Survival Kit – Page 13 – Survive Your Job In Television News

Making the most of the holiday shift.

It’s inevitable that you will work most holidays. That doesn’t change with years in, for most journalists either. So here are some secrets to making the most of the holiday shift.

Last year, Matthew Nordin wrote a great survival guide to getting through having to work the holidays. This article will look at ways to make the day easier once you are “at the office.”

Set up a potluck
Look for fun trivia
Be flexible

First things first, everyone should get to celebrate in some way. Set up a potluck. Have everyone bring something in and enjoy a meal together. Do this even if the station provides a meal. Just switch it to appetizers or desserts. Be sure and have the food ready, first thing at the start of the shift so field crews can eat and go. Often the food from the station arrives after field crews have left, so they miss out. The potluck at least gets them some food. This is a great time to enjoy your coworkers a little, when things are not so crazy. It also gives you a little something to look forward to. After all, we newsies love good food.

Look for fun trivia to sprinkle in all those vo’s about the local parades and celebrations. There are often cool stories about a strange happening one year, or how much food is being dished out. It is neat to throw those tidbits in as talking points throughout the newscast. It also fills time, when you have a big news hole and little to say.

Be flexible. Breaking news can happen, so if you are asked to stay an hour late turning a pkg on the accident in the middle of the reindeer parade, don’t grumble. Also, if possible, talk to management as a group about staggering shifts, so everyone can get some family time. As long as the newsroom has some hands on deck all day, there should not be an issue. Producers, don’t demand a ton of live shots. Try and let as many people as possible head home when their pkgs are in. If you’re concerned about reporter presence in the newscast, have them shoot look-live standups. If you are the one stuck staying for breaking news, remember, next year you will have a better shot of being the first in and first out, IF YOU DON’T COMPLAIN. The producer and assignment desk don’t get the luxury of leaving early. They don’t feel sorry for you, and shouldn’t have to. If you gripe, you can bet your odds of drawing the short straw again next year, will go way up.

Those of us that have worked MANY holidays, (so many you lose track) realize there is a camaraderie that’s built around “sucking it up” together. I have fond memories of working holidays as well. And then when your comp day comes around, you get to relax and do whatever you want. A sweet freedom, many who only get set holidays off can never understand. So, smile, stay positive and make the most of it!

The emotional toll: How to cope with horrifying stories.

Since this website started, we have had several awful events that really challenge your faith in humanity and your journalistic integrity. When the shootings happened in Aurora, several journalists DM’d about the emotional toll covering that story took on them. Many local, Colorado, journalists stated that station management did not seem to understand just how hard it was to cover the story day in and out.

Now journalists are trying to help viewers make sense of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. The ages of the children involved, is staggering. As some of you pointed out in our discussions, these kids were young enough to still believe in Santa Claus. They symbolized innocence and all that is good about humanity.

Unfortunately, it is part of the job to cover horrible things like this story. It is part of the job to watch horrific crime scene video to see if it should be released to the public. It is part of the job to comb through records in a case that describe, in horrible detail, how long a child was buried alive before finally suffocating and dying. But we are also human. These facts and images do take an emotional toll.

So this article is an attempt to let you know it is okay to hurt. It is okay to be angry and to question. This article is a reminder to managers across the country that your journalists know it is part of the job to report on these types of stories, but that it can take an emotional toll. Offer some sort of support, even if it’s a reminder that the company offers free counseling services through an toll free number.

If you are finding that these events leave you raw or numb, talk about it. Call that 800 line. Call your spiritual guide if you attend some sort of church. If you don’t have a spiritual guide, go to the inspirational section of a book store and look up a title. We all need to be reminded that some things are bigger than us. Go to a yoga class. Beef up your workout to relieve stress. Eat a little comfort food! Bottom line: Do not ignore the emotions. It is simply not healthy. It is not good for you or the audience you try and serve. Our Facebook page has a place to comment and discuss your thoughts if you’d like. We know from covering news that some people find it therapeutic to say or write their thoughts down and share them. If you need, do it also. No judging. We need to support each other, when these kinds of stories happen. We need a place to separate from the job and be human as well. Otherwise, these kinds of stories will take a long term emotional toll on all of us.

That term is suspect: When to use the word and when to avoid.

By now most of you know we have a cliché list of words and phrases you just should not use. “Allegedly” is one of the very worst, and we explained how to get around it. Now let’s talk about another very overused, and obviously misunderstood term: “suspect.”

By definition “suspect” means: “to think (a person) guilty without having proof.” It is a term police, lawyers and judges use. Viewers get the essence of it, quite possibly more than most newsies. I say that because when you watch an a-block in most newsrooms around the country, you hear “suspect” being used, in a way it should not, constantly.

Here’s a common example, when describing a convenience store robbery with surveillance video. “Here you see the masked suspects approaching the counter with guns and demanding cash from the register.” Um, no. “Here you see the robbers pointing guns at the cashier.” The people with the guns, who then take handfuls of cash from the register are not “suspects.” They are the people who did it. Police may not know their names yet but, you can see in the video, they are the “robbers.” The people in the video are guilty, the video shows proof. You see them committing the criminal act.

Now here’s what to do, if the person is not wearing a mask. As we explained in “Getting around allegedly” if you see the person doing it and police confirm that’s what happened, simply attribute it. “Police say you are watching a man rob this store.” “Suspect” is not going to help you here. The man is seen holding the gun. State the facts. Attribute to police.

Inexperienced writers, if you are unsure, exercise caution. These concepts take a while to grasp. Remember, you must attribute. Words like “suspect” do not really protect you. Saying for example, “Police call Joe Schmo a suspect.” can still create problems. You can say police have identified a suspect and not show a face or say a name. Remember, unless the person is a public figure, the name is less important to viewers than the fact investigators are moving forward and possibly solving the crime. The safest bet, is to wait to say a name until there are charges. Once a person is arrested, they are no longer simply a suspect. So saying “Suspect Joe Schmo is charged with.” is not a protection. The term suspect, has to be used clearly, not as a crutch phrase.

Why generic video is a killer for TV news.

Yes, the title of this article is a strong statement. TV news is up against some large hurdles, the largest being making sure your newscasts and stories actually have impact for the viewer. If they don’t, viewers leave. Generic video creates an instant disconnect. That’s why I defined it and talked about ways around in Show it, explain it, and that’s why I am dedicating a second article. It is important to understand that this common crutch really kills credibility.

If viewers watch a story, and the video doesn’t make sense with the words two things happen: The viewer gets confused and misses half of the story, and the viewer starts wondering if the person reading the story knows what he/she is even talking about. Think about it, would you do a presentation for a group of people and not use the correct power point diagrams? Would you notice if the graphics don’t make sense and become angry that the speaker keeps flashing them up anyway, just so there is something on a screen? This is how generic video comes off to TV news viewers. It is confusing, and frustrating.

Viewers want to grasp what you are saying and showing to them. Video and sound help imprint it in their busy minds, so they actually remember what was said, who said it and what it meant. That is too powerful a tool, to just write a story, and hope the video makes sense. You must know what your images are, and relate the facts to the video. Otherwise you are telling viewers to go elsewhere, because your station is clueless.

So if you want to stand out on the job, and as a journalist period, show video, use sound, and explain it. Vow to never put a piece of video into your package or your newscast that you don’t reference in some way. It’s time to say goodbye to generic video.