Producing – Page 10 – Survive Your Job In Television News

Time to question, all those questions!

You would think asking questions would be the easiest part of a TV journalists job. We are paid to ask them all day long, so we should be experts, right? Yet it is nearly impossible to watch a newscast and not see very strange and uncomfortable Q and A’s. We recently discussed those pesky consultant/management mandates that say you must have the anchor ask the reporter a question going into a live shot (see “What’s with the question”). Now let’s talk about required questions in live tags.

First a comment to managers and producers that think this must happen after every live shot no matter what: Is this a cheap copout? Yes, there is a tone in my question. There is good reason. The nature of many news philosophies is to exploit, and I would argue create, tension in Q and A. We want spirited debate. We want to expose the swindler. We want to play out the anger in the situation. We want to separate fact from fiction. These are great elements to make great TV, no arguments there. But what is the point of Q and A between anchors and reporters? It’s team building. Here is a wild and crazy idea: Could these mandated questions actually make it seem like the team is working against each other?

To clarify, I am talking about Q and A out of basic news of the day stories. I’m not talking about breaking news. Q and A is very natural and frankly expected by the audience in breaking news. In this article we are talking about Q and A found at the end of live reports about school budget cuts, ongoing court cases, follow ups to yesterday’s big fire. These are the stories that can really be bundled up in nice little packages. The facts are not changing minute-by-minute and therefore do not need clarifying. In other words, the reporter doesn’t really need the anchor to back them up and make sure the information was clear because new facts are constantly coming in.

We’re talking about Q and A scripted after the event that the reporter is covering is finished. Stories that give viewers insight into what happened. In these run of the mill situations, the questions often come across as forced and, if you really think about it, often make either the anchor or the reporter seem clueless about a given fact.

In order to script effective Q and A in the tag to a live shot, you must first really understand the role of both the anchor and the reporter TO THE VIEWER. The anchor must be more than the “pretty” person sitting on the desk, telling the reporter what to do. This is how many Q and A’s come across: The boss (anchor) is quizzing to see if the worker (reporter) did his/her assignment and understands the material. Is this team building? What is the anchor to the viewer?

At stations where the anchors are very highly regarded, you find that viewers consider the anchor to be their voice, their advocate. Viewers say, “The anchor looks out for my community. He/she asks what I am thinking.” Reporters are the eyewitnesses that show viewers what’s happening in their town or neighborhood, and demand the truth. So when you have an anchor ask a reporter a pointed question that can seem adversarial toward the reporter, you lessen the credibility of the reporter a bit. Then there’s the other common type of scripted question: the softball. Since many producers and reporters are under intense time constraints, the mandated questions are often after thoughts. They become trivial questions that make the anchor look like he/she isn’t paying attention to the issue being discussed. No, you don’t want the anchor picking a fight with the reporter. You also don’t want the anchor coming off as having sat in “la la land” for the last 2 minutes and being clueless about the issue. The viewer assumes the anchor has a clue about the story being discussed. Remember the anchor is the viewer’s advocate. So asking, “Hey Joe Schmo when’s the next council meeting if people want to attend?” is a throwaway. It’s information that’s too basic. If you are required to script a question, have the anchor ask something like, “Joe, if people really want to speak before council at the next meeting on the 7^th, what do they need to do?” This shows the anchor knows there’s another meeting, and is thinking about concrete facts the viewers need to know to have a voice. Then the reporter, who demands truth, has the answer. The question is in no way adversarial between anchor and reporter. Each role is clearly defined in the exchange.

That, my friends, is the key to scripting Q and A in live tags. First and foremost remember the role of the anchor to the viewer and the role of the reporter to the viewer. It will help make sure mandated questions do not come off seeming forced as often. Have the anchor ask questions so that the viewer can gain more control of the situation or move forward with the facts presented. Have the fact finder, eyewitness reporter, show the viewer the situation or explain the fact.

*Anchors if you are told to “just put questions in” you need to actually call the reporters. Don’t assume you know the story. Often you are wrong and the reporter is trying to keep you from looking like a moron. (Check out the Art of ad-lib and On the spot, when anchors put you in uncomfortable positions articles.)

As for producers or managers who mandate these Q and A’s every time, without fail, there are other ways to build team. And, keep in mind, viewers like variety. Too much scripting becomes too formulaic and makes your newscast look tedious. In conversations, there are times to ask questions and times to shut up and just listen to take it all in. The anchor’s conversations with reporters should reflect how we actually communicate with others in “the real world.” Sometimes we ask a question. Sometimes we don’t.

Alliteration: Like, Loathe or Lose?

A producer recently tweeted asking if we could put some mandates on the use of alliteration, and share how we feel about the use of alliteration at all. Simply put: Alliteration is overused in news copy. Yes, it is catchy and can re-engage the ear. But it also trivializes stories if not done just right.

So here are mandates for the use of alliteration:

Avoid it in cold opens and headlines
Do not use it in crawls
Write descriptions of video first
Use it sparingly in kickers and teases

We often hear alliteration used in teases. There are two types of “teases” where you should not use alliteration: Headlines at the top of a show and cold open type copy. (For those of you new to the biz, when I say cold open, I am talking about the fancy copy used before the anchors say hello at the top of a newscast. It often has video and/or sound or very powerful phrases to try and suck the viewer into the lead story.) The reason why is simple. These are serious stories. They define the type of news you are providing to the viewer in the newscast and you cannot afford to risk trivializing that content.

The risk of trivializing the content, is the reason you should not use alliteration in lower thirds or crawls either. Frankly, alliteration can also look a little goofy when reading it. It is not as effective as hearing the words.

When you are tempted to use alliteration in a story or tease, first look at the video and write down a few phrases that describe the pictures you will show. Often this will spark an idea for an interesting element to tease that doesn’t need alliteration. (For more on how to look at and better write to video read Can you picture it and Reel em in without exaggerating.)

If you just can’t resist, use alliteration in teases and kickers sparingly. By sparingly I mean one or two teases per newscast maximum, and two kickers per week. I am giving numbers to encourage you to really work around this crutch. That way when you do use alliteration, your viewer will love how it sounds, not loathe hearing it again, so you don’t have to lose the technique altogether.

Story tell or make a meter point? How to do both.

Timing a newscast is tough. There’s no other way to say it. Even experienced producers find themselves banging their heads against the wall during some newscasts. Especially when you want to encourage your reporters to turn compelling packages that tell stories instead of just spitting out facts. A tweet I recently saw by a producer made me concerned though. It said that good storytelling beats out making meter points. Here’s the deal: If you don’t hit meter points, you can and likely will blow your ratings. Then you, the producer, will lose your job. But it should not come to that because you can do both. Storytelling should not cook the clocks. It should set the clocks so you can maximize the team effort and boost the ratings. Here’s how.

Timing, one block at a time

Hide some pad
Write accordion copy
Segment it out

When I timed newscasts, I treated each block as a mini-show. That means, as all producers are aware, that you must have elements to help you stretch and elements you can dump to save time. I did this first with hidden pad time. I would round up the time for the cold open or the teases to buy a little wiggle room. I would add a few seconds to any chat time designed within a block. I even rounded up my commercial break times so I would have a few seconds to take if I needed.

Then I wrote a vo/sot/tag or two that could stand without the bite if I needed. Just script it with that tag as a third page so you can quickly kill the bite. I also would add an extra fact at the end of a vo, that the anchors could use to transition with (see Anchors don’t have chemistry ) that I could easily dump. I called it accordion copy. I could have the anchors read it all and make time, or I could chop a section and the story still made sense and I made up time.

Segment out your work when appropriate. This includes the story telling from reporters. For an explanation of how to do this read “Produce it up ” Here’s a quick summary. Have the reporter give you an interesting element for your intro, and some additional information for the anchor tag. If you can, make that anchor tag a vo or graphic with a line at the beginning that could stand alone. This way, if the package comes in long, you have a quick way to make the time up. The anchors read the first line of the tag and the graphic or vo is gone. I tried to segment out one story per block, where I created interesting elements over several script pages. This made the newscast look different, gave me a creative edge, and helped me have an easy way to make up time without giving up important content. If I was in a timing pinch the viewer still got the facts, just not some of the flash.

All of the above mentioned scenarios are ways to story tell. Remember, reporters don’t get all the dibs on storytelling. Reporters should be encouraged to tell interesting stories instead of reporting facts. Producers also need to emphasize the big picture, especially for those reporters that tend to chronically go long and turn in stories late. You know, the ones who then say they “can’t help it, they are storytelling.” Field crews should let you know if they are going long early enough for you to make a plan. It’s basic respect for the overall product. If you get stuck with a chronic “late and longer,” the tricks I just shared should still help you story tell without cooking all of the clocks.

Producer driven, doesn’t mean absolute power.

The trend in the TV industry keeps moving more toward the concept that “content is king.” In fact in the “2011 State of the News Media Annual Report,” trends show that in many markets managers consider newscasts appeal to be the brand more than the anchors. This means more newsrooms are turning into so called producer driven shops. Producers are becoming more of a commodity. With that comes more power. I even know of newsrooms in recent years where on air personalities took double digit pay cuts, while producers only had pay freezes. You can hear grumblings, “Yep it’s good to be the producer.” I also have seen some of those producers develop diva tendencies.

As a former producer it is nice to see producers get some long deserved respect for all the hard work. The job is a grind with a high burnout rate. Producers should be rewarded and compensated for taking on such an intense job. That said, you still need to form smart alliances with your coworkers. Especially reporters. In “Hey she got more time,” we explain to reporters how to think more like a producer. Now it’s time for producers to think more like reporters. Here’s why: When news managers decide “content is king” this ups the ante on producers to provide fresh elements in newscasts. In other words, with more attention placed on what you put into a newscast comes a price. You, the show producer, need to break news. You need to have fresh angles while on the line churning shows. You need to story tell even when the content is not presented in a reporter package form. (see “Produce it up.”)

Producers, the point is without your reporters solidly behind you, your newscast and you will fail. The crews provide the great nat sound for your local vo/sots. Reporters and assignment editors provide insight on how to source build if you are clueless. And don’t think that you won’t be expected to break news because you sit in the newsroom all day grinding a rundown. I worked in many producer driven shops and, in one of them, I was required to break 3 stories a week as a producer. Yes, that was on top of putting together my newscast and being unable to leave the newsroom to have lunches and shake hands with potential sources. How did I pull it off? I learned from some great reporters and assignment editors.

When content becomes a larger focus than showcasing anchor personalities, producers lose leeway for making mistakes. Mistiming a show and blowing a meter point can become a fire-able offense. I worked for one management team that did not allow us to go 15 seconds past a meter point. 15 seconds leeway is not easy to pull off, even when you are a seasoned producer. This means you cannot afford to have reporters miss slot. You cannot afford to have reporters turn in packages under or over time without your knowledge. The weather person cannot go long. Seeing my point here, yet? Producer driven shops actually make producers more dependent on other positions in the newsroom performing at a high level, for producers to also keep their jobs.

This leads to a big revelation for us control freak producers. Life doesn’t flow like a rundown. Commit that one to memory. Life doesn’t flow like a rundown. Time and again I witnessed producers that just could not roll well with change, especially late in their shift. Reporters were berated. Anchors were screamed at. The assignment desk was attacked mercilessly. You are paid to execute plans. You are told to make sure certain types of content runs at certain points. You hold your breath and hope to make the meter point to the second. On any given day the reality is, you will get about half of what you need to make your newscast sing.

You are paid to make it work even when you are handed a pile of crap. Lashing out at reporters and assignment editors that are not giving you the content you hoped for is a quick way to guarantee they will not go the extra mile to give you content the next day. If you want a newscast with killer content, and you don’t want to find all of it yourself each day, you need to cut your reporters SOME slack and hear them out when you are told certain angles just aren’t there. Sure there are some reporters you can count on more than others. Remember to not burn your stars that try to never leave you hanging. Those reporters are smart enough to know they are a big asset to you and can start pitching their ideas for other newscasts. This is especially true in mid to large sized markets.

So how do you think like a reporter? First have a frame of reference that stories don’t just appear in an hour. Be cognizant of drive time for field crews for example. If you want to tease a story that takes 2 hours for the crew to drive to, late in the day, then get creative about the tease and leave the crew largely alone. Don’t start calling to make sure the angle you want on a story is really happening, two hours after the crew walked out the door. That is, unless it is a late breaker and you have no choice because you are about to go to air. Be prepared to be flexible and move reporter pkgs around in the rundown if you must. Design a backup lead in case yours falls through. Field crews must be flexible all day long. Producers need to do the same, as much as possible. No, this doesn’t mean you have to lower your standards for content for your newscast. But it may mean you have to turn more of it yourself on a given day, if the crews are struggling. Do not berate the assignment desk or field crews over story ideas people come in with and belittle them by calling them “stupid” etc. If you do, expect major backlash! The thinking is “If you’re so great think of the ideas yourself.” I have been in plenty of editorial meetings and watched many reporters say, “I have story ideas but you won’t like them so tell me what I am turning today.” Suddenly you are in a very uncomfortable position.

Lastly, think about what it’s like to be left out to dry as a reporter. Do not leave field crews hanging, waiting to go live, without any clue when this will actually happen. Give crews time cues. If you must float them say “floating you.” There is little worse than standing in front of a camera, ready to go, and just hanging there wondering when you are actually going to be on. It is excruciating! I knew producers that would routinely get breaking news, then leave field crews sitting in ready position, for 20 minutes or more, without a word spoken to them. Then suddenly they would hear, “You’re up!” and the anchor is pitching.” IFB is going in and out. The field crew is thoroughly confused and caught off guard on camera! When quizzed about these tight spots the producers would say, “You should just be ready for when I say ‘Go!’” This is so unprofessional. It takes no time to say, “floating” or “stand down, need a few minutes.” Making your field crew hang in the balance feels like the heart pumping wait you endure when a package feeds at the last second before it is supposed to air. You hold your breath. You take a chance and you pray you don’t screw up and pitch to a story that isn’t cued up yet. Your adrenaline is gushing and it just plain stinks! You know how that feels don’t you? No reporter wants to be taken live looking like he/she is clueless to their surroundings. Just before air, even the most seasoned reporter has his/her adrenaline pumping, ready to go. Be respectful of what it takes to stand motionless and stare straight into the camera to cleanly go live. Give updates. Make sure the crew knows you are ready to go. Always remember, you don’t have absolute power. The best leaders respect and build up the people around them.