Working on Trade Deadline

I didn’t blog two weeks ago because I left for the Jeux de la communication in Sherbrooke on Thursday and came back to Montreal the following Monday, but that did allow me to work on a special day: the NHL trade deadline.

Jacques-Alexis, my supervisor, wanted me to see how the office worked during that busy day. In addition to the deadline, P.K. Subban was in Montreal on the eve of his highly anticipated first game back as a member of the Nashville Predators.

Jacques-Alexis was trying to organize his day and decide which journalist would be live from the hospital where he was going to do a press conference.

Being an assignment editor on a day like trade deadline is a puzzle as I soon realize when Jacques-Alexis simply told me: “watch how I organize my schedule.” Not only does he have to juggle his schedule, but also the journalists’ and the cameramen’s.

I was then asked to follow social media during the day. I decide to create a document and follow the various appearances of NHL General Managers on local radio stations, hoping to get a nugget of information from these.

It was a great day because I got to see how all the different journalists interacted with each other during the day. Radio-Canada sports is not a network that will get the last trade deal like the guys at TSN or Sportsnet, but it has a mandate that the two other networks don’t have: present content for Canadians while prioritizing Canadian athletes.

Consequently, you’ll hear more excitement in the newsroom if Canadian cross-country skier Alex Harvey is racing than if the Montreal Canadiens win. I’ve only been at Radio-Canada sports for the past four weeks, but I’ve already found more interest in Olympic sports.

Working for TSN, RDS, TVA sports or Sportsnet probably means following hockey, all the time, because that’s what people want. I instantly felt pride watching and documenting these Canadian athletes play out.

Altogether, working during the trade deadline was great and I’m happy I’ve had the chance to work during such an important day for sports.

Last week, my first week back from the Jeux de la communication, was different. What usually happens when I come in the office is I’ll wave at Jacques-Alexis who will then tell me “hey, you’re going to follow/work with _________ today.”

Manon Gilbert who mostly covers Olympic sports was replacing Jacques-Alexis as assignment editor that day. I had envisioned a situation like this when I started my internship. Surely, I told myself, I’ll be in an uncomfortable situation where I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.

I decided to email Jacques-Alexis to ask if there was anything specific he wanted me to do. He didn’t answer, which makes sense, since he was on vacation. I spoke to Manon Gilbert who wasn’t sure what to do with me. I said I’d help out the other journalists on their stories.

I suggested stories I thought would be interesting to cover and wrote some content when asked. On Friday, I worked with Alexandre Couture during the ski moguls World Cup. He showed me how he cut his clips during the live broadcast commented by Radio-Canada journalist Michel Chabot and former gold medal-winning freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard.

I created a document to file all the results in real time for Couture to write a story when the competition was over. I also wrote a story about it. It was a great learning experience: what to do when you’re on your own at your internship.

I think the most important thing is not to stay there doing nothing, but rather asking questions. The other journalists may not want to tell you anything, yet they’ve all been in that situation.

I was speaking with Guillaume Couture and Simon Cremer, two web editors, and told them what I thought were interesting subjects.

I ended up writing an article about the Russian doping scandal because of a position that was taken by the US Olympic Committee. Those two days at Radio-Canada sports were different, but I hope that I showed the staff that there to work and be a part of the team.