Most local news reporters conduct their own interviews, write their own scripts and do their own makeup. Photojournalists often shoot all the footage, edit the packages and transmit the footage back to the newsroom. Teams out in the field do a lot with just a camera, a laptop and a car full of supplies.
“There’s nothing like covering your own home,” said Melissa Colorado, general assignment reporter for NBC New York.
Asked why she works in local news, Colorado said, “It’s not a glamorous job. We don’t do it for the money. But we do it because we’re addicted to news, to the lifestyle, to never being in the same place every day. You never know who you’re going to talk to, you never know who you’re going to meet.
“You have to be interested in humans. We’re meeting people during the worst moment of their lives, and you have to have that human factor and care. It doesn’t mean you have to cry for every story that’s painful. You’re trying to give them a microphone and do the best job possible. To get their story across, and if you’re lucky enough, get some change.”
