4:00pm
One thing I’ve had the opportuntiy to work at during my time as the 4:00PM newscast producer is advancing breaking news stories. The hour-long format gives me the chance to provide updates other shows do not. This was showcased well in mid-August when several breaking news stories came in just before my show or happened during my show. There are time stamps on the video below. Feedback welcome!
Anyone who has ever worked with me knows I like to find little spots to have fun. Whether it’s a pun, a lighter lead story or giving the anchors and talent a chance to interact. It can add so much joy to our otherwise serious hard news. Those things all managed to collide in late May for a lovely Fun Friday. Enjoy!
The teamwork a producer coordinates is never more evident than when breaking news comes in. Especially when it comes in close to show time. Here’s how I handled one of those situations in mid-May.
2:41PM: We receive an email from KCFD stating there has been a gas line break along Southwest Trafficway. Roads are shut down, buildings are evacuated and crews are working to make the area safe again. Our newsroom moves quickly to get a reporter headed to the scene. I am working on the bottom half of my hour-long newscast. I prioritize finishing what I can while giving my director a heads-up changes are coming. I also ask our assignment desk to get our helicopter ready to go over the gas line break.
3:00PM: I begin working on our breaking news coverage. I know this is big enough to deserve a mention in both half hours, since Southwest Trafficway is a well-used route in Kansas City. I decide to go big off the top with team coverage since we'll have two crews on it. I build the lines, write the toss and put in all our graphics. I also add a live picture of the scene into my second half hour.
3:18PM: Spire sends an update saying the area is now gas safe. I decide to still keep it big off the top since roads are still closed as the commute home begins and crews are still on scene. This update requires me to go back and re write the toss and graphics.
3:50PM: Everything in my show is finished, and I head into the booth. I go over the plan one more time with our reporter and our talent in the helicopter.
4:00PM: Our breaking news hits the air, and we are the only ones on scene. That’s what you see in the video above.
4:30PM: Our breaking news update hits the air. We are able to tell people the road is now open to traffic and their commutes will not be impacted.
Every single time we have to use our "Fallen Hero" brand, there's a heaviness and seriousness to our shows. And for great reason. We are tasked with showing the public the sacrifice of our first responders while bringing the spirit of that person to the forefront. In May, it was Graham Hoffman. An "angel on Earth" as his brother said. Services for the firefighter paramedic were held Friday. I speak for most of us in the newsroom when I say we watched with tears in our eyes. By the time my show came around, his procession was still underway. This A Block demonstrates the teamwork it takes to honor our Fallen Heroes and honor the hardship their loved ones are now experiencing. With the help of several photojournalists and reporters, our helicopter, our anchors and my EP I followed his procession all through the 4pm show.
My coverage choices concerning the tariff pause on Wednesday, April 9th are a great example of how I try to give the 4pm and 430pm leads different looks. I had even more tools to work with this week as we introduced new cold open graphics off the top of the 4. Combined with that and our team coverage boxes, I’m proud of how that came together. At 430, I had previously lined up an economics professor with the intention of it being one week since Liberation Day. Then we got the news of the pause at 1230, so I reworked our Q & A to match that announcement. I also saved one of our reporters for 430 so viewers would still have a live, local element.
