April brought floods to North Dakota, which the Journalist of the Month, Master Sgt. Eric Johnson, documented with more than 40 videos covering the flood response efforts for the 119th Wing Public Affairs North Dakota Air National... read more
April brought floods to North Dakota, which the Journalist of the Month, Master Sgt. Eric Johnson, documented with more than 40 videos covering the flood response efforts for the 119th Wing Public Affairs North Dakota Air National Guard. <br />
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Johnson's videos document all aspects of the flood response, which is important since he was covering his unit's participation. For some of the videos, he had to overcome the same flooding he was out documenting. <br />
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For example, a photo of Johnson, "Joint Agency Red River captures flood evacuation," shows how he had to wade into floodwaters to record video of an evacuation. <br />
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Johnson videoed the evacuation of a World War II veteran from his rural home and followed up the b-roll with an interview with the veteran after he was safe. <br />
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"He is tenacious in his quest for video material that tells the NDNG story to both our internal NDNG and military audience and the civilian media, which in turn passes that material on to our taxpayers," said Senior Master Sgt. David Lipp with NDANG. "I doubt there is another videographer that produces the amount of fine quality video that Master Sgt. Eric Johnson does."<br />
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Another video by Johnson "Robin Finegan, Regional Director of FEMA" helps show the seriousness of the flooding with the aerial views of the affected area. It also includes an interview with the FEMA director talking about the devastation and the support of the Guard. It was shared on Facebook more than 70 times and was viewed more than 240 times.<br />
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Other videos show North Dakota National Guardsmen patrolling the dikes to protect the community from additional flooding, using sandbags to protect homes and levees and manning traffic control points to prevent motorists from trying to use a flooded highway. <br />
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Johnson also covers the Joint Task Force East Command Center to show "behind the scenes" efforts supporting the flood fight. <br />
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Just as floodwaters move fast, the news cycle required Johnson to get his videos out as quickly as possible, and he did. Because of the newsworthiness and timeliness, his videos were sent to multiple local and national media outlets. <br />
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Johnson's coverage of the flood response documents an example of the work the National Guard does at home in the states. His selection of journalist of the month also shows that stateside military journalists are just as vital as those deployed overseas, especially during stateside emergencies like the floods in North Dakota. <br />
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"Master Sgt. Eric Johnson is top amongst video journalists in the National Guard and the DOD. His ability to tell a story on video is unbelievable," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general. "He is artistic and creative as the theme and message of the story is captured and produced. He is relentless in his pursuit of a momentous story and a true professional in everything he does for the North Dakota National Guard. This distinction is well deserved and is a result of hard work throughout years of service."<br />
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