Believe it: Cheap Video Cameras are Transforming the Print News Industry -- Tammy Haddad Beats ABC News with her $800 Sanyo!

With hand held cameras, video reporting is a natural extension of print reporting and holds great advantage for newspaper publishers, says pioneering news producer Tammy Haddad.

In the world of innovative television news producing, Tammy is at the top. She has produced “Larry King Live,” “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and others. These days, she’s reporting on the presidential campaign as a contributor to Newsweek.com with her small Sanyo video camera.

I caught up with her at Advertising 2.0 last week in New York. She explains the ease of shooting and uploading with her device.  Moreover she noted that the camera can augment print coverage and can be much faster and less intimidating than a full news crew.  And, she says she can file much faster -- and takes glee in beating an ABC News team a few weeks back. 

Newspapers, with legions of print reporters, are positioned to expand in video coverage, Tammy says. The equipment is not expensive . Tammy’s Sanyo costs less than $800. The Flip used by Kara Swisher and CNET News.com's Dan Farber is under $200.

Last week, we reported that the Washington Post has trained nearly 200 staffers in how to use video cameras.

I'm in Hollywood today with my Nokia95. I also have a LA-based cameraman shooting in DV to bring you the production quality you expect from your purple channel. But these smaller devices will fill an important spot it the news ecosystem.  Believe it!

Andy Plesser