Problems in the Show

Unfortunately, disaster strikes shows. You lose your lead package. A live shot goes down. Do youself a favor and don't cannibalize the rest of your show by trying to figure out exactly what happened right then and there. Unless it's an ongoing issue that you need to resolve immediately, MOVE ON. Address it in the break or better yet after the show. Why? If you are freaking out about the top of the show, you're not paying attention to other potential problems and things could snowball. Also, you set the tone for the booth. If the producer is still stuck on the top of the show, the rest of the booth will be thinking about it too, distracting them from the rest of the show and inviting mistakes.

Instead, jot down quick notes about what you think happened and talk about the problem during a post-show discrepency meeting. Keep an open mind about what went wrong, keep your anger in check, and finally, ask the key question: "How can we keep this from happening again?"

And it bears repeating, you should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have a back-up plan for the top of your show, even if it's just going on to the next story. Discuss said plan with both director and anchors in this manner, "Hey, I don't expect anything to happen, but if our lead dies for some reason, we'll go to page A4." By giving it at least a passing thought, you're ready with a plan of action should something happen. Everyone else will be ready too and things will go a lot more smoothly.

Finally, another reminder-- 10 minutes prior to the show, chat it up with editing about what's still out there. That will give you a heads up about what you might have to juggle. Producers should not be optimists. Hope the story makes it. Have a plan for when it doesn't.