EDITING, LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING

One of the things I enjoy most about working in our media program is collaborating with my peers. However, editing others’ writing and providing constructive criticism is tricky. Our program is like a family. As an anchor of our newscast, two of our responsibilities are editing copy produced by junior staffers and editing the actual newscast together. These screenshots represent two examples of how I serve as a script editor with our junior staffers. In these examples, I'm working with them in editing copy for a show tease on iPhones being scratched by jeans and for a package on remnants of the Space Shuttle Challenger being discovered in the Atlantic Ocean. I've learned people need to hear both the strengths and weaknesses of their work at the same time and I try to follow that practice.

This video excerpt is the final edit of the Space Shuttle Challenger package after assisting junior staffers in searching for footage while editing for air on our season 3, episode 3 broadcast. Writing copy to meet our style guide of 22-28 seconds per story is the first difficult task in the process of building a package. However, finding visuals to sync with the copy and editing them together to creatively communicate with the audience is a greater task as deadline approaches. Four years in our program has prepared me well to assist others in searching for this kind of media.

While work is important, few things are more important than spending time with staff socializing, eating and celebrating. Years ago I asked my dad, our adviser, if he ever celebrated Thanksgiving with his students. I suggested students have a potluck and he could bring the turkey. Every year since, my dad and I cook the turkey together, students bring in a favorite dish and we all gather to celebrate. Every year now, senior staffers organize holiday meals, breakfasts, gift exchanges, philanthropic work and opportunities to celebrate our successes. As I said in my narrative while quoting American filmmaker Ava DuVernay, "If your dream only includes you, it's too small."