Goodbye Old. Hello New!

Yesterday was an exciting day at WHNT-19!  We made our transition from our main news set to our temporary set while construction begins to re-vamp our old set.  I'm not quite sure how all the engineers, and others who helped move all the, cameras, set, teleprompters, weather equipment etc. because I know that was a BIG job!                            

Here is a look at the old set :

Here is a look at the temporary set that we are currently using:

I mentioned in my earlier post that after my internship I was hired to work in production, until the end of December, because I resume classes back in January.  While I was interning I helped answer the phones, go out with reporters, help write a few stories for some shows, and help with some stuff for our website, along with running teleprompter (for those who aren't familiar with what the teleprompter is that is the screen that is the size of a flat screen monitor that shows the anchors what to say, during the news cast.  After I was officially hired to work for them, they informed me I would be working on the "chyron", and graphics, which I mentioned in my previous post.  Thursday night I got to work a different job: Floor director.  It was so exciting!  We just recently got new cameras that are robotic meaning you don't have to have someone move them, and focus them, the camera operator can sit in the production booth, and it looks like a joy-stick that he uses to move them.  It looks quite strange seeing them move on their own with no one touching them!  In our temporary set however, we did not move the robotic cameras in there, we used some older manual cameras, so I learned yesterday how to focus, and get the right shot, along with making sure that the anchors know which camera to look at, at the right time, and when it comes time for weather letting our weatherman, Dan Satterfield know how much time he has in weather.  Did I mention that I feel real "official", because I get to wear a head-set, and can communicate to the director ha! I am really going to be sad when I finish, and have to begin back classes :(

This is the temporary weather studio

Our News Director: Denise Vickers took these photos of the evening production crew learning the new set up for the cameras

Denise also took this photo as we were in our 5:00 news show as Dan was doing weather (not my best angle lol)

Here I am making sure the shot is focused and where it needs to be for "Dan the Man"

If your in our viewing area tune in, and catch our newscasts at 5:00,6:00,9:00, and 10:00!  You can also check out the progression of our new set as it goes on by visiting: http://www.justin.tv/whnt#r=-rid-&s=em 

Hello December!

Where has this year gone?! I cannot believe that in a few short weeks it will be a new year, and not to mention that Christmas is in 21 days!  Speaking of Christmas I have done absolutely no Christmas shopping,but that is not unusual for me, because you can usually find me a day or two before Christmas out picking up some last minute gifts!  Changing subject...I wrote about me doing my internship in a few earlier posts, well I finished my internship at News Channel 19, and they hired me work part-time in production until the end of December, and I resume classes at JSU.  I had an amazing experience during my internship from the people I worked with to the stories I was able to go out on with reporters it was amazing!  As awesome as that experience was it is even more awesome to get to work for them, and get paid (internship was unpaid)! I have learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in the production aspect, and I never realized how hectic it can be!  I have been learning the "Chyron", which is the machine that puts the graphics in for the director to take, and put on air. Example: When it shows at the bottom of your screen someones name, and their title, a mug shot, or any type photo onto the screen that is what I help design, and have ready for the director. Here are some photos I took with my phone of the temporary control room we are in until they finish remodeling our old control room.

  This is the view I have.  The "chyron" on the left, and the other screen shows me the lineup of the show, and allows me to create graphics, that I then transfer onto the "chyron", and then back to the computer on the right.

This is where the director sits.  I have no clue what all of these buttons do,but thankfully "Tater", the night director knows.  You have to be on your A-game to direct a show, there are so many things to keep up with.

This is where the producers sit.  They are responsible for writing all the news stories, so what you hear the anchors saying from the teleprompter is what they have written, and they are also responsible for keeping up with if we are over or under on the show time, and if we are over they usually have to decide to "kill" some stories so we won't go over our time allotment.

This is to the left of where I sit.  At the bottom left is where our camera operator sits.  He is in charge of camera 1- which in a two anchor show is the one the male usually looks at.  Camera 2- is used when you have a two shot of the male, and female anchor.  Camera 3- Is usually used for the female anchor.  

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Halloween Festivities 2010

Saturday was the day we chose to celebrate Halloween,and it just so happened to also be the day of some Halloween festivities we wanted to join in on! We went to Huntsville, and met up with a few of Blake's friends.  One names Bethany who is so cute, and super sweet was having a Halloween party, and this girl, and her roommate know how to decorate, and plan! I wished I had snapped more photos,but unfortunately I did not.  They had replaced all the light bulbs with black lights or orange lights, a fog machine,and some great snacks! They really did a great job! After visiting for a little while at her Halloween party we headed down town to the HYP (Huntsville Young Professionals) party.  They had a really good band playing, and some of the costumes were very well thought out, and pretty much amazing! I think I need to start planning now for next years!  I'll leave you with some photos! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Gubernatorial Debate

Last Tuesday I was able to take part in WHNT's Gubernatorial Debate that they held at Athens State University.  It was my first time to witness, and help with.  Denise the News Director at WHNT19 invited me to tag along, and help her out.  Most people including myself don't realize what all it takes to plan event like this, and behind the scenes!  I already knew who I was going to vote for,but the debate just reassured me.  It was between Democratic Candidate Ron Sparks, and Republican Candidate Robert Bentley.  I will not disclose any details,but will say it is interesting to see how people carry themselves, and act when the cameras are not rolling ;) This was the day last week many remember that we had tornado warnings,ans watches about all day long,so we were worried about the turnout of people, but thankfully they were not deterred by it, and we still had a great crowd show up! I snapped two photos on my phone, which is why the clarity is not very good.

Fantastic Friday!

Friday was quite an exciting day for me.  Most of you who follow my blog know that I am interning at News Channel 19 in Huntsville.  I LOVE everything about the news business,and being at WHNT19.  The people who work there,the work environment, the way they conduct the news, it is just a great place all around! On Friday when I went into work I had one of the directors approach me, and............offer me a JOB!!! How excited was I you are probably thinking, well I will tell you, I really thought I might start crying tears of pure joy!  When I began there I knew this was the place I wanted to work after I finished school,but the news industry can be very competitive, so I was not sure about being able to land a job at WHNT19 out of college.  I thanked, and prayed to God almost everyday on my hour and half commute, first for blessing me with this opportunity, and secondly to please help me to be able to find a job in Huntsville after school! Not all the time,but a lot of times people will have to begin in a smaller market out of state or in another city then work their way up to the size of market they want to be in,so this is such a blessing to be offered a job at the station I wanted to be at, and so close to my friends, and family!  I had to call Blake on my lunch break to tell him the good news, and he asked what position I was offered, and I have no clue what it was or will be, but that does not matter! I will gladly take whatever they offer, so that I can gain the experience needed, and work my way up to the position I want, which is a reporter then anchor. 


After my day at work on Friday Blake, and I met up with one of his friends he works with, Brian.  We three went on the Downtown Huntsville Ghost Tour, and it was great!

 We had a wonderful guide, and the homes were gorgeous, they were the Antebellum 1800's style homes.  I have two photos in which I say is a ghost in the window.  My mom,dad, and Blake checked them out,and agree on one for sure, and the other is "iffy".  When I uploaded them onto Facebook you could not see the supposed ghosts as clearly :(  The ghost tours ended Halloween night, but start again in the Summer.  There are three different tours you can choose from, and we chose the Twickenham Historic District, so I would love to do the other two next year!

Internship Day 5

On Tuesday morning I went to WHNT's Sand Mountain Bureau in Albertville to work with Robert Richardson who reports for the Sand Mountain area.  We had a pretty interesting story to cover.  It was about an Albertville couple who had crashed into the side of a building in Albertville.  We discovered that they had been arguing at the time of the incident.  The place of business they crashed into provided us with the video surveillance of the crash, which was pretty cool to see how it happened.  We worked on putting that package together, and ready for the five, and six o'clock news. 

Internship Day 4

Before I headed to work on Monday I dropped Blake off at the Huntsville airport.  He, and another guy he works with were leaving from Huntsville, then onto Atlanta Int. airport, then landing in Bogota, Colombia. (Below is a picture of Bogota.  Blake informed me that it is Colombia's equivilant city to our New York City)

  I always worry about him, and his safety when he flies, but thankfully I received an email around 10:00 p.m. Monday night from him saying he had arrived safely.  He isn't able to call, but can communicate via-email.  After I dropped him off I decided to try and navigate my way to Channel 19's studio without the GPS, and I am proud to say I made it! I know that may not sound like a very big feat to some, but to me it is, because I am still trying to find my way around Huntsville.  I came into work and then headed to grab some lunch.  I was in the mood for some Chinese so I found this Chinese bistro called, MEI-WEI, and let me tell you it was the worst $10 I have ever spent!  I ordered Terriyaki Beef, and fried rice, and when I returned back to the studio I realized they had given me sesame chicken, and it was dark meat which I DO NOT eat! Yuck! I threw it away, and decided to eat my fried rice, and unfortunately it had absolutely NO flavor. 

After lunch I was asked if I could run the teleprompter for the five, and six o'clock news.  Now I have run the teleprompter for before in one of my classes at Jacksonville, but never for the "real deal", so I did what any desperate intern would do, and said, "ABSOLUTELY!"  I was very nervous, because you are the one who is controlling what the anchors say, so if your too slow, or too fast they mess up!  I ran a trial run with one of the anchors, and decided I was ready.  Everything went very well for both shows thankfully! Although, I do have a funny moment to share: When they cut to the weather the anchors change the teleprompter screens to where they can see the graphics, and weatherman.  I however, did not know this, and I had been instructed beforehand not to mash a certain button, because it would cut the screen off!  I was panicking thinking I had mashed the button, so I frantically motioned for the camera guy who reassured me that the anchors had mashed the button to clear the screen, and the teleprompter would re-appear as soon as weather was finished! Whew! 

Internship Day 3

On Friday I began my third day at my internship.  I am such a dork,  I had trouble going to sleep the night before because I was so excited about what I was going to do the next day!  On Friday I got to go out with Dion, and cover two stories.  The first story we covered was at Alabama A&M.  The students protested outside of the Presidents office because they were upset about not receiving their scholarship money, and Pell Grants.  It was quite a scene...there was around  200 students gathered holding signs, and chanting: "We want the President!", and "We want our money now!" The President however never emerged from his office to talk with students.  After that we headed to the Space and Rocket Center to cover a story about a woman who entered a contest on Facebook through BBVA Bank.  It was a contest called "What are you saving your money for?" She said that she was saving her money to help buy a plane ticket to help bring her husband home from basic training in Texas.  He had been there for a little over a year, and they had four daughters that really wanted to see their dad.  They surprised their four little girls by him coming up behind them onstage when they were presented with the check.  It was a sweet moment to witness.  When we returned back later that day, Claire who handles all of WHNT's web stuff asked me to write the story about the  A&M protesting since I had went with Dion to cover it.  I wrote it, and proudly have a story on WHNT's website written by me :)  It is small steps, but you have to start somewhere! 

Internship Day 2

DAY 2 of my internship was even more exciting than the first!  On Tuesday they told me that I would get to go out with reporters, and camera guys on Wednesday!  So, when I came in the producers, assignment managers, and reporters met to discuss what stories to cover on that day.  After that I was told I would be going with Dion (camera guy) out to Legacy Elementary School in Madison. Little did I know I would be going, and upon returning writing that story for the 5 o'clock news!  Dion informed of this on the way over, I was nervous,but hey you have to start somewhere!  We filmed Colonel Robert Pastorelli, and the three Superintendents of Huntsville City, Madison City, and Madison County Schools all there speaking to children.  After we returned back to the station I got to meet the Huntsville City Mayor, and Dion then filmed an interview with him in front of the station.  It was time for lunch after that, and then I headed with the Assignment Manager Tim Hall to the Huntsville City Police Department, where they were holding a press conference about their new Communications Relations Officer for the Department.  After that it was back to the station, and it was then time for me to begin writing my story!  I had writers block for a few moments then my brain started working.  I of course had to text my whole family, and say watch the 5 o'clock news, I wrote that story about ....... lol My next day is Friday, and I am ready to jump back in.  Every night before I close my eyes I stop,and take the time to thank the Lord for blessing me with this experience.   Here are a few pictures I have taken so far. I didn't want to look like a tourist taking photos non stop! 

The newsroom

Huntsville City Mayor

The outdoor Weather Garden

Assignment Board

Internship Day 1

 Well as usual, it has been quite a while since I have blogged!  The only time I am able to blog is when I have a day off or am sick.  I wanted to blog about what is currently going on in my life right now!  I as some of you know am majoring in Broadcast Journalism, which ultimately means that when graduate my dream is to become a news reporter, and then work my way to a news anchor!  When I was around  the ages of 9 or 10 years old, I would set up the ironing board, and write some mock news stories then away I would go! lol  By the time I graduate next August I will have officially been in school for six years for a four year degree!  I am so thankful for that though, reason being I knew, and God knew that I would not be happy with the two previous majors-Elementary Education, and Interior Design.  Thankfully he led me to my current major with the help of my cousin Wendy!  Now to what's currently happening in my life!-------------------->  On Tuesday I began my Fall Internship with Huntsville news station WHNT-19 News!  I was so nervous about beginning with new people who I didn't know, and they didn't know me, but I could not be working with, and around the most wonderful people!  I had went to another Huntsville news station about possibly interning, but I just didn't get the same feel from them when I walked in, as I did at 19.  When I arrived on Tuesday one the reporters Venton Blandin met me, and gave me a tour of the office!  I got to see the news studio which is much larger than I expected.  I then got to meet Dan Satterfield, the Meteorologist I have been watching since I was younger! Next he took me to the newsroom where all the producers, cameramen, and anchors all work, and write/edit stories.  I met Jerry Hayes, and Elise Morgan who I watch on the 10 o'clock news every night!  I am not going to lie I was so excited, okay as giddy as a school girl! lol  I am going to try and document this amazing experience daily or weekly! Thanks