New Year, New Outlook

I have a confession to make. I'm a worrier. I worry about money, work, family, friends ... and the list goes on and on. I can't seem to help myself.

But in 2014, I'm going to make a concerted effort to worry less ... about everything. I'm going to start the new year off with a new outlook.

I spent entirely too much time in 2013 worrying about money and whether I would be able to afford food if I put gas in my car. Those may seem like legitimate worries, but why should I spend countless hours worrying over whether I have enough money when I could be doing something to improve my financial situation? 2014 may not see me any richer than I've been in 2013, but I can at least budget my money a little better. That way I can have my gas and food to eat, too.

In 2014 there will be less time spent feeling guilty about not visiting, calling or keeping up with people ... especially those people who never visit, call or make an effort to keep up with me. It won't mean I care any less for them (some of them anyway). It just means I've grown up and know how I should be treated in any type of relationship regardless of if it's romantic, familial or friendship. All relationships are two-way roads, and 2013 will be the last year I waste my time walking both sides.

It's inevitable that work will follow you home sometimes, and although I'm certainly not plugged into the station 24/7 it does occupy a lot of my free time, and by that I mean my thoughts. I spend a lot of time thinking about the next day, schedules, story possibilities, etc. Work is also a predominant theme in my out-of-work conversations. Venting is healthy, but I know I tend to dwell on things ... and I'm sure my husband would agree. So next year I'm going to try to keep my work-related conversations and thoughts to a minimum. After all, how can I live in the present and enjoy the little things if work is always intruding?

As 2013 comes to a close, I wish you all a Happy New Year. May all your endeavors be fruitful and your adventures fun.

Santa Sighting

Overheard on the Scanner: "I just had a report of what appears to be a sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer on the east side of town."

Merry Christmas!

Life.

It's been almost a month since I've posted, and even longer since it was something other than a newsroom caller entry. I promise I haven't dropped off the face of the planet or given up on blogging. There has been a lot going on in my life, both personal and professionally.

For the past two weeks my dad has been in the hospital battling what I'm going to call diabetic shock. It has a big fancy medical name that I can't spell and isn't really important anyway. I've spent a lot of time over the past several days in the ER, the ICU waiting room and a hospital room. That on top of work and trying to Christmas shop.

There is good news, though. My dad got to go home yesterday and life is returning to some semblance of normal, although life around the holidays is anything but normal.

I know it's not time yet for new year's resolutions, but I already know what mine will be. In 2014 I resolve to post at least one blog entry a week.

Until then, a very Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

People call wanting us to do stories all the time. Sometimes they're calling to let us know about events or have a decent idea that we pick up. Other times they're crazy people who want to share their crazy message with other people.

A gentleman called today wanting us to do a story on discrimination ... committed by our station many years ago. A majority of the conversation isn't important, but then he said this:

"You can tell from my voice that I'm a black man."

It was at this point that I transferred him to our assignment editor, who said the man was high.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried..

Behind the Scenes: Walk & Talk

Here's another glimpse into my week with the National Peanut Festival:

Behind the Scenes: BMX Fun

This week is the National Peanut Festival, and in my neck of the woods that's a pretty big deal. It's the 70th annual fair, and all this week my noon show has been live from the fairgrounds. One of this year's shows is a BMX stunt show that involves audience participation. They were on the show today and our weatherman bravely volunteered to be part of the demonstration. Take a look!

This was by far the most nerve-wracking segment I have ever produced.

(Not So) Basic Journalism Skills: Dealing With Stress

Have you ever been so in-tune with your career, on the fast track to success, when all of a sudden, Bam! That burnt-rubber smell hits you out of nowhere? Then you realize that fast track was leading you straight to a burn out.

I read an article in Cosmo recently that talked about burning out on our careers. It said more people, women especially, are turning their Monday through Friday 9-to-5 jobs into seven days a week, 24-hour a day jobs. I don't know if I buy into their reasoning (insecurity, fear others are rooting for our downfall), but I know first-hand how easy it is to crash head first into a burn out.

I've talked before, here most recently, about the stresses of my chosen career. Unfortunately, college doesn't necessarily prepare journalists for the reality of the newsroom. If something doesn't go your way in school, it's no big deal. The same can't be said if it happens at your news organization.

Each day is filled with deadlines - you've got to have that story written by this time, video needs to be edited by that time - and the people you're relying on to help you reach those deadlines don't always take them into consideration. The closer you get to a deadline and aren't getting the goal accomplished, the more stressed you become. Sometimes it feels as if the clock is your worst enemy.

Then there's the stress of the story itself. In this profession, you're on the front line of pretty much every bad situation that happens in your coverage area. We all try not to be affected by the bad things we see, but when we're forced to re-see a senseless tragedy over and over again as the coverage moves forward, you can't help but to be affected in some way.

Then there's the reality that the newsroom doesn't always run as smoothly as you think it should. As a producer, I feel this particular type of stress acutely. A quarter of your scripts aren't written 30 minutes before your show airs; the video your show depends on isn't in two minutes before you start; stories are falling apart left and right all day long; and you have no idea how you're going to fill your time.

Then when you add in the stress of your personal life, it can be overwhelming.

I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record in this series, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach to handling stress. However, Poynter.org has put together a list of five tips to help manage your stress in this career. I use all of those techniques on a daily basis, along with some other self-perfected methods.

My favorite way to unwind at the end of the day is with a hot, relaxing bubble bath while reading a magazine or book. I know many journalists who prefer a glass of wine (or maybe three) and others who like to sweat it out at the gym. When I'm not at work, I don't check my work email and I don't watch the news. No matter your method, the point is you have to find some type of outlet, otherwise you'll be headed straight for a burn out.

For me, it's a balancing act. News is important, but never more important than my personal life or my health. I understand the needs of the business, but I also know when to pull back. When you figure that part out, you'll be good to go.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

This was the first call I took today (Halloween). The verbatim isn't 100% accurate, but you'll get the gist. Happy Halloween?

Caller: Who does sports there?

Me: We have several sports people but they don't come in until later in the day.

Caller: Oh, well who can do a story on wrestling?

Me: We don't typically cover wrestling. Can you give me more information?

Caller: I won ring-side seats to a wrestling match with John Cena...

Me: Let me stop you right there. We don't promote events on other networks.

Caller: Oh, well I understand. But I still want y'all to let me give him a shoutout and wish him luck.

Me: We don't do those types of things.

Caller: I don't understand why not. I just want to tell him good luck.

Me: We're not interested.

Divided We Stand?

Imagine how fed up you are with seeing stories on the partial government shutdown and the near debt ceiling fiasco. Multiply that by 100 and you get how fed up I am with the whole thing.

Even now that it's all over, there are still stories to be done on it. I hope that those stories being done by local media and the networks will shed light on the frivolity of the whole situation. And I hope that Americans remember not only this budget battle but also last year's near default when they head to the polls in the next election.

It's time for us to stop calling on Congress to make a change when it's obvious none of them plan on crossing the center aisle any time soon. Any changes we wish to see on Capitol Hill will have to come from the voters.

Things My Dog Has Eaten

Glass candle holder

Tea light candle (with the exception of the metal container)

Part of a votive candle

Kitchen table, 2 benches and one chair

1 rug

5 sets of blinds

1 flip flop

Scanner Said What?!

Dispatcher: Caller says her neighbor is in his backyard fully nude having sexual relations with a goat.

Obviously this created quite the stir in the newsroom, especially when it was repeated over the scanner a second time.

I've heard a lot of craziness come across the scanner, but that takes the cake hands down.

I bet you want to know the outcome. Well, it didn't turn out to be something we could use. By the time police got there, the guy had on pants and was back inside, definitely not defiling a goat ... if he even had been in the first place.

(Not So) Basic Journalism Skills: The Follow-Up

If you work in the news business, you've probably experienced this feeling at least once in your career: getting beat on a story.

What makes it even worse is knowing that one phone call you didn't make would have prevented it.

I'm talking about the follow-up. I touched on it earlier in this series when we talked about creating context for readers/viewers. The follow-up story is just another step in that process.

There are different kinds of follow-up stories: immediate, periodic and long-term.

The immediate follow-up story is the one you do the very next day. This happens often with elections. Night of you talk to the person who wins; next day you talk to his constituents about the outcome.

The periodic follow-up is seen most often in investigations. For example, right now my station is covering an investigation into alleged voter fraud. This isn't something we run every night. Instead, we run updates when new information comes out.

The long-term follow-up story can happen months or even years after the original story. For instance, we'll do look-back pieces on the anniversaries of big events - i.e. the September 11th terror attacks, mass shootings, deadly tornadoes.

Few stories we cover are one-day stories. Businessjournalism.org says it best: "The well-done follow-up is a critical element of coverage." Unfortunately, though, it's become an all-too-common practice in newsrooms across the country to let a story die after just one pass.

If you cover a story in which someone makes a promise, you have to re-visit that story at some point to see if they made good on that promise. If you don't, you're doing a disservice to your readers/viewers.

Developing ideas for follow-up stories can be tricky, especially when it seems like you've already poured everything imaginable into the story today. Tomorrow is the day you want to start asking questions about your original story. Why did this happen; how did it happen; what are the consequences of it; who will be impacted by it; and anything else you didn't answer in the original story. As long as there are questions lingering about the story, it's still a story.

If you have unanswered questions about a story, chances are your viewers/readers do as well, and that's what we're here for - to keep our audiences informed. If we don't complete the story, was there a reason in us covering it in the first place? As I said earlier in this series, the only times we should leave our viewers/readers hanging is in a tease or continues on page 3.

Closed Captioning: On

Anchor: (making fun of Anchorman) I'm Ron Burgundy? Who put a question mark in the teleprompter?!

Reporter: I haven't even started writing my script yet!

Puppy Parenting 101

Being a puppy parent is a constant adventure.

One night last week we went to dinner. My husband left a roll of paper towels sitting too close to the edge of the counter. When we got home about an hour later, this is what we found...

You know how you hear people say having a puppy is like having a toddler? They're not lying.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

Caller: Who's directing or producing?
Me: It depends on the show. We have different producers and directors. What's your question?

Caller: I used to be a director there. Can I talk to Jonathan or Katie?

Me: A Katie doesn't work here, and Jonathan is currently directing our 5:00 show which is on the air right now, so I'm not going to transfer you to him.

Caller: Oh, well I wanted to let Jonathan know there was a misspelled CG.

If I could have slapped this guy through the phone, I would have.

Your Guide to Local TV News

For the past several days, my station has been dealing with the fallout from US Open tennis coverage. Somewhere between the first and thousandth phone call I've taken from outraged viewers, I realized not everyone understands the way local television news stations operate. But never fear! I, your resident expert, am here to save the day and educate the masses on the reality of the newsroom.

If you think your local news station is sending crews to cover major national and international events like the Boston Marathon bombing or the crisis in Syria... I have some ocean-front property in Arizona I'll sell you at a great price.

Most local news stations are affiliates of a major network like CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox. That does not mean we work for the network. In fact, we have practically no ties to the network until we do a story they're interested in. Until that point, we might as well not exist to them.

So what does it mean to be an affiliate? In a nutshell, we pay for our time slots and access to the network's video and stories. Even then though, we're not guaranteed that time slot if something better comes up, i.e. the US Open tennis tournament.

We have absolutely no say over which sporting events our network chooses to air, which shows come on at what time, what stories the network decides to include in their newscast, etc. Calling to yell at us because Hawaii Five-0 was an hour late or because you don't like tennis is a waste of our time and a waste of your breath. About the only thing we can do is give you the network's complaint hotline; however, I've found that most viewers would rather rant at me than call CBS to complain.

Affiliates are at the mercy of their respective network. Often we find ourselves in situations where we've had to condense a 30-minute newscast down to five minutes or watched all our time run out and not gone on at all. Like I told an angry tennis caller last week, we're not happy when the show we've worked on for hours just doesn't happen.

So here's my advice for all those people who like to call their local station and complain about what Ellen did today: find something more productive to do. If worse comes to worst, change the channel. No one's forcing you to watch, after all.

Overheard on the Scanner

Dispatch: Caller says he broke up with his girlfriend and now she's loading up her car with all of his stuff.

Breakups are hard.

Puppy Love

Meet the newest addition to our lives: Jackson.

(Not So) Basic Journalism Skills: The Art of Interviewing

Interviewing a person for a story isn't a skill most people are born with. Nevertheless, it is a must-have skill in the journalism world. Unfortunately, in today's news atmosphere of gotta have it now, the art of the interview has been all but lost, especially in just-out-of-school reporters.

We've all been conditioned around one word: deadline. And our deadlines are getting earlier and earlier, i.e. we've got to have it before anybody else does. As a result, more and more interviews are just scratching the surface and failing to dig any deeper into the issue. We're getting the basics but nothing more, and unfortunately we're satisfied with that.

As a producer, I see the consequences of skimpy interviews first-hand. It's the one question you're left with at the end of a story; the missing link that ties it all together; the implied and...?

There are some simple steps you can follow to conduct an effective interview. The following are a combination of my advice, advice from other journalists and tips from Forbes.

Don't forget the basics: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Write down questions, but don't ignore what your subject is saying - let your subject lead you. If they say something interesting, ask a follow-up question; it doesn't matter if it's off-topic from your list of questions. Be open-minded about what they have to say; remember, the interview isn't about you - it's about what they have to say.

Take notes, even if you're recording what they're saying. Review your notes and/or listen to the interview as soon as possible, while it's still fresh on your mind.

Make some questions open-ended. It requires your subject to say something other than yes or no.

Ask what you don't know.

Unless there is no other alternative, don't send your questions in advance. The responses you get will be noticeably scripted.

Research, research, research. You've got to know what you're going to be talking about. Knowing your subject will also help eliminate unnecessary questions and really get to the heart of the matter. Being prepared will also clue you in to any fishy answers.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to be prepared for people who don't want to talk to you. Don't let it get you down. It doesn't mean you're a bad reporter. Get over it and move on to the next person.

Remember, your stories are only as good as your interviews. If you only devote a minimal amount of time, it will show (quite literally). Leaving your readers/viewers wanting more only works in teases and continues on page 2.

(Not So) Basic Journalism Skills: The Context of Context

In journalism school you learn a lot of things - what makes a story newsworthy, how to put your story together, AP style, etc. What isn't covered in depth is how to put your story into context for your viewers or readers.

Many of the stories we cover aren't just one-day deals. They're an issue that's built up over days, weeks, months, even years. And even if it's day one of coverage, nine times out of 10 we'll revisit the story somewhere in the future.

When you're immersed in those stories day in and day out, or even week in and week out, it's easy to take for granted that everyone knows what's going on. But that's simply not true.

There's always going to be that one person who's been living under a rock. And you can't rule out those people who watch or read every day and still can't keep it straight. Context is for them.

According to Journalism.org, the Pew Research Center's project for excellence in journalism, "Journalism is a form of cartography." Basically, we have to map it out for our audience. You can't start at point F and expect your story to have relevance. For example you can't go cover a protest over the verdict in George Zimmerman's murder trial without revisiting the verdict, and you can't revisit the verdict without explaining the charges, and the charges don't make much sense if you don't know why they were filed in the first place.

Even for those viewers/readers who've been following a story since it's inception, it's nice to lay out a timeline of events for them. That's not to say that you have to devote a lot of time or column space to those details, but in the words of my assignment editor you need a peg to hang the story on. It cuts down on confusion and helps set the tone for whatever you're covering.

There is a movement that seeks to put the context back in the news. They're calling themselves The Context Movement, and they recently had a panel at SXSW. You can read some cliff notes of that by clicking here. This group is trying to find a solution to what it calls "episodic" stories and is trying to answer this question: Why are we serving people the news without the background narrative necessary to make sense of the news?

The trend I see is that newscasts are filled with more and more content, but the context is decreasing. When you have about 12 minutes you can work with and there are 10 reporters each providing you with three minutes of content that your viewers are expecting to see, things get dicey. Fortunately, in most cases context can be provided with one sentence. It's not ideal, but it gets the job done.

In cases where you need more than a sentence but don't have the time or space, there is an easy solution. As I mentioned in Part 2 of this series, all aspects of journalism are converging in one place - the internet. We're all becoming multi-media journalists rather than a print or broadcast journalist and as such we should embrace the online counterparts of our shops. When you don't have time to break down three years of back story for today's version of your story, do it on your website and let people know they can find it there.

If you take nothing else away from this post, remember this - your audience can't take anything away from your story if they don't have the necessary information to do so. Set the scene; plot your course; start at point A. Context isn't a hard concept and it isn't difficult to incorporate. If you make it step one of your creative process, the rest is easy.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

Caller: "I missed your 5:00 news. Did y'all have a story on those cops quitin'?"

Me: "We actually had that story yesterday at 5:00."

Caller: "Oh. Well I called *the other station* and they didn't do the story at all. They told me they didn't think it was a story. Can you believe that?"

Me: "Ma'am, do you have a question or something about the story?"

Caller: "No. I just wanted to let y'all know *the other station* didn't do a story on it."


Disclaimer: Some names and locations have been changed or omitted.

(Not So) Basic Journalism Skills: Grammar Lesson

By the time you get to college, professors generally assume you learned all you need to know about grammar in high school.

You would probably be surprised by the amount of basic grammar skills that either aren't absorbed or are forgotten. I'm not.

Obviously print journalists rely heavily on their grammar skills as they're tasked with telling stories using only words. But broadcast journalists aren't exempt from having good grammar ... or at least they shouldn't be.

Speaking conversationally doesn't mean you can dip into street slang or local dialect. In fact, both of those things detract from your credibility. Why should someone listen to and/or trust a person who doesn't speak correctly?

Unfortunately, most colleges don't require or even offer a grammar class for journalism students. The closest thing I got was an advanced editing and reporting class I took for my print major. Broadcast students weren't required to take those because they focused mostly on print-related things. However, in this day and age, can we truly separate ourselves that way? Yes, I work in broadcast, but I still have to know how to write, and I post stories to our website in PRINT format. And more and more print journalists are being required to turn broadcast-type stories for their online versions.

Is there a difference in the writing styles? Absolutely. But the same rules of grammar apply to both.

In the four years I've been working in this field, I've seen a lot of grammatical issues -- some over and over again. Here are the three I correct on a daily basis: Which versus That; Then versus Than; and Affect versus Effect. It's also not uncommon for me to correct misused apostrophes and commas; hyphens seem to be either not used at all or in all the wrong places; and, unfortunately, I still see subject-verb disagreement on occasion.

Probably the biggest concept for aspiring journalists to learn, whether they want to work for a newspaper or in television, is to write in active voice over passive voice. Using passive voice is not grammatically wrong, but it lends a slower pace to the story. Things are acted upon instead of your characters, if you will, performing some type of action. To put it bluntly, passive voice is boring and doesn't invite your readers or viewers to finish the story.

There is no easy way to overcome the grammar learning curve. I've actually considered putting together a pocket guide for grammar or launching a series on here. Honestly, though, who has the time? It would be a never-ending, miles-long project that would surely drive me insane.

So I guess the best advice I can offer you is to get an AP Stylebook if you don't already have one. It covers most of the common grammatical issues as well as some not-so-common ones. If you want to go the extra mile, pick up a copy of Working With Words.

In this business, words are your business. To make it, you've got to be well-equipped.

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.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

The following is an approximation of what is arguably the most awkward phone call I have ever taken at work. It should be noted that it is also a condensed version as this conversation lasted at least 10 minutes.

Caller: "I was calling about a story y'all did a story on identity theft."

Me: (trying to remember the last time we did one) "Do you remember when you saw it?"

Caller: "It wasn't that long ago. Maybe a couple weeks."

Now we're going to fast forward a little bit because the process of actually finding the story, which aired all the way back in October (go figure), lasted at least 5 minutes...

Caller: "The woman y'all interviewed is my wife. (pause) Well, she was my wife. Anyway, she's gone back to her first husband and is using a different name now."

Me: "Are you accusing her of stealing someone else's identity?"

Caller: "No. She's using her maiden name now."

Me: "That's not illegal."

Caller: "Oh. Well, when she was with me she was using a different name."

Me: "Sir, people change their name all the time. It isn't illegal."

Caller: "Oh. Well, I just thought y'all'd want to finish your story."


Me: "And what would the story be?"
(What I was thinking - The story we did 7 months ago?!)

Caller: "Well, she went back to her first husband and has a different name now. And she used a different name when she was with me."

Me: "Sir, that isn't a story. Unless she stole that identity from another person and used it to defraud her and/or you out of money, we're not interested. The original story was that she was a victim of identity theft - not her marital issues. Did she defraud you or anyone else?"

Caller: "No."

Me: "Well, sir, I'm not really sure what you want out of us."

Caller: "Well, I just wanted to tell y'all that she wasn't with me anymore."

Me: (completely at a loss for words) "Oh, ok. Well, thanks for calling, but there's a meeting I need to be at that's starting now without me. Have a good day."

There was no meeting.

Teases: Useless Gimmick or Necessary Evil?

Writing teases for a newscast is sort of like seduction, except you don't necessarily like the people you're seducing into your show...

It's an acquired skill, one that's developed over time. It isn't easy. It's not something you just pick up. In fact, it's probably the most dreaded part of the show. Dreaded but necessary.

Every network uses teases. They serve a purpose - to let your audience know what will be aired and when they can see it.

It's safe to say that in a given day I write more teases than stories. There are the teases that start off our shows, the teases within a show that let viewers know what's coming up after the break, teases that promote other shows, and teases that run independently of any show to let viewers know what stories will be in which newscast.

I guess you could say I've had a lot of practice with tease writing. Four years in this business has taught me a lot. I'm no expert, but I do have a bag of tricks I dip into often when it comes to writing teases.

Some stories are just naturally more entertaining than others and the teases practically write themselves. Other stories are dull. Let's face it, finding a way to make sewer replacement interesting enough for a viewer to want to hear the story isn't a cake walk. But it can be done.

As I just said, stories about sewer renovations are hard to tease. However, one of my most creative teases ever was about such a story. One of the towns we cover was putting in new sewer lines; city officials hoped the work would attract new businesses. My tease: "Coming up, an area city thinks the road to new business lies in the sewer." Good, right?

There are ways to tap into that creativity for every tease you write. Perhaps the simplest way to write a great tease is to latch onto the most interesting piece of information in that story. Give your audience one piece of information - just enough to hook them - just enough to make them want more.

One of the biggest things I stress when I'm teaching tease writing is to not get attached to complete sentences. Fragments may be frowned upon in grammar class but not in tease writing. "Startling new statistics about teens texting while driving" sounds so much sexier than "There are new statistics about teens texting behind the wheel." Short, punchy lines grab the attention more than complex sentences; they also add a sense of drama without sounding forced.

One thing to remember is that a tease is just that - a tease. It's not a mini story. You shouldn't give your audience everything. They need a reason to stay because, trust me, most of them are looking for a reason to change the channel (and probably call in to complain).

But if you promise something that you don't deliver, the whole purpose of the tease is lost. This can happen if you tease a story that isn't even in your show or if you tease a story the wrong way. That's why it's so important to read the story before you tease it. Sounds simple, right? Well, all too often that simple step is skipped. I've fallen victim to this before on days when I was rushed. Not only did my error make us sound like we didn't know what we were talking about, but those errors also run the risk of jeopardizing our audience's trust.

A tease is no good if it doesn't fulfill its purpose. If it fails to keep your audience tuned in or lies to them (regardless of intentions) about the nature of the story, it might as well not have run in the first place. With that being said, a newscast can survive without teases. It's not ideal, but a generic "We'll be right back" is preferable to a bad tease or one that just says "We'll have more news, weather and sports coming up."

As a producer I get the point of teases. As a viewer, I kind of think they're pointless. Generally, I hate writing them, not because I'm bad at it but because sometimes there's only one way to tease a story and I have to tease it three times. Sometimes there's no way to get around a boring story. Other times my creative juices cook up a tantalizing tease that's full of cleverness. My favorite days are those when I get to be corny or use a pun.

Most days I wonder if my efforts are completely lost on my audience. I question the effectiveness of teases in general and think why bother? But in the end, teases are a useless gimmick that is a necessary evil, and as long as I am a producer I will continue to write them.

“How does it serve the public if we’re first? You know what first is all about? It’s vanity. It’s self-conceit. No one’s sitting at home watching 5 TV monitors saying, ‘Oh they were first!’ That’s a game that we play in our control rooms. Maybe a touch of humility would serve us better.”
-Scott Pelley

Facebook + News = No

In this digital age that we live in, social media is the wave of the future.

My station has a Facebook page and Twitter account in addition to our website. That's not counting all of the reporter Facebook and Twitter accounts. The other day I entertained (briefly) the idea of creating a station Pinterest account.

I've talked before about how our audience craves a constant stream of information. Social media just feeds that craving.

I post stories to our website and then share the link to our Facebook page, which automatically posts as a Twitter update. Throughout the day our reporters, producers and web masters are also updating all three of those sites.

We get a lot of clicks on our website. However, comments aren't plentiful. We're lucky if we get one or two per story on a good day. Our Twitter handle has plenty of followers, but as far as feedback goes it's mostly limited to retweets.

Our Facebook page, on the other hand, is a beehive of activity 24-hours a day. Some days that activity is limited to likes. Other days our fans feel compelled to comment. On the worst days they attack one another, use profanity, are vulgar and seem to forget their decency altogether. Unfortunately, the worst days are the most common.

I don't know what it is about social media that makes people go crazy. I guess sitting behind a keyboard all alone empowers you to type things you would never say to a person face-to-face. Suddenly all that matters is that so-and-so said something you don't agree with and you feel the need to call them an idiot (or some other choice word) and start a fight that has nothing to do with what you're commenting on.

Then the moderator - a.k.a. me - has to step in and delete your comment(s). Sometimes entire threads have to be taken down because people get so out of control. And it never fails, as soon as we delete something, we get accused of censorship and violating First Amendment rights.

Earlier this week, one of our fans posted a comment about the poisoned letters that were sent to some of our nation's leaders. Her comment suggested that it might be some type of conspiracy theory. It in no way hurt anyone or violated our terms of use. However, two other fans decided her "stupidity" should be pointed out rather harshly. They tried their best to start a fight with this woman, calling her a moron and a nitwit. When their comments were removed, they turned hostile towards us. They couldn't understand why we don't tolerate name-calling or arguments on our page. In the end, both commenters were banned.

Unfortunately, this trend is all too common. Multiple times a week I find myself babysitting a thread on the station's Facebook page because our fans simply can't act right. They believe the First Amendment gives them the right to say whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want.

Very few of them know how to disagree in a polite way. A multitude of them take any comment that doesn't follow their way of thinking as a personal affront and go on the defensive. It's ridiculous.

If I were to comment on your Facebook page, or even your blog, and you didn't like my comment or it offended you, you'd have every right to delete it. The same holds true for the station's Facebook page. Our terms of use are posted visibly at the top of the page. Often, we post them as a status update to remind our unruly participants that their behavior won't be tolerated. I wish I could say that worked, but it doesn't.

The power of the keyboard mixed in with social media news sites is a volatile combination. Seven times out of 10 the commentary on a story that's posted has nothing to do with that story. Instead, it focuses on one or two comments that are being picked apart.

Newsflash, people. Just because you don't agree with someone's opinion doesn't mean they didn't have the right to express it; just as you have the right to express your differing opinion. There's really no need for rudeness or name-calling. Just respectfully disagree with one another and move on. It's just a website, and as long as your comments meet our terms of use, you can say anything you like.

Still, as the news world becomes more and more internet-focused, I don't see this problem ever going away. As long as we keep giving people the opportunity to weigh in on the stories we're covering, we'll remain open to the whims of the public.

One day it's all likes and positive comments; the next it's World War III: Social Media Blowup.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

Me: "Channel 4 News."
Caller: "Hey listen, don't your directors ever check the 'Right Now' weather graphic? 'Cause the humidity is never right."
Me: "Sir, our meteorologists build their own graphics."
Caller: "Well it's the director's job!"
Me: "No, it isn't. The weather guys do their own graphics."
Caller: "Well your customers are paying for your weather to be right!"
Me: "Sir, what customers are you talking about?"
Caller: "The ones that pay to get your weather!"
Me: "Sir, no one pays for our weather forecasts. You can watch us for free."
Caller: "Well your advertisers pay for your weather to be right."
Me: "Sir, are you an advertiser with us?"
Caller: "You'll just have to find out won't you?"
*click*

I know it's been awhile since I updated. Life has been crazy over the past few weeks - both at work and in my personal life. Believe me, there have been plenty of things I've wanted to blog about, but I just have not had the time to sit down and type out a quality post.

But never fear. My reprieve should not be for much longer. Things are starting to settle down on all fronts, and once we get internet hooked up at home I'll be back at it.

Until then, peace.

A Journalist's Dream

The thing about working in news, regardless of whether it's print or broadcast, is that in the audience's eyes, you're never really off. Viewers and readers have come to expect a CNN-like atmosphere in all things. They don't care if your outlet is a smaller market with a small staff and budget. They want their news when they want it, and if you can't comply with their wishes, they'll just go somewhere else.

So we've all given in. What other choice did we have? If you don't have viewers or readers, you don't have a job. But this surrender to all news all the time doesn't come without consequences. Of course there's the constant fight to be first without regard to being right (just look at the recent Newtown, CT, tragedy), but I'm talking more about the affects on journalists.


Sometimes the pressures of this business are intense. We're expected to be on our game 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We're not supposed to take vacations or ever turn off our phones. And for the most part, we're never thanked for our dedication. Not that we really expect it. For most of us, it's not about the fame or fortune - it's about the news and getting it out there and maybe making a difference in the process.

But sometimes the pursuit of journalism ends in a burn out.

This week a coworker shared an article with me called Why I Left News. The title is pretty straight-forward: a former print reporter explains why she got out of the business. It basically boils down to being over-worked, underpaid and under-appreciated. And while the article is primarily about print, the issues the author discusses can also be felt in broadcast.

We get tired, but we don't stop. We literally work ourselves sick sometimes.

Not all of us give into the overwhelming nature of the beast and leave the business, but I feel like I speak for most of us when I say we wish we could hide sometimes.

For me, it's from my phone. I never turn it off. I can't unless I'm on vacation. Everyone at the station has access to me all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten work-related phone calls during dinner or while on a date.

This job can take over your entire world if you let it. But you don't have to let news consume you. Sure, I find myself updating stories or monitoring our social media sites from home occasionally, but I'm not constantly plugged into my station. In fact, I don't watch the news at all when I'm off.

I think some of the most successful and happiest journalists I know are not tied to their desks/cameras. They're not running to their stations every time some piece of breaking news happens. They're out there living their lives and leaving the news at the station.

I think that's the key to being happy in this business -- not giving your entire life to it. You can't let news define who you are as a person. You need to have connections outside of your station. You should have times when your thoughts are nowhere near work.

But if you are serious about making this your career, you've got to understand its needs. There will be times when you lose your weekend; your work days will almost never fall between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; and you'll be expected to do more than college prepared you for. But as long as when you go home you're at home both in body and in mind, you should be fine.

Too much of anything can be a bad thing, even love for your career.

Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say

I've written before (many times, in fact) about the crazy people who call our newsroom. It's not out of the ordinary for me to talk to three or four of them in one day. These calls are usually my most popular activity on Facebook. So I decided I should start chronicling them, and what better place than on my blog?

So I present to you "Sh*t Crazy Newsroom Callers Say" - a blog segment dedicated to all the crazy people who think it's a great idea to call our newsroom.

We'll start with a wrap-up of this week so far, which has been unusually calm phone-wise. I guess it's all the Spring temperature we've been experiencing...

On Monday, a lady from one of our smaller communities called us about a scam, but it wasn't to report it or even have us do a story on it. Apparently some Jamaican-accented man was calling her about winning a lottery she'd never entered. She'd also supposedly won a car. Fortunately, the woman did not fall victim to the scam. However, the man was continuously calling her and she wanted him to stop. So one of her friends suggested she call us and give us his number so we could make him stop... Bless her heart.

Yesterday (Wednesday), the man we know only as the Opp Scanner Man called with a message for our weather team - don't let it rain in Opp on Saturday. I kindly explained to him that they don't control the weather. I'm still not sure if he believed me.

Tuesday, a "lawyer" called and threatened to sue us. For reporting what the police told us. She accused us, very loudly, of publishing false information on our website. In reality the information she insisted we had reported was actually news to us. It's always fun telling irate callers that they've called the wrong media outlet.


Stay tuned for more crazy stuff our callers tell us!

I Won An Award

The Liebster Blog Award Rules:

1. Share 11 things about yourself

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you

3. Choose 11 fellow blogs to nominate {or how ever many you'd like}. The nominees must have under 200 GFC (google friend connect) followers and tell them in a comment on their blog

4. Think of eleven questions to ask the bloggers you have decided to nominate

5. Thank the person that nominated you and link back to their blog

Things About Myself
1.Sadly, I'm very easily addicted to reality t.v. It's not that I like reality t.v. It just sucks me in. For instance, TBS just aired a reality series about nerds. I was hooked, even though it was really bad.

2. I get road rage. But what do you expect when I live in the land of bad drivers?

3. Yo hablo espanol un poquito. Era mi concentracion secundaria en la universidad.

4. My name is Ashton and I'm a shopaholic.

5. I'm a t.v. news producer. As such I'm a magnet for stupid questions. I bet you thought there was no such thing...

6. Giraffes are my favorite animal, even though they're gay.

7. If I could be in any other profession, I think I'd like to be a professional ballroom dancer. Too bad I was cursed with clumsiness.

8. I believe in soul mates. I'm married to mine.

9. I am not a morning person. I'm also not good at taking naps. They just make me grumpy.

10. I suffer from debilitating migraines. We're talking no light, no sound, no movement.

11. I learn something new every day. It comes with the territory when you work in news. I think that was one of the biggest draws for me.

  

Questions I Was Given

1. Chunky of creamy peanut butter?
Oh man. Either. Except for Publix Chunky PB. It's too chunky.

2. Name one food you just can't stand.

I keep thinking of foods I dislike, but there really isn't anything I just won't eat. I'm like a disposal.

3. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for? 
That I could say goodbye to my Papa.
Automated news studios never happened.
World Peace. I'm serious. I get tired of all the negativity in my shows. 

4. What is your usual order at Starbucks (Or similar coffee shop)?
I'm not much of a coffee fan. However, whenever the mood strikes it's going to be something with a lot of caramel.

5. What as the last movie you saw in theaters? 
Warm Bodies. I highly recommend it. Zombie love story? Oh yeah.

6. Would you rather be an Olympic athlete or win American Idol?
Athlete.

7. What book do you think everyone should read, but no way in hell would you share your own copy? 
So many options... I can't decide!

8 Have you ever gone vegetarian or vegan? If so, how long did it or has it lasted? 
hahahahahahaha

9. Skiing or Boarding?
I assume you mean with snow... I live in south Alabama. We don't have that.

10. Who taught you to drive? 

My mom.

11.  Do you have a favorite item of clothing for any reason?
I have lots of favorite pieces. I'm addicted to shopping.

Nominees - About that... I'm so far behind on my blogging, I really can't.

Thanks to McGriddle Pants over at Serenity Now Insanity Later for the award!