When I was approached with the opportunity to “shadow” a crew from one of our remote bureaus, I jumped at the chance, probably for the wrong reasons. I produce a 5:30 p.m. newscast at WSPA in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I thought that shadowing would get me away from the hectic newsroom and allow me to spend some time outdoors.
On a sunny Wednesday morning, I ventured out on the hour-long drive to Anderson, S.C., to spend the day with reporter Jill Schroder and photographer David Jolley. How naïve I was to think that it would be a relaxing day with my co-workers.
What I Learned As A Producer Shadowing A Crew
I arrived to find Jill, the reporter, buried in newspapers, phone messages and information. The photographer, David, was monitoring a fuel spill using the scanners and the phones. I was overwhelmed immediately by how much information each of them was trying to process before calling in to the morning meeting. Jill had to pour through stacks of data while on the phone with contacts, viewers and officials. In a matter of minutes, she needed to weed through all the information and narrow it down into one powerful story pitch, with back-up ideas ready to go.
I had never experienced the morning meeting from this perspective, and I felt anxious as she and I brainstormed. When the call came from the meeting, I was standing by like a parent watching her child up on stage. I held my breath until the OK came from management on her story pitch. Whew! Now came the relaxing part of driving around outside of the newsroom, right? Wrong!
We did spend most of the day in the car, driving around searching for interviews and information. We were covering a story about a potentially dangerous man who was robbing flower shops and preying on women. The safe environment of the newsroom was gone. Now we were out with the public. The walls that once closed in on me seemed more like a security blanket, protecting me from the problems and concerns of the people. I was now standing in places this suspect had been, and it was a chilling reality that made me understand the job of a reporter was more than just telling a story; reporters are advocates for the community, too.
Reporters and photographers are also ambassadors of the newsroom. They are our link with the public. Simply put, if we blow it, with any story, they hear it first.
One surprising lesson seems like such a simple one: It can take a long time to grab a quick VOSOT or an interview. When you cover an area like Jill and David do, just getting one interview may take you completely across town. A crew can easily spend an entire day chasing down that one person, which takes us to the next lesson: Lunch is just a drive-through away.
I learned that a reporter’s ability to be likeable and earn trust quickly is a talent and the key to landing interviews. When the official interview begins, David is more than a photographer; Jill also leans on him for support. She relies on him to ask those questions that she may have forgotten.
During the interview I saw firsthand that there is nothing more effective than a crew who can truly work well with each other. When a crew is good, roles blend together to create a powerful team, and both team members look for opportunities to make the story better.
Reporters and photographers are much more than interviewers and storytellers; they are hikers, climbers, navigators and counselors. They represent the television station because they are accessible, and they rely on the producers to trust them, to support them and to help them cover the stories that matter to the community.
Life In The Newsroom That Bureau Teams May Not Understand
After my day shadowing Jill and David, I realized that as a producer I can be so focused on my own struggles that I may be blind to the issues others are dealing with. I learned a lot from the crew, and I think they also learned from me. I debunked some of the myths about the station that many reporters and photographers hold. For example:
- Reporters and photographers are not the stressful part of a producer’s day. We actually enjoy our interaction with you. Your excitement over a story is infectious and we thrive on that. By the time we talk to you about your story, we have already had multiple meetings pulling us in a number of different directions. We meet with management over ratings, promotions over teases, editors over footage, consultants over show vision, and the executive producer about story placement. In a nutshell, our time spent with you is the creative part of our day.
- A producer’s day usually starts and ends with meetings. We have other responsibilities than just focusing on our show. We stack our shows and negotiate with other producers over what stories will work best in which newscasts. Most of us write the rest of the content in our shows, including the teases. We find matching video and make sure the editors are clear on what we want. We meet with the anchors to get their input on the show. In many newsrooms the producers help the desk with the incoming phone calls and help coordinate crews when there is breaking news. As we approach airtime, we meet with the directors to go over the show plan, meet with the helicopter pilot to talk about where to fly and get with the art department to request graphics and animations.
- We have other reporters we are working with and other stories that we are researching throughout the day so please forgive us if we do not remember specific details of your story. Brief us again. We know it is frustrating when we seem scattered. We are relying on you to refocus us. When you give us a breakdown of your story, be clear and concise. If you need our attention, demand it, while being respectful that we have other duties distracting us.
- If the focus of your story changes, let us know right away. If we do not hear anything from you we believe the story is turning out just as it was pitched. If we do not hear otherwise, by noon many of us are already meeting with promotions to plan how to tease your story. If you suspect your story will be late, give us a heads up because we need to come up with a Plan B. The anchors are counting on the producers to have a plan should your story not show up for its slot. If your story falls through there is nothing better than a crew who calls in with a positive attitude and offers a new story or asks for help brainstorming. You deserve to have our help in this area and a good producer should talk out a new idea with you.
- Don’t just stew, fight for what you believe, but choose your battles wisely. You may have a right to be upset every day about something, but if you complain about everything, after a while no one will listen.
There will be many times you will be asked to do things that sound crazy, like turn your story over to another crew, head out to cover an area not in your beat, and switch your story at the last minute. Changes frustrate us in the newsroom too, but we cannot even come close to understanding the toll it is taking on your energy, attitude and overall happiness. We need to know if you feel like you are being treated unfairly. If we do not hear anything we really believe everything is OK. 
There are many ways producers can do better, and sometimes you need to let us know. We have a million people asking for things from us during the day so we may not see your frustration right away. We do, however, know that a long pause on the two-way after a suggestion on our part means trouble. Debrief us after the show. Give us a chance to do right by you. Let us know what you struggled with and what could be fixed. We understand that we need to earn your trust but we seldom hear how we can help.
We may seem like the enemy but the producers really do rise and fall with you. When you succeed we stand up and shout it for the entire newsroom to hear. When you feel that your story tanked, we feel like we failed you. When we feel like we failed you, we brainstorm after the shows about how we could have helped you better.
Reporters and photojournalists need to know that we count on you for so much more than just your story each day. We may have scanners and calls coming in, but you are our eyes and ears in the community. We are relying on you to notice traffic problems, weather conditions, or something suspicious at the corner store, and call it in.
