Habemus Papam, Sic Manere Tranquillitas
Oh, breaking news, how we live for you and hate you at the same time.
I'm especially proud of what we accomplished this week. We had comprehensive coverage of the election of the new pope, Pope Francis, right as the white smoke started pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney at 11:06 a.m. Pacific time. Everyone had to drop what they were doing and switch gears to make sure we got extensive coverage for our newscast (and oh, did we), but I think everyone should be commended for their efforts to switch over so effortlessly.
But this is no time to rest on our laurels.
One of my producing goals this semester is to establish a better point of contact with everyone--fellow producers, MJs, whoever could potentially call on me throughout the day for assistance. While I like to think I did a pretty good job checking on all of the reporters and MJs editing their footage throughout the day yesterday (as video producer), I do know that communication is key, especially when everyone starts coming back from the field with footage that needs to be ingested (and subsequently edited).
It was definitely hectic with all the papal news flying around, and I had a lot on my plate to assemble all kinds of video about it, but I could've easily taken just a brief minute or two to jot down some notes on an MJ's footage. It would've helped me to stay on top of what was being edited on a given day, plus it would've been helpful for Lillian and Vicki to know as well--and why make them remember one more thing when 1) they've already got a lot on their plate and 2) I can remember it myself?
And it seems cliche, but my other big goal is to keep a level head throughout the day, no matter how stressful it can get. Upon further reflection, I've found I get a little...antsy, for lack of a more polite term, towards people. While it's one thing to hustle editors to make sure they submit their piece on time, it's another thing to be calm about it--people will feel a lot better about themselves, and will be much more agreeable the next time I need something from them.
