Pluggin' Along...

It's been three days since I started my new job at WBIR. I spent yesterday getting taught how to use our editing program, Avid. Jim Martin, our chief photog, took me under his wing yesterday. He showed me how to use Avid while we edited a package for one of the anchors of our 4pm show, "Live at Five at Four." He spent a good 3 hours showing me how to capture video, how to work with video once it's digitized in the system, and all of the keyboard shortcuts.

Avid looks similar to the editing program we used at KOBI, but it operates differently. It's going to take trial and error for me to get the hang of it. I hope I learn sooner rather than later. What's reassuring is that another reporter who was hired just a month ago didn't know how to use Avid when he got here either. Today, he was showing me tricks and has picked it up over the last few weeks.

After our editing lesson, I went with Jim to be part of a two camera shoot with our morning anchor, Abby Ham, and the former Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina (not sure of his name). The Governor was in Knoxville speaking at a leadership conference and is the person credited with growing Charlotte. Knoxville is growing now so Abby interviewed the Mayor about his suggestions for helping development here.

I also got my computer log in yesterday. I took advantage of that and spent a couple of hours in the afternoon searching the web and trying to think of story ideas to pitch. It's required here for everyone to add one story idea to our assignment list everyday. From what I gather, everyone has been lax about doing this but the news director is cracking down. The story ideas can't come from the newspaper, and if they do they have to advance the story somehow. They also have to be able to be set up and done within a days notice. If not, then we have to ask permission to have extra time to set them up and actually do them. Not all of these stories on the list will be done, but they are good back ups in case there's not a lot of spot news for the day. Enterprising stories here is going to be a challenge for me for a number of reasons. First, I'm still not that familiar with the region and our viewing area so I have a lot of learning to do. Found out today that I can get paid overtime to sit in the newsroom, study up, and come up with ideas. Might take advantage of that next week. Second, it's going to take some time for me to discover where to find story ideas on the Internet, and I'm going to have to take every opportunity I can to talk to people who live here. I can't wait to start making contacts because in TV news, we rely so much on information from people we know in order to do our work.

Today, I went to a town about 2 hours from Knoxville called Cookville with the other new Multimedia Journalist, Steve. We worked on a story together about a National Guard veteran who has obtained documents and photographs of a WWII soldier who was killed in action. He's made it his mission to return these documents to the soldier's family only he has no idea where they are. He suspects the family is somewhere in the Knoxville area based on the information contained in the documents. On the drive to the story Steve and I talked about being new here. We discovered we have similar philosophies about news, and I think both of us are relieved we think similarly. Steve shot the video for the story today and he logged in on his camera as I drove us back to Knoxville. Back at the station, I captured our video and cut the soundbites out while Steve typed the script. He came to me and asked me to help him write since I was there for the interview. It made me feel good to be asked to do that, and he even used my suggestions. Steve edited the script and presented the story on air.

I finally got a work Blackberry today. It's a brand new smart phone, but it's going to take me a day to figure out how to use it. I'm an iPhone girl. I also got a gas card for our news cars, and got my business cards ordered. So, to recap, I've been familiarized with the computer systems, have computer access, a work phone, know what a day is like for an MMJ, and permission to drive and gas up the news cars. All I need now is to file a story.

I get to do my first story on Thursday. I will go out with our photog, Jim, again tomorrow. I will shoot the video. He will show me how to use our cameras and, I'm sure, give me shooting tips. I will do the interviews and write the scripts. Jim will help me edit since I'm still so new to Avid. Pretty sure I'll get to present the story live from one of our newsroom cameras tomorrow too. So, that means Thursday marks my debut on WBIR. I'm so ready to get out there and do a story. But, I'm nervous about editing. All this talk of doing my first story reminds me that I need to look for my IFB (ear piece so I can hear the director). Wonder where that is???

Anyway, I will file a story Friday on my own, but Jim will be there again for editing if I need him. I feel like I belong here, like I made the right choice, and I'm still trying to figure out how this station and me got connected. Sometimes none of this feels real. I can't believe I'm in TN working at this station, yet I'm still at peace with all this change. I'm the most calm I've been in two years. Strange, considering you'd think I'd be a stress case.

On a fun note, I'm going with people from work to Sundown in the City tomorrow night. Bands play for free in downtown's Market Square and you can hear the music from all the bars and restaurants. We're going right from the station to dinner and then to listen to music. I'm excited. It will be my first outing here. Friday I have plans with a reporter at another station who recently moved to Knoxville from Eugene, OR. Excited to finally meet her as we've only talked to each other on Twitter so far.

Things are going well here.....finger's crossed I get the hang of the new editing system!!!!!

A New Beginning

I went back to work today after two months of not working. Don't get me wrong. I had so much fun traveling (Vegas, Santa Barbara, NYC), sleeping in, spending time with my mom and family, and resting. I went for weeks applying for jobs and hearing nothing. Finally, I got calls from six stations in the course of a week. I never thought I'd end up at a station in Knoxville, TN only because it's 2,600 miles away from everything that's familiar to me. But, that's exactly where I ended up and exactly where I am as I'm writing this blog. The same sense of peace that guided me through the process of leaving KOBI in Medford, OR to go to nothing has led me here. That same sense of peace, even though I'm a little nervous, guided me through today, my first day at my new station, WBIR, the NBC affiliate in Knoxville, TN.

I got to the station today feeling like it was the first day of school and I was the new kid. I even ate my sack lunch of PB & J, baby carrots, a granola bar and an apple, sitting at my desk alone. However, my lunch hour is not a metaphor for the rest of my day.

Desks are set up as cubicle pods of four scattered around a pull pen style newsroom. The assignment desk is on a raised platform in front of me. My desk is next to one of our morning anchors. Her name is Abby Ham and she was the first person to greet me in the newsroom today. Co-worker after co-worker introduced themselves to me, each of them extending warm greetings or offers of help to get situated here. Many of them came to this station and never left because they love the community and the company so much. I heard that time after time today. Others were here, left to bigger markets, and came back for the same reason. These sentiments are indications that I made the right decision to move on, and somehow was lucky enough to find this station or for this station to find me.

I will say that I miss my friends at KOBI, Christina, Nate, Natalie, and Anne, dearly. They were what made working at KOBI bearable for my last few weeks. And, I know that I have friendships with each of them that will last. Tonight, I could have killed to have a drink at Porter's with them after work. Instead I settled for Bud Light Lime at home alone because I don't know anyone here yet, and you can't buy wine at the grocery store. Don't feel sorry for me though. I wanted this change, I accepted the challenge, and seized an opportunity to make a major life change.

So how did today go? It was both satisfying and overwhelming. The satisfaction comes from knowing that I will succeed at WBIR. The overwhelming part comes from the fact that there is so much I have to learn on the technical side of things. The day started with our story meeting at 9:30am. Then I met with the department heads of the company. Then I spent nearly five hours being trained on four computer programs we use to write scripts and post stories to the Internet. Tomorrow I will get trained on a new non-linear editing system, but that's jumping ahead.

I will be reporting five days per week at WBIR, Friday through Tuesday on the night side shift 2:30pm to 11:30pm (that starts in a couple weeks after my training ends). I will have one story to turn each day as a package (long story) that I will front live, either in studio or in the field. I am responsible for making all of my own graphics and maps for my stories. I also have to turn that story in to a vosot (voice over sound on tape) to be used in the newscast the following morning. And, I will be responsible for posting text and video versions of my stories to our station's website (www.wbir.com). All of this is very different from my work load at KOBI.

I would sometimes turn a package and two vosots when I reported there. That was an extreme, but it happened pretty often because we were short staffed (and I should say we held our heads above water most days given the amount of work few people did on a regular basis). Our story meetings at KOBI were at 10am and sometimes I didn't get out the door to shoot my stories until after 11am, and then had to be back with my story turned by 4:30 for a live shot in the 5pm or 5:30 for a live shot in the 6pm show. Having the same amount of time to do less work means that I can take more time with my writing, editing, and reporting in general. I am excited for this. Although, I do realize that the workload at KOBI prepared me to work in any newsroom because I know I can handle what ever is put in front of me.

The thing I'm most nervous about is posting my stories to the Internet. We weren't allowed to do this at KOBI. At WBIR, I have to re-write my stories in AP (Associated Press) Style and upload them myself. It's not that hard, or at least it doesn't look difficult, but it's something new and a bit cumbersome. This, like the other computer programs I have to learn, will take trial and error to learn, but I will.

I ended my day by watching our 4pm newscast live in the studio, watching the 5pm show from the control room, and the 6pm show in my news director's office. I won't have a chance to watch the earlier shows most days because I'll be out shooting my story for the late show. This gave me a chance to familiarize myself with what the station offers viewers. And, it allowed me to continue getting familiar with the local news here.

As I mentioned before, I will learn how to edit video on a new program tomorrow, and will shadow a reporter on Wednesday. Thursday I will go out with a photographer and shoot a package, which he says will air. Not sure who will write it though. Friday, I'm supposed to shoot a package by myself but am not sure if I'm turning it for air. I'm off Saturday, and start my night side shift Sunday. I think that's when I will turn my first package myself, although I'm mentally preparing to do that on Thursday. I can't wait to get out there on my own. I'm grateful for this training though.

This is day two being in Knoxville by myself (mom left Sunday). It's ok for now because I have this blog, another web project I'm working on, and getting into a routine to keep me busy. I also have a trip to OR coming up in a few weeks that I'm looking forward to. I probably won't make an effort to really start meeting people until I get back from that trip in early June. That's fine because all this alone time is allowing me to focus on getting adjusted at work and to focus on eating healthy, exercising, and growing.

If you want to see pictures of my station, please check them out in my uploaded pictures on Facebook.

Until tomorrow...