VIDEO FEATURES:
Package #1: Behind the scenes of the debate: CLICK HERE
Package #2: Four minutes with Brian Williams: CLICK HERE
Package #3: Hardball's Chris Matthews at the debate: CLICK HERE
The Democratic Presidential Debate is set...and now the countdown has begun...
2:30 PM: Arrived at WKYC to find a newsroom packed full of anchors, reporters and photographers, news manager and other personnel assemblying with final instructions and a snack to take along for lunch.
2:48 PM: We begin preparing the final rundowns for the 6 & 7 PM news broadcasts.. The producers have been hard at work for the past several hours putting the content of the shows together. Now, the directors do our magic in marking our rundowns with camera shots, getting them to the printer and distributed to the crews both here and at Cleveland State.3:30 PM: The new WKYC CommuterCast format is done after consultation with AJ Colby as to the content of the 4:30 live show. That goes to the printer.
3:52 PM: We must begin taping our Weather Plus cut-ins that air this evening. Betsy Kling stands in front of the chromakey wall and we roll and record
4:00 PM: Tim & Romona have left for CSU where they will be prepare for the evening broadcast and shake some hands with a few folks, I'm sure.
4:30 PM: The CommuterCast hits the web.. We got about 6 1/2 minutes with the latest live weather and traffic information from around the area.
4:45 PM: A return to the newsroom to begin working on scripts for the show. Tonight, I'll be directing the 7 PM broadcast.. Scripts are already printed and my marking is underway
5:00 PM: Time to update the blog.. take a breather...and look ahead to what else is coming tonight.
5:02 PM: The 7 PM rundown changes dramtically and must be reworked.. Carrie Young is my producer. She tries to calm me by saying, it's just a few changes.. It turns out that I need to reprint the entire show.
5:20 PM: Rundown is reprinted and redistributed.
5:45 PM: Problems arise with some of the cameras for the 6 pm show from CSU... Everyone's heart starts beating fast.. We were hoping we could present everything in 16x9, but we have some issues... so we must regroup a bit.
6:00 PM: Finally, we are on the air...but a little audio "hum" in the mics for Tim & Romona.
6:30 PM: Show is off the air... and all is well
7:00 PM: Show #2 of the day back on the air... Andrea Mitchell gets tied up on Hardball and can't join us.. Some quick reshuffling for the 3rd block...and we head to Betsy and weather. Good show.. thank goodness.. I live for another.
7:35 PM: Pizza, sandwiches and caffeine as we get ready for the next round - the 8 PM live broadcast.
8:02 PM: Our live special hits the air.. Poor Jennifer Murphy... right in the thick of it with a protest from Serbian members outside the Wolstein Center. Camera shot was a little too close for my comfort.
8:41 PM: We head to the WKYC Channel 3 "Blog Room" where Paul Thomas introduces us to our in house bloggers. It's "Meet the Bloggers" night with some of Cleveland's most influential political bloggers.
9:00 PM: The 8 PM show wraps up.. another quick breather for the staff...then we'll turn around and do the Akron Canton News at 10, a debate wrap up at 10:30 and Channel 3 News at 11 PM.
9:25 PM: Got all my scripts marked for the next the 10:30 and 11 PM shows, which I'll be directing.
10:34 PM: NBC wraps their live coverage and we start our Post Debate Coverage
11:31:51 PM: We fade to black and the day comes to an end.. what a day it was!
