Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1062452
54 DGA QUARTERLY PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARCIE REVENS T H E F I R S T T H I N G N O R A G E R A R D does after arriving at Manhattan's CBS Broadcast Center every Sunday around 6 a.m. is embark on her circuitous rounds. "I need to have face time with every- body," says Gerard, the director of the newsmagazine show, CBS News Sunday Morning. She fi rst touches base with the executive producer. Then the graphics people. Then she heads downstairs to say hello and assess any issues with the hard news center before hiking two fl ights up to the stage crew, where she lingers to conduct some preliminary blocking. Her last call, which comes after navigat- ing a few more hallways within the byzantine layout of this W. 57th Street complex (it was once a dairy depot that cows were herded through), lands her in the dressing room of host Jane Pauley, seated in a high chair with one person blowing her hair and another applying makeup. This particular show, which aired Oct. 28, three days before Halloween, is holiday- centric. Pauley points to the appropriately mustard-colored outfi t that she brought to wear. "If it's too strange," she tells Gerard, "I have a backup that's black and white." Gerard, how- ever, gives her a thumbs-up, chatting for another brief minute or so before saying, "I've got to go. But I'll be in your ear." Every show has its behind-the-scenes tenor. But CBS News Sunday Morning manifests one of the most serene, well-functioning and collegial working environments that one could expect for a news program, especially one with the sta so strewn about. Credit for that is due, in part, to Gerard's determination to be more than a disembodied voice on everyone's headsets. SUNDAY MORNING RITUAL Nora Gerard and her team work hard to give viewers the impression of a relaxed pace and a thoughtful mixture of soft features and hard news BY ANN FARMER