No…I’m not eating here….not after “SuperSize Me.” Ewww….
Ok….just got off work….had to catch up on work e-mail….Reuters is blocking my access to the Haas webmail page….so….that’s bad. I need to get a schedule now…but I’m still training. I probably won’t have a regular schedule until next week.
It stopped raining in London. Thank heavens. I need a little sunshine to maintain my good mood….I suppose it’s because I’m from California.
What can I say…..haven’t done too many touristy things. We ate out every night….haven’t gotten around to cooking, yet. I should start making my own meals because the pound is damn expensive.
I started working at Reuters on Wed. When I arrived - they had no idea
who I was. Apparently, my contact decided to take the day off.
I had one more contact name from Medill and he gave me a tour of the newsroom and a brief orientation speech on the Reuters operation. Apparently, CNN, MSNBC and a bunch of folks use 90 percent of
the Reuters TV feed. I also learned today that
Reuters is suing Bloomberg for stealing stories and slapping its own byline….I wonder how a Bloomberg insider would answer that.
On my first day - I watched over the shoulders of the helpdesk dude. I also did dictation, while he translated some Arabic script from an Al Jazeer feed. Then I was sent over to the input desk. The input desk takes care of feeding Reuters video into the servers and tape decks, via satellite, ftp and teleform. They also grab breaking news video from other networks. They get video from all over the world - calling up the Master Control Room to feed footage from Jerusalem, Baghdad, Singapore and beyond. All in the matter of minutes….they have to be fast….they have to be good…it’s the only way to stay one step ahead of the competition. It was a busy afternoon and I think I may have gotten in her way. But we’re cool - she was doing her job and I’m just a rookie.
On Thursday, my contact decided to come in to work. He gave me a quick
apology and we had a good chat about what I can do for Reuters. He said the plan was to have me observe the different operations of Reuters. By next week, he expects to have me on shadow shifts and training shifts. So - for the rest of my residency, I will work as a freelance producer for Reuters Reports an the World News Feed. I observed the input desk, a producer and the Eurovision desk, yesterday.
Today, I sat down with the output desk and another producer. This whole week, we had some very bloody/gory/disturbing video to deal with. I thought I was a savvy TV viewer. But these images were difficult to watch - to the point of nauesating. Reuters producers assured me that this was natural and that there was no shame in turning away. I didn’t turn away. I reminded myself that this is nothing compared to the folks have to face the death and violence, in person. My stomach clenched as I watched stretchers bring in bloody bodies….I almost lost my breakfast when I saw the one guy, his leg blown off…and everything’s falling out. I guess this means I’m human. I’m a bit ashamed though….how the hell can I do this job if I get sick at the sight of bloody body parts? Yeah….saw a lot of that as well…men holding on to their blown off arms. I suppose they hoped for a miracle to re-attach their missing limbs.
Death….funerals and burials. One man leaned into kiss the pale cheek of his baby….then I realized it was a dead baby, being lowered into the ground. My heart churned. I tried to stop shaking. I hope nobody noticed. I’ll try to put it behind me. I say a quick prayer for those suffering souls. I don’t know what else I can do.
This afternoon, I observed the Central/Eastern European Desk. He is a Yank and a former CBS producer/reporter. We had a good chat. He made a
cup of coffee for me. I wrote some copy on video about Lithuanian jobs. That was thrilling to me. A producer and Omar both said they managed to land full-time jobs with Reuters after their internships. I hope to follow in their footsteps….hopefully they’ll have some producer positions open when I graduate in March. Plus, writing for the video made me feel useful…finally!
Of course…Reuters is an agency….I won’t find any glories in bylines or credits. So…things like this Lithuanian story…nobody will know who did what on it. That’s fine. It’s Reuters. I don’t need the limelight. As long as somebody at that agency knew I did some good…I think that’s enough for me. If I’m ever sent to Baghdad and end-up risking life and limb for a story…it may be a different matter. For now, I’m just happy to be at Reuters.
This residency will rock. I’ll make sure of it.
Maybe I shouldn’t eat such a big breakfast…though
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