Know Your Newsroom – Page 21 – Survive Your Job In Television News

Shine Bright: How anchors can gain respect and allies with the news staff.

may be the managers of shows, but anchors are viewed as the leaders. How you carry yourself and treat those around you carries a tremendous amount of weight. When I started in the business a lot of anchors could be condescending and made it clear they had it better (and were better) than anyone else. That changed over the years as more people wanted to get TV jobs, the trend became having younger anchors on television, then the economy crashed. Salaries for anchors went down. Now anchors are not considered the “gods of the newsroom” as much anymore on many levels. But, anchors, do not underestimate your influence.

Over the years I watched many extremely talented anchors roll up their sleeves and take on more and more responsibilities. Now promoting the station through social media is a huge task. Many anchors work with local newspapers, magazines and/or radio stations to increase the station’s exposure. Anchors are truly taking on more than a figurative leadership role. They truly are out there every day working their tails off to prove their station is worth watching.

With that kind of pressure, can come hot tempers. I saw an increase in frustrated anchors complaining on set about bad writing, a bad camera cue, even openly criticizing management during commercial breaks. Some anchors started coming into work late because they didn’t appreciate the longer hours. Some snuck out for long meal breaks bragging management is too disorganized to notice. Quick heads up: Management hears! Your coworkers are the ones turning you in. There is a growing desire to see everyone working hard for their paychecks. And this might surprise you, but anchors are often held in the same regard as management itself. Sometimes the expectation for anchors is not fair. There are elements to the performance part of their jobs other news positions cannot relate to. Still, acting like a diva in these economic times would be the worst thing for an anchor right now.

So how do you win over the news staff without burning yourself out before you step on the set? The top thing, cheerlead. Remember, leaders are the people you come to for advice and support. Be the supportive ear as much as you can for the entire staff.

This may sound silly, but it is very effective. Show appreciation with simple gestures like an email saying “Thanks for the hard work this week.” when you know everyone really went through the grinder. If a reporter did a great job on a story, send a quick text complimenting the work. At the end of a sweeps period, that was intense, bring in donuts. Treats like food go a long way toward winning friends and influencing news people. These gestures are so rare, they are really relished. It shows you understand everyone grinds all day and you appreciate their blood, sweat and tears. Remember, you are often lumped in as a type of management by the staff. It comes with the leadership element of your job.

Finally avoid the long breaks and coming in late for the weekend shift because you think management won’t know anyway. Get to work a few minutes early, smile on your face and be excited about the day. If you hear grumbling remind everyone things will work out. This kind of role model is rare in news. It is needed. You will win allies. Maybe a whole newsroom’s worth all watching your back in return.

Your Weathercast is going long again! How meteorologists can rein it in.

Yes, this is a stereotype. The meteorologist is going long, again… and again… and… well you get the picture. The thing is, this really does happen a lot. You are given 2 minutes, but take 2 and a half or 3. The exasperated producer asks you why and you tell him/her: “I had a lot of stuff today… someone sent in a weather photo … the bosses are requiring me to put too much into the forecast each night.” Here’s the thing: The producer doesn’t really appreciate any of these reasons. Think about it. The producer has a lot of elements, then gets stuck with your weather photo also at the last minute, and is often required by management to put too much into the newscast. Still the producer has to hit the meter points and time the show out correctly start to finish. So let’s take some producer timing tricks and apply them to weather casts so you can time them to the second. Here’s how:

Pad it
Explain escape plan
Watch the clock
Practice “feeling” the time

First pad your weather cast with an extra element or two in each hit. This is an element that is nice, but can be done on any given day. If you can, put it in the same place in your weather rundown for the director/TD’s sake.

That’s where explaining the escape plan comes in. Let the director/TD know what element is considered an extra and how long you need to get through it. That way they can help you dump out quickly and make time.

Now, let’s talk about watching the clock: It can seem difficult for a meteorologist since your content is so literally hands on while you are live. To get around this, you can do 1 or more of the following things: 1) Wear an IFB so you can get time cues and tell the producer specifically what you want. 2) Write what time you have to wrap up on an index card and place it above your camera. That way you don’t have to do math in your head. You can look at the time casually and know what to do. 3) Have the production crew time cue you to the wrap up element so you can get out quickly.

Another trick that isn’t as common but can be effective is to get a stop watch and practice doing forecasts to time. Stand in front of the green screen and practice each of your hits several times with all the elements management is requiring. Use the stop watch to help you figure out how to time youself. Then repeat what you did several times over. You will start to develop an internal clock that let’s you know what, say, 2 minutes “feels” like. A lot of seasoned producers have this. They can time out segments of their newscasts almost to the second, by feel, as much as by watching a clock.

Now let’s talk specifically about when management throws extra elements at, then says you must find a way to pull off without extra time. You know you cannot do it in the time allotted. So, spell that out directly to the producer as early as possible. That way the producer has time time to find a work around in their format to hit meter points. There is nothing more frustrating than watching weather go long, then hear from the meteorologist that she/he knew the wx was going to go long, but didn’t warn the producer. Sometimes management forgets if a section of a newscast is particularly crucial for hitting meter points. The producer or EP may need to go in and request some formatting changes so you can do what you need, and hit meters. Yes, you would think management would let the producer know so you can just focus on doing the weather. But often that’s simply not the case. The producer goes into the newscast blind, then gets royally screwed on air. Yes, it makes the producer bitter. You don’t want the producer cheating you on time or, worse yet, complaining that you cannot time manage and are difficult to handle. Weather may be the most watched element, but solid producers are hard to replace. It’s probably best not to test your luck and potentially rock the boat. Just provide a heads up so the producer can prepare.

Lastly, if you are asked to reformat your weather cast and add a bunch of new elements, try to add 1 a day. That way you can figure out what fits and doesn’t in a given hit, then provide that feedback to management and/or the producer. That helps everyone time out the changes better so you aren’t stuck going long and the producer isn’t pulling their hair out.

Join With Your Anchor: The true make or break of your newscast.

Truth be told, one of the single most important relationships in a newsroom is that between anchor and producer. If you don’t click, chances are your newscast won’t click and someone or all of you will be shown the door. You don’t have to like each other. But you do have to work well together.

These two jobs are so intertwined, it can be very hard to form an alliance. This is because the people doing the two jobs don’t always understand the intricacies of the other side. In many cases, anchors are seen as self-important divas who lord it over everyone else. Anchors can seem detached and uninterested in all it takes to put a newscast together by taking long lunch or dinner breaks and seeming to have endless personal conversations on the phone. I knew a couple of news anchors that watched baseball and football games while people all around them were slamming to make air. Producers resent this type of behavior immensely. But let’s look at it more closely. What we producers don’t often see is the constant pressure anchors feel to perform, against the odds. Also some of the phone calls can be radio interviews, networking calls to connect with community leaders and calls to help management vet out a potential new employee. Nowadays anchors are being asked to blog and tweet and write articles for hyperlocal magazines and internet sites. The push is always on to increase their exposure. Then, after all that, they have to be refreshed and full of energy to “perform” on air. In fairness, many anchors are dealing with producers that are undertrained (see Throw me a lifeline) and defensive about it.

Now, a look at behind the scenes as a producer. We spell a lot of the pressures out in “Hey she got more time,” but in summary, there are constant unrelenting deadlines and if anything goes wrong in the newscast, including anchors stumbling or seemingly having a low energy day, producers get called to the carpet by management. Frustrations can then come with this relentless pressure and it can cause producers to lash out. The number one thing a producer has to learn, no matter what, is to not yell at the anchors. Remember, anchors are not only the face of the station, they are the only way anyone “sees” a producer’s hard work. When you ask viewers about newscasts they do not say: “I love channel “X” because they have really interesting tag elements and natural sound that makes me want to keep watching. Oh, and I also love their teases, they really hook me in.” They say: “Oh so and so is on that channel. I like (or don’t like) him/her.” The viewer’s opinion of that anchor is also the producer’s responsibility. You help the anchors connect with the viewers.

Producers must deliver strong content and the anchor must be able to sell it convincingly and authoritatively. This requires getting to know each other and trying to downplay each other’s weaknesses. Read that again, and notice the word “downplay.” There are a lot of producers who relish seeing their “lazy” anchor sweat on set if, say, the anchor is weak at adlibbing breaking news, or stinks at chat. The person who loses the most from putting an anchor in an extremely uncomfortable position is the producer. Yes, the anchor gets embarrassed on television and if this happens repeatedly can stiffen up on air and have trouble with job performance. I still contend putting anchors in bad positions is worse for the producer because you showcase to the whole staff that you are petty and untrustworthy. You are not professional. When you get assigned to another newscast, those anchors will be on the defensive and unwilling to give up some of those dinner breaks or make phone calls to help you. Remember this is a small business and news managers are not the only ones vetting potential new hires. Anchors are paid to be in the know too. Again, so we are crystal clear, some of those phone calls you see may not be to the family at home or a friend the anchor gossips with. In fact, many times the anchor is networking. That means if you want to get out of the business and stay in town, your anchor is potentially your greatest asset to help with references. Let’s say you want to move out of town to another station, your anchor may be your best asset to help you get to the market where you want to go.

We producers do not always give our anchors enough credit for what they do leading up to the newscast. Even if the anchor really is lazy and spends most of the shift leading up to air on the phone “fooling around,” we are paid to protect the anchor on the air and not put him/her in uncomfortable positions. You are paid to make your anchor look good, even if that person, in your opinion, doesn’t deserve it.

Producers, often you are the one who have to start the smart alliance. You need to sit your anchors down and establish expectations for both sides, in a respectful way. Believe it or not, because so many shops are producer driven, anchors wait for you to take the lead in the relationship. They recognize that many times your job is the one that’s harder to fill. They realize they are the face of the station, but in today’s economy no one is safe in the newsroom, and anchor pay is often cut to make up for budget shortfalls. The anchor may not want to start pushing because of fear of a backlash from the producer. Anchors get that you help them keep their jobs. As the show manager, the producer can break the ice and help you both be more comfortable with your mutual objectives. We have delved into some how to’s for this in “Anchor’s away. How to handle a difficult anchor,“and “Your Producing Voice.” We won’t stop there. This smart alliance needs a lot of nurturing so you can both excel. But for now, keep this in mind: You don’t walk in the other’s shoes. You can respect that at times those shoes are a tight squeeze, and the other person sometimes needs help with the pressure of that tight fit.

Anchor an Alliance: Stroke the hand that feeds you.

When anchors get together to talk and trade stories, silly positions they are put in while on the air is a hot topic. Usually complaining about awful things producers wrote, or uncomfortable transitions producers created, leads to many laughs and personal jokes. Then there are the war stories about the “screamers” in your ear. It is true: Producers can put you in really bad positions at times. Yet, your producer can make or break you at a particular station. So how do you form an alliance to make sure you’re on the good side of that equation?

Here’s what many producers would love to see from you, so you can stroke the hand that feeds you on air. Often the producer will not directly ask for these things because they feel it isn’t their place to do so. If you can provide them these simple things, you will get a loyal ally.

Let the producer know you have his/her back. Most producers naturally assume that the anchor is on the defensive, and will put blame on the producer for any mistake the anchor makes on air. Frankly, this is because most producers get called in when an anchor is “not performing” to management’s standards and are told they are to blame. This makes producers want to keep a safe distance from their anchors.

So how do you bring this defensive wall down? Take responsibility for some of the mistakes on air in front of the producer and in front of management. Whoa, you say: “This could make me vulnerable! “ Not necessarily. Do it during discrep meetings. Other staffers will see , so will an EP or the AND, but most importantly the producer will see it in a public setting. Things like, “I didn’t get a chance to rework a paragraph in story such and such and stumbled today, sorry guys.” or “I forgot to get an interesting fact from so and so meteorologist for the pitch so it would flow, so I apologize if I rambled.” or “I forgot we were switching to two shots at the top of the c-block, I’ll remember now.” Here’s what usually happens when you head home, the producer and associate producer or the producer and director stays late and looks for ways to help you (a) not have to rewrite a paragraph, (b) make it easier for you to find a factoid to pitch to weather next time (c) sit down with the TD or camera crew to remind them to remind you about the new two shot. If you come across as humble and trying to help, you will win a huge ally that will bend over backwards for you every day. No, the producer won’t always get it right. But chances are you will get more apologies and more mea culpas from the producer as well. You might even get to weigh in on news copy and formatting changes more often before air.

Producers also want you helping out leading up to the newscast. No, you do not need to write the entire show. If the producer is worth a bean, he/she thrives on taking ownership and writing most of the show. Still, having an anchor “check in” once or twice leading up to a newscast offering to help write is seen as a huge sign of respect. Some producers will assign you a story, some will use this as an opportunity for a gut check on something they are worried about. Some will tell you to hop in and write whatever you want. All will respect you for helping to build the newscast, not just wanting to read it on TV.

Many times when anchors compliment producers, they talk about producers designing segments with the anchor’s voice in mind. (See Producer Voice ) This can be hard for the producer to do, if they don’t know much about you. We will dedicate an article on techniques to help producers write in your voice more in depth later, but for now let’s talk basics so you can help producers. The producer needs an idea of who you are as a person, and what kind of stories you really like. I had an anchor once that was very interested in travel and airlines. So I would purposely put pacers in about the airlines because his energy level would boost every time he read one. Frankly, some of the stories were boring and I questioned viewer benefit. But his energy would pop so much, it was worth giving up 15 seconds. Another anchor loved political news so most of the time he would get the interview segments about campaign issues. He was well read and thought of much better questions than I could. Another anchor of mine had an incredible mind for health issues. She knew all the latest trends and could really tell if a news release was a PR stunt or true medical breakthrough for the area. I would call her when she came in and was settled for the day and ask what she thought of various stories to put in the newscast. I knew these things because the anchors would chat me up about them when we waited for the editorial meetings to start. These anchors didn’t sit me down for huge philosophical discussions, they just clued me into their interests at an opportune time in my day when I could actually listen.

If you see a mistake, bring it to the producer’s attention in a respectful way. We delve more into this in our article, “Throw me a lifeline” but this is a crucial reminder. If you want a loyal ally, do not make fun of news copy or uncomfortable transition lines on the set during the show with the other anchor. Chances are the producer heard the bad writing or bad transition and is beating him/herself up about it already. To hear you poke fun just puts salt in the wound especially because you are doing so in front of people the producer has to help manage during the newscasts. Basically, it feels like you cut the producer off at the knees. The production crew may laugh with you, but they don’t respect you for it either. Remember, you also aren’t perfect. They see you stumble, and occasionally make dumb comments. If you want those moments to pass, don’t bring up other people’s mistakes publicly.

Finally, remember that compliments are powerful. Producers do not get to go out in public and be told how great the newscast is. In many shops it’s a rare thing for management to throw a compliment the producer’s way. To hear from you occasionally, about a segment you liked or something nice a viewer told you, really means a lot. The producer feels like you respect him/her as a part of your success as well. It helps you “anchor” an alliance that really can boost your career.