Foundations...
As a director, I continually remind myself that I'm only as good as my last show. More importantly, I remind myself I'm only as good as the crew I work with. The current production assistants we have at WUSA are rock solid. They are the foundation of our newscast. Without their valuable assistance, our newscast could never go on the air. They make sure our anchors are looking in the right cameras, operate the teleprompter and do any other tasks that are important to the newscast AND the web.
Before I go on I should say for those that don't know, the production assistant at any television station is an entry level job. The pay is lousy, the hours are hard, and there isn't a whole lot of praise that comes with the job. However, as a production assistant, you're not looking for praise; you're looking to gain as much knowledge as you can so that you can move on to that next level.
We have three production assistants in the evening that show so much promise. Anthony Lucas and Heather Torbitt are two of our production assistants that have aspirations to direct. Both of them have caught on so quick, it really makes me proud to see! They are both strong and confident in their direction when they sit in that “hot” seat.
David Whittenburg has gone the extra mile to join our local union so he could run robotics for our newscast. This opens so many doors for David as he can learn how to run audio or edit or any other technical position.
Christopher Laudicina is another one of our production assistants. His aspiration is to work in the weather department as a producer and maybe one day meteorologist. Even though his goals are not production oriented, he still works just as hard as everyone else and even keeps everyone hydrated with root beers and ginger ales!
We’ve had production assistants that have gone on to great things from WUSA-TV. JR Nichols is our nighttime assignment manager. He worked his way up from a production assistant position to media coordinator to his current position. He was trained by some great desk people and is instrumental in helping us bring you the stories that you see on our newscast.
Ismere Payton is our senior sports producer. He worked the same type of track as JR, but went into the sports department. He's a hard worker with great things ahead for him!
Outside the station, we have Jeremy Settle. He's THE news director at the CBS 19/FOX/ABC station in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also anchors one of the evening newscasts there. While here at WUSA, he served on the assignment desk, worked as a producer in the sports department and was also one of the first people who reported on the College Park mayhem when the Terps won the NCAA Basketball tournament a few years ago.
There are many more examples, but the point in all this:You can enter the broadcasting industry in a top ten market. It's hard to get in, but once you do, if you work hard, it will pay off...and when a TV station brings these production assistants up through the ranks, the foundations that the production assistants lay out only make the station stronger. As a director, it makes the newscasts that I direct stronger.
Before I go on I should say for those that don't know, the production assistant at any television station is an entry level job. The pay is lousy, the hours are hard, and there isn't a whole lot of praise that comes with the job. However, as a production assistant, you're not looking for praise; you're looking to gain as much knowledge as you can so that you can move on to that next level.
We have three production assistants in the evening that show so much promise. Anthony Lucas and Heather Torbitt are two of our production assistants that have aspirations to direct. Both of them have caught on so quick, it really makes me proud to see! They are both strong and confident in their direction when they sit in that “hot” seat.
David Whittenburg has gone the extra mile to join our local union so he could run robotics for our newscast. This opens so many doors for David as he can learn how to run audio or edit or any other technical position.
Christopher Laudicina is another one of our production assistants. His aspiration is to work in the weather department as a producer and maybe one day meteorologist. Even though his goals are not production oriented, he still works just as hard as everyone else and even keeps everyone hydrated with root beers and ginger ales!
We’ve had production assistants that have gone on to great things from WUSA-TV. JR Nichols is our nighttime assignment manager. He worked his way up from a production assistant position to media coordinator to his current position. He was trained by some great desk people and is instrumental in helping us bring you the stories that you see on our newscast.
Ismere Payton is our senior sports producer. He worked the same type of track as JR, but went into the sports department. He's a hard worker with great things ahead for him!
Outside the station, we have Jeremy Settle. He's THE news director at the CBS 19/FOX/ABC station in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also anchors one of the evening newscasts there. While here at WUSA, he served on the assignment desk, worked as a producer in the sports department and was also one of the first people who reported on the College Park mayhem when the Terps won the NCAA Basketball tournament a few years ago.
There are many more examples, but the point in all this:You can enter the broadcasting industry in a top ten market. It's hard to get in, but once you do, if you work hard, it will pay off...and when a TV station brings these production assistants up through the ranks, the foundations that the production assistants lay out only make the station stronger. As a director, it makes the newscasts that I direct stronger.
posted by Scott Rubens at
11:58 PM
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