Job Shadows: What You Saw, Last Batch

I had the privilege of shadowing Jane Aldrich at Channel 6 WLNS this past Friday. Jane is an anchor for the 5 o’clock and 6 o’clock newscasts and has been working at WLNS for 29 years.

            We began the day at 2:30 with a meeting about what was going to go on the show that day. Jane, her co-anchor Greg and several producers went through the schedule for the 30-minute newscast, and I know a lot of other JRN 200 students were probably surprised by how much meticulous work and effort goes into picking out, discussing, planning and writing each individual story, but it was pretty much exactly what I expected.

            I have a background with video, as you know, so I’m quite familiar with how intensive the planning process for filming is, even though I never shot live-to-tape like they do. That part I was absolutely impressed with; Jane’s ability to make things up on the spot and still manage to stare directly into the camera without pause is something not many people will notice watching at home. Jane told me that her goal is to make people think that her job is so easy that they could do it.

            Anyway, after the news meeting, Jane whisked me off to watch her and two of her co-anchors create a short promo for their YouTube channel. For a simple 15-second clip, about 45 minutes of preparation and filming were required. Again, I was used to this. I even used the same light kits in my high school video class, so I geeked out about that. But the anchors, interestingly, were not used to it. Jane and Greg joked to each other afterwards that since they’re so used to shooting live-to-tape, their best takes were their first takes but the producers made them keep going anyway.

            After shooting the promo, we went to Jane’s office equipped with Crème Brules to update her social media and edit through everything she was going to say through the 5 o’clock newscast.

            Others had written short scripts beforehand for Jane to edit through. We spent about an hour going through every short script and editing through them to make them shorter and more conversational. Jane said she tries to make every script sound like she’s telling the story to a friend, but without the profanity — kind of like your Peanut Barrel rule, but PG-13.

            Doing the editing was really interesting to me, especially since I’ll be doing my own editing all this summer at The State News. It was definitely good practice, as I caught several of her errors and, after observing her speech and editing styles, offered my own opinions on what to say, and I even got to write one of them.

            After we finished fixing up the scripts, it was time to go on the air. I got to sit at a different desk and watch while Jane gave her newscast and it was awesome to watch a professional in action. Jane said that addressing thousands of people was a daily routine for her, so it rarely phased her, but I loved the adrenaline rush I got from witnessing all the work that everyone in the newsroom had done come together on live television.

            I would love to work in that kind of environment. From what I heard from everyone else’s job shadows, not too many people really enjoyed broadcast, but because of my experience with film I think I was biased to enjoy it. I’m used to figuring things out on the other side of the camera, though, so getting to experience what goes on from a different, journalistic angle was very interesting to me. It kind of combined two of the biggest interests and skill sets in my life right now — film production and journalism.

            Jane was incredibly kind to me and made me feel at home at WLNS during my job shadow there. If I decide that journalism is my thing, broadcast journalism is something I definitely want to try out after this experience.

*****

On March 6th, I job shadowed with Woody Woodriffe, a sports reporter, at Fox 2 News in Southfield, Michigan. I arrived at 9 a.m. to receive a name tag and waited in Woody’s office until he arrived. Once he got to the office we prepared for the first story we were reporting on for that day, and began talking a little bit about his career path. Woody started his career as a camera man and worked his way up to a broadcasting position as one of the four sports reporters on Fox 2 News Detroit. He has been apart of the Fox 2 News staff his entire career, lasting sixteen years and still counting. Once he prepared himself for the story we were going to be reporting on for the day, we hopped into the cameraman's car and drove about twenty minutes to an indoor soccer arena. During the ride Woody allowed me to ask questions and told me about his day-to-day responsibilities as a news reporter. His first advice to me was to always have a small notepad on you wherever you go, because it is always advantageous to be able to jot down notes when interviewing and preparing your segment. Another important lesson he stressed was to know how to do each person’s job in the industry, since reporters have a lot to cover in a short amount of time. Throughout the day I began to understand why knowledge and quickness are two very important characteristics needed in order to effectively preform the job as a reporter.

            We arrived at the soccer arena in order to film and report on a segment about the Detroit Waza Flo soccer team, who were making their way to the semi-finals in Chicago. We were introduced to the captain and coach of the team, and than I stood back to allow Woody to preform his job. He first started off by reiterating all the information he had obtained about the team before arriving to the arena. The coach filled him in on certain aspects when he asked questions and searched for clarity, in order to create an interesting storyline for his segment on the morning news broadcast. The camera man filmed b-roll of the players playing while Woody prepared his opening line and questions for the interview. After he mentally prepared and wrote down his script, he began interviewing the coach while the camera man videotaped. After completing his interview he asked to interview two other players. The players and coach were so grateful for our time, and for allowing their story to be broadcasted on the news. We than rushed back to the Southfield office in order to edit the segment together for the morning news. There was an editing room where Woody explained to the camera man which parts of his interview he wanted inputted, and which b-roll he deemed most affective. At this point, Woody emphasized how important it is to know how to do everyone’s job in this business; because, things go much faster when the reporter knows what he or she is doing when completing and editing a clip together. Since I enjoy editing, I was able to help incorporate some of my thoughts in the segment that was broadcasted on the news that morning.

            Woody took me on a tour of the Southfield office and showed me where everything took place. I was able to see editing rooms, the anchor table, offices, and even the producer’s office. Everyone was very nice and open to my visit with friendly smiles. Kevin Roseborough is the news director of Fox 2 News and I was able to sit down and talk with him for a little. He explained to me how much he loves his job, and although he may miss dinner once in a while with his family his job is a dream that he gets to continue to live each day. He had been working with Fox 2 News for nineteen years and has yet to lose his passion. He asked me how I felt about going into the sports industry as a girl, and replied by explaining to me that I should never feel discriminated as a woman, or believe that my dream are too big. He encouraged me to continue the hard work and continue dreaming, because dreams do come true with hard work. Although technology is growing, he said media will always be present due to the need for information. Kevin was extremely encouraging and I was so happy to have talked with him since he even offered me a possibly internship next fall.

            After returning from lunch I was eager to find out what we would be reporting on next.  Woody told me to grab all my things and head to the Fox 2 News truck where we would be driving to Detroit. I had no idea where we were going but was so grateful to accompany the camera women (this time) and Woody, in the truck with televisions and crazy buttons everywhere. I sat in the back and grew even more excited once I saw that we had arrived at the Joe Louis Arena. We went through a side door and walked into a press room. There were about eight other reporters sitting on their computers writing, talking, or standing and waiting. Woody told me we were going to be interviewing Nicklas Lidstrom, the Red Wings former captain, about his retirement jersey ceremony that was taking place the next day; and, Ken Holland, the Red Wings general manager, about the draft deadline decision that was being shown on the television in the press room at that time. I was so shocked since earlier that day Woody had told me that he rarely ever even brings interns to press conferences. This was an amazing opportunity I was given. I was able to talk to a few sports writers for the Detroit Free Press and other big named new stations, both radio and television. Once security came into the press room we followed them into the Red Wings’ locker room, where we waited for Lidstrom and Holland.

            The lockers of each Red Wings’ player was filled with their equipment and Lidstrom’s number 5 jersey. The press conference experience was very interesting as I watched each person ask questions, and record the data they had received. Some reporters used videocameras, audio recorders, microphones, and even their phones. Our camera woman captured both of the entire interviews, and caught b-roll of the locker room for the segment being shown later that night on Fox 2 News. Each interview lasted about thirty minutes, and after we went back to the press conference room. Woody than began outlining what he would say for his segment. We went into the hockey arena where he shot his “intro” and “tease” for his story. After receiving all the digital media and facts from the interviews we went back to the truck to edit the segment together. I was again reminded of how time efficient you must be when participating in this career. Once we finished the editing processes the segment was sent directly to the station where it aired that night.

            All in all, this job shadow was one of the most eye opening experiences I have ever had when considering my future career. It made me realize how much I would enjoy being a part of a community such as Fox 2 News Detroit. I learned about time management and how much knowledge you must obtain about each aspect of this job, in order to limit the amount of mistakes that can be made. It was so much fun, and I am so blessed to have experienced such an amazing opportunity. I am anxiously awaiting my time to learn even more about this career, and cannot wait to start my own career path in this field.

***** 

While job shadowing at the Palace of Auburn Hills, I was astonished to discover all of the opportunities available for someone pursuing a career in not only broadcasting but film, and public relations as well!

I began the day shadowing Adam Rubin who is responsible for producing and editing all videos at the Palace of Auburn Hills. He said he didn’t graduate college and truly believes it is his talent that got him to where he is today. First I met the video crew.  The video production crew consists of six very important people. Eli Wells is one of the most important people apart of the film producing.

Eli graduated from Ferris state with a sports management degree and minored in broadcasting.  He interned at the Palace eight years ago and was hired right after his internship was over.  Wells films the material and Adam will edit it and add any special effects that he feels is necessary to get the ultimate video as an end result.

Eli is known specifically for the Detroit Pistons team film producer, he works everyday and he travels with the team. 

Throughout the day I mainly hung around Eli and Adam.  They their close partnership and often help each other out the most with the videos that need to be produced.

Adam explained to me that when he receives a story idea he would have to output a rundown for the story within the hour of receiving the story idea.

“Deadlines are deadlines,” Rubin said.

Next I met Ryan Ross, media manager for the Palace.

As Adam and Eli introduced me to Ryan, Rubin said,“ without him there would be no us. There just wouldn’t be enough room on the server to complete any of our videos.”

Ross explained to me that there are six total computers that access the same server and each editor can edit the videos at the same time.  His job is to clear the server of unused material and put in on a server that can still be accessed but doesn’t take up space for video editing.  Also his job is to make sure each person can be working on editing the same material, and that there wouldn’t be any negative effect for anyone.

Next I met Barry Walton, senior producer.  Walton is in charge of all documentary work.  He normally gets about 2-3 weeks to complete a story; he also produces all the content you can view on the web.

After quickly meeting Barry I met Karina Anglanda, producer of all in arena content.  Karina is also in charge of palace vision.  Palace vision plays on the jumbo tron throughout any game or event at the Palace. Karina and Adam’s desks are right next to each other, and they both explained how they really enjoy that.  Both of them are very creative but have different ideas and come from different backgrounds.  However, both individuals know how to create an amazing end product, so when they work together they really get the job done right.

Adam said, every clip starts off as general.  His biggest struggle is editing cuts to music and to the specific beats, also he wishes he was more musically inclined.  Adam said he works with Katrina to receive new ideas with edit cuts/music to a specific beat because she has more experience with turn around of a product.

Brian Fork, producer of all commercials and special effects was currently out of the office when I went into shadow for the day.  However Adam and Eli explained how Brian really just works in office and uses the material that other people film.  His job is strictly the end product, not the stuff in between.

The man who sits directly across from Adam is Dary Quandt. Producer of every open and close for any Palace video.  Dary also specifically inspects any video that deals with any entertainment team at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The series of events that occur when Adam receives a story is to figure out exactly what the story is asking and portraying, then to collect interviews, after interviews are done he pieces the video together, then goes through and decides the target audience and if it appeals to them, then he will lay b-roll down, after Adam will go though every section and make sure his main points have gotten covered, and finally music will be laid down.

Adam admitted that he is a procrastinator. Which results in at least two 16 hours day to get a video completed. When Adam finishes a product video it must go through two bosses.  Kenny Jimenez and Buddy Rose. Both are directors of all entertainment teams at the Palace. They control all entertainment teams videos because that is the product that reflect their entertainment teams the most.

For all web videos it goes through four video producers and they can make any changes that they feel is necessary.

“I will edit and re-edit a video about 15 times until it is up to everyone’s standards,” said Rubin. Adam continued to explain that he sometimes has to make changes and edit cuts of things that he doesn’t necessarily agree with but he has to make the producers above him happy.

Rubin said how he pays the most attention to interviews; tweeting and social media that correspond to the video stories, and color effects are very important to every video.  Adam explained that it may be such a small detail to someone but someone will notice the effect and if there is an error then that will cause a lack of credibility to all of the videos produced by the Palace. 

This specifically made me relate back to what we learn in class.  It’s not about how much information you have its about having the right information.

The videographers get their film from Go Pros, large wireless cameras and small handheld cinematography focus shot cameras.  The variety of types of film is necessary to include in every video because of variety needed.

What was most shocking to me was that both Eli and Adam put in anywhere from 60- 80 hours a week into work. Especially on Piston game days their hours are generally from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight.

In the beginning of this course it was only my second semester at Michigan State University, however, I was set that I would graduate with a degree in journalism/ broadcasting. The only experience I had previously in broadcasting was my television production workshop class in high school. From then on I wanted to be an on air talent in he field of broadcasting. Once becoming more involved in Journalism 200 I quickly started to rethink my thoughts on a broadcasting career. I am still not 100% opposed to the idea of broadcasting, however, when I completed my job shadow I was introduced to a new field that I thought would fit my life style better. That field is known as public relations of entertainment. Without completing this job shadow I'm unsure if I would have realized that PR is a better for me and also wouldn't have granted a possible employment opportunity, needless to say I am very glad that a job shadow was assigned in this class.

***** 

Despite my strong interest in being a writer for a newspaper or magazine, I chose to shadow a broadcast journalist. For my job shadow I followed around MSU alumna, Audrey Dahlgren from WLNS. Audrey is a a sports reporter and fill-in anchor for Channel 6. I really wanted to see a different side of journalism, and Audrey definitely showed me how interesting broadcast is and how though there are differences from writing, a lot of concepts are the same.

            I met Audrey at Secchia Stadium where she planned to interview MSU softball player Kelly Smith on her recent no-hitter and what was coming up for the team. Audrey also interviewed head coach Joseph on playing Nebraska and CMU in the future. Audrey said depending on what the coaches allow, sometimes she shoots b-roll and then interviews but this time she did the interviews and then got footage of the team practicing. Seeing her actually do what I have learned in class made everything seem more real. Audrey used a tripod for the interviews but not for the b-roll. I asked her why, and she said with a lot of practice, you can keep the camera steady enough to not use a tripod. Prior to working for WLNS, Audrey said she worked in North Dakota for 8 months and has been at WLNS for almost a year.

            After filming the softball team, Audrey and I went to the MSU baseball game where she was supposed to get some shots of highlights from the game for the 6 p.m. news spot. Audrey told me she does a lot of filming and often has long days and weekends. She said she probably would not leave work until after the 11 p.m. news that night. After filming part of the baseball game Audrey’s boss, Fred Heumann called and we met him to go film part of MSU football practice as well as interview Mark Dantonio.

            Being able to go to the football practice and interview Mark Dantonio was one of the best parts of the job shadow. Although I only watched, seeing all the reporters crowd around Dantonio and throw constant questions at him was something I’ve never seen before or been a part of.  Audrey and reporters from other stations rushed to a certain area where Dantonio was going to be speaking to them to try and get the best spot. Someone from another news station actually nudged me out of their way. I never realized until that moment how competitive sports journalism is and how ready you have to be with equipment and questions you want to ask. Dantonio is very strict on how long he is allowed to be interviewed and what parts of practice can be filmed. At that specific practice, media was not allowed to shoot part of the offensive line and so Audrey tried to get b-roll of other things Dantonio had talked about previously. Even though sports is not my biggest interest, that experience made me realize how cool broadcast journalism can be.

            I was only able to shadow Audrey for part of her day, but in that short period of time I learned a lot. She was really nice and always telling me what she was doing and what it was for, whether she was shooting b-roll or preparing for another story package. She gave me tips on filming as well, such as telling me to always use a light on a camera when filming indoor interviews. Seeing Audrey in action showed me how broadcast is similar to print - you still interview people and have to get a story, there is just less writing and more camera involvement. Following a broadcast journalist was a great experience that opened my eyes to a new field and gave me a new interest to look into.

******

Thursday, April 17, 2014, I completed my job shadow with 99.1 WFMK host Kristi Love.

I intentionally chose to job shadow a radio show host because I have an interest in music and a career in radio.

When I arrived at the WFMK station I was surprised to find that only about five people were in the building, which hosts six separate radio stations.

According to Love, part of her job duties include checking unmanned stations once an hour - making sure that things are running on time and all the spots scheduled to run have done so.

On her own station, Love said her responsibilities include speaking on air, giving the station’s name and tagline, when the screen tells her it’s time to speak, reading the weather once an hour and writing advertising promotions.

Love spoke a lot about how the stations were recently purchased by Townsquare Media Group, and the changes that have come from new management.

            She said that Townsquare Media Group is “big on social media.”

            According to Love part of her new job duties have been to post at least two blogs during each shift, and to post to Facebook once an hour.

            According to Love Townsquare Media Group requires of these posts are that 50% of the news shared is local and that staff members do not post within an hour of one another.

            Love said that when the stations were purchased by Townsquare Media Group, the new company trained hosts about how to post blogs and share news via Facebook.

            Love also said that there is a new digital person on staff to help hosts meet their social media requirements.      

The goal of the blog posts shared is always to get a good number of hits, according to Love.

Incentive to post a good blog is to be called out among peers for having a good post, Love said.

Love said that social media requirements are new, but exciting, challenges in her 22 years of experience in the radio business.

            Love, who has been at WFMK for 12 of those 22 years, says what she enjoys most about the job is being out in the community and meeting people.

            Love expressed her excitement for the live events coming for the stations and said that Townsquare Media Group believes strongly in “live and local” media.

            According to Love the biggest downfall of working in radio is that “you don’t make a lot of money.”

“We really do it because we love it,” Love said.

            According to Love many of the hosts at the station work two jobs, herself included.

            The most impactful thing I learned from Love about working in radio is that if you want to choose the music your station plays, you have to work for a very small company.

            Love, who is a program director at Lansing Community College, said that she really enjoys working there because they choose what they can play.

            “If we like a song, and we think it fits our station, we play it, and if we don’t like a song, we don’t,” Love said about her program at LCC.

            Love says that she really likes Townsquare Media Group, but between the pre-selected music, the advertising promos, checking unmanned and her new job duties with social media, “It’s hard to work a show in.”

            Although there are many cool aspects to Love’s job, I don’t think that I would enjoy such a structured job because it doesn’t offer much room to be creative, or to share new music.

            If I chose to pursue a career in radio, I think I will aim for a smaller station where I will have more opportunities to be creative.

*****

 

I talked to Stephanie Angel, the managing editor of Lansing State Journal, for my phone interview.

            His job is basically to supervise the staff, the newspaper, and the website. He also plans the paper for the next day and the website for the current day, along with the Sunday paper.

            Angel said that he liked the immediacy of his job and the fact that everything has a deadline. He also liked that his work has the ability to affect 100,000 people every day, and many people’s jobs aren’t like that.

            “I like knowing things first, that makes it more fun,” Angel said.
            Angel’s work environment consists of a relatively small group, about 45 people. He said that having this sort of workplace makes teamwork more prevalent and the staff collaborates on many things, which helps them to accomplish more. He said that it’s a great environment to work in.

            Though he is the managing editor, Angel didn’t always plan on working in the media field.

            “I wanted to be a scientific writer, but I started working at a college paper and now here I am,” Angel said.

            He started out in journalism just wanting to be a writer who worked in Chicago. But as he continued, Angel began to move up in the field and enjoys the job he has now.

            “I like being an editor, I like to pull everyone’s work together into one cohesive thing at the end of the day,” he said.

When I asked what advice he would give to someone entering the field, Angel said to “read a lot”. He said that in order to be a journalist you need to understand what’s going on with the world and you need to recognize good writing. He also said to learn digital skills and make sure not to forget journalism ethics.

“Having strong writing and reporting skills along with good digital and social media skills gives you a head above the competition,” Angel said.

He believes that in order to create good journalists, journalism classes should teach students how to be strong, ethical and foundational journalists.  

Angel said that in college he wished he would have realized how important journalism actually is and what a privilege it is to do the job of a journalist.

“We can’t fully understand how important we are to the people that read us,” he said, “It’s not just about my writing but about my impact on the community.”

Angel recommended that college journalism students get as much experience as they possibly can in college in order to be better prepared for a career in the media.

“Write for anything, write for pleasure, write for publication,” he said.

Angel said that he thinks young writers already have an advantage over veteran writers because there are things that we do instinctively involving social media that people who have been in the field for 20 years had to or are having to learn how to do.

Angel warned me to be weary of social media though. He said that aspiring journalists should develop a professional outlook.

“Learn digital skills and make sure you use them appropriately. How you conduct yourself in social media can make a big difference,” Angel said.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do an actual job shadow, which I would have liked to have done but my first choice never got back to me on scheduling and then I didn’t allow enough time after that to find another. But I’m glad I still interviewed a professional over the phone, so I can still learn something from the perspective of someone who has been doing the job for several years. This interview has helped me understand that journalism has become more than just writing; technology and social media have really been integrated into the journalistic world and I need to learn more digital skills if I want to have a successful career in the field of media as a journalist.   

*****

            In a field such a journalism, it always nice to get the chance to speak with someone who has experienced or is currently experiencing that difficulty of getting your foot in the door.

            Ashley Allen, who goes by the radio personality name “Hop Off This” began her career in journalism unexpectedly. She is a graduating student at Wayne State University and will soon been receiving her degree in Media Arts and Studies. She initially won a contest with Hot 107.5 Detroit through Twitter and was selected to be a special guest the Summer Jamz. At the Summer Jamz, she met Ashley “AC” Trybula, the Regional Editor for Radio One. AC trusted Ashley with her phone and 107.5’s log in credentials to take and upload pictures to Hot 107.5’s website upon their initial encounter. She told her to apply for an internship online, and so she did. The internship required that she be enrolled in school and could receive credits for her work.

             Ashley said it took eight months to receive a response, but she did end up getting the internship. As the regional editor, AC is responsible for managing all online content, including social media, blogging, updates to the actual website, and text blasts. Ashley said she learned a lot during this experience. She learned how to treat social media as a business, and she also discovered here that she was a good writer.

Upon starting, Ashley said she was extremely nervous and it was extremely hard, and wouldn’t recommend it to a soft-hearted person. She said she contemplated quitting twice, because AC was very hard on her and told her that she usually doesn’t keep interns for more than a week. She said there was a great deal of pressure because AC is the only Regional Editor, so anything that goes wrong will fall into her hands, and when she solicited Ashley’s help, it would fall on her.  This took me back to the importance of fact checking that Omar stressed in JRN 200. I can recall him saying, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”

Ashley however defied the odds, by keeping her position from October 2012- August 2013. She displayed a certain dedication and drive by not cracking under pressure. She said in order to work under the best, you have to display yourself as the best. AC made Ashley be very independent, she told her to learn how to properly structure an article, learn the meaning of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), how to register with Google to prevent posts from coming up as spam among many other things. She was required to update the website daily, and go into the station three times per week. As far as on-air work, she never got to do live work because she had to leave to finish school but she did PSAs for the station.

Ashley said it is important to get a name for yourself and keep that name so that you are easily recognized. As “Hop Off This”, she has had the opportunity to meet and interview many celebrities, whom she made it a point to make a lasting impression with by taking a photo that she could attach to articles she wrote about them. She launched her own Website, hopoffthis.com and built her SEO so that it speaks for itself, she said. If you visit hothiphopdetroit.com and search her name, all of her work will come up. Through this experience, she was able to build a strong portfolio and make useful industry connections.

This was especially interesting to me because I am currently seeking a specialization in public relations. I have had minimal experience with online marketing but speaking with Ashley let me know that it was much more to it than what meets the eye. I saw a lot of myself in her when she was talking ot me about her experiences. I came to school with an interest in broadcast, learned that I was a pretty good writer, and through out of class experiences developed a liking for marketing/public relations. She is still young and hungry just as I am, but she has one foot in the door, which made her easy to talk to.