exploration 1: field notes, observations

Erica Bond
2/25/10
ENGL 102
Unit Two: Exploration #1
Field Notes in Observance of the 12PM News at Channel 7
I have sat in on the filming of the news at Channel 7 before, but never for the purpose of observing and noting each detail, as well as forming questions. On Monday, February 22, 2010, at 12 PM, I sat in a chair my dad provided for me directly behind the camera operators on the set of the news. Pen and notepad in my lap, I was ready to discover new things about this community. There were many things that stood out to me that quickly produced a plethora of questions.
Maggie O’Mara was the news anchor on set for about the first fifteen minutes and later on Larry Gebbert joined the set. This made me wonder what determines how many news anchors need to be on set at a time. Also, I noticed the flawlessness of Maggie O’Mara’s face, and the neat appearance she presented. I thought, “I wonder if anchors get special facial treatments in order to maintain that flawless image.” At times, Maggie would just finish reporting something, and one of the many TV’s in the room would be flashing a different story, Maggie not on camera. I watched Maggie’s facial expressions, and she would often produce a slightly surprised or amused look. Did she not know all of the stories? It seemed like that would be part of the news anchor’s job, but maybe they only have to know about what they themselves are covering. During these times of Maggie being off air, I noticed secret banter and sometimes laughing going on between she and the two camera men via their ear and mouth pieces. It was clear that everyone in the news room shared a mutual respect and possibly even friendship for each other because they relied on one another to be successful.
At 12:13PM there is a break and Maggie gets up and walks to the other side of the room for a drink of water. Larry gets in position at his weather set in the same room to be filmed. A cooking lady is setting up some food on the cooking set, also in the same room. There are a total of four sets in the room. Later, Maggie sits at the business set with a man named Dan who is doing a spotlight on the “It’s Your Business” segment. As Maggie and Dan talk while they are being filmed, it seemed as though some of the things they were saying were impromptu, or spontaneous. I wondered if this had been rehearsed and was part of the script, or if they speak spontaneously a lot? -And, if they are allowed to do this, are there certain guidelines for what they say?
In observing communication between everyone in the room, I identified a few different reoccurring gestures and cues. For example, when Maggie was about to be filmed lived, the camera operator would countdown: 4,3,2, and leave a silence for 1. On the number one, he would point to Maggie and make eye contact. These camera men would also give frequent one minute warnings before they were about to film one of the anchors. What was so amazing to me, was that Larry or Maggie would be bantering back and forth, sometimes laughing only seconds before they would immediately switch modes into reporting professionally. I also noticed that Maggie practiced saying an Iraqi name right before she was filmed. Do news anchors get in trouble if they make mistakes on names? At 1:05, the news was basically over and some men brought in a couple papers and conducted a post-production meeting where they presented some new stories to Larry and Maggie, and they got to choose which stories they wanted to cover for the 5PM show. Maggie then prepped for a tease, where she would give a 5 min. preview of the stories that were going to be shown on the 5PM show. What gives her the authority to choose what is shown? How much of it can she decide is shown?
As you can see, there were many things that I developed questions about, and many things that interested me about this group. I intend to find the answers to these questions through interview and research in the near future. I still need to learn more about the background or history of this community, and try to find out what their code of ethics is, what the guidelines are for that community, etc. I plan to observe other news stations as well to get a good sample of this community, and also to go to events that news anchors will be at to serve as volunteers or to show support for the news station.