Our public tv station field trip experience…
For a TV station that almost went out of business in 2012, it was amazing to see such a strong come back. Thanks to CPCC for taking WTVI under it’s wing, they survived the trial and persevered.
As a matter of fact, the night before our field trip, WTVI had won it’s first Emmy in Nashville. Not bad for Charlotte, the 22nd largest TV market out of 210 with an audience of over 1.1 million households.
Amy Burkett, the General Manager of WTVI, told us her story. She traveled the country working in different TV markets using her Bachelor of Science in Broadcasting degree and landed in Charlotte as the General Manager of WTVI. Within two years, she had balanced the budget and set WTVI back on it’s feet.
3 Things I learned from a public tv station field trip to WTVI.
1- The Importance of getting your foot in the door
Some 20 years ago, when I first graduated from college, I tried to get an interview with WTVI but was unable to get my foot in the door. I asked Amy the best way to do this. She suggested interning. They offer several every year. This goes for all businesses. Teens and graduates interested in getting into a particular business, consider an internship. At the very least, try to talk to someone doing what you want to do. All they can do, is say no.
2- It is obvious when someone loves their job.
Listening to Amy Burkett and Jeff Rivenbark tell their stories of how God took them all over the country and back (on separate journeys), and landed them both in Charlotte, showed just how intricately we are all weaved into a story.
And no matter what you major in college, or life, you really never know where you may end up. Seeing them on screen reporting on stories or talking to the kids about what they do, we witnessed their eyes light up, their animated voices and hand gestures, and their passion to do good in the community they serve. It takes loving your job to a whole new level. You can see it.
Of the hundreds of field trips I have taken my kids to, this one was different. Jeff was real and authentic. He told us what he had learned about the business, often the hard way. He told us about the importance of voice and diction and how he had to be conscious of slang and posture when he spoke. He told us about his mistakes. We all caught his affection and intensity. He took it seriously.
Not only did he show us the ins and outs, but he allowed the students to take their turn at reading from a teleprompter. Ironically, the TelePrompTer was talking about the bathroom ordinance that had just past in Charlotte Reading from a screen isn’t as easy as it looks. (He let me have a turn too.)
Photograph by Denise Herndon
He stayed late taking his whole morning with us. It wasn’t just about a rote tour through the television station. It was a journey through his passion.
3- You don’t realize the details that go into a story.
For example, watch the following piece Jeff reported on the homeless in Union County. Watch the first 6 minutes.
Notice the sounds they incorporate into the piece. They don’t just tell you it is 30 degrees outside, but they show you. Jeff confessed the drug scene was actually created using his personal mirror and powder, and the razor came out of his tool box. The handcuffed man is an employee of WTVI and the handcuffs were from the officer that protects the front of the building. And I am not even going to mention the Phil Collins song. All of these things help not only to tell the story, but to show you the story.
Some of the things he says he and his photographer look for when they arrive on a scene is ambiance, sounds pertaining to the story, photo opportunities and angles, and natural places to interview people. Interviewing the homeless man in the story in the room where he slept, was a natural place to do that. They also are open to incorporating surprises into their story. The young woman he interviewed in the piece was unplanned. Jeff isn’t afraid to get dirty when he is reporting and that was obvious in some of the stories he shared. It was a great behind the scenes look at something, as viewers, we all take for granted.
One last thing I want to mention is all the good that WTVI does for the community. We are only able to get in a few channels on our digital antennae in our home and PBS and public television has not only been a part of our life but a part of our homeschool as well. My kids still remember the Ken Burns specials we watched on the The Donner party, Lewis and Clark, and the Civil War series. Let’s not forget the children’s programming and cartoons! We have never had cable so this is what my kiddos watched (and still do) when they were young. The local story above is only a small slice of the local stories they showcase weekly. If you have an idea for a local story, send your ideas to CarolinaImpact@wtvi.com.
Thank you Jeff Rivenbark, Amy Burkett, and WTVI for an incredible public tv field trip experience.
