AnchorMommy

A look inside the Fox 12 newsroom

February 22, 2010 by Shannon

It’s been a total blast to be back at work at my old job. I can’t say it enough. After all, it’s a job I really didn’t want to leave. And even though I am relieved and grateful that I took the plunge into stay-at-home mom life, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the newsroom. I spent eight years of my life at that place, and 10 years in the news industry. How could I not miss it?

So while I’ve been granted this delightful opportunity to walk in my old news anchor/producer shoes, I thought it might be fun to give all of you kind of a behind-the-scenes look at Fox 12. To start things off, here are a few interesting tidbits.

Fox 12 Fun Facts:

• The walls of the newsroom (and most of the building except for the news studio) are painted turquoise, marigold and merlot.
• An anchor’s son (about 4 years old at the time) once puked on the newsroom carpet, looked up at the assignment editor and said, “It’s okay. It happens.”
• The temperature in the newsroom is extremely fickle. The vents are known for blowing out frigid air in the dead of winter, and a warm, tropical breeze in the middle of summer. Heating and cooling crews seem to visit the newsroom 2-3 times a month, at least.
• An unidentified man once entered the station through an accidentally unlocked door, wandered around, and then slipped out the back before anyone could corner him. Creepy.
• The station now has robotic cameras, eliminating the need for camera operators. They are very slim and sleek, but the camera lens is like a giant eyeball staring you down, and it’s a little eerie to watch those eyeballs rotate around to get different camera shots, seemingly of their own volition.
• In 2008, the news team created our own version of “The Office” theme song. You can find it here. Oh, and while you’re at it, look at the Fox 12 News version of “The A Team” theme song. (A few notes about our “A Team” spoof. Look closely and you’ll see the old Fox 12 set. The “Write It Down” signs are a reference to a promotion we used to do and you’ll see me posting them everywhere as a nod to a scene in “Napoleon Dynamite.” Oh, and if you look closely at the Fox 12 minivan you will see flames coming off of the Fox 12 logo. Friggin’ sweet.)

Next stop on our tour, the studio and newsroom. Here we go:

The Fox 12 newsroom. To the left, Mike Vogel (reporter/weekend anchor). To the right, Jennifer Gonzalez (9 p.m. producer).

Mike Vogel now occupies what used to be my old desk. Best location in the newsroom. Just look how much he loves it!

My temporary desk, which used to belong to my former co-worker, Dan Hamilton. I finally get to enjoy his deeeeluxe office chair. Ahhhh.

The lovely "Welcome Back, But Don't Get Too Comfortable -- You're A Temp" gift someone left for me. I think I know who.

It's so nice to work with my friend Jennifer again! And to gossip and giggle on a daily basis! But we really do work, I promise.

The Fox 12 News at Nine rundown! This is the computer program that is essentially, our "brain." We read news wires here, write our stories here, plan out the flow of the newscast, and keep tabs on who is writing/editing which stories. On this particular night, I got to write the lead story! Ah. It is good to be back.

Ladies and gentlemen...weather guy extraordinaire, Steve Liebenthal!

Here you see some of the creepy, robotic eyeball cameras I mentioned earlier.

Photojournalist Ryan Hilliard, busily editing before the evening newscasts begin.

The sound booth -- where all the voice-over magic happens.

Co-anchor Nate Kuester and I, minutes before American Idol wraps up and Fox 12 News at Nine begins.

My scripts for the newscast. They may look like random piles, but trust me -- there is a method to my paper madness here. Oh, and have I mentioned I have successfully avoided a script-shuffling papercut? Just for saying that, I'm sure I'll get one tonight.

This is what I like to call the "IFB brick" or "my little pet." It's the box that we plug our earpieces into, so we can hear the producer and/or director speaking to us from the control room. Back in the days when our anchors were not tethered to a desk (we would sit on a different set for each segment) I used to have to shove this thing in the back of my skirt or pants so I could move freely about the studio. Not comfortable.

Reporter Matt Loveless puts on his mic near the "weather wall" (the big green wall just behind him) in preparation for his slot in the 9 p.m. newscast.

A little American Idol before the newscast. Sadly, we can't really hear how this guy sounds unless Steve Liebenthal turns one of his monitors to Fox 12 and turns up the volume for us.

And finally, here's what it's all about: communication. This rug greets you upon your entry to the Fox 12 newsroom.

So there you have it! Your own personal, behind-the-scenes tour of the Fox 12 newsroom and studio. Thanks for coming along.