WUSA Channel 9

This past summer I interned at the local CBS affiliate, WUSA 9 News Now in DC. Prior to starting this internship, I had an interest in working at a local news station in order to gain exposure to the world of broadcast journalism—a field of media I was curious about.

Although I was officially the assignment desk intern, I was unofficially allowed to work with pretty much everyone in the newsroom. This included the assignment desk editors, producers, reporters, editors, writers, and photojournalists. On any daily given basis, I could be seen flitting about different parts of the newsroom, always learning.

The assignment desk was not without its perks. Situated above the row of producers, assignment desk editors are constantly scanning, or “ripping” the wires and radio for news. You could argue that it is the generator and heart beat of news. It’s where news begins. Communication is key here. While some may point out that assignment desk editors merely transfer phone calls to the “right people,” a true journalist, or producer for that matter, will know just how invaluable a good assignment desk editor is.

A great assignment desk editor will not only be good at talking on the phone but will know how to reach out to people to get them to talk what the news station wants to hear. In other words, they have personalities and can get the right tips for great news leads. They also seem to know everyone, and by everyone I do mean EVERYONE. Because assignment desk editors field phone calls from left to right, they know many contacts and are the starting point for many reporters looking to start a story. They speak with the public, reporters, unit crew, media, police and fire departments, and other PIO’s.

How does WUSA 9 communicate? Well, that depends on the time of day. You can usually tell when shows are about to air in correlation to the noise levels in the newsroom.  The closer it is to deadlines, the more organized chaos you’ll see, an oxymoron if there ever was one–but it seems to work for this field. Producers frantically call in their reporters to make sure all their blocks are ready to go. Reporters send in last minute tape, SOT’s and whips. Executive producers can be seen on their blackberries, getting information from other sources and the assignment desk periodically shouts out new information. It can get pretty tense at times. But there are also the standard methods as well: phone transfers, toplining (which is a term used for short messages sent through Avid iNews), meetings with the manager and Executive Producers, and constant email updates. I think one of the producers told me he goes through about 200-300 emails a day! The work dynamic is definitely interesting.

Communication is the name of the game here, and there are many ways to go about it. My personal favorite? When a reporter is out live somewhere, and the microwave or control room has a live feed on them. The reporter usually has an earpiece hooked in, and it’s really amusing to see the last couple of minutes before they’re on air. Before all the graphics go up on the TV screen to make news look like, well, news, all you see is the reporter and the raw footage around him or her. I think you know when you’re in the TV industry when you see national CBS correspondents muttering under their breath, practicing their teases and tags, or when you see unexpected things happen—like the time strong winds from a beach blew a sound/lighting screen and almost hit a reporter during his opening lead! Now that’s entertainment for you! But in all seriousness, it is quite exciting to observe the constant interaction between reporters/producers out in the field and the relaying of information back to the newsroom. Without effective communications, there would be no news, which in turn would mean a less informed viewership.

Some important lessons I learned about journalism this summer? I’m not going to get into the whole bandwagon debate on how journalism is changing because that would take quite some time to elaborate upon. Not to mention that every reporter, producer, and editor I talked with had differing opinions on how the industry was in flux. However, I will tell you that in order to survive or “make it” in this field, you must be extremely aggressive and self-motivated to find work for yourself. No one waits for you because everyone is so preoccupied with their own deadlines and projects. So it’s important to take strong initiative and be vocal about expressing your ideas. Because of the rise of digital media, you must be willing to learn and know everything despite your specialization. That being said, the only reporters that seem to be hired these days know how to shoot, edit, and write their stories. There are different titles for them, but WUSA-9 called them MMJ’s, or multimedia journalists. Producers, too, need to know how to research and edit. Journalists and those in the news industry must always have an insatiable curiosity and willingness to find and break news—added points for doing it creatively. It’s also tremendously important to be current. If you’re not willing to adjust to changes, whether it is technological or logistical, then this definitely is not the field for you!

In retrospect, I appreciate the broad scope of knowledge I received while at WUSA 9 because it allowed me to understand how news works as an organization. Going in, I had my own preconceived notions about how TV worked, and this internship allowed me to see the real deal. Another great bonus? I know that everything I learned at channel 9 will help me during my fall semester internship at the NBC Washington Bureau.