In the second part of our The Producer I Can’t Live Without conversation with CNBC Squawk Box co-host Becky Quick and Squawk Box supervising producer Katie Kramer, we discuss why anticipation is key to a strong and successful anchor-producer partnership, and how TV news is “a confidence game.” The duo also speak about how they’ve leaned on each other during times of personal hardship, and tell us amusing story concerning a wardrobe issue (Kramer saved the day, as we learn tends to be the case).
This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity purposes:
TVNewser: Other anchors we’ve spoken with say a lot of their success comes from the producer anticipating what the anchor might want or need …
Quick: Anticipation is huge, and Katie sometimes knows what I need before I even realize it. Just last month, we went to Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pro Am golf tournament, and we’ve done that for several years. It’s a situation where there’s a bunch of big CEOs who are trying to get on about news of the day, with the bigger plans for their companies. I know this is out there, but I forgot my shoes! I had a dress, but sneakers, that’s all I had to wear, and the shots are going to catch that. I texted Katie, “Oh my gosh, I forgot my shoes.” She said, “No problem. I’m right by a shoe store, I’ll bring a pair over.” And she showed up with shoes.
It’s knowing what I need. She realizes when I’m tired sometimes it’ll tell me, “Okay, time to stop. Sit down for a little bit, rest a little, and we’ll rethink some of these things.” It is the anticipation and having that close working relationship where it just flows so naturally. It’s like a sisterhood. You become like family, where you’re working back and forth and understanding and knowing each other so well. Because we all spend so much time at work and because it’s so immersive, I think if you don’t have more of a familial relationship, I don’t think it works. I don’t think you can truly perform at your best if you’re not close and tight with someone like that.
Kramer: Pre-pandemic, we were at a big CNBC event shaking hands with a very famous CEO getting ready to do a live event in front of a couple hundred people about to do an interview when I got word that my grandmother passed away. She was obviously a very important person to me.
There’s no other work person you would want with you in a situation like that than Becky. You have to get through it, you have to do your job, but I knew it would be OK if I said to her, “Oh my god, I just got this bad news. We’re going to get through it. FYI, here’s what’s going through my head right now.” It was very important to me that I had that relationship. Becky was my friend too.
Quick: I remember when we flew back together talking about it. It was the same story when my brother passed away. She knew about that and she knew about some of the other struggles that I’ve had with my family that I’ve talked to her about and stuff with my kids. So, if you’re going to be on the road with really in the trenches, I can’t tell you how much of a difference it makes to have that person be somebody you trust, somebody you care about, and someone who cares about you. I just think, because these jobs are kind of all consuming, and because they don’t stay in a nine to five, kind of workplace, having that added relationship.
If you don’t have that kind of a level of trust, I don’t think you can ever truly perform at your best. Having that level of trust just gives you a feeling of comfort and safety, and so much of what we do is a confidence game. To ask these questions, you have to feel very confident, you have to know your stuff, and when you really trust the person who’s your backup – I know, I’m not going into anything blind. We always have each other’s back, and it makes a big difference in a game that is a confidence game.
The name of this feature is The Producer I Can’t Live Without. Becky, what is one of the biggest ways that Katie has saved you during your decade working together? It can be on air or can even be off-air.
Quick: Just making sure that I’m not walking into any interview blind on something. I’m trying to think of one interview, but there’s so many. Squawk is a three-hour show and then we do a lot of stuff on top of that. There’ll be an instance where I have to go do a live interview somewhere else or speak in front of a group somewhere else, and Katie goes to most of those with me. I might have just walked off a three-hour show, wake up at 3:30 a.m., run to the Times Square, go through hair and makeup, do three hours live, jump off the set, like I did two weeks ago to go interview [Blackstone CEO] Steve Schwarzman for a Blackstone conference in front of a few hundred people there. The first thing I do when I leave the set is call Katie. Or if I’m not going to sit down with her right away at the event, she’s going to walk it all through with me beforehand. “Okay, tell me again. What am I doing?” She’s going walk me back through and I know she’s going to hit the key points with me so that I don’t screw it up as I walk back out without a prompter or without notes or anything. I know there was one interview, Katie, where I didn’t know anything, but I was walking into it with her notes, and it saved me. I thought to myself, “OK, I can do this,” because when you’re flying that hard and fast on so many different topics and so many different people; we may have 10 or 12 people or more on Squawk Box in the morning and then to turn around to do another half hour interview or an hour interview. It’s a quick reset and Katie’s going get my head back on straight.
Kramer: I think like, like you said, anticipation. Having all of that stuff together. We’ll get we’ll carry the bags, and we’ll buy a pair of shoes –
Quick: More importantly, it’s less the shoes, and it’s more like “let’s reset mentally where we are. Remember, now we’re shifting gears, and remember this, this, this, and this? Okay, fine.” I can walk back out, and I can do this again. We don’t travel 60 miles an hour. We’re traveling 120 miles an hour. Accidents happen if you are not super careful and super prepared. Katie keeps me prepared and on my toes every day, and I can’t thank her enough for it.