Producers' Blog

Newscast #4 - Tolu Olasoji - Spring 2023

For show 4, I'm back behind the technical director's board after working from the producer's booth for show 3. It was a switch on short notice, and I'm glad we made it work. Unfortunately, Makenna Leisifer, the primary line producer, became ill and, on the morning of the show, informed us that she couldn't make it for the show's taping. 


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Newscast #3 - Makenna Leisifer - Spring 2023

Our third show was a breeze compared to the first show. We are working better as a team as the weeks progress. It’s really starting to hit me that I only have five weeks left in college, and it’s crazy that graduation is right around the corner. Representing the College of Media and being the producer of this show has been an honor. That being said, I have goals for my last two WVU News episodes. I want everyone to work for more complex packages because I know everyone has the creativity for it. As the producer, I help lead this group and I want them to push themselves to be the best journalists they can be. Many of the reporters ask me questions about story ideas, so I want everyone to try new and innovative techniques so that they all have amazing MMJ reels. 


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Newscast #2 - Makenna Leisifer - Spring 2023

Show 2 is filmed and went really well compared to Show 1. After going from eight takes, down to three, I’d say I'm very impressed and very proud of this crew. I co-produced with my Associate Producer, Tolu, for this show and I have to say, I think I like co-producing a lot. It not only gives Tolu experience with producing but cuts the load in half on me so we can both work together. One thing I am learning in this process is to always look back on the feedback Professor Dahlia gives me to improve on for each show. I make sure that I try to hit all the errors I can before it's sent to Professor Dahlia and Professor Marra. I spent almost three days researching, fact-checking, and editing everyone’s scripts to make the show. It was a long process, but it was super worth it in the end. 

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Newscast #1 - Makenna Leisifer - Spring 2023

Before being in journalism, I was always a shy person. I was the person that would keep to myself and wouldn’t like branching out of my comfort zone. When I produced West Virginia Today, I was shown a new world of communication between classmates. Being a transfer to the Reed College of Media, I knew no one coming into WVU minus my boyfriend Kyle, my roommate at the time, and two of my closest friends since being a little kid. As we know, the college of media is so tiny, so everyone knows almost everyone depending on what major you’re in. West Virginia Today taught me to step out of my comfort zone and use my voice. With now producing WVU News, I can be even more open since I know about the majority of our class at this point as well as know what to expect with producing.

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