The show must go on
As a producer, you must continually hope for the best and yet prepare for the worst. We think positively and set our goals high, hoping we’ll secure every interview, every live shot will be crystal clear, and breaking news will never occur. And yet as we all know, no news day is perfect. It is imperative that we have a back-up plan for every element of the show. Yes, the notorious “back-up” script needs to be written, formatted and ready to go; but perhaps that is not necessarily where the primary importance lies.
No matter how prepared each producer individually feels for any bump in the road, without constant and comprehensive communication, no back-up plan can do its job.
This week, I learned through experience arguably the most important lesson in communication I have been taught all semester. Our team of producers set our sights high from early in the morning, hoping for a live shot from Dodger’s stadium, the addition of breaking news at 5:45 p.m. and as many videos and interviews as we could acquire. Unfortunately, there were unforeseen complications in many aspects of our newscast, and late breaking news only added fuel to the fire.
At the end of the day, there were a number of videos that had not been edited, stories that had not been written, and even stories that were formatted to include video, and yet we had no footage at all. As a result we scrambled to do everything we could to save our newscast and get it cleanly on the air. While we worked as quickly as we possibly could with the multimedia journalists still in the newsroom, the line of communication between the producers (and consequently the anchors) had already fallen short.
I learned this week the true significance of a plan B (and perhaps plan C, D and E), and what can occur when you do not have one waiting. I learned this week that nothing can take the place of communication, especially when attempting to put different elements into the newscast. More importantly, we as producers must be in constant communication straight from the start of the day. When I am the not the lead producer, I need to eliminate any time spent waiting first for the producer to alert me regarding changes, and instead be actively checking the rundown for constant updates. I need to work quickly on my own responsibility for the day, and reach out to help others that may have more pressing needs.
We need to be proactive rather than reactive, identify potential problems early in the day, and discuss together what our back-up plan will be. Only then can it be effective.
