Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files
The Azizpour family fled Afghanistan and ended up in Clark County. A team from The Columbian has been following them as they settle into their new lives in America.
For an alumnus of a university that forms the backbone of Pacific Northwest broadcast journalists (Go Cougs!), it took me a long time to make my television debut.
After 40 years, it happened Thursday. I was a guest on KGW-TV’s “Straight Talk with Laural Porter.” The episode aired Friday evening and is scheduled to air again over the weekend. Like a lot of shows these days, it also can be streamed online on KGW’s YouTube channel.
It was interesting to see how a TV show is produced. I thought I’d share my experience.
It started a week ago Friday, when I got an email from Ashley Koch, a KGW news staffer who produces the show. She explained that this week’s episode would feature a panel of local news editors talking about the top stories of the year. Would I be interested in participating?
On Monday, I tried to pawn off the assignment on Will Campbell, but he was busy, so I agreed to do the taping. Koch quickly informed me that Porter was actually not going to do the show this week, but instead, it would be moderated by another KGW anchor, Ashley Korslien.
On Tuesday, Koch sent me a detailed email talking about the panel and the process. The other panelists were Betsy Hammond of The Oregonian, Lillian Mongeau Hughes of Oregon Public Broadcasting and Aaron Mesh of Willamette Week. She explained the show runs 25 minutes and is “taped live,” which means it doesn’t get edited unless something untoward happens. (It didn’t.) There was a commercial break about 15 minutes into the show, so we had a few minutes in the middle to relax and regroup.
Koch lined out some of the topics she and Korslien wanted to cover — the November elections and homelessness — and also asked each of the panelists to come up with a story we’re proud of and wanted to mention on-air. For me, that was an easy decision. Reporter Scott Hewitt and Photo Editor Amanda Cowan have spent most of the year documenting the new lives of an Afghan refugee family, the Azizpours. We’ve run two installments already and a third is planned for next Sunday, Dec. 18.
On Wednesday, Koch sent me a specific rundown of how the show would unfold. We’d start with the Oregon gubernatorial election, then talk about our 3rd Congressional District race between Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Joe Kent. Then, some more about Oregon elections. Then, homelessness. It sounded like a lot to cover.
The taping was set for 2:30 p.m. Thursday. We were to wear solid colors and jewel tones, with no patterns. Luckily, my green dress shirt was clean! I even dug out a tie.
I hadn’t been to downtown Portland since before the pandemic. It was a rainy day, and the area looked kind of sad, with a lot of graffiti and quite a few tents along the public rights of way.
Traffic wasn’t bad, so I arrived way too early. I admit, I was a little nervous sitting around the “green room” where guests are kept until they’re ready. I enjoy writing, but as I’ve told you before, public speaking is not my best communications skill.
When it was our turn, we all crowded around a really tall desk and sat on some really tall stools. The lights were bright, but the studio seemed dark. We all got microphones and were warned not to leave our stools lest we screw up the mic. There were three robotic cameras; I was surprised no one else, such as a camera operator or floor director, was in the studio during the taping.
It all went fine, of course. Korslien, who as it turns out is a Clark County resident, has a lot of experience in these sorts of things, and the panelists enjoyed talking with each other. In fact, it went by really fast.
As we made our way out of the studio, Koch said we should all do this again sometime. I might be game, but I am also OK with waiting another 40 years.
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