Traveling with the White House is a physically demanding experience. This occurs on multiple levels.
First, you need to be able to operate on little sleep. Many of the flights are overnight, and then you must hit the ground running first thing in the morning. If the flights are not overnight, we must be in place by the time POTUS starts his morning events, thus most days have a 5 AM departure from the hotel to get cameras and equipment in place by the time POTUS arrives. So, don’t sign up for this job if sleep is an important priority in your life.
Second, each form of media has its own equipment, and even I acquiesced and acquired more camera equipment for this trip, including video, tripod, and higher quality sound equipment than what comes with the basic camera. Thus, you must lug very heavy stuff around. There are handlers who move the big machinery used by the networks, but the equipment you don’t want to lose is stuff you must carry yourself, and there are no porters to assist. So, don’t consider this career if you have a bad back.
Third, time management plays into how tired you are, or are not. You spend the day collecting the inputs for your report, and then you spend your evenings producing that input into a final product – drafting, choosing images and b-roll for video, editing, uploading, etc. Now here is where being a veteran may make it easier.
As I sat in the very front row at the press conference in Pretoria, about 20 feet from President Obama and President Zuma, I hung on every word that each man spoke. I recognized what a rare opportunity this was, and like a rookie, I was thrilled to be there. But a jaded photographer for one of the large wire companies sitting next to me got his shots, and then fired up his laptop, connected to wifi, and uploaded his images, right there in the front row while Obama and Zuma observed him ignoring them. I could not do that. Hence, through multi-tasking, the fellow next to me got at least one more hour of sleep than I did, as he used an hour of the press conference to get work done that I was doing at 11 PM. So, don’t consider this job if your objective is to be contemplative – time and speed matter.
Fourth, because one moves so fast and works so hard, you must dress comfortably. If you are going to be in front of the camera, as I was, you quickly realize that no one will see your feet, or even what you are wearing below the waist for that matter. So flats and comfortable pants are the name of the game to deliver 20 hour work days. So, don’t consider this job if you feel the need to wear heels.
All of this, of course, is delivered tongue in cheek. But I did meet one sixty-five-year-old camerawoman for one of the major networks who admitted what an anomaly she is. To add to the imagery, she is very short (maybe 5 feet), petite (maybe 100 pounds) with blondish grey hair. You look at her and never imagine that she is about to haul a 30 pound camera around, kneeling, bending, and stretching to get “just the right shot.” But that is what she does, and has been doing for decades. She said that Obama is her seventh president.
She reminds me of that “interesting aunt” everyone seems to have just one of. She is the aunt who travels the world, has interesting stories, and possesses a youthful joie de vivre.
I have come to realize that traveling with the President of the United States is a great gig for adrenaline junkies. It has its own unique rewards, which is why people like this adorable camerawoman, vie for the opportunity, and keep it going as long as they possibly can. Simply said, even though it is grueling, it is one of the most fun jobs you can imagine.
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