Behind the screen: TV news assignment desk
This project stemmed from a coffee shop conversation with my mentor, Professor Rick Brunson. He asked how my experience in the journalism program at the University of Central Florida had helped in my journey as a Content Creator at WFTV. Once I reflected on my four years at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, I realized that there was no class that demonstrated what a real assignment desk was like and how it functioned.
Internships and capstone classes gave you a feel for what a professional newsroom is like, but it’s not the same as being there day in and day out for 40+ hours a week. That sparked my statement, “There should be a class on the assignment desk at UCF.” Professor Brunson wholeheartedly agreed.
Fast forward almost a year later, and I had finally completed my side project of creating a written presentation and visual representation of the assignment desk at WFTV. It was done on my own time, with the approval of my boss and the company, to provide an inside look at the Channel 9 station in downtown Orlando.
Some of my coworkers played a role in helping me gather the information and insights that I couldn’t access from my point of view. This is a project that I am extremely proud to say I created and led on my own. I like to think of it as a gift from my first journalism job to my alma mater, for which I am truly grateful.
I gave this presentation as a guest speaker twice to the UCF journalism community: once during Professor Brunson’s Electronic Journalism I class as an official lecture, and again to the UCF Chapter of the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).
See the video above and the Google Slides presentation below. The video was shot on an iPhone and edited using Adobe Premiere Pro.
Take it Day by Day
Published on Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi’s blog
This started as a feature story for my journalism class at the University of Central Florida. I wrote the article but someone else took the photo.