part two, continued.
News Photographer Magazine
March 2007
?From the very beginning, Ryan was always a perfectionist. And his creativity stood out,? said reporter Heidi Hemmat, who worked with Borgman at WXIN in Indianapolis, and KDVR in Denver.
?I?ve hired a lot of people into this business,? Scofield said, ?and instinctively, you know when you have the right person. I knew he had to be a part of this staff. I recognized his potential the minute we gave him a camera.?
And storytelling was instilled in Borgman from the minute he arrived.
?I have a rule here. We have 100 percent NPPA membership in our shop. All of our photographers and editors must be NPPA members, and they all have to enter the quarterly clip contests,? Scofield said.
?And in doesn?t stop there. We also have a franchise called ?Signature Stories.? We air a photo essay every Saturday night. The photographers take turns shooting them. There are no excuses, and no getting out of it. And the photographers love it.?
The franchise has been a hit with viewers and contest judges. To date, KDVR photographers have produced 355 ?Signature Stories,? they?ve aired 16 half-hour specials of their work and the stories have won several NPPA and Emmy Awards.
?It?s a very serious commitment,? Scofield said. ?When you think of Denver, you think of strong storytelling. And our station is no exception. Every year, we?ve had at least two photographers and editors in the annual top ten in the NPPA standings, regionally and nationally. And last year, two of our reporters were finalists for the first-ever National NPPA Photojournalism Award for Reporting.?
Now the goal is for KDVR to win NPPA Station of the Year and whether it?s behind a camera, or in front of an editing machine, Scofield knows Ryan Borgman is an important part of reaching that goal and winning the quarterly editing contests will help.
?He wanted to win because it brings attention to the station, not just him,? said Michael Demma, a fellow editor at KDVR. ?He can use this as a recruiting tool, so more people with talent will come work here.?
?He?s raised the bar a few notches in our editing unit. He?s always thinking outside the box. He doesn?t mimic or copy. He always operates on his own playing field,? Scofield said.
That means doing things a little differently.
?I keep thinking of a totally genius piece he edited,? Scofield said. ?It was called ?Downtown Remix.? He took the soundtrack of Denver?s downtown? a bus, a bicycle tire, a horn blowing? and made a story out of it. They were the noises we filter out and take for granted as we walk down the street. But he made magic with them. He isolated the audio, made a whole music bed, and created an amazing story. That?s his outside-the-box thinking.?
And if bicycle tires and car horns inspire him, it?s his family that centers him. Borgman?s wife, Serena, is a special projects producer at KDVR, and they have a daughter named Ava, who is just 13 months old.
?Becoming a parent changed my perspective,? Borgman said and it also changed his approach to the emotional stories he edits.
?Now, I can imagine what those families are going through when something bad happens. I try to do their loved one justice.?
His bosses say they never have to worry about that with Ryan.
?He?s just a genuine nice guy,? Scofield said. ?Yes he?s a great photographer; yes he?s a great editor. But more importantly, he?s a great person, and a great friend.?
Everyone familiar with Ryan already knew that. For them, it is no epiphany.
About the author:
Jeremy Hubbard is a reporter and anchor at KDVR, the Fox owned and operated station in Denver.
About the photographer
Kevin Scofield is News Operations Manager at KDVR, Heads up the photography and Editing Staffs,
NPPA member since 1972, NPPA number 5881
