The life of a TV news journalist and what you may not know

We do more than just the Teleprompter and yes, there is stress

When I was six-years-old I knew I wanted to be TV news reporter.

I grew up watching WXYZ Channel 7 in Detroit and thought it would be really cool to be a reporter who was constantly covering a different story and meeting different people.

At a young age, I was attracted to giving information and news to people.

I remember going to certain neighbors and interviewing them with my fake camera and a hairbrush microphone. I would ask the neighbors questions about interesting things happening in the community.

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Fast forward 40 years and I am now a news anchor in Flint, Michigan working for the FOX and NBC affiliate.

I am a news anchor and digital content manager for our television station.

I anchor and report the news and manage our team’s social media and website.

Reading the news on television is actually the last thing I do at the station.

The day of a journalist typically begins in the morning when they wake up.

A journalist will look at news websites, emails, texts, and voice mails to gather the news of the day and to stay in contact with sources throughout the community.

Even before getting into the tv station I routinely have stories set up for later in the day.

Once arriving to work the news team gathers for our editorial meeting where we discuss story ideas and what stories will be covered that day.

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From 3p.m. to 5p.m. I write and read over scripts for the news, write and post stories to our website and social media platforms and communicate with the producers of the 10 and 11:00 news to keep an eye on what will be reported in the late shows.

At 4:40p.m. everyday I head into the make-up room to do my own make-up. Many people think we in local tv news have people to do our make-up but that is just not true.

I anchor Mid-Michigan NOW on NBC25 from 5 to 6p.m.

After the 6p.m. news I usually take a short lunch and then get back to work.

Instead of going out to interview people during the pandemic I usually interview people on zoom and then put together my story that will air at 10 and 11.

I also continue to write and post stories to social media and do “manager” duties as the digital content manager.

Before you know it it’s time for Mid-Michigan NOW News on FOX66 at 10.

Following the 10p.m. I will work from 11 to midnight writing more web stories and posting to the station’s social media platforms.

Over the past fifteen months we have been covering COVID-19 nonstop and mentally has not been easy.

The news we cover as journalists do impact us. You may not see emotion from a tv news person but it does impact us.

For myself, the negative news usually doesn’t hit me until I get home at night and have time to think about what I have reported during the day.

Reporting about constant death does get to a person.

A few months ago, for my own sanity, I had to take a vacation to Hocking Hills, Ohio where I unplugged from society for several days.

I didn’t mention social media and the trolls that try to bring you down.

I have over 90,000 people who follow me on social media and many of them have a goal of causing as much chaos as possible.

I do my best to inform the public and to remain unbiased but I know who I am and try not to let the “trolls” on social media get to me.

I believe in free speech, but when someone on social media gets vulgar or threatening I have no hesitation in hitting the block button.

Being a journalist is more than a full-time job, it’s more than a career.

Being a journalist is about passion, if you don’t have a passion in your heart as a news person you will fail and not be happy.

So, I hope this helps all of you realize that tv news journalists do more than just reading words off of a screen and that the words and stories we cover have a real impact on our lives.

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