Text vs. Video - Jennifer Elston

 To answer the question of the differences between video and text journalism I went to my favorite source for the news - BBC. The top story of the day was of course a young gunman who took the lives of seventeen in Germany.  Most of the stories on this topic were put together quickly with choppy, short videos - many taken from regular citizens who were witness to the atrocity.  A lot of the videos were a desk reporter talking to a field reporter and not a video package, so I kept looking.  The next interesting story that I came across was from Geneva.  A famous prostitute there has been moved to a famous cemetery reserved for Geneva's most magnificent contributors to society (the famous psychologist Piaget).   There is a huge controversy surrounding her placement here.  Especially, since she has been in another cemetery for about four-five years now.  

The story may be improved with a little more background information on the famous prostitute.  I am not familiar with Geneva's popular figures, so I did not recognize the name or know anything about her rise to fame. I would like more information on who moved her, who is opposed to moving her, as well as the names of other famous people buried in the cemetery.  It was difficult to remember the names of the people and graveyard mentioned in a video when they only mention them once or twice, as opposed to a print story where you can go back and double check names and facts. With video, you only get one shot. 

This story is different from a "text only" story because we, as viewers, are able to view her old videos, an interview she gave a while back, as well as an interview with her son.  Through video, the whole scene is communicated in only 1:32.  In this short period of time we see the famous cemetery, other citizens who were buried there, people who came to mourn her and celebrate her move to this new cemetery.  So much more can be communicated in a video than in print.  Do not get me wrong, print definitely still has its place.  When reading about the German gunman, I wanted more details about him and the situation which can better be presented in print (unless you are watching a long show on the topic - i.e. Nancy Grace - ew.