Writer Profile: Jim Morris

Equipment:

• Power Mac 7500 - 64MB RAM
• Grab station with Hi-8 deck and video tuner
• Two TVs - one to record, the other to monitor air/video feeds

Five most commonly used applications: Simple Text, CNN network-wide news gathering system Basys, Netscape Navigator, CC:Mail, File Maker Pro

Overall role: "To consolidate and simplify. To take a big ball of information and whittle it down into something understandable....Part of that process is looking up the links. If it wasn't for the links, we could be putting out a newspaper."

Daily duties:

• Reads in to find out what's going on in the world, with the network and on the Web site.
• Searches the network for all angles on a story.
• Meshes wire stories and affiliate material with CNN stories to produce a well-rounded piece.
• Stays on top of breaking news and updates.
• Views available images and listens to sound files to incorporate them within the text in a way that adds life to the story.
• Double-checks facts for accuracy.

Personal stats:

• 46 years old
• Bachelor's degree in Speech & Dramatic Arts from Syracuse University
• Jim started at CNN as a writer five and a half years ago before joining Interactive for the past year.
• Prior to CNN, he worked fourteen years at CBS Radio where his duties ranged from producing to copy editing and writing.The first four years of his career were spent at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia where he learned the ropes as a sound tech, show producer, writer and assignment editor.

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