- Are you a Seahawks fan? - Mmhmm.
- Okay, you have a favorite player?
- Right now, Russell Wilson. - I like it.
- If he gets traded ... - Don't even say that.
- I know, but, just if - Bop, bop, wait a minute.
Wait a second - I don't want him to.
- Wait a second. KOMO 4 News this
is Michelle Esteban, I think I've just got scoop.
- Hi there! - Hi.
- How are you? - I'm good. I'm Zailey.
- Zailey? Nice to meet you. - It's nice to meet you.
- Michelle Esteban, I'm your neighbor.
Right over here, KOMO TV, not very far.
I could walk here actually, but
I didn't - Oh.
- You are? - Justin Harris.
- And you are? - Gigi Harris.
- Are you guys related?
- Yes. - Yeah we're twins.
- You are, okay. - We're twins.
She's 2 minutes older. - 2 minutes older?
- Yes. - So you have bragging rights?
- You don't know half of it. - I can always say I have a
younger brother
- Well I'm taller than her so I can
always say I have a shorter sister.
- You got the 2 minutes, you got the 2 inches.
Alight I think we're even.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- What is your job? - Well, I am a journalist.
And I work at KOMO TV and I work
as a reporter and an anchor.
- Is there a difference between
a news anchor and a news reporter?
- There is.
The anchoring is continuous, right?
So if we have an hour newscast,
I'm on for 60 minutes and covering everything.
You're live on the air the whole time.
- Yeah. - There's no redo.
And then with the reporting,
I'm focusing on one single story.
Are you guys news watcher's?
- We don't have cable. - Unfortunately not.
- You don't. Where do you get your news?
- We listen to NPR. - Okay.
- Newspapers. NPR. I think there's also KOMO radio station.
- Yes there is!
- Yes! - Alright we have a listener!
- Do you have to memorize all your lines?
- No, thank goodness, I couldn't do it if I had to.
Sometimes if there's breaking news
you're ad-libbing, but I think what you
want to know about is the teleprompter.
- What's a teleprompter?
- So a teleprompter is in the camera
and all the words to news appear on the camera.
- Wanna give it a try? - Mmhmm.
- Hi everybody, I'm Michelle Esteban with KOMO 4 news.
We are on panda watch as the city's zoo
giant panda gets ready to give birth.
Plus a Seattle man is being called a hero
after he rescues a kitten stuck in a tree.
KOMO Four news at 10 starts now.
(laughing and clapping)
- Hi I'm Crystal, tonight on channel six news
we're on panda watching the city zoo
giant panda getting ready to give birth.
Plus the Seattle man has been called
a hero after saving a kitten stuck in a tree.
The channel six news at 10 starts now.
(clapping and cheering)
- I'm very nervous, somebody's gonna take my job
if I'm not careful and her name is Crystal.
(laughing - I think so.
- Have you ever done any stories about animals?
- Oh yes.
There's a dance recital in Kent
and all the kids are doing their dance routines
(vocalizing music sounds) (laughs)
And then all of a sudden (vocalizing music sounds)
this little terrier comes across the stage
while they're doing their performance.
- Oh - And he goes all the
way across the front. (laughing)
He's dancing all over the stage.
Finally somebody had to come and
scoop him up and it was just hilarious.
- I'm Gigi from KOMO Four News.
And today a doggy ran across the stage.
(clapping and laughing)
- So how many hours a week do you think you work?
- Anywhere from 45 to 50, a week.
- Hours? - Hours.
- Oh. - The news happens
on holidays and it happens on the weekends
and it happens overnight and so that can be tough.
- Is it hard maintaining your appearance
to keep up with the new trends?
- Yeah there's a little bit of pressure
in terms of, I've gotta put my makeup on
I have to be camera ready - Yeah
- I have to wear certain kinds of clothes
I have to be fit and healthy,
I have to be hydrated, I gotta sleep well.
And it's probably like with most jobs.
- Yeah.
- Have you ever said a bad word on the air?
- Never, wash your mouth out. (laughing)
No but I do remember one time when I
was doing the news, I would get hungry
and my stomach would start to growl really loudly.
So I was bringing banana bread to work with me.
Well one day I was really hungry
and I didn't want to wait till a commercial break.
And so I'm eating the bread and
all of the sudden they're like, "and back!"
And I was caught on camera with
banana bread in my mouth, and I
swallowed it really quickly and
I gulped and it went down the wrong
pipe and I started choking and
I was like "we'll be right back".
- Have you ever been fired? - Hmmm.
Do you know something I don't know?
(laughing)
Yes, I have been fired. - Oh no.
- Well, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was
literally the day I got back from my honeymoon.
It was tough, are you feeling me, do you feel for me?
- Wow. - Yes.
But, I went and talked to an old news director
that I knew because I was kind of sad about it.
And he goes you know what Michelle, congratulations.
Anybody who makes it in television news,
has been fired at least once, you're on your way kid.
(laughing) How 'bout that?
- When you've been out reporting in the field
has anyone ever tried to turn you away
or say don't do this just 'cause you're a girl?
- No. - No?
- But I think that people will definitely
try to say, "this isn't a story".
- Yeah. - They might wanna just say
well this is just fake news anyway.
- Oh. - Yeah.
And you're like, "well it's not".
- What's fake news? - Bad.
There's these little news trolls
that are out there and they're putting out fake stories.
Not KOMO though.
- What's it like to encounter fake news?
- It makes me angry and it's frustrating
for a listener or a viewer or a reader
to have to suss all that out, but
you have to. - Yeah.
- You have to really take some responsibility
and if you see something, like a headline
on Facebook that sounds ridiculous
it probably is. - Yeah.
- And before you believe it, dig deeper.
- So how do you think the TV news
is gonna change in 20 years?
- That's a really good question
and if I had that answer, boy
I'd be a rich woman right now.
I don't know where it's gonna end up.
I mean you can talk to people in
the industry who will say that
TV news is dead already and that
it's gonna be gone in 10 years.
I've been hearing that and hearing that.
The one thing that I know is that news
will always find its way. - Mmhmm
- And I'm gonna follow it.
What about you? What would you like to see on the news?
- Sports. - Sports.
Are you a Seahawks fan? - Mmhmm.
- Okay, you have a favorite player?
- Right now Russell Wilson. - I like it.
- But if he gets traded. - Don't even say that.
- I'm Justin from KOMO Four News
and here's the sports report.
Russell Wilson is not being traded.
- Yes! (clapping)
Thanks for watching everybody.
We are out of time, so glad you joined us.
I'm Michelle Esteban. - I'm Vanessa from
Hiho Kids - I'm Tyler from Hiho Kids.
- And thank you for watching.
- Bye. - Bye.
- Watch out I may take your job.
- I believe it. (laughing)