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Aim for the Heart
The goal of this book is to help professional broadcast reporters, producers, and photojournalists tell stronger stories. It can serve as a guide for news managers whose job it is to train, coach, and inspire others. Veteran journalist Al Tompkins is Broadcast and Online Group Leader for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
- GenresJournalism
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 18, 2025
Don’t let my taking 5 months to read this 215 pg book fool you. I loved it. After PRing in movies watched I let this take the back burner. I did read the majority of this over a 2 day period. I think it went with me to Ohio and back twice this year.
A woman who came into the library to get her library card suggested this book since she told me she’s a professor of journalism and I was interested in learning more. Before I finished asking the question she had this locked and loaded. In the end I told her it’d be great to get her card (networking). She asked for my Facebook but we connected on LinkedIn.
This is geared towards network news, but from the perspective of a news director, Al Tompkins doesn’t miss any detail. It’s filled with stories regarding his experience of what’s worked and what hasn’t. He has advice for all senses of media (hence the name). So informative.
There’s a lot of freedom in the news. It’s not as rigid as I have always thought it was. My examples of the local news in Ohio are wholesome for the most part. Yeah real stuff happens but the news is usually boring. This book shows it could dig deeper. It could be exciting even in the most mundane. It’s about focusing on the elements in their entirety, and out of that finding out how to tell the story. Enterprise reporting is hard to describe but you know it when you see it. It’s not covering events it’s building the story with different layers. Digging deeper.
I’ve been stuck inside the past two days due to the fires in LA. Our power on our block was out all of yesterday. Our living room window is wrapped round the corner, revealing the street and everything below us on the hill. All day I saw people pack up their cars, walk around with masks, and hunker down with flashlights when the sun set. As the night went on I could see flames from the window. North of hollywood blvd had been evacuated and it felt like that call for us was coming any second.
The flames shrunk by morning and our power came back on at some point in the night. One of the few times I’ve actually deemed it necessary to watch the morning news. The total devastation is bewildering. Losing a lifetime of memories over night is the case for too many families.
We rely on the news to tell us the whole story, to give us necessary information. We need to be informed and prepared. The reality is we were not ready to handle this. Cutting the LAFD budget, empty water reservoirs and countless missed steps. This book has definitely made me a better viewer and as this situation develops it has me more aware of how to look beyond just the news cast…
I wrote that without much else to report. Before I volunteered at the evacuation center and even before I had to return to the library. Although the dire nature of the moment has passed we’re left wondering what the after effects will be.
One thing that stood out is the capacity for those that were able to help. Especially at the library, where many people reached out with hopes to donate. As crazy as the world is people still want to help. Even when it feels like everyone is on their own in the world, a disaster can be uniting.
As we begin to plan for the future the stories of those rebuilding or moving or those that help, need to be shared. Drawing that connection from this book is grounded in my roots. Where the news isn’t just doom and gloom but it’s human, in every capacity.
A woman who came into the library to get her library card suggested this book since she told me she’s a professor of journalism and I was interested in learning more. Before I finished asking the question she had this locked and loaded. In the end I told her it’d be great to get her card (networking). She asked for my Facebook but we connected on LinkedIn.
This is geared towards network news, but from the perspective of a news director, Al Tompkins doesn’t miss any detail. It’s filled with stories regarding his experience of what’s worked and what hasn’t. He has advice for all senses of media (hence the name). So informative.
There’s a lot of freedom in the news. It’s not as rigid as I have always thought it was. My examples of the local news in Ohio are wholesome for the most part. Yeah real stuff happens but the news is usually boring. This book shows it could dig deeper. It could be exciting even in the most mundane. It’s about focusing on the elements in their entirety, and out of that finding out how to tell the story. Enterprise reporting is hard to describe but you know it when you see it. It’s not covering events it’s building the story with different layers. Digging deeper.
I’ve been stuck inside the past two days due to the fires in LA. Our power on our block was out all of yesterday. Our living room window is wrapped round the corner, revealing the street and everything below us on the hill. All day I saw people pack up their cars, walk around with masks, and hunker down with flashlights when the sun set. As the night went on I could see flames from the window. North of hollywood blvd had been evacuated and it felt like that call for us was coming any second.
The flames shrunk by morning and our power came back on at some point in the night. One of the few times I’ve actually deemed it necessary to watch the morning news. The total devastation is bewildering. Losing a lifetime of memories over night is the case for too many families.
We rely on the news to tell us the whole story, to give us necessary information. We need to be informed and prepared. The reality is we were not ready to handle this. Cutting the LAFD budget, empty water reservoirs and countless missed steps. This book has definitely made me a better viewer and as this situation develops it has me more aware of how to look beyond just the news cast…
I wrote that without much else to report. Before I volunteered at the evacuation center and even before I had to return to the library. Although the dire nature of the moment has passed we’re left wondering what the after effects will be.
One thing that stood out is the capacity for those that were able to help. Especially at the library, where many people reached out with hopes to donate. As crazy as the world is people still want to help. Even when it feels like everyone is on their own in the world, a disaster can be uniting.
As we begin to plan for the future the stories of those rebuilding or moving or those that help, need to be shared. Drawing that connection from this book is grounded in my roots. Where the news isn’t just doom and gloom but it’s human, in every capacity.
November 7, 2013
I'm a marketer, not a journalist. That being said, this book was still a great help for my own purposes. The authors voice is incredible, too. It makes it really easy to read the book. Tons of great lessons, specific to journalism and media, and also to life in general, in this book. I recommend!
November 2, 2014
Best book out there for journalists of any age.
Read
March 4, 2019I had to read this book as an assignment for a class that I will be taking next year. DEFINITELY read this book if you are wanting to go into the journalism career path. I personally will not be going into journalism but if someone is looking at that as an option this book is very helpful with tips that can help you be a better writer and newscaster with stories that will have the viewers interest.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews