Producing...It's Not as Easy as It Looks!

I love producing...I've definitely learned that from all the broadcasting classes I've taken at Westminster College and more importantly all the experience I've gained working in a broadcast atmosphere at school and outside of school. I love using my creativity and talents to develop shows that are organized, interesting, and intriguing. Producing involves taking a bunch of little stories or segments and fitting them together...making the whole show flow together by adding transitions and including all kinds of elements to the show. But it's more than that...producing means you're in charge, you run the show, you figure out how everything fits together...plus what content the show will have in the first place.

When I first came to college, I thought my ultimate goal was to be a television reporter for a local TV news station. And I still would love to do that...but at the same time, producing is another area I'm interested in for a job. Perhaps...one of main reasons I became interested in producing is because one of my professors, Mr. Weaver, kept telling my classmates and I, in a number of classes that there are more producing jobs out there than anything else in the broadcasting business. I want to be prepared for that atmosphere after I graduate when I'm searching for a job.

This past week I helped another broadcast student in TV practicum, Nate Dodd, produce the County Line, the college's weekly TV news magazine show. It consists of news and feature stories from around Lawrence and Mercer Counties. I was super excited to pass along my knowledge of producing and help out Nate. We got together the night before the show to figure out a basic rundown of the show...and it wasn't too difficult. Most of the stories we had provided for a natural flow throughout the show. Nate and I also picked out readers to do, plugged in the times on the rundown sheet, sent graphics to our art director, watched and kept track of the packages, helped the anchors write scripts, and just made sure everything ran smoothly.

Besides one package not being finished until the last second, the show went pretty well overall...and really, last minute stories helped both Nate and I feel the pressure that many producers feel every day in the real broadcast TV news world. TV news stations want to be on top of everything and bring their viewers the latest breaking news. Also, we made sure to honor our group of seniors that are graduating this year...I'm going to miss them! I've learned so much from all of them; it's thanks to them that I've learned so much about producing, reporting, directing, anchoring, and so much more! Good luck seniors!! And in one year, I will be at the same place in my life...maybe looking for a job in TV or radio producing...