Our lives made a 360-degree turn when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Since the past year, it has changed the way we think and act to avoid its deadly impact.
Millions of lives have been lost. Many jobs have been cut. But for the fortunate ones, work-from-home becomes the new normal.
In this entry, I will tell you how journalists like me continue to deliver the news despite the threat of an unseen enemy.
A Day In A Life Of A Senior News Producer
In my previous article when COVID-19 hit our office, I told you that I was among the close contacts of a COVID-19 positive officemate. I was sent home and told to work from home for two weeks.
It was a challenge at first because I wasn’t used to doing my tasks outside the workplace.
But I eventually loved it and told myself that I will never come back to the office.
As a Senior News Producer who’s working from home, my tasks include writing scripts, conceptualizing on-air graphics, and lining up news stories for the 12-noon newscast.
I handle two shows on a regular basis but the management has temporarily canceled some programs due to lack of manpower.
Handling one show a day means more time for other things!
How My Day Begins
I wake up at 7:00 am to prepare for work.
I immediately check my Viber and work email for important messages.
After that, I read the news on our Viber group chat, our website, and of course, our competitors’ website.
I also speak to the show’s Executive Producer or EP for a short brainstorming. The EP overlooks the production of the newscasts and approves the line-up or rundown of stories before sending it to the news anchor, our co-producers, and news managers.
At 8:00 am, I get up to see the sun and go down to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. I usually eat a cup of oats, milk, two eggs, an apple, and water to kick start the day.
At 8:55 am, I join our daily meeting via Zoom. This is where news managers discuss stories that producers should put on shows such as updates on COVID-19, President Duterte, Congress investigation on alleged corruption, Afghanistan, ayuda, weather, and many more. We also discuss how to treat and write each story, and the deployment of reporters for their coverage.
The meeting usually lasts for 20 minutes. But when there’s big news, for example, the death of former President Noynoy Aquino, it takes an hour or more. I usually eat my breakfast while listening to the meeting.
When it’s done, I do a little chitchat with my co-producers and other members of the 12-noon team.
At 9:40 am, I attend another meeting via Zoom. This time, it is about the lineup of the show. The EP will discuss the content for the day - from top stories to world news to entertainment to trending stories. Upon approval from the team, it’s time to write the scripts!
How I Write My Scripts
In the office, we use a software where we input our scripts that anyone in the newsroom can access. It also has all the available information that we need such as scripts from other shows, and news advisories.
Since I am working from home, I don’t have that software so I write them on different notepads using my personal laptop.
Each producer has three to four items to finish.
We get the news from reporters and their crew deployed in the field. Some of them in rallies, crime scenes, city halls, and other government offices. But most of the reporters also work from home because media briefings of officials are being streamed online. While they gather the news, reporters send us information as soon as they are available. We write the script based on their advisories.
Writing news for broadcast doesn’t need to be long. Three sentences are enough. Our former boss, who trained us, used to always say, “Write for the ears of the viewers. If it’s too long, they’re not going to watch you.”.
We also DYOR to avoid mistakes and make sure that the scripts are unbiased and accurate. But common mistakes include typographical errors, and wrong figures, and sometimes factual errors.
For today, I wrote about the appeal of a teachers’ group to increase their pay in the 2022 elections, the result of the investigation on the crash of two military aircraft in June and July, and a sponsored content.
Sometimes, news stories are hard to write especially if you’re unfamiliar with the topic. I personally hate writing about legal issues such as rulings on cases, sports stories like PBA and NBA, and business news such as inflation, economic outlook, and GDP growth. It takes me hours to digest a long statement before I can write a script that viewers can understand easily.
Whenever this happens, I leave my work for a few minutes to play with our furbaby, Butchay. She relieves my stress all the time.
After finishing my scripts, it undergoes the scrutiny of the EP, the copyeditor, and the news anchor.
I send it first to the EP via Viber. After a few edits, I send it to the copyeditor via email. The news anchor can check it through the teleprompter.
At 11:30 am, all scripts are in and pasted in the teleprompter for the news anchor who also works from home. We're ready to air!
The show begins at 12-noon sharp and ends at 12:30 pm. I watch the show live on TV and on Facebook. I also monitor our Viber group chats to check on possible breaking news. If there’s a breaking story, I alert the EP so we can plan on how to include it.
After the show, it’s time for lunch with my family!
Pains Of Working From Home
Sometimes, I end up talking to myself because I have no one else in my room but my laptop and Viber.
I am a people person. I work effectively with my officemates around and I’m used to speaking to them personally.
But when you’re working from home, you’ll have to chat with them one by one.
Having a laggy laptop and a slow internet connection add up to my struggles.
I also don’t have the software we use in writing so I had to manually search for news stories and advisories when I need them. In my office computer, I can simply input CTRL + F and in just a few clicks, I can get the information I need.
Gains Of Working From Home
If there are pains, of course, there are even more gains!
Unlike in the office where I need to buy and cook my own food, at home, my Dad cooks our delicious and filling lunch and dinner, while my Mom cooks snacks! I can just go down to the dining and dig in with them. It’s family time every day!
Since I only handle one show, I only work for about four to five hours. This means I have more spare time to do other things. Let’s get straight into it – posting on read.cash and noise.cash!
Working from home is the reason why I am very active on both platforms. I have time to plan, conceptualize, and post my content.
I personally love posting photos on noise.cash almost hourly which I never did in my other social media sites.
While here on read.cash, I have time to focus on writing my blogs. I even stay up until 4:00 am to finish an article.
Aside from those, I am also able to focus on my health. I workout at least three times a week which I can’t do when I’m in the office. I can also eat nutritious food prepared by my Dad and Mom. Eight to seven hours of quality sleep is also priceless!
Next week, I will be back in the office. Let’s see what happens by then. During my stay, would you like me to give you an exclusive look at our newsroom, control room, and studio? Tell me in the reply section below!
#journalist #workfromhome #covid19 #work
Just wow! I once dreamed of being a journalist. I would love to have a virtual tour of the newsroom, control room and studio please? Pa reserve po ng slot hahaha are you kapamilya, kapuso, kapatid o wala sa nabanggit? Hihihi