Behind the Scenes: GMA Weekend Visits UNC

ABC News On Campus UNC bureau chief Carly Swain blogs: As I passed Lenoir Dining Hall this morning with coffee-to-go in hand, my breath visible from the early morning chill, the low hum of the crowd grew louder and louder.  On any given Saturday morning in the fall semester, one might expect to hear crickets and maybe an early bird or two.  But this Saturday — try hundreds of early birds! Band members, cheerleaders, McCain and Obama supporters alike and some diehard Tar Heels covered the steps of Carroll Hall and Hanes Hall, and a packed Polk Place for "Good Morning America Weekend’s" "Back to School" broadcast.  As I shuffled through the crowds to get into Carroll Hall, I got lost somewhere between the tuba and percussion sections of the band. About 20 minutes later I found my way to "GMA Weekend" executive producer Andrew Morse, who was showing me the ropes of the big-scale national production.  We toured the production truck briefly, and Andrew shared a bit of his college experience with me while making his final rounds to put out fires that only an EP can handle. "Where do the cheerleaders go?" "Where does the real ram go?" …and my absolute favorite of the day…  "Can we have a Band-Aid? Bill Weir was shaving and uh… well, we need a Band-Aid." After a few moments of masterfully calming nerves and handling each situation — much to my surprise — Andrew resumed our discussion without missing a beat.  And I thought focus meant writing a paper without logging in to Facebook more than three times. We returned to the production truck, and I just sat back to watch the magic happen.  One cannot truly understand the wonder of television until you see what happens behind the scenes five minutes before a program goes on-air. One of the coolest elements for me personally during this experience was sitting behind the director.  I direct for our student newscast here at UNC, so to see another woman sitting in that chair today was not only encouraging but inspiring. As soon as the show was over, there were high-fives and hugs all around.  Everyone gathered on Polk Place to take pictures, congratulate each other on a job well done and talk about which flight they were
taking back to New York.  After all, "GMA Weekend" has a Sunday show, too. After this Saturday, I think they’re all be taking a bit of UNC back with them.