producer – Page 8 – Survive Your Job In Television News

How to pitch, and pull off, stories in producer driven shops.

I got a huge response to our article about decoding producer driven shops. (If you missed it, check out “Producer driven doesn’t mean absolute power”). So now let’s talk about what kind of stories managers want to showcase in producer driven shops. First let’s summarize what makes a newsroom “producer driven.” It means a heavy emphasis on content. Anchors are considered advocates for viewers. Reporters are educated witnesses. Producers must have a deep understanding of the audience, its wants and needs. Producers tend to have more say in choosing content and set the tone for the “feel” of a newscast. In some ways anchors are showcased more in producer driven shops than in more spot news type of newsrooms, because they are given a more interactive role with content. They ask more questions and are often required to turn franchise pieces with hard edges. Because content is king, reporters actually play a huge role when showcasing coverage. But for some reporters it can seem like you have little say in what you do, because producers and managers often “map out” the coverage each day. So let’s decode how those decisions are made.

First and foremost, producers and managers are looking for segments and themes to weave throughout the day part. This showcases advocacy and emphasizes community involvement. From the time you pitch your story, you need to be thinking about the big picture. Reporters, this means not holding back any interesting elements when you pitch the story in the editorial meeting. It is important to explain how the anchor can pitch to your story with some sort of interesting information and/or visuals. Do you know someone who could do a studio interview after your package that would provide interesting perspective? This means you really have to understand the story you are asking to cover. You cannot just scan a headline and hope you “get a pass” in the meeting. You have to be able to take the story beyond a newspaper headline. Producers in content driven shops tend to read multiple newspapers. Managers also try to be very in tune with what’s happening. They will be familiar with most content you bring up. Showcase how your package will advance the story. You need to explain why a viewer would watch your story rather than the other stations in town. And don’t forget, this also means you cannot save all the “good stuff” for your live and package scripts when you actually produce the story later in the day.

Before you think you must come in with an Emmy award winning “big get” each day, understand, there are many ways to think big picture beyond finding daily exclusives. Exclusive elements don’t happen every day on every story. Try and relate the content you are pitching to the key audience the station wants. Will it appeal to 25-54 year olds? How? That might be your spin. Can you make the story relatable to even larger audience groups with a clear character you can put in your package? If so, explain that right away. Can you add “a slice of life” element into the story you want to turn? Any way you can make the story feel real, to a broad group of people, will make you and your story ideas very appealing. This also means you must have a good idea of the kinds of visuals you will provide in your package and for teases and set ups. (See “Make your sell” for more on how to effectively pitch stories.) You don’t have to have great flames, dramatic car chases or screaming people to sell your story. You do have to help the producers and managers visualize how the story will play out. Remember, they are not just looking to fill 1:30 that day. The more they can really delve into content in a compelling way, the more appealing your story idea becomes. You have to help them see and feel the story.

If you really want to stand out in a producer driven shop, pitch stories in areas of the market where the station wants to grow audience. Source build there and look for stories you can turn in that part of the DMA that people living nearby would also find interesting. You have a key advantage over the producers and managers that are driving content. You leave the newsroom each day and get access to more people. The faster you source build and can provide information on developing stories, the more the “powers that be” will trust your instincts and trust your story pitches. By focusing on areas where the station wants to grow audience, you show you are savvy to the “big picture” which is a huge draw.

When it’s a slow news day don’t be afraid to pitch consumer stories and interesting new developments from stories you have covered in the past. Remember, a key part of producer driven shops is showcasing community involvement. That means follow ups are very important, as long as they have substance to them. Consumer stories usually have broad appeal. Viewers in nearly all income brackets are looking for ways to make the most of their money right now. That opens the door to a lot of interesting stories that can naturally be broken into several elements. Keep a list on hand, with good contacts for slow days.

Lastly, story tell, story tell, story tell! If you make a name for yourself as a versatile reporter who can weave interesting stories out of many types of content, you will be well respected in producer driven shops. You will get more leeway when pitching stories because managers know you will find something compelling to turn.

It’s news time and everyone’s yawning: How to energize the newscast at air time.

I could not help but smile recently when a producer tweeted and asked for ideas to keep energy levels up during newscasts. I immediately thought of all the late night football and baseball games I sat through, praying it would just end and wondering if I would fall asleep driving home. I also thought of my first gig as a morning show producer, where I had to pace around the station just before the newscast so I would be somewhat functional in the booth.

Keeping energy levels up during these newscasts is the burden of both the anchors and producers. Heck, the reporters and photojournalists have to stay awake also. It’s brutal at times, I know. But there are ways to energize even when your body is screaming, “Must sleep now!!!”

Energizing newscasts

Write how anchors talk
Have anchors write some stories
Trade reads
Add stories, even if there are not any breakers
Jokes and music blasts
Get up, stand up

In “How to get inside your anchors heads” we list quite a few techniques to help write how your anchor talks. This is important for anchors to keep their energy levels up. Sometimes when it all feels forced, and you are tired, it is easy to sort of give up and just muddle through the copy. Using phrases the anchor likes helps the anchor own it and raises energy levels.

It works even better if you have the anchors write some of the stories they will read. Producers, look at that line again. Have anchors write stories they will read. Sure once in a while you will have to change reads, and the writing won’t work out. I usually asked my anchors to write stories lower in the newscast where energy levels dipped, and the chance of read changes went way down. The point is your anchor will deliver the copy better if it is truly “theirs.” It provides a level of ownership that helps the anchor be more engaged throughout the newscast. Producers, this can make your job a little easier also. No, not just because it can ease up the writing load. This is one of the first techniques I used to raise meter numbers in weak spots. Often there is a correlation with anchor energy levels and newscast ratings dipping. Sometimes the answer really is simple. Get the anchors more involved in that section of your newscast.

Another trick is to mix things up a bit and trade reads if you see the anchors energy levels dipping. Hit the commercial break, then tell the anchors and crew you are switching reads for the block. The first few times you might get some complaints, but often doing this hypes up everyone’s energy levels a bit and you get a tighter, more energetic block. I would not use this technique every day. But if you have had several slow newscasts, try this technique on and off to keep everyone guessing a little bit.

A producer tweeted that she adds stories throughout her morning show, even if there are no breakers, just to keep everyone sharp. I have used this technique also. This is easy to do if you have an AP. If you don’t have one, write a few extra vo’s or vo/sots before the show and have the editors prepare them. Throw them in the bottom of the rundown after the end break so they don’t whack your timing. The editors can have these stories cut and ready just in case. This is also a great way to protect yourself in case a live crew has technical issues. If your anchors ad lib well, give them a story once in a while on the fly. This helps keep them in practice for when you get slammed with breakers.

I used to joke with live crews and anchors, when appropriate during newscasts. Usually I joked around with crews in the commercial break before the block that contained their live hit. It broke the ice a bit and would perk them up. Just be tasteful and don’t drag it out. One liners are great! A quick blast of a guitar solo in the ifb also perked everyone up. Again, not a good idea to do to anchors or live crews during the news block. But many times your crews, you and your audio person have a few seconds during commercial breaks.

When all else fails tell everyone to get up and jump or twist or walk during commercial breaks. That little bit of movement really does help. When the lead-in was a sports event I liked scripting more anchor pitches in standing positions if possible. I used to demand more walk and talks from live reporters as well. It just helps when you move around.

So next time everyone’s wiped out and its airtime, try some of these tricks. It might wake everyone up, just in time!

How the Trayvon Martin case can help define your news career.

By now you have read plenty about this case. You may have even written and/or voiced over stories about it. There are a lot of compelling articles that explain what we TV journalists have done right and especially wrong while covering the Martin shooting. I am not going there. Instead I am going to explain why this case can and more than likely will end up defining your career in some way.

This is the type of story and event that truly tests the limits of journalism. It tests the ability to be objective. It tests news philosophies. It tests personal ethics while on the job. For this reason, I strongly encourage you to keep a file of everything you read, watch and write about the case. Just file it all away. Write notes about any conflicts within you and add these thoughts to your file. Keep copies of your favorite stories you watched, and the ones you liked the least. Write notes on what you like and do not like about the coverage. The reason: As this case plays out, your views on ethics and philosophy will likely change a lot. So will the critics. We will talk about how this case was covered for years to come. Professors worth their salt are already beginning to track and possibly discuss it with future journalists.

The Martin case will become a litmus test for many news companies and news managers as they continue trying to shape what television news is becoming. There are too many hot button issues in it for the case not to become more than a story that simply comes and goes. Those issues will come up as managers consider newsroom policies on everything from fact checking affiliate copy to social media policy. For this reason, it will serve as the perfect talking point when feeling out the news philosophy at a station where you are interviewing. This case is so big, every news management team has likely had to make some sort of ethical call on it already. It will not be the last time either. Asking pointed questions about the Martin case to a news director or AND when you are job interviewing will be a good way to feel out their personal journalistic integrity also. Are you both in sync?

The Martin case is also a good litmus test for you to gauge your own value system and journalistic work. As you go into difficult scenarios in the future, draw on what you thought was done correctly in the Martin case. Remind yourself of the ethical issues that arose when coverage was less than thorough. It is a good reminder to us all that we cannot ever get too comfortable or too numb while covering stories. There are often many layers. Do we get to them, or leave them buried? Do we jump to conclusions? Have you? Really asking yourself and current and future news bosses these questions will help you define yourself as a journalist. It will help you brand yourself. It will help you weed out stations that may vary too much from your news philosophy. With examination, personally and as a professional group, the Martin case could help us define what TV News should be, and will become.

Could you turn a story without any track?

No this article is not for photojournalists. They don’t need it. They can turn a story without any reporter or anchor track. This question I pose is for two other groups in the newsroom: Producers and, to some extent, reporters. I am guessing most of you reading this are saying, “Probably, but why would I?” Because in truth, most TV journalists cannot do it and end up with a piece that makes any sense at all.

Why does this matter? Why should you have the skills to be able to produce a story without any track? There are several reasons:

Sometimes you must “see it” to get the context
Great content often needs no words
Video is the essence of TV news

When I was producing in a large market, my ND issued a really intense mandate to all producers: No writing vo’s, vo/sots, anchor packages or teases without first looking at and time coding the video. Now this was really a lot to ask, because we didn’t have desktop editing yet. You had to pull feed video or raw video, find an open edit bay and sit and log a videotape! It took a lot of time, AT FIRST. But soon, I started to see why this was required. Stories I had planned to air in my newscast were not always as they seemed. Written descriptions of the video, sent from other affiliates, were often off the mark. The video told a different story than the words. My field crew, or a reporter on the feed, missed an awesome opportunity with a sound bite or section of video. Soon I noticed a big change. When I sat down to write, I was fast and very efficient. The number of errors both I and my AP wrote went way down. My copy editors loved me. I didn’t assume as much about stories and actually saw the realities.

I also learned another amazing lesson. Great content often needs few words. I could play out sections of great nats and watch people in the newsroom suddenly stop and stare. I learned to use silence as natural sound occasionally. (For more on that technique see “Storytelling on a dime”, and “Can you picture it.”) Sometimes I ran a long bite instead of writing a vo/sot. Let the people involved give the context. I just set up the situation, and explained what would come next in the tag. No, this technique won’t work on every story. But if you don’t learn how to tell a story without track, you will never truly tell a great story for television.

The reason why is simple: Video is the essence of TV news. You cannot showcase the power of video without first seeing that video. Having a photographer or a reporter describe it is not good enough. With desk top editing there is no excuse. Call up the video, sit back and watch. Let the images move you. Let the video sequences form in your head. Let the images bring questions to your mind. The answers are your powerful elements. The answers are often in sound bites and single images. Remember “a picture tells a thousand words.”

So how as a producer do you write stories without using any track? Next time you are asked to write an anchor package, try and outline it without a single sentence of copy. Just write down the images and sound bites. Chances are you will end up with little to no track. The example above, where you let the sound bite breathe and tell the story instead of having an anchor talk over generic video, can be effective as well. Let’s take a story from a protest for an example. The anchor can introduce the piece saying where the event was held and how many people showed up. “What was their message? We’re letting them tell you.” Then let some sound play. Let a few people talk. If there’s another viewpoint, or a counter protest tag with: “And now, the other side.” and then let that sound play out. Never forget we need to be informed witnesses for our viewers. There is no agenda in this type of coverage. The viewer makes his/her own judgment. You can always tag out with some factoids to help the viewer see the whole picture.

As for reporters, too often nowadays the emphasis becomes the reporter track, not the video. How often do you pre-write your package before you even get on scene to shoot the video? How often do you hear the 1 sound bite you think you need then signal the photojournalist to turn off the camera and walk away? Yes, you have intense timing constraints. Many of you are backpack journalist or get to have a photographer only because you churn two or three packages a day. I get it. Instead of pre-writing sections of your pieces, jot down notes like you would for a live shot. Then go and really listen to the person you interview. Be discerning. Are you really getting the point of what is going on or just assuming the situation is a certain way? You don’t know if you don’t listen. Then write a log of the video and sound you have, in the order you want it, before turning those bullet points in your notebook into copy. At the very least you will write more effectively to your video. I bet you will surprise yourself and see that you need less track and find more chances to let your sound breathe. Finally, once in a while, take a story you did and try to redo with just the video and sound. Do not write any reporter track. Attempt a photo essay in your spare time as a way to hone your skills (see “Humble pie” for more ways to help yourself grow). You will become a better storyteller and a more informed witness for the viewer because of it.