixers just solve the immediate problem without explaining. Coaches ask, “How do we know this?” to bring the person they are coaching to solve the problem on their own, rather than declaring it wrong and changing it.
As a producer on her third year of working the morning show shift and going into work as most people are going to sleep, this book has helped reinvigorate me with a sense of journalistic duty and excitement about my work. It’s also good to know that the stresses I endure daily are shared by news producers all across the country.
One quote I really enjoyed (so much so I tweeted it):
“The Constitution of the United States only mentions one profession, journalism, for specific protection.”
There is a ton of great advice and lessons I’ve left out of this review, because, well that would be plagiarism. To pick up a copy for yourself, go here.