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Creating TV newscasts from home

The coronavirus outbreak has flipped many people’s lives upside down. Most employees who used to work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are now stuck at home, either completing work online or waiting for this pandemic to end. 

Obviously, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and those in the food industry are considered “essential” workers because people need access to these things to survive. What some may not realize is that journalists are also essential workers, because the communication of newsworthy events is needed now more than ever to keep people safe.

Journalists are the ones keeping the public in on the loop that is the coronavirus. They are working around the clock to report COVID-19 cases, and what political leaders are saying to their local communities to keep them safe. Journalists out in the field and in press conferences, like the one’s with Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, are maintaining their distance from interview subjects and other reporters. Many are strictly staying six feet away from other people. I have seen journalists online talking about thoroughly wiping down their equipment, to prevent the virus from spreading. 

While some reporters are taking safety precautions out in the field, many are working from home. For many local TV stations, meteorologists are reporting live straight from their homes. You can also see journalists recording stand-ups for their packages at home. I believe many in the news industry are trying to lead by example, as they display how they are social distancing while still working. 

The same goes for student journalists. Us at Troy TrojanVision News have been working hard to put together content from home. Our station is debuting its first social distancing edition of TrojanVision this week. I anchored in front a gray curtain in my bedroom, utilizing a key light and a free online teleprompter which strolled across my laptop. 

Our reporters are editing packages and shooting their stand-ups at home, in addition to conducting “taped” interviews over Zoom with members of the Troy, Alabama, community. 

On our most recent newscast, we discussed online learning, a blood donation shortage and drive and how citizens can participate in feeding the hungry (those who may have just lost a job and are unable to purchase food). These topics are newsworthy and deserve to be shared, and members of our news crew are doing what we can from home to do so. 

You can check out Troy TrojanVision Social Distancing Edition on Facebook at “Troy TrojanVision” or “Troy University.”

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