I’m Halle Jackson, an NBC News Reporter, and That’s How I Work
Nothing is easy about live TV news. It is a mixture of fast-paced improvisation and journalistic research, combined with sophisticated technical systems, all designed to deliver news. And it doesn’t get any easier in an election year.
Halle Jackson is an NBC News reporter who appears daily on MSNBC , Today and Nightly News with Lester Holt . She was active in the election campaign, often working on the road for weeks, living on a suitcase – whatever it takes to tell a story. We contacted Jackson during the downtime to find out how it works.
Location: Trace of the 2016 campaign. Current job: NBC News Correspondent. One word that best describes how you work: everywhere. Current mobile device: iPhone 6s (cracked); iPad Air 2 (Flawless) Current Computer: MacBook Air
First of all, tell me a little about your past and how you became who you are today. Why broadcast news?
I got a broadcast error while attending Johns Hopkins College where I majored in political science. I thought I wanted to do print journalism, but I loved the relevance of the video and the combination of words with images. After working on local news in Del., Connecticut and DC, NBC News moved me to Los Angeles in 2014. I spent a year covering everything but politics until last summer when I got on the trail of the campaign – and I haven’t stopped since. …
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without?
Snapchat and Twitter are my favorite apps. Quick Q&A is my favorite way to kill time while waiting in traffic at the exit of political rallies. I love Spotify and it’s perfect for making travel playlists (for navigating with Google Maps, of course). We also use a program called Latakoo Flight to send video and audio back to our editors out of the way. With this, as well as my travel microphone kit, I work in a one-woman mobile office.
How is your workplace arranged?
Depends on the day: sometimes it’s the passenger seat of a car or an airport restaurant. It could be a spokesperson at a Trump rally or a sidewalk sitting. That’s why self-sufficiency is so important: juice packs, extra phone chargers, my own extension cord, and loads of snacks anytime. (Not easy: my 40-pound backpack, protesting underneath it all for months, finally fell apart in the weeks leading up to the election.)
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
Mobile apps for each airline plus TSA pre-screening to make the airport arrival process as easy as possible.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
My producer is Frank Thorpe.
What device, besides a phone and a computer, can you not live without and why?
My tourist steamer. It is essential for life on the road. I’ve used it all over the place, from the fast food closet in Oregon to the floor of the presidential debating room.
Obviously, you have to do a lot of work on the road. How do you do it? Bring everything, including the kitchen sink, or stop at the essentials?
Less – more. We often have to lug all our belongings from the plane to a hotel, rally or charter, so the less luggage the better. Most of my campaign was reduced to one backpack and carry-on luggage. (Half of my suitcase consisted of scarves – a great way to change the look.)
What are some of your best everyday activities? What’s your secret?
Secretly, I am great at choosing hotels and restaurants on the road. Oyster.com to win.
What do you listen to while you work?
Rolling Stones. Backstreet Boys. Pavarotti. (In other words: pre-Donald Trump rally soundtrack.)
We also created a playlist for my 1P MSNBC show with some of our favorite travel songs:
- Bells – Crown on the ground
- BØRNS – Electric love
- Arcade Fire – you’re done
- Jason Isbell – Palmetto Rose
- Coldplay – Anthem for the weekend
- Avicii – Jesus at Sunset
- Beastie Boys – Don’t Sleep Until Brooklyn
- Santigold – Scattered Youth
- Imagine dragons – I bet my life
- AVALNATION – Kill your heroes
- Lake Street Dive – I don’t care about you
- The Chainsmokers – Roses
- The National – Bloodbuzz, Ohio
- Machine Heart – Circles
What are you reading now?
Reading novels for pleasure faded into the background in this campaign, but recently I was able to finish Ann Patchett’s latest novel, The Commonwealth . I keep adding to my “Read in 2017!” list.
How do you replenish? Of course, working on the news can be quite tedious. What do you do when you want to forget about work?
Now? Sleep. Blessed dream. Add a cup of coffee in the morning and some free time to go hiking or reading and I’m golden.
What is your sleep pattern?
Routine is not a routine. Sometimes you need to doze for 90 minutes before leaving the door. Other times, we disconnect from driving to sleep in the passenger seat. Alarm clocks are the key to your success. I set up four: my iPhone, iPad, a website with an alarm clock on my laptop, and a hotel wake-up call. (I’m still going to hit the repeat button three times.)
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
Presidential candidates. And producer Frank!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
One of my dad’s favorite phrases is, “Don’t get too high at the highs or too low at the lows.” This is a good reminder to stay in perspective during an active campaign.