WGNO New Orleans News
 

I don't usually watch local newscasts but tonight I caught the WGNO news at 10 and was shocked to see they were shooting their anchors live in studio HANDHELD. They were delivering the news standing, no desk. You know what? I actually liked the look a lot and didn't miss the news desk one bit.

Wait, after the A-block (after weather which was shot traditional) it seems the lead anchor was back at the desk. Maybe the handheld in-studio look is for lead stories only?

Is this going on in other markets? It's the first I've seen of it.

Gainesville Market
 

I worked for a new station in the Gainesville, FL market and the anchors were always at the desk, reporters were in front of a green screen or standing by an HDTV with info on their story. I've NEVER seen a news program shoot handheld. News is a live event and things often go wrong, if they had to handheld the cameras while fixing an automated system, I wouldn't be surprised.

PS New photography beats going to film school, in my opinion. You learn a lot very, very quickly (especially how to shoot, how much of it to record and generally how to get an eye for composition).