Busy, long days have now become common place. I was thinking during the day about how much easier this week is going to make my transition into the semester and returning back to my demanding schedule in Oxford. Sometimes, beginning classes and getting back to the daily grind can prove to be quite the challenge. Thanks to NYC Media, I’ll already have my head in a working zone as we move closer to January 28th.
The class began our day with a short walk over to 30 Rockefeller Center, affectionately known as 30 Rock. After being checked in, we found our way to the Morning Joe studio on the third floor in Studio 3A. We made it inside the studio in just enough time to catch the last half hour of live taping. Joe & Mika were both filming from satellite locations, therefore they weren’t present in the studio. But we did get to meet co-host Willie Geist, who even allowed us to slip in a few questions before he left the studio.
At 30 Rock, we got the chance to meet with Miami alumnae Lauren Schwietzer and Daniela Pierre-Bravo. Schweitzer is employed at the Morning Joe as a line producer, and Pierre-Bravo is the show’s booking producer. Both guests were very open to their experiences in their positions. It was interesting to hear how the news pieces and guests were prepared for the show. Surprisingly, Joe Scarborough has the final say in which stories he wants to speak about during the three hours. The show is also mostly conversational, so there is usually no script. Some of the special tips we got from this visit were the importance of learning how to use video editing software. Pierre-Bravo conveyed the importance for students interested in joining the field to be “hungry, have high stamina and a passion for the industry.”
From 30 Rock, we made crossed the street right into the Fox Studio's for a meeting with Miami graduate and co-host of America's Newsroom, Bill Hemmer. On the way to the studio, we took a moment to hang out in the control room. Which looked exactly how you would expect Fox's control room to look. An infinite amount of screens, about 15 people looking at their own screen, while also paying attention to, what seems like 4 or 5 other responsibilities fighting for their attention. The America's Newsroom set is just as sleek in person as it looks on television. Hemmer gave us deep insight into what his day to day was in his role. As co-host he said that one of his top responsibilities is "making sure that no shots get by the goalie." The way that is done is by always having your "antennas up" and being privy to the news of the day.
Next place we landed at is NPR, with David Folkenflik. Folkenflik is a media correspondent for NPR and hosts a show, On Point that airs on Friday’s. Our hour with Folkenflik had one central theme, ethics and values. Folkenflik truly puts his morals at the forefront of his reporting work. And he was vocal about it in a way that I hadn’t seen during the week. He feels transparency is very important in the world of journalism, because of its power to avoid issues with the audience that stem from a lack of trust.
The insights that David lent on ethics and values in the journalism industry stuck with me throughout the rest of the program, and guided many of my questions at other companies. From NPR, the class travelled a couple blocks down 6th Avenue to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). At the WSJ, we met with four Miami graduates, Gretchen Mortenson (business investigation), Bowdeya Tweh (spot news), Lisa Bannon (life and arts) and Dave Marino-Nachinson (Barron’s financial blog). Keeping on the topic of ethics and values in reporting, Mortenson reiterated to the group, “accuracy is huge, fairness is huge.” Tweh followed up by saying, “fairness doesn’t mean the target has to love the work you’ve done on them.” It is not a journalist’s job to write a nice story on their subject, but a true story for the audience to capture the truth.
Here’s to day four!
