Being the producer of a television newscast is as easy as it sounds. All you have to do is determine what stories will make it onto the show, what order they will be in, and how you will tell those stories. On top of that, you have to learn to fit in the weather forecast, sports news, edit videos, and figure out how to implement those into their respective stories. And, of course, it must all fit into the thirty minute airtime you are granted, including commercials. And you have to do it three times a day. Sound fun?
Well, for Edan Schulz it is. Schulz has been on the WSIL Channel 3 news team in southern Illinois since 1995 and knows a thing or two about producing a television newscast. He loves his job and has been interested in news as long as he can remember. He gave his account of the interworkings of a newscast to a room full of journalism students.
To start his day, Schulz meets with his news team and they discuss what is going on in southern Illinois and the world in general. Their plan is to come up with potential ideas for stories for both the five and six o'clock newscast. They have to consider their viewers and their resources when choosing stories to report on. As far as resources, the news station does not have the personnel to cover too many small things, like city council and school board meetings. Also, it does not interest the public as much, who tend to connect with emotional stories more than technical ones. Their goal is to find stories that can really hit home with the viewers and keep them interested in watching the news everyday.
After this discussion, they will then send out their reporters to record interviews and get shots that will go with those stories. When gathering interviews, it is important to keep interviews short, usually between five and ten minutes, and ask specific questions that will play into the main idea of the story. Also, the shots used in television news are extremely important because it makes the story more accessible to the viewer. Also, each story is about 75 words, so video gives them the best chance at conveying a message.
The staff will meet again in the afternoon for editorial meetings, where they will arrange the essentials: determining the story order, how much time each story will get, and finalize the cast for the show. In an effort to keep viewers for both the five and six o'clock newscast, they will have different lead stories for each edition. They will also write each news story for the anchors. Each story should be short and concise and relay the basic function of news, which is reporting the who, what, where, when, and why.
Then it is time for the show, but things do not end there. During the show, the anchors will be reading over and editing their scripts and videos are being edited in the background. They could also have to omit one of their stories if they receive breaking news and have to cover something urgent. Finally, when the five and six o'clock shows have ended, they have to re-group and prepare for the ten o'clock newscast, where they have to do everything all over again and find new stories.
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