Ok, so this is sort of a reflection of my time here at WVUE-TV Fox 8, New Orleans
When I first arrived here in May I thought about how exciting it must be to work in News. I thought a lof of things about the news… The reporters and anchors must get their make-up done by a profesisional that works right in our studio, News stories never tell the full truth and are always biased, everyone that works in the news is frantic and has the common goal of making it big.
I must say I was proved wrong in most of these thoughts.
First of all. Reporters and anchors do their own make-up. However, they really should be called professionals or at least be in a pro’s league. Their make-up almost always looks flawless and their hair is never out of place (Or so it seems).
Secondly, I really thought that all news consisted of was the negative stories like murders, deaths, car accidents, corruption, and conspiracy. However, throughout my time here I have realized that we report even on some positive stories. In my short three months we have covered stories about home gardening and the effect of urban gardens on the city and the economy. We have covered grand openings and the recovery efforts of citizens in the New Orleans area and volunteer work done by various groups and organizations in the State. The best thing I think I have learned is that we try to stay as unbiased as possible. If a reporter does a slanted news piece, our producers edit it out. If we have a personal side of a story we still report equally and that to me is the best dissapointment of the internship.
Now for the last pre-conconceived notion: TRUE, TRUE and TRUE. People that work in the news ARE frantic. But, they HAVE to be. If not, it’s like working in politics without charisma, you may as well quit! Now, these are just my opinions. Oh and for the whole notion that everyone that works in news is working toward the goal of going big, NOT TRUE. Most of the people that work here in New Orleans are perfectly content with our big market and their position in it. However, their are some people that would like to one day work for Fox National and some who would love to be promoted to anchor or reporters.
:)
So yesterday at my internship I learned how to log. Basically this is done from the audio file that is the result of interviews I go out on. Whenever I get back to the office I listen (tediously) and type out verbatum what was said during the interview. I do this in a system called avid interplay. The thing that isn’t very fun about it is that I have to constantly rewind the tape and press play again to get all of the details and quote him correctly. I guess now I can see the interview might be more fun!
Yesterday I went out on another interview. This time it was with a man named Wayne Woods, HANO General Counsel. The whole interview was about the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and issues with residents of New Orleans who were on a Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) after the storm (Katrina). The whole purpose of this program was to house residents of southeast Louisiana for a portion of their income so that they could make it through tough times. However, this program is only a temporary solution. The permanent being a Section 8 Voucher. In March the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees HANO, implemented a $100 increase in resident’s rent who were using the DHAP. This was a sort of motivational action because we all know that nothing is more motivating than money. However, now that a total of 4000 (only for the time being, it will increase) DHAP users have started the transition to the more permanent section 8 voucher HANO is swamped with applications and is not able to get the job done as quickly as they would like. The DHAP program ends on Aug 31st and residents are fearful that they are going to slip through the program and be left with no assistance. On HANO’s side, they have brought in extra staff to account for this terrifying amount of applications. What I don’t agree with here is that those residents who have filled for the section 8 voucher and have not been approved are still seeing a $100 increase in their rent each month, even though it is up to HANO to process their paperwork. (Sorry for my rant)
So at the interview I probably came off a little strong, but it is disturbing that these people are not able to afford to live. I feel sorry for Wayne Woods because he is the spokesman *NOT the decision maker who implemented these durastic measures. Still he has to deal with the press (like me) and now protests and be able to keep his cool and speak on HANO’s behalf. Well, he did a great job at the interview, but I feel bad for him today with the hundreds of protestors outside his building who can’t afford the rent increases.
I believe that if you have weapons (registered, of course) in your home you should lock them up. It is completely irresponsible that the below story happened:
ECRU, Miss. (AP) - An 8-year-old boy who died in an accidental shooting will be buried Wednesday in north Mississippi.
Authorities say Russell McWhirter was at his grandfather’s house in Ecru when he found a pistol between the mattresses of a bed. The gun went off and injured the boy’s head.
Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://nems360.com/
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