WPVI Philadelphia turned the cameras on the women behind the scenes in the newsroom as part of Women’s History Month. “They are the foundation of Action News,” says Thomas Davis, WPVI’s VP and news director.
To the viewers who watch Action News on WPVI, the ABC O&O in Philadelphia, they are nameless and faceless. Yet they decide what news gets covered every day.
“They are the foundation of Action News,” says Thomas Davis, WPVI’s VP and news director. “It takes a whole team, but frankly we have a lot of super-talented women that obviously make this place go.”
When WPVI looked to profile women to celebrate during Women’s History Month in March, it didn’t have to look outside its newsroom.
When Davis and Bernie Prazenica, WPVI’s GM, brainstormed about who to profile, they thought to honor “the great women at Action News who are behind-the-scenes that people don’t know,” Davis says. “We really wanted to just tell their story.”
Given that Women’s History Month is the annual tradition to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society, the women who work in the WPVI newsroom qualify.
Some have been documenting the daily history of Philadelphia for decades and continue that work every day.
So, WPVI gave the behind-the-scenes women in the Action News newsroom the chance to be in front of the camera to talk about their roles in putting together the news content for the newscasts and digital media.
“Having women in management is important,” says Christine Bowley, WPVI’s assistant news director. “Our team wants to see that they are represented.”
Tanya Husar, who’s been the managing editor at Action News for 38 years, says when she started at WPVI, “there was one female manager.”
Husar says today half of the management team at WPVI are women.
“We have some senior staff people here who have basically seen Philadelphia change,” Davis says.
Some of the women are producers who sit at their desks working the phones and their computers to get the stories into their newscasts.
Some are out in the field manning cameras as they work with reporters. Others, multimedia journalists, work alone putting themselves on camera to tell stories.
“We have been able to hire photogs who work with reporters, but they also have the ability and time to turn their own pieces,” Davis says.
Some have decades of experience working behind-the scenes at Action News. Many are mothers with families juggling the demands of their jobs with the needs of their families.
“As a mother, I find myself in a position to help other parents out there,” says Stephanie Kirk, one of WPVI’s news producers featured. “What stories can we tell that will help them?”
The segments aired during the newscasts that the women worked on March 29 and March 30.
The videos are well-shot and edited with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage of the newsroom and tech centers to give viewers a real feel for what it’s like to be there. There are snippets of nat sound that capture the give and take that goes on in the editorial meetings that add to the feeling that you’re right there.
Davis says when the segments aired, “they were cheering, hooting and hollering because it is pretty cool to have the opportunity so your family and friends can see what you do and how hard you work.”
Erin Sweitzer, a news producer at Action News, says “Action News not only gives women a seat at the table, but makes sure they’re heard, valued and appreciated.”
“These women are just dynamic, smart, talented and driven to support the community,” Davis says. “We’re just blessed to have them, so I am glad everybody else got to see what we see every day.”
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