Second Time Around

Rotating through producer roles at first seemed daunting because changing jobs after adjusting to one is never an easy task. However, acquainting ourselves with each of the three positions our producers fill actually makes the job of any producing role that much easier.

Returning to Video Producer this week, I was able to better understand the needs of my fellow producers. It is easy to get swept into the logistics of your role, but it is important to remember that even though you are in charge of a specific part of the newscast you are also responsible for supporting your other producers.

It is important for the Video Producer to stay in touch with the Lead Producer and know what stories are being floated or developing throughout the day. I made sure to constantly check iNews and communicate with the Lead Producer when I noticed changes to see how I could help. When I ordered videos I informed both the Lead Producer and Graphics Producer of the footage available because lack of video can alter the way a story will be written or how graphics will be used.

This week I also made sure to focus on keeping better track of what MJs were doing. When multiple things are going on at once it is difficult to remember to check on the status of a story or the progress of a video edit. However, making sure to update the writers’ column of when I assigned things and knowing when I expected them to be done helped me manage all of the work that was being done by our MJ team.

Right before the newscast rehearsal I made sure to clearly communicate with the Graphics Producer what packages and videos were offline, so that she would have a better idea of what to focus on as the clock was running out of time. Last week my team failed to do this before starting rehearsals, and I realized that it is an important part of managing the most stressful part of the day.

Something I think my team needs to work on is our communication skills when breaking news happens or when something is assigned. We were faced with the challenge of putting together last minute footage to cover the Harrison Ford plane crash this week, and it was difficult to be able to inform the director of the changes when not everyone was aware of the video coming in.

I think that overall we all learned a lot this week in terms of adjustments we need to make in each producer role. I am looking forward to seeing how we improve in the future!