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The D.C. part of the puzzle
By Jack Lynn
(CNN) -- It's a July afternoon in CNN's Washington bureau. Reporters, editors and producers are juggling a number of critical news stories in a cacophony of ringing phones, humming voices and cranked-up television monitors. Several stories compete for attention and resources: A congressional panel has released its report on the September 11 terrorist attacks, and there's another court hearing for the Washington-area sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo. On top of all that, the Pentagon has decided to release photos of Uday and Qusay Hussein's bodies after U.S. forces killed the two sons of Saddam Hussein in a firefight in Iraq. Producer Pilar Tejerina is on the run. It's 3:25 p.m., and she's got to get a live shot from Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre on the air for CNN Headline News in five minutes. "Do we have the Rumsfeld SOT?" she asks news assistant Nunu Japaridze, using the TV news term for "sound on tape." "All set," Nunu shouts from across the room. Pilar lets supervising producer Ginger Blackstone in Atlanta know that the sound bite from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is ready and will be rolled (played back to air) from the Washington bureau during a live report from McIntyre. Now she heads to control room C, briefs the D.C. director John Davis and gets on the phone with Jason Evans, the senior executive producer in Atlanta. "McIntyre will be on R-X 30," she tells Jason, referring to the assigned fiber optic cable that will send the Pentagon signal from Washington to Atlanta, where in a heartbeat it will be relayed out to CNN Headline News viewers across the country. Pilar is one of seven producers in the bureau's live production unit, which coordinates and produces live correspondent reports and guest appearances. The team, led by Mike Maltas, director of live coverage, works closely with reporters and show producers to help iron out appearances for the various CNN networks. Janet Rodriguez handles live shots from Washington for CNN Headline News in the morning and early afternoon. The rest of the Washington team includes producers Trish Chicca, Virginia Nicolaidis, Matt Byrne, Sean Gibbons and Jack Lynn. Associate producers Kerry Ogata and Alex Dermanis, along with news assistants Jim Spellman and Eleni Zis, help make sure it all gets on the air. And newsroom manager Pam Kelley makes sure everyone is where they need to be. Each day the producers are called on to use their editorial, technical and diplomatic skills to get the job done. They are assigned to specific shows and networks within the CNN NewsGroup. Usually, one producer will cover CNN domestic live shots, while another will handle CNN Headline News and CNN International, during the same time period. Sometimes the networks want the same thing at the same time. That's when the diplomat comes out as we try to negotiate with show producers to get the shots lined up in a workable order. Usually this exercise ends peacefully with everyone getting what they wanted -- but maybe not always at times when they wanted. Often, a story is so hot that the reporter assigned to it will have to do live shots on a single subject for three CNN networks back to back. It's a busy process involving two D.C. control rooms, two producers switching the reporter's signal from one network to the next, and making sure the reporter can communicate with the right anchor at the right time. Then it's all confirmed with the control room in Atlanta. CNN Headline News, over to you.
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