Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Living History: Election Night 2010



The set of "Vote 2010," ABC's election night coverage, under constuction.

I spend a LOT of money on concerts in the city. I get great discounts, but it still adds up...so I have to work to make up for it! Luckily, I think I have the best job in the world, which the last five days can attest to.

One of Fordham's hidden gems is our radio station, WFUV. Anyone who has been on my tour knows I can talk for hours about the radio station, and the great opportunities it offers. In a nutshell, WFUV is an NPR affiliate located on Fordham's campus, but not officially affiliated with the university. We have a staff of full-time, professional DJs, and have full NYPD press credentials. It is not your typical college radio station. We are one of the most respected and well-known stations in the tri-state area, and we are very proud of that. With a full-time, professional staff, WFUV represents an opportunity for a paid internship right on campus in the communications field to those interested, regardless of major or academic preferences. Students are employed in one of four departments within the station: news, sports, production, and promotions. I work in the news department, which has allowed me the privilege of interviewing Mayor Bloomberg, Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, among others. My friends in Sports have been paid to attend Yankees' spring training, and friends from promotions attend dozens of concerts a month to promote the station. No matter where you work at FUV, it ain't a bad gig...

Through WFUV News, a coworker who also interns at ABC News got me a position there helping the network prepare its "Vote 2010" midterm election coverage. For a little over a month, I traveled to ABC News' World Headquarters on 66th St., and immersed myself in the world of the World News Tonight set. I think my mom was as excited for this experience as I was...she told anyone who would listen, and showed the blurry
picture I took of me behind the desk to any unfortunate person who crossed her path. This past weekend, rehearsals really kicked into overdrive, and I was scheduled to spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Halloween weekend at ABC News, 12 hours each day. Luckily, things went more smoothly than expected, and so while I did spend the vast majority of my weekend in the presence of some of the greatest news media minds in the country, it was bearable. Plus who am I kidding...Halloween happens every year; the politics dork in me wouldn't have passed on this opportunity if it was 72 straight hours over Christmas. Once every two years, my politics obsession becomes socially acceptable for a week before an election, and I got to spend the week leading up to this election with people who made my interest look juvenile. I earned such new respect for news anchors, producers, and the entire staff, because you would not believe the amount of rehearsing and adjustments we went through as the process continued.

Friday was the most interesting day, as in the midst of rehearsals for election night, we were promptly whisked off the set. Why? Several suspicious packages had been found in planes around the world, and it looked to be an organized terror attack...and Diane Sawyer had to break into ABC programing with the news. As I gathered my stuff, and walked from the desk, we brushed shoulders. I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't even realize who I had just walked by until 10 seconds later when she sat in the chair I had just occupied. I watched her deliver the breaking news from the wings, awe-struck at her poise and delivery on a moments notice.

I would have kicked myself if I had missed my one chance to talk to Diane Sawyer, but it turns out my worries were futile. Saturday and Sunday, Ms. Sawyer, George Stephanopolous, Cokie Roberts, and the other personalities to be featured on November 2nd's coverage came by to get a feel for the set, and do a bit of rehearsal so that they'd be comfortable. Saturday, I spent over an hour behind the ABC World News desk...with Diane Sawyer. We talked politics of course, but also did a considerable amount of chit-chatting (Pardon this brief editorial: talk about a class act. I have nothing bad to say about Ms. Sawyer. She was gracious, funny, smart, and incredibly impressive. I kind of want to be her....). She even took a few jabs at my expense...

I am fairly technologically challenged unless the technology has an Apple logo on it. As I spent time on the set, they placed a giant touch screen to the right of George Stephanopolous' seat. Upon further inspection, I realized the giant screen was the Christmas present a politics dork like me would ask for for the rest of his life, but never get: it was an interactive map of the USA, with past, present, and projections of races across the country. You could zoom in, learn about the candidates and issues in the state, and examine districts, demographics, and polls from across the country. Basically, as soon as I learned what it was, one thought crossed my mind: before I leave ABC on Sunday, I will play with that...that's the coolest toy ever.


Well, when behind the desk with Ms. Sawyer during a bit of rehearsal, I acted as her co-anchor. She turned to me, gestured to the box, and asked me to "show her...." (I couldn't tell you what she asked me to show her, the minute I realized I was about to get to play with this new toy, I stopped listening...). I looked at her, looked to the box, and then looked back, finally breaking character and breathlessly exclaiming "You mean...I get to touch the box...!?" Boy did she have a good laugh at my eagerness on that one, and told me I could do whatever I wanted. I did explore the touch screen, and it's a good thing I was well behaved this year, because Santa better leave it under my tree. Thankfully a co-worker caught this little moment on camera from a monitor in the studio, which you can see to the left. Notice how fast my hand is moving, and how fascinated Diane Sawyer is. I guess I'm just that interesting... A close-up of the box is below.


Talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity. And only in New York. All I can say is wow...what an experience. Leaving on Sunday evening, my friend reminded me to be sure I watched the election night coverage on Tuesday to see all of my hard work pay off. I told her I wish I could, but I had other plans...

WFUV has given me some cool opportunities, but having press credentials to cover an election has to be one of the best. Last night, three co-workers and I spent the night at the New York State Republican Party Reception at the New York Hilton in midtown. We were each covering the Republican candidate in a NY race. I was reporting on Joe DioGuardi (who ran against, and lost to Senator Gillibrand), and last night would mark the first time I had ever gone on air live for the radio...only a little nerve-wracking. Even though republicans didn't do as well as they had hoped in New York, the mood was still quite energetic thanks to the strong national performance of the party. I survived on-air, interviewed the candidate, and headed back to campus around 1 AM to finish working on my story. A long night? Yeah...but I had just been a part of history. More than worth it.


I got back to my room around 2 AM, and my roommate was awake and kicking, much to my surprise. I was even more surprised when I saw what he was watching: election results on ABC. I jumped up and down like an excited child, and got to catch the last ten minutes of the newscast I had helped work on for so long. When Diane Sawyer signed off, I got a bit of a chill. Maybe someday I can steal that chair. Until then, the pictures from the weekend will have to suffice.

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