Wednesday, May 23, 2007

My Bulging…Inbox

Someone recently asked me how many emails I receive each day at work.

I think my response startled them when I said I average about 200 emails, per day.

I went on to explain that email is a primary means of communicating with the content coordinators at our station. In some cases, email is better than even the telephone. Afterall, it’s hard to provide a content coordinator with twenty minutes of information over the phone. Our little fingers just can’t type that fast and for that long without a brief water break. Not to mention, the telephone (the other means of communicating with us) would be ringing off the hook.

We do, however, receive a lot of information via email. Everything from press releases for upcoming events,  viewer story suggestions, breaking news and weather alerts, requests for anchor autographs and suspect mug shots come to us via email.

On a day when a major story is developing, the number of emails can go as high as 350+ for the day. This is very typical on days when we have severe weather or on stories that spark debate. Our stories on Wake Year-Round versus Traditional calendars made my inbox bulge. We also got a lot of emails about our recent coverage of several key immigration issues in the state.  If you go on vacation for a week, it’s not uncommon to come home to 1400 emails that are begging for your attention.

Believe it or not, we read them all.
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How many emails do you average at work? Do you really read them all?  Have you ever deleted an important email…only to realize it several days later when the boss comes asking about something that was in it?

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

What Does It Take To Prepare A Broadcast?

This morning, I opened up my Outlook and came across an email that asked me the question “What does it take to prepare a broadcast?”

My first impression was that this is a relatively loaded question. I am sure this is something that has crossed many minds. Rather than letting it keep you up at night after night as you fight for the answer… I decided this would be a great topic to blog.

A lot of time and effort goes into creating a broadcast. What you, as a viewer, see on the news is the culmination of hard work by a team of journalists working for you, everyday.

We have daily news meetings to discuss what stories will be covered and in what manner we’ll be covering them. Once the meetings are complete, we all go about executing are part of the coverage plan.

The multimedia content coordination center is really the catalyst of all newsgathering. The MCCC is responsible for dispatching all the crews to the appropriate places, coordinating all the information that needs to be passed back and fourth between the newsroom and the crews working in the field.

The photographers are the ones who capture the visual elements to the stories presented during the broadcast. However, they also provide what we call “natural sound.” This is exactly what it sounds like…natural sound. The world is surrounded by sounds. If we are covering a construction story, chances are a great opportunity for natural sound might be the sound of bulldozers moving about. A story about nature might include birds chirping. During severe rain, the sound of the rain hitting a roof or roads would be natural sound.

The reporters are the ones who tell the story. These are people who ask the tough questions, seek balance in their coverage to ensure all viewpoints are represented and than present their story on the broadcasts each day.

The producers are responsible for the layout of the broadcasts. They are charged with the order that the stories are presented to you. They file graphics; write scripts and work with the reporters to ensure the highest level of journalistic standards are adhered to.

The editors are responsible for cutting video for the broadcasts. Not every story is handled by a reporter and photographer. Sometimes we send a photographer by him/her self. On any given day, a photographer may shoot five or six different stories. When they come back to the newsroom, an editor than takes the photographer’s video and edits it down into a short and cohesive series of shots that accurately conveys the story from a visual perspective.

The web staff works feverishly to ensure the latest and freshest information is online as soon as we know about it. Meanwhile, the production team works hard to ensure you hear the correct audio and see the correct video when your supposed to. They make sure the wireless mics have fully charged batteries in them. They set the studio camera shots to ensure the Anchors are framed up appropriately.

And the anchors…are the ones who you invite into your home each day and allow them to tell you all about the news that our team has worked tirelessly to gather throughout the day.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Getting From Here To ‘Air’

In one of our news meetings last week, the topic of high gas prices came up.

Come to think about it, the rising price of fuel is something we’ve been discussing in our news meetings for quite some time. It is, after all, a story we have been covering for the past year as prices continue to sky rocket to new record highs…with little hope for any slowing.

I blogged about the rising price of fuel a few weeks ago, since than the prices at the pump have continued to climb. One of challenges we face is how to tell a gas price story from a way that is meaningful to you, our viewers.

After all, do you really want to just hear a minute and thirty seconds of people complaining? I don’t know about you but all that does is frustrate me more…knowing I am defenseless against the prices. Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with them…but that doesn’t help me when it comes to forking over my credit card at fill up time.

Our discussions lead us to do a story about the price of public transportation. Our reporter, Brian Deroy posed a question about how the price of public transportation compares to the price of filling up your tank with gas each week. How could we tell this story? How to make it visual? Does the money saved equal the time it may take to get from point “a” to point “b”?

Amidst our discussions, Brian pitched the idea that he bus to work for a day. So this morning, rather than reporting to our 9am meeting, Brian woke up and grabbed a bus to work. He set out with photographer, Charles Malloy to tell the tale of his bus ride to work. His report is here.

Interesting how a simple conversation can lead to a story on our news.

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I invite you to share your thoughts and concerns over gas prices (and ways your trying to conserve) by posting in the comments section.

-Jason
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Friday, May 18, 2007

All That Noise

I recently had one of our new interns ask me how the Multimedia Content Coordinator can concentrate amidst all the noise.

So I asked Erin, one of the Multimedia Content Coordinators, to provide you with a brief insight into the amount of noise she listens to every day. Here is what she said….

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Television is about competition and contrary to what some may think it isn’t about who is first. It is about who is accurate, fair and creative.  Some days news happens all on its own and other days we have to find stories and bring them to life. Like any good competitor you know what the other guys in the race are doing.

One of the many things I do as Multimedia Content Coordinator is know what the competition is doing. I watch other stations newscasts and it isn’t easy.
The desk has 3 phones, a two-way pager, 7 scanners and several people around at any given time. There are also 3 televisions one on our own station, and the other 2 on the other stations.

Trying to explain how I listen to all this ‘noise’ as many would call it and still understand what the competition is doing is an accomplishment. I don’t know exactly how I do it and I probably couldn’t teach you do it, it is just something I learned on the job.
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Have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Getting To Know You

One of the best parts of my job is getting to know new people.

Everyday at work, when the phone rings, I end up talking with different people. The people I talk with come from different backgrounds…have different stories…different opinions. By talking to each caller, I end up getting to know a little bit about each of them. 

I find that I learn the most though, when I go out on our monthly “Listening Tour.” Each month, we visit different communities in our viewing area. You may think this sounds crazy but the purpose of the meetings is for us to listen to you, our viewers.

It’s a chance for us to hear your thoughts, comments and concerns…things that impact your life. I am always amazed at the energy and enthusiasm each of the groups has when we come to town.

I am blogging to you after just getting back from tonight’s meeting, in Garner. We had some great discussions, tonight. I want to thank everyone that came out and spent the night with us…shared some laughs…and shared their thoughts with us.

It’s just a few of the ways that I get to know each of you, our viewers.

-Jason
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