By Cynthia E. Zeiden

NATAS National Program Chairperson

      The San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and IBEW-San Francisco are partnering to present a Fall series of master classes in TV production/post production free to NATAS and IBEW members, $25 each for non-members and $5 for students with a current ID in San Francisco.  

      The classes will also be live webcast to NATAS and IBEW members and then archived on YouTube.  RSVP's are required, use links under each class description.

      Each class will begin at 10 a.m. PST with a networking reception.  The classes/webcasts will begin at 11:00 a.m. PST.  The online audience will be able to ask questions of the instructors during Q&A periods, along with the live audience.  Each class will be divided into three segments.  The classes will end at 1:30 p.m. PST. 

      Get in-depth tips and techniques from the Bay Area Television Masters!  Each class will begin with basic principles but will quickly accelerate into advanced concepts in each craft area.

Master Class Schedule:

Steve Shlisky

  Steve Shlisky is a 35-year veteran of Bay Area television production (KTVU, KICU, and KNTV). A major chunk of that time spent editing local programming from short form PSAs, promotion, and commercial spots to longer form news features, sales presentations, and full length entertainment and documentary programs (� hour to 2 hours in length). Many of these long form programs, Steve has helped to produce, direct and write.

      Among his many honors, Shlisky has received 12 local Emmy� Awards (based on fifty nominations), 13 Telly awards and six RTNDA awards.

      Since 1999, Shlisky has lectured at San Francisco State University (in their BECA program) and Laney College where, since 2011, he co-chairs the Media Communication department. Past subjects have included: Video Production, Audio Aesthetics with Pro Tools; Advanced Editing; Work Experience; and Media Literacy. Currently he teaches one of the few semester-length DSLR workflow classes in the Bay Area.

      Shlisky also chairs the Education Committee for the SF NorCal National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) 

His Responsibilities include: Overseeing the judging and awarding of $16,000 of College Scholarships Awards in seven categories each year; facilitating the judging of the chapter's High School Awards; developing a media literacy program and arranging for a speaker's bureau.

Link to RSVP for Live Class:  LINK TO REGISTER

Link to RSVP for Webinar:  LINK TO REGISTGER

     I'm the bald-headed reporter who likes to shoot many of my own stories. It's what I have always done. In ninth grade, I

Wayne Freedman

published my first regular column for what is now The Los Angeles Daily News, and continued it through high school.

In 1977, I earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from UCLA while working as a network page assigned to the newsroom at KABC-TV in Los Angeles. In 1978, I finished my Masters Degree in Journalism at the University of Missouri. It's a great school. If you want to be a reporter, go there. Seriously. I have been on San Francisco television since 1981, beginning at KRON. Before that, I worked at stations in Louisville and Dallas. In 1989, CBS Network News hired me to produce and report national feature stories for CBS This Morning.

    ABC7 hired me in 1991. Since then, I have covered all kinds of local, state, national, and international stories. They include Russia's Second Revolution in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, along with major fires, earthquakes, elections, and NASA space missions. Twice, I crossed the country by train, visiting small towns and taking the pulse of America following the September 11th attacks.

    My book, It Takes More Than Good Looks to Succeed at Television News Reporting, now in its Second Edition, is required reading for major college journalism programs in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Since 1990, I have conducted more than one-hundred narrative writing and visual storytelling seminars for newsrooms and national organizations in the United States and overseas.

    Many people know me as the recipient of 51 Emmy� awards. I earned 13 of them for writing, and 14 others in the category of On Camera News Talent. There have been other multiple Emmy� awards in the categories of Breaking News, Feature Reporting, Feature Series, Sports Reporting, and News Programming Special. I am also a member of the Northern California chapter's Silver Circle. In 2011, I received my 50th Emmy� award for shooting and editing my own stories as a multi-media journalist. After the 51st, I retired from that competition, and now encourage others.

   In 2012, I received a regional Edward R. Murrow award for writing.

Link to RSVP for Live Class:  LINK TO REGISTER

Link to RSVP for Webinar:  LINK TO REGISTER

Elaine Clark

  Elaine Clark is the owner/founder of Voice One in San Francisco and the author of the best selling voiceover instructional book, There's Money Where Your Mouth Is [now in it's third edition].  For over three decades she has performed in all areas of voiceovers: commercials, narrations, videogames, animation, and toys.  She created the first interactive voice and diction app, Activate Your Voice. Through Voice One, she provides group classes plus one-on-one coaching on-site and via Skype.  Preparing to Record Your Voice, an on-line course, is available through Udemy.com. 

     As a coach to many newscasters, multimedia journalists, field reporters, weather forecasters, and financial analysts, Clark Clark is pleased to collaborate with the NATAS SF/Nor Cal chapter and IBEW by offering this informative and interactive voiceover class to local and nationwide members.

Link to RSVP for Live Class:  LINK TO REGISTER

Link to RSVP for Webinar:  LINK TO REGISTER

Camera/Lighting - Chris Bollini

Location: Academy of Art University, San Francisco

Saturday, January 24th

Chris Bollini

     Chris Bollini, Emmy Award-winning  photographer, editor and producer, started his broadcast journey at a public access station in Marin County. After an internship, he was offered a freelance photographer position on a weekly news magazine show.  From there, Bollini headed north to KFTY in Santa Rosa, where he entered the fast paced word of daily news. After two years, he changed pace and joined the creative service department and begin producing, shooting and editing local commercials and promotions.  After six years at KFTY-50, he was hired to work on show that merged the elements of news and production. 

    The station was CBS 5 and the show was Evening Magazine with Mike Rowe and Malou Nubla. Eventually,  the series morphed into Eye on the Bay with Liam Mayclem, Brian Hackney and Thuy Vu which aired for 8 years before being cancelled. Currently, Chris is very excited to be at KOFY TV working in the creative service department as well as the local programming world.  With shows like Creepy KOFY Movietime and Dance Party, KOFY TV is a fun  and rewarding place  to work.  

Link to RSVP for Live Class:  LINK TO REGISTER

Link to RSVP for Webinar:  LINK TO REGISTER

Questions:  office@emmysf.tv  or call (650) 341-7786

By Steve Shlisky

Chapter Education Committee Chairperson

      The San Francisco Northern California Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) encourages future digital media professionals by sponsoring college scholarships. This year seven scholarships are available: five separate undergraduate awards in reporting, videography, writing, production, and overall excellence; and two graduate awards in production and overall excellence.

      This year's $2,000 Scholarships will go to Sherae Honeycutt, from San Francisco State University, recipient of Rigo Chacon Reporting Scholarship; Vanessa-Marie Walker, from Sacramento State University, recipient of Kenneth Sloat Langley Memorial Scriptwriting Scholarship; and Michael Milano, from the University of California Berkeley, recipient of The "Miss Nancy" Besst Graduate Scholarship.

      For the fourth straight year, NATAS will award two scholarships generously funded by The Big Picture Film & Video Arts's local NATAS Governor, George Lang. These $3000 Scholarships memorialize two former KGO-TV Journalists. Jerry Jensen, who co-anchored News Scene 7 for more than ten years and Steve Davis, an anchor/reporter for more than 20 years in the '70s and '80s. The NATAS Education Committee, along with the entire NATAS Board of Governors, is grateful for this donation. Lang's honor ties these past professionals from the pinnacle of our chapter to the future media creators who are sure to make their own significant marks within our industry.

     The Steve Davis Under-Graduate Overall Excellence Scholarship goes to Jonathan Alonso, from City College of San Francisco, and The Jerry Jensen Graduate Overall goes to Tyler Trumbo, from Stanford University.

     Currently a senior at San Francisco State University's (SFSU) Broadcast and Communication Arts Program (BECA), Sherae Honeycutt says that journalism is very important to her: "My whole life I have loved to tell stories" She has already shown a passion for news gathering by completing two newsroom internships one at KTVU and then at KRON. Soon after her stint at KRON she was hired to be a production assistant. This past summer she interned with the Los Angeles Bureau of the NBC Nightly News.

     This scholarship adds to her burgeoning honors. Honeycutt has awards for Best Newscast by the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (while she worked on a Certificate in Multimedia Journalism from San Francisco City College), and the Anthony F. Torrano Memorial Scholarship (from SFSU) for accomplishments in broadcasting. While at SFSU, she held the position of Vice President of External Affairs for College Students in Broadcasting (CSB) when they received the "Outstanding Student Organization" the Dean of Students. She currently is president of CSB this year.

     After graduation in the spring semester of 2015, Honeycutt's professional goal is to become a news reporter, eventually becoming an investigative journalist at the network level: "Even if it is the worst day of someone's life, I hope that by telling their story, and giving them a voice, it can soften the blow."

     As an incoming graduate student at UC Berkeley's School of Journalism, Vanessa-Marie Walker says: "Journalism has always been a passion of mine". Broadcasting, however, was not her original goal. Studying print journalism as an undergraduate at Sacramento State University, she saw professional opportunities start to slip away. As the print journalism industry changed and her graduation loomed, Walker grew more concerned about a career in print journalism. She shifted to video production so she could still pursue her love to tell stories. She was offered an internship in KTVU's Community Affairs Department in June of 2013. KTVU became her non-traditional television classroom for the next seven months. She produced segments for "Bay Area People", acted as a site producer, wrote public service announcements, and assisted on shoots from the Golden Gate Bridge to the wooded depths of Butte County. She worked side-by-side with photographers and lighting professionals, learning how to create the perfect shot; with producers to create impactful scripts and memorable content; and editors to learn how to piece together all the elements of a visual story.

     This internship changed the trajectory Walker's career, she creating a 10-minute documentary about community centers on the Sacramento State campus and was hired as a morning production assistant in the KTVU newsroom. She says: "In my career, I hope to become a broadcast reporter and a filmmaker, focusing in on news and issues pertaining women, public health and culture."

     University of California at Berkeley Graduate student Michael Milano co-produced the Journalism school's first CNS newscast school for the Fall 2014 semester. He shot and edited the introduction, wrote copy for reporter and story introductions, managed thirteen reporters and edited the segments into a thirty-minute show.  Milano is witnessing television's evolution and sets his goal to be: "One of the journalists at the forefront of that evolution, through whose work the new standards are set and mediums are defined."

     Like Walker, Milano interned at KTVU in their Community Affairs department. Here he pitched stories and produced individual segments, conducting pre-interviews, and writing scripts and introductions for the host. This past March, he wrote a grant and went to Perth, Australia to produce a TV news piece about the regional government's policy of killing large, endangered sharks in an attempt to make the beaches safer for bathers.

     Milano believes "A journalist must push beyond traditional boundaries and turn their storytelling into an art form. Stories that transcend will have to tap into the unspoken cultural truths of a people, or person, or place, and gently educate the uninformed."

    At the age of seven, Jonathan Alonso's started producing videos using a camcorder reluctantly lent to him by his father.  Alonso, a first generation Latino-Native American, has decided to use video to continue his family tradition of storytelling. He says: "I feel there is a tremendous power in film to move and embolden people to think and react and I want to dedicate my life to creating film and media that inspires Latin American and Native people all over the world."

    A lack of funds delayed Alonso from starting college right after high school. He became an Early Childhood Educator, but continued his interest in production, reading screenplays, making short films, and music videos. At 31 year's old, a full fourteen years after graduating high school, Alonso was able to enter college full time and pursue a degree in film. Enrolling in City College of San Francisco (CCSF), he hopes transfer to a state school and completing his Bachelor's Degree.  

    Alonso has met some early success. He entered the 14th annual City Shorts Film Festival and won a "Best of Festival" award. He says: "I've never felt more certain of pursuing film academically." This experience has greatly encouraged his resolve: "I want to make films that empower my people to triumph over adversity and privilege. I want to document the blood sweat and tears of my ancestors and my family in guaranteeing me an opportunity to place my mark on the world."

    Tyler Trumbo's early interest in documentaries began in high school with his internship at the public television station WBRA in Roanoke, Virginia, where he assisted in live broadcasts. While directing and the documentary "AIDSTanzania" as an undergraduate, Trumbo appreciated the power of the medium: "The camera became a way to not only show others at home the complicated situations and struggles, but it also helped the organization find its role within the community."

    After receiving his undergraduate degree, Trumbo spent five years working with a small production profiling artisans and musicians in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia near where he grew up: "I witnessed a sense of empowerment from the artisans when watching themselves in our videos."

    Once Trumbo receives his graduate degree (he is halfway through Stanford University's M.F.A. Program in Documentary Film and Video), he hopes to balance a career making feature documentaries for broadcast while teaching at the college level. Over the summer he was a teaching assistant for Stanford University's Arts Intensive summer program. This program provides technical training and assistance to undergraduates: "By combining intensive hands-on experience with theoretical and historical studies, my work at Stanford is directly preparing me for my goals as a filmmaker for feature broadcast documentaries and as a professor."

    George Lang, one of our newest Silver Circle inductees, is the Director of Photography for broadcast television and commercial shoots at The Big Picture Film & Video Arts Inc. in San Francisco, a company he launched in 1997. Lang began his broadcast career in the Bay Area in 1971 as a floor director on "Channel 7 News Scene" For more than two decades, Lang worked at all the other major Bay Area television stations. His experience spans over 30 years of broadcast television, corporate video, and in advertising and public relations for both Ketchum and Foote, and Cone & Belding.

    Lang has won three Emmy Awards: in 1980 for his coverage of the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid while working for ABC News; in 1989 for his work with PBS on the documentary "Paradise Lost on Bikini Atoll"; and in 1994 he traveled to Rwanda to cover their civil war also for ABC. This last work also earned Lang the prestigious Peabody Award.

    Every candidate submitted a variety of their completed works, a letter of support from a faculty member or dean, a personal essay, and a copy of their Grade Point Averages (GPA) and transcripts. The procedure to determine winners varies a little from that of Emmy recipients. Nine members of The Scholarship Committee (Wayne Freedman, Linda Giannecchini, Sherry Hu, Phil Kipper, George Lang, Joyce Mitchell, Mark Pearson, Greg Rando, Keith Sanders, Steve Shlisky, Kim Stephens, and Melanie Woodrow) culled from the NATAS Education Committee screened of all the entries and judged in six areas of excellence. The usual: Content, Execution and Creativity many NATAS members are used to when they judge other chapter's awards. Scholarship judges also consider: a candidate's personal essay, their GPAs, plus an individual judge's personal score.

    The panel could have awarded all seven scholarships this year. Keeping with the high standards enjoyed by our local chapter, The Scholarship Committee decided to only award those individual entries that rose to the highest professional level. The $2000 The Peter Marino Production Scholarship, the $2000 Sheldon "Shelly" Fay Videography Scholarship, had no recipients.

    All of these scholarships will be presented during the NATAS Silver & Gold Circle Induction event on November 1st at the Parc 55 Wyndam Hotel in San Francisco. For more information go to: http://emmysf.tv/silver-circle.html

    This chapter awards these scholarships to encourage individuals who demonstrate leadership and talent in advancing the artistic, cultural, educational and technical qualities of television. For information about these and future scholarships and go to http://emmysf.tv/graduate.html

     "October 17, 1989, 5:04 p.m., I was at work and I didn't feel a thing.  I was in a single engine airplane at 1,500 feet over Berkeley; the KGO helicopter, with traffic reporter Katie Leaver, was over the Golden Gate Bridge looking at traffic there, and Greg Edmunds was in a blimp over Candlestick. Everything changed at 5:04 PM.   Within four minutes I saw that the Cypress Freeway in Oakland had collapsed and a portion of the Bay Bridge upper deck had fallen onto the lower deck.   Katie stayed over the city reporting on the fires and Greg concentrated on activity around Candlestick. Normally I would have landed at 6:30 and called it a day.   We landed at 8PM, refueled, took off and flew until 1AM, landed again, refueled, fixed our landing light, grabbed about three hours of sleep and took off on day two at 4:30AM. The 17th was a Tuesday, so through Friday, I flew a total of 44 hours reporting on EVERYTHING from Gilroy to Stockton to Santa Rosa.   What roads were open, or closed.   What was the condition of rail service, bus service, BART, ferries and airports, generally how to get from A to B.   Much of our coverage was also aired by KGO-TV. PG&E used my audio in a post-quake training film. PBS asked me to recreate my reports for an earthquake special, and I was featured in a German TV special about the quake. A day I will never forget."

     "Were it not for a disinterested videographer who cared less about baseball, the world may never have seen what became an iconic image of the Loma Prieta earthquake; home video of a car plunging into a gaping hole on the Bay Bridge. As a Bay Area native, I was thrilled to be doing a sidebar on the series, because once I finished my live hit for KXTV, I was free to watch and enjoy the game at Candlestick. But my shooter, Dick Terry, could care less. Once he edited our package, he headed home to leave me to return later with the rest of our crew. Then the earthquake hits. We see the aerial image of the Bay Bridge and immediately realize Dick must be there. And he was, stuck on the lower deck with everyone else. He grabbed his camera, walked up to the break, and climbed to the upper deck to start working. He was likely the first pro photographer on the bridge during and immediately after the quake. As he's shooting, a couple approaches him and explains they were using their own home camera when a car plunged into the gap in the bridge - and they caught it all on tape. He said if they'll give him a ride into San Francisco, he knows where they can sell the video. He took them to our then-sister station KPIX, and that clip was aired for the first time - to become an image seen by millions around the world."

Paul Jeschke

     "I was headed home, had just crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and gone up and over the Waldo Grade when my car started bucking as if the front end suddenly failed.  I looked around and saw three transformers burst into flames on nearby utility poles and knew immediately what had happened. Pulled into the Strawberry Shopping Center, found a pay phone (I had no cell) and called the assignment desk on the 'hotline'. 'It's okay,' the desk said, "we've got it covered." 'Don't think so,' I answered, and hung up and headed back across the bridge to find the city in chaos. The next 24 hours are a blur, rushing from story to story and heading back to the newsroom turned set to describe what happened in completely impromptu, ad lib reports. CNN carried our air live, without permission, because it was the best coverage going. Everyone contributed to what may well have been Channel 7's finest hour.
 

Kurtis Ming

     "As I walked toward the front door leaving CCD at Mater Dolorosa Church in South San Francisco, I first saw the cars shaking in the parking lot a split second before the ground rocked beneath me. Walking under a glass ceiling in the lobby lined with trophy cases, a nun covered my head and pushed me up against the belly of a pregnant lady until the 15 seconds of shaking stopped. That day as an 11-year-old I learned the importance of journalists telling viewers what happened, why it happened and how to stay safe. It was the day I decided I wanted to become a journalist."

 

Michael Sanford

     "I was working for a company down by the Embarcadero (close to KPIX) that produced consumer travel reports for TV news.  I'd left early to watch the World Series at my apartment over on Green near Laguna.  After the quake hit, I went up on my roof and saw the Marina in flames.  Grabbed a still camera and hustled down there to take photos.  Most vivid memories: mud flowing up onto the street through the manhole covers (liquefaction!); the collapsed apartment building on Fillmore and Beach with people trapped inside; another building in flames; Marina residents helping firefighters drag hoses from the fire boat; the next morning: residents being given five minutes or less to enter their red-tagged apartments and remove valuables. People throwing things down to their friends.  Everything left behind was later bulldozed."

      The little station that could! The California Debate - Race for Governor 2014 grabbed viewers and media attention from around the state and nation for one-hour September 4, 2014 at 7PM. The program was produced and carried live by The California Channel out of a small studio in the Senator Hotel across from the State Capitol.                                                                               

      "I considered the debate to be a real golden opportunity to showcase what we do," said The California Channel President John Hancock. "We provide unfiltered, unbiased public affairs information to the voting citizens of California. This was a golden opportunity to provide a gavel to gavel discussion of the two candidates, giving voters a chance to get to know both candidates."         

     The California Channel was started in 1988. On an ordinary day, viewers tune in to see legislative hearings and locally produced political programming. The primary purpose of the channel is to expose viewers to politics and public affairs that shape California. The station does not regularly produce live programming.                     

     So, with all the proposals from media outlets up and down the state, it was mildly surprising that incumbent Jerry Brown (D) and challenger Neel Kashkari (R) agreed upon one that had them debating at The California Channel. The small studio became the arena for the one and only, highly visible gubernatorial debate of the campaign.                

     "The idea literally came from a casual lunch with John Myers," said Hancock. During that July lunch, Myers, who is Senior Editor at the California Politics and Government Desk at KQED, was discussing a possible debate proposal. The brainstorm paid off.           

      "We determined that KQED did not have the capacity to do the TV debate because of scheduling," Myers said. "During lunch with John Hancock, the debate topic came up." Hancock told Myers that he would make his studio available. He said it wasn't large enough for audience participation but that it would certainly accommodate the two candidates.  "That was the beginning of the whole endeavor," Myers said.   

      Myers submitted a KQED debate proposal to both campaigns, partnering with The California Channel, the Los Angeles Times, and Telemundo52. The proposal was accepted by the two candidates.                           

     The clock started ticking. "We got word from the Governor's campaign that there was only one week in September, the first week in September he would be available for debate," Myers said.                                     

     Looking for the best date that would work for the production team, Thursday September 4th was selected without realizing it was kickoff of football season. "There was some criticism that the debate conflicted with the  first game of the NFL season," Myers said. "We picked the date and all along our feeling was that some debate is better than no debate."

     In a short span of two-and-a-half weeks, Myers and The California Channel team pulled off an austere but lively debate that focused on content. "As a political journalist, I felt like content mattered more and that as long as we had a clean television broadcast, what mattered was the candidates talking to viewers. Bells and whistles were less important than good content," Myers said.                                                                                                                                                Myers moderated the debate. Questions also were asked by LA Times Editor-at-Large Jim Newton and Telemundo52 Anchor Dunia Elvir.                                                                            

     "My goal was to have a truly statewide debate," Myers said. "My argument was that we should have the maximum voters possible tune in. The goal was to have statewide partners for a statewide debate. Telemundo came in as a partner because it was always very important for us to represent the Spanish language population."                           

     The debate aired in English and was translated live in to Spanish. "We had a lot of logistical challenges for a television production that was unlike anything our partners had ever done," Myers said. "Our partners were great in figuring out how to overcome those challenges."                    One challenge was bringing the station in to the world of high definition.  As of the end of this past August, The California Channel still distributed programming in standard definition. There was concern stations might be reticent to carry a program delivered in standard definition. A flurry of phone calls and Comcast stepped-in and committed to converting The California Channel to high definition. The transition was still underway Sept. 3, the night before the live debate.             As a nonprofit organization, The California Channel is governed and funded by a Board of Directors from the cable television industry including Charter Communications, Time Warner, and Cox Communications. Board Member Walter Hughes from Comcast Cable was at the helm of the high definition conversion.                                                                        

     "Walter was very helpful in convincing the board of transforming the production over to high definition," Hancock said. "He was also leading the charge to help the board understand the importance of understanding how this debate was a golden opportunity to showcase the cable industry's contributions."                                                                       

     At the end of the day, the one-hour live program, The California Debate - Race for Governor 2014, educated tens of thousands of viewers from northern to southern California and was covered extensively by newspapers. "I think we pulled off an unbelievable production given all the challenges we were facing," Myers said. "I'm very proud of the project."                                                                                                              

     Though Myers admits it was a wild roller coaster ride getting there, live on the air, the program worked. Candidates tackled daunting issues facing the state about drought, high-speed rail, and immigration. And it was all done by the little station that could: The California Channel. "The debate was certainly in the top tier of our achievements," said Hancock.

       The question is often asked of me, "What is your life like with an early morning job?"

       It's different, I'll tell you that.

       I wake up around 2:30 a.m

       I do my own makeup and hair, and while we have a dressing room at the station, I prefer to do it at home. Once I get in, I read through the scripts (which is a lot for a three hour show) and help write any unwritten parts. There is always something to write.

      We have three producers and an associate producer working behind the scenes. They start as early as 11 p.m. the night before. They find the content for the show by updating any big stories from the night before, and by looking at what's making national headlines.

      Once we're in the show, it moves pretty quickly, especially if there is breaking news or many in-studio guests. It's fun and it keeps us on our toes. In this age of social media, part of our job is to keep the social media pages updated as well, so we post Facebook and Twitter updates during breaks, particularly if it's news people really need to know, like a major traffic accident and road closures.

      It is critical that an anchor team get along well in order to make the show run. I am lucky in that I joined a well-oiled machine with a terrific group of professionals. We all get along on and off air, which is such a blessing.

I'm fortunate that I clicked with my co-anchor Ron Mizutani immediately, and that within a few days of knowing each other, it felt like a long and comfortable friendship. One can't fake that kind of energy - nor predict when it will happen - and it does come across on air.

     After the show, the entire team meets to debrief what went right with the show, what can be improved, and what's coming up tomorrow. Ron and I then immediately go to our desks to start writing any elements that we can for the next day's show.

Most morning anchors in television news are required to get off the set and file reports from the field, which will air on the evening news. The entire on-air staff leaves the meeting and goes into reporter mode after the morning news. There is always a story that I'm researching or working on. If I have a shoot that runs late, I stay until the story is filed.

    Around 1 p.m. I usually get tired and need a nap! When your body is not in sync with the sun's rhythm, everything is thrown off. I could easily work a 12 hour day under "normal" circumstances, but because I get up so early, I get tired much faster.

I choose this shift because I have a second grader, so I can pick her up from school and spend time with her after work. I may be a bit of a zombie, but at least I see her, and it's worth it to me.

    I go to sleep at 6:30 p.m. Other people work out their schedules different ways, but I like eight hours a night, so this keeps me fairly balanced. It is, sadly, too easy to slip back to "regular" life after the weekend, which makes Mondays hard. Therefore, I don't like to stay up past 9 p.m. even on a day off. Consistency is key.

    I have to pick out my outfit and prepare my food for the next day before I go to bed, because that saves me valuable minutes in the morning. I feel like I'm in elementary school when my mom made me do this the night before! I have no social life. I cannot tell you how many evening activities, parties, and events I've turned down because of this.

    However, I love and need it. I love the energy of the newsroom, the type of work I do, and the passion it fulfills in me. I have known since I began this career right out of college that I loved it, and I consider myself lucky that that passion has not diminished over the years.

    I also love and appreciate that from the minute I walk into the newsroom - pre-dawn, mind you! - that I'm happy. I so enjoy seeing my friends here. It's amazing that we are joking and chatting before, during, and after the show - and a nice validation that we like one another and the product that we collaborate on. This feeling is not something I take for granted, and is another big reason why it's well worth it to me.

    I love my job. How many people can go to work and say that?

      On Aug. 15, Pac-12 Networks, the innovative TV and multimedia company of the Pac-12 Conference, celebrated its second anniversary. And like most anniversaries, it gave us an opportunity to reflect back on what we accomplished, as well as what we experienced over the past two years. 

      From the outset, Pac-12 Networks has been focused on pushing the boundaries of the media industry and delivering unprecedented coverage of Pac-12 universities, teams and student-athletes to millions of fans worldwide. Access and storytelling are two of our most important pillars as we bring fans and alumni closer to their favorite teams than ever before.

      In the first two years combined, Pac-12 Networks, which consists of one national and six regional TV networks, plus a unified network of digital properties, has leveraged our access to the universities and our robust campus IP network. This model has worked to fuel innovation and produce 1,300 live sporting events and more than 600 hours of studio shows and original programming. The increased exposure for the 12 universities and all of the athletic programs has had a dramatic impact on recruiting, helping Pac-12 teams win a nation-leading 10 national championships during the 2013-14 academic year.

     As much as we have to celebrate, there is no time to slow down. The fall schedule is in full swing and once again Pac-12 teams are competing at the highest levels. Pac-12 Networks will televise 850 live events, including 35 football games, 250 men's and women's basketball games and hundreds of Olympic sporting events. The event count is nearly double that of any other college sports network and will give fans an opportunity to watch some of the most remarkable student-athletes in the country.

    The addition of new technology like LiberoVision, 4K and super slow motion cameras will ensure that viewers experience unique angles, more instant replays, highlights and the highest quality productions.

    In addition to our seven linear TV networks, Pac-12 Networks has created the �first network of digital properties in college athletics designed to connect fans with their favorite teams and universities no matter where they are. Those digital properties include Pac-12.com, the offi�cial athletic sites (OAS) and social media accounts of the universities and Pac-12 Now, our TV Everywhere service. Through all of our platforms, fans can now access and engage with Pac-12 content from anywhere, at any time and on any device.

    With 469 NCAA team titles to its credit, the Pac-12 has earned its position as the Conference of Champions and Pac-12 Networks is proud to bring all of the exciting action to fans everywhere. Pac-12 Networks is the place where champions play.

(Editor's Note: In honor and remembrance of George Reading, who passed away Oct. 8 at his home in Monterey, we are re-publishing a Gold & Silver Circle Profile written about him. This article originally appeared in Off Camera in November 2009.)

       "I always thought Jimmy Hoffa looked like the perfect tough-talking thug. A Damon Runyon character right out of central casting. That is, until I interviewed him. Actually, he was a charmer," says former Bay Area news anchor George Reading.

      The legendary boss of the powerful Teamsters' Union was just one of the many faces that Reading had the good fortune to run across in his 50 years in television news. He worked in such markets as New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

An anchor mainstay in the Bay Area in the 1970s, Reading was already in the business nearly 20 years when he came to work in the Bay Area, first anchoring at KTVU in 1971. Three years later, he went across the Bay to KRON.

      Now 80 (his birthday was Oct. 31), Reading is recalling a half-century in television news which reads like an American history book.

      It began for Reading in 1952. Leaving his native Providence, Rhode Island, he became a deejay at radio station WFNS while taking classes at Elon University in North Carolina. "It helped pay for college," he says.

In 1953, Reading began his journalism career at WSJS radio and TV in Winston-Salem, North Caro- lina, where he also staffed a United Press news bureau. Four years later, he became an anchor for a station in Albany, New York, that was owned by Capital Cities. During the next four years, he was the station's news anchor and news director.

     "What I got paid then wouldn't put food on the table today for a week," Reading jokes.

At one point, Reading found himself in a studio timing the CBS radio broadcast of the network icon, Lowell Thomas, who had just returned from a ski trip to the Adirondacks.

     "I sat in the studio with a stop watch," Reading recalls. "At the appropriate moment, I nervously announced 'This is the CBS Radio Network'. I guess it goes down as my network debut."

In 1960, Reading was hired by General Electric to produce a series of documentaries for WRGB-TV in upstate New York.

     "I got to cover the Presidential campaigners (Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy) and New York governors Averell Harriman and Nelson Rockefeller," he recalls. During that time, Reading also interviewed San Francisco native Isaac Stern after his successful attempt to keep the wrecking ball from knocking down Carnegie Hall. Reading also sat in Capt. Ed Beach's quarters aboard the USS Triton upon his return from his historic circumnaviga- tion of the globe underwater following the route of Magellan.

     One of Reading's favorite interviews was with Mahalia Jackson. Reading met her when she was visiting western Massachusetts and staying at a large hotel at the same time a jazz school was being held.

     "I was surprised when she told me she couldn't read a note of music," Reading says, "but she quickly assured me with a twinkle that her piano accompanist did. Then she asked, 'would you like me to sing for you?' Wow, would I!" She did.

     "When Mahalia Jackson stood in front of the mike (singing) 'He's Got The Whole World In His Hands'," Reading says, "that large hotel lounge quickly be- came standing room only."

Reading once interviewed Norman Rockwell, calling him an artist. Rockwell corrected him, insist- ing he was an illustrator. "History remembers Rockwell differently," he says. "He's an American original, the iconic painter of an ethos, a period of grand American nostalgia."

     Reading worked at WNEW in New York City in the early-to mid-1960s, and was boarding his commuter train when the stunning news hit the nation that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. From there, it was a short stint in St. Louis that would make way for a position as manager and correspondent of the CBS-TV stations news bureau in Washington, D.C. Reading's work spanned the turbulent 60s, including the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, in 1968.

    In 1971, it was the Bay Area's turn. Reading spent three years at KTVU's first Jack London Square studios, part of the team that helped Chan- nel 2 - then an independent station - receive its first-ever Emmy� Award for best newscast in the Bay Area. That team included co-anchor Marcia Brandwynne, sports director Gary Park, weather- man Bob Wilkins (also of late-night Creature Features fame) and then-reporter Dennis Rich- mond.

    During his time at KTVU, he also worked on two monumental, ongoing Bay Area stories: the assassi- nation by the Black Panthers of Oakland schools superintendent Marcus Foster in 1973, and the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

    In 1975, Reading left KTVU for KRON, then an NBC affiliate, co-anchoring the news with Bay Area television news veteran Fred LaCosse.

    The anchor team would last two years, until Reading's contract was bought out one evening between newscasts.

    "It was a shocker," he recalls. "I would come to learn a lot more by being fired than by being hired. It was a tough lesson in knowing who you really are." Ironically, several years later, while working at KTTV in Los Angeles, KRON offered the anchor desk to Reading again, this time at double the salary.

In 1982, Reading won a Golden Mike award from the southern California chapter of the Radio Televi- sion News Directors Association for best reporting at KTTV for his Campaign Close-up series. In 1985, he was honored by Sigma Delta Chi for his documentary on northern Ireland's The Troubles, which shed light on the bloody sectarian civil strife that plagued the northern half of that nation. In 1998, Reading was inducted into the Silver Circle.

     Reading had short stints at stations in Sacra- mento, and also in San Diego, where he co-an- chored the news on KUSI-TV with another Bay Area television news luminary, Roger Grimsby. Reading also anchored at KMST (now KCCN) in "a kind of semi-retirement."

    With Reading's commercial television career at a crossroads, he signed on to host, report and pro- duce a new PBS show, California Heartland, about the state's biggest industry, agriculture.

    "It was the perfect coda to my career," he says. "The culture in public broadcasting is different than commercial broadcasting. The working culture is different."

    In 2002, Reading was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, becoming a patient at the Mayo Clinic. He retired in 2003 - his 50th year in broadcasting. Today, he lives on his beloved Monterey Peninsula, enjoying life and doing occasional voiceover projects through his firm, Voice Works.

    In his spare time, Reading enjoys traveling. He also works as a docent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and as a counselor for senior citizens.

    "Nothing in those 50 years was more of an honor than in 1998, when I was inducted into the Silver Circle," he says. "There is no finer honor in the end than the recognition of your colleagues."

Why You Need a Strong Core

If you were to ask how you could quickly reverse the aging process, I would suggest you start by developing your "core". Your core spans muscles, bones, and joints in your abdomen, back, buttocks, sides, and hips/pelvis. Weak, tight or unbalanced core muscles can affect your ability to move, work, function independently, and enjoy physical activities.

The major core muscles to strengthen are your:

1.  Abdominals - Stabilize your core, twist your trunk, and allow you to bend forward at  the waist and to each side.
2.  Back - Stabilize your core and allow you to straighten up, bend backward, forward, and to each side.
3.  Hip Adductors - Pull your thigh towards the midline of your body.
4.  Hip Flexors - Stabilize/rotate your pelvis, stabilize your body when you stand, and allow you to bend at the waist and hike up each leg.
5.  Gluteals or "glutes" - Extend/rotate your hip, rotate/abduct your thigh. (Abductors push your thigh away from the mid-line of your body.)

WHY YOU NEED A STRONG, STABLE CORE

• Makes it possible to stand upright and move on two feet which enhances your balance and stability.
• Is essential to sit and move (e.g., walk, jump, dance, and run).
• Helps prevent falls.
• Distributes the stresses of weight bearing which protects your back and reduces back pain.
• Improves athletic performance. (Powerful, rapid muscle contractions start from the center of your body out.)
• Improves posture.
• Enhances arm and leg function which helps build powerful arms and legs.  

ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING (ADLs)

Basic everyday tasks call on your core to do the following, such as:

• Bend to put on your shoes
• Pick up an item off the floor
• Turn to look behind you
• Walk up/down stairs
• Sit in a chair and get up from a chair
• Stand still
• Reach overhead
• Bathe or shower
• Vacuum, mop or dust
• Mow the lawn or work in the garden

STRENGTHENING YOUR CORE

Core exercises don't require special equipment or access to a gym. You can even do them in your office, but PROPER FORM is essential to targeting the right muscles and preventing injury. If you're a beginner, deconditioned or have orthopedic limitations, seek the advice of an exercise physiologist to perform modified versions of these body weight exercises and ensure proper body mechanics. For the more advanced, add resistance (weights) to each exercise. Some classic core exercises include:

1. Planks (a.k.a. front holds or abdominal bridges), side planks and other plank variations
2. Hip bridges, single leg bridges and other bridge variations
3. Squats
4. Lunges (forward, reverse, lateral, mobility, and walking lunges)
5. Push-ups, push-ups with lat rows
6. Pull-ups and/or inverted rows (a.k.a. reverse bench presses)
7. Standing overhead presses
8. Vertical chops

      Karen's Fit Tip: Think of your core muscles as the sturdy link between your upper and lower body. But remember it's not all about strengthening your abs (such as doing hundreds of sit-ups) or you'll end up with a weak back. A healthy body is a 'balanced' body. If you work on abs, you need to strengthen opposing muscles or you set yourself up for injury. A sound core program works ALL core muscles.

     Karen Owoc is the TV host/producer of The Health Reporter™ and a former NATAS Governor. She is a speaker, writer and TV/Radio guest expert on healthy living and anti-aging fitness. Karen works as the Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinical Exercise Physiologist at the San Ramon Regional/John Muir Medical Center.

By Taylor Preza

Special to Off Camera

      Ever since I can remember, in the third grade, as I woke up every morning to get ready for school I would get out of bed, make myself breakfast and watch the morning local news on television. I would go to school and share everything I learned from the show with my friends. But they would just look at me like I was crazy. It was from that moment, that I knew I wanted to become a news reporter. Growing up, I was just so intruiged by the news. Finally, eleven years later, I have received the amazing opportunity to take my first step into making that dream a reality. 

     This summer, I had the pleasure of interning at Hawaii's number 1 local news station, Hawaii News Now. I was raised on Oahu but am currently attending California State University, Los Angeles for my Bachelors in Broadcast Journalism. Every summer I come back home to paradise for my break. And this time, through some local connections I was able to land an internship at the news station!

Taylor Preza Student Interned at Hawaii News Now

Words cannot express how grateful I am for the amount of experience I have gained here at Hawaii News Now.      I learned everything from how the assignment desk runs, the importance of communication and meeting deadlines, how the control room works, to the tasks of a reporter. 

     During my time here, I came in with the objective of just learning the duties of a reporter, but found that I was limiting myself. Throughout the internship, I learned how not only how a reporters life may be like, but also the busy exciting lives of the hardworking people who work behind the scenes. I got to work with the day crew, night crew and even the weekend crew! 

     I was fortunate enough to be taken under Brenda Salgado's wing at the assignment desk. She taught me some of her duties as the Assignment Manager. At the desk I learned how to answer phone calls, listen to the scanner and pretty much manage what reporters go with what videographers in what car. I even got the chance to conduct some interviews where portions were used in the actual news show.  

I even received the chance to work with the social media crew. There, Rich, Nicolle and Ian taught me how to write up and post web stories for both the main website and community calendar. It gave me a chance to really practice and blossom my newswriting skills.

    And, about mid-way through my internship one of the Sunrise producers Ryan Wilson, asked me if I wanted to come into the morning show to see how the different crews operate. I knew I had to take this exciting opportunity even though it meant waking up at 2am in the morning! From Sunrise, I learned how the control room and audio booth operates during a show. Let me tell you, that was about the most hectic thing I have ever seen in my life. There is way more that goes into making the show than you think. It really amazed me how everyone in the control room was able to communicate so well when setting up and taking the next shots that the viewers at home see. 

    I have learned so much at the station but I would say the most rewarding moment was when I was able to use my internship to raise awareness about the Moyamoya disease by writing an article about a fellow classmate who was diagnosed this summer. Friends and family of Taylor Ann Hiraki were putting together a fundraiser to raise money to send her off to get the unique surgery in the mainland.

    When I came across the Facebook posts about her situation I knew I had to utilize my internship to do something about it. I wanted to help and I knew it would be something interesting to write about for our news station.

    Once my article went up on the website, it had gone viral throughout Facebook and it made me feel so happy to see it going around, raising awareness about Taylor's situation as well as the disease itself. Taylor's surgery was a success and tickets to the fundraiser were sold out. 

    It was that moment that reassured me, this is exactly what I want to do. To bring awareness to the community was one thing, but to know that you had helped to make a difference was another. 

And that really showed me that this is what Hawaii News Now is all about. The hardworking crews a part of this amazing station do their job to not only inform the public, but to make a difference. And to actually be a part of that this summer, was truly an experience I will never forget.  

    Hopefully one day in the future, I will have the opportunity to come back to rejoin this unique team! Until then, I will be heading back to LA to continue my studies!