When I first signed up for the producing class last spring, I was somewhat optimistic that the world would return to normal by the fall. I was hoping to walk into Wallis Annenberg Hall and into the media center where I would produce a newscast week in and week out, even if we had to wear masks and adhere to social distancing. But as the summer went on, I knew the expectation that I had was far from reality. My feeling of optimism disappeared when President Carol Folt confirmed that the fall semester would be fully online.
When I came into the realization that I would have to produce full newscasts completely from home, I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, I had the experience of anchoring Annenberg TV News from home the semester before. But I understood the responsibilities associated with producing were an entirely different ballgame.
The first couple weeks of production were difficult. I never realized how overwhelming it was to have the responsibility of creating the rundown, assigning journalists to stories, and keeping track of sources all at the same time. I am fortunate to work with Alex Song, the other See-It-Live producer, but it still took a couple of weeks for me to fully feel comfortable during my day-of-air shift.
One of the hardest challenges that I have faced as a producer is securing interviews and getting sources to talk to us via Zoom. Most of the time, the sources we reach out to don’t respond, and most people are not available on such short notice. There have also been occasions when people are not comfortable speaking on camera or talking about the issue the show is focused on.
Nonetheless, there are some weeks when we have good luck and secure most interviews before noon. While other weeks, like this past week, we do not get all our sources until late into the afternoon. One way that I have overcome this challenge is to reach out to people I would like to interview the day before. I realize that the earlier I reach out to people the more likely they are to respond in time for our show.
There are also challenges that my team and I have had to work out. One of these challenges that Alex, my executive producer Myra, and I have worked out is keeping tabs on all our student journalists throughout the day. Since everyone is remote, it is hard to keep track of the progress of our reporters and anchors. I have had to make it a habit to consistently check in with our journalists through Slack every half hour.
With only two more newscasts left before the end of the fall semester, I am proud of the challenges I have overcome as a See-It-Live producer. I have become so much more comfortable producing the last couple of shows. Whether that is creating the rundown or prioritizing my tasks, I now have a better idea of how to stay flexible and adapt throughout my day of production.