Two Weeks to Go!
The weekend is coming to an end and that means we're getting ready to head into Team Monday's second to last newscast of the semester. I for one can't believe that the semester has gone by this quickly. During our first week of class, I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the list of responsibilities that we would take on as producers. To be perfectly honest, I still get overwhelmed a lot of times by everything we have to fit into one day in order to be prepared for our show. However, as each week has passed, I have gotten more confident in my ability to produce a quality newscast. This week, I will take the lead producer chair for the last time and I'm hoping I can put together my best show yet.
My biggest goal for tomorrow is to put together a more creative show that includes elements we haven't used before. For example, this might mean using a live shot which would be a first for the Monday show. We could also put one of our anchors or reporters at the chroma key if this works well for one of our stories. The first step to making this happen is to plan early! If we have an idea early in the day of which stories might be conducive to using a live shot or the chroma key it will make the execution that much easier. Additionally, it will help if we come up with a backup plan early. As with any live TV show, there's always the chance that something could go wrong. However, you have to be especially prepared for this when you're incorporating a new element into your show. While we haven't had any luck incorporating a live shot or having an anchor/reporter at the chroma key so far, I'm hoping tomorrow might be the day!
My other goal for the next two weeks is to continue improving the overall quality of our newscasts. Although (knock on wood) we haven't had any huge mistakes make it on the air on Mondays, we definitely have had little mistakes pop up every week. For example, sometimes the video won't match up well with what the anchor is reading or there will be minor issues with audio. Additionally, on occasion there will be times where we "bury the lead" and won't have the latest update at the beginning of the story. Even though mistakes can still happen, I think if Jackie, Kimiya and I all try to make more of an effort to pay closer attention to the video the MJs are editing and the stories that are being written, we will be able to improve the overall quality of our show.
Tomorrow could possibly be a big news day for us with the Boston Marathon and updates on the South Korean ferry and drone strikes in Yemen. I'm confident that we will be able to work together to reach our goals for the week and make this our best show yet!
