Tag: segment

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Unfavorable Support

A sports radio show here has a recurring segment titled, “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” about items in the news. For instance, when Charlie Sheen announced that instead of heading into rehab he would be handling drug and alcohol dependency on his own, the host asked listeners to weigh in with thoughts on how badly that idea could turn out.

When I heard last night the Texas Senate approved a ‘highly controversial bill’ to allow licensed citizens to carry concealed handguns inside buildings at public colleges and universities that same question immediately jumped into my head.

Proponents say it would enhance the safety of licensees – who have to be 21 or older – and their fellow students. They suggest the next time there’s an incident like Virginia Tech someone other than the shooter would be armed. Opponents, including regents and officials of the universities, believe academic institutions should remain gun-free. They mention the confusion that could occur when campus security and local law enforcement arrive on the scene and try to determine the good guys from the bad.

With a daughter who will be a senior at the University of Texas and two more kids to follow her over the next nine years, I have concerns should this bill pass the House and the governor sign it into law. My biggest worry is on any given Saturday night – following much alcohol consumption – the ‘testosterone effect’ greatly enhances the likelihood of altercations.

What could possibly go wrong?

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A Look Back In Time

One of the necessary skills for being a sports television producer is having the ability to back-time a broadcast off the air. That means if your designated off-time is 4:58:30 p.m. EDT and it’s 4:55:08, you have to quickly recognize you have 3:22 to conduct an interview with the player of the game or winning coach, get in the last two 60-second commercials, and have the announcers smoothly wrap up as you count down, “5-4-3-2-1-black.”

Having lived that life from 1981-’95, I find those particular talents come in quite handy in the business world. First, I’m seldom late for anything. In sports television, you’re judged on two things: how you got on and off the air, and what the other three hours looked like. It’s pretty much 50/50 on the grading scale, so you learn to be on time and on your game. Second, I break down big projects into small pieces and typically get them done as scheduled. That ability likely comes from knowing that in a football game you had four commercial breaks each quarter, so you learned to think and communicate in terms of ‘here’s what we’ll do during the next segment.’

You don’t have to have worked in television to become more efficient. The key to improvement is to adjust your approach to think in terms of the clock counting down. The moment you walk in the door you’re losing time. So plan your day accordingly… schedule specific tasks and commit to getting them done. Remember, you can never gain back a single minute, so treat each one preciously. You’ll become more adept at moving forward and within no time you’ll be judging yourself as an A+ in productivity.

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