The worst job in the newsroom is hands down the Assignment Editor.

The crews hate you for sending them all over the city and management blames you for missing the big stories. 

It's a thankless job that doesn't pay that well and at the end of each and everyday, you feel beat up. Believe me, I've done the job and I know. 

But, one Atlanta Assignment Editor is getting some well deserved recognition. Not from her bosses, but from the cops. 

Poynter writes that Cobb County, Georgia police praised WSB Assignment Editor Stephanie Steiger for helping them rescue two hostages in a bank Friday.

Brian Easley, who said he was a former Marine, called Atlanta's WSB TV and told Steiger, “I have a bomb and I’m holding people hostage.”

For 45 minutes, Steiger listened to Easley's complaints about the Department of Veterans Affairs. She gently urged him to not hurt anyone. She asked him how he wanted to be addressed "Brian or Mr. Easley?" At one point, Steiger spoke with the two hostages who said Easley "was being very respectful."

Chief Mike Register said Steiger did a "great job" keeping Easley calm and the information police got by listening in on the call helped them save the hostages.

"We were on the phone with police quickly," WSB News Director Misti Turnbull told Poynter. "We were able to 'conference in' a police negotiator to listen in on the call."

Police provided guidance while the call was unfolding.

"Eventually, the negotiator had us gently hand the call off to the police by telling the caller that we would still be here but that police wanted to call him and he should answer the phone to talk with them."

The incident ended with police killing Easley, but none of the hostages were hurt.

The whole time the station was on the phone with Easley, the station, normally noted for its aggressive coverage of spot news, didn't report anything on the air and didn't file anything on social media.

"We didn't know what he was monitoring," Turnbull said. "There was never anyone in the newsroom who questioned the decision to put people's safety first. Once we were off the phone, we started reporting what we knew. We were behind our competition in reporting the story publicly, but 'winning' the reporting race was not the priority at that moment," Turnball said. 

Which maybe one of the first times that the Assignment Editor was not blamed for missing the story. 

Tip of the stetson to Stephanie Steiger for her actions.