Feedback November 2002 (Vol 43 No 4)

newsroom should explain this gaffe; the producer, the anchor? Another sentry needs tobe put at the gate of accuracy. That sentry is the TV news assignment editor. It goesalmost without saying that more of these sentries are needed at the gate in the post9/11 world than ever before.Students of broadcast news should be told that the TV news assignment editorshould be the best educated person in the newsroom. Formal education, although thefirst step in the training of an assignment editor, is but one step on a long road totravel. It is A road that has grown even longer in the days since 9/11. Consider howhard it is to find time during the day to read a local newspaper and a national newspaper.Consider now the difficulty of asking a student of television news assignmentediting to do the same. A student’s day is long too and the hard fact is that even onelocal and one national newspaper are not enough for students or for teachers. The usualsuspects, including the New York Times, newsweek, Time, are expected to be read, butwhat of other publications? There are English language publications from foreignnations. An even more outlandish thought would be that there are foreign languagepublications in foreign languages! Is this so arcane, so uppity, so beyond the expectationof educated people as to be ridiculous? Ideas presented in publications outside of theusual reading materials are essential tools for students of television news assignmentediting. September 11 will make these tools more frequently used than ever before.Good reading habits are required of TV news assignment editors. Broadcast educatorsneed to make that point with force.Increased attention, greater respect and improved training for students of TV newsassignment editing are easy to dismiss as well meant but impractical ideas that cannotproject from the classroom to the newsroom. These ideas are easy to dismiss even whenenhanced by notions of creativity and influence. Dismissal comes easily because teachers,students and practitioners of television news assignment editing passively accept theidea that the job is subservient to producing, reporting and anchoring. It is time to tellstudents that TV news assignment editors are not servants. Future TV news assignmenteditors must be told to take their place at the table of news. It is a place that has alwaysawaited them but they passed by it. September 11 means many things to many people .It means a new focus on TV news assignment editing for teachers of broadcast news.TV news assignment editors are more important than ever before. Students need toknow it. Broadcast educators need to say it. Look forward to the day when broadcastnews graduates attend a college reunion and brag;I’m a television news assignment editor. And, surprisingly, people care.BEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 65