TV Station Intern

What's the worst on-air Fail you've ever seen?

Asked by O0O-L almost 11 years ago

One of the worst I've seen was when an anchor forgot the name of a reporter. That's 100% okay. The problem was her reaction. She turned red and stalled for at least 20 seconds. She should have tried to say the line in a way that didn't have a name in it.

Another time an anchor dropped the f-bomb by accident.

There was another time when a producer was yelling at the anchor and insulting her. The mic picked it up. No one knew that people watching could hear him until someone realized and took the show off-air until the guy calmed down.

Hope these were good ones!

Do you get paid and if not, why not? Are you getting screwed just because you're so young? Sounds like you do real work!

Asked by EsmieSmitz almost 11 years ago

No I do not get paid. Mainly because I was looking for a TV station. They weren't looking for me. I probably could get paid, but I don't want to. I use it as an extracurricular activity.

What I really enjoy is the intensity of the control room. I love the teamwork, the comradery, and the work itself. I don't like "the visual arts" anymore than you probably do. I just like having a job that most teens my age do not. I get to work with adults. And although I will probably not make this a career, it does teach me things that I can use in my professional life. It's great experience, and although money would be great, the experience is more than enough.

Hope this helped!

In your profile pic, what exactly is going on? It look pretty awesome. And what is a switcher? Thanks.

Asked by John almost 11 years ago

Hi John!

The profile picture shows the main control room of a TV studio. When a show is going on, what you see on screen is controlled in there.

Basically the switcher is that thing in the middle of the table that has all the buttons. That basically selects which camera to show, along with many other things. For example, if there is a special report, the switcher operator will push a button going to the "clip." That is also where the green screen (background) is selected. The only other function I can think of is when there is a caption (ie. name, story title, etc.) that can be put on screen.

The director sits next to the switcher operator and tells them what to do.

Other jobs:

Telepromter: Writes up the script and controls how fast the words go that the anchor reads.

Assistant Director: Helps the director. Mainly looks for small problems that the director misses because he/she has to deal with giving commands.

Character generator: Makes the graphics such as names and story titles that go on screen. When they select a graphic to show, the switcher can then put it on screen.

Still station: Plays background visuals that are on repeat. The switcher can put these for the green screen background.

Audio: Controls sound from mics and computers that go on air.

Producer: Varies from station to station. Sometimes in charge of the whole show. Other times they just write stories and do research.

The switcher and directors will sit at the front. The others usually on the sides.

Hope this helped!

Would you say that news anchors are generally happy? Is getting "on air" basically their dream job?

Asked by TV almost 11 years ago

Hi TV!

Well I don't really interact that much with the anchors and I don't really have many examples, but usually anchors seem to enjoy their job. It really depends though. I would guess that local anchors are probably more enthusiastic generally because they don't get paid anything exceptional. They likely do it because it is their "dream job."

I guess to summarize it's not the kind of job you'd do only for money, so if they aren't "happy" for whatever reason, they are probably at least glad to be doing something that they like.

Hope this helps!

Is local news truly LIVE, or is there any buffer time to re-record a segment in case an anchor screws something up?

Asked by dan79 almost 11 years ago

Hi Dan,

Like almost anything, that varies (often from station to station). In my experience it varies show to show. Most regular news shows that I've worked on are delayed by 10-20 seconds. If something extremely awful happens (ie. medical emergency) the show can be cut off the air ("de-routed" in TV talk). This would mean the screen goes black. We do this because we lack the technology to bleep something out.

Larger stations will have a 5-10 second delay. On shows like "American Idol" where a bad word will likely slip out once or twice, they have the capability to bleep it out easily. On a show where a bad word is likely to be used, they would not want to have to cut off the show every time this happens.

But for the most part, live TV really is live, with just a small delay for emergencies.

What's the single worst part of your job?

Asked by 8484 almost 11 years ago

I decided on an answer to this in less than a few seconds:

The most annoying part about my job is that the recognition-to-work-done ratio between the on-air anchors and behind the scenes people (in most cases) is extremely unfair. For every hour of live news that you see, there is another hour's worth of preparation. 90% of the hardwork during this hour is script organizing, camera planning, and other behind the scenes stuff. 10% is stuff the anchors do to prepare (reahersing their lines.)

Don't get me wrong, many anchors are responsible, humble, and/or hard-working. But some are far from that. What people don't realize is that the anchors are reading from a script that other people worked hard to make. Sure, they are the ones who are in front of possibly millions of people, and I respect that, but they really need to be more appreciative and less cocky.

Behind the scenes work is more than just pointing the camera at the anchor. Much more is going on. If you have specific questions about that other work, please feel free to ask me.

(Just want you to know that the "angry" tone of this answer was not aimed at you. I appreciate the question.)

VR,
Ryan

Do people treat you like a "kid" because you're so young or do they see you as a valuable part of the team?

Asked by kid almost 11 years ago

I guess it depends, but for the most part I get treated like a valuable team member. It also depends on the person. To my fellow volunteers (both interns and adults) I am usually treated as an equal. To the directors, I am treated as a younger person, but with respect nonetheless.

The only time I've really been looked down on was with the anchors. One of them got really pissed because there was a grammatical mistake in the script I wrote. It should not have had to happen on TV. The anchor should have read over their lines in the hour before the show. This has happened more times than I can count. They often call me the "little kid" or "the new guy" even though I've been there for longer than some of them. The worst time was when an anchor called up the executive producer to get me kicked off the station. I was lucky the director was there to stand up for me. Although the producer did get rid of someone after this incident, it wasn't me. ;)

 

Do they make you go on menial errands like coffee runs or picking up dry cleaning?

Asked by Carriszs almost 11 years ago

In my case, no. Maybe at big stations where the paid professionals are doing the real work.

But at my station it is mostly part-time and volunteer. The staff relies on interns to do actual work. Also, all except for one is public so it's 80% for TV education partnered with the school district. So the whole point is for teens to do real work.

Hope this helped. (By the way can everyone try to ask questions about TV production and less about the internship itself. I don't mind these but I'd prefer questions about production in general. Thanks!)

Are TV people like nerds or something? No offense but they seem like nerds.

Asked by Jsn almost 11 years ago

To be honest, yeah a lot of TV people are nerdy, quirky, weird, or a combination.

But those are a specific type of TV people. I'm assuming you mean artsy, geeky, etc.

As I said in my bio, everything I like about TV can be found somewhere else, in some other activity. I don't love visual arts. What I like about TV is the teamwork, responsibility, and--to be honest--pushing buttons.

There, I said it! But really, I love the intensity involved with putting together a TV news show. I think a lot of people would if they had the chance. So those "nerds" you mentioned, I agree they exist, but that is not everyone.

Hope this cleared some stuff up!

What is more exciting: Doing a show in a studio, or filming an outside event?

Asked by Jon over 10 years ago

Hey Jon,

Thanks for asking that question, as it allows me to explain what the difference is between in-studio and out-of-studio productions.

When we do a show in the studio, we have all the equipment set up. Most of the planning is script writing (not need for most out-of-studio shoots) and rehearsals.

When we film an event somewhere else, there are different things that we have to do. We don't have to have a script or telepromter set up. But other than that, it is much more complicated to set up than an in-studio show:

We need to set up all the cameras and mics. Then we put down wires to connect them to the "production unit." The "production unit" is whatever we are using to control the filming. We use it to select which camera shot will go on, which mics will be on, etc. This is our temporary studio.

If we are at an indoor place, we can set up a portable studio in a room. That would be the production unit.

If we are outdoors, we might use our TV truck. It has the ability to take in camera feeds, mics, etc. Inside the truck we can control the filming.

So out-of-studio shoots are usually more exciting.

Hope this helped!

Has interning there made you more or less likely to pursue a career in TV news, and why? Thanks!

Asked by lAURA almost 11 years ago

Hi there. Working part time at a TV station has been very cool. But it has actually showed me that it is not something I'd do as a career.

Something unique about me: I can never settle on one career that I want to pursue. And of the many things that I have considered, TV would not fufill me enough for it to be a full-time job.

But I plan on doing TV part-time for as long as I can. It really is a cool thing.

I hope this answers your question!

Hey Ryan you didn't tell me you made a Q&A! (Harrison told me lol.) Anyway congrats. (BTW Brigs says he needs us every day on finals week.) Peace.

Asked by Lev over 10 years ago

Hey you know you didn't tell me who you were. Lol of course its Matt. Yeah I didn't want you to tell Brigs because he'd make sure whatever I said was perfect. Anyway I got the email from him. Hopefully we can find more people and that way we can rotate days.

Why do Finals have to be the same week as the PATV marathon!!!

But seriously 80% of PATV is HS kids. That was just awful planning.

See ya Monday Matt.

(And BTW you could have called)

What happens when the teleprompter stops working? (Or has that never happened before?)

Asked by AA over 10 years ago

Hey there. Yes the telepromter has stopped working before. The anchors always have paper scripts ready, plus a script on a computer monitor at the bigger station.

As for everyone else, there are a few steps that will be taken: The first priority is making sure that the anchor is still reading. Then, if this is okay, there are a few things that have to be done to fix it. The computer from which the telepromter works will be checked out, as well as the box that connects to the computer, and the telepromter itself will be checked whenever possible (as it is mounted on the camera.)

If it gets fixed (only if), the anchor will switch back to reading from the teleprompter.

Chances are, a battery was out, a cable got unplugged, etc.

Good for you for interning at such a young age – I hope to god my kids are this industrious when they're in high school! Do you plan on looking into college programs in TV/production? Do you see yourself working in TV as an adult? (Best of luck!)

Asked by Ms Bliss over 10 years ago

Hey there! Thanks so much for your comments. I partially answered this in another question, but don't worry about it. I'll explain again:

Some of the kids (and adults) I work with have a true passion for TV Production. I love it too, but it's in a different way. What I like about what I do is the teamwork, pressure, and responsibility that I get to experience at a young age. Of course, those things can be found in (some) other places, too. It just so happened that this program existed in my community. But if another place had, for example, a maritime program that involved learning how to operate a ship (just because I wish that existed), then that would also do the same things for me. I would get to experience teamwork and real life pressure.

So the short answer: no. I would not seriously consider college programs and/or becoming a professional. There are just so many other things that I'm interested in more. But doing it in high school is a great experience, and I plan on continuing until I graduate.

Hope this answered your question!

Belt the heck hi when it you the baladj adhua hahahahaha!!!!

Meep>

Asked by sup over 10 years ago

Well a: belt the heck hi when it you the baladj adhua hahahahaha to you too!

Have a nice day!

can you inform me or give some explanation about what kind of stuff (mainly the kind of monitors that appear in that picture), because I have only a little bit of knowledge about TV control room

Asked by Gunanto over 10 years ago

Hi. Okay so basically all of those screens are different things going on. Some are camera shots from the studio, some are camera shots from the field, some are graphics made by people in the control room, some are videos that can be shown, etc. Then there's one image that is the "program." It's pretty much exactly what people are seeing at home. To make that image, we have to choose which camera shot we will use and which graphics will also be on the screen.

Lets say you want to have a reporter with a name caption, and then a video clip from a few hours ago. You would first have to select the reporter's camera shot, and then have the name tag go up too. Then after, you would have the video clip replace the reporter on screen.

It can be pretty simple depending on how you look at it. If you still have questions, or if I didn't answer something clearly, please let me know!

How many butchers and complainers call in to the station? I know with weather for instance people get angry even if it’s a EF-5 tornado for interrupting their show but others get mad if they don’t break in for a tornado warring barley touching

Asked by Mark almost 4 years ago

A county that’s just within range of the signal

Asked by Mark almost 4 years ago