And I know it wasn't published until about 8 p.m. And I know it was a complex story, but I'd like to hear kind of that publishing process and what prompted the delay in it being published so many hours later. I guess it was 3.30 when the first presser happened. And the desk was asking questions over to the web. And there was some confusion as to what the plan of action was going to be. And you tried to get Asia to publish the story? Or you tried to assign her? I think she was working on something else. She was working on something else. And so I said, what do you need? And so when that was all happening, I got up and I went to route the presser to an appropriate channel. And I was trying to figure out the prop or whatever. Because there was something in your story that said something about the urgency or the lack of urgency. And I was like, I was the one that got up and was trying to figure it out. I think with that, there were so many press conferences that afternoon. There was like 3.30, 4, 6, I think. So I think that when I first mentioned it to Asia and then brought it to you, I think the idea wasn't necessarily streaming that 3.30 one. Because I think we were already a little bit past. I think it was just after 3.30. We were kind of late to that one. But I think with the 4 p.m. coming up and then also the 6 p.m. one later, I think with that story, it's something that needed to be up quicker. Just because other stations were publishing the story. And it was coming out that this association president was arrested. And that was the story, I think, at that moment. When I learned about it, the angle was like this arrest. And that was a big kind of a breaking thing at that moment. So that's more when I was looking for a quick story, not like a re-listen to the press conferences and kind of transcribed quotes and like craft a whole detailed story. I think it's something that could have been done quicker. And then later added to as the night goes on. And then also combining it with what LaMonica was recording later that night. So I think it's just we wanted something quicker on digital. And then I think with the story being up so much later in the day, we kind of missed that window when the story was first breaking. Was there anything in the communication that was unclear that we should go full breaker? I didn't get that. And I acknowledge, I definitely, I don't think, I think the communication was kind of quick. So I can't see how it wasn't. I think that's what it boils down to. There was like a lapse in communication. And so when I got the email, I was pretty much blindsided because of the tone of it. It was just like the lack of urgency. I mean, we'll start with that story. And then also, yeah, so there was nothing up for the, there was an unpreparedness for the 3.30 presser. So then I was like, what's even going on? Because I'm just getting in for the day. And so I had to work backwards to figure out what it was. And then what was the angle? What's the presser on? So I was just trying to route it. And then I started writing. And then I saw on Slack that you had popped up in the channel. And you said Andre Torres was like working on this story. And so, I mean, you didn't communicate that to me. You didn't say, I mean, like, I was just assuming that I was going to do it because like Asia wasn't available. So I just started working on it. And that was more of a note for LaMonica saying like, hey, you're getting up an original, or a quick version, and that LaMonica would later add her details to it. And I think maybe those instructions weren't as clear as they could have been. And then as it was going on, then I did start listening to the first presser in real time. Like we missed the top of it. And then I was just trying to catch up. So I got that transcribed or whatever. Not transcribed, but I was starting to build the story. And then the second presser already started. And then that was when I started listening to it. And he was going through 15 counts, 12 of which were sustained. And so I was just like, this is more than just an arrest. And my instinct kicked in. And I was just like, this is going to be bigger. And that's when I took out the earpiece and I said to you face to face, I was like, this is going to be more. I'm going to need more time to do this. Because this is like LaDoris Cordell in a 400-page report, but it ended up being a 91-page report with exhibits. So I was just like, this is pretty big. And then I was listening to the counts. And it was like charges of homophobia, homophobic language, racist language. And then the whole inappropriate relationship. I was like, this is like bombshell allegations. And then there was something in the email that you said, I said it wasn't a good use of my time. That's not how I said it. I got up and I said to you, is this the best use of my time? Because we have a reporter on this, LaMonica is doing it. And I felt a little overwhelmed. I was like, should I be doing this if LaMonica is also doing it? And then that's when you did break down a little bit more structure as to what you were looking for. You said you were just looking for a shell. But that's also at the same time, how do I break this down from three pressers in the report into, and I guess it was only two pressers at that point, but a third one did happen. Break it down into just a shell. What is, this is more than just an arrest. An arrest is like a sidebar. And I think more when you were saying that it would take longer, I think you were thinking it would take your whole shift or a lot longer to put together a story. And I think the idea was that LaMonica is going to fill in the details, more details later and more quotes and her soundbites and all of that. And I think your story was meant to be that initial news and something that she could have added to later. And it was definitely a complex story. There was a lot of details and a lot of things that you had to listen carefully to the press conference. So I think it just was something that needed to be up quite a bit quicker. I guess I'm just thinking of election night and what was hammered into us is we want to be, we don't want to be first. We want to be accurate. And I was just like, that's the mantra. And I was like, this is the story. And it was like, actually, I'm proud of what I turned out. And LaMonica didn't even add anything to it. It was just the video. She was like, it looks like you have it all covered. And we had it out by 8 p.m. It's ahead of the 10 o'clock news. So I treated it with as much urgency and with as much attention to detail as I possibly could have. And so I'm happy with what I turned out. It was a very comprehensive story, definitely. I think a lot of times we'll do initial breaking news stories that are briefer and that a reporter will add to later. And I think maybe that communication might not have come across like it needed to be a quicker turnaround. I think what I expected from this was even just a couple of sentences of this person has been arrested. There were just dueling press conferences filled with details that appear to be alleged scandal and accusations. And we are following it and we'll have more for you. And at least getting on the record with it sooner. I know it's ideal to have everything all fleshed out and beautiful before you publish. But I think, and not with the intention of being first, just with the intention of being more timely than 8 o'clock. But by 8 o'clock, to have those great details is good. That's a good metric to have that. I think getting on the record with what we know now would have been the additional step that I would want to see in that. And maybe you want to come, like Tim uses the phrase, full breaker. Maybe you want to come up with your own phrase. That means let's get up two sentences on what we know and the headline to drive people and at least say, hey, this just happened. This is what we know with as much detail as we have. And also saying what we don't have. A lot of times it's helpful to tell people we don't know how this is intertwined with X, Y, Z. And then to aim for that 8 o'clock story later. Where did you two leave it when you had to go? I knew he was working on the story, and that was kind of my thought. I knew it was being worked on when I left. Okay. I think let's work on some sort of however you want to communicate with your team about, like, I need a shell up now, and then we'll fill in details as we go. Whether you want to call it full breaker a la Tim or whatever. And it was definitely something, like, I think I had gotten out of a median and I didn't know the details of the story either, so I was trying to kind of backtrack. And I think my thought was, like, this is a sheriff's association president arrested, and I think it's so much more than that from what we've learned so far. But I think I was like, okay, this prominent person arrested, that's what we want to get out there, or the sheriff announcing charges. And that, I think, was the urgency of it in my perspective. And, of course, it turned into much more, I think, as the night went on. I'm sorry. And I actually did have, like, dueling press conferences. The original headline I turned to Asia, I was like, there's some really good details here. I was like, I don't think dueling press conferences is, like, the headline. And so, like, we talked about changing it. And so I was just like, oh, man. And I felt, yeah, like I felt a little bit over my head at some point. And then that's when I was like, I think what you saw was, like, maybe a little bit of panic on my end. Yeah. I was just like, oh, like, oh, boy. I have a lot of catch-up to do. And I also think all around it was kind of a confusing story right at first. So I think, no, we didn't know the details at first. So that maybe caused some of the panic. Like, we're trying to catch up on this complex story. And as it's unfolding through the night, something that I've told Oni to do before as well is, like, even if you only have, like, three graphs, if you grab the EP and read it to them and say, this is what I have. Is this accurate? Is this accurate? Is this fine to go with? And then check back with her. Hi, I just heard this thing or whatever. Like, I'm going to add this. Do we have this? And even just get granular like that for something because it is complicated. And you really can't. I mean, you can publish a story with one line or two, you know, a couple sentences just to get the story out there and make it more of a comprehensive story as the night goes on. Okay. Yeah, well, I think those were – that was my main thing. And then also just I wanted to mention, like, the tardiness. And I just want to reiterate the importance of being on time for your team and the, you know, just the importance of being on time because I think everyone here is, like, leading up to your shift or relying on that timeliness. Yeah, I've noticed a pattern, and there's been some maybe about a dozen times since Kayla started here that we've been excessively late. What is excessively late? I would consider that more than 15 minutes. Everyone gets a buffer. But half an hour is a lot. You know, notifying Kayla is a good step, but I just need you to remedy that. I did mention to you on election night about the ferry schedule change, and that was, like, for the entire time I've been here, it's always left at 225, and that's, like, perfect timing for me to get to, like, Jack London Square and then, like, walk. It changed on November, the first week of November, to 230, and so that's never happened before. So then I was just like, oh, no. Like, the first day it happened, I was like, where's the ferry? And then, like, it finally came on time, as it always does, and then I was like, well, now I'm late. So I mentioned that to you, and I mentioned, like, we bumped up my shift to, like, 230 back to where it originally was. Or, like, what is the grace period? Like, in instances where I do take the ferry, and I got here at, like, 311 that day. Yeah, I'm not counting that. Okay. I won't count that as excessive. In the immediate future, I don't have any, like, moving your shift. I need someone here to the end of it, but that doesn't mean that's not something we can revisit. We've talked about schedules before, you and I, that you may not be aware of. And right now, I don't have the flexibility to do that, but that doesn't mean that things won't change in the immediate future. Yeah, I don't consider 15 minutes excessively late, but half an hour. Yeah. Anything else to add? I think it just gets back to communication, too. Like, with the secondary email, it was like, I asked you yesterday if you wanted to talk about the first one. And you said, no, we can wait until tomorrow. And then you left, and no sooner than you got to the parking lot, like, I heard my email go off again. And I was like, what's this? And it was, like, a secondary email. I was like, why don't you just say that face-to-face to me when I give you the opportunity? And it's like, because you can't really read tone in email. And so I would just don't feel like, I guess, like, I want you to feel comfortable talking to me, especially since we do have, like, limited face time. I mean, it is a weird dynamic to, like, literally be face-to-face with your boss or whatever, like, as you're sitting there. But take advantage of that time. And instead of when I said, would you like to talk about it? And you said, no, let's wait until tomorrow. But then I was like, well, then why am I getting this? I was confused by, like, the secondary email. Especially because it was, like, as soon as you left, like, you sent it. And I was like, that just took me off guard. Okay, okay. Yeah, well, I do think our time, I mean, with your, you know, getting here at 3 and I'm, you know, leaving in the early evening, that time is limited. So I will definitely make more of a priority to do that communication face-to-face. Good. I work on the communication. And when there's an issue, if you're feeling overwhelmed, I just ask for excessive communication back to Kayla as well of, I'm feeling overwhelmed, I need more resources. Even if you don't know what those resources are, right? Even if I need help, I need something like that. Because I think we don't want to leave you hanging. We don't want to drown you in a crazy story and then leave and abandon you. But we also want to make sure that we're getting things out in a timely manner. And I would say, yes, it is a good use of your time to try and parse that out, but let's figure out what's realistic, right? And try to parse out a complex story, but it doesn't have to be perfect in its first iteration. It can be two graphs, you know? So make sure you're communicating with Kayla, and if not Kayla, but Nightside EP on this is urgent and I need assistance. Kayla's looping in the Nightside EP. Is the Nightside EP on board with this? Do they know that I'm on digital and we need to be in communication? That's a constant conversation I'm having with her and the people who fill in for her. And it'll be another conversation when she goes on leave. Your team is very capable, so especially people who are working with minimal supervision on those shifts, I think that you guys are extremely capable. And I think sometimes the EPs tend to think, well, no one's complaining, so they must be fine, right? So I would rather have them over-communicating with you and you walking through your three graphs literally word for word until you're comfortable with what we have. I will say she's great at flagging me on things over Slack or whatever, but I do feel like, well, I don't have an editor. I'm not calling Tim or Kayla in the middle of the night and being like, hey, I just finished this story. Can you take a look? It needs a second set of eyes. That doesn't happen. And that doesn't happen with the EP either. There's no second set of eyes. You absolutely can and should take work to the EP. Oni has all of her stuff cleared. Lisa will send stories to Brett or Darren, whoever she happens to see first. So absolutely, some things, you know, we can completely trust you to just publish like a sign. But if you would like or think better safe than sorry, if you think maybe it could benefit from a second set of eyes, she can absolutely help with that. You know, 955 might not be the best time to ask, but that is absolutely something that I've told your other colleagues that, like, on the weekends Oni calls the on-call manager and in the morning Lisa relies on Brett or Aaron. And if one of them are busy, sometimes Sammy will step in and just give something a second set of eyes if it's not heavy, you know. So please do absolutely lean on her. And I can reiterate that to her, that like Andre will be coming to you with copy editing requests. And they may be really intense or they may just be like, let's just make sure I'm not convicting someone. And then like, yeah, also sometimes I'll just be like, I'll walk over and just be like, can I go with this? Or like, would you say this or whatever? Like that's kind of been the workflow. I think even like the assignment desk, I mean, if you have concerns of like you want to make sure something's confirmed, I mean, I just will like ask and go over there, ask a question. And I think they're always really helpful with like, yes, we have this. No, we don't. Or that sort of thing. Okay. Great. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Publishing Complex News Stories
General Overview
This document recounts a discussion between members of a newsroom about the handling of a complex news story and addressing tardiness. It outlines the challenges in balancing urgency and accuracy, emphasizing Publishing Complex News Stories
General Overview
This document recounts a discussion between members of a newsroom about the handling of a complex news story and addressing tardiness. It outlines the challenges in balancing urgency and accuracy, emphasizing Interview Debrief: Andre's Performance
Summary
This interview covers the discussion between Andre and interviewers about a recent work experience. The discussion focused on a story publishing incident, expectations on communication, time management, and punctuality. Both Andre and the interviewers shared their perspectives and tried to address misunderstandings about the assignment's urgency and timelines. Andre received feedback to improve interactions and the communication process within the team for future assignments.
Background
Andre works with a digital news team, facing high-pressure deadlines and an evolving news environment. Richie strategies and mutual respect guide his work ethic under challenging circumstances. Andre's main responsibility is to ensure accurate and timely news articles, collaborating with colleagues for comprehensive coverage.
Core competencies
- Strong communication skills and efficient collaboration with team members.
- Aptitude for writing in a digital and fast-paced news setting.
- Effective time management in meeting deadlines under pressure.
Questions:
Question 1:What prompted the delay in publishing the story?
- Andre explained a complex process, including press conferences, lack of immediate resources, and initial miscommunication.
- The response highlighted the need for understanding the story's complexity and urgency.
Question 2:What were the challenges in coordinating with Asia and LaMonica?
- Andre struggled with determining roles and responsibilities amid the story's demands.
- There was also an overlap in tasks, causing Andre to second-guess the best allocation of resources.
Question 3:How can communication be improved in these situations?
- Andre acknowledged quick and sometimes unclear communication contributed to misunderstandings.
- A proposal for clearer language or phrases to signal urgent story updates was discussed.
Question 4:Feedback on Andre's published story and workflow?
- The feedback highlighted Andre's thoroughness and attention to details in the final story.
- Constructive suggestions were shared to aim for earlier iterations, even if brief.
Question 5:Concerns about punctuality and potential solutions?
- Andre mentioned ferry schedule changes as a challenge affecting his timeliness.
- Acknowledging the importance of punctuality, Andre offered to adjust routines and better communicate these issues.
Question 6:What steps are suggested to handle stress or being overwhelmed?
- Andre was advised to voice the need for additional resources or assistance timely.
- Emphasized reliance on team support and actively seeking input when necessary. Publishing Complex News Stories
General Overview
This document recounts a discussion between members of a newsroom about the handling of a complex news story and addressing tardiness. It outlines the challenges in balancing urgency and accuracy, emphasizing