Day One
Today was the official first day of my new job. Yesterday, I
was a summer fill-in radio news reporter. Today, I’m a permanent radio news reporter
for KTOO and, boy, did I start off the new title well.
I’ve been working at the radio station since the end of May. I’ve been regularly doing at least four live newscasts a week, either the 12:30 news or the 4:30 news. Today, during the noon cast, was the first time I forgot to press the all-important “ON AIR” button, which meant for three minutes, I was delivering the news into a mic – to myself. Everybody else in Juneau and the surrounding area listening to KTOO heard the default broadcast of BBC news, which airs when the important button isn’t pressed.
The 12:30 is normally more challenging for me because I have exactly 3 minutes – I must start at 12:29:30 and end at 12:32:30. There’s no underwriting, no transition music. Whereas the 4:30 cast, even though it’s longer, is more flexible with 60 seconds worth of All Things Considered transition music, which means I can end my cast anywhere between 4:34:30 to 4:35:30.
I ended today’s 12:30 cast, with The World resuming right at 12:32:30, thinking, ‘This is the best I’ve done it yet,’ only to realize seconds later there was no reason to press the “OFF AIR” button because it was still lit.
As I walked into the newsroom in shock, the news director, Rosie, pulls her headphones off and says, “I didn’t hear your cast.” As soon as I explained that I didn’t press the “ON AIR” button, she instantly reassured me, “We’ve all done it. It happens, and now that it’s happened to you, it’ll never happen again.”
I got over it pretty quickly, returned to my office, fed Lota, and took him for a small walk. I got back to my desk a little after 1 pm and felt content to spend the rest of the day working on a story for tomorrow morning.
Around 2:30, Rosie walked in my office and said, “What did you find out at the meeting?” I pulled off my headphones and, in a confused and shocked state of mind once again, said, “I totally forgot about the meeting.” I was supposed to cover a 1:30 meeting. Thankfully, I didn’t miss anything as, I’ve been told, the committee went directly into executive session; i.e. the general public isn't allowed to be present.
My mistakes didn’t amount to anything significant. It was just one of those days. On the other hand, I did get two stories done, which hasn’t happened in a while.
Hopefully day two will go a little smoother.
I’ve been working at the radio station since the end of May. I’ve been regularly doing at least four live newscasts a week, either the 12:30 news or the 4:30 news. Today, during the noon cast, was the first time I forgot to press the all-important “ON AIR” button, which meant for three minutes, I was delivering the news into a mic – to myself. Everybody else in Juneau and the surrounding area listening to KTOO heard the default broadcast of BBC news, which airs when the important button isn’t pressed.
The 12:30 is normally more challenging for me because I have exactly 3 minutes – I must start at 12:29:30 and end at 12:32:30. There’s no underwriting, no transition music. Whereas the 4:30 cast, even though it’s longer, is more flexible with 60 seconds worth of All Things Considered transition music, which means I can end my cast anywhere between 4:34:30 to 4:35:30.
I ended today’s 12:30 cast, with The World resuming right at 12:32:30, thinking, ‘This is the best I’ve done it yet,’ only to realize seconds later there was no reason to press the “OFF AIR” button because it was still lit.
As I walked into the newsroom in shock, the news director, Rosie, pulls her headphones off and says, “I didn’t hear your cast.” As soon as I explained that I didn’t press the “ON AIR” button, she instantly reassured me, “We’ve all done it. It happens, and now that it’s happened to you, it’ll never happen again.”
I got over it pretty quickly, returned to my office, fed Lota, and took him for a small walk. I got back to my desk a little after 1 pm and felt content to spend the rest of the day working on a story for tomorrow morning.
Around 2:30, Rosie walked in my office and said, “What did you find out at the meeting?” I pulled off my headphones and, in a confused and shocked state of mind once again, said, “I totally forgot about the meeting.” I was supposed to cover a 1:30 meeting. Thankfully, I didn’t miss anything as, I’ve been told, the committee went directly into executive session; i.e. the general public isn't allowed to be present.
My mistakes didn’t amount to anything significant. It was just one of those days. On the other hand, I did get two stories done, which hasn’t happened in a while.
Hopefully day two will go a little smoother.
posted by Siapiau | 11:08 PM
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