Since PingMag is all about making things, I wanted to know what making news is like. PingMag was very lucky to be allowed behind the scenes at TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System), one of the major Japanese broadcasting stations, to join Tetsuya Chikushi’s News23. By the time we arrived, he was already dressed in a surprisingly casual shirt, attending one of his various news meetings.
We had a little time to walk around TBS and discover all kinds of interesting stuff; a neverending fax machine constantly spitting out the latest news, tons of screens showing all sorts of programs or scenes at recording studios and mysterious folders with “Europe”, “China” and “Iraq” on them looking so interesting that my fingers began to itch, desperately wanting to look at what’s inside.
The air smelled of excitement, stress, rush and instant updates. For my European eyes, something that seemed strange was how close everyone sat next to each other, the laptop just fitting on the table with hardly any space to move. Tetsuya Chikushi rushed from one meeting to another, yet always staying completely calm finding a few seconds to relax and smile here and there. When the broadcasting started, everyone was very excited, especially since the theme of tonight- the elections in Japan- are a very delicate topic in Japan. Tetsuya Chikushi is famous for his critical view and sometimes controversial opinion. We mainly stayed in the coordination room, where sound engineers and coordinators basically make the final program that is recorded live in the studio next to it.
After the broadcasting, I managed to get Tetsuya Chikushi’s attention for a few minutes and talk a little about his work at TBS.
U: You have just received an award from TBS for 4000 broadcasts/shows of your News23 program. Do you personally choose what is going in the news or who decides that?
C: That actually works in the Japanese manner- all based on mutual understanding. Sometimes I have to take the initative but on the whole, you could say, that I direct the program.
U: How much time to you personally spend each day preparing the shows?
C: If you count things like having dinner with a politician to get a better understanding of his ideas and all that kind of “non-office” work, that is difficult to guess. I usually get a fax from TBS around noon with the first rough outline of the program, then we have discussions on the phone and I arrive at the office in the evening. We have various meetings and the final brush up meeting is at 9.30. The show starts at about 11pm.
U: How many people work for News23?
C: Directly and only for the program around 30, however, when we take a picture at the end of the year, I am always surprised how many people are involved- camera man, cut, make up….. so many!
U: What is most important for you concerning News23? What is your main goal?
C: Simply put, I would say conveying information and giving the people something to think about. Trying to allow a bigger picture, encouraging people to make up their own opinion.
U: What is your experience after all those years? What are your future plans?
C: That this job is so difficult to end. I thought I would be retired long ago, but there is always so much to do, so much is still going on, that I cannot really stop working even though it is so tough for my body at my age. There is always a next step ahead.
U: Thank you very much!
North entrance of TBS
a news meeting with Tetsuya Chikushi
neverending fax machine
lots and lots of monitors
paperworks
who is where inside TBS
poster of politicians for the elections, used for a previous program
folders titled Europe, China, Irak...
stuffed work space
last minute program changes
final news brush up meeting
text to be read during the show
now broadcasting
recording studio with lots of huge camera equipment
the coordination room
the coordination room
monitors showing all the different cameras in the studio and the final output
comparing with the final program output
after-meeting about mistakes that happened that day and how to improve
empty chairs, but still many people staying after 12pm
18 Comments
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As of December 31, 2008, PingMag and sister site PingMag MAKE are both on extended hiatus, and will not be updated for the foreseeable future. We are eternally grateful for your fantastic support over the years.
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