Jordan Schuman
 Multimedia Journalist
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A Reflection on Friday, and Learning to Love the A Block

3/14/2014

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I think I've always loved Fridays. I mean, what's not to love? Everyone has sat through rush hour together now four days in a row both ways to work, parents are excited for the sleepy faces and cuddly children they get to wake up tomorrow morning with pancakes, teenagers finally get to sleep past 7 a.m. for a brief two days to come. And at this internship, Fridays are almost always the busiest. A few Fridays ago, it was the day we covered the aunt who gave her nephew CPR on the expressway. And today on the way into work, a very nice man comped my parking, and a very nice woman in the elevator complimented my shoes (Target, leopard flats, clearance, 11 dollars [?!?!]).

In a newscast, the A block is the first block of the show, and traditionally the most important and pressing news of the day. The D Block is the last block, those stories that make you laugh and hopefully make you feel at some ease after the A, B and C blocks -- you know, the real adult stuff. In the days of the week, Friday is the D Block. Not necessarily the reason you turned on the TV, but it'll make you glad you did once it comes.

But this blog post is not as much about Fridays as it's about last Friday- the day we went back to the UMiami campus to get sound for a Nightly News story. I've gotten sound on UM's campus many times. Once, I did a story about texting and driving and I got sound from students who said: I never text and drive... I try not to. And a reluctant admittance: Yeahhhh, I text and drive.

But today, this sound would not make its way into a story that would live forever on my external hard drive. This sound would go to NY.

That Friday morning, the Pew Research Center released a study on millenials ages 18 to 33 (that's me!) saying that we essentially are unattached to everything except social media:
-Relatively unattached to organized politics and religion
-Linked by social media
-Burdened by debt
-Distrustful of people
-In no rush to marry
-Optimistic about future 

So we went to UMiami to ask millenials how they felt in reaction to this research. I first got changed so I looked a little more professional and then I met up with the cameraman, Bruce. Pay attention to Bruce. He's important to this story.

I received instruction from a producer in NY that we should interview 80% ethnic looking people, and diversity is huge. This is because the research from Pew also said that our generation is the most diverse yet. I knew this wouldn't be a challenge at Miami, where on the way to class I often hear conversations in up to 5 different languages.

I found two students sitting at a table, one African American and one Moroccan and we were able to interview both of them. I realized how in my element I felt, working for my internship but on a campus that is kind of a home base to me. The best part is that most of the students we interviewed didn't even know I was a student. To them, I was exactly who I introduced myself to be: "with NBC News."

The day continued like this and we interviewed about 5 students in total. There were people in LA also getting sound, so we really just needed a handful of really good bites, which we got. As I listened to this diverse sampling of students tell us their views on religion, politics, marriage and technology, I felt proud to attend a school with such smart and passionate people. I feel proud to attend a university where students are doing what Hillary Clinton urged us to do when she was here, which is not be a passerby in this world, and to get off of the sidelines and become an active participant. From the sound of what my peers were saying, I think they were doing just that.

At one point during a lull of passerby to choose from, Bruce said we should interview me. In a moment that was very unlike me, I was at first really resistant. I'm the intern- am I stepping on toes? Is it even appropriate? And that diversity thing. Hello white girl from the suburbs. It was honestly the first time in my life I initially said no to being on camera. But I sat down and did it. You know, an intern's gotta do what an intern's gotta do. And okay, I love the camera. You'll hear Bruce's voice in the clip below.

I ended up really loving the chance to explore these questions for myself, and have someone care for 6 whole minutes about what I thought.

We did one more interview after my own, and I really did hope Nightly would choose my bite. I came back to the bureau and logged all of our interviews. I always indicate what I think might be really good bites by putting ** next to them. While logging, I felt really awkward **ing my own bites. I mean, I thought they were good but that's kind of the same as liking your own Facebook photo. Of course you like it, you posted it. As in, of course I liked my bites... I said them.

But that awkward feeling did not stop me from saying to Mark Potter, "Hey Mark, look!!" while pointing to my own photo on our screen.

Picture

I finished at work and came home, and promptly invited all of my friends to a Nightly News viewing party in my room. No one came, such short notice and everything ;) but I was really pleased to see our story early in the show. As in, the last story in the A block (theoretically the most important news of the day!). I was expecting it to be D block, which is the fluffy stuff. You know, we spoke to a bunch of 20-year-olds and here's how they feel. 

Now, I love the D block. Do not get me wrong. On NewsVision at UMTV, I always joke that I can write the D block like nobody's business. It might be my favorite of all, I admit and then duck my head down to make sure the world hasn't fallen apart around me since I said it. I've written D block stories about the day Time Magazine posted a list of the most influential candy bars, National Pancake Day (closes the show!!),  and I've suggested my friends do packages on extremely unnecessary news... like how much students like the milkshakes at the baseball games.

But like I said, our story made the A Block. NBC had also done a bit with Buzzfeed for this spot, which made total sense because Buzzfeed is a company aimed entirely at millenials and their habits, but it meant fewer of our bites would make it into the story, and actually none of mine. But I was okay with that fact because they did use a bite we received at UM that day, over any of the ones gathered in LA, which is just a cool bonus.

It's true with more of our bites, I would've had a chance at instant fame and Brian Williams knowing who I was for a few seconds. But without Buzzfeed we would've been D Block.

And tonight, for the very first time, D Block is not where I wanted to be.

You heard it here first,
Jordan   

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Day 18: On Always Having Enough Gas

2/21/2014

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Today started like any other day of work. Except I made really great time this morning, and I even stopped for gas on my way.

Good thing I did, too, because while I had enough gas to make it to work and back, (usually all the traveling I do on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday) today I was going out on a shoot. I didn't know it when I filled up my tank, but I ended up logging 30+ more miles than usual. 

The reason why: Yesterday, a woman was driving with her 5-month-old nephew on the Dolphin Expressway when she noticed he had abruptly stopped crying, and stopped breathing too. The baby had been born two months early, explaining the respiratory struggle he has not yet overcome. The woman, Pamela Rauseo, jumped from her car and began screaming for help. A passerby pulled over and came to assist. In the car behind them happened to be Al Diaz, a photographer for The Miami Herald. Diaz walked down the expressway for more help, and found a police officer. In the meantime, Rauseo began giving the baby CPR. The police officer took over when he arrived. Also stuck in the same traffic? A Captain and Lieutenant from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. 

The story quickly gained national prominence. Partially for the abnormality of it. The baby is so, so young. And stopped breathing in traffic on the expressway? It was kind of chilling how real the situation is for all of us who ever sit in traffic on an expressway. And it's a very real reminder that tomorrow is never promised… for any of us.  Further, the fact that the photographer who found the cop happened to be on the Dolphin Expressway. This was lucky for the baby, and lucky for us, because without his photos, there would quite seriously be no story. Moreover, the aunt and baby were on their way home from a doctor's appointment. And lastly, the fact that the two men from Fire Rescue were sitting in the same traffic related to this very incident when they heard it over their radios. 

So today at around 10 a.m. I was sent to meet a photographer at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. 

I showed up and parked where it said, "Media Parking." I quickly found my photographer. We walked over to the entrance to the building where the interviewing was taking place. The media coordinator for the Fire Rescue team came over to me and said she didn't believe we had met, and proceeded to introduce herself. I made a mental note that in the future, I should be the one to say I didn't believe we had met, and introduce myself.  

I said, "I'm Jordan." She said "With…" and I said, "NBC News."

After I said it, I thought to myself, Holy shit. I'm Jordan Schuman with NBC News. Haven't I waited a really long time to be Jordan Schuman with NBC News? Today, I was. 

I interviewed both men who responded on behalf of Fire Rescue. I re-learned why it was best to interview them separately. There are a few reasons for this, actually. It's very awkward when you have a shot of two subjects and only one of them speaks. It sometimes causes the viewer to question why the second person is there in the first place. Secondly, when two people are together in an interview, one tends to dominate the conversation, and the only way to keep this from happening and truly get the most information is by separating the subjects.

My photographer was planning to leave Fire Rescue and shoot some video of heavy traffic on the Dolphin Expressway where the emergency occurred. I was going to head back to the office. 

Before we left the parking lot, the photographer received a phone call from our Bureau Chief letting him know we were to instead head to the aunt's house to interview her, and another photographer would get the traffic. I asked, "is someone meeting us there?" I was expecting him to tell me Mark Potter, the correspondent working on this story, would be there too. Instead, he said, "nah, we can do it."

It was this moment I realized no matter how many people were necessary to make this story happen, NBC would not have sent me if they didn't think I'd act professionally, ask the right questions, etc. I was thrilled to be on this adventure considering that as a bureau, most of our shoots are a long distance drive or plane ride away, and planned in advance and not on days I'm working. I was just lucky this news broke and was relevant when I was sitting at my desk. 

We headed to interview the aunt and arrived at the house at 11:45 a.m. It turns out the interview was scheduled for 1 p.m. so we went to lunch and returned shortly after 12:30 p.m. Also in the driveway was a photographer and reporter from Telemundo. They're on our team. 

We waited for Pamela Rauseo and in the meantime, reporters from the ABC & Univision and FOX affiliates also joined us outside the house. The tension was palpable. 

When Pamela's husband arrived, he told us he had committed to interview with us and Telemundo, and everyone else would have to wait. Why? Because we had called ahead and set up an interview, while the other reporters showed up and hoped for the best. It was that moment I knew I was on the right team. 

We went inside the house to set up for our interview and Pamela walked in. Before this, I realized that Pamela would be walking through the front door which was being crowded by aforementioned unscheduled reporters. There was nothing we could do if Pamela stopped to answer their questions first. We hoped she wouldn't because it would set us back in our schedule immensely. She didn't. Instead, she told them she was going to go ahead with her committed interviews with us, and if they wanted to wait they could. They didn't want to wait. 

I felt bad for Pamela for a little bit. She did a truly wonderful thing and saved her nephew's life, but yesterday, she was just a woman who lives a quiet life in Miami and has a 5-month-old nephew. Today, everyone wanted to talk to her. After she walked in, she handed her phone to her husband and said someone would be calling from Anderson Cooper. I couldn't imagine how overwhelmed she felt. 

A producer did end up coming to the house to help us. She conducted the interview. At the end, it's customary to ask the person if there's anything we didn't touch on that she wanted to discuss. She said no, so my producer then asked me if there was anything we didn't touch one that I wanted to discuss. There wasn't, but I was really glad she asked. 

Afterward, we shot some B-roll in the baby's room. The photographer shot Pamela looking through a closet of too-cute baby clothes. Baby clothes make me all sentimental even when they aren't assigned to a child. Especially tiny little precious baby shoes. I suggested my photographer get a shot of the pairs of shoes on a shelf.

He told me he already did, but said I had a good eye for catching them.

There's a famous piece of literature believed to be authored by Ernest Hemingway: 

                                                              For sale: baby shoes, never worn

It is often considered the shortest novel in history. I know how much these 6 words say, so imagine them in pictures? I thought about the very different story we could have been covering if not for the kindness of strangers and the assistance of nearby officials. The baby shoes would speak even more volumes that way. I'm so glad they didn't have to.

At around 2:04 p.m., my photographer asked me if I was a fast driver. I said yes, because… I don't know why. I just said yes. He gave me the tape to bring back to the bureau, since this story was for Nightly News and we were on a very tight deadline. 

I didn't speed, but I wondered if I had, if a police officer would understand and/or care and/or empathize with the fact that, "I need to bring this tape back to the office as soon as I can because it's going on Nightly News tonight- that's NBC- and I'm only going soooo quickly because, well, see I'm only an intern but I worked really hard on this story and I need to get it to New York!!" I was glad I didn't need to say any of that to anyone.

I brought it back to the office and immediately started logging with another producer. I log a lot, but this time, instead of hearing Mark Potter or Kerry Sanders ask the questions, I heard my voice. Remember, I'm Jordan Schuman with NBC News.

At 4 p.m., we had a script. It was sent for approval and was approved. I could not believe this was going to be on Nightly News. I watched an editor in the edit room which slowly filled up with producers. By 6:30 p.m., Mark Potter, me, an editor and two producers were in the room. We were on the phone feeding the story to New York around 6:27 p.m. I could not believe this story was going to be on Nightly News. On the other end of the phone was the control room at 30 Rock. You know 30 Rock. Where NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams is shot? Well we heard a countdown from 10 and we were on the air. Though I still could not believe this story was going on Nightly News, I started to. NY had our story at about 6:28 p.m. The show went live at 6:30 p.m. 

I breathed a sigh of relief after the time-crunch story-chasing day we had. I said goodnight to everyone at work, and we celebrated a job well done. 

I drove home. 

When I got home, I received an email that the Senior Producer at Nightly loved our story, and people were saying "yay!" in the control room.

That would've been more than enough for me, but this tweet from @MarkPotterNBC didn't hurt either…

"@jordanschumantv We are thrilled to have Jordan working with us. She is so smart and has such a bright future!"

You know, just in case you weren't sure this blog is the blog to be reading.

It is :)

You heard it here first,
Jordan

See the full piece here.

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