Judging by the number of questions I get about my job, I get the feeling not many people know what a news producer does, exactly.
Let me enlighten you. (Thanks Candace, for the post idea... I am running low these days!)
My responsibilities include but are not limited to:
01. Stacking my rundown. Basically this means choosing which stories I want to include in my hour long newscast. Producing the morning show can be tricky, because not much takes place between the hours of 11 pm and 5 am, so I start my search by browsing through the evening newscasts from the day before, and try to find updates for those stories. For example, if a shooting happened the day before, I will call police for an update, and report THAT in my show. I also refer to reporter packages from that day, and try to come up with new elements or angles. We are lucky enough to have an overnight photographer, who listens to scanners to find breaking stories. Being an affiliate of NBC, we have access to video and scripts from the network, so I look there for national news stories and video for the day. We also have access to the Associated Press, which is a fabulous resource.
02. Write Like Mad. Once I select and arrange the stories that will fill my newscast, I get typing. This is my favorite part of the job. Though stressful, I enjoy exercising creativity to present the story in an interesting way. Basically everything the anchors say during the show, I write.
03. Work with Reporters, Editors and Photographers. I decide, along with the 6 am producer, what we want to put our reporter on for the morning, and research materials for her to use when she is putting her package together. We also coordinate with editors to make sure we get the video we want with each story. And we work with our photographer to make sure we get video and interviews from any breaking stories.
04. Lining the Newscast. This part can be the most fun, but also the most stressful. I sit in the control room with our sound guy, teleprompter man and show director, and make sure the live newscast runs smoothly. That means communicating with anchors, reporters and our awesome weatherman, giving time cues and script changes... basically directing traffic.
I hope the mysterious world of television news producing is a bit less, mysterious now.
Now you will have to excuse me, because it's time to leave for work!
*Also, for those dedicated, interested or crazy enough to watch my show, you can catch Eyewitness News First Edition at 5 am, on KSL Channel 5.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
For Candace...
Posted by Jessica and Reece at 9:03 PM
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8 comments:
you are just plain A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
You are important. That's the bottom line. Thanks for explaining, you're right, I never really knew.
Unfortunately....I am up at this hour. Too bad I don't have a TV in my bathroom or I really would watch it. Usually I'm listening to NPR at around 5:15.
WOW!!!! You are so busy!!!! I love reading your updates you are so funny. Come and visit us next time you go on a shopping spree! :)
Look at you anchor woman...that seriously sounds like such a blast, stressful, but fun!
You are amazing! I had no idea it was that big. I'm very, VERY impressed!
YEAH! This is just the post I've been waiting for. Now I know what you're doing while I rest my face on my white pillow every night.
Next time I'm up at that wreched hour of 5 AM I will most definitely tune in to KSL to here Jess's stories. Let's just hope it's not anytime soon for the sake of my sanity.
Thank you for the post. I feel so informed on the profession.
wow. that's awesome! so what time do you have to go to work in the morning? AND, how did you get such a sweet job right out of college? Not, that you,i'm sure, weren't the most amazing candidate they had, but it does sound like it would be super competitive? Good job!
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