One adviser’s plan to merge multimedia and opinion writing

As I am starting the new school year, I have a long list of things that I want to focus on. I do this every summer, and the list is always unimaginably long. So this year, I have a short list, and multimedia and opinion writing are at the top. 

Too often in our newsroom, multimedia comes as a bonus. But, my hope is that this year will be different, and we can work towards creating multimedia pieces that can stand on their own with the same power of a word-only opinion piece. 

The best way to do this is through examples, and “When Progressive Ideals Become a Luxury” by Rob Henderson with the video by Lindsay Crouse and Kevin Oliver is an example of bringing multimedia and opinion together. 

Video Outline

  • Opens with “Luxury Beliefs” title page and a photo of Rob Henderson. This is only up for a second. 
  • Aerial shot of Columbia’s campus saying that “students are home for the summer.” 
  • Introduces the destructive trend of protests. 
  • Defines “Luxury Beliefs.” 
  • Henderson provides background information on his personal history with pictures. 
  • Social media clips that support his claims about Luxury Beliefs: Defund the Police; Decriminalization of Drugs; Standardized Testing; and Marriage. 
  • Three Golden Rules of Luxury Beliefs: Play the Victim; Protest without Penalty; Push the Less Privileged Down. 
  • Illustrates what protests without Luxury Beliefs look like by using clips from 1960 protests, emphasizing non-violence. 
  • Addresses the question “How Should They Protest?” Henderson leaves the viewer with clear ideas about how protesting could happen in the future. 
  • Ending clip is of workers cleaning up the mess from protestors at UCLA. 

Ideas for Teaching

  1. Have students make observations about the structure of the video. What do they notice? (So often, videos look easier than they are. This one has just as much — if not more — writing and organization behind it as a word-only article.)  
  2. Study the examples that are used to support his main points. What is the effect of having visuals that build the argument in addition to his voice?  What do you notice about the examples? 
  3. What other perspectives do students have? I am certain that some students will agree with this video, while others will disagree. This will be a time for us to practice engaging with opposing viewpoints and feeling the power of opinion writing. 
  4. If students were creating an opinion video about this same topic, how would they cover it? What would they keep the same? What would they do differently? 
  5. Have students brainstorm other opinion topics that are important to them. How could they create a multimedia opinion video on one of these topics? What would their opinion be? How would they build their argument? What examples would they include? Would they have a call to action? Where would the video start? Where would it end? 

Written By: Tracy Anderson