The View From the Back of the Room - II
Tips for Reporters and Others Covering Press Events
From the Audio Guy in the Back
by Gary Palamara
Radio World - June 20, 2007
Tom Cruise & Steven Spielberg on stage at the Press Conference
for the movie "War of the Worlds Press Conference"
Movie promotions, Corporate mergers, product announcements, and
political whistle stops are all examples of planned news events. These press
opportunities are usually well choreographed, with tightly controlled access to
the newsmakers. For the PR staff, the bottom line is to orchestrate everything in such a way as to present the
“product” in as favorable a light as possible.
Providing professional media with amenities such as good lighting, staging and high-quality audio is all part of the sell. But while this level of control may at first appear overwhelming, for reporters who aren’t used to it, the pre-planned news conference usually benefits everyone involved.
Reporters who get invited to media press conferences and radio round tables, get access to newsmakers or product announcements in advance of their deadlines; the PR people get their message out to the public in a more orderly manner. The Audio distribution at such events typically will be offered via a “press bridge” or “press mult box.” Both names mean the same thing and are used interchangeably.
The Mult Box
A press mult box can take many physical forms, but it’s generally a small box with output connectors to which news crews connect their equipment. The sound engineer in charge of the event feeds the mult with clean audio and everyone gets the same high-quality signal. But while individual reporters or news crews most often focus only on their own feeds and setups, the engineer who’s running the equipment is responsible for all of the sound at the event.
In addition to podium and dais microphones and the house sound system, a myriad of equipment often needs to be set up including wireless or shotgun microphones, fold-back monitors so the talent can hear the questions from the audience and playback from video or audio sources. At some events, feeds may be coming in via satellite, microwave or telephone. It’s a lot to juggle for the uninitiated. So, when a reporter has a problem with his or her audio signal, it’s not surprising that at least one finger gets pointed in the direction of the audio technician behind the controls.
How Can Things Go Wrong?
There are as many reasons audio is recorded poorly as there are reporters and audio technicians. But let’s make at least two big assumptions. One, is that the audio leaving the press mult is clean and undistorted. The other is that the audio equipment used by the reporter is working according to its factory specifications. So, how can things get fouled up?
Mismatched audio levels between the output of the press mult and the input of the recorder; incorrectly wired or broken cables; problems with ground loops, hum or buzz; and even situations out of anyone’s control can intrude on real-world events. But although the engineer in charge sometimes is blamed for providing bad audio, more often than not, he can be your savior if you are the reporter in trouble.
A Helping Hand
Most audio people I know (certainly those I hire) are more than happy to assist reporters who have problems with feeds we provide at press conferences. After all, if reporters walk away happy, the client is happy. If the client is happy, then we will be hired again and that makes us happy. By making sure that reporters gets good audio, the client gets the word out and the audio engineer gets a reputation for providing a high-quality product.
No professional technician, wants to be driving home from a news conference and hear hum or distorted audio coming from the car radio speaker when an “actuality” is broadcast over the air. But while most audio engineers are more than willing to help out a reporter in need, in fairness reporters have to meet us halfway.
Know Your Gear
Things change quickly and keeping up with what’s new is an ongoing process for reporters and engineers alike. In today’s world any machine that can record an audio signal will find its way into a press event. DAT machines, Mini-Disc recorders, micro and standard audio cassettes, Flash card recorders, MP-3 machines, laptop computers and even Apple iPods are routinely used to collect field audio.
It would not be astonishing to find that every reporter at a press conference or radio roundtable was using a different brand, model or audio format to capture their sound. While some machines are pretty straightforward, some are not. Some are so small and packed with menus and features that even the most experience technician would have to refer to the owner’s manual just to turn the machine on.
Reporters Don McLaughlin & Audrey Bernard Interviewing
Morgan Freeman about his role in the film "Million Dollar Baby"
So, the best advice I could give, was to become familiar with your own equipment
before going out into the heat of battle. If you get a new piece of audio
gear, do a few practice recordings before you have to use it in the line
of fire. Try out the actual cables, microphones and other equipment and check for hum or noise in a
relaxed setting. Bring a pair of headphones to monitor your feed
during the event and if need be, bring the owner’s manual with you for reference.
Come Early
Another good way to improve your odds of getting high quality audio in the field is to arrive early.
Ours is a small world and even in a big city like New York, after only a short time in the business, you start running into the same reporters on nearly every job. One of the things I’ve noticed is that the same faces always show up early at press events; sadly too, other faces consistently show up late. Like it or not, some people always seem to arrive just before or sometimes even after the event has started.
By being an early bird, you can set up and test your gear without any of the last-minute chaos that often surrounds media events. If the sound technician doesn’t offer to help test your feed prior to starting, ask for a formal test using the actual microphones set up at the podium or dais. If you have a problem, you will probably get a more favorable response by asking for help early. Once the press conference has begun, the technician may not be able to leave his or her setup to help you with a problem.
As a professional audio engineer it has been my goal to make sure that every reporter comes away from one of my press events with the best possible sound quality. Working together will make both of us sound good.
About The Author - From 1968-’72, Gary Palamara worked with the Armed Forces Radio & Television Service while serving with the United States Air Force. For the past 30 years, he has been a freelance broadcast engineer and owner of Morningstar Sound. Reach him via his website.
© 2007