Monday, May 3, 2010

Random and Ridiculous Headlines

Here they are! The headlines to random and ridiculous stories I read when going through AP stories when I produce my newscast:

"POLICE NEAR PITTSBURGH HAVE CONFISCATED WHAT THEY SUSPECT WERE 50 TO 60 SMALL BAGS OF HEROIN FROM A THIRD-GRADE STUDENT WHO WAS PASSING THEM OUT AT HIS SCHOOL"

"HENRY COUNTY SHERIFF GIB CADY SAYS THE SEARCH FOR WHOEVER NAILED A CAT TO A UTILITY POLE IN RURAL GENESEO LAST WEEK WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE CASE IS SOLVED"

INVESTIGATORS SAY A SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS MAN ACCUSED OF STRANGLING HIS WIFE AND THEIR TWO SONS CONSIDERED GETTING HIS VASECTOMY REVERSED SO HE COULD FATHER MORE CHILDREN AFTER HE DIVORCED"

"A SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS WOMAN IS ACCUSED OF LEAVING HER 3-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER TO WANDER A MOTEL ALONE WHILE THE MOTHER WOKRED AT A STRIP CLUB"

"A KENTUCKY SHERIFF SAYS A CLAUSTROPHOBIC DEPUTY HAS LOST HIS JOB AFTER ACCIDENTALLY LOCKING HIMSELF IN A JAIL CELL AND TRYING TO SHOOT HIS WAY OUT OF IT"

"AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER AT NEW YORK'S KENNEDY AIRPORT IS IN HOT WATER AFTER HE ALLOWED HIS YOUNG SON TO RADIO INSTRUCTIONS TO SEVERAL PILOTS"

"POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR A SUBURBAN DALLAS MAN ACCUSED OF DECAPITATING HIS WIFE WITH A CHAINSAW"

"DECATUR RESTAURANT OWNER JAKE ALIU WAS SURE THE GUN POINTED AT HIS HEAD WAS A TOY... SURE ENOUGH... HE GRABBED IT FROM THE WOULD-BE ROBBER"

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Balancing Act


So I'm almost done producing our student-run newscast for the year... and I find myself trying to do a balancing act. Both inside and outside of the newsroom. But in reference to the newsroom, I feel like I have the logistics of producing down pretty well... Now I find myself working to improve the management side. And like I said, it's a balancing act. In order to be a "power producer," you have to be good at both. Sometimes I find that it can be a struggle for me, since the people I work with are also my peers, my classmates, and my friends.

It's difficult working with so many people who all have different points of views and different ways of doing things, when that day the newscast is considered "your show" and you have your own visions for how you what things to be. Becoming a better producer is definitely something that comes with time and experience in dealing with all sorts of different situations. Producing this semester for independent study has been a great learning experience for me as a future journalist, and overall as a person.

ANOTHER NOTE:

I enjoy looking up stories on the AP wires and reading about all of the crazy things going on in today's world. There's always interesting stories on the wires that I love to read, but just don't make the cut to be placed in to my rundown. So soon, I will be posting a list of some headlines I think are interesting that I didn't get to put in my show. Something to look forward to! =)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Becoming a "Power Producer"

My apologies for not blogging recently... I've been cRaZy busy with putting our 6th Annual Radio-TV Alumni Conference together! (Which is this weekend and I can't wait!)

Anyways, my last few newscasts I have produced have been fantastic! At first I thought having too many reporters was an issue because we didn't have enough equipment in the newsroom. But now I'm so glad I have that issue over not having enough reporters to cover news of the day. Because I usually have at least 10 reporters, my newscast is always jam packed with news of the day and it's FANTASTIC!

Now that it is later in the semester and everyone is becoming more comfortable and experienced with what they are doing, things are running much more smoothly in the newsroom. Especially now that I am better with time management when I'm producing, it kind of helps me set the tone for the rest of the newsroom.

Everyone is doing a great job and I am loving producing. I know I'm definitely not a "Power Producer" yet... but I feel like I'm on my way to becoming one!

I want to post a favorite news story of mine... but recently I haven't really had much national or international news in my rundown. So I'm thinking that local and breaking news in my new favorite type of news as long as we are covering it!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Interesting AP News Slug...

In the rundown of a show... there is this thing known as a "slug". It's just a place where you put a small bit of information about the story you are writing about. We get most of our national, local, and state news from the Associated Press. Well... recently I was looking through the wires and ran across this list of slugs. Can you find the uncomfortably bad name for a news slug??

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

First Day Producing the LIVE Show!

Today was the first day my show aired live on the PBS... and what a crazy day it was! I had 13 reporters! Which meant I had A LOT of content and that was great. I have many jobs as a producer. According to the book I'm studying right now, "Power Producing" by Dow Smith, my jobs include the following: a journalist, a news writer, a production expert, a promotion writer, team leader, researcher, and lawyer/ethicist. When I think about today, that list seems small compared to all of the things I felt like I did today.

The newsroom is such a hectic place. And to be a leader in such an environment, you need certain qualities. For example, the book says I should have the following qualities: passion, decisiveness, organization, and presence. I know I definitely have the passion. Which can sometimes cause issues in the learning environment I am currently in because I feel like sometimes the other students around me don't share the same passion as I do. And that's unfortunate, but my hope is that one day they all will. Decisiveness is a quality I am pretty good about in the newsroom. In any other aspects of my life, good-luck trying to get me to make up my mind! I'm also fairly decent at being organized. When it comes to things like stacking my show, organization and decisiveness usually shine. But in terms of time management, I'm learning. And I think presence and command just come with time. Sometimes I get stressed out. "Power producers develop an ability to sty calm and focused, even in high-stress situations." Something else I believe comes with experience and lots of practice. Someday!

According to Dow Smith, there are four stages of producing. Stage one is being scared to death. I'm definitely beyond that stage. I find myself somewhere between the next two stages. Stage two is the mechanic; the producer who masters the mechanics of the news process and that's all. Stage three is the journeyman; the producer are reliable and hard-working but need that creative flair. And my hopes are that I can someday reach stage four: the power producer. Enough said.
From now on I will leave you with one thing... I will share with you the story that I found most interesting in my rundown this week. It may not necessarily be my lead story... Just the one or two stories I felt were the most interesting and have the potential to impact the most people. Today we had two great stories about childhood obesity and eating healthier.


Wednesday, February 3, 2010

PRODUCING ADVICE: "DO WHAT YOU CAN DO, AS SOON AS YOU CAN DO IT!"

This is what my news director recently said to me when I was creating a "Producing Deadline Schedule". One of the first things I have to become efficient at is getting things done on time, if not before. This sets the tone for the success of the other people working in the newsroom as well. Television is a very deadline-oriented career. And I absolutely love it. But news can't just be thrown into an audience's face. It must be "produced". And according to the dictionary on my MacBook, produced can be defined as the following: to create or form (something) as part of a physical, biological, or chemical process. Ahhh! The key word! Process. Producing news is a process. And I am going to take you down my journey of learning the process of producing news.

From what I am told, producing news of the day, although stressful, can be extremely fun and rewarding if done successfully. <-Something to look forward to!

For fun, I have included a copy of the Producing Deadline Schedule I made for myself, just to give you an idea of what I do.

9:00AM: IN THE NEWSROOM

9:15AM: CHECK WIRES

9:30-9:45AM: ALL ASSIGNMENTS OUT

10:00-10:30AM: ALL STORIES, FORMATS, TIMES, AND WRITER’S INITIALS IN

11:30-NOON: AP STORIES HANDED OUT TO ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS

NOON-1:00PM: (Hopefully LUNCH!)

2:00PM ANCHOR READS AND CGS DONE

2:00PM-2:30PM: GRAPHICS ORDERED AND HEADS/TEASES ON BOARD

3:00PM: HEADS WRITTEN

3:00PM-4:00PM: UPDATE NEWS

4:10PM: NUMBER SCRIPTS

4:15PM: PRINT SCRIPTS

4:35PM: CHECK VIDEOS

4:50PM: PRODUCER IN CONTROL ROOM

5:00PM: SHOWTIME!