Crossing the Finish Line
I feel like I just ran a marathon! Whew, and it only took me ten hours and thirty minutes. Producing, if you think about it, is actually a lot like a race. You have to train by knowing the news, warm up with the morning meeting, start-off on the right (organized) foot and then pace yourself throughout the day to reach the finish line. Also, like a marathon, once you start and get the rhythm of things, it only gets easier.
This week I ‘trained’ by watching weekend news casts, checking local and national news websites and getting a good eight-hours nights sleep! But, once I arrived and looked at the day’s budget, I knew our trek was going to be tougher than I thought. We had a pretty dead news day and absolutely nothing ‘local’ going on. So, we picked ourselves up and re-routed our newscast to have a more ‘national’ angle.
Then our team was off! Reporters started their sprint, the assignment desk kept us hydrated with interviews, and the video journalists filled everywhere in-between. We couldn’t have made it without each teammate.
Throughout the day we also stayed on top of any new paths, making sure to watch for developing stories and check the wires.
By 6pm we’re sore and close to out of breath, but we made it to our final stretch in the studio and past the finish line on live television. I know that we have much to learn and lots more training to do before next week, but for now I’m proud to say we made it through the day.
