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Newscast #5 - Jackson Lilly - Spring 2017

After we were finished recording show three, the talk we received from Professor Dahlia was a little different. Since we were heading into spring break after everything was recorded, everyone needed to have stories that would remain relevant over the break. Despite the lack of pitches that day, I was confident that by our pitch meeting on Monday everyone would have good evergreen stories to pursue. And on Monday, I was right. The reporters are getting better every time we go through the cycle and this week most only needed the first beat report and a few moments time to get their stories approved.

Even though the week lasted just as long as the one previous, with the break drawing closer, time seemed to drag for most of the team. But, everyone persevered and was able to turn in their packages on time Thursday and get ready for the week-long break. Just as the team was winding down, I was preparing my critiques of all the packages, figuring out the rundown for the show, writing and putting the finishing touches on the script. Even though the break meant that we would not meet until the 13th, I still had a deadline to make sure everything was ready when we got back.

After I had finished everything, I had no idea what I was going to do for a week. I had nothing that needed to be accomplished and I had nowhere that I needed to be. During this time, I had ample time to reflect on everything that had lead up to that moment and it only reaffirmed in me that the path that I was on was what I was meant to do. I missed working with my team and on the shows. This made me realize that I don’t have that much more time with them. At the end of this semester, I am going to graduate as well as almost everyone on the WVU News team and we will scatter all over the country. It just makes me treasure the time that I have with them that much more.

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After we returned from break, it took some time to get back into the swing of things and to shake off the cobwebs. It was like trying to ride a bike after many years out of practice. You never truly forget how to ride the bike, but that still doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to fall your first few attempts back on it. We took extra time on Tuesday at the script read-throughs to get everything squared away so when we start taping we would ace it in the first few tries.

While that was a nice hope, it didn’t happen in practice. It took quite a few run-throughs to finally get a show that most were happy with. The anchors and on-set reporters are coming into their own and it is nice to get to see those transformations. Even the people behind the scenes are putting their personal touch on each show. I am so lucky to be working with all these fantastic people!           

 jackson                   jackson     

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