WEEK TWELVE: News 20 at 5 Monday Newscast

April 16, 2012

The end came much faster than we expected..

Today was our final day working for News 20 at 5. The experience that we've gained through putting on a live newscast is very rewarding. Nevertheless, here's how our day went:

Reporters covered the following stories:
1. Virginia St. Shooting Update - VO (originally VO/SOT/VO)
2. Frenchtown Health - VO/SOT/VO
3. Alcohol Awareness Month - VO/SOT/VO
4. Graduating Engagements - PKG
5. Mental Health Records - PKG

Our day started fairly slow, with an abundance of outdated local headlines. Our morning meeting ran a little longer than usual, because we were forced to think of story ideas for the reporters. Two reporters worked on a package, while the third reporter did VO/SOT's. One of the packages was situated within E-block. The show was stacked light, so I thought the package would not pose a problem for timing. Well.. it did, and it caused me to cut the package while on air - not the best way to end my last show producing for News 20 at Five.

However it is good to end with a great appreciation for news, and the work that we've accomplished. This is definitely a memory that will stay close to my heart when I think back to my college years. I hope to keep up with shows during the next semesters via live stream.

WEEK ELEVEN: News 20 at 5 MONDAY Newscast

April 9, 2012


Reporters covered the following stories:
1. Ocala Rd. Hit & Run - VO
2. No Grand Jury for Martin - VO/SOT/VO
3. No March for Champion - pkg
4. Sexual Assault Awareness - VO/SOT/VO
5. FAMU i-Grades - VO/SOT/VO
6.Charter School Groundbreaking - VO/SOT/VO
7. Star Metro Hearing - VO/SOT/VO


This week's A-block was practically full to capacity. There were two live shots from reporters Alexandria and Christian. Alex was live from the chroma wall, while Christian was live from the anchor desk. Aside from a few audio issues, this block went fairly well. All content was very relevant and timely.


There were some issues that had to be corrected on-air that needed to be proof read before 4:00 p.m. For example, the story leading into weather tease was very hard (North Korea Nuclear) and didn't leave the anchors with much room for conversation. I've always been told to end this block with something light and conversation friendly. Also, the "Goodbye", which is the last segment of the show was completely skipped, and remained a template until the anchor asked me to adjust the script.


The next show will be our last show as a news team here at News 20 at Five. I would like to leave on a good note, and finally accomplish that "perfect show" that we always speak of.


Next week's goal: Meticulously scan the entire script for errors and do not make errors learned during the early weeks of production.

WEEK TEN: News 20 at 5 MONDAY Newscast

April 2, 2012

Reporters covered the following stories:
1. 911 Emergency Dispatch Issues - Pkg
2. Lowe's Shooting Update - VO
3. Vincent Binder Anniversary - VO
4. Uptown Cafe Report - pkg (did not air)

This week our news team was introduced to the I-Team section of the newscast, which includes investigative reporting. The Uptown Cafe Report was a package by Christian A. showing a local restaurant that failed a safety inspection. The restaurant manager was approached by our cameras, and provided News 20 at Five with an interview. The 911 Emergency Dispatch package was an informative and investigative package about issues surrounding slow response times and faulty dispatchers. 

The Uptown Cafe Report was dropped from the show due to problems with the reporter's file. This package will be aired tomorrow. Dropping the package made my show light by about four minutes. My news director informed me to always keep a back-up package in case a problem arises. To make up time, I included an extra weather segment at the end of the show, as well as a longer break before E-block. We ended up finishing with about ten seconds to spare. 

Next week's goal: Continue to improve decision making and organization. Remember to always have backup package on deck.   

WEEK NINE: News 20 at 5 MONDAY Newscast

March 26, 2012


We continued to push the bar and try new things, feeding off positive energy from last week's newscast. There was an abundance of important news happening both locally and nationally that we needed to cover.


Reporters covered the following stories:


- Mandatory healthcare - pkg; Chelsi M.
- Students travel to Sanford for Trayvon Martin Rally - pkg (live in studio) Christian A.
- Mother's response (Trayvon Martin) - VO; Alexandria H.
- NOAA Press Conference - VO/SOT/VO (live from multimedia newsroom) Alexandria H.
- Shooting near FAMU campus - VO/SOT/VO; Alexandria H.


I began the A-block with a very informative sequence of segments pertaining to the healthcare bill that was discussed in Washington on Monday. A1 - A3 was a blocked segment including the the average cost of health insurance, the amount of citizens uninsured (nationwide & state of Florida) and a package which localized the issue and allowed a few residents to voice their opinion on the matter. With help from my news director, I now fully understand how to completely break an important news story down for the average viewer. 


The timing of this newscast was close to perfect, and I was happy to not drop any stories due to lack of time. Unfortunately a SOT was dropped from B-block because the file was missing the server. No biggie. I simply made the original VO/SOT/VO a VO, which still provided the viewer with the same amount of information. 


The cold open included two VO teases, a weather tease from the chroma wall and a look-live, which teased Christian's package. 


After the show, we had a news meeting where we watched the newscast and received feedback from our News Director. This was very helpful because we were able to discuss any problems while it was fresh on our minds. 


Next week's goal: Master a look live tease, have reporters submit ALL hit times and CG's before 4:30 and watch reporter video/audio submissions before being sent to server. 

WEEK EIGHT: News 20 at 5 MONDAY NEWSCAST

March 19, 2012

This evening's show was a milestone for our news crew. We started the day with good energy, and it carried on throughout the course of our day. I came into the newsroom today looking to challenge my team as well as myself. 

Reporters covered the following stories:
- Florida Graduation Rates - pkg (LIVE in the studio); Alexandria H.
- FAMU Student Rally - pkg; Chelsi
- Black Student Summit - VO/SOT/SOT/VO (LIVE in multimedia newsroom); Shanica J.
- FSU Robbery - VO/SOT/VO ; Christian A.
- FSU Crime Spike - VO/SOT/VO ; Christian A.

We found ourselves working very close to deadline, but all of the work payed off in the end. The show was slightly heavy, so we all were aware of the possibility of dropping a story or two while on air. This evening we incorporated two live shots; one from the chroma wall in the studio, with the other in the multimedia newsroom. I was very excited accomplish this. We also included a live weather shot during the cold open, as well as B-block and Weather teases. 

Overall, this show gives us a large amount of confidence. We really worked together as a team and produced a great show. My challenge for next week is to use teases during liveshots instead of behind the anchor desk. This will require me to use just as many, if not more liveshots during the entire newscast. Today, we felt like our skills were on a different level from weeks past, and we can really see our improvements from previous weeks.

Next week's goal: continue to build on the momentum from this week's newscast!

WEEK SEVEN: News 20 at 5 MONDAY NEWSCAST

March 12, 2012

News 20 at Five took a week off due to students journalist being absent for Spring Break. However the news team worked very well during the morning, and throughout the afternoon hours. Having come from a break from school, I was very suprised by the energy of our reporters and associate producers. Our sports anchor served as the main anchor this evening because of the absence of our normal news anchor.

The reporters covered the following stories
1. FAMU Budget cuts of 20million - pkg (Chelsi M.)
2. FSU Budget cut petition - VO/SOT/VO (Alexandria H.)
3. New Red Light Cameras - VO/SOT/VO (Alexandria H.)
4. FAMU Way Extenstion Project - pkg (Christian A.)
5. BREAKING NEWS -- Monroe street car accident - VO (Alexandria H.)

We're moving towards the final portion of the semester, and I can really see how everyone has blossomed since week one. By mid-afternoon, we were smooth rolling, and the reporters were busy inputing their scripts into ENPS. The rundown looked very good.

The A-block went well, with a significant decrease in errors. During the B-block I made the decision to drop three sports segments for the upcoming C-block. This issue came about when our time began to run extemely heavy after a CNN package ran longer than expected. After dropping the stories, we were right back on-time.

The show ended around5:29:45, with just enough time for the anchors to chat until we went off air.

Next week's goal: include a live shot from a different location, other than the studio.

WEEK SIX: News 20 at 5 MONDAY NEWSCAST

February 27, 2012


Reporters covered the following stories:
1. Tattoos as MedicAlert - pkg
2. Amtrak Railroad hearing - pkg
3. FSU & FAMU firearm incidents - VO/SOT/VO
4. Tuition Control at FSU & UF - VO/SOT/VO
5. Quran Burning - VO/SOT/VO


I opened the newscast with the recent incidents involving firearms on both Florida State and Florida A&M campuses. One of our reporters was live in the studio for the introduction of her package on the Amtrak Hearing. It's a big deal for the Tallahassee area since commercial trains haven't been used in nearly six years. 


I started B-block with the school shooting in Ohio. We stayed abreast of the story throughout the day to make sure that we had the latest updates. We concluded the newscast with a recap of the Oscars in E-block. 


Today was rather...blah. We lacked time management and communication as a news team. Our technical director was upset and told us the importance of paying attention to details and keeping a positive attitude. 

WEEK FIVE: News 20 at 5 MONDAY NEWSCAST

February 20, 2012


The learning never ceases...


Week five seemed like a standstill for the Monday crew. The majority of the day ran very smoothly, however I honestly felt as though we reached some sort of plateau. But this week I was introduced to another method of perfecting my broadcast writing. Conversational writing is key in allowing the audience feel like they're apart of the newscast. My professor assisted me in editing a few scripts, and it made a major difference in the final product. I will definitly use these techniques from now on.


 Our three reporters covered the following stories:


1. African American Autism (new research) - pkg
2. Polkinghorn Demolition Complex - pkg
3. Patricia Due Funeral - VO/SOT/VO
4. FAMU enterance sign vandalized - VO/SOT/VO
5. Leon Co. Disaster Reconstruction Forum - VO/SOT/VO


Two of the reporters were assigned packages, while the third reporter worked on three different VO/SOT/VO's. All of the material was newsworthy, and was packaged very well.


Going into the show my rundown was slightly heavy, so I realized the possiblity of dropping a story. Consequently, our news director and myself decided to drop two B-block stories. This put us back on schedule to be off-air by 5:30 p.m. Overall, the show was significantly better than the last. I was happy that we incorporated a live shot, and successfully aired all video.


Next week's goal: Continue to practice conversational writing and incorporate two live shots. Most importantly, pay more attention to details and read through ALL SCRIPTS before printing.

WEEK FOUR: News 20 at 5 MONDAY NEWSCAST

February 13, 2012


Today marked the fourth week of News 20 @ 5 Live newscasts. Just as with most Mondays, our day started rather slow with a rundown full of incomplete stories. Our three reporters were assigned to the following stories:


1. Prison Privatization Update
2. Gas Price Spike
3. Airport Update


More news began to develop by noon. Surprisingly, our reporters made it back to the newsroom fairly early...around 1:30 p.m. This gave them enough time to properly enter their scripts into ENPS, and carefully edit their packages. By 4:00 p.m., I had a complete rundown, and scripts were being printed. However, around this time we also discovered that our control room was experiencing technical issues. Early today, there was a major power outage that affected about 2,300 households, along with the campus of Florida A&M.


Consequently, all video based formats would not make it to air. So here's what happen..
- change all VO's and VO/SOT/VO's to RDR
- make revisions to rundown
- drop all packages
- drop one live shot
- float stories and commercial breaks that wouldn't make it to air
- re-print rundowns for studio crew


Ultimately, the show ended up being very simple, yet conveying good and solid journalism. The anchors were great at dealing with the sudden problems on hand. The newscast ended up being about 15 minutes long, compared 30 minutes.
Initially I was slightly upset about the problems with the server, but I knew that remaining positive would help the atmosphere.


Next week's goal: Attempt to identify and solve any server issues. Incorporate two live shots.

WEEK THREE: News 20 at 5 MONDAY NEWSCAST

February 6, 2012


Today marked my third week of producing a live newscast for News 20 at 5. Here's a brief synopsis of Week One and Two..
- Each week is a different learning experience. During the first show (January 23) I finally understood what the process of producing an entire thirty-minute newscast entails. Time management is very critical. The second show (January 30) ran more fluid than the previous week and included less errors. Overall, going into this evening's production, I felt very comfortable. 


The morning started off slightly slow, with the crew and myself scrabbling for newsworthy package ideas. However as time progressed, more news began to unfold. 
The three reporters were assigned the following pkg's


1. Joe Biden speaks at Florida State University
2. A shooting and stabbing on Wanish Way
3. Florida A&M President James Ammons annual Presidential Review by Florida Board of Governors


The rundown quickly began to fill up with good quality and timely stories. By three 3:00 p.m. majority of the scripts were completed and the reporters were busy editing their footage. We were successful in printing all scripts by the 4:00 p.m. deadline. 


During pre-production several issues arose with video encoding into the server. In the A-block, I had to float two packages due to minor problems with encoding. Both made it back into the rundown later in the show, however became a huge problem with show timing. Two E-block VO's were dropped in order to go off air by 5:30 p.m. 


Overall, this week's experience provided me with knowledge on how to react to sudden and important issues while on air. 


Next week's goal: Finish scripts and video well before deadlines in order to prevent last minute problems. Most importantly, pay attention to small details!

FAMUAN Newspaper Article: January 30. 2012

Chuck Hobbs Excites Pre-Law Student Group - News - All News from Florida A & M and around Tallahassee - The Famuan - The Student Voice of Florida A&M University

FAMUAN NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: JANUARY 18, 2012

Lawmakers Increase Residents' Access to Fresh Produce - News - All News from Florida A & M and around Tallahassee - The Famuan - The Student Voice of Florida A&M University