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Taking care of business
By Yvonne Wells
(CNN) -- Many people are familiar with the work of executives, news and technical crews, producers and graphic artists at Headline News. But what about the folks who really run this joint, the administrative staff? Their jobs may sound boring in comparison with all the hustle and bustle of covering news. But think of it this way: If the administrative staff were a body part, we would be the heart. You can't always see what we're doing, but if we stopped, the network would definitely know it. As senior director of network administration, 99 percent of my day is answering questions such as "Where do I find...?" "Who do I need to talk to ...?" "Where do I go for ...?" "How do I fill out ...?" "Where does this form go?" "What is the policy for?" ... Well, you get the point. The other 1 percent of the time I manage to field questions from affiliates, assist with anchor auditions, approve invoices, work on contracts, call facilities if the newsroom is too cold, hot or smells funny, and the list goes on and on. That's my day. How does the Headline News staff know what to do and when to do it on a daily basis? A good place to start is with Anthea Earls, manager of newsroom operations. Anthea is responsible for scheduling writers, copy editors, researchers and producers. If you think that's easy, think again. Let's look at a typical scheduling occurrence: Joe Producer calls in sick. Anthea gets her "cover" brain in gear. She moves Joe Copy Editor to cover Joe Producer, then moves Joe Writer to cover Joe Copy Editor, who is covering for Joe Producer, who called in sick. Then she calls Jill Writer (who is off that day) to cover for Joe Writer, who is covering for Joe Copy Editor, now covering for Joe Producer, who called in sick. She then calls Joe Copy Editor and Joe Writer to let them know their schedules have changed. Whew! That's what Anthea's day is like. What about scheduling the people you see on Headline News, the on-air talent? That's Dot Copeland's gig. Dot is department administrator and talent coordinator. When she's not knee-deep in scheduling anchor shifts, Dot serves as a backup go-to person. Most importantly, Dot can tell anyone where to get forks, ketchup, safety pins, screwdrivers, plates, etc. She would be the perfect candidate for "Let's Make a Deal." You can ask Dot just about anything, and you will be pointed in the right direction. So who takes care of executives and managers? That's Martha Yazbak and Jessica Riley. Martha is executive assistant for Headline News Executive Vice President and General Manager Rolando Santos and also supports other members of the senior management team. She keeps her boss on track with meetings, logistics, travel arrangements, phone coverage (often in Spanish), call screening, general office support, management of internal and external correspondence, the processing of expense reports, maintenance of files and records, and the ordering of premiums, stationary, etc. Martha also helps her boss with projects and even makes decisions in his absence from time to time. More importantly, she is the get-in-shape cop, ensuring that Rolando gets his shrinking butt into the gym every day. And then, there is department assistant Jessica Riley. She didn't think her job was important and begged not to be included in this column, but everyone at Headline News knows Jessica is the "glue." Besides bouncing off the walls most of the day, Jessica primarily focuses on supporting the vice president of programming and senior director of network administration. "Hello, Bill Galvin's office" usually gets her day started. Afterward, it's file this and file that, get this, the newsroom printers are out of paper, walk this up to ..., etc. In other words, the administrative staff may not have a direct hand in what is seen and heard on Headline News, but we do take care of everything else.
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