On Camera Talent

CNN on-camera reporter as well as various other opportunities.

My television reporting career began in 1991 when I recorded the voice-over for a story I produced about the doctor who wrote the book that the film Doc Hollywood was based on. A year later I shot my first on-camera stand-up and reported as a CNN medical correspondent for the next decade. Since 2002 I’ve provided voice-over and on-camera talent for clients ranging from academia and the pharmaceutical industry to web-based and hospital-based video outlets.

Video Production

Research. Identify interviewees. Field produce. Scripting.

My career in video production began in 1986 when an associate producer job opened up in the CNN Medical News Unit. I learned the process of putting a video report together that combined medical facts with story telling. How do you get your audience’s attention? With the human element. Compelling stories of people overcoming their health challenges and who have been changed for the better. Add in factual medical information and you change lives.

My client, Everwell TV needed an event covered and the script written quickly. There wasn’t time for advance research or planning. We had only one day to shoot. I would meet my potential interviewees when I arrived on location and decide then where we’d do our interviews. The topic was exciting: kids living with heart disease who were given the gift of being “normal” for a day at Camp Braveheart. For years I reported from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology annual conferences. I had the honor of being the first broadcast journalist awarded with the American Heart Association’s Lifetime Achievement award in reporting. My medical background freed me up to focus on the people. The story telling.

Writing

Writing a video script. Writing for the web. I can write what you need.

A young working woman made the altruistic decision to donate one of her kidneys to a male co-worker. A living organ donation between friends. In 1986 this was rare. I felt the story should be told on CNN and no one was available to report it. So I did. It was the first of thousands of video scripts I’d write and it’s one I’ll never forget.

CNN Digital launched in 1995. From that point on reporters were asked to write web versions of their on-air reports. What fun! Some of the insightful information I couldn’t fit into a 2-minute video story but was important to tell could be shared on the web. That’s what happened with this story about a woman who changed the face of medicine:

Click on this link to download the article (178 KB) CNN – Death and dying pioneer may have personal lessons to offer – March 26, 1999

There are similarities in writing for both mediums. Simple language. Varied sentences. Short paragraphs. Conversational style. Skip unnecessary words. Avoid jargon.

One of the most memorable scripts I wrote for WebMD is this story on macular degeneration. It’s part of a series of videos WebMD asked me to produce and write over several years on various topics in ophthalmology for its Eye TV channel.

For thirty years I’ve written about transplantation. When the Wilson Disease Association asked for someone to write its web page on Transplantation, it was a no brainer.

Click here to see a sample of this work.