How Long was Mary's Workday?

[LittleRickyII]

I was watching an episode last night and Mary said she had to work until 7:00. I know she was always at work at least until the end of the news broadcast at 6:30. So she never went home before 6:30. But what time did she start work in the morning? I know there were episodes where this was revealed and it seems like it was no later than 9:00 AM, which would mean she normally worked 10-hour days.

[snowpeck]

As a TV news producer myself, trust me, that doesn't seem so unusual. A typical day shift at my station on paper runs from 9:30 to 6:30 with an unpaid lunch hour, but you're pretty much expected to come in early to prepare for the early morning story meeting, and various things end up making you stay late.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by snowpeck

As a TV news producer myself, trust me, that doesn't seem so unusual. A typical day shift at my station on paper runs from 9:30 to 6:30 with an unpaid lunch hour, but you're pretty much expected to come in early to prepare for the early morning story meeting, and various things end up making you stay late.

Thanks for the insight! So I guess a 50 hour plus workweek is pretty standard. I used to have a job where 50 hours was a down week. I didn't like that too much.

[OH Nuts!]

Well it sure wasn't 9-5 esp. with Mr. Grant showing up at Mary's door after a bad night. Were I to hazard a guess I'd say like 8:30 to 6 with some extra hrs here and there when something very pressing came up.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

Well it sure wasn't 9-5 esp. with Mr. Grant showing up at Mary's door after a bad night. Were I to hazard a guess I'd say like 8:30 to 6 with some extra hrs here and there when something very pressing came up.

Didn't the news start at 6:00? She almost always stayed in the office during the new broadcast, although I seem to remember an episode where she was watching it from a bar. So that would mean she didn't leave before 6:30, so maybe it was 8:30 to 6:30? (I saw an episode this week where she said she was working until 7:00.)

[Dianne3]

Sort of on topic here.

Remember the 4th season episode where Mary is in charge of finding a sportscaster? She stayed until the end of the show to see how he did. He read hockey scores.
There was a major blooper timewise in that episode since hockey games woudn't be over by 7pm. They would just be starting.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

I was watching an episode last night and Mary said she had to work until 7:00. I know she was always at work at least until the end of the news broadcast at 6:30. So she never went home before 6:30. But what time did she start work in the morning? I know there were episodes where this was revealed and it seems like it was no later than 9:00 AM, which would mean she normally worked 10-hour days.

Good question! I always thought it interesting that she'd work on the 6' O' Clock News -yet often be home in plenty of time to have a relaxing dinner with Rhoda who didn't seem to think the time too late. Sometimes, Mary would even be able to go out to very fancy dinner dates after taking the time to go home to change and her dates rarely objected to the hours. Oh, well, TV magic.