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Innovative Individuals
Innovative Individuals: Meredith Birkett
Coincidentally, after I chose to feature Meredith Birkett, senior multimedia producer at MSNBC, for this week’s innovative individual, MediaStorm founder Brian Storm summed up my reasoning perfectly on her LinkedIn profile: “Meredith is one of the best in the business. She’s a constant champion of quality and a leading ambassador of multimedia storytelling.”
Q) How do you drive innovation in your work?
A) Innovation is often driven by the story. It’s about identifying a story that needs a new audio/visual technique, a layer of interactivity or unique display to be told well. One of my favorite examples is from a few years ago — photographer Daniel Pepper shot a story looking at the globalized agriculture industry. He was comparing cotton farming in the U.S. to cotton farming in Burkina Faso. I was impressed by how strictly he adhered to shooting similar scenes on each continent. He submitted two separate, parallel slideshows; but we didn’t have a cool way to show them since our only option at that time was to create static diptychs within a slideshow. I discussed the problem with msnbc.com interactive producer Jim Ray to see if we could create a sort of “choose your own adventure” slideshow. Thus, the “flipper”. The idea continues to be revised – the interactivity for this version was created by Evann Strathern.
Also, innovating is about supporting multimedia journalists if they want to try something new, since innovative ideas often come from the field of reporting. Part of my job is being on the other end of the phone as photojournalists call in from an assignment, brainstorming with them and laying the groundwork needed back in the office to get their stories to our users.
Q) What piece in your portfolio are you most proud of and why?
A) I’m most proud of the “Multiracial in America” project we published in 2008. This project was a great group effort, harnessing the ideas of several photographers, producers, editors and reporters. We found our subjects via users’ letters to the site. While some journalists have doubted the value of “user generated content,” this project demonstrated its usefulness by helping us identify cooperative families we may not otherwise have found. Additionally, we enjoyed the rare luxury of working in teams in the field, instead of our usual solo efforts. That enabled two-camera interviews and helped us gather every shot we needed before editing. We also kicked off our “video portrait” style, which is a technique we continue to use a year later. It was one of the biggest projects the multimedia staff tackled in recent memory. And personally, it challenged me to explore a tough subject and bring many moving parts and story threads together into a cohesive whole.
Q) Please provide a brief educational and professional history.
A) I joined msnbc.com in 2000. I’m a senior multimedia producer managing special projects – reviewing and assigning story pitches from freelancers and picture agencies; and working with staff multimedia journalists and wire services to produce multimedia projects across all sections of msnbc.com. Before working for msnbc.com, I spent five years at the American Medical News. I was deputy art director which included page design, editorial art direction, photo assignment and info graphics. I graduated with a B.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Q) Where do you believe multimedia fits into today’s society and how will that role change over time?
A) Multimedia will take on more and more responsibility as a storytelling medium. Years ago, we couldn’t count on our users having the bandwidth to view our audio slideshows. Now, people can consume multimedia on cell phones. At msnbc.com, much of our multimedia runs in a “video player” alongside NBC News videos; readers see our work in the company of some of the best video storytelling in the world. With that combination of accessibility and competition comes heightened responsibility: to differentiate ourselves and to push the medium. Most importantly, we have to tell great stories that are of value to our viewers. I am sometimes frustrated to see photographers pitch multimedia for editorial use that is something like a trailer for their pictures. I think that misses the point. Our job isn’t to create a kind of music video of our visuals where form overrides function – it’s to create a new and evolving visual ambiance while also telling compelling narratives. Finally, to ensure a future of innovative multimedia, I hope to see the business side of multimedia change. There are few financial standards in the industry for freelancing multimedia assignments or projects. A fair licensing structure will help talented people continue to do great multimedia work.
Q) What is one thing on your “To-Do” list?
A) I have a goal that continually resets as I pursue it: to have a working knowledge of the latest tools in the industry. It’s important to have awareness of evolving technology when discussing assignments and dealing with problems during the production process.
Want to nominate a deserving colleague, friend or inspirational figure to be highlighted in this series? Confidential nominations can be emailed to tracynboyer@gmail.com on an ongoing basis. Self nominations are also welcome. A person will be featured every Friday, so look for the next “innovative individual” Friday, December 25th!
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