By Alice Main (webdesign@mainhat.com)

"I guess the biggest adjustment is sort of like when you buy a house—you almost reach for the phone to call and complain to the landlord. Then you realize you are the landlord." Mike Andrews

Some days, you're a puzzle master, fitting together the jagged pieces and personalities of an 8-hour period into a masterpiece of substance and style.

Other days you're like an elementary school janitor, and it's all you can do to keep the newscast clean. The daily grind of producing can wear on any of us, and eventually make some of us ponder that life-changing question:

What if I were the executive producer? Yeah, I could be the boss and have the final (well, almost final) word on what goes into the newscasts.

Before you consider making the leap, take a look at some of the scary stories I heard when I asked people to write to me about their EP experiences.

This, for example, from a former executive producer who didn't want me to use his or her name:

"If someone didn't like a decision I made, they could appeal it to the ND or Asst. ND and often did, and then the ND would change things back. Or he'd make up some outrageous new rule, like packages being 1:10, and I'd get the blame for it. When the 10 PM producer continued to just straight dup stories from the early shows with no rewrite, I again and again went to the ND and he did nothing about it. But I also couldn't do anything about it."

Or how about this from Gina Diamante, executive producer at KADY in Oxnard, California:

"I was hired as EP at my current station, and then was left in charge when the News Director/lead anchor resigned two months later. I have not been promoted to the ND spot—nor has another ND been hired. I'm also in the unenviable position of leading a news department that is worried about its fate, since our news time was slashed in half last month, our staff was slashed and our station is up for sale."

Many of us have heard tough stories like that, but we can't stop wanting to move up in the world.

Geoff Larkin, producer at WJBK in Detroit, says he wants to make the move "yesterday":

"First of all, I enjoy line producing, but I have a lot of ideas about programs, concepts etc., and I'd like the chance to help formulate shows and news philosophy, rather than translating someone else's vision onto a screen. Second, I've had the chance to work with a lot of different people over the last five years of line producing (three in a Top 10 market), and I think I could be an effective leader. Third, the money ain't bad, so I've heard."

Luke Funk, a producer in Phoenix at KNXV, says he too wants to try his hand at executive producing.

"I don't know if that's going to be next week or in two years, but I want an opportunity in the next two years. If it's going to be at my shop or another shop is hard to tell. They've hired internally in my newsroom, but if there's no opening, there's no opening."

Are these producers wishing for something they're better off without? The EPs who responded to my questions all tempered their enthusiasm for their positions with warnings for others.

Mike Andrews at WRCB in Chattanooga enjoys the challenges of the job, and says his time as EP has been the most exciting, challenging and rewarding experience he's had in television news. But he offers a little advice:

"You have to watch out for the power play squeeze—people above and below trying to influence you and your decisions. It's your butt on the line and you can't blame anyone else."

Gina Diamante, who is acting as news director at KADY, says management is a lot tougher than she imagined it would be.

"As a producer, I was only responsible for my own newscasts and for the stories I wrote. Now I'm responsible for everything. That's a heady feeling, and it can even be scary. My staff keeps telling me I'm doing fine. I was happier as an EP than I was as a producer when I started this job. I was in a position to teach younger people what I've learned over a decade of TV news. But I've found that all these management responsibilities are getting me away from what I truly love to do, which is to write news and to put together newscasts. Instead, I spend my hours poring over time cards, arguing with the business office over the price of newsroom supplies, and the most painful experience, choosing which staff members would be laid off."

Says WRCB's Andrews:

"I guess the biggest adjustment is sort of like when you buy a house—you almost reach for the phone to call and complain to the landlord then you realize you are the landlord. That's how I feel as executive producer. To some extent, I am the landlord."

Several EPs emphasized the positive side of their jobs. Gena Parsons, an executive producer at stations in Texas and Oklahoma before she went to work in the academic world, says:

"Both my EP jobs put me #2 in the newsroom meaning I was interim News Director a time or two also. I ran the day-to-day operations of the newsroom, working with reporters, photographers, producers, anchors, editors, graphic artists, sports, weather, everyone. I worked about 10 hours a day and loved it (at least until I started a family). I'm not a control freak, but I admit enjoying having a hand in every aspect of the news operation."

Similarly, says Rebecca Lutgen, of WBAY in Green Bay:

"I love being able to make vital decisions that affect each of the newscasts we put on the air every day. I also like the teaching aspect that comes with being E.P. I can give instant feedback to each producer on what they are doing."

Even Gina Diamante, who for my money is in the most hellish EP job imaginable, found something positive to say:

"Despite all the troubles I'm dealing with now, working at KADY has been a very valuable experience. I've gained knowledge that you can't get in a shop where everything is going just fine. (Although I could have passed on the layoffs.)"

SO YOU STILL WANT TO TRY IT? AFTER ALL THAT?

It's true of TV news, and it's true of almost any business: you really can't know if you've got what it takes to do a job, until you're actually doing it. And the last thing any of us wants is to find out the hard way we were much better at producing than management.

Scott Libin, former news director and currently on the faculty at The Poynter Institute, says producers learn many management skills while they're going about their daily jobs, juggling dozens of tasks at the same time. But, he says, great producers don't necessarily make great executive producers:

"Managers have their place, but most newsrooms are looking for leaders, and there's more to leadership than time and task management. So, just as your best reporter may be a disaster at the anchor desk, an ace line producer can collapse as an EP. The skills it takes to craft compelling, consistent newscasts are part of an executive producer's job—but only part. Not enough without out the rest of the skills an EP needs."

C.J. Beutien, news director at WTOL in Toledo, advises current producers to work on their people and leadership skills, to prepare them for the step up the ladder:

"Good writing and editing are a given. They also need to know how to communicate their vision of a newscast to reporters who think their stories are 'all important' and to anchors who think they 'know it all' because they've been around longer."

PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR EP WANNA-BEs:

Our anonymous ex-EP (now happily producing again) offered the following advice, which I am now sharing verbatim because it's really good stuff.

1. Make sure you know the environment you're getting into. What do they consider news? Do they have a news philosophy you can live with and stand by? Talk with lots of producers, reporters, editors, photographers, make sure they are willing to accept you as their boss and take advice.
2. Do a background check on the people you'll be working with and talk with the people who've held the job before you. Make sure the Chief Photog is going to work with you and not against you. Make sure the ND gave the last EP the authority needed to do his/her job. Ask the former EP how the producers dealt with their suggestions. How the desk dealt with them. How the photogs, production dept, etc.. Find out what changes the former EPs have made, how long it took to implement and if the change is still happening. Ask how many hours a day they had to work to get the job done. I was doing at least 12 hours a day and getting nowhere. Will you have a desk? A private office to talk with people? (I didn't, so that meant talking in an edit bay, everyone knew what that meant.) Will you have voice mail? Will you get OT or comp days? Will you get a cell phone so you can answer pages easily? Will you have a digital pager or one that spells out information? (You'll move quicker if it's a plane crash than someone needing to know how to spell the governor's name)
3. Find out the financial situation of your station. You don't want to come into a shop that's going to make producers all of a sudden double up while you're there. Make sure there's enough reporters/photographers, edit bays do to the job. Ask about equipment failures, tape supply, etc. Ask about overtime, is it going to be your job to have zero overtime? Has that policy been there for awhile, is it coming soon?
4. Are there time clocks? Are people trusted to arrive on time and leave on time? Ask around, I've worked in shops where many people were 45 minutes late, left early and the ND refused to do anything about it.
5. What exactly is your responsibility? Just watching over newscasts and producers? Working with photographers? reporters? Who's in charge of the desk? Who hires and fires? You want a lot of control and say, but not too much.
6. Find out where their producers come from and how long they stay. Are they former interns promoted up? Are they from smaller markets? Are they on contract? Or might you lose the whole group. (It sounds outrageous but I was offered an EP job at a station where the 5, 6 and 10 PM producers were all leaving within the month and they were going to be starting a mid day show in 2 months)
7. Make sure the job feels right, because if it doesn't, it may not be. Producers are tough to find and so are EP's. It may not seem like it all the time, but there are lots of jobs out there.

Well, folks, at least one person has been listening to all this advice with extreme interest. That person is me, because I just got promoted to executive producer, effective today. Wish me luck. Sounds like I might need it. :-)

Here's a letter from an E.P. who chooses to remain anonymous.

"Managing seven producers can be tough. I can accept that. But sometimes it can drive you crazy. How do you fire-up your producers? How do you re-ignite the creative flame snuffed out in over-worked producers? How about hiring producers, can you offer some special words?"

Here are some ideas from the readers:

From Anonymous:

After years in local news and years now as a freelance producer I have some suggestions.

1. Do not micromanage.
2. Do not box creative people into a format which they cannot deviate from.
3. Do not say stupid things like "what part of NO do you not understand."
4. Allow your early morning, noon and weekend producers to step up to the plate occasionally and produce your higher profile newscasts.
5. Allow your show producers to occasionally produce special projects.
6. Ask your producers for their advice on improving their shows and those of others.
7. Get all your producers together from time to time to brainstorm.
8. Do not beat your producers up about the overnights.
9. Give your producers a say in the marketing of their shows.
10. Watch their shows closely and tell them what they do well. Don't only notice the things that are screwed up.
11. Do not put your producers in a position where all they are is stackers.
12. Let your producers develop new concepts for their programs.

I hope you find these tips helpful. I produced at affiliates in three cities. I saw many lousy managers and some terrific ones. I applaud you for your interest in helping producers be all they can be.

From Valerie Hyman (valhyman@aol.com):

It was easy to relate to the quandary the executive producer is struggling with ñ it's familiar because it's so widespread. Here are a few ideas that have worked for newsroom managers who want to boost the morale and energy of the people they lead:

• Delegate. As busy as they are, people consider it a sign of praise when their supervisor asks them to take on a new task: it works like a vote of confidence. So pass around some of your work, but only after consultation with the producer, perhaps giving him or her a choice among two or three tasks, such things as scheduling producers, overseeing the progress of interns, mentoring a newly hired producer, choosing a computer software program, or identifying a pool of candidates for potential future hires. You and the producer agree at the outset on a finish date and how you will check in from time to time to make sure the work is on schedule.
  
  
• Empower. Ask the producers as a group to come up with ideas to improve communication among producers, and between producers and other newsroom staffers. This deflects bickering and whining, and puts responsibility where it belongs: with the producers responsible for pulling newscasts together. It enhances teamwork among producers. So the next time a producer approaches you with a problem, you may say, "That sounds important. How can I help you solve it?"
  
  
• Learn. One of the surest ways to show a producer you value his or her experience and abilities is to ask that person to give you feedback on your own work. It's scary, but a nearly foolproof way to help yourself and the people you lead to do better work and smooth communications. To get started, consider being quite specific in your requests for personal critiques. Possible openers: "I've been trying to give more praise over the past couple of weeks. How do you think I've been doing?" "I'm trying to remove passive voice from my writing and use only active voice. Could you please check these scripts I wrote and let me know what you find?" "How well do you think I'm doing in representing the interests of producers to the news director? What else should I be doing?" "How can I help you?"
  
  
• Praise. Whenever you see evidence of good work, especially work you've been trying to encourage, praise it publicly. That could be a good handoff from one producer to the next; a newscast written free of subjective adjectives like incredible, tragic, or horrific; an original story idea coached into fruition. Make sure the praise is quite specific, because "good job" can feel insincere. And every once in awhile, get as many members of the team as you can together for pizza or bagels to celebrate what's going well.
  
  
• Relax. You're doing a fine job as a newsroom leader. Recognize what you're doing well, figure out how to strengthen your own perceived weak spots, and praise your own boss from time to time.

These ideas will help you grow your own producers, especially if you choose to allow the producers you have now to recruit and help hire new producers.

Good luck!

From Anonymous:

In reference to your questions re: producers, I just left a job where I was supervising 15 people. As to firing them up and motiviating them, as a manager, I believe it is each individual's responsibility to motivate themselves. If they no longer have a passion for the business, then it may be time for them to move on. This is a business of constant burnout for people (me included . . . this is why I just took 6 months off). I believe it is really important for producers and other staff to involve themselves in outside interests and create a balance in their lives. As for hiring, I always look for attitude. The desire, the hunger, the want to succeed and producer top quality programming. Exceptionally strong multi-tasking, organizational & time management skills. It really is a crap shoot when you hire people as I am sure you are aware. Some work, some don't.

From Anonymous:

Acknowledging hard work can go a long way.

Give talented producers the opportunity to do another show every once in awhile. Understanding the priorities of someone else's show can inspire producers to add something new to theirs. Plus, it never hurts to have a pinch hitter.

From JJ Murray (jjmurray@kstp.com):

If you're not having fun in the business, get out before it takes you out. I've been reading letters from Producers trying to balance work and family. It can be done. I've been in TV for 11 years. I've been a one-man-band photographer, photojournalist, and producer. I offer these tips for rookies and veterans alike.

I just started producing the Midday news at my station in the Twin Cities. I'll get to that reason in a moment. How's that for a tease. I produce 2 morning shows when I was single. Talk about no life. But I found a way. Go out for breakfast, go out for coffee. Make friends first. Then after a while, you'll set things up for later in the evening and go to sleep earlier. For me, it was easier to go out, then go to work ... than it is to get up and go to work.

Producing the 10 or 11. These are great hours for single people. When you get off work, there's still time for a life, and you get to sleep in off, or get chores done in the morning. After I got married and my wife got pregnant, that show did not mean as much to me anymore. Our 5pm producer left, and I asked for the show. My bosses were surprised that I wanted the leave "The Money Show." I don't need to feed my ego with the prestige of a show. I'm good producer. I give every show equal treatment. Family is more important than ego.

Now our Midday producer quit. Guess who was first in line to move to that show? When I got the show, people in the newsroom asked me if I had ticked someone off to be put on the Midday show. When I tell them it was my idea, they're stunned. Guess what folks? I'm still getting paid, and I have even more time with my boys. Sure I have to get up at 3am, but you learn to sleep in shifts, and budget time. I also have more time to get connected in my community.

Fortunately, I live in the same Twin Cities suburb where went to high school. The key thing to remember, always keep your eyes and ears open. News doesn't happen in the newsroom, it happens on your street. Be enterprising. Find out what your neighbors are talking about. Have them over and BS. Don't tell them you're looking for stories. But listen to what they're saying. Read the Letters to the Editor in your city paper. Go to community events. Meet people. Become their friend first, they're contact second.

Watch out for burn out. It hits hard and fast. If you lose it at work, you'll lose it at home. Make peace with the demons in your newsroom, and look forward to your life. It is far more important than your career. Good luck.

Here's another letter from an E.P. with a similar challenge.

"I just left a job where I was supervising 15 people. As to firing them up and motiviating them, as a manager, I believe it is each individual's responsibility to motivate themselves. If they no longer have a passion for the business, then it may be time for them to move on. This is a business of constant burnout for people (me included . . . this is why I just took 6 months off). I believe it is really important for producers and other staff to involve themselves in outside interests and create a balance in their lives. As for hiring, I always look for attitude. The desire, the hunger, the want to succeed and producer top quality programming. Exceptionally strong multi-tasking, organizational & time management skills. It really is a crap shoot when you hire people as I am sure you are aware. Some work,some don't."

Here are some responses from readers:

From Anonymous:

[5/96]

By Assorted, Understandably Anonymous Contributors

I would . . .

• promote people from within the newsroom, so that others would see there is a reward to being a hardworking, loyal employee.
• bring in speakers to hold seminars on stress reduction and effective management.
• stop babying the anchors! They make a ton of money and work very few hours so its time for them to stop whining already!
• require that all teases be approved by the reporter working the story being teased. I'm submitting this on behalf of reporters everywhere who have ever been irked by teases which are either factually wrong or promise something their story cannot deliver.
• make all the reporters produce for a day and all the producers report. And all management positions would answer the ringing phones on the desk. What fun that would be!
• shoot myself and save my staff the trouble.

[1/96]

Compiled by Alice Main (webdesign@mainhat.com)

When your best reporter calls in sick, when the third lead story of the day has crapped out, and when you just can't think of a better weather tease (Will it be cold tomorrow? Find out next..), maybe you've given just a tiny thought to bagging this job and going for something else. But what else?

When the urge to bag it all strikes me, I imagine myself being interviewed for a non- television-related job.

The interviewer asks: "So why should we hire you?"

I can never think of a better answer than: "Um, well, I can write a VOSOT!"

Of course, the transition does work for some people. Here are a few success stories from folks who made it happen for themselves.

Story #1:

I left TV news in 1992, after a 19-year career, and promptly switched to producing industrial videos for a major Arizona utility.

It took a couple of years to stop missing the daily action of being in a newsroom, but there are payoffs:

1. My work week rarely exceeds 37 1/2 hours.
2. Permanent day shift.
3. Overtime pay.
4. Holidays off.
5. Very little supervision.
6. Stability in management.
7. No screamers.
8. Script approval process is nowhere near as excruciating as in TV new s.
9. Lots more time to work on projects.
10. Need to slide a deadline? NO PROBLEM

Carissa Hazelett, cdhazele@srp.gov

Story #2:

I have moved on since my producing days at NBC-4 in Los Angeles (Burbank). While I actually still work there as a newswriter on Saturdays and Sundays, I am currently working full-time on producing a feature length independent film.

I wrote the script and will also play one of the leads. I in the middle of casting and crewing the film now, with the intention of shooting it in April.

My success? Well, we'll see about that in time, but it's the hardest and best project I have ever worked on!

Phil Cozzolino, PhilCozz@aol.com

Story #3:

The something else I found to do last August was to retire! Early.

Quick background: I was a producer in the 60's and 70's at NBC O & O's, first Cleveland, then Washington. Then, upward to Management for 20 years at WRC as News Operations Manager. That slot entailed some specials and special projects producing and EP'ing. But no more daily hard news line producing. In all, 39 years in TV (and some radio) newsrooms.

Major differences between then and now:

SHOW PACING

They've become faster and more complex with the advent of special effects, Starship Enterprise switchers, and electronic graphics. In the old days (notice I didn't say "good"), we had art cards and straight cuts switchers! Oh yes, rear projection pix.

TAPE

Film shot well made undeniably better images but it was, looking back, ghastly stuff to handle. Thankfully, the plug was pulled on those vats of "soup" where your story sometimes got overcooked, undercooked, or dissolved. The last half of the 90's will witness the beginning of the end of tape (except as an archive medium). It had a 20-year run.

LIVE

A liveshot used to be a major corporate endeavor. Cumbersome and costly. We did them, of course. But they consumed huge quantities of manpower and budge t. The cables were as thick as your forearm, cameras sometimes had to be hoisted into place with a crane. While we do liveshots so easily and take them for granted now, I want to point out to the folks in the business less than a decade that mincams/microwave/sat trucks are a relatively recent phenomenon (whose end, incidentally, is drawing nigh as digital digs in). I fibbed in the lead. I didn't fully retire. Being a full-time "viewer" isn't enough. I have done a few special projects/consulting assignments for my former colleagues in between catching up on missed fishing and boating opportunities. Always fancying myself a special projects expert, I was delighted to be called back to help set up convention coverage for the NBC O & O's. One of my work responsibilities was to manage the Basys/Avid newsroom computer system. Since "retiring" I have trained new users on the system. And, I am looking forward to working with a group that helps emerging democracies conduct their elections. < p> On the non-broadcast front, I have assisted my son and his partner launch a retail business. Everything from sweeping floors (literally; honest labor is character building) to assisting customers (TV news people should learn how better to cultivate viewers as customers). For the future, I want to go back to school but haven't decided which courses to pursue.

Meanwhile, each morning and evening, I turn on the tube and find new reasons to respect and admire the good, smart people who used to be my colleagues.

Joel Albert, Jralbert@aol.com

Story #4:

Once a producer, always a producer. But I left the daily grind of a tv station years ago and have always found the skills I learned in a newsroom so helpful. One of the more interesting things I've done since is teaching classes on media and marketing for nonprofit executives.

I still dabble in field production and producing, but for the past year I've been in the Web business. I think TV people will dominate the new media industry, rather than print, because we have such a different sense of pulling together stories and projects than print folks do.

Lisa Napoli, Napoli@interport.net

Story #5:

I spent 15 years with ABC News in Lebanon, Egypt, Rome and New York at 20/20. Four months ago, I left to become director of graduate studies at New York University's Department of Journalism. For 15 years ABC paid me a lot of money and didn't listen to what I had to say.

Now students and their parents pa y a lot of money and actually listen to me. I also have been writing magazine articles, working on a book of fiction, and a CD-ROM project. I even took courses at NYU. One of the most enjoyable changes is that I read articles for content, not style and placement in a newscast. This past semester I taught a course called "Journalistic Tradition," which analyzes the best writing and reporting in the past 250 years.

Imagine having the time to read Ernie Pyle again, Homer Bigart and listen to Ed ward Murrow on Buchenwald!

Christopher Harper, harperc@is.nyu.edu

Story #6:

I am a former producer, most recently from NewsChannel 8 — an all news/24 hr. station serving the Washington DC metropolitan area. I was present at the "start-up" of the station in September, 1991. In February 1992 I joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) as a public affairs specialist. What appeared to be a drastic career change initially, soon became a very relevant job suiting my journalistic background. In the past four years I have produced the agency newsletter (Editor), a four-page publication issued every three weeks. (I have creative license on content, etc.) I also manage our two highly successful public service campaigns with the Ad Council on drunk driving prevention and safety belt education. Perhaps you're familiar with the Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk slogan, and "Vince and Larry" the crash dummy duo of TV, radio and print fame. Recently, I wrote, produced, an d anchored a 40 minute video (produced in-house in a "media center") entitled "Lessons in Facing the Media and Message Development." The video, intended for the agency senior and mid-level managers, offers "insider" tips on how to put their best foot forward when dealing with the media. I also arrange satellite media tours (radio and TV) and prepare the head of the agency to effectively present our messages in the media when we have newsworthy events, which is often.

The government experience, coupled with an intimate knowledge of the advertising business, (frequent trips to Los Angeles for production, Chicago and Manhattan for creative review) the public relations process and media consulting for government officials has strengthened my overall journalistic education with practical experiences in the world of the newsmaker. But I still love television! Let's face it. You never really lose the bug once bitten. I'm confident that my present position has given me a greater insight/knowledge and depth into other aspects of communications, and will make me a better producer/anchor when I do return.

Kathryn Henry, KHenry@nhtsa.dot.gov

Story #7:

I was a producer at WMAQ-TV in Chicago from 1975 until 1986, first in radio and then in TV. In 86, Ii took a position on the faculty at the University of Colorado, School of Journalism and Mass Communication. This is my 10th year and I feel like I've won the lottery, especially when I talk to friends still in TV news in Chicago, and elsewhere.

I have developed research interests in gays and TV and in the changes in Eastern European media systems in the so-called post-Communist era. I've had the opportunity to do research and reporting throughout Eastern Europe and I've presented my work at a variety of conferences all over the world—things I never even got close to in my news position.

I still teach television news writing, reporting and producing classes, but also offer seminars in media and culture. I have tenure and am looking forward to the on-going opportunities and challenges of working at a large, research instituion. I also still have the chance to work as in independent documentary maker. The only hitch there is getting funding.

Anyway, I'd still go back into TV if I could. Not line- producing, but policy making and managing. At this stage of the game, however, I doubt that I could make the transition back, i.e., I don't think I'd get any offers, even though I have a Ph.D., know a lot about media systems in other countries, and am something of an expert on news and diversity issues.

Meg Moritz, moritzm@spot.Colorado.EDU

Story #8:

After nearly 10 years in broadcasting, I'd had it! I escaped from the TV news rat race in 1990 & haven't looked back since. I'm making more money now as an independent producer/director. And more importantly I'm infinitely happier. But I took a lot of knocks before I realized I had to take control of my own destiny.

I had started as nighttime jazz jock on the 100,000 watt NPR affiliate we students ran on campus. I paid my way through college with that job & working full-time 1980-83 for WDAY-TV & radio, the then-NBC affiliate in Fargo, ND. I did everything: assignment editor, producer, reporter, on-air talent—I was even interim news director for FM.

When I realized that no one ever leaves Fargo & there wasn't likely to be a frontline spot for me in the near future, I moved to KTVK-TV Phoenix, as weekend producer & eventually 6 PM producer. After 3 years, I was off to WGAL Lancaster PA, WEWS Cleveland & finally WLWT Cincinnati—5 stations in 10 years, whew!—before starting my own production company in 1990. The good news is that Silverman/Media Inc. is still going strong after 6 years.

The bad news is that while jobs tend to be more stable in conservative markets like Fargo & Cincinnati, in many other markets, producers still have to move around a lot in search of better pay, better hours, more appreciation. Of course, what are you going to do when the head hunters keep calling, offering you more money & bigger shows? Or when ownership, management, affiliation, or all of the above change? Often you're the victim of people & circumstances beyond your control. Which is why I finally got out.

Now I call the shots. I do the projects I want to do, controlling the creative approach, script & production values from start to finish. I get to play with the latest gizmos in the biz: 3D computer animation, digital compositing & effects, nonlinear tapeless editing. Although most of my projects are high-end corporate communications & marketing videos, I also work in film, mini-documentaries, broadcast specials and commercial spots. My most recent project was a humorous mini-doc on actor George Clooney of NBC's episodic drama "ER" & his famous showbiz family.

Most importantly, I've found time to have a family. We have two wonderful boys aged 3-1/2 years and 6 months. During both pregnancies, I w orked right up to within a few days of delivery. After the second, I was back in my home office within weeks, writing articles for trade magazines & scripting my next project. I was back on location in 3 months. Unlike my husband, an assistant TV news director who puts in 50-60 hrs/wk, I average 30-40 hrs and I decide when & where I work. Some days I don't have to leave the house. Oh yeah, I do get the occasional urge for the adrenaline rush of the daily deadline or the midday heart palpitations from too much too thick coffee—we used to joke that if you didn't keep your hand on your mug, the newsroom brew would crawl out under its own power! But whenever I do feel the need for a fix, I just visit a TV newsroom & after about 10 minutes of mind-numbing scanner traffic, I can just say no.

Catherine Silverman, silvermedia@cis.compuserve.com