Know Your Newsroom – Page 24 – Survive Your Job In Television News

Your Producing Voice: How you get into anchor’s heads.

I have a secret for producers. It’s something your anchors aren’t going to tell you. However, they may say it behind your back. Your voice in our IFB tells us everything we need to know about how good you are at what you do — or whether you have a long way to go.

A friend of mine reminded me of this the other day. In 2004, she produced the wall-to-wall coverage of Hurricane Charley that I anchored at WSPA-TV. As a new hurricane, Irene, was barreling toward the Carolina coast, she was reminiscing on my Facebook wall about the chaos going on behind-the-scenes at the station when Charley hit the Myrtle Beach area.

But her experience was far different from mine. All I remember from that day in 2004 was her soft, reassuring voice in my head calmly telling me which satellite shot to go to next. She’d line-up one. Sometimes it would work out and I could talk with the reporters out on the beach as the wind and rain beat them harder and harder. In those conditions, the satellite shot would go down a lot, though. It probably stressed her out to the max. But you couldn’t tell by her voice. With smooth, even tones, she’d let me know we’d lost that one and suggest where to go next. If she didn’t have a suggestion, I’d just ad-lib until we got back on-track.

Sometimes when she’d open her mic, I could hear someone near her in the booth screaming. It was clear that day who was really in control in the “control room,” the producer really knew what she was doing.

I’ve worked with some brilliant producers. The best are “power producers” in the newsroom who build innovative, incisive blocks of news that showcase their anchors’ full range of personality. Throughout the day, they prod their reporters. And they can be gruff when they’re not getting what they want.

But then, right before their show, they ascend the steps above the director to the producer’s perch in the control room and it’s like they take on the personality of a guardian angel: wise, patient, and soft-spoken. Like Bela Karolyi, the best use breaks in the action to coach their anchors into an Olympic performance.

“Nice ad-lib there on story X,” you might hear them say during a commercial break. “You had the whole control room laughing.”

Or it can be as simple as: “Great pacing on that A-block. We’re right on time.”

That doesn’t mean stroking your anchors’ egos. I don’t want you to tell me I’m doing a good job if the show’s a train wreck or my energy is off. You should still communicate with me though.

“Live shots down all over the place,” you might say. “Gotta love live TV! Just keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll get through it — and we needed material for the holiday party blooper tape anyway.”

It really is like that scene from Broadcast News when the producer, played by Holly Hunter, got the very inexperienced anchor, played by William Hurt, through a special report about Libya. Hopefully you won’t need to be the ventriloquist Hunter’s character nearly becomes in that scene. But this quote from the movie’s anchor is so true:

“You’re an amazing woman,” he tells his producer. “What a feeling having you inside my head!”

So the next time you feel like hitting that button in the booth and really letting your anchor have it in his IFB, remember that. You’re in his head. And what you say will dramatically impact his performance for the rest of that show — and maybe for the rest of the time you work together.

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Matthew Nordin is a morning anchor and investigative reporter at Raycom Media’s WMBF News, the NBC affiliate in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was an anchor/reporter at WSPA-TV in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC from 2001-2005. Soon, he’ll write about communicating with your anchor during live interviews. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewNordin

You exist to hold my tripod: How to make peace with the photographer that hates reporters.

Throughout my career I heard this phrase uttered by photographers when discussing reporters: “You exist to hold my tripod.” It was followed by a laugh and shaking of the head. There is a lot behind this phrase that many reporters and news managers don’t stop to think about. It’s especially true now, with more stations turning to one man band and backpack journalists. Without photojournalists, there would be no TV news. The video, together with sound, is what separates us from other news mediums. Yet many take for granted the photojournalist that is putting a lot of physical effort and artistic ability into his/her work. In many shops photojournalists do not get much recognition from management. It all goes to the reporters and anchors.

Being the reporter thought of as only good enough to hold the tripod is frustrating. But a good journalist can consider many perspectives, right? Whether you like it or not, you are going to be assigned to work with photojournalists who have this attitude from time to time. They exist in every shop. Murphy’s Law dictates you will be assigned to this angry photojournalist whenever you have a great story that you hope will be good enough to keep for your resume.

So in the interest of peace and understanding, let’s look a little more at why some photojournalists feel this way. In truth, there are many reporters that think photogs are their servants. They refuse to help carry gear. They boss the photojournalist around and tell them to get specific shots, rather than gently asking. And they often do this in front of someone being interviewed. This treatment is humiliating. Think about the time when a ND calls you in and asks how you could ever have written something so dumb? You know how it feels. We’ve all been there. Showing respect is crucial. Also, because there is a lack of training in newsrooms, often a seasoned photojournalist gets stuck working with newbie reporters. All of us are clueless when we first take news jobs. We are a pain in the butt and a potential liability as we get our TV legs. Add in a know it all, “I can conquer the world” attitude and a seasoned photojournalist legitimately wants to not only hand you a tripod to carry, but shove it where the sun doesn’t shine!

So enough psychology of why, let’s talk survival skills. The tried and true way to develop a positive working relationship with these seemingly impossible photographers is to show them some respect. Yes, you will often want specific shots taken in the field. So, let the photog know what you are thinking and ask them to help you out, rather than tell them to get a shot. Then ask for input and tell them you would love a few more shots or more natural sound to go with the shots you need if the photojournalist sees a good opportunity. Ask the photojournalist’s opinion, often. This person is a huge asset for you, even when it can be a bitter pill. These articles spell out why and what to do if the photog is really hazing you. (see Photog is a reporter’s best friend and Thank you sir, how to handle newsroom hazing)

Do whatever you can to get the photojournalist involved in the story. Again, at end of each interview ask if the photojournalist has any questions for the subject. Some of the best perspective on a story can come from the true observer. (There is no truer “observer” than a photog watching the story play out through the lens of a camera!) When you shoot your standup talk to the photographer about what you are thinking of doing and ask for help making it work visually.

Most of all, don’t give up. Keep showing respect even if you think you are only getting insults in return. Remember the psychology of why. These photographers often care, passionately, about the video and sound they are gathering. They want their hard work appreciated by someone, but they have been burned, often. Be patient, compliment when appropriate, and show respect. With time that photographer will turn into an asset and you will be glad to hold the tripod for him/her!

Bottoms up! Making sure your newscast is ready, no matter what.

It’s is one of the hardest things to pull off as a producer: Making it to air, clean and polished, despite managers constantly changing your rundown and getting slammed with breaking news.

One time I had a news director reworking my rundown so much, I ended up having just two hours to turn an hour long newscast. I made it with help from associate producers and my anchors, but vowed never to be in that horrible position again. Many of us know producers who write during the newscast, printing scripts a block before they air. This is preventable. Here’s how.

You produce bottom’s up. No you don’t take a flask to work for your top drawer (as tempting as that can be). You literally produce from the bottom of your rundown to the top. It works for all newscasts. Here’s how to do it, using an hour long newscast as an example. Usually the final two blocks of your rundown are segmented and similar day to day. Format, assign the anchor reads & graphics and write these blocks first. Have these stories edited first as well. Next, work on the c-block and :45 block. Put these to bed. Then, do the :30 block and the b-block, except the block leads. Again, finesse what you write, and have the stories edited quickly. Now, in the last two hours, you can concentrate on the a-block as well as the b-block and :30 leads. This way when all hell breaks loose you can slam out any breakers that pop. You will have segments finished that look polished and are complete. So if a breaker doesn’t make it in time you have lots of finished content.

Now let’s talk about backups. Have plenty on hand, stashed throughout your rundown. These backup stories should vary in length to fit different timing needs. This will help make sure you can hit meters nearly to the second. You assign these backup stories to your associate producer (AP) early in the day, and whenever interesting stories develop. Some producers even make AP’s rework package scripts into vo/sot backups in case the reporter moves to breaking news and the newscast gets heavy on time. Again, you want these assigned as early in your shift as possible. That way you can spend the back half of your shift rolling with management decisions and breaking news.

Wait to assign which stories you tease in which spots in the rundown, until one hour before printing. You do this because if the bosses make you blow up your rundown, changing the teases can eat a lot of your precious time. Write those teases in separate scripts at the bottom of the rundown, so editors can put them together. Then move the individual tease scripts up into the rundown and assign anchor reads an hour before printing.

A final trick, put dummy scripts in your rundown that have basic formatting (i.e.- “take vo” cues etc.). If your shop allows it, you can even have these built into the rundown format so you don’t have to create them every day. Also, throw in anchor reads for the block leads the night before.

Here’s a summary:

How to produce it quick!

Bottom’s up!
AP writes backup scripts of differing lengths.
Write entire blocks early.
Assign teases to their spots 1 hour before printing.
Format dummy scripts.
Assign some anchor reads the night before.

Road trip! You can cover us, right?

No way around it. This is an uncomfortable trend in many newsrooms right now. In fact, some companies are making it written policy. The good part: You get a sweet out of town assignment! The bad part: You have to pay the travel costs upfront, fill out an expense report when you get back, then wait for reimbursement that can take up to 6 weeks. And, by the way, your credit card bill will come due before that 6 weeks is up and you get your money back. It’s a problem a lot of news employees are wrestling with these days. I recently read a forum entry on b-roll.net from a photojournalist asking how to approach this subject during salary negotiations. Here are some ideas to deal with this road trip trend.

So what if you are asked to go out of town and just cannot front the money? You need to tell management flat out. Yes, it could mean losing out on a primo assignment. Better that than not paying your bills though. In many cases, if management really wants you on the story, there is a work around. Sometimes the boss pays the hotel, or perhaps the business manager ponies up some petty cash. It really depends on the station and the individual managers. Does saying you cannot pay upfront make you look bad to the bosses? That depends on the manager. But even if they seem upset, they usually understand. Most often it’s more a case of managers being frustrated because they know asking you to pay upfront is unreasonable and the boss is stuck with a policy that stinks.

If you decide to front the money, get a description of any limits for certain expenses ahead of time in writing. (i.e. – How much per meal? How much for parking etc.?) Be firm on this. Trouble is, some of these policies are so rigid, the limits can be highly unreasonable. For example, some companies have a maximum amount to be reimbursed for hotel stays. Depending on where you are going and what you are covering, hotel costs can vary greatly. This can put a crew in a really rough spot especially if the limits were not checked ahead of time. The last thing you want is to pay $150 for a room only to find out the company policy is a maximum of $100. That’s your credit card and, therefore, your financial worth on the line. If no one can provide you with written limits, think hard before agreeing to the assignment.

If you are headed out of town on a last minute assignment you need to ask about clothing and equipment reimbursement limits. You never know what’s going to happen, and you want to be prepared. Also, in an open ended return kind of scenario, set a limit as to how much you are willing to pay out of pocket before you go. Make sure management and the business office are clear you will not front a single dollar more and there needs to be a backup plan everyone is aware of in case you have to stay longer than your money will pay for.

Also ask how far out of your market qualifies a trip as “out of town.” You don’t want a scenario where you decide to push it driving home, then stop for dinner somewhere too close to your ADI to count for reimbursement. Yes, you were miles and miles away on assignment, but the button pushers will only look at the location of the purchase if there are ADI restrictions. You will either get stuck covering the meal or have to go several rounds with the boss to make your receipt an exception. If that happens it could be held against you later. Remember, a case like this makes the boss look disorganized. Even if the boss is sloppy, you don’t want to be the one who makes it obvious to the world. Asking for those policies ahead of time will avoid the mess.

What if your contract requires you to front the money ahead of time? The only practical advice we can offer is to keep a credit card that can “cover you” until you are reimbursed. A contract is a contract and if you signed it, you’re going to have to live up to its terms.

This is a complicated and emerging issue in TV newsrooms. There may be more ways to deal with it than we’ve listed here. So, please, if you have other ideas let us know. You can leave comments below. Many of us are facing this type of situation for the first time in our careers and need to bounce ideas around about covering that sweet road trip upfront.