Desk Assistants - Broadcast
Broadcast Desk Assistant duration: 6 month terms (January to July / July to January)
The
Desk Assistant (DA) position is part of a six-month entry-level program aimed
at providing practical experience in a broadcast news setting. The DAs are exposed
to all aspects involved in producing a nightly television news program. This position
is divided into rotations among the different units that compose the NewsHour.
The DAs also act as support staff for Senior Producers, Associate Producers and
Reporters and Production Assistants.
| LOGGING | This
DA watches, logs and manages incoming feeds from the AP. This person must have
an understanding of what makes good footage and what stories are important to
various people in the organization. This DA will also log press conferences and
hearings as needed. The Logging DA also provides general assistance to those working
in the newsroom. | | WIRES | The
Wires DA is primarily responsible for providing general coverage in the newsroom,
logging news feeds, answering phones, distributing faxes, photocopying and assisting
in daily script production. He/She should also keep a close eye on the incoming
wires stories, alerting the appropriate people as they appear. Most importantly,
this DA fact and spell checks the script and is the last person to view the copy
before we tape the show. Attention to detail is essential. | RESEARCH
| The Research DAs are responsible for assisting
the research librarians in long-term projects such as compiling research files
for anchors and producers before they travel and managing the tape library. In
the evening, both Research DA's help with the show's production in the control
room. Additional research duties include fact-checking, compiling viewer mail,
recycling beta tapes and back-timing the program. | | SETUP
UNIT | The Setup DA is responsible for footage
research and acquisition; dubbing video tapes onto audio for transcription; screening
and logging tapes, domestic and international feeds; re-shelving tapes; and providing
additional assistance in the edit and tape rooms. | | BEAT | The
Beat DA assists the producers and reporters based with the following beats: Foreign
Affairs, National Affairs and Politics. He/She provides basic research, helps
secure guests, pre-interviews guests and provides general assistance to the producers. |
DAs may be assigned additional special duties, as required. APPLICATION
DEADLINES
October 30, 2009 (for January-July 2010); April 30, 2010 (for July
2010-January 2010) QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree is required, along
with good writing and research skills, good administrative skills, a pleasant
phone manner and efficient work habits. TO APPLY
Please send a resume,
cover letter and application to the Desk Assistant coordinator (see below). CONTACT
You can download an application as a Microsoft
Word document. You may also request an application by contacting the NewsHour's
desk assistant coordinator either by sending an e-mail to lknapp@newshour.org,
calling 703.998.2150 or sending a letter to: Lauren Knapp
Desk Assistant
Coordinator
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
3620 S. 27th Street
Arlington,
VA 22206 EOE |
