Jordan Schuman
 Multimedia Journalist
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Resume & Reel
  • Media
  • Connect with Me
  • Blog
  • Need to Know

#ClintonOnCampus

3/3/2014

0 Comments

 
I can't remember the first time I heard Hillary Clinton would be coming to campus. I think it was earlier this year when someone said a "special guest" was coming. It was said kind of casually, probably by a professor to me and a group of my friends. We thought back to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Les Moonves, Mitt Romney, Andy Cohen, all of these important guests who we've been lucky enough to host. And then an official announcement was made at another point I can't quite remember, and campus buzzed.

I learned about it through a press release, to which I replied faster than any reflex I've ever had.

One camera, one producer, one reporter (me).

That's not an excerpt from the e-mail I wrote back to media relations; that's the whole thing.

At work, my Bureau Chief told me Hillary Clinton was giving remarks at UM. I said, "I know, I'm covering it!" She was happy for me, obviously, and said if I wasn't covering it for UMTV, she would've credentialed me through NBC. That was too cool.

And then the night finally arrived.

I left work early because I had this awful feeling in my belly regarding the unknown traffic situation on the roads due to her appearance. When Joe Biden was nearby, the main road I take from work to home was closed off. I didn't realize initially the road was closed because of Biden until I saw what looked like a presidential car drive past me. Until that point, I thought something absolutely horrible had happened in Coral Gables. Dramatic, yes, but there were police officers at literally every single intersection.

Anyway, on the day Clinton came to campus, it took me a half hour to get back to campus. I curled my hair, decided what to wear and ended up with exactly what I initially planned on after trying on many outfits and not being satisfied. I made throat coat tea because my throat was scratchy and I had a long night ahead of me. I watched The Bachelor.

I arrived at the event and met up with my friend and producer for this shoot and the other reporter working for NewsVision with me. She was going to be on the media risers shooting the remarks and Q&A with President Donna Shalala. I would be in the press room to watch the speech, and my story would be on the student reaction.

University of Miami President Shalala and Hillary Clinton are great friends since Shalala served as U.S. President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Because former First Lady Hillary Clinton is still protected by Secret Service, all of the camera equipment gets sniffed by a bomb dog. After the sweep, my producer and I shot some exterior shots of the event and location, shot my stand up and also did 3 interviews with students who were waiting in line.

I was having genuine fun. 

Usually on shoots, I am by myself to deal with equipment and being a reporter all at once. So while I'm asking a person questions for the story, I'm also trying to look through the lens and make sure the shot is framed, the lighting is correct and the audio is working. It's a lot to think about, so I owe a huge thanks to my producer on this shoot, Carlee Rasner, who is largely the reason that on this night, I was able to do my job and enjoy myself all at once. 

So I was in the press room for the very first time. I love the press room. I want to live my whole life in the press room. There was free coffee, tea, water, cookies, etc. And I heard there was sushi although I missed it. Press rooms look just like they do in the movies: long tables with folding chairs, and reporters with laptops. 

We found "Reserved UMTV" and sat down. In case you're lost, it's the one directly behind, "Reserved NY Times."

I grabbed my laptop and opened TweetDeck, also known as the greatest program to ever exist. TweetDeck makes it insanely easy for you to keep tabs on way too many things at once (which is what we were all doing in the press room). My TweetDeck is set up with columns: my personal Twitter feed, my TV/media Twitter feed, news, news about the media, and mentions to me. I was glad to see so many other laptops with TweetDeck open too. I tweeted, "Does @HillaryClinton have butterflies?" 

At a point, the playlist that had been on in the press room played Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop." This was Bill Clinton's campaign song in the 90s and as soon as it came on I, for lack of a better description, freaked out.

Me: This was Clinton's campaign song in the 90s, are you dying? I'm dying.
Everyone else: **keyboards typing, Twitters tweeting, free coffee pouring**

Alright, well. That happened.

I went into the event room where 6,000 people were waiting for Hillary Clinton and I waited too. I'd spend the rest of the evening in the press room, but I wanted to see her come out. She did. I teared up. Put your politics aside for just a moment and understand and consider that this woman is among the most powerful women in the world… and potentially the next POTUS. Just think about the doors that have been closed so she could have a conversation. Or the times she's sat in the situation room more aware of how a decision she made would impact us than we could probably ever be.

The magnitude of the night was not lost on me. I felt very lucky to be exactly where I was at that exact moment doing what I was doing.

After Clinton's speech, I headed outside with Carlee to conduct some more student reaction interviews.

We finished up and I felt like we definitely had more than enough to make a great story. I met up with the other reporter to share and swap footage. Afterward, Taco Bell. Because dinner. 

I started editing my story and went to sleep around 3 a.m. with it mostly done. I woke up at 8 a.m to finish other things and get on with my day. After so little sleep, I felt like a zombie re-incarnate for most of the day. 

I went to my first class to hand in a paper and stayed, but I skipped my next two classes so I could eat lunch and take a shower before anchoring NewsVision that night. 

We opened the show with teases relating to Hillary's visit. We aired the packages back to back, and I said, "THE ONE QUESTION STILL ON EVERYONE'S MIND- WILL SHE COME BACK AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE?" 

I breathed a big sigh. And I slept really well that night.

Sometimes the former Secretary of State comes to campus and just throws everything off… or reminds you that your priorities are just where they should be.

You heard it here first,
Jordan

See the package here.


0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    26.2
    ABC
    A Block
    Al Diaz
    Al Roker
    Ann Curry
    Anxiety
    Arianna Huffington
    Atlanta
    Baby
    Bank United Center
    Bill Clinton
    Birmingham
    Book
    Boston Marathon
    Boston Marathon Bombings
    Brian Stelter
    Brian Williams
    Bureau
    Cameraman
    Campaign
    Career
    CBS
    CBS News
    CBS This Morning
    Coffee
    College
    Columbia
    Commencement
    Company
    Connecticut
    Coral Gables
    Cosmopolitan
    Courthouse
    Coverage
    D Block
    Dolphin Expressway
    Donna Shalala
    DUI
    Ernest Hemingway
    Evening News
    Family
    Fear Of Missing Out
    Finish Line
    First Lady
    Friday
    Fusion
    George Stinney
    Georgia
    Going Away
    Good Morning America
    Hillary Clinton
    Hillary Rodham Clinton
    Inauguration
    Intern
    Internship
    Interview
    Jeff Fager
    Job
    Joe Biden
    Jordan Schuman
    Journalism
    Justin Bieber
    Kate White
    Katie Couric
    Kerry Sanders
    Kindergarten
    Lessons
    Life
    Linda Ellerbee
    List
    Lunch
    Magazine
    Manhattan
    Marathon
    Mark Potter
    Maternity
    Matt Lauer
    Memoir
    Miami
    Michael Dunn
    Millenial
    Mom
    Motherhood
    Motto
    Mr. Rogers
    NBC
    NBC Internship
    NBC News
    Network News
    Newscast
    NewsVision
    Newtown
    New York
    New York City
    Nick News
    Nightly News
    Obama
    Olympics
    Pew Research Center
    POTUS
    President
    Ratings
    Reporter
    Resident Assistant
    Resume
    Sacrifice
    Savannah Guthrie
    School
    Scott Pelley
    Secretary Of State
    Secret Service
    Semester
    Shoes
    Sirius XM
    Sleep
    Social Media
    Someday
    South Carolina
    Special Report
    Sports
    Strangers
    Summer
    Susan Zirinsky
    Television
    The Boston Globe
    The Chicago Tribune
    The Huffington Post
    The Miami Herald
    Thrive
    TODAY Show
    To-Do
    Trial
    Twitter
    UMTV
    University Of Miami
    Valentines
    Washington DC
    Washington Post
    Weather
    Wedding
    Work

    Archives

    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

    Get in touch. 

    -
    -
Submit