The feedback dilemma

At the end of the work day today, I ran into my news director on my way out of the building.

“Nice live shots,” he said. “1400 coats, wow.” (I had been heading our station’s coverage of a Coats For Kids drive.)

It wasn’t until I was almost to my car that I realized I was smiling.

Now the reason for this was twofold. One: It was a rare moment, indeed. A genuine compliment, minus any thinly veiled criticism? I’ll take it. And two: It reminded me of this.

Just two days ago, I read Jill Geisler‘s article “5 ‘praise erasers’ reveal how bosses undermine positive feedback.” It was one of those moments where I sat in front of my computer, nodding like an idiot. “Yes, Jill! This is my LIFE!” Her opening paragraph just about sums it up:

“Who among you gets too much feedback at work? I’ve asked this question of groups time and again, always with the same result: No hands go up.”

In an all-staff news department meeting a couple of months ago, my boss (aforementioned news director) leaned casually against a desk and said, “I’d like to talk about morale. Where do we feel morale is around here?”

I was the only one who raised my hand.

I picked my words cautiously: “Now, I know this is easier said the done, because, after all, it is our job to find out what’s wrong in the world and talk about it…but a kind word really does go a long way.”

What's a dog gotta do to get a bone around here? (Courtesy: Victor Bezrukov, flickr.com)

He furrowed his brow and told us that from what he’s heard from other news directors, we’re not the only ones who aren’t being praised left and right.

In a separate meeting about the weekend shows, I brought up the same point.

“I think I do a pretty good job of that,” he said. “At the same time, I’m not going to give you guys cupcakes every time you do your job.”

Touche. But fair.

That’s what I loved about Geisler’s post. She points out the fact that not all feedback is created equal.

“Don’t erase your praise by the way in which you deliver it,” she says.

All the points she makes are great, but I think her last one is the easiest to fall prey to: “Praise with a big ‘but.'”

The last piece of feedback I remember receiving from my boss (before today) was in email form. “I liked your meth story today, especially the neighbour and the map,” he wrote. “But why no tag out for the 11?” Can you guess which part of this email I spent my time thinking about?

The bottom line is, feedback matters. I appreciated reading a post that pointed that out. But I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t sort of given up expecting any sort of praise as long as I work in this industry.

Still, at the end of the day, it’s amazing how good a “Nice live shot” feels.

Elizabeth Vargas can give cues too!

Just read this post from my daily digest of TVNewser. It’s titled, “Elizabeth Vargas: Anchor, Reporter, Field Producer,” and it focuses on a bit from GMA this morning where Elizabeth Vargas and Josh Elliott give us a “behind the scenes” look at how a national network gets an international live shot on the air. “These days it takes a camera, a backpack and a willing anchor-turned-field producer,” TVNewser writes.

So glad that Vargas was so “willing” to be on a telephone and give cues.

What struck me most as I watched the clip was the number of people in the photo taken in Italy. My counting skills may be a little off, but I counted “one, two, THREE” experienced, New York City-level network people. I understand that more is on the line at a network, and that they were reporting from the Amanda Knox trial in Italy. But if it were my station (or likely 99% of any local news stations across the U.S.), and I were in a situation where I had no direct line in my ear from the producers, my photographer would have had to somehow find a way to balance his camera in one hand, with a phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder, cuing me with his one semi-free hand. Trust me, I’ve done this before.

I know blog commenters can be snarky, but in this instance I agree with “thenewsmonkey,” the lone responder two-and-a-half hours after this was posted: “umm… everyone else does this everyday. welcome to technology abc.”

What actually had me more impressed (again, forgive me for not raving more about Elizabeth Vargas’s cuing abilities!) was the technology they were using. I guess Elliott makes a mention of it (“Look at what is happening behind the scene. A backpack.”). But the focus so quickly shifts to Vargas, and her inability to get Elliott to shut up during his live shot, that we don’t hear much else about the “backpack.”

Courtesy: TVU Networks

According to the manufacturer’s Web site, the backpack “delivers broadcast quality signals by leveraging multiple 3G/WiFi connections.” Of course, I poked around for a while and could find no mention of cost (might make a General Manager have a heart attack at budget time). But its data sheet does claim it’s only a fraction of the cost of a fully-equipped satellite truck.

(If you’re anything like me, stop laughing about the title on the mic flag in the above picture before you continue reading.)

Pay attention, TV journalists: THIS is the future of our industry. And if you’re a one-man-band, don’t be surprised if one day you’re headed to a shoot and your assignment editor throws one of these at you.

Who knows? Some of the lucky ones might even be able to say they had Elizabeth Vargas as their field producer.