A director control interface is provided to extract production information from a newsroom information management system and populate a production control system. The director control interface enables the director to build a show, but mitigate errors and check for conflicts during the building process. In an embodiment, the director control interface automatically selects macro elements, which are executed on the production control system. The director can override the selection process and choose the macro elements. The director control interface monitors the newsroom information management system for rundown changes, evaluates the changes, and updates the production control system either automatically or with approval from the director. The director control interface is compatible with any type of newsroom information management system as long as it can extract the requisite information.