COMMENTS ABOUT DEBORAH POTTER AND NEWSLAB

Thank you again for the leadership session you provided at our corporate meeting in Colorado Springs. You should know that the feedback from the participants has been excellent. I’m sure some of them are already busy putting newly acquired skills to use.
--Mike Stutz, Director of Digital News, News Press & Gazette Broadcasting

The comments about your morning panel and afternoon session on disaster preparedness were excellent--much appreciated by the news broadcasters who attended.
--Harriet Lange, president, Kansas Association of Broadcasters

What a pleasure it was to have you lead our Reporters Workshop. The reporters' response has been overwhelmingly positive.
--Lori Waldon, managing editor, KPIX-TV, San Francisco

I want to tell you how much my people enjoyed and valued your presentations! As you know, news people don’t usually “gush” over anything, but they were raving about what they learned from you.
--Rich Pegram, general manager, WTHR-TV, Indianapolis

Just a quick note to thank you and your staff for the article on Choosing Sound in the Fall Newsletter. I've made copies for the rest of the faculty, and I'm awaiting the pdf version online so I can email it my students.
--Tim Brown, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

I really found the talk about the beat reporting useful as well as the talk we had about the tips to get reporters to dig for new angles to stories.
--Rod Boyken, producer/director, WEIU-TV, Charleston, IL

I check your website daily for anything new; I really learned a lot from the sections on enterprise reporting.
--Nicole Linsalata, anchor, WZVN-TV, Ft. Myers

The ideas presented in this news workshop give me hope for my own newsroom that we can do political stories that will matter. The story ideas were terrific in that they were interesting and compelling ways to tell what can be a boring subject-politics.
--Catherine Curtain, news assignment manager, KOKI-TV, Tulsa, OK (participant in "Equipping the Desk for 2002" workshop)

Whenever I am in need of a fresh idea or a new look at an old idea, I always find something that helps me when I check in with your site.
--Stephen Chavarie, news director, Central Florida News 13, Orlando, FL

I just wanted to say how great news lab is. I am a young reporter (25) at WCNC in Charlotte, just received your book before and after and tonight had five people from work over to watch tape and play with the workbook. The planned hour session turned into nearly three hours of great discussions and only ended now because the Olympics started. Funny, but true. Anyways Thank You, I learned a lot and so did the other folks who came over.
--Rich Matthews, reporter, WCNC, Charlotte, NC

As a journalist and journalism educator, I find the information published at your site extremely useful. Having attended the NPPA TV News Video Workshop some years ago, I am able to appreciate the fact that the suggestions and tips you give for better storytelling really do work.
--Wolfgang Achtner, professor, University of Siena, Italy

[The NewsLab workshop was] great-an eye opener for our veterans and our newer staffers, print and broadcast alike...it was a useful reminder of what's possible if one is willing to stretch one's mind.
--George Rodrigue, Washington bureau chief, Belo

Informative Site -- Valuable to any working or future journalist.
--Chris Henao, photojournalist, KHOU-TV, Houston, TX

It's great to have an organization fighting for quality in TV news. It gives those of us in the trenches some real hope.
--Eric Melcher, assignment manager, WDJT-TV, Milwaukee, WI

It was truly enlightening to discuss the various principles and practices of enterprise journalism. The session ("Encouraging Enterprise") served as a great platform for newsrooms to learn from and build upon… Your efforts to enhance and promote quality journalism do not go unnoticed.
--John Cardenas, news director, WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH

"I'm back at work today (after a NewsLab workshop) with renewed energy and a few new ideas to boot. The NewsLab website will be one of my daily stops in my search for information (and neat tools like the calculators…)"
--Scott McCrary, producer, WLTX-TV, Columbia, SC

"I copy every edition of your newsletter to the entire staff. Unlike other newsletters and mags where I may find one of two useful items, the whole NewsLab Report fits what we are trying to do each day."
--Andy Still, news director, WYFF-TV, Greenville, SC

"Just wanted to send a short note to thank you for having this web site and making your research available. I find it very valuable. Some of it I have used with my staff and some of it I have used in a class I teach at Bowling Green State University. Keep up the good work...and thanks for being there for us."
--C.J. Beutien, news director, WTOL-TV, Toledo, OH

"NewsLab understood our goals and our principles and gave us the tools to get the job done. We left [Lab Days, August 2000] invigorated, well armed, and convinced that it was still possible to do great things in television news."
--Jim Gaughran and Mia Zuckerkandel, KRON-TV, San Francisco

"It was such a luxury to contemplate stories and debate the best way to tell them…NewsLab's commitment to developing good local news reassures me that is IS possible to develop good local news."
--Emily Schmidt, WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (Lab Days, June 2000)

"[NewsLab is] awesome. It elevates us all to a higher, more engaged level."
--Shari Ast, KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ

"I like the idea [of news as conversation]. It's innovative and it flows really well. But the best thing is that it's true public opinion."
--Tumeshia Hassel, WNCF-TV, Montgomery, AL

"WHAT IT TAKES is a tremendous tool to illustrate what local television could be if we keep our standards high."
--Cheryl Munn, adjunct instructor, Milligan College, Milligan, TN

"Many myths were exploded (in the NewsLab session on "How Viewers View the News"). I will use this as ammunition to affect change in the way our newsroom thinks!"
--Toni Morrisey, WISC-TV, Madison, WI

"Keep up the good work! I find your research to be fascinating and some of the findings generating ideas that are very good. I am a big believer in sampling and research and find your articles are sound and informative."
--Downing Bolls, Abilene, TX

"I wanted to say thanks for conducting this survey (Bringing Viewers Back)! It's definitely food for thought."
--Angela Kane, producer, KARE-TV, Minneapolis, MN

"I found your presentation to be thoughtful, informative, and peppered with the type of examples which are all too often missing from past news seminars I have attended."
--Karl Peterjohn, KTQW-TV53, Wichita, KS

"Your tips are wonderful ...and at least a dozen times I have said, "There are better ways to cover meetings, than actually being at the meeting the whole time." You would be proud."
--Shannon Hori, reporter, WESH-TV, Orlando, FL

"(WHAT IT TAKES) is FABULOUS. Thank you for making and distributing it. These are phenomenal news-you-can-use stories that inspire reporters to higher standards in everything from tight writing to creative pre-pro to sound news judgment. The book universalized these stories by giving us sound principles to apply to any story."
--Tina Tennet, reporter, WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA

"It's great to show students examples of reporting that reflects not only skill, but critical thinking and sensitivity. The background pertaining to each story is helpful to me and it helps the students understand each story in its own particular context."
--Dwight Brady, assistant professor, Northern Michigan University

"I watched the video and read the book (What it Takes: Cultivating Quality in Local TV News) over the weekend...great stuff! I will use this in my advanced news class. Often I show a package in class and we critique it. The booklet enables students to read about the story before they see the package. They learn about the story, the approach the reporter took with it and this enables them to view the package in a different way."
--Terry Likes, Western Kentucky University

"This workshop was really too short for me. I've learned reporting tips that I feel I should have been doing years ago. I can't wait to start now."
--Monica Gayles, reporter, WMDN-TV, Meridian, MS

"I feel like I get boring stories five days a week. Often a bad attitude arises from this. Listening to today's session made me realize I had control over whether or not it's a boring story...I wish my whole newsroom could have been here."
--Lea Doolittle, reporter, WTOK-TV, Meridian, MS

"I strongly believe the work NewsLab is doing is so beneficial. It really opens your eyes to new ideas and different story angles. It really does make you think!"
--Chris Lambert, associate producer, News8 Austin

"The impact of your visit is already being felt in my newsroom. Your insight and knowledge were of tremendous value for the reporters who attended your seminar."
--Paul Donohue, news director, WETM-TV, Elmira, NY

"I found both days to restore my faith in broadcast journalism and its ability to inform and educate the public. I also never thought it would be possible to spend two days discussing how to cover one topic, but the resulting conversations will hopefully make a monumental difference in our coverage of this topic."
--Carol Horton, producer, Local News on Cable, Norfolk, VA (Lab Days, September 1999)

"My news team will love the ideas I learned here. This helped me start thinking outside of my box."
--Matt Cummings, producer/reporter, WXXI-TV, Rochester, NY

"There seems to me to be a huge need for time to step away from the daily newsgathering grind to gain perspective and feedback. NewsLab provides the opportunity and thought-provoking input so one can return home with a fresh attitude and ideas."
--Michael Kelly, executive producer, KTVU-TV, Oakland, CA (Lab Days, June 1999)

"NewsLab provided us with a wealth of ideas on how to streamline our newsgathering process, while also creating better storytelling. It was like having a team of professional consultants, consultants with the mission of finding ways of making your story better, and easier, to tell."
--Chris Haubert, executive producer, KSBW-TV, Salinas, CA (Lab Days, April 1999)

"It's a wonderful opportunity to re-hone skills sometimes lost or blurred by deadlines. NewsLab also helps put you back in the driver's seat of journalism by giving you a chance to focus on an issue that truly makes a difference in your community. NewsLab and Deborah Potter help jump start the creative storytelling process, but also offer a continuing resource of feedback and information that keeps journalism fresh, reporters interested, stories useful and viewers educated."
--Jackie Barron, reporter, WFLA-TV, Tampa (Lab Days, March 1999)

"It’s a constant struggle to find creative ways to present news coverage of politics and policy issues. Deborah Potter’s workshop offered some good ideas. It was interesting and entertaining. Most of all, it helped stimulate continuing discussion in the newsroom."
--Dan Rosenheim, news director, KRON-TV, San Francisco

"Your examples of how reporters turned around a boring story into something easily understood and entertaining made quite a difference for me in how I will approach stories from now on."
--Joe Camoriano, producer, Kansas State University News

"It was such a delight having you in our newsroom last month. The troops said they learned quite a bit from your seminar and have been preaching the gospel to their coworkers."
--Allison Gibson, assistant news director, News 12 New Jersey

"The suggestions…gave me more weapons to use in my tool bag of ordinary daily reporting. The newsroom (when asked directly) loves these fresh approaches."
--Stephen Stock, reporter, WESH-TV, Orlando, Florida

"It’s stupid, but when it comes to non-visual stories, the thought often is not, "How do I use pictures to tell the story," but "how do I cover the black holes in this thing?" I’m thinking more creatively beforehand on ways to visualize what I’m talking about."
--Jim Mayer, reporter, WAVE-TV, Louisville, Kentucky

"Deborah Potter has the right idea at the right time. The talent and the technology are there for substantive coverage of local news. But news directors have to be convinced that such stories are ‘good television.’ Deborah and the NewsLab can perform a major service to the industry and the country by pointing the way toward a new standard in local television news."
--Steve Bell, former ABC News correspondent and professor, Ball State University

"Your suggestions have changed the way I think about my reporting."
--Linda Bowman, reporter, KWWL-TV, Waterloo, Iowa