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Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism University of Southern California
Producers

How Can I Survive In This Industry?

With a blink of the eye, I will be wearing that cap and gown and headed out into the real world. Well, in a year or so.

Taking every opportunity to gain an insight into the television industry and the interview process is more and more important each day as I approach May 16, 2014.

Although I am not a news girl, nor do I ever plan to be, professionals at a news station can help me gain knowledge and tips on how to start and launch my career upon graduation.

Some of the questions I think every student wants answered are:

1. How can I get a job?

2. What are employers looking for when they are interviewing?

3. What can I do now to prepare myself for the future and job searching?

4. What should I expect during the interview process.

And most importantly (it may look similar to #1...) 5. How can I get a job?

But in light of Monday's news day, I do have other questions that would be interesting to talk about with a professional from a news station.

On Monday, two explosions occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. At first, it seemed important, but we didn't react and realize how important it was for at least a half an hour. I would love to gain advice from producers or reporters from a news station on how a team determines that a story deserves 12 minutes of their show.

Along the same lines, in a story like the Boston Marathon explosions, I would love to be a fly on the wall in a newsroom and observe how the producers and reporters break down the story into various elements and potential packages.

But since I am simply not a fly on the wall at ABC7, it would be interesting to hear how the creative process unfolds when breaking news like the explosions happens when the news team still has a great deal of time to develop a story. Part of what made today's coverage hectic was the timing of the explosions.

If the explosions had happened earlier, we would have been less stressed and would have had the opportunity to provide even more coverage on the event. If the explosions had happened later, I can't imagine trying to scramble and pull together a comprehensive news meeting to discuss potentional story angles.

It all goes to show that timing is everything.

Despite the hectic half an hour meeting to break down the story, the communication of Team Monday today was spot on! We covered multiple angles of the Boston Marathon explosions and reported and produced 12 minutes, almost half of our show, in the last 4 hours before we were on air. It couldn't have been done without teamwork!

Because of this experience, I would be very intrigued to hear how other stations, professional stations, handle breaking news and developing the story into multiple parts to provide comprehensive coverage of the event. I know that every station handles news like this story differently, but I would really enjoy hearing about the process of breaking down the story into parts, dividing them up between team members, and re-entering almost the entire rundown in iNews.

All in all, Team Monday held their composure during a crazy day of breaking news. When 6 p.m. hit, we were confident that we did all we could to provide full coverage of this story and that's all anyone can ask from a news team!

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