“This is different than any story I’ve ever worked on,” said Harvey, who co-anchors the KCBS 5, 6 and 11 p.m. Veteran TV anchor Pat Harvey said the current dilemma is a defining moment in her professional career. It’s a very energizing time for us considering how serious this situation is.” It proves we can be extremely flexible when there is a need. We’ve done a 10-year acceleration in two weeks. We’re forced to be present and talk to each other.”īill Lamb, senior vice president and general manager of KTTV Fox 11 and KCOP, said the transition has been “like changing a tire in the middle of a highway. We’re finding out that a lot of what we’re doing at home in some respects is more efficient. “Even if the order is lifted, I don’t know if we’ll go back to working the same way. “I believe this is actually going to change our industry in terms of how news is gathered, reported and assembled,” Finestone said. Some have even speculated that the shift might revolutionize local news. Though there have been some rough spots, several news directors and executives so far have been encouraged by the transition. They’re going through their own personal situations while also trying to adjust and deal with their professional requirements.” KTLA Channel 5 general manager Janene Drafs said: “Our people are just like our viewers. It’s changed dramatically how we work, how we gather and how we present the news.” This is an uncertain time, and we’re dealing with a new normal of working remotely. That’s always been a 24/7 job, but it’s even more so now. Said Tara Finestone, vice president and news director of sister stations KCAL and KCBS: “The number one priority is the health and safety of our employees. Reporters are permitted to turn down an assignment if they feel it’s unsafe. Makeup and hair people who are still at the stations are wearing gloves and masks as they prepare anchors for the camera. Instead of commuting to stories together in a news van, reporters and news crews now travel separately. Meteorologists are doing weather reports from their living rooms. Fewer people and technicians are working in the studios and newsrooms. In addition to social distancing, TV journalists are working remotely, wearing gloves, using extended mikes to conduct interviews and concentrating on stories closer to their residences. Most of those hubs have now gone eerily quiet. TV newsrooms are traditionally frenzied hubs of activity filled with writers, reporters, producers and others in close quarters. While TV audiences continue to tune in to CNN and MSNBC for the latest national updates, they are also relying on broadcasters closer to home to apprise them of what’s going on specifically in their communities.Įven for a local news scene familiar with and accustomed to covering riots, earthquakes, floods and wildfires, the coronavirus outbreak is uncharted territory. The broadcast was just one example of how Los Angeles stations have had to adapt quickly to the new normal of programming news while adhering to government mandates designed to stop the spread of the virus. I always say teamwork makes the dream work, but in this case, the hot spots did.” “There were three phones, two laptops, an iPad and a camera. “It felt like the first day of school,” an excited Garcia said in a phone interview a few hours after the broadcast. But aided by personal “hot spots” from smartphones and computers, Garcia was able to host from the bedroom while fellow anchor Dan Cohen hosted from the “Good Day L.A.” set. Garcia’s neighborhood had been hit by a power outage a few days earlier, and the internet needed to connect wireless hookups was still spotty. It was part of the station’s move to incorporate social distancing and other preventive measures into its operation in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. While most Angelenos were sleeping, Garcia and a few other members of the news operation were scrambling to set up an impromptu studio in an upstairs bedroom of her Mid-City home, where she was planning to co-anchor the three-hour newscast, which airs weekdays at 4 a.m. That dynamic turned upside down last Monday. For more than two years, Rita Garcia has co-hosted KTTV Fox 11’s “Good Day L.A.” from the station’s vast set in West Los Angeles, delivering headlines and news while engaging in breezy banter with the rest of the team providing updates on weather and traffic.
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