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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Maintaining traditional professionalism in a fast-paced world

by Emily Cerf

On Wednesday, the Earthscope intern crew visited the San Francisco ABC7 news headquarters. We had the opportunity to meet and receive a tour from Cheryl Jennings, who was the anchor for the 5 PM news for over 25 years and has now stepped down to focus on special assignments and projects. We were shown around the newsroom where not only producers, story assignors, and many other people essential to the making of the show sat working; but where a temporary set for the anchors and talent had been erected while the real set was under construction. We were also allowed into the control room, where we watched the producer “conduct” the 11 AM news in front of about 20 different screens, calmly giving out a myriad of queues and directing shots. All the while, the anchors tweeted and connected to the community through social media, and the news was interspersed with short clips of events from facebook and other platforms.

The hectic energy of the room was palpable— a six alarm fire that occurred in the early hours of the morning meant that the crew had been there since before the sun had begun to rise over the golden gate. Yet everyone was very welcoming and willing to describe to us how they had gotten to where they were and share with us words of advice for pursuing a career in journalism. Jennings later spoke to that very climate which she had encouraged and fostered in her many years with the station. This was a climate of respect, politeness and professionalism. It was one that allowed interns rise to the ranks of news story assignors because of a clear display of hard work. One that encouraged taking initiative and proving willingness to go above and beyond. One that allowed one of the first women anchors to garner an equal amount of respect as her male counterparts through hard work and firm handshakes. In the fast-paced world of short attention spans and social media, it is important to maintain this old-school level of respect.

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