WASHINGTON — Assistant News Director Matt Glassman of NBC Washington guided us on a tour of the newsroom last week, showing and explaining the inner workings of the control room and studios.
Students were surprised when “Meet the Press” Moderator and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd walked past as we entered the building on Nebraska Avenue in Northwest DC.
Glassman explained the teleprompters and lighting technology on the news set before showing off the historic “Meet the Press” studio.
Then it was off to another studio to see the 11 a.m. broadcast, the most important because people are watching the news on their phones, tablets and NBC 4 app, Glassman said. There are three anchors and one meteorologist on the program, and in the control room there are television screens that showcase NBC’s competitors as well as what the station’s own staff is doing on site and in the field.
The students met meteorologist Amelia Segal in the newsroom, who explained how she reports the weather — without a teleprompter. Segal broke away from the students to do her live segment.
Glassman showed us the assignment desk — where the phones never stop. He took the our group for one more look in the studio, where we were able to view the anchors giving their reports.
Glassman is a graduate of American University, where he majored in public communication, learning about group communication and public speaking; he later completed his master’s at New York University. “Don’t be just a journalist, minor in something else and know other things,” Glassman said. It is the key to being a good journalist.