Thursday, July 19, 2007

Are you a tech type?

Modern technology has done a lot to help society and news. One of them many things we use is a FTP site...I know some are now asking what that is? (I will give you the very non-technical answer because I don’t know I could give you the technical one.) An FTP site allows you to share video and pictures from all over the place. We use this kind of site to get video from one station to another. Sometimes is much easier said than done. 

My story starts yesterday when I was trying to get a story from another station by way of the FTP site. I know how to use the site and have on several occasions. In a perfect world knowing information will make life very easy. What should have been a very quick and easy tool was about to make my night very difficult. 

With all the equipment we have and are trained to use this really is one of the easier things...simply drag and drop what you are looking for and it’s over. After more than 2 hours of trying everything under the sun the clouds parted and it finally worked. Nothing was broken, we all knew how to use FTP site but it just didn’t like us when we wanted it to work. (Technical stuff seems to have a mind of its own sometimes.)

I often wonder how hard it was to do my job before computers and other technical stuff we are faced with everyday. I know it is suppose to make my life easier but after a night like that I am not so sure anymore.

Erin

Monday, July 16, 2007

The Hiring Process

One of the things I have to do, as a manager, is hire staff. While you may think it’s fun, it’s actually a very difficult and timely process. 

Right now, I am interviewing for an open multimedia content coordinator position. Finding the right person to hire is not easy task. Often times your first impression of a person is based on their cover letter.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many cover letters I get that have my name or title wrong. I love when people give me a promotion. I received a resume the other day with my name on it and the title “news director”.  Where do those resumes end up? Trash can.

One of the most important things you can do is make sure you spell the hiring manager’s name correctly. If you don’t know how to spell it, call the station and ask. If you don’t know how to pronounce the name, call and ask for the person’s voicemail so you can hear them say it themselves.

As a hiring manager, once I read thru the cover letter I go for the resume. It’s not uncommon for a hiring manager to fly in candidates for further interviewing.  When I was hired, the station paid to fly me in from Boston. Background checks, drug tests, negotiating money and start dates are all part of a timely process.

You have a short amount of time to gain as much information about a prospective candidate, as possible. 

Friday, July 13, 2007

Large Market Small Market

More of that pesky terminology we use in the business but what does it mean? 

Television stations are in towns across the country and each station is given a number based on how many homes have televisions. A market 1 would be any New York station, 2 is Los Angeles, 26 Charlotte, 29 Raleigh Durham, 100 Charleston, SC, and so it goes into the 200’s. So large market and small market are little more clear. But what does it all mean?

It affects things like advertising, broadcasting rules and such. For an employee it can mean a lot of different things. Some people like to climb the ladder at get as close to 1 as possible while others like a good job somewhere in the middle. I guess it is like most other jobs in that respect.

The challenge is all the competition in this business. This is not a job you just fill out the application on-line and hope somebody calls you one day. Being a good journalist is asking a question when nobody else does, making the phone call no one else thought of. It is a job of challenges and creative thinking so proving your self up front is required. Moving from a small market to a large market takes work and patients. Competition is most fierce at the top and bottom of the list. College graduates abound and so do those trying to break into news. Those that get in are usually trying to move up and the closer to the top the better you have to be...at least in theory.

Getting in the business early and working with as many people as possible will help when you are ready to go from a small to large market. Staying in touch with people along the way will also help. I can’t tell you how many times a new employee comes in and we have worked with somebody you know or worked with along the way. No matter what size market the business itself is its own little world.

Erin Worrell

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Pictures are the most important

We are a television station and we use pictures to tell a story. It may sound strange but I have to explain this to people all the time. I once had a News Director who would yell without video it would be called newspaper. (Yes I know you can get video from newspapers these days but you get the point.)

While you the viewer see Melanie and Bill on the desk or Ken and Frank reporting on a story none of it would be possible without the photographer. Being able to see a story takes skill and constant creativity. Every story brings another creative idea on how to tell a story better. Think about a story you saw on the news...one that really got you to watch as much as you hear it that was provided by the photographer. Pictures hold emotions and being able to point and shot is one thing but stirring emotion in the eye of viewer is something entirely different. 

A photographer holds the key to the story inside a lens. It doesn’t matter how good a reporter is if they don’t have the video to write the story. A story is never written until after a reporter or producer watches the video because what you are seeing tells the story you are hearing. They work hand in hand.

I have been very lucky to work with some amazing photographers. So next time you watch the news think about the person on the other side of the lens who played a very important role in bringing the story alive for you to understand. And thanks to all the photogs behind the scenes who work so hard to bring a simple picture to life. You are truly invaluable.

Erin Worrell

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Holidays and News Schedules

I remember planning for family the first Thanksgiving after I was married. I could not seem to get anyone to understand why I didn’t have the day off on such a big holiday...we still repeat this storyline for every holiday. While many people have Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, and so on...these are simply days of the week in news. The only day off is the one you request and everything is subject to change. 

We all accept certain things about the jobs we choose. If you choose news know you will work holidays. It is the nature of the beast. I knew before I started working in news that was how it worked. Not just here but every television station. But it isn’t just holidays…

Schedules are a funny thing in news. Like on my schedule it simply says evening on the days I work. I know when I have certain meetings and what I need to have ready to go for those meetings so I come in time to prepare myself. How long that might take changes day to day. It also doesn’t tell me what time the end of my day is. I have a basic idea of when my day starts and ends but specifics would only get in the way. My day is over when I have gotten all the information I can on all the stories I am working at any given time. Some days I could work 8 hours on a big news day 10 to 12 is nothing out of the ordinary though.

I cannot tell you how many times my husband has gotten a phone call toward what I thought would be the end of my day that sounded like this, “Hello, breaking news...check the website...pick up the kids...gotta run...call you later..."click. 

Some people would hate it for me I love it. One of the reasons I work in news is I never have the same day twice. Everyday I learn something new and meet a new person or find great story that is different from the day before. I had a college proffessor ask me constantly if I had “fire in the belly.” It wasn’t until I started working I truely understood what he meant and it wasn’t until I had children it would be tested. I love working in news and that what keeps us all going. We have a “fire in the belly” and without it none of this would be possible.

Erin Worrell