During the week of spring break, two important stories relevant to the USC community broke that I knew we were going to cover as soon as we got back into the media center. I then started to think about the ways that our newsroom would ethically and accurately cover the events happening in our own community.
Initially it was a challenge for me to think outside of the box in terms of determining how to cover these important stories. But by working with my team, and figuring out which questions people still had, we were able to come up with angles that made our show different.
Victor McElhaney, a USC Jazz student who was killed in a robbery, was the first big story that broke over spring break. I knew many people who were tragically affected by this traumatic event, and I wanted to follow up with them on a personal level. I knew that it would be important to honor his life and accurately represent who he was. This was our lead story for the show because it was the most relevant in terms of a "today" angle. There was a memorial being held on campus on this day, so we decided that this story had the most human element, and we wanted to lead with that.
The next story we chose, the college admissions scandal, was another story that, for obvious reasons, was important to cover. Since I was the digital producer for that day, I decided to produce a Twitter thread that highlighted the stories of individuals who got into USC based on their own merit. You can read the thread here.
In addition to these two stories, USC also announced a tuition increase for the 2019-2020 school year.
Our show started with these three stories, because they were the most relevant and proximal to our USC community. As a teammate, I am somewhat involved in helping the lead producer select the top story. By letting her know what content we have for the main stories, whether it be a strong interview or great visuals, this can help her decide how she wants to start the show. When we have the content, I usually help my producer decide the lead story around 3 or 3:30 p.m., by which point most of our stories are reported.
One thing I learned as a producer on this day is figuring out the different ways to tell the same story. Because news of the scandals also happened over break, we approached the topics with varying angles that made our stories fresh and new.
I think it's important to keep those things in mind in the real world as well. Instead of telling the same story over and over again, a producer needs to be able to think of new angles that also provide new details and information. The newsroom challenged me to do this because being a part of the USC community, we have the resources to do a comprehensive story.
For example, to cover Victor McElhaney's death, I wanted to reach out to those who were closest to him and honor his life in a memorable way. Because we have access to his community at USC, this provided a fresh angle on the story and offered a more in-depth look at his life that was more personal.
I think that covering news that is relevant to my own USC community has helped make me a better producer because it forces me to think creatively about the resources that we have here. This ability to think outside the box is a useful skill applicable to any newsroom. Additionally, the importance of selecting a lead that is captivating and strong is essential to begin any show.