It is definitely a weird feeling taking this class again. Last semester I was the Web Producer where I oversaw the official WVU News Twitter and website. It was an amazing experience, but now I'm back as the Executive Producer for group one. I still have some of the same responsibilities, but now having this position it makes them feel brand new. 

We start the news week cycle with a pitch meeting and since it was the first one, group two was there to see what was in store for them next week. Throughout the meeting the reporters were learning the ropes on how to properly pitch and they picked up on it quickly. 

After the meeting, I talked with a few of the reporters to see if they needed any help shooting or finding people to interview. All of them seemed to have a good grasp on what they wanted to do. The one reporter that was interested in having me help him shoot was Domenico Smarto. He was covering a citizen lobbyist training event that was held on campus. We ran into some problems when gathering b-roll because they turned the lights off and kept them off for the entire event. We were able to get some interesting interviews but the other footage couldn't be saved. Sorry about that Dom. 

                                                                                                      

Over those next few days the reporters were out putting together their stories. Then on Thursday night Professor Dahlia and myself went through the submitted packages and created the rundown for the show. Before, as the web producer, I would be able to give critiques during this but wasn’t able to directly control the show. It was an interesting feeling and one that I would hope to feel more often.

                                                                            

After the process of making the rundown, I was in charge of writing and editing the script and that was something that I had thought I prepared myself for, but planning and doing are two completely different things. Even though it was a challenge to put the script together, I enjoyed the time immensely and what took quite a few hours didn’t seem that long. I know that I will need to speed up the process of writing scripts for the next four shows, but I know that all the time I spend on it will be worth it when the show comes together.

                                                                                                            

On Wednesday, everyone met at the Waterfront and we were getting trained for our roles. I’m not sure if anyone else could tell, but I was extremely excited and nervous all at the same time. Fortunately, Professor Dahlia stepped in for the first take to get everything rolling and begin to get the kinks out. After that, she let me go for it and with the first take out of the way, I felt a little less nervous and began to find a groove the more takes we did. At the end of it all, everyone did an amazing job and it showed. I look forward to the next few weeks with my team and all the work and progress that we are going to make.