Just Moments Ago..

 The death and memorial of a pop star. Marines killed in Afghanistan. Journalists held in North Korea. A serial killer, killed. 

As a professional newscast producer I live daily, if not hourly, with what's "wrong" in the world. Journalism isn't just part of my life. It is a way of life. 

You could say I got the bug early. Here I am (holding the newspaper), circa 1982, bringing in the newspaper. It's "The Modesto Bee." My dad, a newspaper editor most of my life, worked there. 

From the front steps of one house to the newspaper newsroom in another town. My dad would invite me into work to watch him write or read editorials. He would let me grab some pens and paper and write "memos" to the reporters. 

 I used to say I was playing "office." 

 What I was really doing was telling stories. I certainly had many to tell. It started as a young version of Dan Rather interviewing an even younger Katie Couric. Dad would ask me questions and I'd give him the answers. Then, he would write them down. We did this in what we call the "red books." 

Sometimes, I would write my own words. 

The happy writing of a young four-year-old self turned into newspaper editing for high school, the young desire to be a news anchor and the eventual career interview with Diane Sawyer and Leeza Gibbons. I aspired to be like them. 

My first job in television news started in 1999 at XETV Channel 6 in San Diego. It was then a burgeoning new television station under the direction of Rupert Murdoch's order that all Fox affiliates start a newscast. I was the TelePrompTer operator the night we launched. Soon after, I started writing. Then, I started working with the anchors and reporters on story development and what we call "sweeps pieces." 

In 2003, after a few years at XETV and one year at an independent station in San Diego, I took my first full-time news producing job at KESQ-TV in Palm Desert, CA. 

As a newscast producer my skills deal largely with writing, editing, communicating, and time. There is always something happening, somewhere. 

Writing this blog is nothing new, I've had a blog for a while. I am also on Facebook and LinkedIn. They are two sites that are hard to avoid.

I am seeking a Master's Degree in Management with an emphasis in Business Continuity largely because the business of news is changing. 

When I'm not producing a newscast or studying for my graduate degree, you can find me spending time with my boyfriend, Nathan Baca, a reporter at KESQ-TV, visiting Palm Springs Wine & Art in downtown Palm Springs, or visiting my family in Northern San Diego County.