Murrow News 8
I followed many students in the COM 465 class at WSU. I watched the day grow from white paper to words on that paper to video to match the words making a newscast. Com 465 makes Pullmans only local nightly newscast, making Murrow News 8 the NBC nightly news of Pullman.
By Bradley Warren
Doug is a reporter on Pullmans only local news station which broadcasts every night at seven. Doug is cutting his package to be used on the sports show. The news show is part of a class called COM 465 which writes and produces the newscast giving students practical experience in broadcast news.
The final editing from Avid being done for the sports show. Using the program Avid, Doug, edits his package to be used on the broadcast. The package is about football as Doug is the sports reporter for this newscast. It's Doug’s job to fill an entire block with content regarding WSU, local and national sports.
The show starts with hard news. The teleprompter is the most important tool in the newsroom used by every member of the staff to keep on topic. The prompter holds the entire newsrooms scripts and are projected onto a screen over the camera so that the anchors may read the news to the viewers.
Pre-live script reading. Before beginning the news cast the anchors take one last look over the scripts and make final edits before reading it to the general public. The anchors sit on top of riser which overlooks the entire newsroom. As final edits are made to the paper script they are added to the prompter to ensure that everything moves smoothly.
Many shots of the same faces. The control room houses multiple screens which relate to the three cameras in the newsroom. The three cameras show different views in the control of the anchors. Screens are used to hold graphics to be dropped on top of another screen so that the graphic images are visible to the viewers at home.
The bay of screens. A complete view of all the screens in master control which is used to drive the newscast and make sure graphics and different camera angles transition smoothly to provide a perfect optical experience for the viewer.
The last read. Anchor Matthew makes his final edits to the script before going live. Matthew is practicing reading certain words out loud to ensure he does not stumble during the live broadcast. Matthew is taking advantage of every extra moment he can to be sure the script is articulated properly.
Live shot. Over the speakers the next thing everyone hears is “Live from the campus of Washington State University this is Murrow News 8 the only local newscast in Pullman,” Matthew begins to read the teleprompter and the show is off and running.
The teleprompter control sits vacant waiting for fellow students to take control in guiding the newscast. One student must sit at the helm and control the speed of the prompter during the course of the newscast.
The mic is being adjusted on the last anchor before the show begins. The anchors are hardwired to the desk with microphones and IFBs inside their ears so that they can hear what is going on in the control room. The final checks are being made so that the broadcast can begin.
The final edits to the script have been made, Dr. Trent is alerting the class that there is five minutes until recording starts. The anchor desk has been cleared and everyone is filing into the production bay to watch the show as it's recorded.