The Standup Syndrome

Courtney Tate

Professor Thomas

Public Affairs Reporting

21 March 2016

“The Standup Syndrome”

Standups during a reporter package is necessary for the audience to gain familiarity with the reporter. Standups also allow the reporter to serve as a more credible source when attempting to tell a story. However, as discussed in the article “The Standup Syndrome”, a standup can pose as a liability to the story if the infractions of no attribution and getting it backwards are committed. No attribution is committed when a reporter uses her standup time to insert her personal opinion. Credibility is shot when a reporter adds her opinion during her standup which also leads the viewer to pondering what elements about the story are reliable and which are not. When a reporter has committed the infraction of getting it backwards she has ultimately written her standup prior to scripting the rest of the package. When the standup comes before the rest of the elements of the story, the reporter ultimately risks the chance of the story shifting. Reporters often perform their standup in the field prior to finishing the package; however, with shifts in events, the meaning of the standup could create an obscure meaning for the rest of the story.

The infraction that would be have the worst impact on the story is no attribution. As a reporter, our word is what people depend on. It is our job to ensure that we are providing the audience with nothing short of facts. Once we insert our opinion we have lost our credibility. Also, we have to ensure that we word our standups right so that people perceive the correct intentions of the message. We may have the right intentions for the message we are trying to get across to the audience, but if we do not word it in a clear and concise manner the audience may not receive the same message.

Therefore, the standup serves as a liability for the credibility of the entire story.

This reporter’s standup draws my attention because of the emotion she puts in her statements. She makes the shot entertaining as well as helpful. Although her standup was shot at a different location, her background at USC still shows the crux of her story which is women can take up shooting right on campus. The placement of her standup was also critical. She places it after the introduction of women’s interest in shooting who just so happen to be from USC, and then she uses her standup to introduce the group that USC has instilled on campus for a safe gun range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkbPysvD6YE

This reporter’s standup draws my attention because of her background. Her package is about BMX, so she uses the BMX racers in her background to connect her standup. I also appreciated the fact that she credits her sources by saying “fans say” so that her opinion is not shown in her statement. Also, after she credits BMX fans, she interviews them to further show credibility for her statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzuYu8HgsKA

This reporter’s standup draws my attention because she is not standing still while speaking to the camera. She chooses to walk towards the camera which adds a more realistic effect to the standup. She also uses the drug store as her background which gives also gives the audience a more realistic effect.