For Newscast 5 I think the greatest challenge, or maybe the greatest lesson, across the board was patience. There was adequate time, packages were either well shot or well salvaged, and compared to Newscast 4 we had more people stepping up and showing me better packages than they’ve had all semester. But somehow, I feel less satisfied by this Newscast than I recall feeling about some others. A feeling which I have yet to decide is merited or not.

      Several people already had stories in motion, if not entirely filmed, in time for the meeting where pitches were given. We also had a special visitor, Emily Callandrelli, who discussed what putting stories together was like from her perspective. A unique background to be sure. I and many of my peers were surprised to learn that her education involved little or no media training. I think that many of us knew the lines were somewhat blurred in the job market according to experience and skill but this seemed a dramatic jump between science and media. To me the implications for the range of possibilities on the job market, the maneuverability, was pretty exciting.

      Writing conferences were relatively uneventful and that Thursday evening I reluctantly marched off to Martin Hall to embrace what I was sure would be another desperately meticulous evening of critiques. To my happy surprise my assumption turned out to be less than accurate. In fact, I was done by around 10:30 (which is a record) and found myself lingering at the Edit Lab and stifling the sense of overwhelming paranoia that wells up any time I finish a job that quickly. Again, however, it was an unfounded feeling as Professor Dahlia mostly gave me the benefit of the doubt and stood by my time-stamped remarks.

      With the critiques complete and the line-up set it was time for filming at Studio B. A fairly simple matter most of the time. What’s more, I was pretty excited about the fact that we had to schedule it early so Megan Guerra could make it to work in time. Everything was lined up perfectly save for the fact that we forgot about the Women’s Hackathon being held at the Media Innovation Center that day. Much of our time Thursday morning was spent waiting uncomfortably, sipping coffee and trying to prep the set as much as possible without causing too great a disturbance. Finally, with the attendees drawn to the main hall for a presentation, we had our chance. In record time we set up, rehearsed and got the shots. I should mention we did have the good fortune to have several WVU News students on site working the Hackathon who helped Megan and I get things in place. Their presence saved me a lot of sweat and hustle that morning. 

      Writing conferences were relatively uneventful and that Thursday evening I reluctantly marched off to Martin Hall to embrace what I was sure would be another desperately meticulous evening of critiques. To my happy surprise my assumption turned out to be less than accurate. In fact, I was done by around 10:30 (which is a record) and found myself lingering at the Edit Lab and stifling the sense of overwhelming paranoia that wells up any time I finish a job that quickly. Again, however, it was an unfounded feeling as Professor Dahlia mostly gave me the benefit of the doubt and stood by my time-stamped remarks.

      With the critiques complete and the line-up set it was time for filming at Studio B. A fairly simple matter most of the time. What’s more, I was pretty excited about the fact that we had to schedule it early so Megan Guerra could make it to work in time. Everything was lined up perfectly save for the fact that we forgot about the Women’s Hackathon being held at the Media Innovation Center that day. Much of our time Thursday morning was spent waiting uncomfortably, sipping coffee and trying to prep the set as much as possible without causing too great a disturbance. Finally, with the attendees drawn to the main hall for a presentation, we had our chance. In record time we set up, rehearsed and got the shots. I should mention we did have the good fortune to have several WVU News students on site working the Hackathon who helped Megan and I get things in place. Their presence saved me a lot of sweat and hustle that morning. 

      The particular brand of frustration associated with seeing near perfection gone to waste was most sharply felt, I think, by myself and Director – Kevin Pierson. It must be comparable to an olympic coach watching a figure skater execute a routine perfectly until the last 30 seconds when something goes wrong. All one can do at that point is grin and bear it. 

      That said, some members of the cast and crew were being a little hard on themselves. While I appreciate the perceived accountability for errors some of it was simply not worth the self-inflicted trauma. Although this next newscast is our last, best chance to have something presentable for our reels and portfolios I suppose there must always be some room left for error. I wouldn’t dare to presume I’m approaching perfection nor do I expect it of any single member of my news team. After all perfection is boring and tragedy is the heart of comedy.