BUILDING A BETTER DESK

What does it take to create and run a good assignment desk? We collected these tips from assignment editors, news managers and reporters in an effort to help newsrooms design a better desk operation. We'd be happy to add your suggestions too. Just drop us a line. And for tips on doing the desk, check these additional ideas.

Location, location, location. The desk should be in a central location in the newsroom, so editors can hear and see what's going on, and reporters and producers can pitch in and help when the desk is overwhelmed. Frank Wolff, assignment manager at KCRA in Sacramento, says his newsroom recently removed a glass wall that separated the desk from producers. "They [producers] hated it because they have to hear the scanners," he said, "but I think the 'factions' feel more as one."

People skills. Assignment editors have to be motivators and conciliators. "My biggest job is keeping everyone happy," says Ron Lopez, assignment manager at KFSN in Fresno. "If you know who your resources are and use them effectively, I think you can get the job done." Reporter Elliott Lewis says his colleagues in Orlando called desk editor Cesar Aldama "Kofi Annan" because of the role he played as peacemaker between management, producers and reporters. Desk editors also have to be persistent. "If you make a call and hang up when they tell you no, you're never going to get anything," says Lopez. Wolff agrees. "Good ones don't give up and avoid the word 'can't' until they've exhausted all possibilities."

The right tools. Every desk needs decent scanners, a good phone system, Internet access and computer programs that work. But other tools can help, too. A conference bridge in the phone system lets producers, managers and assignment editors talk with reporters in the field at the same time. Cell phones with a walkie-talkie feature and text pagers can also improve communication with field crews. A white board in the newsroom that everyone can see helps keep tabs on how the day is going. Other "tools" are less obvious: interns and others who can give the desk staff a break during the day; a spiral notebook for story ideas that could be done on a slow day.

Planning. A good desk finds time to plan, even if the station can't afford a planning editor. "Free one person up for an hour [in the afternoon] to look at tomorrow," says Wolff. If you're a one person desk, put an intern on the desk to answer phones and monitor scanners. "If you can just set the table a little bit...you get a lot out of that." Long range planning matters, too. Paul Paolicelli, former news director at KPRC in Houston, says a great desk editor should have contingency plans for natural disasters, and know how to get stories done without overextending crews or equipment.

Community knowledge and contacts. "Your lead assignment edtor almost has to be a long-term employee with roots in the community," says Paolicelli. "Otherwise you're only covering police blotter/scanner and PR types of information." He expects the desk to have a dependable, up-to-date Rolodex of contacts and experts, not just the usual suspects. Bill Carey, news director at WXYZ in Detroit, says he expects assignment editors to be as interested in things going on in the community as they are in chasing a fire.

Listening. "I talk to every crazy person who calls," says KFSN's Lopez. "They all have a story and I don't know if we're going to use it or not until I talk to them." Reporter Ann Notarangelo says when she worked with Lopez, "I sure appreciated that he was always looking for new story ideas above and beyond beat calls."

Broad experience. "The more you know what each person does, the easier the job," says Lopez. He's a former photographer and a former newscast producer. "I know what producers want and I know what photographers can do," he says. "We don't have unrealistic expectations." Former news director Diane Mulligan-Fairfield says when she was on the desk, her boss sent her out to field produce special events or features. "I had a better feel for what [the crews] needed and were doing...and they had more respect for me because I had some field experience."

Support and trust. The hardest thing for a news manager to do is to leave the desk alone during breaking news, says Joe Nolan, news director at KWHB in Houston and himself a former assignment manager. "If you're going to grow a young person [into a manager] you've got to be supportive and you've got to keep producers off their backs." Wolff says it's essential for top managers to trust the desk to make decisions. "Give them the freedom to say, 'This is happening, here's how I'm handling it...is that okay?"

Praise and rewards. Assignment editors who find great stories, set them up, and see others get all the credit may get frustrated. "I make sure I praise and single out editors that steer the ship," says WXYZ's Carey, who offers an extra day off here and there for a job well done, and puts assignment editors' names on Emmy nominations. Mulligan-Fairfield like that idea. "It goes a long way to not only bolstering the AE personally but also sending a message to the newsroom that the AE is a respected member of the team."