Political Hotbed – Page 10 – Survive Your Job In Television News

Stuck working? A Holiday Survival Guide.

You know you’ve been in this business a long time when you’re scheduled to work a major holiday and you don’t even flinch.

But for many young journalists just starting out in broadcast news it is a shock to the system. You can imagine why. They’ve just left an institution where they didn’t just get Christmas off but often wrapped-up final exams in mid-December and didn’t have to return to campus until the day after the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

For young journalists who are close to their family — and let’s hope most of them are — not being able to take part in Christmas traditions that have been repeated year after year since they were born can be emotionally wrenching.

And I want to include Jewish, Muslim, and journalists from other religious traditions in this, too, because from Hanukah to Yom Kippur from Ramadan to the Day of Ashura, all of these observances have one thing in common: coming together with family.

But entering journalism can mean putting the wider society and your profession above these traditions. After all, even on these holy days, the killings won’t stop, cars will still crash into other cars, and houses will catch on fire. Our communities need someone to document these things and tell the stories of the people whose lives have been forever altered.

So if you have to work on a major holiday during your career – and if you’re a journalist, you will – I humbly offer you Matthew Nordin’s Holiday Survival Guide:

1) Clear, doable story ideas: Don’t wait until Christmas morning when you show-up in the newsroom at – ahem! – 9 a.m. to worry about what story you’re going to turn. Maybe there won’t be any breaking news in your market that day. Go to the news director or executive producer at least two days in advance and get them to approve Story A, Story B if the first story falls through, and Story C if the first two fall through. Better yet, start shooting interviews and b-roll for Story A as soon as you get approval. It can be almost impossible to get an interview on Christmas Day. All the people you usually want to talk with on-camera who need someone’s approval to do an interview on an average day still need it on Christmas. And they don’t want to call their supervisor in the middle of her family opening presents to ask if they can go on Eyewitness News.

2) Plea to managers: Yes, I know your brand is “On Your Side.” But unless you’ve got your team of reporters executing stories that meet the brand days in advance, let’s cut the reporters a little slack here. Trying to solve someone’s problem on Christmas Day is going to be next to impossible when all corporate offices and City Hall are closed. The viewers who do tune-in Christmas Night will want to catch-up on the major events in your community that they might have missed. I doubt they’re tuning-in to see how you’re holding a major retailer accountable for selling the Smith Family a bad flat screen TV. (Don’t worry, news directors. The consultant won’t be dialing-up your show on the Internet on Christmas Night either.)

3) Bring your lunch/dinner! Early in my career, when I had to report on Christmas Day, I made the mistake of thinking I could just roll-up to McDonald’s or Wendy’s like any old day of the year. Nope. Have a good meal prepared for yourself that’s microwavable. Make sure it’s better than your average lunch/dinner at work. Treat yourself since it’s a holiday. It’ll make you feel better.

4) Don’t gripe. Your producer has a huge hole to fill because there’s probably not a lot going on in your market. So don’t yell at him about having to make a smallish story into a package and going live during the newscast. We all want to go home. You’ll get there eventually that night.

5) Celebrate on your schedule. If you have a significant other, you can always have that big meal and gift exchange after you get off work that night. If you’re a young journalist and missing your family, consider asking your parents if they’ll hold-off opening some of their presents until you get home and can join them via Skype. Then they can watch you open the gifts they got you, too.

Finally, here’s a secret that will sound ridiculous to any well-adjusted person, which is perhaps why it’s coming from a television journalist, but working a major holiday isn’t all that bad. It’s usually a slower day. The managers are gone. The people who are in the newsroom are usually in a good mood. And you’ve got a comp day coming!

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Matthew Nordin is an investigative reporter/anchor at WXIX-TV. You can talk with him on Twitter @MatthewNordin.

Newsflash, your EP doesn’t have ESP! How to clue them in and form an alliance.

Being an EP is a weird little world. You are a manager for sure, with a lot of responsibility. But you sit in the newsroom all day long and work in the trenches. You have this element in common with another prominent figure on your shift, the anchor, but often the two don’t connect. It fascinated me as a producer for years. The EP and the anchor would rarely speak. I, the producer, was caught in the middle all the time, newsroom after newsroom. Then I became an EP and tried to change this relationship. What I found was fascinating. Time and again, my anchors assumed I knew everything going on in their world and they would actually avoid telling me about any issues. They even became frustrated if I regularly tried to check in to make sure I was aware of any needs they had.

I am guessing that being a manager made me seem a little untrustworthy. Understandable since EP’s do weigh in on annual reviews. But the anchors that did sit down with me and clue me into their expectations succeeded better at their jobs. The reason: I could fix problems for them. I was able to make my expectations crystal clear as well. To me, having both sides understand the other is only beneficial. So, anchors, here’s how to forge a relationship with an EP, since we unfortunately don’t have ESP and always know what you need:

Set up regular check in sessions to make sure you’re on same page
Compliment and critique
Be the key backup

First of all set up regular check in sessions to make sure you are on the same page with your EP. This is a two way street, but you have to ask for it. I used to try and sit down once a month and just ask my anchors how everything was going. Did they have any segments they liked? How was the writing? Were they getting enough time to ad lib? Were they getting enough guidance when given breaking news on set? Sometimes my anchors would candidly provide answers, which I appreciated immensely. Other times my anchor would say everything’s fine, then go off and bad mouth situations. Often they would do this just a few hours later and in the hallway where I could easily walk up and hear it (and often did). If you are given an opportunity to spell out your likes and dislikes, do it. Otherwise keep your mouth shut in the building! Not openly talking about what you need, and instead trashing the situation in the hallway makes you look immature. That means the EP will develop concerns over your ability to lead. When it’s time to get a new higher level show, that EP will not endorse you.

During check in sessions, you should complement and critique. It is very beneficial to know what’s working for you as well as what isn’t. Remember even EP’s need to know if something they are doing or their producers are doing is going great. Compliments are rare in most newsrooms. They help boost morale and help the EP figure out what your likes/needs are so they can pass the information down to appropriate staffers. As for critiques, I know what it is like to have a manager call you in and ask for a critique when you know they actually don’t want to hear it. These check in sessions should be clearly defined so your criticisms are understood to be constructive. Also, the EP has final say in whether some of the issues you bring up are addressed, how and when. Frankly, some things you bring up, the EP may deem not that important. Be professional enough to see that perspective as well.

Finally, EP’s need people to back them up sometimes, especially if they are making major changes to a newscast. Back the EP up. Tell the staff that change can be good. Be a cheerleader (see Smart Alliances). This will go a long way toward winning major loyalty from the EP. Remember, when you’re trashing major formatting changes, most of the time they already went up through higher channels than you and the EP. To rip them, especially in a group setting, is not in your best interest. This is where your leadership role really comes in for the newscast. Often if the anchor says an idea is worth a try, the staff supports attempting the plan. Your support will go a long way toward winning a major ally, your EP.

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.

When the interview really counts: Why you must connect with the Assistant ND.

News Directors get all the attention traditionally when it comes to job interviews and station identity. They set the agenda for the station and have the most connections to help you in the future right? Not always. Over the years I have learned that getting along with the assistant news director can be even more important for several reasons.

First it’s a simple matter of exposure. You will barely see the news director. That person is just too busy any given day. That means when it comes to review time the person who will weigh in most heavily about you is the assistant news director. Also, this is the person you will go to first when you want time off, a different shift, have an ethical dilemma, personality conflict issue with a staffer, or are considering asking for a promotion. If you don’t see eye to eye with the assistant news director your stress level will easily double on the job.

Now, because you spend more time with the assistant news director, you must remember this person is the key influencer about you to the news director. The AND’s opinion carries a lot of weight. Yes, news directors can and sometimes do disagree with the AND’s view. But why risk a potential personality clash with a person that plays such a key role in determining your reputation?

Remember an AND’s reach goes way beyond the newsroom. Since assistant news directors spend a lot of time recruiting potential employees they are the true networkers for the station. They are constantly talking with people you want to impress in other markets nationwide.

Assistant news directors are also “in training” most of the time to become NDs. Very few are happy just to sit in the number two position. Most are waiting for their big chance to take control of a newsroom. If you get along with a real up and comer, this person could catapult both of your careers, as much or more than the ND him/herself.

So now that you know what’s at stake, here are some techniques to figure out if you and the assistant ND will get along.

Talk news philosophy
Ask for the AND’s role models
Do a background check

When you interview at a station you always need to figure out the news philosophy. It is key, and must happen. (See “Interview the Station” for ways to do this.) But when you ask questions about news philosophy, you need to really quiz the assistant news director. Here’s why: Just because the news director wants a station to go in a certain direction doesn’t mean the assistant news director agrees. This can be especially true in chronic 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place stations. Often there are philosophical debates raging all the time about what the station’s news philosophy should be. The assistant news director is usually much more hands on in the day-to-day coverage decisions than the news director. Time and again I sat in newsrooms where the news director clearly stated one news philosophy, and the assistant news director executed a different news philosophy. I know that sounds crazy, but it happens A LOT. You need to make sure you can roll with both news philosophies if that’s the case. Sometimes you have to try and placate both the ND’s and AND’s expectations on a story. If the ND starts taking a more hands on approach you need to be able to change your work to reflect that news philosophy. Same is true if the AND expects a different news philosophy. If the two of them differ greatly, you need to decide whether you want to walk into a situation where you are constantly caught in the middle and being asked whose side you are on. You will end up in battles of will between the top two newsroom managers. You will feel like you cannot win, no matter what you do on any given day. If you get in this situation, it can be better to execute the AND’s news philosophy because he/she runs day-to-day operations in the newsroom. You cannot execute that if you don’t know what the AND wants.

Another way to make sure you and the assistant news director will jibe is to talk about your favorite news people during the interview. Ask who the AND’s mentors are and why. You will learn a lot about how this person ticks. Ask if the AND knows some of your favorite journalists and see what the reaction is to those names. You want a shared connection to start building a relationship if you decide to work with that particular AND.

If you have mutual acquaintances call those people to get more perspective. Just remember the AND will call also. Be on your p’s and q’s. You do not want the mutual acquaintance to say you thought the AND was a jerk, but you are trying to be sure. If you do not have mutual acquaintances then you really need to contact staffers at the AND’s former stations. We explain how to do this in The Station Called. The Job’s Yours. Now What?

Remember the AND will be the most influential in your day-to-day existence in a given newsroom. If you are like oil and water, it will mean you either lose a job or get an ulcer waiting for that AND to move on to greener pastures.