When I was in college in the early 2000s, my journalism professors at both the University of Missouri and the University of Alabama encouraged students to get involved in all aspects of the programs and spend some time learning all of the available platforms. In other words, if you were a journalism major with a focus on print, as I was, you were encouraged to also spend some time working with one of the campus radio stations and the TV station.

Now, as we all know, 18-year-old kids already have the world figured out, so I did not take the professors’ advice all that seriously. In a shocking turn of events, it appears that those qualified teachers were on to something. Fast forward to 2024 and the world is a much different place. Today’s media landscape is one that utilizes print, audio and video interchangeably and, at The Vicksburg Post office, we’ve been kicking around ideas to put the latter two into a more frequent rotation in our coverage of the community. The question is exactly what that will look and sound like.

Thanks to an uncle that was involved in the radio business when I was younger, I grew up knowing a bit about how that world works and I’m pretty comfortable behind the mic. I did actually work for one of MU’s campus stations in college and I’ve done a smattering of radio work over the years at different newspapers. But, when it comes to video, my experience is largely confined to home movies of my kids that probably only exist because the invention of the smartphone made it too easy to not take advantage of. 

And while each medium certainly has its own set of pros and cons, I’ve always been hesitant to use a ton of video, mostly because it feels a bit like WikiLeaks to me. By that I mean it’s all fine and good to throw a lot of information out into the world, but part of a journalist’s job is to provide context for that information. Some people do a fantastic job of that through videos, but I’ve always been more comfortable explaining stories through the written word. But, as I mentioned earlier, the times, they are a-changin, and we need to adapt if we want to give our readers the best coverage possible.

So, we’ll be doing that a bit more in the coming months. In fact, Saturday morning, I’ll be sitting down with Vicksburg’s Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour for an interview we’ll broadcast through Facebook Live. Why? Well, when we are covering a story about a specific topic, four or five or six other issues inevitably get brought up in conversation, and there just isn’t enough time in the day or space on the limitless internet to write about them all. So, we thought we’d sit down and have a conversation about things and just let you guys listen in. If you like it, we’ll be happy to keep it up with other public officials. 

Aside from just one-on-one interviews, I’ve seen my friends across the newspaper industry utilize audio and video in some cool and interesting ways. Whether it is broadcasting a high school football game live or giving readers a weekly podcast, or even a video, summarizing what’s going on, the possibilities are endless. But, as always, we want to know what you guys think and what you’d like to see and hear. We love your ideas and feedback, so don’t be shy. Send us a Facebook message, email me at the address that always appears at the bottom of my column, or call or come by our office. 

We’re always looking for new and exciting ways to cover Vicksburg, Warren County, and the surrounding areas, and we’re looking forward to putting some new ideas into practice. But, if I sound a bit awkward via video in the beginning, just remember how 18-year-old me already knew everything and skipped the campus TV station.

Blake Bell is the general manager and executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at blake.bell@vicksburgpost.com.