Producing Takeaways

I am truly so happy I decided to take this producing class. It is difficult to sum up in a blog post all that this class has taught me about myself, and what I want to do moving forward. Looking back at the first few weeks of class, I realize that I have learned so much about something that I really didn't know anything about. Aside from this, producing has taught me a lot about myself and what I want to do after graduation. In view of this semester, I have learned that I am better at covering one story at a time, and actually enjoy being in the reporter's shoes more than the producer's.

Here are just some of the skills I have gained from producing that I plan to use going forward: 

• Team Work: Personally, I feel as if I have always been a relatively good team player when it comes to working with groups of people. This being said, producing has taught me that there is a lot more to learn about working in a team environment, particularly in news. One of the biggest things I have learned is to use your teammates. I can't even count how many times I turned to one of my fellow producers to ask for help, suggestions, or advice on something. 
• Getting Good B-roll: As video producer, you see the good, the bad, and the ugly when checking videos in the edit bay. This has really made me understand the concept of going out and shooting a news story from another point of view. I now have a much stronger sense of what producers are looking for when covering certain stories, which is a very useful insight to have when being a reporter.
• Stand-ups and Live Shots: Before producing, I didn't really recognize how important live shots and stand-ups are when putting together a broadcast. These elements bring so much more life and excitement to a show. As a reporter, this perspective pushes me to think outside of the box and inspires me to get creative when doing a stand-up for a package or live shot for a newscast. 
• Writing for Broadcast: Keep it simple, conversational, and factually correct. No matter which producer position I was on a given day, there is simply no escaping the constant task of copy editing the various scripts in the rundown. Whether it is my own script or an MJ's, strong copy editing skills are a must. Even still, I am guilty of making mistakes when writing. Although this is the case, I do feel more confident in my writing skills and I have a much stronger sense of what makes a good slug, cutline, or tease.

I plan on taking JOUR402 in the spring, and to be completely honest, I have had a lot of anxiety over the decision to take this class. Luckily, taking JOUR403 this semester has made this decision a little easier and helped to make me feel much more prepared for what is to come.