By Sarah Cometa
Junior, Mass Communication

	Toback from the ABC News set for the Pope's funeral in 2005

For Department of Communication alumnus Zach Toback, putting on a U2 show in Manhattan is just a part of his morning routine.

Toback is currently the executive director of production and operations for ABC's popular morning news show "Good Morning America." He previously was director of production and operations for ABC News.

As part of his job, he is responsible for studio and field production and all of the post production, such as editing pieces and essentially running the show in Manhattan. Toback has been with ABC for 14 years, and went from working in small units to running the division.

At ABC, Toback has covered stories ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the events of Sept. 11.

Even though those stories were some of the most challenging and important of his career, Toback's favorite moment was being in Rome for the Pope's funeral in 2005.

"I was standing on the roof, looking at several million people, all waving their countries' flags, and you could hear a pin drop," Toback said.

Toback lived in this trailer for three weeks while covering Hurricane Katrina

Toback said that his biggest assets are his people skills and his ability to communicate effectively.

"If you can't communicate with the people you work with, you can't do your job," Toback said. "Whether you're working with Diane Sawyer or the security guard, you have to be able to get your point across to be able to accomplish your goal."

Out of all the people he's met through his position in television, Toback said that he gains his greatest satisfaction from the people around him, and that there is something to learn from everyone, no matter who they are.

"For everything in television, you need someone else to make it work," Toback said. "You need to recognize it's a team effort and to be open minded."

For future students seeking a career in media, Toback said the best thing to do is to get as much hands-on experience as possible.

"Studying in a classroom is nothing compared to hands on," Toback said. "Learn the craft, and figure out what you like and what you're good at. There's a place for everyone in media."

As far as the future of his career is concerned, Toback does not feel that it all ends here.

"This is a stop along the way—a really, really good stop. So far this is the best, most rewarding job I have had," Toback said.