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This semester went by so quickly! I can’t believe we just finished our final newscast. This newscast was really challenging to produce. It had a much different tone than all the other newscasts and it was hard to stack the show and write the script without sounding to repetitive. Just like with the last few newscasts, it was hard to figure out who made show. All the reporters were at the top of their game. Choosing who made show and Best of the Rest mainly came down to tiny details. 

I feel like I say this every time I write a blog post, but this newscast was our best one so far! This was one of the shows we will be submitting for competitions in the next year, so I can’t wait to see how well it does.

Another newscast has come and gone and this week was definitely stranger than normal. This week writing the script went really fast. I think that I finally have a system to how I write. Its hard to just sit down and write it all the way through. You have to write piece by piece and get it down as you go in small sections so you don’t lose you mind completely. I wrote the script in a shorter time this week and had only 22 mistakes. Improvements are being made so I’m starting to feel more confident for sure.

Another newscast as producer has flown by once again. It is crazy how fast times goes. This week I felt kind of defeated. I made the same mistakes I made last time in writing my script and I was disappointed in myself. I need to pay attention, moral of the story. I need to sit down before I write and look at the common mistakes I make. The little unnecessary mistakes have to stop. After talking to Professor Dahlia, I know what needs to be changed and what I did wrong. Now its time to apply those corrections. I need to get better at copy editing and working on what the reporters turn in. I can’t fully trust in everyone because mistakes happen.

My first week of being producer was a whirlwind but in the end it was so worth it. There were some highs and some lows during the week and I definitely learned some news skills that will help in future shows. At times I felt disconnected from the class but it is my job to reach out and to go above and beyond for the reporters. I need to work on staying in contact with the reporters on shooting days and feeding them information on current and future stories. 

This week went so smoothly and I’m so happy about it! It only took me four hours to write the script, which included me stopping to get some Starbucks. I didn’t have to write a VO for this week’s show, but I still got the script done faster than the previous shows. I also felt more comfortable writing the script for this week’s show too! It seemed second nature to me. I didn’t have to stop and think about what a good transition would be, it just came naturally. It actually only took Prof. D. 45 minutes to go through and critique my script, which is an incredible difference from the eight hours it took for the first script. 

This week was a huge milestone for me! The fourth newscast is finished and I feel a lot better about being a producer. I’m definitely thrilled that I cut the time for writing my script in half and Prof. D. also said that it was my best script yet, so yay for improving! 

Focusing on the script this week was so much easier than the previous two weeks! I can’t believe we’re already halfway through the semester. Writing the script this week didn’t take me eight hours (yay!), so I’m definitely excited to see that I’m improving. I can tell that writing my anchor intros are becoming easier as well. I didn’t have to stop and think for a while about how to tie the stories into one another, it all just kind of came together. To make it more understandable, at the beginning of the semester I definitely felt like I was trying to put a puzzle together for the first time, but now after three shows under my belt I seem to pick up on things automatically. After putting a puzzle together two or three times, it “clicks” for people that going for the corners and outside pieces first makes the puzzle come together a lot quicker. Writing the script is the same way; ideas and writing are coming more naturally now which is an exciting breakthrough for me!

Our second newscast is officially in the books! This week in the studio I think I did a lot better with coaching, even though we had to stop twice and try to get in five takes… It was definitely a lot more polished and people were eager to start since we all knew exactly what to do. I made sure I focused on the anchors more this time around, concentrating on their tone, the way they were sitting and their pacing. I was much more hands on this week and Dahlia even let me take the lead in criticism after each take. The anchors were supportive and tuned-in to making sure they fixed what I told them, which finally made me feel like the leader I’m supposed to be. 

Wow… I produced my first newscast this week! I still feel like it’s a dream. I’ve worked so hard the last three years to get exactly where I am today, I just can’t believe it’s actually happening. The first newscast went exceptionally well! Even Professor Dahlia was impressed with our anchors and packages. I’m so lucky to be a part of a class with such a passion and drive for news.