It's Monday and that means the mikemcguff blog talks to a journalism pro on getting into the business.
Today we go to Tucson, Arizona and talk with KOLD-TV 10 pm newscast producer, Christopher Francis (KOLD are the best calls for the desert). He's been a TV producer for 12 years and gives the mikemcguff blog the inside scoop on what the heck a TV producer does and how to become one.
mikemcguff: The public hears the term all of the time, but how would you
characterize what a producer does?
Christopher Francis: The producer is responsible for overall content
of the newscast. For my broadcast, we have an editorial meeting at 2pm each
day where the news directors, producers and anchors talk about story ideas and
leads and determine which ones to follow. I have a huge role in deciding what
stories air (and sometimes, what stories don't air!) I determine what form they're
going to take (will it be a simple voiceover, a voiceover with a soundbite,
or a "package" prepared by a reporter?), how long they're going to run, and
in what order, top to bottom. I write most, if not all, of the anchors' scripts.
I supervise our staff of reporters, photographers and editors to make sure all
the stories are ready by airtime. I have to keep up with breaking news and adjust
the rundown accordingly.
I'm in the control room while the newscast is on the air, making sure the
broadcast starts and ends on time and everything runs according to plan. I get
breaking news on the air if I hear about it in the booth. If we're running long,
I drop stories. If we're running short, somebody may have to stretch. But it's
always better to have too much material than too little.
It's analogous to a newspaper editor in many ways, but I tend to see myself
more as an information traffic cop, determining what goes where.
MM: Many journalism grads come into the business with stars in their
eyes, wanting to be on camera. What would you say are the pluses of being in
the producer role?
CF: Well, your wardrobe expenses aren't as high.
Seriously, though, this a good job for people who love news but may be better
at assembling information than gathering it. I did a tour of duty as a reporter
in college, both on TV and radio, and I didn't think I was good at eliciting
information from people. But when I had all the facts and sound before me, I
had no problem making a coherent story out of it. Good writing is essential
to producing. You'll likely improve your writing and improve the writing of
others. I have proofread hundreds of reporter scripts, and I can tell what works
and what doesn't. I'll often suggest to a reporter: "Can we say this..." while
looking over a script. Reporters who have trouble getting an idea across in
a story often ask me for advice.
This is also a good way to put ownership on an entire broadcast, not just
a one-minute, thirty second slice of it. Control freaks love producing.
Also, it's easier to find work. I've seen some producer jobs go unfilled for
months and not because of cutbacks.
MM: What about the minuses?
CF: Stress -- especially in major breaking news situations, when you're
trying to get a handle on what's going on and beat the competition. Your adrenaline
is pumping, things are going crazy, but you have to keep as cool as you can,
focus on what you need to get on the air and do it. And on the flip side, slow
news days will frustrate you as story ideas don't pan out and you still have
to come up with a justifiable lead -- along with enough material to fill the
broadcast.
Live television is also brimming with potential technical gotchas and you
have to learn to maneuver around them. Sometimes the lead story doesn't make
it in time for the top of the newscast. A live shot isn't strong enough to take
to air. Tapes break. Equipment malfunctions. Again, you have to keep your cool
and have a backup plan -- and perhaps a backup to the backup plan and communicate
it to your anchors and crew. You are the captain of this ship. If you sail in
rough waters, everybody needs fair warning, and they'll be depending on you
for steering.
Other people will get the credit and glory for your ideas. This is not a job
for egomaniacs. You'll write wonderful things for other people to say and the
viewers will never know it's you, not the anchor who came up with that memorable
moment. I still remember a career fair invitation that went out to the newsroom.
A marketing director asked for an anchor, a reporter, and a photographer. I
asked, in jest, what about the producers? These shows don't put themselves on
by themselves. The reply: "If they had asked for one, I'm sure you would be
there!"
To paraphrase an old saying: the good you do, nobody remembers; the bad you
do, nobody forgets.
MM: Any funny or unusual stories about your job?
CF: I have an anchor who sometimes gives me shoutouts. I wrote a script
on a blackout at the Bellagio hotel with this lead line: "Amid the sea of lights
on the Las Vegas strip, an island of darkness." He then interjects, "My producer,
Chris Francis Shakespeare wrote that."
This one's not directly related to line producing, but I once knelt before
Arizona Wildcat basketball coach Lute Olsen!
It happened while I was assisting the sports team one weekend. They were stretched
thin with two big events in town -- the El Tour de Tucson bicycle race and the
'Cats playing a home game. I volunteered to help and went with a photographer
to Coach Olsen's post-game press conference because the photographer was still
pretty new to covering the 'Cats. I was too, but at least I could help him carry
gear and set up.
I place the microphone at the coach's table before he walks in. The photog
signals everything is working. Coach Olsen walks in, starts talking, and suddenly
my partner indicates he's not getting sound. The battery on the wireless mic
is going out, and we quickly have to switch to a wired stick mic. But the cable
we have doesn't reach all the way to the table. It doesn't even reach to the
front row of seats. The best I can do get quality sound is hold the mic up towards
the front. The cable is not long enough to allow me to sit down, and I can't
stand up in the aisle and block somebody's shot. So I have to kneel and hold
the mic up. Coach O never even notices -- he's too busy reading from the stat
log. Somehow, we get usable sound.
MM: How did you get your start in TV? Did you have other jobs in TV
before becoming a producer?
CF: My first TV job was in 1994, reporting for the University of Missouri
station, KOMU. Mizzou is still the best journalism school on the planet in my
humbly biased opinion. For the uninitiated, KOMU is unlike many college TV stations
in that it's a commercial, NBC affiliate with newscasts in the morning, 5, 6
and 10. This is no glorified internship. You work for a "real" station with
"real" newscasts and do "real" stories. I lugged around hand-me-down 3/4" tape
decks and cameras, shot nearly all my own stories and edited them. I learned
a lot on the job, but I got some early hints and advice by doing an internship
at KMOV in St. Louis. I shadowed reporters and photographers and did time on
the assignment desk. I learned how to schmooze people and follow leads. Like
I said earlier, I didn't think I was that good of a reporter, and having to
mix TV with other college work meant I couldn't do the job full time. After
one semester of reporting, I tried producing to broaden my knowledge base and
I liked it more.
When I graduated, I sent out two sets of resume tapes -- one for producing,
one for reporting. The producing tapes got the looks. Within three months of
graduation I was working my first real-world job at KRGV in Weslaco, Texas as
a weekend producer and associate producer during the week.
The job required more technical ability than I expected. They didn't have
a full-fledged graphics department, so I had to run the character generator
and make my own graphics for every newscast. No problem for me -- I loved getting
to play with the expensive toys. I didn't have a fancy PaintBox system -- just
a CG, an Ampex switcher, a couple of effects devices and a still store. I learned
to do more with less. And on weekends, the technical jobs were in addition to
putting a rundown together and helping write. No time for dinner breaks!
I kept scouting around for other stations. I got offers from operations in
Kansas, Kentucky and Florida, but money was the sticking point. At KRGV I worked
on wage, and with everything I was doing, nobody could offer a better salary
until KOLD came knocking in 1999. By then, I was working the 6 and 10 weeknights,
making better money but also getting frustrated with management. I made the
move to Tucson, Arizona and never regretted it.
MM: What's your advice for those looking to get into TV?
CF: For those wanting to produce or report, a journalism/communications
degree is a must. Don't worry about getting a Masters. You'll earn your own
personal Masters with everything you learn on the job. Get an internship. You'll
get in the door of a station. Offer to help with as many different things as
you can, and you might just have a job waiting for you when you graduate.
Be open and flexible about the jobs you're willing to take. If you want to
report, don't knock off producing. Don't turn up your nose at working in a small-town
market if it gets you in front of the camera or behind the producers' desk.
You'll meet wonderful people -- not just those on the police blotter -- while
you refine your skills. Check your ego at the door, be ready to work nights
and weekends and learn to budget. The money won't be great at first, although
producing tends to pay better than reporting from the get-go. Some people want
to be TV stars and not reporters/producers. Figure out what you really want,
and if it's to be a TV star, head for the drama department.
MM: What about producing in particular?
CF: I recommend getting some reporting experience, in college or elsewhere.
You'll learn the mechanics of what reporters do in the field, what makes a good
story, and how to organize and write it. You'll learn to work under deadline
pressure. You'll know what crews go through in the field and why it often takes
more than five minutes to set up a live shot! Consider it boot camp, basic training
for the Producer Corps. You'll apply reporting skills to other stories as you
check them over for facts, relevance and coherency. You'll learn to do more
than just re-write wire copy. And depending on how much reporting you do and
where you do it, you'll develop sources and tipsters who will be calling you
with story ideas you can pass on to reporters -- especially on those slow news
days. A lot of stations promote from within, so if you're reporting and want
to produce, offer to shadow a producer on one of your days off. Help him/her
write if you can. When the next producer job opens up -- which is often in this
business -- you'll have a leg up.
MM: Anything else you want to add?
CF: Once you're in a producing job, avoid getting burned out. A masters'
thesis from Texas Christian University says about one-fifth of local TV news
producers are either burned out or on their way to becoming burned out, and
two-thirds of those surveyed scored high on cynicism.
I've been there. Before I left my previous station, I was sliding into depression.
That's why it's so important to you find a life outside of the business and
friends who don't work in a TV newsroom. One producer surveyed for that thesis
suggested: "Even if you think you are only going to be in a place a couple of
years, join a church, a community group, volunteer at the humane society, do
local theatre, something to be with "real" people." I can't say it any better.
For many years, I didn't have an outside life besides seeing a lot of movies.
Then I joined a living-history organization here in Arizona (www.wemakehistory.com)
for fun, and I started seeing the world from a new perspective.
It's important to have a mentor -- somebody you can learn from and confide
in, somebody who will listen to you and give you no-nonsense advise. Another
producer at KRGV was a great mentor to me. She taught me a lot.
Producing is a management job, whether you think of it as one or not. Always
catch people doing things right. Learn to command, but always show respect for
your colleagues, and they will always have your back.
Christopher Francis
KOLD-TV News 13
Tucson, AZ
Thanks for stopping by the mikemcguff blog Chris! I guess both of us think 13 is a lucky number! (See Chris' personal blog)
Make sure to check out previous "Breaking into Journalism" interviews:
- Jeff Ehling talks about getting into TV news
- White House Correspondent Julie Mason talks to mikemcguff blog
Shara Morris from Bellaire, TX is a junior at the Barnard College at Columbia University in New York. There is nothing more she wants than to be an intern on the Colbert Report. She put together her Rap-plication for the internship to the music of M.I.A.'s Paper Planes. Pretty clever. 
