Challenge Accepted
It's been just under two months since I set goals for myself as a producer this semester. Since then, I've been working hard to meet these goals and become a more efficient producer. Looking back over the past several weeks, I've come to realize that I've reached all of the goals I've set for myself.
My first goal was to stay on top of my deadlines.
Throughout the day we have specific deadlines to meet: write a story by 4 p.m., have the rundown finalized by 4:30 p.m. and post at least four stories to the website by 12 p.m. In order to achieve this, I created personal deadlines based on the deadlines I was already given. By setting an earlier deadline for assignments, I've been able to get things done when I am supposed to.
My second goal was to play to my multimedia journalists' strengths.
I've gotten to know the MJs pretty well over the past few months, and learning how to use their strengths to our advantage has helped our newscast tremendously. By knowing which MJ can shoot well or edit well, I've been able to efficiently assign stories and get them completed in a timely manner. I now know which MJs I can rely on to take care of a group of stories as opposed to just writing or editing one. This is especially helpful during crunch time in the late afternoon when we are putting the final touches on our newscast. Knowing these things not only come in handy, but they are crucial when putting your newscast together.
My final goal was to be ambitious, but realistic.
This goal goes hand-in-hand with my first goal. By creating personal deadlines, I am able to create goals for myself throughout the day. I've realized that although it's great to be ambitious, it's important to not bite off more than I can chew. By being conscientious of my own strengths, I am able to work outside of my own comfort zone without causing problems for my teammates.
I challenged myself this semester, and I was able to accomplish all of these goals. With just one week left, I can't wait to tackle these challenges one more time.
