Field Production Reality

This week was very productive!
On Tuesday, I took a deep breath, listened to the advice of my mentors, and turned an effective package.

Also, luckily Darwin and Mike the photographer wrapped up where they were (in another courtroom) and joined me.
I got a reality check from Darwin.

He told me not to get “bogged down with the minutia”. Which was what had me stuck in writer’s neutral.

Today I field produced again. My packages are improving. I am seeing a vast difference!

Find out more about broadcasting lingo!

Field Producing

This has been sort of an independent week for me.

On Tuesday I was sent alone to a courtroom while the reporter I was shadowing was on another story. On Wed, I interviewed the mayor of Orange Beach. Also, I field produced a story, packaged it, and got critiques from the anchor voicing it over.

I got good feedback from both the anchor and the photographer I went with. Thursday I spent the day editing what I did on the days before. I finished one, and was a bit disappointed that I spent so much time on one project.

I need to get better with editing.

Feeling Newsy: The Transition from Intern to Reporter

My news packages are improving. I write at least one package a day and I then forward it to an anchor or reporter who critiques them.

My writing is getting so much better this way. I like to write a package, then watch how the reporter wrote it. I also like to watch the photographers edit, to see what video they use and why. I spend time in the edit booth to get better acclimated. I want to improve my editing speed.

There are so many highlights to working in the news industry. I enjoy meeting new people on each story, learning more about my community and the world through research and the morning news meetings, and capturing on film, then writing about the people I interview.

An important lesson learned from this week is “don’t worry about the minutia”. As a journalist, I am not an expert necessarily. I am a listener, I use my writing skills (which are improving:) to get a better understanding of the situation. Then I share with the viewers, because they have a right to know what is going on around them.