It’s no secret that producers are protective of their rundowns. They simply want them a certain way. Many get downright nasty about making a change. Here’s the deal though, if you are one of those producers married to their rundown, you need to be ready to lose your job. Yes, it is true. That’s not producing, that is stacking.
Producing is about explaining news in a compelling way, through a conversation with visuals and sound. More importantly, producing is about anticipating change and still executing flawlessly. That is what managers want. The ability to do that, means you can showcase, you can protect your anchors, you story-tell and most of all you own breaking news every day, every time.
The thing managers hate the most is when a breaker needs to go in the newscast and the producer says no or pitches a fit because it will mess up their rundown. This is why old timers will often jump your business about calling what you put on the air a “show” instead of a “newscast.” A show is entertainment that can be put to bed early, and dressed up in pretty bows. This is not “show business.” It’s the news business. A newscast demands that you put in whatever is new, anyway you can and inform the viewer from start to finish. See the difference? The newscast can and should have showcasing elements. It can get dressed up, but if there’s a breaker, those pretty bows might have to go so the new story bursts through. In other words, your job is to inform. You cannot expect or demand to write a few things early in the day, then refuse to change the rundown. That is failing at your job. There, I said it. So many tip toe around this idea but, it is the truth. As much as all of us producers want it to be our newscast, it belongs to the viewer. It serves a purpose to inform. “ New” takes precedence, always. This goes for anchors too. It’s not your newscast. Again, the newscast belongs to the viewer. You are all vehicles by which information gets out. Take the ego out of it, put the great information in as a collective unit and you will win. So, remember, the best rundowns are those which you can easily blow up and put in new information. If that is more than you can handle, think about a career change.
