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Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism University of Southern California
Producers

Make People Care

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When I am choosing a lead story, I think of myself as a non-ATVN USC student sitting in front of a television browsing the channels around 6 p.m. What would catch my attention? What would make me put down the remote?

This might sound selfish but I would do something else unless there was something going on in the newscast that would directly impact ME. It does not matter to me whether it would influence me today or tomorrow; I would watch it if it were going to impact me a year later or even ten years later.

Also, producers should choose “interesting” stories that impact the public most. Although most of the audience is USC students, producers should not forget that news is all about balance. We should be ready to present engaging content not only for students but also for an older audience.

This leads to the next question: what stories are interesting? For me, interesting stories are visual. If I see a video that catches my eye, I want to learn why/where/how the incident happened. Producers should consider the fact that not all of our audience members are sitting down in front of the TV and analyzing the newscast. Our show should be filled with visual stories that people can understand while they are doing their dishes, etc.

However, we don’t always have interesting, USC stories and it is the lead producer’s role to make the audience care. Even though some national stories seem like they do not affect USC students, some packages with a local angle can effectively engage the audience. For example, when Vanessa did a package about Ukraine last week, it made USC students care more about this international issue by talking to a USC faculty member who has students in Ukraine.

Team Wednesday was a great help when I was a lead producer last week. Elisa brought great elements so we ended up using a cold open for the priest settlement story. What we can improve on, again, is communication. Although 4 o’ clock is not the best time to relax and talk, I can constantly check with MJs and reporters about possible cold opens or preshow videos.

The top of the show seems like the lead producer’s work. However, every person in the newsroom contributes to that first 1-2 minutes of the newscast and whether this portion catches the audience’s attention or not.

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