CLEVELAND — My first day as digital director at News 5 was Dec. 18, 2017, which means today is my eighth anniversary. Please, no no no, sit down and hold your applause until the end. I appreciate it – stop, I beg – we have a lot to get through.
I am a print journalism guy who works in a TV newsroom, an outsider on the inside. I am marking the occasion of my work anniversary – DO NOT START APPLAUDING AGAIN – to share some things I have learned about working in TV news that maybe you will find interesting.
1. The people you see on camera are, in fact, nice
I get asked if our anchors, reporters and meteorologists are nice. I’m not sure where this question comes from – as if there’s a world in which a reporter ends her live hit and then gets into a vicious shouting match with the beloved local school crossing guard. (That’s a no.) It’s probably the case that people want to believe the journalists they like watching on TV are, in fact, likable in real life, so they don’t feel fooled. My response is – if you like something about a journalist on TV, that’s probably some of their real personality peaking through, and in most cases, what you see is, in fact, what you get, which is good. So, yes, to answer your question, Trent Magill is that funny.
2. There are two main things that unite Northeast Ohio TV viewers
The weather and the Browns. We cast our collective gaze upon both with dread and hope.
3. A surprising number of people will go on camera during the worst moments of their lives
When we reach out to mothers and fathers and siblings who recently lost a family member, they will often say yes to an interview. I know, I know, I know – why are we bothering these poor people? 1.) Police should not be the only source of information when we cover major crimes. In fact, these families sometimes offer a point of view that is not in agreement with the police narrative, and their side should be included out of basic fairness. 2.) Many of these folks, even when they are not disputing the police, want to talk. Why? I suspect that when you lose a loved one in some horribly public way, there is a need for it to mean something – and going on TV offers an opportunity to shape meaning. I also suspect that because the death of a loved one leaves you feeling helpless, you may feel compelled to try and help in some way by drawing attention to what happened or eulogize how much the deceased was beloved. I give these folks a lot of credit. Some of them turn these worst moments of their lives into charity, activism and advocacy as they forge their pain into something positive even after our cameras stop rolling.
4. You need to cut meteorologists some slack
They get it right way more than they get it wrong. Seeing people say “those weather guys blew it again” in the comments has radicalized me into becoming a staunch defender of the meteorological arts – to the point where my pro-weather-professional rants generally cause people to back away from me slowly at parties. It boils down to this, I think: A meteorologist will say something like, “We have a chance of snow in a certain part of Northeast Ohio.” The viewer hears: “They definitely said it will snow right on top of my house regardless of where I live, and everyone I know will freeze like (spoiler alert) Jack Nicholson at the of The Shining.” It’s inconceivable that a forecast could be made for a part of the viewing area that is not the viewer’s home. You have to listen to the words they are saying. Forecasting is science and nuance, which I call sciuance. Why are you backing away? Where are you going?
5. Photographers are the unsung heroes of local news
You never see them on camera. You rarely hear their names. But they make magic happen. They know how to get everywhere. They know how to act when they get there. They know which shots to get and which moments matter. They’re muscle – they lug big cameras around. They’re brains – they solve problems all the time. They’re creative. They tell stories with our reporters. They think like editors. They know the good places to eat. And everyone calls them by their last names. I don’t know why we call them by their last names, but I’ll venture a theory and say it’s a sign of respect.
6. We have a mental health crisis in this country
You would not believe the volume of emails and phone calls we get from people who are obviously suffering through some type of severe mental health crisis. In addition to those poor souls, it is sometimes the case that the stories we cover involve someone having a mental breakdown. I don’t have a solution for this. I wish I did. I share all this only to say when you work in local TV news, it’s part of the deal.
7. There is nowhere in the world like a TV newsroom on a big news day
It is both a solemn responsibility and a thrill to break news and report updates on big days when EVERYONE is watching the news. It’s a hard thing to properly describe unless you’re in the thick of it – the electricity in the air as well as the weight of knowing that in these moments the world is changing. I can’t speak for my colleagues, but it is often the case on those days that I am grateful that I have a job to do and that those efforts are of value to others.
8. Free food does not last long
I’ve never seen anything like it. If you set out a plate of cookies at 10 AM, they’ll be gone by lunch. We eat our feelings in TV news. Also, there is sheet cake. Sheet cakes of joy. Sheet cakes of sadness. Sheet cakes of honor. Sheet cakes for every occasion. So. Much. Sheet. Cake.
There’s more I could add, but the satisfying symmetry of a headline promising eight things in eight years trumps my desire to tell you about how delighted I was to find that TV newsrooms are well suited for the digital age, so I won’t say anything more about how both mediums favor visual storytelling, immediacy and connection. I really wish I could say that weather is a good example of this, and during big storms that happen while we are on air, our meteorologists stream simultaneously on our TV and digital platforms, which viewers appreciate and is a sign that TV news is evolving to meet viewer needs. But I just can’t get into a ninth thing because the headline said eight things, and I’m a man of my word. Sorry.
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If this piece feels weird for a TV news website article, that’s because you’re unfamiliar with Joe Donatelli’s What Happened Now? newsletter, a lively roundup and analysis of the top stories of the day in Northeast Ohio, in which such shenanigans are commonplace. Subscribe here.
