Information flow

Producing a newscast is exciting and challenging enough as it is, but managing and organizing information as it flows through the newsroom adds even more to the task. This Monday I was graphics teammate and was working with all kinds of information from my teammates, the art director, the graphics artists, the reporters and the advisors. With this much going on, organization is absolutely necessary. I kept a running list of things I had to do on a Microsoft Word document on my desktop, as well as keeping notes about specific graphics on the graphics request forms. Anytime someone asked me to change a cutline or add an OTS or FS, I noted it in my document and either created a request sheet or modified an already existing one.
I also kept updated on each story in the wires and with a broswer window open with news outlets, which was important because some stories changed, and I would have to change the OTS. For example, the original Jaycee Duggard story an MJ wrote was about the use of documents in her case and how some would not be disclosed to the public, so my cutline was "Private Documents." As the story developed, however, it was more about the Garridos confession and plea bargain, so I changed my OTS to match. I also listened in on the run down meeting and noted any necessary changes in my document.
Managing information was even more important after 4 when things started to get hectic. Reporters were coming in asking for graphics for their packages, and as more stories developed and changed from how we had originally planned them in the morning meeting, I had to change the graphics to match, and then I had to take over video producing. At this point, it was hard to keep track of notes in my word document, and I began scrawling on scratch paper, but I kept track of everything I had to do and got it done.