 |
| Nick Natario |
Hello, this is chief blogger Mike McGuff from the Houston media watchdog center with a Hurricane Harvey report.
No, I am not covering the actual storm.
I just couldn't deal with the math associated with getting an actual meteorological degree.
Instead, I have a report of a new Houston TV reporter who is being thrown into the deep end of the pool this weekend thanks to Harvey.
See no equations involved. In fact, it's so easy to cover the comings and goings of Houston media members that an idiot could do it.
On second thought, ignore that last sentence.
Eagle eye mikemcguff.com reader, Michael, emailed me that he spotted Nick Natario doing a report on KTRK abc13.
Sure enough, Natario, who comes from WISH Indianapolis, is the Disney ABC Television Group station's latest MMJ or muti-media journalist.
I get asked by readers what this means all of the time.
Essentially an MMJ actually carries the camera and shoots and edits their own story. In layman's terms, a traditional TV reporter works with a photographer (camera person) who films the video and edits the story.
Here is the rundown of Natario's television news career according to his agent's bio page for him:
2015-2017 MMJ
WISH-Indianapolis, IN
2013-2015 MMJ
WJCL-Savannah, GA
2011-2013 MMJ
WFFF-Burlington, VT
The Emmy nominated reporter is a Syracuse University graduate.
So if Natario's page on his agent's website is to be believed (his Linkedin profile lists him as a reporter at each station), he has been an MMJ for his entire career.
This is a big deal.
TV stations have slowly started hiring MMJs, because five years ago, it was harder to find them.
The MMJ thing was still too new.
Once smaller markets started embracing the one-man-woman-band philosophy in the last years, there is now a whole crop of them ready to pick.
This doesn't look good for traditional reporters and photographers.
One would assume Natario is filling the vacated MMJ role left by Tracy Clemons in July.
Stay safe out there and hopefully Harvey comes in weak.
No Ike follow-up please!
