ELKINS -
Probably the busiest, quickest and most stressful time of day for a reporter is the few short minutes leading up to the show.
"The most Stressful part of this job is right before deadline," said Stacy Jacobson, reporter for WBOY 12 NewsTonight I had a story that was airing at 5:05 and I probably got it in at 5:02."
Just before the show, reporters are quickly finishing up the final touches for their stories: last minute editing, printing scripts, touching up makeup, fixing the hair, and practicing lines right before the show.
The reporters don't have a teleprompter for their live shots or newsroom shots so they have to have a strong grip on their stories.
"I might really quickly throw a curling iron in my hair," Jacobson said. "Touch up my makeup. I always have my makeup from earlier but I always touch it up before going on air because the lighting outside is much more forgiving than the lighting we have in the studio."
The first thing a reporter does before getting in front the camera is adjust his or her height.
Each reporter is a different height "in person" but "on camera" reporters look about the same height.
"We have boards," Jacobson said. "Some use no boards, some of us use one board if we are wearing really high heels. If I am wearing flats I need three boards. You don't know what our feet look like but we are probably always standing on one, two or three boards."
After setting the shot, the reporter hooks up his or her microphone and inserts his or her IFB.
"The little thing that goes in our ear is an IFB and it's perfectly molded to my ear so it doesn't fall out which is nice," Jacobson said. "That is hooked up with our master control so I can hear my producer say standby, or next or go."
To see what this all looks like, click on the video player on the top left hand of the screen.
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