While You Were Sleeping...

Working overnight, while lonely, is drama free. Things aren't as busy for the overnight shifts. They can be, but they usually aren't. It doesn't mean the overnight shift isn't important.

As soon as I come in at 11PM, I have to start my "Confidence Tape". I need a tape to give me the confidence to do my job?? No. It's an air check. We record each day's programming for a number of reasons. If something happens on the technical end, we can review it to see what exactly happened, so we can fix it, or whatever might need to be done, so it doesn't happen again. If an operator screws up, it's on tape, as evidence, so don't screw up! It's also used to show an advertiser proof that their spot aired properly. This is a way to ensure we get paid. It's like, "Look. Here's the spot playing. Now give us our money!" Master Control is literally running the cash register. It's our job to keep the money coming in.

My programming starts with CBS12 News at 11. From there I go to Letterman, then Ferguson. I watch these shows. I literally kick my feet up and watch these shows. They're fun. I like seeing how celebrities are just regular people. They poop too.

During news, I set up a feed of Jack Hanna, that plays on our secondary station, on Saturday. I segment it after the late shows.

After that, it's a Paid Program. Tonight's was a guy who sells life insurance. He has a talk show, where he and his dad talk about it. They are very passionate about life insurance. Very passionate. It's an ongoing series. It's funny.

At about 2AM, I go into national morning news. It's an hour show, that gets replayed. I like it, because if I miss a story, or want to see it again, it just plays again. At 3, I dub our 2 promo swaps. I think they are called swaps, because we use them to promote CBS prime time shows. Rodney takes the feed at noon, and takes what he needs out of it, leaving me what I need.

At 4:30, they switch to HD, and give me more news. In this half hour, there are two manual takes. The rest of my night's breaks are entered by clocked times. The times for the late shows are sent via a message system. CBS national news breaks are set times. I watch a lot of TV on my overnights.

At 4:30, we start our local news. I like our morning crew, and soon after our news starts, it's time for a call from the photog. What's a photog?? A video journalist. More than a camera operator! They also feed back video for editors. They film their reporter, and then make a package for later airings. They film, edit drive, and operate any equipment they need to to do their job. So cool!

Sometimes it is easy to tune in a live shot. You turn your dish until you have the best signal you can get. Then you have him turn his dish until it's the best he can get. Tilt up or down until it's just right, and they are tuned in. I basically work with the photog to get the best "handshake" between the truck and news control. "I'm Dude, live in blah-blah..." doesn't happen without me.

Sometimes... It's hard to get a good live shot. Sometimes they are downtown in the tall buildings. It creates a lot of feedback. A lot of play in the signal makes for a horrible looking live shot. Sometimes, when they are down on the waterfront, there's no way to get a good signal. There are times when you have to bounce the microwave signal off something, to get it good.

At 5 AM, it's time to send out any discrepancy reports for the day, and start a new transmitter sheet, and the next day's log.

At approximately 6:41AM, I record a 30 second weather cut in. It gets used later in "CBS This Morning". There's a verbal cue, telling you when to take the cut in. It's something like "Here's a look outside your window". Watch the show, and you'll see what I mean. From there it's just a matter of staying the course until 7AM.

I drink a lot of coffee, but I still get really tired.