Know What You Want and Need...and Speak Up!

A huge part of being a producer is being able to take charge and make tough decisions, and the morning meeting is a perfect example of when this leadership needs to be shown. The second the morning meeting starts, tons of story ideas, angles, pitches, and packages will be flying around the newsroom. With this in mind, it is extremely easy to get distracted, and once one or more producers are distracted, the morning meeting becomes less efficient. One way to make the meeting more efficient is to have a clear and concise idea of the stories we need information for, stories we need to make calls on, and stories we want to send MJ's, reporters or anchors to. As a producer I have found that the most important thing we need to do during the morning meeting is to simply speak up. The meeting does not go anywhere when no one is talking about a story. Even if it is not your story pitch or you are unclear about the stories content, throwing out questions, or different story angles can really get the ball rolling and the meeting moved onto the next story. In regards to engaging others, the more direction and information people in the newsroom are given, the easier everyone’s tasks and assignments become. It is also important to include everyone in the newsroom in the morning meeting. When I was an MJ and a reporter I loved being able to give my opinion because being involved made me more excited about a particular story, which inspired me to work harder to get what the broadcast needs to be great.