All Assignment Editors Just Full of S#!T?!

[FrontierMan]

I'm sick of having an assignment editor send me out on stories that just don't exist! I mean stories that are obviously made up and aren't really a problem! It's getting ridiculous, it's turning into a huge waste of time, and it's just stupid.

I can't even count the number of stories I've done where I'm told everyone's pissed off and talking about something...and then when I do the story, residents have more good things to say than the damn mayor. And the supposed lead person who's spearheading the mob of angry people has NO clue what I'm talking about, and are happy about whatever issue, too. I can't count the number of stories where I'm told "everybody's talking", and aint no damn person talking because it's an issue that was resolved before I was damn born!

Then, when I finally talk to sources and they tell me these issues don't exist (in a nice way), I have no choice but to get aggressive with them and pretend I don't believe them, and people back at the station tell me to ask the same damn question 50 different ways to morph it into what they want...that's just stupid! Then, they want to tell me the source is lying.

Then, low and behold, the story gets changed to what I freaking pitched....a REAL story that actually exists. And then when I'm already stressed out and crunching, the producer wants to tell me it sounded like crap from the beginning anyway. WTF?! I'm nightside and don't attend these useless meetings.

Assignments People: If you had to get these stories yourselves on a deadline, you wouldn't make stuff up just because it sounds good in your brain. Everyone reads through your crap, but ultimately, it's the reporter who suffers.

We're on to you.

[ August 16, 2007, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: FrontierMan ]

[overthehill]

Please appreciate that stories "evolve" beyond what the AE knows. Your story is BOUND to change from what the AE "thinks" or says it is.

That's the discretion and responsibility of the reporter--to tell the real story, not what the desk handed to you.

AE's are generally chained to the desk/scanners and computer. Their visions of stories are bound to be different than the reality of what the story becomes in the field.

Accept and appreciate that this story evolution is part of the game. Happens everywhere, with nearly EVERY story. You're not alone.

Don't blame the AE. Make the best of the story you're assigned, whether it evolves a little or a lot.

[FrontierMan]

Absolutely.

My problem is when they cannot accept that they fed me BS! And then they act like I'm not trying hard enough when I let them know people look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them the story I'm doing.

I'm not upset with changing stories, I just get angry when I waste a lot of time because they INSIST it's a true story, and insist I ask the same questions 10 different ways to get what they think the story is.

[Santos L. Halper]

Sounds like you need to get to a shop where your opinions and experiences in the field are respected.

Or come in with better story ideas so you don't get stuck on these wild goose chases...

[ISTHISTHINGON?]

It sounds like you need to bring in better stories than the AE is coming up with. Good luck....it is hard for them though, to know what's BS and what's not when they sit at a desk all day.

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by ISTHISTHINGON?:
It sounds like you need to bring in better stories than the AE is coming up with. amen.

[Produce man]

Yep. I mean, you're the one out in the field. Most places I've worked at require reporters to come up with so many stories per week.

[2:30]

It's possible to be a jerk and an AE. And it's possible to be a bad AE.

But not for long, for either.

AEs have the most thankless task in any newsroom. When they get it right, the reporter gets the credit. When they're wrong, the AE gets the blame.

That's not to excuse an AE for being a jerk or for not recognizing that just because it was on the scanner or on the wire doesn't make it right. But it's reality...and it's one of the few things about the business that never changes.

[foxravens]

Originally posted by Produce man:
Yep. I mean, you're the one out in the field. Most places I've worked at require reporters to come up with so many stories per week."most places I've worked at" ????
You actually write for a living?
Hmmmmm......

[Jax]

Originally posted by FrontierMan:
And then when I'm already stressed out and crunching, the producer wants to tell me it sounded like crap from the beginning anyway. WTF?! I'm nightside and don't attend these useless meetings.

Assignments People: If you had to get these stories yourselves on a deadline, you wouldn't make stuff up just because it sounds good in your brain. Everyone reads through your crap, but ultimately, it's the reporter who suffers.

We're on to you.Sure, it sounds like you have a bad AE, but if you're a reporter for my shift and you don't go to the meeting, you get the story I assign you.

[TVMattNYC]

Do you come into work each day with at least three fresh story ideas that have teeth?

Do you contribute regularly during the editorial meetings?

Or do you, the experienced reporter, sit back and wait for the 22-year-old kid at the assignment desk to tell you what to do?

[FrontierMan]

I don't attend the meetings because they happen 5 hours before I'm scheduled to come to work.

However, I put story ideas in the schedule of assignments, but low and behold...they're usually assigned to reporters who sit in the meetings and say, "I like that story."

I get screwed all around. Where I'm at, the assignment person is pretty high on the ladder. I know the person is full of crap when the first sentence about the story is "people are talking about..."

I say that because when I do the story, no one's talking about it or gives a darn.

[Another side]

Frankly, you sound like a whiny, spoiled brat to me.

And, yes,I suppose I'm being harsh.

[LENSCRAFTER]

Originally posted by 2:30:

AEs have the most thankless task in any newsroom. When they get it right, the reporter gets the credit. When they're wrong, the AE gets the blame.
Amen.

I've only filled in on the desk... and that was years ago... but I wouldn't want the job fulltime.

You REALLY see the other side of reporters and photogs. When you ask them to go cover a story... they act like you've asked them to go clean the toilet.

[DoneThatToo]

Originally posted by FrontierMan:
I don't attend the meetings because they happen 5 hours before I'm scheduled to come to work. . .Sounds like the story meetings are held early in the day. We hold two, one in the AM and a second first thing in the afternoon when the prime time crew comes in. The later meeting is to update any thing from the AM and new stories that may be developing.

All that being said and done, everybody has to be flexable. As News constantly tells us Production folk . . . things change!

[The Mockingbird]

You know where you get the best story ideas?

Talking to people on stories you're covering.

[NYC Street]

You know where you get the best story ideas?

Talking to people on stories you're covering. I'd amend that only slightly. Not just on stories you're covering - just talking to people. People you see on the street, people you've met, people you've covered previously.

The best way to find out what's happening somewhere is (and this should be no surprise) to ask.

BTW: My first job in television news was as an assignment editor. 2:30 has it exactly right. It's the most pressure filled, lowest reward job in the news room.

A good AE is priceless - a bad one can make your life hell. (Sort of like a bad producer...)

[Clever Login Name]

Every AE should have some experience in the field ... even if it's just reporting for a week or two. It can provide valuable insight that things aren't always what they seem, the scanner traffic isn't always right and places two inches apart on the map actually require more than 10 minutes to get to.

[s'news]

Originally posted by FrontierMan:
I don't attend the meetings because they happen 5 hours before I'm scheduled to come to work.

However, I put story ideas in the schedule of assignments, but low and behold...they're usually assigned to reporters who sit in the meetings and say, "I like that story."
Well, here's an idea. Don't just put your story ideas where others can poach. Call the AE a bit before your shift is to begin and pitch your ideas. Or at least call after they've got the other crews rolling. Ultimately, you want to get you and the AE into a daily game of "what have you got."

What I always feared was a group meeting -- when you aren't part of the group -- where they sit around and talk about something and decide it's a swell story, when it's really a half-baked thing that got kicked around by some folks.

[ August 17, 2007, 08:47 AM: Message edited by: s'news ]

[2:30]

Originally posted by FrontierMan:
I don't attend the meetings because they happen 5 hours before I'm scheduled to come to work. Ever hear of a telephone?

[markminn]

Bull$hit, 2:30. Is he supposed to take time out of his off time to call in everyday and beg for his story that he wants to do? Are they going to pay him OT to call in early? I doubt it. As soon as one of the daytimers stories falls thru, his idea is taken.

When I worked at the embarassing Young station here in town (is there any Young station that isn't???) we had an AE who often pitched stories saying a similar thing "We've got dozens of calls!" but she never took any contact info for the "dozens of calls" we got.

One time, 3 days after a minor snow storm, she said she got dozens of calls about elderly people stranded because of the snow. After spending 4 hours calling every city and county in metro area, and driving to several eldery assistance organization for sound, we had jack. "Just drive thru some neighborhoods and look for old people in distress" she says. As we were driving back to the station to strangle her, we see a huge black column of smoke and get a great fire story. God saved her life that day, and a few months later, she got "let go".

[Jax]

Guess what... The editorial meeting is held 5 hours before I get in too. That's why I hold another editorial meeting 45 minutes after I get in.

So, hold a second meeting. You'll get better stories that way.

Also, our nightside reporters rarely put dayside stories in the queue for the same reason you're angry. The daysiders poach them. So keep those stories filed in your brain, and pitch them when you get in. You'll get more stories that way.

Also, ever thought of picking up the phone? Working contacts? That's what my reporters are doing for the first 45 minutes of their day.

[Another side]

Originally posted by markminn:
Bull$hit, 2:30. Is he supposed to take time out of his off time to call in everyday and beg for his story that he wants to do? [b]Are they going to pay him OT to call in early? Well, if he doesn't go to the meetings and he doesn't call in ... What would be your solution, then?

Do you really expect overtime for merely calling the desk?

[ August 17, 2007, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Another side ]

[2:30]

Bull$hit, 2:30. Is he supposed to take time out of his off time to call in everyday and beg for his story that he wants to do? Are they going to pay him OT to call in early? I doubt it. As soon as one of the daytimers stories falls thru, his idea is taken.
Yes, if it's a story he or she wants.

Late shift reporters have a choice: they can either get involved (and the good ones do) or they can walk in when their shift begins and either get what's been picked for them or pray for spot news.

[FrontierMan]

One time, 3 days after a minor snow storm, she said she got dozens of calls about elderly people stranded because of the snow. After spending 4 hours calling every city and county in metro area, and driving to several eldery assistance organization for sound, we had jack. "Just drive thru some neighborhoods and look for old people in distress" she says. QB]This is the same exact crap my AE does. "just drive around", or "just knock on doors"

I pitch stories when I get in, but a lot of times, they insist I do a story that makes no sense. Sometimes, they jump for joy when they hear what I got, but it irks me when my story is something they love, but it's an hour away. I'm usually expected to be LIVE in the 5 and 6. That doesn't leave much time to switch stories around.

I am ALWAYS live in 5 and 6, and I work nightside. That's what adds to my frustration, especially when the daysider does stories that appear in the "6 only".

I used to try calling in early, but the AE would get rude, like I'm interrupting their day. And it doesn't do crap anyway because sometimes they'd say "you're all taken care of"....and then when I get to work, it's some BS where the photog won't be in until 4:00, and when they finally get in I'm asked to "drive around" to find a Mexican illegal immigrant midget with one leg who doesn't have air conditioning, and is angry about gas prices. Keep in mind I'm live in 5 and 6 usually. It stinks.

I don't mean to gripe or be mean, I just got frustrated this week doing all this, when the daysiders who have been at work all day do D BLOC stories that are only in the 6 o'clock show.

I love my job, don't get me wrong. I just don't ever complain and always get my stories together, even if I only have a few minutes to do it after waiting hours for an available photog. I just wished people saw what I go through on the inside. And the only reason I don't complain is because I don't have time to.

[ August 18, 2007, 08:59 AM: Message edited by: FrontierMan ]

[Galaxian]

Originally posted by Clever Login Name:
Every AE should have some experience in the field ... even if it's just reporting for a week or two. It can provide valuable insight that things aren't always what they seem, the scanner traffic isn't always right and places two inches apart on the map actually require more than 10 minutes to get to.How about making sure the assignment editor can write? The AE at my station couldn't write a coherent, conversational sentence if his life depended on it. His e-mails are usually riddled with incomplete sentences, cop talk, and other things that would make a news director wince if it wound up in a script.

[desk slave]

Alright, show of hands, how many of YOU have ever tried working on the desk? Do I send you out on stories that turn out to be crap? YES! Am I chained to this place for 9+ hours a day? YES! I don't blame you for being frustrated at a non-story, but don't assume that I want to take the blame for it or listen to you complain about it. I get enough crap from our viewers.

[Obewon]

Sorry folks, anytime I hear reporters whining about how assignment editors are telling them to do anything, I'm hearing whining from people who aren't really reporters in the first place.

Any self-respecting reporter would never take an assignment from an AE. That person would already have the lead story already researched and ready to shoot.

I can send a chimp out to knock on doors

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Galaxian:
How about making sure the assignment editor can write? The AE at my station couldn't write a coherent, conversational sentence if his life depended on it. His e-mails are usually riddled with incomplete sentences, cop talk, and other things that would make a news director wince if it wound up in a script.maybe that's why he doesn't write scripts.

[Mr T]

I worked at a shop once that had NO AEs. It seemed to run smoother than any other shop I know. They had a meeting, everyone pitched ideas, then each reporter went out on his/her story of the day. There was a sheet with each reporter, and their story of the day. No need for an AE.

In the event of an emergency, the ND would assign reporters and photographers to the story, or pull crews away as needed.

I work at a place that has something like four AEs. Four? Now, no one knows what anyone else is doing most of the time.

[desk slave]

sounds good, but what market was that? My first market our ND also ran the desk. it worked well, but as I've moved up markets I have worked with less and less managers who have had much desk experience.

[CKMD]

Originally posted by Clever Login Name:
Every AE should have some experience in the field ... even if it's just reporting for a week or two. It can provide valuable insight that things aren't always what they seem, the scanner traffic isn't always right and places two inches apart on the map actually require more than 10 minutes to get to.Most certainly. And every producer needs to go out and be with a reporter and photog for a story and go live.
Every reporter should produce a newscast one day.
Every photog should do the same.
That way, we all know how tough every job we do in the newsroom is and we appreciate each other as a team member more.

I am working on making it happen at my station. The photogs, though, I don't think are too keen on producing. They could, certainly, all report.

I'm sure some of my producers can't shoot nor "report", as in talk to the right people unless the AE helped them.

It's a team, guys...we all have assignments...do them.

[markminn]

Originally posted by desk slave:
Alright, show of hands, how many of YOU have ever tried working on the desk? Done it, and I made a point to have a few contacts for my crews so not to screw them over, especially if they were nightsiders and had to be in the 5 or 6.

[Ferrycrossthemersey]

Still don't understand why you don't attend the meeting via speakerphone or Skype. No, you won't get OT, but that's the business you're in.

[Mr T]

Originally posted by desk slave:
sounds good, but what market was that? My first market our ND also ran the desk. it worked well, but as I've moved up markets I have worked with less and less managers who have had much desk experience.It was a 70's market.

[Signature on File]

Thank goodness for TV station websites. You can always snatch a good story from across the Country and localize it.

[2:30]

Yes, have worked it and run it.

[Pinkie]

Originally posted by adam & doctor drew:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Galaxian:
How about making sure the assignment editor can write? The AE at my station couldn't write a coherent, conversational sentence if his life depended on it. His e-mails are usually riddled with incomplete sentences, cop talk, and other things that would make a news director wince if it wound up in a script.maybe that's why he doesn't write scripts.</font>[/QUOTE]If he's that ignorant of the English language, how do you know he's also not ignorant of the law? We could get sued for some of the things we get wrong from the desk.

[ August 21, 2007, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Pinkie ]

[desk slave]

being eloquent and "sounding smart" honestly have very little to do with one's actual knowledge. how about asking him if he's ever written anything in script form? (or teaching him how?)

You may not think them capable of doing it, but if someone has been around this business for even a few weeks, they at least have a vague idea of how something should sound on air.

at some places I knew producers who didn't want anyone to write things down in script form... "just give me the information"

or, better yet, if you have ONE AE who is trying to get you info on 10 different stories before the next newscast, maybe all they have time for is to write down the cop jargon and abbreviated information.

example: pd says r/o ax auto/ped on 405 confrim fatal w/10 y/o female...

you know what it says, just translate it for the viewer.