Can I handle any more news?

Today is so not yesterday. Today was busy to start because of back-to-back meetings followed by the rush to actually get caught up on everything with only an hour to go before news-time. Yesterday started off with my coworker saying, "Oh, by the way your night side photographers are screwy today" and ended with this Tweet "WMF PIO: confirms 14-yr old arrested for arson and reckless endangerment for starting the fire. Suspected of playing w/a lighter near bushes."

It was so busy that I realized around 10:30pm that I'd FORGOTTEN to eat. I remember rushing around and looking at the clock at 7:22pm and saying to myself, "oh, I gotta eat." The thought was gone in less than a heartbeat as I was off to the editing department.

Here's my timeline:

1:30pm: I walk up to the news desk. "Hi guys, anything exciting happening today? Wow, that's a busy board!" (referring to the assignment board) My coworker tells me, "No, but there's a lot of live shots. Oh, by the way your night side photographers are screwy today." He went onto explain that one of the three photographers isn't coming into work until 6:30pm, and another is scheduled to engineer the satellite truck and also shoot a 6pm live shot. That left me with one photographer to work with two reporters. But, my coworkers had decided to play musical-photographers by having a dayside photographer assigned to work with a night side reporter until 7pm. At that point the third night side photographer could switch out to work with the reporter.

Make sense?

1:35pm: With my head spinning I walk into the afternoon editorial meeting where I'm asked to Tweet the meeting on @cbs4denver. I slide into the chair and start to Tweet away.

2:27pm: I walk out of the meeting to the assignment desk.

2:28pm: My coworker shouts, "Remember the Neveah Gallegos case? The DA and DPD are going to have a press conference at 3:30pm to announce developments."

2:29pm: After the flurry of, "Oh, yes I remember that case!" The executive producer decides witch news crew she wants to cover the press conference. I page the photographer to come to the newsroom to tell him what's happening and to assign him a live truck. Then I talk to the 5pm and 6pm newscast producers about what they'd want from the news crew and the press conference in the shows.

2:52pm: I finally sit down at the assignment desk and log into the computer. (Pretty close to the exact time because I sent my first Tweet saying I was logged in at 2:53pm!) I fill out the live shot sheet for our feed room. I knew the shows were filled with live shots, but writing them all out I realize that five out of five microwave trucks, two satellite trucks and Copter4 were all going to be used for live shots! Next I start to go through the 200+ emails in my inbox and do general desk work, i.e. check on news crews, answer phones, Twitter about the press conference.

3:38pm: "CBS4 News this is Misty." "Misty, this is Sonny (DPD PIO) who's in charge of the newsroom today? Is Wieland (news director) there?" I knew by his tone something was definitely happening. I transfer the call to the news director and wait until I hear, "Misty!" I rush into the news director’s office and am asked if we have a crew at Louisiana and Mississippi because Sonny reports our crew is in the middle of a SWAT situation! I didn't know about a crew being right there, but in a flash both the executive producer and 10pm producer were in the office too. They say the reporter had just called and told them a plain clothes detective had approached them on their way to 7-11. The detective told them they needed to move to safety because they were in the line of fire!

3:44pm: PRIORITIES: move news crew to safety and move a live truck to the area to be ready to go live. The crew was going to the location of a homicide over last weekend for a follow-up story. Even though police wouldn't confirm they were looking for the suspect, they did tell they were in the area because of the investigation. Remember I said five out of six live trucks were in play for the newscasts? Well, one of those trucks was for a live shot at that 7-11, which obviously wasn't going to happen now. This was an easy solution! So we wait, keep in touch with the crew and go on with our news day.

6:14pm: I pick up the phone and before I can even say anything I hear, "The suspect is in custody! Police have the suspect! We've got it on video." "OK!" I respond as I put the reporter on hold and shout the news out to the newsroom. We were still in our 6pm newscast and wanted to get a live shot on the air, and the reporter wanted another photographer at the scene to help the crew.

6:15pm: I find out the night side photographer who wasn't coming in until 6:30pm was already at the station. I run to editing to track him down. I ask him if he's on the clock yet because I need him to cover breaking news. He leaves to go to the scene.

6:22pm: I call the live truck photographer to make sure he was knew the plan. While I'm on the phone, the reporter calls back to tell us DPD will have a press conference at 6:45pm. If we wanted them live at the scene, we'd have to find another photographer to go to DPD. The extremely over-crowded assignment board screamed "if you want more from me, you'll have to give up something first!" Just then the second night side reporter walks into the newsroom. This crew is mostly done shooting their story, but the reporter has sent the photographer to shoot some more video for the story. I immediately call the photographer and tell him he needs to turn around to go to DPD to shoot the news conference. "I know you're on your way to shoot more video, but we have breaking news; I have no choice; I need you to go to DPD!"

6:31pm: I hang up the phone just to answer another line. The caller is a media representative for the Democratic party. The state legislative season has officially ended and the Dems announce they will have a press conference on the west steps of the Capitol at 6:45pm. With a sigh I reply, "Ok. Thank you. Bye." I stand up and shout over the newsdesk, "The legislative season has ended. Dems are having a press conference at 6:45pm. If we want to cover this, I need HELP!" To this the executive producer replies, "The Capitol news crew just finished their live shot. Call them and move them to the press conference!"

6:34pm: I call the photographer at the Capitol tearing down the live shot. When he answers I find out there'd been a problem with the live shot and they weren't live at all. I didn't even know this had happened because I was so focused on everything else. I tell the frustrated photographer that I have no other choice, but he needs to move to cover the press conference.

6:40pm: The reporter is on the air with a live report from the scene of the suspect arrest.

6:50pm: The Capitol reporter calls to tell me the Dems aren't anywhere near being ready for a press conference. "It's going to be way after 7pm!" He tells me. "Okay, you're off in 10-minutes, I'll have another photographer there by 7pm," I reply.

6:51pm: I call the photographer in the satellite truck. "Where are you and how much time will it take for you to get to the Capitol?" He tells me he's about 10-minutes away. "Good, go straight to the Capitol to shoot a press conference with the Dems talking about the legislative session."

7pm: I hear from the satellite photographer. He's at the Capitol in time.

For the next hour I work with a reporter and an editor on getting documents scanned for a story. I take a breath and start to work on everything I'd let slip by me. I go through emails. I make final corrections to a blog post for PRSA Colorado on how CBS 4 News uses Twitter.

Shortly after 8pm: I hear West Metro Fire being called to a townhome fire. As I'm focusing on the fire call, I hear from a photographer that there's a problem with Avid in editing and he can't load any of the 7-11 suspect video. "What are we going to do about the live shot? I can't even load the video!" He says to me. "The reporter has to be live, if the editors have to help edit the story, they will!" I respond.

8:11pm: My attention snaps back to the scanner when I hear, "a suspect is in custody" come over the speaker. At this I shout, "We have to go to this fire. A suspect is in custody, which means this is an arson fire and several townhomes are damaged!" The producer asks, "What will it take to get there?" I tell him, "I send the photographer in the satellite truck, but that means the other two photographers are now responsible for their own edits and will have to engineer and shoot the reporter live shots with out any help. There's been a problem with Avid, editing will have to help if you want both reporters to be live." I tell the satellite photographer to go to the fire as I step off the desk to go to editing. The two editors tell me they can help on both reporter stories if needed to get the live shots.

8:30pm: It finally seems like we have a handle on everything. I spend the rest of the night monitoring the fire, keeping the photographer at the fire updated, and making sure the other crews are good.

9:52pm: A news crew trying to establish a live shot outside of DPD calls. "I'm sending the reporter back to the station! We can't get the shot in!" He tells me.

9:59pm: The reporter rushes into the newsroom and onto the newsroom camera to go live in less than four-minutes.

The newscast happens.

It's finally over.

Could I have handled more news? Yes, but something else would have had to be given up to make it happen!