I read all the local news articles on the crash I could find, turned to Twitter for more real-time information, and prepared a list of questions for emergency personnel. When we arrived, I was ready to put my journalism coursework to use. Terrified and thrilled, I agreed to head to the scene with our live streaming system called Streambox and a camera operator. This was my first chance to cover an important, breaking story live - and to get my face on television. I had never been on air in any capacity, let alone as a live correspondent. She smiled and asked if I’d ever done a live shot before. Before I could pick up the phone, one of our faculty advisors stopped me. After a long groan, she asked me to start calling off-duty reporters to fill in. All on-air staffers were already in the field on other stories. She whipped around to the whiteboard where the team tracked reporter assignments. “We’ve got to get someone down there … NOW!” shouted the show’s lead producer, leaping to her feet as she scanned the room for a free reporter or anchor to send. In those few seconds of silence, we all knew our plan for the 6 p.m. One by one, each local station switched to a helicopter shot of the tragic scene. The normal chatter and bustle of the newsroom suddenly stopped as producers looked to the row of TV screens mounted on the wall above our desks. A pedestrian was killed, the driver was in critical condition and many students were injured. It was hard to believe the iNews alert that crossed my screen on the USC Annenberg TV News assignment desk: a high school bus had tipped over at a busy intersection in East Los Angeles. In a new series of columns, each week an alum of USC Annenberg will share stories of their time at the school, discuss their career, and offer advice to students. Public Relations Innovation, Strategy and Management (Online) (MS).Global Communication (MA) / Global Media (MSc).
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