Create an Online College Video News Channel, Part One
Video on the web is exploding. Just take a look at sites like YouTube and Google Video. What does this have to do with you? Pretty soon, every college will have its own video news channel online. You could be the one to launch the first online video news channel at your college, and it might be easier to get started than you think.
All it takes is story ideas, a blog, a video camera, a simple lapel microphone, and a computer to edit your video. For around $400, you can get a camcorder that will take good quality video and accept an external microphone. An external microphone is your key to getting good sound quality that won’t irritate your listeners. (You can buy a good lapel mic at Radio Shack for around $25.) You may already have a computer capable of running video editing software. For example, the free iMovie software that ships standard with every Mac is more than capable for what you need.
Once you have a way to capture and edit your video, you’re going to need a place to publish it. Consider using a free blog, such as one hosted on Blogger. If you want to get fancy, you can sign up for a web host and run a more sophisticated blogging platform like
If you’re concerned about being able to generate ideas for video segments, take some time before you launch your online video channel and write down 30-40 ideas for news segments. Think about the people you already know, and look for newsworthy angles on their activities. Perhaps you have a professor who published his first article in a major research journal. Or perhaps you have a fellow student who set a new school athletic record. At your campus, this is news. In addition, you’ll be surprised at how many story ideas will come your way once people know what you’re doing and have a way to get in touch with you.
Make your online video news channel stand out. Keep it professional. Anyone can log onto YouTube, search the name of your college, and find lots of videos of dorm room antics. This kind of video isn’t going to get your news channel much attention. What you publish has to be different. If you have interesting subjects, good writing, and keep the video production quality high, you’ll be certain to draw a following. This is the success formula for some growing local online video news channels, and you’d do well to follow their lead.
In an upcoming post, we’ll talk about ways to expand your online video news channel and start making money at it.
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[...] In an earlier post, we introduced the basics of creating an online college video news channel. Here are some ideas to help keep it going and make money at it. [...]