Friday, November 23, 2007

Taking Chances

Can you possible plan ahead too far?

I’ve recently noticed my job as a Planning Editor is slowly spilling over to my personal life. What people don’t realize is, when you spend countless hours planning ahead, you hardly ever just let things happen, and live in the now. I’ve been the laughing stalk of the newsroom since Monday at 10:05am. Why you may ask, because I just bought concert tickets for get this….JANUARY 20, 2009, YES 2009.

The biggest-selling female artist of ALL time will be in town on that night, and I can hardly wait! On December 15th, 2007 Celine Dion will take her final bow in Las Vegas and end her record breaking show A NEW DAY. A few months later she will begin her Taking Chances World Tour with stops in Africa, Asia, and Canada and of course North America. I had the pleasure of seeing her show in Las Vegas a few years back and it was worth every penny.

Now the question to you is, is there any artist you would buy a ticket for the moment it comes out, even if it’s over a year away? Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Although I don’t know what my future holds, or where this life may take me, I do know where I hope to be on January 20, 2009. Enjoying the amazing sounds of Celine Dion in section 1 on the main floor, being thankful I planned ahead!

Best,
Dominique

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The News Never Stops

!

Holiday News

It is is usually like a ghost-town in the newsroom on Holidays. That is especially true on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The only people in the building are the handful of people in the newsroom who have to make sure we are covering the news of the day. And much like the limited people in the newsroom, there is usually little to no breaking news going on during the holidays.

So what exactly do we cover on holidays? Of course we try to cover as many events (dinners, shopping, and shelters) as possible, but we also like to make sure we are representing the other news that is happening. This morning, we had a fire that broke out at a duplex. By listening to the police and fire scanners, it did not sound like a very big deal. But I chose to send a photographer to get some video just in case it turned out to be something more. Well, that it did. Raleigh police have arrested someone in connection with the blaze and there appears to be more of a story than we first thought.

So even though all of us love to cover the rescue mission serving meals, the parents getting in some early shopping, and the people hitting the gym, we must continue to gather the news that happens.

Monday, November 19, 2007

NBC17: Can I help you?

I talk to people all day long….on the phone…in person….via email…text message…okay, you get my point. By far, the ones that stand out are the phone calls from people asking for our news tip contact information.

Often times, during a newscast, we advertise a phone # and email address to send us news tips.  Generally, within 10 seconds of the news tips information being aired, my phone rings. Here’s how the conversation usually goes:

(ring ring)
Me:  NBC-17 News, this is Jason.
Caller: Yes,  I just saw this number on your tv and want to know what’s the best # to call in a news tip?
Me: Sir/Mam, this number you just called is the best # to call. It’s staffed 24/7.
Caller: Thanks. (click)

Another favorite type of conversations are the phone calls from PR people updating their contact database. Usually we get about four or five agencies a day that call with the sole purpose of updating their files. They usually like to know the names, phone #’s and email addresses to the assignment editors and morning show producers.  Here’s how these fun conversations go:

(ring ring)
Me: NBC-17 News, this is Jason.
Caller: Hi. My name is (insert name here) from (insert PR company name here), and I’m calling to update our database of contacts. Who is your assignment manager?
Me: That would be me.
Caller: oh sorry. And , how what’s your name?
Me: It’s Jason Clough (pronounced cluff) but spelled C-L-O-U-G-H
Caller: I’m sorry what is it again? clow (which sounds like cow with an “L” added)
Me: No. It’s Clough (pronounced cluff) but spelled C-L-O-U-G-H
Caller: Okay. C…..L….
(silence)
Me: O-U-G-H
Caller:…..O…..U
Me: Right, G-H
Caller: Okay, so C-L-O-U-G-H…and how to pronounce it?
Me: Cluff
Caller: And what’s your email address?
Me: My first intial, last name @wncn.com
(We’ll stop the call transcription here…I think you get the point).

Finally, the ones that truly make me laugh are the people that call the news tips line…knowing they don’t have a news tip but want to complain or rant about something (and since it’s usually not the local news they are complaining about) I usually have to transfer them to someone else (which makes them crazy). Here’s how one conversation went:

(ring ring)
Me: NBC-17 News, this is Jason
Caller: Jason…My name is (insert name here)…and I don’t really have a news tip but I want to complain about why you took the Martha Stewart show off your air?
Me: Sir/Mam, that’s a question for our programming department. I’m in the newsroom but would be more than happy to transfer you, would you mind holding?
Caller: (sigh) I guess….

In the end, it’s my job to get people to those individuals that have the information being sought.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Veterans Day Coverage

Too many events, not enough crews…

On a day when there are so many different activities and events to cover, the assignment desk has some interesting choices to make.

Today is Veterans day. And much like every holiday that is recognized in our country, that means there will be a number of local events to cover.

As a news station, we try to cover as many of the local stories as we can. However, we cannot make every single event that is going on, so we must decide which ones to send a crew to.

We prefer to cover events that are visual and have interesting people in them. Just like you, as viewers, want to watch visually exciting stories, we like to cover them.
With any story that we cover, there are no guarentees that we will get out of it what we came for. But if an event offers elements right off the bat (that we know will be a good visual story), we lean towards sending a crew to that event.

Today, we decided to send a crew to a ceremony in Lillington where they were going to be laying a wreath, hear from speakers, and have a local boy scout troop. This type of event gives us the opportunity to shoot a lot of different elements for a story.

We also decided to cover a local saloon who is giving free haircuts to veterans. This is also a very visual story that will offer the reporter and photographer a lot of good shots and sounds for their piece. If we do not cover a local event, it is not because we did not like it. We simply do not have the crews to cover all of the events in our area.

I do encourage people to forward as many events on days like these (and all days throughout the year) to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We will try our best to cover as many as possible.