Innovative Individuals

Innovative Individuals: Chuck Fadely

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Chuck Fadely, visual journalist at The Miami Herald and founder of NewspaperVideo, recently inspired me with his proactive approach to how he is surviving the tumultuous newspaper industry. “To get away from the newspaper grind, I’ve been doing pro bono work and pursuing other avenues for creative expression,” he said. “Video work for charity and film competitions have kept me sane. It’s really nice to be doing something worthwhile.” Chuck’s optimism and continual contributions to the fields of videography and visual journalism garnered him this week’s title of “Innovative Individual.”

In 2006, Chuck started the NewspaperVideo mailing list, which he said “has been the leading source of newspaper video information since 2006.” Check out his contributions to the videography world on his Ning site (with the comical slogan, “from dead trees to moving pictures”), blog archive at Blogger, Twitter feed, and del.icio.us bookmarks.

Q) How do you drive innovation in your work?

A) Boredom is vastly underrated as a motivational tool. I get bored; I try something new. I have a nasty habit of doing straight-forward journalism, which often seems to be the responsible thing to do – but geez, it’s boring. So to make up for it I’ll try to push the next thing I do to the limits. Jump cuts, poetry, out of focus, all kinds of crap that seems like a good idea at the time. I would never be happy settling into a style.

Q) What piece in your portfolio are you most proud of and why?

A) From a journalism perspective, the videos I did for our investigation into the Miami-Dade Housing Authority had a huge impact – the “House of Lies” investigation won the reporter a Pulitzer and the videos aired nationally and helped prompt local politicians to act. One of the videos was on Ozie Porter, a hard-working school cafeteria worker who saved $5,000 on her near-minimum-wage salary to put a down payment on a house but got cheated. The video was a major reason local officials stepped in to help. Seeing her get the keys to her new home was a really satisfying moment.

Q) Please provide a brief educational and professional history.

A) I was a Philosophy major at the University of Virginia, spending far too much time deciphering skinny little Wittgenstein books. To make up for it, I spent far more time as a photographer for both the school paper and the local paper, the Charlottesville Daily Progress. Being a photographer was much more appealing than becoming a lawyer, so after graduating in the midst of a nasty recession, I ended up at the Middletown Times Herald Record, a New York state newspaper whose major claim to fame is that Hunter S. Thompson was fired from there after kicking a Coke machine to death. With a few years and a few newspapers under my belt, I ended up as a bureau photographer at the Miami Herald, then on the downtown staff, then a Sunday magazine photographer, then a picture editor, and then the official staff guinea pig – I was the guy they handed the first digital camera, the first sat phone, cell modems, wifi, video, etc.

Q) Where do you believe multimedia fits into today’s society and how will that role change over time?

A) I was struck by a recent comment from a friend on Facebook about Lady Gaga. They couldn’t understand how someone with unimpressive musical ability could be so popular. I commented that the next generation doesn’t listen to Lady Gaga, they WATCH her. The next generation is visual, not verbal. The next generation has video and multimedia in their DNA at a fundamental level, in much the same way that language shapes thought in previous generations. Multimedia has become a basic form of communication. Thirty-one BILLION videos on YouTube in a month. ‘Nuff said.

Q) What is one thing on your “To-Do” list?

A) My real to-do list is always way too long to have a fantasy list. So I dunno, maybe write a screenplay for a movie.

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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, January 15th!

Other posts that might interest you:

• Innovative Individuals: Emily Sweeney
• Innovative Individuals: Brent Foster
• Innovative Individuals: Poul Madsen

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