Fabio LoNero (Broadcast Journalism, 2006) was just three days away from tackling his newest promotion at WTNH-TV in New Haven, Conn. But he was willing to share his excitement and trepidations with students in the Art of Journalistic Interviewing class Oct. 1, 2013.
(left to right): Micah Bailey, Nya Thompson, Abby Uzamere, Fabio LoNero, Taylor Popielarz, Stephanie Alwardt, Sarah Faidell (in rear): Dan Burdick
LoNero was promoted from the producer of the 5 p.m. Monday-Friday newscasts to Executive Producer of Good Morning Connecticut, the daily three-hour newscast. This will mean LoNero has to make the 40-minute drive from his Newington home early enough to reach the New Haven studio by 2:30 a.m.But he’s not complaining. Although the goal of the morning newscasts is to provide viewers with what’s new, now and next, he said he hopes to air stories that will “give real value for people to watch.” He said this is part of the philosophy behind the station’s “We’ve Got Your Back” slogan.
LoNero told students that beginners in TV news have to be willing to sacrifice, which in his case was working the overnight shift when he started at WTNH-TV seven years ago. It meant missing out on weekend fun because he had to be in by 1 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. But he has no regrets and he said he is happy he stayed at the same station since graduation. “They invested in me, training me, moving me up so I didn’t necessarily feel like I needed to leave there,” LoNero said.
Getting the job straight out of school involved a bit of luck. LoNero said he ran into a WTNH-TV employee taking a graduate course at Quinnipiac and because she remembered Fabio from his internship, she advised him to apply for a job that had just become available.
“When you go to an internship, treat it like a job. If you want to learn something, make sure you speak up. Don’t just sit there stay quiet, “ he said. “During times when it’s slow, go up to people at say ‘hey, can you teach me this?’ or ask the internship coordinator ‘when can I get to do this?’”
His advice was to do more than fill out the weekly internship report for school. “I knew that I wanted to work in this business one day,” he said. Because there are only four TV stations in Connecticut and he wanted to stay near his family, he realized the number of jobs was scarce and connections would be critical. His advice is to be memorable. “Memorable is the key word here because if management remembers you and they liked you, you have a shot at getting one of those part-time A.P. (assistant producer) positions,” he said.
Turnover is so frequent in TV newsrooms so LoNero said his first part-time job turned into a full-time job after only six months, reminding students “that could be you.”
Like many broadcast journalism students, LoNero wanted to be a reporter and anchor. But his experience at Q30 convinced him that his talent was really producing newscasts. “At the end of the day, when I’m in the control room, what I’m putting out is something I spent seven-and-a-half hours putting together all day. That’s the rewarding part. I get to say what it’s going to look like,” he said.
LoNero also credits Q30 for honing his writing skills. “Basically at Q30 it was all about the writing. In this business, in TV, it’s more crucial because you have one shot to get your message out,” he said. “So you have one shot to be very clear and concise about what you want to say, so writing is important. Q30 helped with the writing. If you want to be marketable, if you want to be good, writing is important,” LoNero advised.
“If you want to be in TV, focus on the writing. It doesn’t matter if you want to be in front of the camera or behind the camera,” he added. “Writing is the key. That’s the one thing that makes TV news what it is. It’s the writing,” he said.
Quinnipiac School of Communications 