Back in the Swing of Things

Have you ever just needed to get away? I'm not talking about 'wanderlust'. No. I'm talking about leaving everything behind for a few days so you can just breathe. Last week accomplished that for me.

To say I've been off my game lately would be an understatement. I was mentally exhausted, frustrated with work and feeling detached. My creativity was stifled. My stress level was so high my blood pressure was running 20 points higher than normal.

My responsibilities at the station have increased, but obviously the days aren't getting any longer. Not that it would have mattered anyway; I was too tired and disinterested to do anything extra, including updating this blog.

In the past couple of years, I've become the go-to person in the newsroom. When I say that I am called for everything, I mean everything. Being relied on for any and every crisis is great ... in the newsroom. In my personal life, not so much. What with my phone constantly going off and having to stop what I'm doing to help someone every few minutes, my job was starting to feel like a babysitting service. The worst part? I was feeling under-appreciated.

My vacation last week had been on the books for quite awhile. Little did I know when I requested the entire week how much I would need it. Things started off a little rocky, with several phone calls and text messages from work. That's when I decided to disconnect from everything - no phone, no facebook, no email. It was just me, my husband and a camera.

It was everything I needed.

A full week of not keeping tabs on 20 other people. Going to bed without worrying about everything I didn't accomplish because I ran out of time. Actually getting a good night's sleep. Being able to focus on something other than work.

Now I feel more in control of things. My creativity has been restored, which is good news for my shows and for this blog. I may not be fully back in the swing of things yet, but I feel like I'm on the right path to reclaiming -- and enjoying -- my free time.

(Not So) Basic Journalism Skills: Phone Etiquette

Being a journalist is a lot more than knowing how to use a camera and tell a story -- especially in the public's eye.

There's a lot that goes into this job that they just don't teach you in J-School. But never fear, you have me - a real life, flesh-and-blood journalist who can help point you in the right direction.

Probably the biggest thing your professors forgot to warn you about is how often the phone is going to ring. Callers will expect you to be their phone book, Google expert, legal counsel, therapist, technological trouble shooter ... and the list goes on and on.

It's inevitable you'll have to answer the phone one day, no matter where you pursue your career. And unless things have changed a lot since I graduated, there is no class, lesson or workshop on how to deal with viewers/readers who call in for any and everything.

When I first moved to dayside, I was unprepared for the phones. I was not ready for my day to revolve around the brrrring of the newsroom phone or the 10 to 20 minutes I would lose per call. It still kind of blows my mind at the amount of people whose first thought any time they need anything is to call their local news station.

Someone broke into your house? Forget the police; call the news!
A scammer called you? Call the news!
It's raining at your house? Call the news!

With time you'll learn the patterns of your audience. Some callers you'll come to recognize within seconds of answering; this will probably lead to a cringe and/or silent sigh of why me?


Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all way of handling callers, but there are some things you can do to make the experience a little more pleasant.

First of all, no matter how hard it is, stay professional. As much as you want to slam the phone down, don't. Under no circumstances should you curse or raise your voice. You remaining calm will do far more to unnerve rude callers than yelling back at them. Generally, they don't know how to act when you don't react in the same manner they're using. If you don't think you can keep your cool, transfer them to your boss.

When you get one of those callers whose only real purpose for contacting your newsroom is to chew the fat, the most effective tactic to get them off the phone is to tell the truth. If it's 30 minutes to showtime and you don't have time to talk, tell them. Most people who call newsrooms do so because they think we're obligated to talk to them. It doesn't cross their minds that we actually work and have deadlines.Who'd've thunk it, right?

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is acceptance. Accept that the phone will ring a dozen or more times a day. Come to terms with the fact that you will answer at least one stupid question a day, look up at least two phone numbers and have to transfer at least one call a week to your boss. Once you accept this part of the job, answering the phone will be easier.

And one last piece of advice - on days when it seems like there is no pause between phone calls and you're at your wits' end when it comes to your viewers or readers, remind yourself that there are nice, intelligent members of your audience out there. They just have the good sense not to call you.