To understand where Guestbooker, the company that I am interning for, fits into the Media Industry, you must first understand who exactly is in a TV newsroom and what they do.
Let me give you a rundown (it’s a newsroom pun- you’ll catch on).
You are probably most familiar with the on air personalities, considering those are the faces you see as you sit on your couch watching the morning news. These include the anchor, reporter, sports reporter and meteorologist. An Anchor a television personality that is consistent from show to show. They are expressive, well spoken, and are able to captivate the audience and gain their trust and loyalty. They sometimes provide their own analysis and commentary and interact with the other reporters. They are essentially “the face” of the specific show. A Reporter is in the midst of the action. They are the ones who you see reporting on events outside of the newsroom. Sports Reporters, of course, report on the recent wins and losses of the local area, or the country’s sports teams. Finally, there are Meteorologists, the TV weathermen who report either in front of a large screen or in the field where there is a major storm or weather-related event.
However, news shows could never be possible without the people who work “behind the scenes.” These include the Executive Producer, the Staff Writer, the Booker, and the Segment Producer. Although these positions may slightly vary in name and function from one company to another- this should give you the basic idea of what people do to make TV News come to life.
The Executive Producer oversees all aspects of production and planning for every news show. Because many news shows air once or even twice a day, EPs have a lot on their plate. They have to coordinate the anchors, the guests, the writers and the segment producers. They have to answer any last minute questions, make tough decisions, solve problems, and respond to breaking news quickly and effectively.
Luckily, most Executive Producers have Associate Producers to help them. The AP has a very similar job scope while also planning meetings and acting as an assistant to the EP.
The Staff Writer is in charge of creating concise, punchy scripts for the anchors. These writers must function effectively under pressure as they have tight deadlines and no room for errors or mistakes. They have to research events and find accurate information. Often, this is not easy as events will have just happened and there will be little published at the time that the script must be written. The writer must also be able to scrap a script and replace it with a new one ASAP when breaking news hits. This is when their job becomes extremely stressful and fast paced which is why Staff Writers must be so skilled.
The Segment Producer helps to decide what topics will be covered in each show, how long each segment should be, and what order the segments should go in. They control the quality of the show and the content that the show will discuss.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we have the Booker. The Booker is in charge of finding guests to go on each segment. The booker must find qualified experts who are well-spoken on television and would add value to the segment. The booker must act fast to contact and arrange a deal with the guest, especially in the case of breaking news. Sometimes guests will be filmed in person, and sometimes (such as in the case of a sudden news story) even just getting a guest on air via telephone will do.
And of course, news shows cannot come together without camera operators, broadcast technicians, audio engineers, and many others who assist in creating the final product of a news show hundreds of thousands of people watch every day.
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