Behind the Scenes with Weston

Good Thursday morning! Think you're up early? Chances are, News 3 This Morning Producer Weston White has you beat. He's the topic of today's Behind the Scenes blog post!

Behind the Scenes with Weston

Weston White produces the morning show.

We fondly refer to him as "Dub Dub"

• Describe your routine as part of the morning show crew...

I generally arrive at the News 3 studio around 12:30am each morning. My first task is to sort through messages and emails about any new news, story updates, etc. Next I go through the scripts of the previous night's shows to see what is still usable for the morning. Finally I check the state and national wires-- and the CNN and ABC national archive for new stories.

Once everything is compiled I start writing and changing scripts...and searching for video or pictures to accompany them. We treat each of our three half-hours as its own separate show- so I start with the 5:30 show and work my way through the 6:30.

Kevin and Emily generally arrive around 3:15am and start proofreading scripts. They also help me search for stories and add any stories that they find. Without their help there'd likely be no news happening in the morning!

• What's the most stressful aspect of your job?

The most stressful part of producing the morning show is trying to get everything done before showtime.
Most days there isn't a lot of news happening between 10pm and 5am...(and when there is it's hard to get officials to provide information/confirm information/etc). We strive to have as much new news as possible on the morning show-- but that isn't always possible. So just finding enough content to fill the show, while at the same time maintaining a good flow...is what I struggle with the most.

• What's the best part about your job?

The best part of the job are my co-workers and the stories we get to do.
There's a bit more freedom when it comes to stories and segments we can do on the morning show. Case in point...roller derby and tasers.

Weston uses his stop watch to time the show from the control room.

Kevin, Emily, and Clint wear earpieces so they can hear Weston's time cues.

• What's something viewers might be surprised to learn about the morning show?

The fact that everyone is having fun at work can easily be seen while we're on the air. What happens off the air and during commercials is usually even funnier. Some viewers get a glimpse of that on Justin TV or from clips we post online. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Despite the fun everybody still maintains their professionalism-- which is one reason (in my opinion) everybody works so well together. We can report the news and weather and have fun while doing it. That's the reason I love my job.

• Why did you first become interested in news?

I've always been somewhat interested in news. My first job was at a news, talk, sports AM radio station in Sparta, Illinois. That was really my first taste into the world of delivering news. I decided to go into the Radio and Television program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale because I enjoyed working in radio. In one of my introduction classes they took us into the TV studios...and that's when I realized that radio wasn't where I wanted to be.

I was never able to participate in the student-run station at SIU because of my jobs. Luckily I had interned at River Radio (as "Intern Weston" on Z100's Nut n Honey Morning Show) and was offered a part-time job upon graduation. I worked there and at Pinckneyville's newspaper office until I got a part-time job here at WSIL. After a few months of working nights and weekends...I applied for the soon-to-open morning producer job. Somehow I was offered the position and the rest is history!

 Thanks, Weston! There are more Behind the Scenes blogs to come!

Join us on News 3 This Morning in HD starting at 5:30 am!