Loyola University where she majored in
Communications with a concentration
in Broadcast Journalism.
She took on internships at HTV and
WDSU Channel 6 before graduating
from Loyola in 2007. A few months later
she applied for and landed a position at
WWL-TV.
“It’s crazy, I’ve been there now for
10 years,” she said. “I started as a desk
assistant and worked my way up. Being
around living legends, both in front of
and behind the camera, really helped me
to appreciate production.”
Caegan began as a member of the
Eyewitness Morning News producer
team and found a passion for developing
segments.
“One of the first ideas I pitched and
executed was the ‘What’Cha Cookin’
Challenge’ back in 2011. It was partly
inspired by my dad. He has a huge
personality and loves to cook. That is
not uncommon in South Louisiana.
So, I thought ‘How cool would it be for
those home cooks to submit a video of
themselves walking us through their
favorite recipe for a chance to cook in
WWL-TV’s kitchen?’” she explained.
It was a successful segment. From
there, she continued to produce morning
segments and other newscasts. In 2013,
Caegan was tapped to produce the newly
created talk show The 504 which would
be hosted by WWL-TV Anchor Sheba
Turk.
As the producer, Caegan develops
segments, books guests, finds subject
matter to cover and coordinates with
production staff to execute the daily
tapings. In those early days, she wrote
scripts as well as edited video.
“Coming into the show was a bit
jarring at first because it was a blank
slate. There weren’t many directives, but
to produce something,” she said.
She explained, “we started out with
serious topics. We talked about missing
persons cases, domestic violence, HIV,
things like that. I liked it.
Caegan and Sheba noticed there
weren’t many entertainment-focused
options in local television. So, they
re-formatted the show to focus on
lifestyle and entertainment from a
Millennial perspective.
“There were glimpses of the format
we have now even in the beginning.
We used to reserve Thursday nights for
pop culture talk, but it was only once a
week,” she replied.
In 2015, they designed a new set
with the help of West Elm and station
managers. The new space and color
scheme matched the new direction of
the show.
“The funniest comedians, best chefs,
amazing musicians, entrepreneurs,
activists and media personalities have
joined us on The 504. It’s so cool to
admire so many of them from afar and
then have them on to have a conversation
or perform,” she said.
“I don’t have a favorite guest
because all of them have been
pretty amazing. I will say the most
memorable moment was when a
Voodoo priestess while explaining
the history of the religion, pulled a
live snake out of her waist belt. We
were all shocked and it’s something
we still laugh about today,” she said.
How could moments like that not
create a cool work environment?
“It’s so great working with
Sheba and Joshua Detiege- our
photographer and editor. We're
super collaborative, we try different
things, we keep evolving and take it
all in stride. That's what made me
so proud about winning Best Talk
Show at the 2016 New Orleans
Press Club Awards.”
She continued, “we enjoy
ourselves. I think our guests
experience that, I think it comes
across on the show and in our social
media presence,” she said.
Seemingly always busy, Caegan
created and co-hosted “4TH
DEGREE” Podcast at WWL-TV in 2016.
She serves as vice-president of the New
Orleans Association of Black Journalists.
Continued growth and flexibility
are what excites her about her role as
producer of the show.
“Since college, I’ve always had ideas
about creating my own shows whether
they were scripted or talk-based. I plan
to do more of that. I’m so fortunate that
I’m doing it now with The 504. Creating
and discovering something new every
day- it’s what ties it all together for me.”
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JANUARY / F E B R UARY 2 0 1 8 breakthrumediamagazine.com | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | 7
