Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503170008
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A senior at Cave Spring High School, Cantor was chosen to be executive producer for Channel One's third annual ``Student Produced Week.'' Cantor could send fellow anchor-reporters and camera operators across the United States to gather footage for Channel One News.
The teen-oriented news program is sent by satellite daily to more than 8 million teen-agers in almost 12,000 American schools. ``For a lot of students, this is the only news they ever get,'' Cantor said.
From its quicker-than-nightly-news pace, to its casually dressed on-air personalities, to its flashy computer graphics, the 12-minute broadcast is clearly geared to teen-agers.
Cantor was one of 19 high school students from a pool of 2,000 applicants chosen to create and air a week's worth of broadcasts. She spent 10 days at ``The Hacienda,'' the Channel One studios in Los Angeles.
Her group became the writers, producers, camera operators, directors, set/lighting directors and anchor/reporters. They were asked to produce, and produce they did.
``I was completely in awe that we did five shows in 10 days,'' Cantor marveled.
With the show's staff acting as mentors, Cantor and her crew ``pretty much handled the shows,'' she said. ``They gave us the gist of what our jobs were'' then stepped back into the shadows and were available for support and final decisions.
Cantor's 12-hour work days began early each morning as she checked newspapers, CNN and radio stations for breaking news and story ideas. Because the shows, taped the day before the broadcasts, would be 24-hours-old when they hit the airwaves, she had to make sure the information would still be pertinent and up-to-date.
With guidance from real-life executive producer David Neuman, Cantor held early morning meetings to decide what would be included in each day's program. She then assigned producers and anchors to each story and decided how each should be covered.
``I didn't even know I could send people to D.C. or Seattle or `Camp O.J.' until I was told we could fly people out to enhance the stories,'' she said, still seeming amazed at the idea. ``But this is how news really is.''
Teams were sent to Seattle for a story about the Internet, to the NBA All-Star Game, to the White House. NBC News even covered the Channel One teens as they covered the O.J. Simpson trial.
Cantor assigned herself to the Emmy Award nominations. The glamour was not without a sacrifice, though: The announcements were made at 5:30 a.m., L.A. time, in order to be broadcast live on the East Coast. That was a really long day.
Time pressure was a constant. ``I always had to keep that deadline in mind.''
Just as in Connie Chung's and Dan Rather's lives, schedules and stories changed minute by minute. What was planned in the morning might not end up on tape that evening. Part of Cantor's job was to keep on top of breaking news or stories that might make a better show.
``I had to approve every part of the show before they even started the final taping,'' she said. Of course, the ultimate decisions still rested with Neuman.
``It was nice being executive producer because you got to see all the parts that make up the whole production.''
In her role as head honcho, Cantor had to keep in mind that her crew was a group of teen-agers working under pressure. ``I was constantly running around, seeing how everyone was doing, checking stress levels and progress at the same time.''
And the adult staff was always encouraging. ``We heard `keep your eyes on the prize' a lot,'' she said. ``You always have to do what's best for the show.''
On meeting Cantor, her sense of self - assured but not cocky - coupled with maturity and sensibility seem a perfect mix for a high-powered position. Her wide smile and deep brown eyes hint of a warmth and sensitivity that would make friends of her underlings.
``As I was watching the first show on Monday, I was so emotional,'' she said. ``Seeing my name at the end really freaked me out. My heart started beating like crazy. I thought, `What we just did and what we're going to do the rest of the week, it's going to be wonderful.' ''
And it was.
``In school, we do schoolwork and wonder when we're going to use this in real life,'' Cantor said. ``But I was in real life."
``I've really learned more about working with people, too,'' Cantor said. ``You have to understand different personality types and be able to pull them together to work as a team. Wherever I go, I'm going to take that lesson.''
Amid the hectic pace of day-to-day broadcast news, there was some time to be teen-agers together - but not much. Thirty minutes on Rodeo Drive, a passing glance at the ``Hollywood'' sign and a day at Disneyland were the extent of their sightseeing.
Along with the adrenaline rush of approaching deadlines, the state-of-the-art equipment and the big budgets, Cantor will miss the other students.
``I made a lot of good friends out there,'' she said. ``I think my phone bill's going to be outrageous.''
by CNB