Skip navigation
Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism University of Southern California
Producers

Another Week, Another Title

Even after producing in each the lead, video and graphics positions, I am still trying to iron out the kinks. I’m still learning to manage what I have control over and overcome the things I can’t control. Since being in every position, I feel I have gained a better understanding of the overlap that happens between positions. I have a greater sympathy toward the difficulties associated with each position, which I feel has helped me provide and ask for assistance accordingly. 

After four weeks of working with the same team, it was also incredibly helpful having made connections with the Wednesday Multimedia Journalists so that I was able to assign them more easily, knowing their strengths and comforts. It's difficult, however, to have to leave for class in the middle of the morning, but it was very helpful that I was able to give my graphics producer a printed spread sheet of the people in the newsroom and have her write down what stories she assigned them to while I was away. I’m learning that having a hard copy in front of me, whether it be a written to-do list or a printed copy of a wire, is helpful for me to organize my thoughts when producing.

Knowing the responsibilities of each position from experience was helpful when it came to approving video and choosing clips or soundbites that best related to the angle the lead producer wanted for each story. While I was conscious of letting my lead and graphics producers know what video we had for a story or what soundbites stuck out to me, communication is still a huge obstacle for us when it comes to managing our team of MJs. The expansive space we have to work in has its perks, but it also makes it harder to hear each other and harder to keep track of the progress people have made on writing or editing stories.

Another area I feel I have a lot of room to grow in still, is the speed and accuracy of my writing and copy editing. While I can multitask in everyday life, I struggle with this ability when it comes to pulling my attention between writing and editing various scripts and then approving video for other stories in between. This week, I found myself anticipating my transition to the control room in order to finish writing a script I was assigned, just so that I could focus without the other distractions. This was not ideal, however, because I was still trying to watch the rehearsal and communicate with my other producers about what was missing in the show. 

As the weeks go on, I feel like I'm improving in helping my fellow producers, juggling tasks and being confident in my decisions, but I am also still aware that each week is going to present new obstacles and challenges that I will simply have to handle in the moment! 

COMMENTS
Leave a comment
Name:
E-mail:*
URL:
Comments:*

We've Moved!


By Sam Bergum
01/21/16 | 11:09 a.m. PST

Visit us at uscannenbergmedia.com!

USC Basketball Knocks Off Rival UCLA 89- 75


By Scott Cook
01/14/16 | 12:05 a.m. PST

USC defeats UCLA with stellar play from their Freshmen. 

Holiday Bowl - USC vs Wisconsin Post-Game Press Conference

Su'a Cravens: "It's the players that need to step up"

Darreus Rogers: "It comes down to the players"

Trojans Fall to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl 23-21

We detected that you might be on a mobile device such as an iPad or iPhone. Sorry, at this time the video box is only visible on desktop computers.