Talk It Out

I remember on the first day of class when Stacy asked us what traits are important to become a good producer. There are many but one of them is strong communication skills. And after producing with my teammates and the news team for a month now, I've determined it's probably the most crucial trait.

When you are the lead producer, clear communication to your teammates and news team reflects how strong the content of your newscast is and how well it flows. I wanted to make sure my newscast was the best it could be, so I made sure my communication with video teammate Layne had a clear purpose and a set goal. I thought Layne and I communicated very well throughout the day. Because we didn't have class on Thursday, we were able to constantly communicate throughout the day. Not that we don't communicate on other Thursdays when we do have class, but it was much easier having my video teammate with me at all hours.

But because I focused so much of my attention to video, graphics sort of slipped my mind. There were a couple of times when I didn't clearly explain what I wanted on an OTS and a chromakey. I remember Emily asking what I wanted for a certain OTS, but I didn't clearly communicate what it was, so we ended up having to change it later in the day. Also, because the wind advisory story didn't end up in the A block, I told Jerome we weren't going to use the chromakey there. But I still wanted it to appear in the weathercast, and miscommunicated that to him. Luckily, Jerome didn't erase the graphic so we were still able to air it in the newscast.

A newsroom isn't a quiet sanctuary. There's constant talking everywhere and you can easily get lost in the chaos. Ironically, to overcome that, you need to take control, engage yourself in that chaos of talking, and own up to your words. This week was one of our smoothest shows, and I'm proud and thankful to have two teammates who are always listening and on top of their responsibilities.