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Thirty-three years at KPIX CBS 5! From the News Director’s secretary, to the Assignment Desk, to Reporter, Anchor, and Multi-Media-Journalist –  Sherry Hu has worked with the best. Throughout her career, Sherry has contributed an extraordinary body of work from insightful daily coverage of Bay Area communities to special reports from Hong Kong and Guatemala. Her work has earned recognition with an Emmy® award, as well as first-place awards from APTRA, RTNDA, the Peninsula Press Club and the California Bar Association. Few things, though, move Sherry more than children, particularly their education. For a number of years, she worked part-time at KPIX CBS 5, and volunteered at Lincoln Elementary School in Oakland’s Chinatown. She continues to offer her services as a mentor, tutor and emcee for nonprofit fundraisers, civic events, and political debates. After more than three decades at Channel 5, she has switched careers to partner with the Oakland Unified School District. Sherry, a product of Oakland’s public schools and a Cal grad (Go Bears!), is developing a website for, by and about the students to give them a “voice” for their achievements.

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Christine Samra

I'm an Emmy-award-winning journalist with over 15 years of professional experience creating compelling content on multimedia and social media platforms. As a child I was given the nickname "chatterbox". I loved to ask questions and share with people what I've learned. I ended up turning that nickname and passion into a career. However, as a social media producer, I'm now making more noise tapping my keyboard and telling more people what I know. Whether it's through a tweet, a post on Facebook, an Instagram video or a TikTok... I want to be the first source for information. Regardless if it's a local breaking news story or what celebrity Drake has befriended, as a content manager,  I'm going to be the one who knows both. For more on my love of pop-culture, please visit my blog .

Thanks for stopping by!

- Christine Samra

Published Work

As a content creator and manager, writing continues to be a passion of mine. Below are some of my recent published articles.

Security guard shot outside of Drake’s Toronto home

May 7, 2024

Magic Johnson talks Shohei Ohtani’s leadership, Kobe’s legacy, Lakers and more

February 22, 2024

Christina Applegate receives standing ovation at 2024 Emmys

January 15, 2024

‘I’m not going to let this bring me down’: Jo Koy addresses NFL-Taylor Swift Golden Globes joke

January 8, 2024

‘The Rock’ Tag Teams With California Gov. Newsom On Health and Wellness Amid Coronavirus Pandemic‘The Rock’ Tag Teams With California Gov. Newsom On Health and Wellness Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

April 12, 2020

Oakland Native Sway Calloway Brings ‘Sway Fest’ Block Party To His Hometown

October 17, 2019

Boy Who Had BART-Themed Party Invited On Exclusive Tour By Transit Agency

September 25, 2019

Not Just on Television

In over a decade in broadcast news, I've witnessed the many changes in how viewers obtain their information. I specialize in utilizing various platforms to deliver content.

Addressing the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud

Reviewing The Weeknd's After Hours Til Dawn Tour on the KTLA 5 Morning News

What's Trending?

IGTV: PIX Now- CA's Top Doctor Calls For A Pause in a Batch of the Moderna Vaccine

IGTV: PIX Now- CA's COVID Surge

In the Mix on PIX: Reviewing Madonna's "Madame X" Tour

Talking With Klay Thompson

Reporter Reel

Safe Online Shopping Tips for the Holiday Season from Norton Security

Ktla 5 news | los angeles, ca digital content producer.

May 2022- Present

Garnered over a million page views to KTLA.com by writing and reporting breaking and developing stories centered around entertainment and pop-culture

Manage the Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter accounts associated with KTLA’s Entertainment Department and the KTLA 5 Morning News, the #1 morning news program in Los Angeles

Curate and create digital strategies and content on the red carpet for the Critics Choice Awards, Grammys, Academy Awards, Oscars luncheon, Emmys and more

Holistically developed social media marketing blueprint, which led to an increase of 1,4026% in engagement within a year

Track best practices, follower growth, engagement trends and platform changes and report findings to the executive team

The Real/ Telepictures | Los Angeles, CA Social Media Manager

Oct. 2021- April 2022

·     Managed the YouTube page of the Emmy award-winning daytime live talk show “The Real” ·     Increased platform engagement by over 103% across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok ·     Created compelling content and strategy that lead to over 1 million views monthly ·     Collaborate with sales team for paid social media marketing initiatives

CBS News/ KPIX 5 | San Francisco, CA

Social media producer.

February 2018- Present

Created the station's first streaming department

Produced, edited and wrote all content to native social media platforms

On-Air talent for social media videos

Managed all of CBS San Francisco's social media channels ie: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok and Twitter accounts

Trained on-air talent on best social media practices

Developed organic social media campaigns

Collaborate with the Sales Department for paid social media campaigns

Increased audience engagement to all CBS San Francisco social media platforms by over 100%

Analyzed social media data, built reports and designed presentations to communicate successful campaign ROI

Maintain close working relationship with stakeholders to ensure strong editorial content

Increased traffic to KPIX.com by 15% from various social media strategies

Successfully launched CBS News' first exclusive news update for IGTV, Instagram's long-form video platform

Grew streaming viewership from 0 to 2-3 million views/downloads each month

Worked strategically with outside brands to create paid social media campaigns

Conceptualized best social and editorial strategies for digital content creation

Developed internal and external communications strategies to increase brand awareness

Contributed written articles featured on KPIX.com

Curated social media initiatives including original content, breaking news, and special events

iHeartRadio | San Francisco, CA Traffic Reporter/Producer

August 2019- Present

• Report live and recorded traffic, weather and sports reports for KQED, KGO, Bloomberg and other major radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area • Monitor and producer content for social media on the latest traffic news • Research and gather traffic data to broadcast to thousands of commuters in the San Francisco Bay Area

Assignment Editor

March 2010- February 2018

Promoted to Morning Assignment Editor in 2015

Promoted to Assignment Editor in 2010

Generated fresh social media coverage plans for the station’s 2 ½ hour morning news program

Effectively rendered difficult editorial and managerial decisions within a fast-pace environment

Compiled and tracked news sources and breaking headlines from social media platforms

Advised management and senior editorial staff on new and improved procedures for effective planning and story execution

Led editorial meetings for early morning and mid-day coverage across all media platforms

 Disseminated and managed daily news story assignments of reporters, photographers and multi-media journalists

Fostered relationships with newsmakers to further story coverage

Collaborated with producers, writers, and on-air talent to ensure accurate and appropriate details and visuals for daily newscasts under time-pressure

Coordinated special news guests, live-shots, and satellite feeds with the CBS network, CNN and affiliates

CBS News/ KPIX 5 | San Jose, CA

South bay bureau assignment desk assistant/ field producer.

June 2007- March 2010

Managed the CBS/KPIX 5 Silicon Valley Bureau’s Assignment Desk

Introduced social media strategies into story coverage

Coordinated the stories, daily news coverage and live-shots for reporters and photographers in the South Bay

Scheduled and conducted on-air interviews

Monitored local police and fire scanners

ChristineKaurdashian | San Francisco, CA

Pop-culture & entertainment blogger.

January 2010- Present

Write and blog about current entertainment and pop-culture news, incorporating the Associated Press, People Magazine and US Weekly news stories

Created supplemental Instagram blog: @christinekaurdashian

Synthesize and post information gathered from celebrity twitter accounts and personal blogs to report about relevant stories

On-air commentator for KNBR 1050AM, 95.7 The Game and OMG! Insider as an entertainment reporter/ pop-culture expert

Featured on as a “Shopping Expert” and collaborated with Norton Security to showcase safe online shopping tips for the holiday season

Increased readership and page views by merging and incorporating Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, BlogSpot, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest profile posts

Clear Channel Total Traffic | San Francisco, CA

Traffic anchor & producer.

August 2011- April 2012

Researched, produced and edited local traffic reports

Anchored live traffic update reports every 10 minutes for the Bay Area’s top 24-hour news radio station, KCBS

Anchored half-hourly reports for Sirius XM radio accounts in San Francisco and San Diego counties

Served as public liaison with Bay Area transportation officials and local law enforcement media relations representatives

Deciphered and interpreted specific California Highway Patrol traffic codes for news updates

KCBS Radio | San Francisco, CA

Production assistant.

August 2006- January 2010

Wrote and produced special reports and long-form programming podcasts for KCBSradio.com

Recorded live interviews and edited sound bites for immediate airplay

Conducted interviews for reporter and news anchor stories for on-air use

Coordinated and implemented live phone interviews

Edited and uploaded various hourly programming features including: weather reports, sports, national news headlines and special programming pieces

"Best Daytime Newscast for Larger Markets"- KPIX 5 News Early Edition: Countdown To SuperBowl 50

Associated Press Television/ Radio Mark Twain Award

"Best Coverage of an Ongoing Story"- Quarry Shooting

“Best News Broadcast" - KCBS Radio 5PM Newscast

San Jose State University San Jose, CA

Bachelor's of Science Degree in Journalism & Mass Communications, 2007

Minor: Sociology

2007: San Jose State University Radio Television, & News Director's Association,  Historian

2005: San Jose State University Athletic Board, Student Representative

2006: Golden Key International Honour Society

2006: Kappa Tau Alpha Honor Society in Journalism and Mass Communications

2005: Dean's Scholar

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Contract Job

Assignment desk editor, cbs television stations.

• Mid (2-5 years) Experience

Job Description

Freelance Assignment Desk Editor DESCRIPTION: KPIX 5 is looking for a smart, experienced assignment editor to take the lead on breaking news and breaking stories no one else is telling. Monitoring scanners, answering phone calls, coordinating logistics, and aggressively dispatching crews to breaking news are the prerequisites for the position. The ideal candidate must be competitive with a will to win and a proven track record of developing contacts, thinking creatively, and delving deeper into the news of the day. Enterprising stories will be a critical daily responsibility. QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates need a minimum of three years of experience as an Assignment Editor in a major market. A college degree in Journalism or Communications or related field required. Knowledge of Bay Area required. Exceptional organizational skills, ability to reason and make informed decisions under deadline pressure. Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Must have the ability to operate a desktop computer and the ability to use the I-News computer system and other computer systems as assigned. Familiar with all newsroom functions, including digital platforms and use of social media tools. Must be available to work mornings, nights, weekends and holidays. Physical Demands: Must be able to operate keyboard with accuracy and speed, and have a valid driver's license in order to work at breaking news locations if needed. Must be able to sit for long periods of time. Work environment is fast-paced, and includes noise from scanners, two-way radios and televisions. FUNCTION: Editorial/Publishing/Content

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rz38on-91-193-111-216-42 in your application.

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• Bay Area Personalities
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A Popular Bay Area News Anchor, An Exclusive Interview With Maria Medina


Instagram star and Theme Cosmetics founder Vicky Martinez is making her mark on the beauty world.

Q: What is a typical day like for you? MM: It always starts off searching for story ideas. That’s actually the toughest part of my job. Then we have an editorial meeting where reporters pitch their stories to the producers, the people who make the decisions behind the scenes. The producers pick your story (hopefully they like the one you pitched), and then you’re off to get it done by deadline. That means gathering information, interviews and the video you need. No matter what, our goal is to be on the news at 10 and 11pm. You’d be surprised how many obstacles can get in the way ... I’ve encountered everything from flat tires, crashing computers, lightning storms, swat situations — but we always seem to make it work and that rush makes every day exciting.


Q: Can you share with our audience one of your most memorable events you’ve covered? MM: This question is always so tough to answer because there are so many memorable moments in my career. I think one of the most memorable events was getting a serial killer, who had changed her identity, to admit to who she really was. People in the community were beginning to suspect she was Charlene Gallego, the woman convicted in the “Sex Slave” murders. I got her to agree to sit down face-to-face to with me about the crimes. It was surreal and fascinating at times as I was talking to the woman who was behind all these murders that I had read extensively about ... she put the blame on her husband.


Q: Do you have any advice you can share for those women who may want to pursue a career in broadcast journalism? MM: Don’t listen to the naysayers or trolls. Be confident in who you are, how you present yourself and the way you dress. Even if you may push the boundaries, just as long as you are professional. I’ve gotten emails and comments about my clothes, makeup and weight. It will happen. But feel good in your body, and don’t let anyone get to your head.


Q: Which woman inspires you and why?
 MM: My grandmother. She is the strongest, most confident woman I know. She taught me not to care what anyone thinks, and to always look your best so you can feel your best. Sometimes looking your best may just mean wearing a smile.


Q: What are some of the challenges you feel women face today? MM: Social media has really given people the power to say what they want, while hiding behind their computer screen. I know that as a woman and compared to my male counterparts, I get more lewd emails, messages and comments.


Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to succeed in the workplace? MM: Speak up. If you don’t feel something is right, say something. You are your own advocate.


Q: Can you offer advice to parents with daughters graduating from high school? MM: Tell them; don’t be afraid to ask for help, books before boys and not everything belongs on social media.


Q: What do you like the most about living in the Bay Area?
 MM: The weather, and the location! I can surf, snowboard, hike year-round or take a quick road trip to LA, Tahoe, Yosemite or Oregon. You can’t beat it!


Five Things About Maria Medina


 1. If you could talk to one famous person past or present, who would it be and why?
 Oprah. Talk about a woman who broke barriers. Imagine if she had listened to a former boss who told her she wasn’t fit for TV news.



2. What’s the best advice anyone’s ever give you?
 My grandma told me when I was a little girl; even if you don’t feel confident, act like it and you will look like it ... no one will know.



3. Do you have a favorite Movie?
 I don’t have a particular favorite movie. But I’m a big Star Wars fan. 



4. Where is your dream vacation?
 Always Hawaii, it’s home for me.



5. What app can’t you live without?
 Twitter. It’s still the best source of information if you want to know what’s unfolding pretty much as events are happening right that second.

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• Search forums
• Scanners, Receivers and Related Equipment Forums
• General Scanning Discussion

What kind of equipment does the news media use for monitoring?

• Thread starter stingray327
• Start date Dec 16, 2013

• stingray327
• Dec 16, 2013

In the San Francisco Bay area we have Ch7. ABC news, Ch.5 KPIX news, Ch. 4 KRON TV, Ch. 3 news Not sure what company and Ch2. news KTVU. On their vans I notice alot of different antennas. I recognize one antenna as the out of production Antenna Specialist Mon-51 which you can't get anymore unless you go on E-bay and pay twice the price for that antenna. I am curious as to which type of scanners/radios/ which brands and antennas the news media uses and where they get their equipment from.  

It varies on the station and on what they need to monitor. They often just use standard scanners like we use and buy them from the same sources. The antennas may also be standard scanner antennas and installed by the station themselves or they could be standard commercial radios installed by the radio company that handles the station's other two-way radio needs. If what they need to monitor uses a type of system that the typical scanner won't pick up (or even if an agency is encrypted), they may work with that agency to get legal radios on that system to allow them to monitor specific channels. Most often, those radios are still owned by the agency so they can ask for them back easily and quickly if the station improperly uses the radios (say program in unauthorized channels themselves or rebroadcast the audio against the contract clauses allowing them use of the radios).  

• Dec 17, 2013

So this equipment is better than the scanners and equipment that we get? Or they are basically using the brand Uniden like most people do now? Their equipment must cost alot more too?  

DisasterGuy

As mentioned, if you go into most news rooms or vans you will find standard Uniden or Radio Shack scanners. For "unmonitorable" systems the agency will sometimes provide a standard public safety radio for them to use with the transmit function inhibited. Nothing mysterious and no special tricks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk  

pinballwiz86

Stuff Journalists Like - #16 Police Scanners | The List  

MississippiPI

I am a former assigment editor for a TV station here in Mississippi---they still use scanners. A couple of the stations called me for some direction in trying to determine what scanners they needed. They still have their sources and viewers still call in---a lot folk forget that it's the viewers (public) that have scanners as well....Gotta make those contacts some kind of way. Be safe and Merry Christmas.  

stingray327 said: In the San Francisco Bay area we have Ch7. ABC news, Ch.5 KPIX news, Ch. 4 KRON TV, Ch. 3 news Not sure what company and Ch2. news KTVU. On their vans I notice alot of different antennas. I recognize one antenna as the out of production Antenna Specialist Mon-51 which you can't get anymore unless you go on E-bay and pay twice the price for that antenna. I am curious as to which type of scanners/radios/ which brands and antennas the news media uses and where they get their equipment from. Click to expand...

poltergeisty

Truth is a force of nature.

My town's newspaper just had a civilian report things into the station from his scanner. That was years ago and he has since retired and I have always wondered what they use now and who monitors. In 2015 the police will switch to enc so they will have to lease radios. Funny thing is the cable news networks like to air audio recorded right here from this site. Or should I say Broadcastify. They will air the audio and you will see on the TV 'courtesy of Broadcastify.'  

newsphotog said: The same things you and I use. The exceptions are in cities where encryption is used -- sometimes newsrooms have the option to lease radios from the encrypted agency. Click to expand...

• Dec 23, 2013

most of the philly pa staions use scanners like we use the pio at pfd will provide them with a transmit inhibited radio to monitor fire channels police stuff they rely on scanners and the general public also a few dedicated social media groups that are locally based as for the surronding counties bucks delaware etc etc it depends i know a couple of the stations use commerical two way radios to monitor delaware county also good old fashioned minitor pagers to minitor the county dispatch channel for fire.  

If you take a look at the Baltimore City thread in the MD forum you will get a bit of insight in the Baltimore market. The thread was started by a local TV news helicopter pilot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk  

Some suburban disp centers like Bucks had a media program where we buy the radio and it is programed for us. I have NEVER heard of the Philly FD doing that. Most use multiple scanners and maybe a few commercial grade radios. i have never heard of the media getting encrypted radios.  

During a recent job interview at a news station I passed right by the assignment desk in the newsroom. They had a couple Uniden BCD996XTs and a couple more Uniden BCD996Ts.  

Founder and CEO

Back in the days before trunking scanners, I worked with numerous news media outlets in Texas on consulting engagements who owned radios that were loaned/leased directly from the departments they covered.  

• Dec 28, 2013

In Cleveland many of the stations had purchased radios for the city's former VSLEP system. It was a challenge following calls with only one radio, limited scan abilities and dozens of talkgroups to monitor. Though a skilled listener could really beat the competition to major stories because other stations in town had the same crude gear. Someone was enterprising in town and built some stations assignment desks with constant updates for all the other departments, mostly Uniden base station products. One station even had their engineering department put a scanner at their Kirtland microwave receive site and relay the scanner audio back for remote Lake and Geauga counties. Now, the stations seem so tied to Twitter and social media, I wonder if some even still have the assignment desk monitor scanners?  

mikegilbert

Mhz so good.

• Dec 30, 2013
• Dec 31, 2013

^^^^ Pretty sweet! Thanks for sharing.  

• Jan 7, 2014

mikegilbert said: At my old station in Seattle, they had around 30 MTS2000-II and 15 MCS2000s in 800mhz from the county to monitor the countywide 800 system. They were purchased in the mid nineties from the county. They still have the radios to this day and they all still work. In the news vehicles, the MTS2000s were mounted in MTVAs, which worked well. We had an 800mhz repeater network set up all over the area for dispatch purposes. The MTS2000s were also programmed for that. The MCS2000s were mounted at the assignment desk. Only a few are still installed- the rest have been replaced with scanners. On the assignment desk, they have around 20 996XTs set up for various agencies/talkgroups. For outlying areas, we installed two separate (north and south) remote scanner monitoring posts with one 996XT and one BCT15XT hooked up to a computer. From the assignment desk, the assignment editors can monitor and control the scanners remotely. We used Butel scannerstation software for that purpose. It works really well. Here's a shot of it while I was setting the system up in a spare office: 800mhz news dispatch: At my current station in Los Angeles, we use an NXDN system for news crew dispatch and live shot coordination. As far as scanners go, we have four monitoring positions. Each is equipped with Astro Spectras for LAPD, LAFD, LASD and LACFD. Then, there's a bank of computer controlled scanners similar to the Butel ScannerStation software. Click to expand...

MI DB Admin

• Jan 8, 2014

I programmed the NBC station here and they had a psr600, 2 gre 500's and a pro 96. The desktops were hooked to a discone somewhere on their tower. The news radio station I programmed uses a 996XT also to an outside antenna.  

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TV News Check

Broadcast Industry News - Television, Cable, On-demand

The Assignment Editor 2.0: More Collaboration, Newer Tools

Assignment editors, stalwarts of the TV newsroom, are evolving into a more digitally centric, collaborative and decentralized force, and their time-honed skills of scrutiny and being the newsroom’s trusted gatekeepers are more important than ever. Above, the assignment desk at KNTV-KSTS San Francisco. ( Photo by Gonzo Rojas )

Back in the late 1990s and early ’00s, when Cater Lee was a reporter for the likes of KNBC and KCAL in Los Angeles, the assignment desk was centrally located in the newsroom. Its editor likely spent extensive time across their day scrolling through police scanners, reading press releases and fielding tipster calls to identify news stories. From it emerged a dictation of Lee’s day.

“My story was already decided for me before I walked into the door,” says Lee, who’s now VP of news and content at Spectrum News 1 in Southern California and Texas.

Purveyors of the newsroom’s assignment desk today, however, are typically less head coach and more quarterback, fronting colorful offenses filled with audibles, option plays and other collaborative trickery that’s designed to always push the ball forward. In other words, story dispersal in a newsroom has increasingly become a team effort, with reporters and producers having more of a say in what makes it to broadcast. Digital technology has also chipped away at the relevance of many dinosaur-era tools assignment editors used to rely on so heavily.

But as the job changes, assignment editors remain a dedicated folk, dug into the frontlines of journalism’s war with mis- and disinformation, while doing their best to help generate broadcasts with wider-reaching community impact. Always, they’re relegated to behind-the-scenes grunt work, and rarely do they get their due.

“Assignment editors are absolutely underappreciated in their role in a newsroom,” says Julie Wolfe, news director at Tegna’s NBC affiliate KING Seattle. “The biggest way to tell the difference is when you work in a newsroom that has a poor assignment desk and then you work in a newsroom with a strong assignment desk.”

The capable assignment editor, she observes, will “know all the information”: facts to support a package’s viability, sources that a reporter can contact to round it out, and whether a story is worth any airtime to begin with.

A presence like that in a newsroom matches the significance of an engine in a car, as one assignment editor puts it. Wolfe says assignment editors are like “orchestral conductors,” while additional metaphors that float through interviews stem from human biology. One editor calls the assignment desk the newsroom’s brain; others liken the role’s import to that of the heart or central nervous system, for it’s the assignment editor who pumps data to the farthest reaches of the newsroom, which of course now stretches well beyond the walls of an office building.

Social’s Key Role

Along with an innate sense of what makes for a quality newscast, to effectively manage the assignment desk, editors need top-flight organizational and communication skills, just as they have for decades. These days, familiarity with the social media universe is of equal consequence.

While his team of 10 assignment editors won’t be getting rid of their police scanners anytime soon, Gonzo Rojas, assignment manager at NBC-owned KNTV and Telemundo 48 (KSTS) in the San Francisco Bay Area, marvels at Twitter’s near-supplanting of relatively old-timey technology.

“Twitter’s huge,” he says. “When it comes to breaking news, often we’ll see it on Twitter now before we hear it on police scanners, which is just incredible.”

Darren Whitehead, digital desk lead at another Tegna NBC affiliate, KUSA Denver, says Colorado police scanners are encrypted, but monitoring Twitter helps him pick up the slack.

“Most of the ways that the police departments and fire departments are communicating with us is they’re putting out [updates] on social media, and usually it’s not immediate, it’s well after something has happened,” Whitehead says. “We get calls from people in the community being, like, ‘What the hell is going on down the block from me?’ Then we have to call [the responsible agency], and then they tweet out to everyone — without calling us back — all the information.”

Assignment editors set up Tweet Deck channels, or Social News Desk dashboards, where they follow various government agencies, other news sources like the Associated Press and additional relevant accounts where prospective stories may pop up. Dataminr alerts help inform assignment editors, too; neighborhood-focused Reddit forums and community-based apps like Nextdoor can sometimes supply story ideas as well.

Then, there are community-related Facebook groups, which one assignment editor says she joins using a public profile associated with their news team position. Another longtime story assigner says she taps younger newsroom colleagues to examine Instagram, Snapchat and other social media platforms they might be more comfortable navigating through.

Scrutiny’s Imperative

Like in the past with press releases — though assignment editors still lift stories from those on occasion — they can’t take what’s written online at face value. The same can be said for what citizen tipsters tell the assignment editor over the phone or in emails, as well as what public information officers say.

“People ask me what the hell I do, and I always tell them, ‘Well, the assignment desk is usually ‘first response,’” Whitehead says. “You gotta sift through the bullshit.”

While they may have always prioritized backing up facts, with sources, data and other means, assignment editors in 2022 say there is an added emphasis on getting story facts unquestionably correct.

“There are some stations that report solely off of what they hear on the scanners. We are not that station,” says Jamila Elder, assignment editor at WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Raleigh, N.C. “You dig deep, you reach out to your contacts and you wait until you get [your information] confirmed, even though your competition station may be reporting it. As an assignment editor that’s very frustrating because we’re very competitive; you want to get the information and you want to get it first, [but] we would rather wait and get it right, than to report it first and get it wrong.”

Experience Matters

In many cases, as one assignment editor puts it, newsies “fall into” their positions at the assignment desk. The experience they bring with them, often as a reporter or anchor, serves them well in the role.

Prior to Ruthanne Gordon becoming senior planning manager for Nexstar’s WXIN (Fox)-WTTV (CBS) Indianapolis, she was an assignment editor for 33 years. Before that, she was a reporter and anchor for more than five years, bringing with her to the assignment desk an assortment of connections from her front-of-the-camera days that she continues to call upon. Her phone book has only ballooned bigger throughout her 45 years in news.

“I have quite a Rolodex,” Gordon says, “I think that’s what they wanted when I came to this position as senior planning manager.” Cops she first met doing stand-ups, she says, “are now the commanders here in town, so I’ve kept those cell numbers, and that’s where I have an advantage.”

Working as a journalist before manning the assignment desk also helps cultivate that vital instinct of what makes for a compelling newscast. However, the assignment desk is also a prime location for industry newbies to break in and learn — a lot — on the fly.

“You gotta pay your dues by working the weekends,” Elder says. “That was where I learned the most because you don’t have a lot of managers, so you have to make those on-the-spot decisions. So, I was able to make those mistakes on that weekend shift, but I was also able to learn from those mistakes and learn how to make good news decisions.”

“This is a great way of starting and learning,” Gordon says of the assignment desk gig. Calling it a way to “fast-track” those new to the industry, she adds: “You can jump off of this and go produce a show [or] jump in a truck and go do an interview.”

Kendra Gilbert, senior assignment editor at KING, had no experience in a TV newsroom before hopping into the assignment desk chair at a station in her home market of Fresno, Calif. Fresh out of college, she struggled to find work in print journalism, her focus of study in school. But that degree still meant she could sniff out a good story and, combining that sense with strong organizational and communication skills, she was confident she could fill the seat just fine.

She’s held an assignment editor position at one West Coast station or another for nine years running. She says to excel in the role one has to be comfortable working in “a fast-paced environment,” and have the ability to “turn on a dime” and “focus on one thing and switch to another.”

Collaboration Grows

Elder statesman Gordon says of the assignment editor job demands: “It keeps me young.” Both she and the more youthful Gilbert say the position has also become more collaborative in recent years.

“We do sort of have that gatekeeper role,” Gilbert says. Still, she continues, “there’s always this two-way exchange of information between the desk and the reporters.”

Assignment editors consider reporter strengths, areas of interest and experience when deciding in whose hands a story will be entrusted. But they also field pitches from reporters and engage in broad conversations about the day’s items of interest with various members of the team.

“Nobody runs on their own in here; we have a tight-knit group [and] we back each other up,” Gordon says of the group at her Nexstar stations. “If we have spot news … we all jump in, and that’s the key to a really good assignment desk. You give and take, and you have that flexibility that at the end of the day, we’ve covered it, we’ve got it, we’ve got angles that nobody else has thought of.”

Not only does the team effort behind story assignment potentially add layers and depth to an eventual package, but it reinforces the integrity of the news it delivers across an entire broadcast, day in, day out.

In the constant struggle to identify mis- and disinformation, while also presenting stories in appropriate context, “that is where a collective, collaborative culture of a newsroom saves you,” KING’s Wolfe says. “If you are, as a team, having editorial checks, conversations, diverse viewpoints, bringing different people in, then you can catch those things and catch yourself and find the right story.

“That’s why I think having a diverse newsroom is so key, because different people are going to see different things and think about different questions and weigh that story against their own experience …. Whether it’s a big newsroom or a small newsroom, getting people together to talk about stories is just really, really important.” she says.

Decentralized Approach

One would be hard-pressed to find a more profound example of the increasingly collaborative nature the assignment editor’s job has assumed over the past handful of years than the organizational structure at Lee’s Southern California Spectrum News channel.

In an effort to cover the market’s five counties, across a sprawling megalopolis, her channel employs an assignment editor manager and four individual assignment editors, each of whom are primarily stationed in different parts of the region: north, south, east and west. They report to the station’s office in El Segundo once per week on a rotating basis, but otherwise they’re out in the field, working closely with reporters as they scour for stories and continually develop relationships with sources.

Lee says the more decentralized arrangement allows for her newsroom to be less “reactive” — as others have been historically — and more “proactive,” engaging in “enterprise storytelling.”

“Of course, we still react, because there’s breaking news,” Lee says, “but when there is real enterprise storytelling, you’re working in advance, working your sources and your community and really becoming experts on the ground, and it’s been an amazing collaboration.

“That’s what has gotten lost, is the idea that, really, journalists should have their ears on the ground, they should be developing beats and sources, and they should be working with assignment editors — story planners — to figure out the best way to tell those stories together,” she says. “It’s been a really exciting team approach to newsgathering.”

Seeking Deeper Impact

Whether they’ve been part of an experiment in cutting-edge structural invention or traditionally clock into the newsroom and sit at a stationary desk throughout their shift, assignment editors bear the brunt of the responsibility to shuttle broadcasts away from coverage of police blotter-discovered stories, such as shootings, robberies, and fires. Today’s consumers are craving more from their TV news, and stories with farther-reaching impact have to be sought out by those tasked with assigning them to reporters.

“We definitely are trying to be mindful of stories that are affecting more people in our community,” says WRAL’s Elder. “Gone are the days of ‘If it bleeds, it leads.’ That was old school.”

Still, it’s not entirely true that crime and property destruction should completely be dismissed. “When it comes to your family’s safety, the safety of your business, being able to walk down the sidewalk in your city, that is super-relevant to our viewers,” Wolfe says. “The idea that crime is not relevant is the wrong approach. The right approach is: How do we add information and context? How do we stand for truth and hold people accountable? What does the data tell us about that crime? That’s where the impactful stories are.”

Weighing all these factors in choosing stories, maintaining a constantly updated contact database with identifying tags, ensuring that reports are factually concrete and so many other responsibilities, the assignment editor job is certainly not for everybody. But those who do it well can honorably take tremendous pride in their work, which, if nothing else, is undeniably relentless.

“You should never be bored on the assignment desk,” KING’s Gilbert says. “It’s not a place where you can complete one task and then kick back and say, ‘I’ve done it for the day.’ You should always be busy.”

About Michael Stahl

Michael Stahl is a journalist from New York City who’s covered a range of topics for Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Bloomberg, the Village Voice, Quartz, Vice, InsideHook, Narratively and many other publications. You can see more of his work at www.michaelstahlwrites.com and connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-stahl-writes/.

Reader Interactions

Mar 8, 2022 at 9:11 am

Great write up. I would add one piece of perspective on the ‘parts of the body’ metaphor. In my experience, the Assignment Desk can be the hands reaching out in the dark, or the ears listening for the important ‘sounds’ or the ‘eyes’ looking toward the horizon. All in addition to being part of ‘the brain.’ Ruthanne nailed it. The key is that a video based, broadcast/digital newsroom must have a desk, producers, reporters, and managers that act in a symbiotic relationship. Each must be able to quickly shift based on the news department’s overall vision, and always support each other.

Jun 13, 2022 at 9:24 am

I never knew how to write beautifully when I needed it, I spent Sleepless nights to write At least a more or less beautiful text, but as a result, I began to turn to similar writing services and my life became much easier and the texts are much better, because on such services the text professionals write, you just have to learn the text

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[Update] Paratransit Bus Driver Strikes, Kills Pedestrian At Geary And Franklin

Avoid area Franklin/Geary in #SF . Fatal ax invest. Streets closed in area. MUNI being rerouted. #KPIX pic.twitter.com/YAu7CV02eS — KPIX Assignment Desk (@KPIXDesk) June 9, 2016

A driver of a city-operated paratransit bus struck and killed a pedestrian this morning at the corner of Geary Boulevard and Franklin Street. There are partial street closures in effect nearby as officers investigate the cause of the collision, and the 38 Geary line has been rerouted around the area.

According to SFPD spokesperson Officer Wilson Ng, the call came in around 10:48 a.m. this morning. The Chronicle reports that the victim is a woman in her 50s, and that she was struck moments after exiting the bus. She reportedly died at the scene.

“She had just been let off,” SFPD's Lieutenant Steven Ford told the paper. “This is extremely unfortunate. It’s very, very sad.”

Today's death marks only the most recent incident in a string of vehicle-on-pedestrian crashes — including last Saturday's motorcycle crash that seriously injured a 9-year-old girl — that have left pedestrians either seriously injured or deceased.

Pedestrian fatally struck by bus in San Francisco at Geary Blvd. & Franklin St. pic.twitter.com/2KmyKqME3K — KRON 4 News (@kron4news) June 9, 2016

Pedestrian hit and killed by Paratransit bus at Franklin & Geary in SF pic.twitter.com/q0L9oQc2Jz — Evan Sernoffsky (@EvanSernoffsky) June 9, 2016

This post has been updated throughout.

Related: Parking Over Pedestrians: Commitment To Vision Zero Questioned As Traffic Deaths Spike

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Dana King Leaving KPIX to Pursue New Career

By Kevin Eck   on Dec. 5, 2012 - 7:25 PM

Dana King, anchor for San Francisco CBS O&O KPIX , has announced she will be stepping down from the anchor desk.

“I am leaving the business to build my next life as an artist,” said King. “In order to do it right, I am making a commitment that requires a choice between continuing an already amazing career and starting a brand new one. KPIX has been my second home.  I will miss it all more than you know.”

King, who has worked at KPIX for the last 15 years, began working towards a a Master’s Degree in classical sculpture from San Francisco’s Academy of Art University a few years ago.

She was known for boldly allowing her hair to go gray , something not seen among anchors. At the time, King said, “For me, it was a decision about matching my looks with my experience”  You can watch a story she did about the subject after the jump.

“It’s been my privilege to work with Dana during 12 of her 15 years here,” said Dan Rosenheim vice president and news director of KPIX. “We will always be deeply appreciative of Dana’s contributions to CBS 5 and proud of her excellent service to the people of the Bay Area.”

Co-anchor Ken Bastida reacted to the news by saying, “I am honored to have shared co-anchoring duties with Dana but as I have seen her transition from journalist to artist, I am happy to see her pursue this next phase of her life.”

King began her broadcasting career in Los Angeles as a general assignment reporter for KABC . In 1990, she was the evening news anchor at KTVI in St. Louis. She then worked as an anchor for “Good Morning America Sunday” and joined CBS News in December 1993 as co-anchor and reporter for the prime time news magazine “America Tonight.” She was co-anchor of the “CBS Morning News” and a frequent contributor to “CBS This Morning.” She also worked as a general assignment reporter for the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.”

Her last day at the station will be this Friday December 7.

Watch CBS News

Heat causes BART derailment near Concord; trains single-tracking during morning commute

Updated on: June 21, 2022 / 7:24 PM PDT / CBS San Francisco

PLEASANT HILL -- Scorching heat on Tuesday curved a rail and caused a BART train to run off the tracks in Concord. The agency says it will be single-tracking Wednesday morning.

BART service stopped between Pleasant Hill and Concord in both directions while emergency crews responded.

At about 9 p.m., BART said at least 70 workers were still clearing the track and making repairs. Passengers would continue to us a bus bridge between Concord and Pleasant Hill overnight. The agency said, at minimum, it would single-track through the area during the Wednesday morning commute.

The SFBARTAlert Twitter account first posted about the incident shortly after 5:30 p.m., saying there was "a major delay on the Antioch Line in the Antioch and SFO directions due to an equipment problem on a train."

The BART Twitter account later confirmed that there was a "partial derailment." Transit officials initially said there were no injuries and that all 50 passengers were safely evacuated from the westbound SFO train.

Update 6:00 pm: Yellow Line service between Pleasant Hill and Concord stations is suspended in both Antioch & SFO directions due to a reported derailment on a train. @cccta bus lines 11 and 14 connect the two impacted stations and will accept BART tickets as fare. https://t.co/JIBDmYGNaP pic.twitter.com/1oQNYY5DhV — BART (@SFBART) June 22, 2022

However, Contra Costa County Fire was dispatched to the scene and they said there are passengers who reported some injuries. There were also reports of spot fires near the scene of the derailment. KPIX was told the last two cars of the 10-car train partially derailed.

ConFire tweeted around 6:30 p.m. all passengers had been safely removed. 

"ConFire EMS units working to evaluate passengers for injuries," the tweet said.

Video from Chopper 5 showed firefighters and paramedics at the scene. At least one person was seen being taken away on a stretcher.

Paulette Lagana is a BART rider from Pittsburg. She said she felt the train lurch underneath her.

"All of a sudden it went--and it wasnt an earthquake like feeling it was like debris or something."

Sherritta Cornist is a regular rider who was also riding the train as it derailed.

"I felt the train come up off the track...and he tried to keep it going to maybe get it back but it kept trying to come off and I was scared...I'm still scared."

BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said the issue affected a portion of the train.

"We know the last two cars of one of our legacy trains--thats one of our older trains--are what derailed. so the entire train didnt derail," said Trost.

Fifty people were on the train cars that derailed riding toward San Francisco--against the grain of the busy commute--when the train cars went off the tracks between Concord and Pleasant Hill stations.

Steve Hill with Con Fire responded to the scene.

"Fortunately it was a very minor derailment we dont appear to have any serious injuries whatsoever and we've been able to assist those passengers in evacuating the train," said Hill.

Trost said inspectors were already examining the tracks and that the train operator had been interviewed.

"It's too soon to say if its something thats related to the track or related to the heat or potentially maybe ran over something but were doing those assessments right now to get a good idea of what happened."

All evening, Contra Costa County buses numbers 11 and 14 shuttled passengers between Pleasant Hill and Concord stations, accepting BART tickets as fare, a spokesperson for BART said. KPIX 5 Assignment Desk Manager Brian Dinsmore arrived at Pleasant Hill station on a later train and shared video showing passengers crowding onto shuttles to get to Concord. 

#UPDATE Shuttles starting to arrive in force at @SFBART Pleasant Hill. This after service halted due to a train reportedly partially derailed. @KPIXtv @CBSNBayArea pic.twitter.com/mHAMJjdrN7 — Brian Dinsmore (@BrianKPIX) June 22, 2022

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