by

Rebecca Winegar

It takes a team of talented people who work together to control everything.  It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare the information needed to piece together a newscast. There are people that are set apart from the anchors who plan out the details of each newscast. Each story contains information that they have gathered together and to squeeze it all into one newscast.

It is not all fun and games doing a newscast. Everyone is on their toes and are on the go to complete their tasks. Even the cameramen have to run around to get the right equipment to run the cameras and point them in the right direction.

There are lots of wires, microphones, and cables attached to each camera. The camera’s record the anchors from different angles. The control room is where they receive their directions as to how each shot is planned.  

Microphones are attached to earpieces that are prepared for each individual anchor. The guys in the control room can tell them where they need to be so those doing the newscast know where they are going next. I got to meet some of the anchors such as Nadine Wimmer & Tom Kirtland, it was a real honor to be there to see what goes on behind the scenes.

There are lots of different desks that house many departments like: The sports desk where Tom Kirtland works and prepares the stories of the current sports that happened that day, and the sports that are to happen during the weekend. This department oversees the preparation of the Sports Beat section for both the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts.

They have a special spot in the newsroom where they have a committee that plans out the areas so they know where each of the anchors are going and which people they send out to the locations of the scenes where events have taken place.

There are many television sets in the control room and in other areas where the anchors and their committees watch other newscasts so that they can keep each story accurate. In the newsroom there are many desks that the anchors work from. They work hard at their jobs.

There are hundreds of lights hung onto the ceiling of the studio. Each light goes a certain direction making it possible for the cameras to capture the images of the anchors who are assigned to that particular newscast.  

The editors have their own departments and the anchors also have their individual desks and work areas, it was very interesting to see everyone sitting at their desks and working very hard on the stories that they do on the air.

I got to be a part of one of the broadcasts for KSL Radio 1160 and got to meet Scott and  Maria who run the broadcasts and the phone calls all from their computers. Kevin took me into the backroom where Tom Kirtland reads the current sports headlines over the air, as part of the broadcast he mentioned my name as if I had prepared his script for him,  I was honored to be broadcast on the radio. He said: “I would like to thank Becca Winegar for helping me write my script.”

Kevin showed me the actual Live 5 Viper. It was great to see what it really does. He even zoomed in on my house and our neighborhood. It was amazing to see. The Live 5 Weather team has their own producer, scriptwriter, and director. They tell the weather anchors when they go on the air and when to go over to the green board where they present the forecast for that day and the week ahead. It is a highly technical and difficult job.

People in the control room have their own line up on the weather conditions and when they are to appear on the screen. Kevin says that each weather anchor plans out the forecast prior to broadcast time and their staff at the rear of their studio prepares the technical areas of the forecast several hours before going on the air.

Each weather man gives the control room a complete rundown of the scheduled forecast so that they know when the camera comes in. Each camera man knows how to film that particular part of the newscast.

It was great to see all the many areas of the newsroom and to see what it is like to be running all over the place. As you can imagine, no one is bored. Broadcasters are kept on their toes and on the move all the time to meet their deadlines.

Not very many people with Down Syndrome ever gets a chance to have a personal connection to a TV personality like Mark and Kevin Eubank, or to have any personal tours of a  nationwide known news studio. It was a real honor to be part of my community and to see what really goes on inside a TV studio like KSL-TV.

I hope that you enjoy this article as I have enjoyed writing it for you.

Rebecca Winegar
Self-Advocate
Utah Down Syndrome Foundation
Utah County Chapter

response...

Dear Becca: 

I read your story and I just had to tell you how much I enjoyed it - and to compliment you on your writing. You had a very fine lead to the story in that you said in the lead paragraph exactly what the story was about  - to see what it was like putting together a news broadcast. I also want to compliment you on your grammar.  You didn't separate the verb "putting together" as many people are wont to do by saying "putting the news together". The whole article flowed very nicely and you covered all the various tasks these news people and their assistants have to accomplish during each broadcast.  

I've been writing for newspapers and magazines for many years and I encourage you to write something every day - even it it's only a single paragraph. You have a lot to offer and writing is a wonderful way to reach out to people you may never meet in person.  Someday, you ought to consider writing a book about your life.  You can do it - you have the talent and determination. 

Sincerely,

Grace Conlon