Brian Mortensen's Broadcast Blog

ESPN vs. Mike Leach?

2010-01-03T09:25:00.003-06:00

I was chatting with a friend and colleague yesterday about the whole Mike Leach vs. Texas Tech saga. Let me preface my summary/commentary on our discussion by mentioning I'm a huge Mike Leach fan. I think his whole act - the pirate stuff, the bizarre personality, Friday Night Lights cameo, hilarious press conferences - is terrific for college football. I've become transfixed with bowl season and college football in general because of the uniqueness of each school and football team, and Leach's persona only helped make the game more fun for the average fan in an era where big donors, high rollers and wealthy alums are the only people catered to by coaches.

He's one of those once-in-a-lifetime type of coach who you'll reminisce about 5-10 years from now when Texas Tech is relegated to obscurity and say "THAT was fun" - much in the same way longtime college football fans now reminisce of Bear Bryant, Jimmy Johnson, and Lou Holtz.

So it's with this I wonder whether ESPN has been fair in its coverage of the whole ordeal. I haven't sat through any of their production meetings, chatted with Craig James or his family, or tried to contact Mike Leach myself, but from the limited viewing I've had on TV and online I'm a bit perturbed by James' access. I think Rece Davis has done a good job trying to balance both sides during cut-ins and studio updates from bowl games. But, it seems for every counterargument Leach or his supporters float out there, James (or his supporters - including Texas Tech and the team's physician and trainer) seemingly has a quick response on camera or in a written statement - including Saturday's swiftly-released affidavits condemning Adam James' confinement. I don't think this would be the case with most other parents of D-1 athletes - parents with no immediate access (no cell phone number of the executive producers) to "The Worldwide Leader" and its millions of ready eyeballs - While ESPN tried to lessen the appearance of bias by taking Craig James off of calling the Alamo Bowl, he's still had the ability to speak out on the matter - both publicly and certainly privately within the annals of ESPN.

My colleague mentioned that Davis' "exclusive" interview with Leach ran roughly 38 minutes, but where is the rest of it? About 8 minutes and 30 seconds of its scintillating material is online, and the H&R Block Halftime Show ran bits and pieces of it. Maybe I haven't been paying enough attention - but where is the rest of it? Is ESPN planning on running more in an Outside the Lines story? I would hope ESPN has tried to keep the time devoted to James and Leach somewhat equal, but I just haven't watched enough to really say one way or the other.

So while ESPN has every right and ability to report on this story, I do think there is an appearance of minor bias through James' influence and position. I do not think it has been an intentional bias - if anything, Leach has always seemed amiable, friendly, and open with the media - but an unfortunate, everyday type of bias that comes from working around public figures involved in a very public dispute.

Update: As I finished writing this, I found this months-old video of Leach cursing out Adam James for an apparent poor attitude in practice.

travels home

2009-11-25T07:30:00.003-06:00

Finally arrived home in NJ Tuesday after not being home since August. I stayed in Columbia until yesterday because I filled in a few live truck shifts. Otherwise I would have flown home Sunday. But anyway, I flew out of KC to Newark, and took the MO-X shuttle so I could leave my car at home. I'm thinking this was a bad decision despite near-exhaustion from lack of sleep the night before. I got on the MO-X at Gateway and changed buses at their terminal on Providence and the Business Loop. I boarded the bus and was surrounded by old women. I thought, "uh oh." I have nothing against old women, but I was NOT in the mood for making conversation. I wanted to put on my Springsteen Live in NYC on my noise-cancelling headphones and sleep for at least 45 minutes. So when the guy with a Bluetooth headset, enormous backpack, and walking cane steps into the bus, introduces himself, and tells everyone he has a laptop to check "traffic and weather for the whole trip" you can imagine how irritated I was. He then told folks he was a former Navy SEAL (the picture of him is included with this post) had "friends in NASA", and then asked the driver to plug in his portable charger to the power outlet in front. So upon departing Columbia, he began making small talk with just about everyone. I was basically asleep by the time the Mo-X accelerated onto I-70, and slept til about milemarker 75 (a good 30-35 minutes). I was awoken by the same man blathering on about his computer's internet connection and the old woman behind him horrified of missing her flight she'd be arriving for 3 hours in advance. I was forced to endure this background talk as my Springsteen blared on in my headphones. Of course, instead of taking I-70 through downtown Kansas City to I-29, the Mo-X takes I-435 around the entire city to the airport. It adds a good 30-40 minutes to the trip because apparently they're afraid of getting stuck in traffic - in the middle of the day, no less. Line of the day came at this point - the man pointed to his computer screen and said "We'll be out of this rain in 2 minutes!!" 2 minutes later, it was still raining, and he looked very disappointed. Anyway, he got off at USAirways (a completely different terminal) and I was one of the last to get off at Continental.

I ate lunch at the majestic Budweiser Lounge while being tempted by the fine alcoholic products available at 12:15 on a weekday. I didn't have any, but any later in the day I may have considered some. This, and going through security remained uneventful. Upon sitting at my gate for a while, a Continental employee got on the PA and told travelers the "aircraft's lavatory light is not working, and the pilot doesn't want to take off without that because it's a 2 hour and 15 minute flight, so we'll try to get it fixed, worst case scenario we'll either fly with no lavatory service, or change aircraft." I've never heard of that happening before - the lavatory light not working - and the fix seemed incredibly simple (change the bulb??) but what do I know, I'm not an airline mechanic. So they had us move to the gate next to ours, the plane to Houston, while the Houston passengers moved to our plane.

So all that goes on, and I get on the plane content to sleep again. We took off and enjoyed a relatively uneventful flight until about halfway through when the small child in front of me began 1) singing constantly 2) telling its Daddy to "DADDY LOOK THE WINDOW WON'T CLOSE". This eventually devolved into the child singing one line from "Joy to the World" on repeat until the door opened in Newark. Of course, the parents didn't do anything and seemed to think their child was just bringing JOY TO EVERYONE!!

Hardly - they would have been more joyful if the kid had just shut up! UGH!!!

Charlie Weis and wastefulness

2009-11-24T13:12:00.003-06:00

Preface: I dislike Notre Dame, but I don't hate them. Nor do I enjoy the undue attention they receive from ESPN and NBC for playing pedestrian football almost every year for the past 10 years (besides their Fiesta/Sugar Bowl losses). And in those 10 years, it's become more and more common for the definition of "success" in college football to mean "making bowl games." Regardless of whether it's a BCS Bowl or the papajohns.com Bowl, I still consider it a success because you're playing in the "postseason", whether that be a playoff or bowl system. So with that understood, I find it shamefully lavish that Notre Dame (or its fans) want to fire Charlie Weis because he didn't win a national championship in 5 years. Somehow, it's forgotten in their thought process that under his guidance, the Fighting Irish played in 2 BCS games (against very good teams), earned 2 top-25-at-end-of-year BCS rankings, and won the Hawaii Bowl. This year, they're 6-5 (bowl eligible, yet again). Weis has a winning overall record in South Bend and 4 of ND's 5 losses this year came by a touchdown or less. Is that his fault? Maybe - but you can't deny the guy will see his QB and stud WR drafted early in this year's NFL draft. I'm guessing 110 out of 120 D-1 teams would be thrilled to have the kind of success Weis has had. Think they're screwed for the future? Rivals.com ranks Weis' recruiting class as #11 in the country.

From what I gather, there's at least $20 million owed to Weis, and it'd require at least $5 million per year to hire a new coach. I have no idea if donors and boosters are willing to cough up such an outrageous amount of money to fire a successful coach. If they do, it could be the most disgusting display I've seen in a long time. In economic times like this, it's simply a display of arrogance and unreasonable expectations, especially in a sport where athletes are unpaid. I have no respect for attitudes like this.

PA guys in Big 12

2009-11-16T12:36:00.004-06:00

I've been fortunate enough to watch enough Big 12 football in my career at Mizzou to hear most of the stadium PA announcers either in person or on TV. Here's a quick list of how they stack up, in my boredom.

1) Randy Wright, Missouri: Of course he's a huge homer and I'm totally biased towards him but he does an excellent job both feeding off the crowd and getting people fired up at football or basketball games. He rarely makes mistakes with players' names/numbers and usually has pretty good phrasing for plays. I'll give him and the Mizzou marketing people credit for coming up with the "First down, M-I-Z" - you can hear him around :15 in this:
2) Name unknown, Oklahoma State: This guy has an AWESOME voice. He uses a few quirks in his announcing - i.e. instead of the overused, cliche "That's good for a [insert team name and wait for crowd to yell 1st down]" he says "Oklahoma State 1st down and ten". He also doesn't use the opposing team's name - simply saying, for instance, on defense "3rd down and 3...for the visitor." Definitely a fan. You can kind of hear him in this
3) Name unknown, Kansas: The state of Kansas is pretty good for PA guys. Like OSU, this guy has an great voice. I haven't been to a game in Lawrence but having heard him in the background on TV and the radio, he doesn't get too fired up and lets his inflection carry the enthusiasm, instead of yelling or sounding crazy. It sounds like he avoids cliches and sticks to the basics, and, gets them right. I'm guessing he's an old-school guy and he does a good job.
4) Name unknown, Kansas State: Also has a great voice, but uses too many cliches/overused phrases to try and fire up the crowd i.e. "That's another WILDCAT [pause while waiting for crowd to yell "First Down"]" I also noticed several crucial errors in identifying opposing players - for instance, identifying Aldon Smith as someone else, or completely missing Sean Weatherspoon for someone else. Not sure if you can hear him in this, but it's worth a try.
Schools I have not heard: Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Nebraska, Colorado. For the sake of this article, we'll assume they fill slots 5-11 as I leave the schools below out for a reason.
11) Name unknown, Oklahoma: Not a very good voice, occasionally to the point of irritation for listeners and fans. His voice was monotone and lacking depth. He had decent form and phrasing, but I do recall him saying Chase "Daniels" instead of Daniel, a crucial mistake for any announcer's credibility. I don't mean this in a bad way, but he sounded like a less enthusiastic Alex Anthony (New York Mets' PA announcer)
12) Name unknown, Iowa State: Probably the worst PA guy I've heard call a football game at any level. While it could be a symptom of a bad sound system, the guy sounded like he was literally screaming into the microphone. To make matters worse, he used every cliche in the book - from "THAT'S ANOTHER CYCLONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEE FIRST DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!" again, literally SCREAMING into the microphone, while on defensive 3rd downs, shouting "IT'S 3RD DOWN AND ___ MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!" Overall, very irritating - and it's unforgivable to announce like that if you don't have the voice for it. You can kind of get a sense of this guy from this:

November update

2009-11-13T19:14:00.004-06:00

This is the 1st Friday I've been free since the start of the semester! I've shot football games just about every Friday night, and with high school football just about over, I'm pretty much free now on Friday nights. I'm gearing up for a trip to Manhattan, Kansas tomorrow for Mizzou's game against the Kansas State Wildcats. This will be my 2nd road trip (3rd if you count the Illinois game) for Mizzou football, and I've shot every game except for Nevada. It's been a blast to shoot all the Mizzou games, despite the disappointing record and tough home losses. I can honestly say I've shot in all weather conditions this season - from torrential rain and cold during the Nebraska game, to warm and humid during Bowling Green and Furman, and plain ol' chilly during the Oklahoma State game. Tomorrow looks to be in the 50s and overcast, so it should be comfortable. Meanwhile, producing sports has gone well. I've definitely improved since I began. It's VERY easy - much easier than I thought. I've even gotten to the point to where I think "Hey, this isn't so bad, I could do this for a living" until I realize it's still not the greatest place to be. But hey, at least I've gotten some experience in it and had some fun with it.

I noticed my last update came after the Nebraska game. I traveled to Oklahoma State the next weekend to shoot the game down there - also really cool but a disappointing result again. I was greatly impressed with the quality of Boone Pickens Stadium - insanely nice overall. The attention to detail is immaculate - everything from deluxe catered meals for the media to OSU engraved elevator buttons. Clearly, ol' Boone is sinking money into his namesake's building, and I can definitely see the results. However, I thought the crowd would be a lot louder than it was - perhaps because the stadium's capacity is around 55,000 - but after experiencing OU in 2007 I expected the same outrageous decibel level in Stillwater. It only got really loud after Gabbert's pick-6 and OSU's TD towards the end of the 1st half. Their student section seemed into the game the whole time, and their odd paddles certainly made a lot of noise. But, I can definitely say Boone Pickens Stadium, while VERY nice and luxurious, is not nearly as tough to play in as I'd expected.

I'm curious to see if Bill Snyder Family Stadium is any more hostile! I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and such of the journey. Will Maetzold and Brandon Spiegel are joining me on this trip - Maetzold hitching a ride and covering it for Palestra.net, Spiegel also with KOMU.

Check out my Youtube for some of my packages - here's an embedded link.

We got shucked

2009-10-14T18:51:00.002-05:00

Put simply, Missouri did not have a good game last week. I produced the 6 sports, and I was pleased with how it went. Gervino went live from the 6th floor of the press box with a live interview during the sports block, and then a Cardinals gm. 2 NLDS highlight. We scrambled to get it in on time but I was happy with it overall. Chris did a great job of doing the highlights without a monitor. After we wrapped up the show, I headed off to Faurot Field, where after lugging all the gear in the driving rain to the media shuttle, I got my credential from Kyle Stokes, who was running the live truck. Upon arrival though, I discovered the power outage situation (more on that later) resulting in limited elevator service, so I had to climb 4 flights of stairs with all the gear while dodging rich old geezers clutching their wine and cheese within the club level. Of course, the rain and overall weather was terrible - cold, driving rain and a somewhat strong wind. So, once within the press box, I finagled a garbage bag to cover the camera and went down to the field. I immediately discovered it'd be really difficult to shoot like I usually would, so I had to literally create a photo booth-like setup by putting the garbage bag over my head and using it like a cape with my only view through the LCD screen. While it was tough to see long passes and ball trajectory, it did a great job of keeping the camera dry. And with a complete lack of big plays in the 1st half, I didn't miss much. I was right behind the end zone where Gabbert scored on the QB sneak, but unfortunately on the complete opposite side of the field for the safety earlier in the game. So, I departed the field with Missouri holding on to a 9-0 lead.

About that power problem - I'm guessing the extreme rain caused some sort of fuse to break in the campus power plant, shutting off all the power to the stadium. I was told the lights and all power shut off to the stadium for about 10 minutes. After backup generators fired up, the main scoreboard and PA system remained off - creating an eerie silence and dampened (literally) atmosphere for the entire game. On one hand, it was really cool because the whole crowd stood for most of the game and really paid attention to what was going on. They didn't need much prodding to make noise on defensive 3rd downs or for the Mizzou touchdown. But, I think people began to lose energy as the game went along, and understandably so - the cold and rain began to affect people midway through the 3rd quarter. That loss of energy, coupled with the silent PA system and no Randy Wright "THIRRRRRRRRRRRDDD DOWN AND _____ "or "FIRST DOWN, M-I-Z!!" almost created a sense of foreboding collapse, even with a seeming impregnable 12-0 lead late in the 3rd quarter.

So I enjoyed the 2nd half in the warmth and dryness of the press box with my good friend Will Maetzold - whose trusty old camera succumbed to the elements, and he was forced to sit out the 2nd half. We viewed the collapse. That's all I'll say about that - but perhaps the most irritating part of it all was seeing the Nebraska fans going crazy from high above. I understand they travel well, but good lord, they made a lot of noise and hearing "There is No Place like Nebraska" blaring from the Marching Huskers was very annoying.

After the game ended, we went down to the media room to wait for Pinkel and co. His presser was uneventful - he didn't say anything that surprised me or anyone else. We then talked to Andrew Gachkar (quite honest and a good interview), Sean Weatherspoon (as always a good interview), Jaron Baston, and Blaine Gabbert (after 45 minutes waiting for him). Gabbert was in a terrible mood (understandably so) but he was uncharacteristically short and terse in his answers. He's usually pretty approachable and courteous, but on that night with the pain he endured physically and emotionally throwing 2 INTs, I can understand.

After taking off, I put together a PKG on Sunday for the sports show about Nebraska's resurgent 4th quarter. Watching them put up 27 points seemed like I was watching a sleeping giant of a program emerge from its hibernation to swat and destroy a pest - in this case, Missouri. I may not have pleased some diehard Missouri fans, but that's what it seemed to me. I wanted to put some of my personality and commentary into the story, and the story hit me while sitting in the press box watching them come back.

Long overdue update

2009-10-02T12:13:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm now a sports reporter/producer at KOMU and despite it being MUCH less stressful than news, I am still at the station almost every day. I work live truck for the Monday/Wednesday morning show, and for the 5/6 on Tuesdays. It's been a lot less stressful this semester working live truck, too. The early morning hours are tough, but it's an easy show to work because with so many hits, it's easy to rearrange things if we have trouble with the truck. It's also a solid way to pick up hours, even if it does come at a time I should be sleeping. For the most part, I've had good reporters too, so it's been fun.

I experienced probably the wildest story I've probably ever been a part of on Wednesday morning. I woke up somewhat early at 2:15am (usually wake at 2:30 to get to the station at 3am) and Matt Jeffries, the morning student producer, called me to tell me to come in "early" because of a breaking news situation in Columbia. Up off Stadium Blvd, the Columbia Police Department were staking out a couple of people holed up in an apartment. These people apparently SHOT AT A COP CAR, then peeled out in their high-performance Dodge Stratus, crashing through their apartment complex's gate and hiding in their apartment. The suspects refused to come out of the apartment, so the cops called in some serious reinforcement - State troopers, SWAT TEAM (!!), and a few other imposing vehicles to handle the threat of these 3 whacked out dudes. So I showed up with the truck and Chance Seales was already there. He shot some video already, and I fed it back through the truck, which I thought was fun. We basically set up our shot just alongside the driveway into and out of the complex, so we could see cop cars coming in and out of the area. We had plenty of nats too, with "flashbangs" aka stun grenades going off (which we thought was gunfire because it was so loud). Chance did a great job with his hits, and I was pleased with my camera work. Eventually the cops got the dudes to come out of the apartment by blowing down its windows. This was a really awesome live shot experience all-around, so I'm glad it went so well. On a side note, KMIZ showed up half an hour after we did, and their reporter was far too chummy with Jessie Haden, CPD's "Public Information Officer". I would expect nothing less from them. Here's the link to our story.

Working in sports has been awesome. I've shot every Mizzou football game so far (minus Nevada, since that was on the road) and I've done FNF every Friday night. I FINALLY broke my Gold Star duck with a win last weekend for my Boonville/Hannibal highlight. Jim Riek totally got me by surprise, and I went nuts when he said we got the Gold. I had a lot of help from the guy who went with me, Caleb Barron - he deserves a lot of credit. I'm psyched to shoot Jefferson City's homecoming game tonight. Another great part of this game is the chance to visit Kate & Ally's Pizza in Jeff. City - probably the best pizza you can get in Mid-Missouri! I've also been mildly surprised at how easy producing sports has been. Yeah, it can be a little "crazy" but I'm confident in my abilities, so I don't stress out about getting video transferred, edited, or graphics created. Of course, Jim's sports class is awesome too, so overall it's been a pretty good semester so far! Hope it stays as good! Here's the link to my Gold Star video (it's the first one in the vid.)

Back in NJ

2009-08-08T09:28:00.006-05:00

I have returned to the great state of New Jersey for a little downtime with the family. I really enjoyed the drive back. It wasn't nearly as brutal as I expected it to be. I left Columbia at about 4:30am Friday, July 31. Yeah, I know it was 4:30, but it wasn't that bad! I'm used to being up at crazy hours to work as a production assistant or live truck operator for KOMU, so I felt wide awake getting out of the shower. On my way out of Columbia, I purchased the breakfast of champions: an apple fritter and chocolate donut from Quik Trip and a 44 oz. Diet Coke. Topping off the RSX's tank, I hit the road. Missouri was really easy. I had the iPod on then switched to KBIA for some Morning Edition, until I lost the signal around milemarker 180. I picked KWMU's signal up for the drive through St. Louis. Their morning announcer is awesome, I must say. Plus, the ads for The Law Firm of Gallop, Johnson, and Newman are always fun, since my good friend Jeff's father, Robert Epstein, is a partner at that firm. Instead of taking 270 around the city, I stayed on i-70 for the scenic route through St. Louis. I hit the metropolitan area around 6am, and I was really surprised with the volume of traffic at that hour, it was quite heavy - not slow, mind you, but just busy - I'd have expected it to be that way an hour later in the day. I stayed on I-70 into Illinois, which was quite uneventful. Missouri and Illinois both seemed to take good care of the highway. Illinois' DOT was out in full force with tons of construction projects for the entire length of I-70 in the state. Either way those were the only memorable things about the drive in the 'Nois. Indiana was another story. It had construction everywhere and terrible road conditions. Extremely bumpy and not fun to drive in my car, where you feel every bump and niche in the road. Upon hitting Indiana, I stopped in Terre Haute to gas up and refill my 44 oz cup. I had an odd exchange with the clerk inside the Speedway gas station, who commented on my "Arch Rivalry" Mizzou v Illinois t-shirt by saying "I don't speak to people from Illinois or Missouri." I chuckled and unsure what to say, just said "Thanks" and took my change and went out to the car. The rest of the way through Indiana was easy - Indianapolis is very easy and has a much nicer skyline than I would have expected. However, in my boredom behind the wheel, I tuned in on my AM dial to the ESPN Radio affiliate in Indianapolis to catch Dan Dakich, former Indiana and Bowling Green head basketball coach. I was appalled at how bad the show was. It was July 31 - MLB trade deadline, and I wanted to hear updates on trades/rumors/etc that I would typically hear on almost every other ESPN radio affiliate. However, instead of a 20/20 type Sportscenter update, I was forced to listen to Dakich drone on about why women are smart about sports. Now, to most people living in 2009, to say women are smart about sports is like saying the sun comes up in the East. Yeah, there are women out there who know their stuff - and it's been that way for a long time. This isn't some breakthrough occurrence - I'd say for at least the past 100 years women have been involved as fans or participants in every and all types of sports. So, hearing Dakich pontificate on why suddenly NOW women are smart about sports when he could have been talking about sooooo many other, more interesting topics, I felt compelled to call in and bash the man. I got through right away and was on the air quickly. I made my point, bashing Dan, and got cut off. Thankfully there was a 3-4 second delay, so after the line clicked, I turned the volume back up and caught his response. I think it was only then that he realized it was a dumb topic, as he casually mentioned "Oh, there's Michael Vick, there's NFL training camp, there's the Senior Open here in Indianapolis..." My thoughts were - WHAT ABOUT THE MLB TRADE DEADLINE!? I understand Indy doesn't have an MLB team, but still, they're in Cubs/Reds/Cardinals territory and we're in the middle of the season. Come on.

So, I continued eastward on I-70 into Ohio. I stopped outside Dayton for a fine, filling lunch of a spaghetti 5-way from Skyline Chili. Having stopped there before, the timing almost always works as it's a good spot to take a break for lunch. I got back on the road, and stayed on I-70 through Columbus. It's a beautiful city and I enjoyed Columbus' FM transmitter for ESPN radio, 97.1. This time, of course, they were streaming Van Pelt and Tirico, a quality show, so I enjoyed it until I lost the signal about 50 miles east of Columbus.

My destination for day 1 was Pittsburgh, so Google Maps had me getting off I-70 to go north on I-77 for about a mile before heading east on US-22, a 2-lane road twisting its way through northeast Ohio. This part of the trip was a lot of fun because the road was hilly, full of fun curves, and very scenic. I was on it for about 3 hours and even got stuck behind an 18-wheeler unable to traverse a steep hill. Much like Indianapolis, Pittsburgh snuck up on me quickly - despite having to stop in West Virginia for a desperately-needed bathroom break. I hit major traffic in Pittsburgh at the junction of 22 and 60, which was narrowed down to 1 lane in each direction during rush hour. It was quite silly but it ended up not hurting me. I checked into my hotel by the airport, the Hampton Inn, got changed, and headed out to my next destination - PNC Park in downtown Pittsburgh. Again, I hit traffic on 279 as people didn't seem able to merge into 2 lanes to go through the tunnel. But whatever. Pittsburgh seemed beautiful and it has a really amazing skyline - very underrated. I loved all the bridges, and how the rivers' confluence is right in the middle of a steep valley. I parked a block away from the park for $10 and headed inside. I was greatly impressed by the park. The skyline is far better in person than on TV. The crowd also seemed really into it for a game between 2 terrible teams. I enjoyed all the nostalgic/historic items throughout the park - something Citifield desperately needs. On a side note - the PA announcer was really bad. Weak voice, little enthusiasm. The Pirates ended up winning 5-4.

I returned to the hotel and passed out, exhausted after the extremely long day. I awoke the next day, enjoyed my free breakfast, and put together my itinerary for the day. Curious to see how long the trip would take, I Google-Mapped the trip and saw it would have taken me just 20 miles or so south of State College. Since I'd never been to Penn State before, I figured I had to take the opportunity and check it out. So, I hit the road. Like the day before, I was on US-22 for a long time. Much of it was under construction, which slowed me down, but I didn't mind since my gas mileage ended up being fantastic. About 2.5-3 hours later, I got to State College. The campus was outstanding - very much like Mizzou but a lot bigger. It also seemed more spread out than Mizzou. But overall it seemed really nice. I got a "Peachy Paterno" from the Creamery, the famous ice-cream place on campus, then walked over to Beaver Stadium. It's enormous. It reminded me of an NFL stadium and rightly so - friggin 100,000+ people on Gameday is obscene. I checked out the Penn State Athletics Hall of Fame and then got a tour of the stadium, where we got to see the inside and sit down in the club seats. Very cool all-around, but it was really hard for me to fathom watching a football game in such a huge building. Faurot Field and everywhere else I've been do not seem nearly as big. Actually, Memorial Stadium in Oklahoma might be the only one I've been to nearly as big. Oh well. So I got back on the road and followed US-322 through the mountains to Harrisburg, where I got on I-81/78 and followed that pretty much all the way home. Since the Mets were playing at 7, I had expected to pick up some afternoon WFAN talk or at least the Mets pregame show, but to my surprise I couldn't get a strong signal until about 10-15 miles into NJ. I enjoyed 78's 3 lanes of majestic, well-paved blacktop all the way to exit 48, the first of my 2 exits. Now I'm home and I've been having fun!

Safety vs. Sexiness?

2009-07-24T22:20:00.006-05:00

Let me preface this post by mentioning I have never singled anyone out for criticism via the internets or complained about anyone at KOMU. To do so would be unprofessional, rude, and immature. But my experience today left me so irked I have to put it in writing to gather others' thoughts on it.

I picked up Matt Tarnawa's 5/6/10 Live truck shift as I figured I could use some extra money, and I had nothing going on tonight. I arrived at the station and was told immediately we would be going live from Stadium Blvd. on TOP OF THE LIVE TRUCK to demonstrate the traffic for a story about possible expansion of the road. I thought it sounded like a cool idea and I was certain we could make it work visually. I went out to Stadium, parked in the lot next to the McDonalds, and began to set up. After tossing a few things on top of the truck, I realized we would have very little space to safely work with. I tried to set up the tripod, but that left roughly a FOOT for me to move from the front of the truck (closest to the mast) to the back of the truck, with the larger platform area where I intended on having the reporter stand. I took the tripod down and figured with the space we had, the safest thing to do would be to shoot off the shoulder.

Now, I was fully aware whenever I shoot off the shoulder, especially in hot weather like it was today, I get Parkinson's-like symptoms and don't hold the camera too steady. But that seemed like a fair trade-off. (While some might disagree) I'm not an idiot, and given the responsibility of getting the job done SAFELY, I would much rather have a semi-shaky shot for the 15-20 seconds before/after the PKG or Vo/sot than:

1) fall off the top of the truck because I lose my balance attempting to connect/disconnect/move cables because the tripod is in the way
2) see my reporter fall off the truck because she doesn't have enough room to move around.
3) Lean back on the mast and cause it to drop down, losing the shot.
4) Assume other risks for the sake of A SMOOTH/SEXY live shot.

I'm sorry, but I'm not paid enough or insured enough to risk my health and safety (and that of the reporter) over something I consider quite silly.

Here's a picture I snapped with my Blackberry prior to the hits. You can see I have the camera set down on top of the A/C unit. Behind the A/C, and in front of the mast is roughly 1.5-2 feet of space. IN NO WAY is that enough room for a tripod. Now, look to the edges, where the width of platform is about a foot. To have the tripod on the truck would require me to constantly maneuver around the top of the truck while walking on that foot-wide platform. Sound silly? You can see where I'm coming from now.

Now, with that written, the director of the 5 and 6 wanted me to call her after the 5 to discuss this. She INSISTED I use the tripod, saying (in a very condescending/rude/demeaning tone) "OH NO, DON'T SAY YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SPACE, I'VE DONE IT BEFORE" to which I stated I did not feel comfortable using the tripod because I didn't have enough room. To be fair, she said the shot needed more light, and I completely agreed after seeing how it looked, so I changed a few things for the 6 hit. I did not use the tripod for the 6 and I feel it came out a little better than the 5 knowing I really had to go steady.

I really have a problem with this kind of attitude from the director. I COMPLETELY understand the need for good-quality shots, don't get me wrong. And there's something to be said for suggesting I use the tripod, but then understanding my decision to go with what I considered the safest shot. But by assuming we're invincible, capable of doing anything in small spaces, and otherwise demanding we take on more risks than normal is what leads to accidents - often injurious or fatal. If it makes me look bad for choosing the safe route, so be it. I'm sorry the shot was "too shaky", but I'd rather that be the case than anyone even come close to getting hurt. If my KOMU "reputation" is harmed for it, so be it. I'll take my health and safety 1st over putting myself into a dangerous situation.

Clunking for an HFR

2009-07-09T23:33:00.001-05:00

As I blogged a few days ago, I’m done with B3 reporting shifts. It’s very relieving to not have to constantly be on the lookout for news stories. However, I began working on my HFR yesterday, and it was a mixed experience. The “Cash for Clunkers” program seems to have both strong proponents and opponents in Mid-Missouri. I stopped at 8 dealerships yesterday to try and talk to them about the program. The program has been delayed a few weeks until the official rulemaking process can be completed by the federal government – to me, that is the story because, as I understand it, people seem willing to trade in their inefficient cars for cars getting better gas mileage, especially with a $4,500 credit essentially subsidizing the use of gas-sipping cars. So my mission was to find out what dealers thought of the delay, and whether customers have been coming in hoping to take advantage of the program.

My first stop was Albert Honda. I’ve met Eric Cronacher, the sales manager, before for a B2 story. The receptionist told me he’d be the man to talk to, and that Wednesday was his off day. Not a problem for me – I’ve dealt with him before and I know he’s pretty accessible. When I called back today, he was “out to lunch” and the receptionist said she’d have him call me back. I’ll keep trying – can’t hurt to have multiple sources because it adds variety and depth to this story.

I went down Providence Rd. to Perry Nissan. The salesman I met in the showroom said the sales manager is the guy to talk to, as is usually the case in most car dealerships. He gave me his card and I called today, he seemed helpful and willing to go on-camera when I get back to Columbia on July 17.

I headed over to the Saturn dealership, where the sales manager told me she didn’t want to go on-camera about it. Meanwhile she had no idea whether Mid-Mo has had any advertising about it. Next door, Dodge City/Hyundai told me a similar thing. They said their president is the only person who can talk on-camera, so I left.
I cruised over to Bob McCosh (formerly known as Perry) Chevrolet, where upon approaching the doorway, Brian Bailey, Angie’s husband, opened the door. I did not know who he was, but upon explaining why I was there, he said, “Oh, Angie Bailey, she’s my wife. I’m Brian Bailey.” So he told me to leave my business card at the receptionist’s desk and he “would take care of me”. Not sure what that means, but I asked Angie about it later at the station and she said she’d “remind” him to get back in touch with me.
Here I took a little detour and stopped at a little shop on the Business Loop that piqued my attention. I can’t remember the name of it, but this little machine shop that looks like it’s 50 years old was open for business. I stopped inside and told the lady inside what I was doing, and asked how business was going. She said the shop is run by her husband and that they’ve been incredibly busy – she said she had not seen any slowdown in business at all. I met the man, Elson, and he said he’d be up for a story on their little shop. As I suspected, the shop has been there for nearly 40 years and apparently “everybody knows Elson”. I’d love to do a story on their shop and how it’s staying strong even in a recession, and as Elson gets older and he admits he doesn’t work as many hours as he used to.

A thought also hit me while driving down the Business Loop to stop into another machine shop to try and find a junkyard in Mid-Missouri, since, according to the plans so far, when “clunkers” are traded in, they essentially have to be destroyed/scrapped by a junkyard. A welding material shop told me of 2 junkyards in Mid-Mo, which is definitely enough to work with. Later, I Googled a few more and got some numbers to call. I really like this element of the story because it goes a little further beyond the car dealership hype/spin. I’d like to possibly do this in 2 or 3 parts – with the “we’ve been waiting for these regulations, and they’re hurting us” schpiel before the rules come down on July 23, the junkyard bit as the 2nd piece, and the 3rd when the actual rules are implemented.

I continued west on the Business Loop and stopped at University Chrysler/Subaru. I received perhaps the rudest reception I’ve ever gotten as a reporter with KOMU upon going into their showroom. I go in, and introduce myself to the geezers behind the counter and explain what I’m doing there. I was interrupted by the head honcho in a very harsh/rude tone,“I’m not gonna comment on that, we don’t know anything more than what you do, and when you hear something you let me know” but I continued, explaining how I thought the story was just that – dealerships are left with little information on something that could be helpful to customers. So, this gentleman, whose name I did not get, proceeds to say, “Hold on a sec son, let me find you something here.” He typed in a few words on his keyboard, clicked a few buttons, and I heard their printer hum and spit out a piece of paper. He picked it up, and as he did, I noticed the other men in the room began to smirk menacingly as if they appreciated his style of embarrassing me. He handed me a sheet of paper with a “Thank you for your comment” form letter from the White House. He said something to the effect of, “I don’t mean to be facetious, but you’re better off asking this guy than me.” For some reason, I found this very irritating and somewhat offensive, as his salesmen began to chuckle behind him, but I tried to remain professional – something evidently this man could not do (In BM’s personal opinion, one of the reasons why Chrysler/Dodge is in dire straits – bad dealerships, like this one, and numerous my family has dealt with in New Jersey). I asked him if he would be willing to mention his comment/advice letter to the White House on-camera, and he declined, giving a mini-rant on “the media”, and instead referring me to the Missouri Auto Dealers Association. So I left, annoyed, with nothing from there.

My next stop was Machens Toyota. Thankfully, the sales manager there, Dan Kellar, was willing to talk on-camera about the process so far, and he gave me some really interesting bites. In stark contrast to the gentlemen at University Chrysler/Subaru, he was very professional and approachable, and actually seemed to understand that THE MEDIA IS YOUR FRIEND WHEN YOU ARE ACCOMMODATING AND HONEST! I shot some video around the dealership of fuel-sipping cars, and headed down the street to Machens Ford/Lincoln/Mercury.

While not as approachable as Dan Kellar, (and asking “Have you ever seen the movie ‘Stalin’?”) the man in charge at Machens F/L/M offered to give me several internal documents and emails showing the process and approach Ford Motor Company and Toyota have been taking with regard to the Cash for Clunkers. I felt this was an outstanding find that, at the very least, would give me a good Web Extra for this story. The president of Machens, Gary Drewing, (apparently the only guy who can go on-camera there) told me to call him in the morning. While I didn’t call him this morning, I left a message with him this afternoon. Hopefully he gets back to me. If not, I know I have time to try and arrange an interview.

After these stops, I headed over to Creasy Springs Rd., where apparently there is a junkyard, according to one of the guys in the welding shop. I drove about 3-4 miles on it and didn’t find it, so I turned around and headed back to KOMU. I’m pretty happy with what I have so far, and if I can get a few more interviews at some dealerships and visit a junkyard, I’ll be good to go. I think the only thing missing is finding someone who wants to buy a car now and is left waiting until the official process comes down from the gov’t.

As is probably apparent from my approach to this story, I really enjoy reporting on the auto industry. Yes, it might be a pain in the rear to deal with the BS at dealerships, but I’m a car geek. I enjoy going into the showrooms and checking out the cars, and comparing/contrasting them.

End of B3?

2009-07-07T19:22:00.002-05:00

Well, B3 is technically over, but not literally. I still have to do my HFR and the last "interview" paper. I'm at a bit of a loss over my HFR - no one has called me back or returned my emails, and I'm getting annoyed because time is ticking by. I want to get most of it done by the time I leave for NJ on Thursday afternoon. I left a message with a man who owns a truck running on biodiesel, and emailed Mike Kehoe, who mentioned the "Cash for Clunkers" program when I interviewed him a few weeks ago. I think tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to start calling other people about it since clearly these sources are not really cooperating. As for the paper, I've emailed 5 reporters in other markets about interviewing them, and no one has emailed me back yet. Granted, I sent 2 tonight and 3 about a week ago, but I'm out on a limb here waiting for people to get back to me. So it goes in Journalism. I'm also out on a limb financially waiting for KOMU to pay me back for all that gas money I've put into the Scions!!! :)

Jefferson City Fires/Sedalia Parade

2009-07-06T08:16:00.002-05:00

Well, I got back to the grind after a nice battery recharging in Hawaii. I went right to work on Wednesday and came in with some interesting ideas - including Marshall's airport renovation plans, and the School of the Osage graduate who is now joining the astronaut program with NASA. None of them panned out, so I started working on the "suspicious fires" release we received from the Jefferson City police department. It seemed like a pretty interesting story and I got the sense it would have some decent visuals. So, we called the contact listed on the press release and hit the road to Jeff. City. I had my trusty intern/shadow Coleman with me, and once we got to Jeff. City, we drove around to try and find some of these "suspicious fire" sites located mainly on the east side of the city. While we didn't find anything, we got the sense of the neighborhood where some of these fires had happened. We stopped at the Fire Department's administrative office to try and find out a little more information. A secretary gave me the number of someone who knew more about it, and after speaking with him on the phone, we found out some of the basics on where the fires were happening. Turned out there had been a fire behind the Gerbes Super Store over the weekend - someone started a fire inside of a dumpster behind the store, rendering the dumpster almost completely destroyed and also damaging a few wooden pallets. I had Coleman shoot an off-the-shoulder standup with me showing the damage to the dumpster. I liked what we had and I was happy to let him shoot so he learns how to use the cameras. After the standup, we went to the Jefferson City Police station downtown and spoke with Captain Doug Shoemaker, who gave us the "official" soundbite. He told us about the house that had been hit by a fire, which I did not know of - so after talking to him, we hightailed it to the house to shoot some video. I was shocked at how much damage had been done, yet Shoemaker said the fire was not intentionally set to burn down the house - only that some pyromaniac was messing around on the foreclosed property and the fire spread onto the house. After that, I went to pick up my pizza from Kate & Ally's, and we hit the road back to Columbia. Unfortunately, this is when my day started to derail. Hungry for some of the best pizza in Mid-Missouri, I ate a slice while driving. Not being careful enough, sauce dripped down from the pizza onto my tie, completely ruining it. We got back to the station and I didn't have any trouble cutting a mini-package for the 6. Meredith and I agreed it would be good to go live at 6, so I left the station at 5 assuming I'd have plenty of time to run home and grab a new tie, then get to Jefferson City by about 5:40-5:45. Unfortunately, it didn't go that way. I got stuck in traffic on Highway 163 (my mistake in going that way instead of Grindstone to 63) and then on the Whitton Expressway, so I didn't make it to the house until about 5:55. I scrambled to the setup, began to mic/IFB myself up, and RIGHT as I held up a piece of paper to white balance, EVERYTHING shut off. Kyle Seever, the truck operator, did everything he could to revive the truck, but we were royally screwed - no generator = no live shot. So, I was naturally pissed that 1) I didn't give myself enough time to get to Jeff. City, and 2) that fate/karma would have it that the generator shut down after arriving late to a live shot. I really got a shitstorm when I got back to the station, and understandably so - I deserved every bit of criticism and such for ruining the A block of the show. But otherwise it was a fun/interesting story that was overshadowed by my bad luck/planning.

--

Since I was in Hawaii for what would have been my Monday dayside shift, I came in to cover Brandon Spiegel's Thursday nightside. Unfortunately, all the stories I had were total flops, and otherwise the day was completely dead, so I left with nothing to show for the day. It wasn't too big of a deal to me because I had agreed to work on the 4th of July, Saturday, and had a story lined up in Sedalia about the town's revived parade. So, I came in early and hit the road to Sedalia. I had heard about this from a woman I met there when I was there for the stolen donation jar story. She gave me the name and number of a guy who had supposedly revived the Sedalia 4th of July parade when for years the town did not have one, for unknown reasons. So, I went to Sedalia and got the obligatory parade video, trying to move around as much as possible without getting the camera too wet from a surprise rainstorm. There was some cool stuff - like motorcycles, classic cars, and war veterans. Then, I interviewed the 2 guys who had a big part in the parade's return, and got their story. It seemed pretty interesting, and a good "return to tradition" type of story. I shot my standup in the park where free BBQ and community games were going on. It definitely seemed like a legit 4th of July event - people came with their kids, parents, aunts/uncles, etc. to fish, play volleyball, etc. It was pretty cool to see several different generations of people on display. I also interviewed a woman unrelated to the organizers for a good "resident" soundbite. Overall I was very happy with the video I had, and I felt I'd have plenty of information to write whatever I needed. When I got back to the station, I went on-set for the 6, and cut a vo/sot for the 10. Definitely enjoyed this story and I felt it was a success! The on-set came in the C block of the 6, and I'm not sure when the vo/sot aired.

So, done with b3 reporting shifts! Now, I have to do my HFR and a paper with an interview of someone from a different ethnicity in a different TV market.

Update from the AIR on last week

2009-07-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

My apologies for not posting this after the shifts. I got caught up in packing/preparing for my trip to Hawaii. I type this sitting on layover in the majestic Phoenix airport with a view of several USAirways Airbus 319s, "downtown" Phoenix, and Chase Field - home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Anywho, I'm pumped to be getting away from Columbia for a few days. I haven't left the state of Missouri since January, so this trip is a much-needed break from America's Heartland. Let me explain how my trip has gone so far:

Woke up at 1:30am. Left for MCI (Kansas City) at about 2. Arrived there 4:30am. Upon parking and waiting for the shuttle bus, I encountered some of the dumbest travelers I've ever seen. They had been standing waiting for the shuttle bus for "half an hour" and had no idea the shuttle didn't run between midnight and 5am unless it was called for on the little hotline phone inside the bus shelter. Then, when the bus showed up and we boarded, they proceeded to have an extremely asinine conversation in a far too-energetic manner for 4:30am. Basically, all rules of travel etiquette appeared to not exist in their minds - loud conversation, getting in people's way, and displaying an overall cluelessness in an extremely easy airport to navigate.

The flight was uneventful until the descent into Phoenix, when I got to see the amazing topography surrounding Phoenix. I was shocked at all those little pimply mountains coming up from the ground with houses surrounding them. And, the basic notion of Phoenix being in a massive desert valley with huge mountains around it just seems bizarre having been in the Midwest for what feels like forever. I'm also weirded out by all the West Coast people in here. They call this place "America's Friendliest Airport"...which is a little creepy but hey, whatever. As long as I arrive in Hawaii in one piece...

Anyway, Monday's shift saw me come in with a couple of tough ideas. I had hoped to work on a story I saw in the Jefferson City News-Tribune about low water levels in Taos. But, everyone I called either knew nothing about what I was talking about, or didn't call me back or answer their messages. With a backup story of the Jefferson City Salvation Army receiving a meat grinder from Safari Club, I figured that’d be the best way to go to make sure I had something for the day. It definitely was not an ideal story but I did the best I could to shoot enough video for a package and have enough of a human-interest angle to make it interesting. Hence, why I shot off the shoulder a lot to show New Jersey-native Gene Rurka demonstrating how the meat grinder would work, and then later to ask one of the kitchen workers how the grinder would help. Everyone I spoke with gave me some good bites, but it wasn’t overly riveting video. Once we spoke with the people we wanted, and I shot a standup, with help from KOMU’s high school intern Coleman, we went to try and get video of meat in Jefferson City. We tried the Schnucks on Missouri Blvd but the manager didn’t want us filming inside without him there – he was apparently in a meeting, and couldn’t come out of it. So we went across the street to a butcher, and he refused to allow us to bring the camera inside. He said he had a bad experience with “you news people” before and that it was “a personal principle” that he would no longer talk with reporters. He didn’t say what station it was, but he mentioned his adversity to the press formed when he was interviewed for a Mad Cow disease story and he felt misquoted about the disease or its impact on him. I was disappointed because I wanted to just get a few shots of raw meat or something that could go inside the grinder, but this butcher’s vague media horror story left me annoyed. I tried to assure him we didn’t even want to talk to him on camera, but that still didn’t assuage him. So, we left the butcher’s shop and went back to KOMU. I had a vo/sot for the 5 and a package for the 6 – thankfully the producers killed the idea of another vo/sot for the 10 as they felt “ground out” about the story.

After the newscasts, Kent made a great point about my story, saying the Salvation Army and Safari Club “owe [Brian] a lot of money for all the publicity you gave them.” I totally agree – that was definitely the downside to this reporting shift. I’m NOT a fan of staged photo-op events like the meat grinder thing. And the way the representatives of each group behaved toward the camera really indicated to me a desire for us to give them good publicity – one man sycophantically thanked us repeatedly for no reason at all – signifying a “Hey, we love photo ops and we’re going to be nice to you so you make us look good!” sort of mentality. Anyway, I’m glad I was able to make it work despite the story’s overall flaws.

--
I pick up writing from 25,000+ feet above the Arizona desert. It’s incredible. I’ve tried to take as many pictures as possible with my crappy point-and-shoot camera. I can’t begin to describe how cool/weird it all looks. I’ve never been through here, and we have a terrific day for sightseeing while flying - Clear skies, very few clouds, and a window seat looking south. I keep thinking as we fly over these endless mountains and valleys, “HOLY SHIT THAT’S AREA 51!” or “Goddamn, that’s where they blew up a few nukes”. I’ve also been wondering where Yucca Mountain is. Many of these mountains and such appear to have dirt roads traversing them. I keep getting images of the scene from “Grapes of Wrath” when the family is driving across the desert just trying to survive. Makes me realize how cool/advanced we are as a society to be just cruising along at 35,000 feet above the scorching desert. **Post-writing Addition – I spoke with my Mom once I landed in Hawaii, and she said the area around Phoenix is like the moon, but red – and I completely agree. It does appear similar!**

Anyway, enough of that. About my shift from Wednesday – I arrived with a couple of decent story ideas I hoped would work out. I pitched them all – Jen seemed to like them – but she told me about “this Gasconade County thing” that needed to be covered. After a very basic rundown of the story, she told me to call Nick Berardini to get the gist of it. So, I spoke with him about it, got the lowdown, and got a few names of people I should talk to about the story. Basically, these 2 county commissioners added $10,000 each to their salaries in 1999 and 2000, and got away with it. Several concerned citizens of the county found out about the extra money from a state audit in 2002 that said the extra pay was illegal. Another audit in 2006 said the same thing. So, these citizens sued in 2007 to try and recover the money. In 2008, in a Franklin County court (a Gasconade judge hearing the case in Franklin) the judge ruled the commissioners must pay back the extra money plus interest – also noting the commissioners’ clear guilt based on the evidence at trial. The commissioners appealed the ruling to the Missouri Court of Appeals (Eastern District) on the basis that Missouri’s 5-year statute of limitations outlaws the original ruling forcing them to pay back the money. The judge agreed, and overturned the first decision – meaning the commissioners were off the hook simply because, “You didn’t catch us in time” as one source told me.

It took me a while to fully grasp the details of the case, but it sounded very interesting from the getgo. As I drove out to Hermann, I called several people who told me more about the situation and who would be good to speak with on-camera. I arrived in Hermann and made my way to the Glenn Oaks Winery, home of Glenn Warnebold. Warnebold was originally on the side of the citizens, but changed his position after a period of time in which he “realized the facts of the case”, and began to support the commissioners. Nick told me not to talk to the commissioners, so I didn’t bother trying to contact them. I think in retrospect it would have been good to get their side of the story straight from them, but I was happy with how the story came out regardless. So, I enjoyed a quick tour of the winery and then hit the road. I shot a little bit of video in downtown Hermann, then went back to Columbia. One of the men I spoke with on the way to Hermann was Mike Jacquin, who has been heavily involved with the case on the side of the citizens. While he is a Gasconade County resident, he was in Columbia at Boone Hospital helping his brother with a surgery. We met outside the hospital and I just interviewed him there. I loved how my story had such polar opposite viewpoints – the “let’s play nice” view of Warnebold and the “Hell no, we won’t” of Jacquin.

When I got back to the station I had to take about half an hour to figure out how I could write the story in a way that was not too confusing or too full of legal jargon. I didn’t have much video to use, so we grabbed some of Nick’s file video from last year, which worked out well because he had footage of the commissioners. Kent was able to help me really boil down the issues to something people could understand. I went on-set for the 6 in the A block, which was fun, and then had a vo/sot for the 10.

I really enjoyed the story because it had so much controversy in it. It is just juicy-full of good stuff, and it’s still not over yet. I also thought the 2 men I spoke with, even with completely opposing viewpoints, were hilarious. They both said stuff I could not help but laugh at. I also enjoyed the legal exchanges involved in this story. Whether that’s an indication I should be a lawyer…I don’t know…But I had a good time reporting this story and I’d love to stay on it. Jacquin told me he would stay in touch with me and keep me posted on what happens.

Twitter annoyance

2009-06-20T16:30:00.003-05:00

I understand how useful it is. It really is - especially for going out to cover stuff and being able to let the station and our web site viewers or other Twitter users know what we're covering. I like that. But I dunno if it's just me, or what, but rarely do people talk to me on it. I try to "tweet" people or start conversations but no one responds. What's the point of doing it if no one really gives a crap about what I have to say? Maybe I'm just overthinking it, or my cranky mood is showing, but jeez...haha

Jumping into Fayette pool

2009-06-20T14:29:00.003-05:00

Sorry, I'm posting this late, but life kinda caught up to me. I had a fun shift on Wednesday covering the Fayette city pool. It's an extremely old, above-ground pool built in 1936 in serious need of renovations. I came in with a few other ideas, none of which were particularly interesting to me (1. Marshall school district's search for new elementary school site, and 2. heavy rain's impact on local wineries). Jen liked the pool idea since it was going to be unmercifully hot, and I agreed. It sounded like a fun/interesting story we hadn't covered before. So, I made a few calls to Fayette City Hall and, as is the case when doing stories outside of Columbia/Jefferson City, the people were much more helpful and willing to talk on-camera.

(Tangent warning): Wednesday was an absurdly busy day for reporters - it seemed packed with B2 people, VO patrollers, and such, so all of the KOMU Scions were taken by the time I was ready to leave. I got the idea to wrangle up the KOMU Ford Escape, and I managed to get the keys to it from Stacey, so I was excited to finally take it out for a spin. It's like the forbidden fruit of KOMU cars - everyone seems to want to take it for a story, but it's kept in the bullpen for use ONLY when necessary. Wednesday was my day, thankfully.

My thoughts on its driving performance: I liked sitting higher up than in the Scions. Definitely a little easier to see everything ahead and in general it had less blind spots than the stupid XBs. I think the fact it's a Ford helps our street cred when I drive into little towns I'm prone to cover stories in - honestly, I think people look at the Scions and say "What the hell is that?" They're way too edgy, "cool", and attention-seeking for my taste. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have station vehicles we can use, but if I had a choice I'd take the Escape. It felt a little more masculine and macho than the Scion.

Anyway, back to its performance. It reminded me a lot of my old Ford Focus...it had a very heavy gas pedal and a similar 4-cylinder engine. It was somewhat underpowered because anytime I wanted to pass or accelerate on i-70 it would downshift and strain to speed up. I'm not sure about its gas mileage but fueleconomy.gov says it's worse than the Scions, which is disappointing. Makes sense though because it was made in 2006, just before Ford started getting its act together about gas mileage. I liked the back window that opens up, so I don't have to swing open the entire back door to get gear out. Otherwise, it was a fun experience to take a different car, hopefully I can do it again sometime.

Anyway, back to the reporting shift. I arrived in Fayette and stopped at the pool first. I got lucky and found Jake Hendrix, the maintenance guy I spoke with on-camera, and he let me into the facility. I shot some video of the inside, where things would need work, and on the upper level, where the actual pool is. Then, I went to Fayette City hall to talk with the City Administrator. She was helpful and I managed to get some good soundbites. After that, I went back to the pool, since I was told lifeguards would be there. I spoke with the main lifeguard there, and shot a little more video around the pool. Then, I tried to shoot a standup showing the plaque dedicating the pool to WW1 veterans. I did it and I was happy with it, but it had to be 100 degrees inside the little room with the plaque. I was sweating buckets and even with my best attempts to wipe it off with a lone towel I found on the floor, I still looked funny. After I snagged some lunch at "240 Culinary" in Fayette (very good - I highly recommend it!) I headed back to Columbia.

I had a vo/sot for the 5, a package for the 6, and a vo/sot for the 10. I experienced no problems whatsoever once I got back to the station. I even stuck around for a little while after I was finished to experience some of the severe weather craziness at the station - always a good time to hear angry callers upset about not being able to watch "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!" It also felt safer to be at the station, surrounded by weather info, than in my apartment, on the top floor of its building. This was also the night the woman died in Finger Lakes Park from being struck by lightning, so the skies were pretty insane-looking.

Taking the Task Force to Task

2009-06-16T14:51:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I covered the first meeting of the Missouri Auto Jobs Task force in Jefferson City. I came into the station with a few weak ideas, my main one about the potential closing of "Lover's Leap" at the Lake of the Ozarks. But, since the weather was so bizarre yesterday, Stacey and I agreed it would be tough to do that story without being able to see the view that makes this "Lover's Leap" so popular. With all the other reporters out on flood/accident/fire coverage stemming from the weather, I took that assignment. It sounded interesting anyway - I'm a car geek and I figured it would be intriguing to hear what the Task Force was up to. I got to the meeting, held in the Governor Office Building (not his house, or the Capitol - this building is on Madison St.) a few minutes after it began. It was a much smaller meeting than I expected. There were about 8 or 9 government/industry/representative people in the room with one other reporter. I didn't use the lav mic at all and just relied on the boom mic. It picked up audio fairly well even with no speakers and a somewhat loud ventilation system, and I used several bites from the meeting where I just happened to be filming when people said interesting things. For instance, the Ford Motor Company representative spoke about centralized manufacturing plants, and I happened to be recording when he mentioned that. Same for the GM rep - right when I hit record, he was talking about how the company plans to start making a small, fuel-efficient car in the U.S. in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Tennessee. Otherwise, it was pretty standard BOPSA video, but I knew that would be something to work around.

I hit the road over to Mike Kehoe's Ford dealership in Jefferson City since much of the meeting dealt with Ford's interaction with state and local governments. I figured it would be good to get someone from the dealership to talk to, and get some of their cars on camera. I shot some video of the cars currently made in Ford's Kansas City plant, and then some video of the ones made outside of Missouri - i.e. the small, fuel efficient cars that could be made in MO if "plant retooling" occurs with help from the state. I shot a standup in front of those - the Focuses and Fusions - and later spoke with Mike Kehoe himself on camera about the Task Force ideas. He was surprisingly friendly to me and understandably so since he is a relatively public figure in Jefferson City and in transportation politics of Missouri. I figured I had enough to make a good package - for me, this topic was really interesting, so even if it wasn't humanized as much as it could have been (i.e. by finding a Mid-Mo parts supplier who might be affected by some of the Task Force's ideas) I was still happy with what I had. It felt much more NEWS and TODAY than some of the stories I've done, so I didn't mind the lack of humanization in the story. Throw in the economic impact, and I think it sort of makes up for the abundance of talking heads in the story.

I enjoyed a pretty easy Monday, preparing just a package for the 6 and a vo/sot/vo for the 10. Both aired in the A blocks.
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Interesting sidenote to my experience at the Kehoe dealership... When I first got there, it was raining very heavily. So, I did my best to finagle a plastic bag and umbrella out of the showroom so I could shoot some video outside without destroying the camera. As I was walking around, an old Pontiac coupe drove into the parking lot with some guy in the passenger seat and a woman driving. The man waved at me as they went past, and me being the "polite TV man" I waved back. I saw the man get out of the car and it was obvious he had some disability as he was using a walker to get around, yet didn't appear too old.

By this time, the rain was torrential and I stood underneath the back door of the KOMU Scion to stay under cover. The woman who drove him walked him up to the door into the dealership holding an umbrella over his head while she got soaked. I was very confused. The rain subsided a bit and I went inside. I overheard conversation between a saleswoman and the man, apparently he wanted to test drive a Lincoln Town Car. I didn't think much of it and kept doing my thing - shooting video and being a good reporter. I went back outside as the weather cleared up suddenly, and shot a standup. I saw the man get into the Town Car with his woman, and I saw them drive off, again, didn't think much of it.

I shot my standup, and when I went back inside the dealership, I heard one of the managers answer his phone inside his office, listen for a moment, shout a few commands and say "I'LL BE RIGHT OVER", and hang up. He came out of his office, visibly angry, looking for the saleswoman who let the semi-disabled man man test drive a $46,000+ car. He said quite loudly, "That man you let out in the Lincoln? Just got broadsided by the Papa Johns!" The rest of what they said was inconsequential, but I was just surprised that stuff like that actually happens - someone going out for a test drive in an expensive luxury vehicle and getting into an accident. I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but the way the man behaved walking into the dealership (by that I mean his body language, conversation, physical appearance, etc) he did NOT seem fit to drive. On the other hand, he had a valid drivers' license and insurance, so he was perfectly within his rights to take the car out for a drive. I guess it goes as one salesman said to me yesterday after the incident, "It's tough, but we gotta let em drive." And I'd imagine dealerships have a ton of insurance for this very purpose. Plus, I believe your insurance is liable if the accident is your fault when using a car like that.

Cole Camp-ing: June 10

2009-06-11T17:03:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday, I covered Cole Camp's reaction to the triple homicide inside the home of the Luetjen family. I came into KOMU with 3 completely unrelated story ideas - I pitched the missing alligator story, the new Fulton vandalism, and a follow-up to the story I did in Glasgow over spring break. We were leaning towards the alligator story but no one offered to take the Cole Camp story, and understandably so. I figured I'd take it but I had no idea how to cover the story. Chance Seales did a good job covering it the night before when it was publicized, and he passed along several emails with shocking (yet unconfirmed by officials) details about the crime. I felt this made my job tougher - to have to get through the grisly details to get a story. By the time we (I had another shadow with me) arrived at the crime scene, we had a pretty good idea of how we wanted to cover the story - more on local reaction. There was very little new information available besides law enforcement officials calling it a triple homicide, so we had to take the humanized route and talk to a lot of Cole Camp residents.

So, when we got to the house, police tape surrounded it while a "mobile investigations unit" was set up outside the home. Several sheriff's department vehicles and Cole Camp Police cars were outside too. As we approached, an officer came up to us to get our names and who we were with. I guess they were keeping tabs on everyone who came - I don't know if that's standard procedure or not, but I found that interesting. He told us we could not go beyond the police tape, and understandably so. The house's location and surroundings were really good for video. It had some flowers out front with an American flag on it, with a church and playground across the street - providing an interesting visual paradox with the crime scene yellow tape. The officer on the scene would not comment on anything (as all other officials would do during our shift) so we really had no official source. We shot some video and left, and as we drove down the street we saw an old lady walking out to get her mail. We stopped and began talking to her - she was happy to talk to us on-camera, and she gave us some good bites. We then went to get some gas for the car, and while I gassed up I spoke with the station's owner. He said Donnie Luetjen would come into the gas station nearly every day to get gas. Next door, at the Dairy Hut, we found several interesting characters who all knew the family. One man we found was good friends with Donnie Luetjen. All the people we spoke with had their suspicions on the details of the crime - i.e. the perpetrator, but naturally we didn't want to "go there" on-camera and such. I shot a standup in the downtown area to try and show the quaint nature of Cole Camp. Otherwise there wasn't much to it. I didn't have much to show. Then we hit the road back.

We did an A-block vo/sot/vo for the 5, then an on-set A-block package for the 6. Then, a vo/sot/vo for the 10 with an update saying there would be a news conference at 10am Thursday for officials to give more details. I had a lot of help from my shadow, KOMU alum Holly (not Edgell...not sure what her last name is) whose experience at KFVS in Cape Girardeau was really helpful for my writing. She was also helped me out a lot with synthesizing the information and making our trip into a good package. Overall, while it was a sad/disturbing story, I thought I did a pretty good job. I also did a much better job of time management, making sure I was back to the station by about 1:50pm, so I wasn't pressed for time. I thought my on-set went very well - no complaints about it, and the mic worked this time, so it felt like a rousing success. But, apparently I have no idea how to put on makeup. I need help with that. I'd love to get one of those professional makeup stylists to do my makeup before a show to save me the trouble...oh well...Not something I take too seriously, I guess, haha.

Tuberculosis comes through in the clutch

2009-06-09T19:33:00.002-05:00

So yesterday, Monday, I pitched the story of a kid in Camdenton who won a car as a reward for his excellent attendance at Lake Career Technical Center. We decided to go with this story, so I called the LCTC and spoke with a woman who said she would pass along my info to the supervisor of the place, who apparently would be available mid-morning. She also said she would give my information to the instructor at LCTC who refurbished the spiffy 2007 Pontiac G6 as part of a mechanic training class. So, I left KOMU for the hour and 40 minute drive with the understanding I would be getting a phone call. I did not receive one, and when I pulled into the LCTC I called the number again. The same woman answered and told me very matter-of-factly that the supervisor would be "unavailable", the mechanic instructor at home, and no one else in the building because of summer hours. Needless to say, I was not pleased. With no chance to contact the kid who won the car, and the unhelpful secretary denying any opportunity to speak with an official, I was pretty much SOL. I knew the "escaped" alligator in Versailles was a possibility as a backup story, but the producers didn't want to do it, so I headed back to Columbia.

I spoke with Stacey while driving back and he said he found an AP release on the "economic stress index", a measure of economic output in every county in the U.S. When I got back to the station I began to prowl around iNews for a link to the graphic/interactive map, but I couldn't find it. So, I spent about 45 minutes calling several AP numbers to figure it out, and finally a customer service rep emailed me the link - but by that point, we received a fax in the newsroom about a press conference at University Hospital with very vague wording - to the point that Randy thought something serious was going on, and to an extent, he was right. With a feeling it could be Swine Flu/H1N1, we (I had a shadow with me all day) immediately went up to the Hospital. We hung out in the conference room for a little while (as once again KMIZ showed up last) and every MU J-School affiliate was well represented. KBIA, KOMU, and the Missourian all were there about a half hour before the presser began! It began and we were given folders with the official writeup of what had happened - a hospital worker contracted "active" tuberculosis and had apparently been in contact with patients and other employees while carrying the disease. I immediately Tweeted the news to KOMU and sent a similar text to Meredith Miller - the only producer I had in my phone. She sent me back a few questions she wanted to know as a producer, which was excellent. I liked being on the same page at the same time we were in the presser. The other journalists in the room were on the same page, as they asked very similar questions to what Meredith wanted to know. There was basically no video at all to get besides the geezers talking in the press conference, so we booked it back to KOMU as the presser ended.

Once we got back, it was really easy to write a reader/gfx for the 5, a vo/sot/gfx for the 6, and a vo/sot for the 10. I had a lot of help from the producers, so it went well. Overall it was a crazy shift but it ended up going well, and I'm happy I had a lot of help to make it work. All 3 aired in the A blocks.

"you're not saving anybody's life"

2009-06-06T16:19:00.003-05:00

In our B3 meeting/lecture/roundtable yesterday (I call it that because it's technically a lecture, but it's so informal that it feels more like a meeting/roundtable) we discussed and viewed good/bad/ugly live shots. I may be on my own in this, but I think "going live for the sake of going live" is a good thing. Having reported in live shots, and set up live shots as the truck operator, I think it provides an important link in a newscast. Yeah, it might be completely worthless standing in the dark as a "floating head", but to me, that means you need to be more creative. Show me something worth flipping to from the studio - even if it's a sign or some sort of "scenic" backdrop (i.e. field, stadium, building, traffic). It can sometimes appear cheesy, but I like the aspect of "Hey, we ARE out in the community paying attention to things that are going on." As a reporter, I enjoy them because it gives me a lot of face time and a chance to show either my personality, or show something related to the story in more detail than I would be able to in the studio. Does the fact I enjoy it for face time detract from the journalistic quality? Perhaps.

I can see the argument both ways. With our training, I feel we're pretty apt to not let our personalities overshadow a story. The challenge comes for inexperienced live reporters who get nervous and stick strictly to a script, or get nervous from "YOU'RE ON LIVE TV. GO!!!" For me, that nervousness doesn't happen. Yes, the adrenalin kicks in, but I love that.

I attribute the fun of it to a line I heard several years ago (circa 2005) from Mike Quick, the high school sports producer, reporter, and anchor from MSG Network in New York. He taught the "advanced" section of the "Bruce Beck and Ian Eagle Sports Broadcasting Camp" in NJ. To this day, there are VERY few people who scare the living bejeezus out of me, and he is one of them. He's probably 6'5", 250 pounds, and as intense as Tom Coughlin. Anyway, we were doing on-camera exercises as a group. One person messed up, and Quick had him do it again. His advice? He spoke slowly, staring each one of us in the eye: "Calm down. It's just TV. You're not saving anybody's life here. You're not a surgeon, a doctor, a soldier, or a cop. It's JUST TV."

And that's how I look at it. Live shots help me, as a reporter, keep perspective on our jobs.

A jarring crime

2009-06-04T17:44:00.005-05:00

Someone in the Sedalia area thought it would be cool to steal a donation jar from a convenience store, the Cork'N Bottle. The jar was meant for the family of Diana Bryce, an employee of the Cork'N Bottle who passed away suddenly a few days before. Security camera video showed the man enter the store, ask the clerk for minnows (live bait), and as the clerk had her back turned, he grabs the jar and runs out the door. I heard about this on the Sedalia Democrat's website after noticing it was one of the most-viewed/emailed/commented articles on its site. I figured it'd be a good story since no one in Columbia had covered it, and it would be a definite gawker/"Oh my God, how terrible" story. Of course, I considered finding the family of the woman, but I felt that might be too sensationalistic or intrusive for a sensitive time. But, we were able to make the story work with an interview with a woman from the Cork'N Bottle and a Sedalia Police Detective. When I met the detective, she told me she'd be able to give me a copy of the security camera video, which was fantastic for the story because it showed how dastardly and despicable the man could be - his body language when stealing the jar demonstrated he clearly wanted it and had every intention of spending the money from the jar. It also seemed like he knew he was doing something wrong by running out of the store. In retrospect, I'm shocked at how dumb this guy was too - the security cameras are quite visible within the store, and he's a moron for stealing it in plain sight of the cameras. I think it was fair on our part to call it a "cowardly" crime - unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances, everyone agrees that it's not right to steal a donation jar. This was a really easy story to write, and with a long ride back from Sedalia I had plenty of time to think of what I wanted to use.

I had no idea when I got back to the station that I was supposed to do an on-set. It didn't go well because my mic was not cued in the booth. It cut into time I would have liked to use to write/cut/voice my package. But altogether I was happy with my shift. The 5 and 6 story aired in the A block, while the 10 vo/sot aired in the B block.

Wi-fi jobs

2009-06-02T20:30:00.002-05:00

On Monday, I reported on the Wi-Fi Sensors Inc. company's announcement that it will buy a plant in Kirksville to begin manufacturing, you guessed it, wi-fi sensors. It's big news for an area that has been hit hard lately by unemployment. While Adair County's unemployment rate is lower than Missouri's average, it has shot up in recent months, so the prospect of about 100 new jobs meant a busy day at the Missouri Career Center in Kirksville. I pitched the idea and Stacey liked it - and I had no problem making the drive to Kirksville. Even if it's not quite within our viewing area, it's still news for people in Moberly, Macon, or other towns within commuting distance to Kirksville.

I must have made about 25 phone calls while on the way to Kirksville. I was surprised to lose cell phone service several times on 63 between Columbia and the Sturgeon exit - to the point I lost a call - but I was able to gather a lot of information about the best place to go for the story. While at the station, one source I spoke with mentioned the company selling the building, Hollister, was very weird about media coverage. He said the plant manager skipped town once it was announced Wi-Fi Sensors would buy the building, and they've been "unavailable" for comment all weekend. So my plan was to go to the Missouri Career Center and see if people were applying for the jobs to try and humanize the story that way. Since the Hollister building is on 63 right as you come into Kirksville, I got a wide shot and some sign shots from the outer edge of its property. We (I had a shadow with me) drove into their parking lot and I went inside to try and find someone to talk to, but no one from either Wi-Fi or Hollister answered my calls.

So, we hit the road to the Career Center on Normal St. When we arrived, I was shocked to see how many people were inside waiting to fill out applications. But, Wi-Fi had not given the Career Center applications, so all it could do is have interested people leave their names and contact information, and they'd be contacted once the applications came in. So we walked in and pretty much found a CCC immediately - a guy who was looking for a new job and who claimed to be very passionate about electronics. He mentioned that he had taken apart an iPod, a TV, computers, and several other things, so I pretty much knew he'd make for a great CCC and humanizer. I also interviewed several other people - the supervisor of the Career Center, who talked about how busy the day was, and 2 older women who wanted to apply. The 2 women didn't say anything very poignant or interesting - I'm guessing they were nervous about the camera because they gave very short answers even though I really tried to ask easy, open-ended questions. Eventually we left the Career Center and headed back towards Columbia. I shot a standup on the sidewalk across from the Hollister building because I didn't want to be on their property without permission. I didn't want to get in trouble for trespassing when it was obvious the company, for whatever reason, didn't want attention or coverage. And since I had already gotten a few shots from its property, I didn't want to risk any more.

After that, we headed back to Columbia. Everything was pretty routine once back at the station. I was the "new at 6" and just had to do a package for it, and a vo/sot for the 10. I was very happy with how the shift went. For a story that was somewhat odd in that I had no one from the companies involved on camera, I was able to humanize it enough to make it a lot more interesting than it would have been if I had some talking head from Wi-Fi or Hollister. Both aired in the A block.

May 27 - Rummaging for a Story

2009-05-28T15:36:00.008-05:00

I had a few interesting story ideas, but we couldn't find a way to spin them into a story, so I began looking at something Jen suggested, which was a story on how a Boonville health clinic received an $80,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health while its doctor was supposedly on probation with the State Health board (I could not confirm this - we received this in a tip from a viewer, so I had no way of verifying it in time to turn the story in a day). The doctor also received notoriety in October 2008 throughout Mid-MO for losing her license to prescribe controlled substances like Oxycodone. So naturally, it brings up questions for us to see a doctor with this kind of a record receiving grant money. A call to the Missouri Foundation for Health resulted in me leaving a long voicemail for their spokesperson, and a few hours later receiving a long voicemail explaining that the organization is "investigating" how the grant was given to the doctor's clinic (Dancing Horizons) while issuing a "no comment" on the other aspects of the story. Jen and I agreed it would be better to do this story as an HFR, since it's clearly interesting but it needs more time to seek out. There's also no true "today" angle to it since the clinic received the grant in early May. So, the best we could find was the Rummage sale coming up on Saturday.

I went out to shoot some video and interview people there. I found several people who could speak on camera and they said some good stuff - worthy of making a package out of it. Upon returning to KOMU, the producers and I discussed going live at 5 and 6 - which sounded cool to me, so I was all for it. I cut a SOT for the 5 and 6, scripted a reader, and headed up to Memorial Stadium for the live shot. Since I'd already done a live shot before (speeding ticket story), it didn't feel too wild or crazy. I think my 6 shot went better than the 5 because I had it planned out better. Instead of grabbing something next to me to show on-camera, I simply held what I considered a good pair of shoes and showed how much they were for sale when the shot came to me. I was glad that we had SOMETHING to show - so our live shot was not worthless. I'd say I learned on-the-fly that keeping it simple for a live shot, and being able to show SOMETHING, are really important to a successful shot.

Upon getting back to the station I cut a package, which was pretty easy. It was shorter than the 1:10 I was given (about :53), but I think it's always easier for the anchors and producers to finish light than finish heavy. Plus, sports or weather always want extra time, so for a pretty weak story I was happy to have squeezed this much out of it. It felt very applicable to how Jack Nicholson quotes John Lennon in The Departed, "I'm an artist [or journalist, in my case]. You give me a f!@#$%^ tuba [pronounced 'toober'], I'll getcha somethin' out of it."

The 5 and 6 versions aired in the A block, with a live headline for each at the beginning of the show. The package for the 10 was in the B block.

I really need to find some good story ideas for next week.

Reflection on 5/25 shift

2009-05-26T17:12:00.002-05:00

What began for me as a slow news day ended as an interesting but very emotionally tough shift. In the story meeting, I wasn't sure what I could really do besides Memorial Day events, and an MU Baseball NCAA tournament selection show watch party. I went with the watch party idea, but upon arriving there, we found Chris Gervino was already there and had plans to cover it, so we had to go with something else. I ended up going to cover the arrival of the "Missing in America Project" motorcycle riders in Kingdom City. I thought it was a pretty cool event and story - a different way to pay tribute to fallen veterans on Memorial Day. Basically, the group finds deceased veterans who never received a formal military burial. They were transporting 3 cremains from California to Arlington National Cemetery in Northern Virginia, and stopped in Kingdom City to refuel and grab a bite to eat. I felt I shot some good video and interviewed some interesting people, so I was pleased with what I had going back to the station. It was very easy to write a vo/sot for the 5, a package for the 6, and another vo/sot for the 10 because I felt I had plenty of good video and enough of a story to tell with what I found. I'd say the biggest thing I learned on Monday was to ALWAYS PUT THE PROPER GRAPHIC TIMES IN iNEWS!!!! I got chewed out in the post-newscast meeting, and rightfully so because my times were about 8-9 seconds off. There's no excuse for that out of me, and I was frustrated. I had cut that amount of video out of the original sequence after I voiced it, and never went back to change the times even after printing a copy for the director. Naturally, I was pretty annoyed with myself for not properly scripting it. Also, I used "Hwy" instead of "Highway" in the 5's vo/sot locator - something I specifically checked for and confirmed as correct in the iNews script tips and during the Tiger Chair check, but apparently we got it wrong. This was also very frustrating for me, because I felt I did all the right things as a reporter to check, double-check, and check with someone else before it aired, but I (not anyone else, these mistakes are totally on me at the end of the day) still got it wrong.

As I wrote above I found it to be an emotionally trying shift. I felt fine all the way up until when I sat down and began to write my web story when I was able to reflect on the day. Since it was Memorial Day, and we aired an incredibly moving Honor Flight story, the magnitude of what I covered started to hit home. I found the notion that hundreds of motorcyclists were riding across the country in convoy to transport 3 honored, but forgotten soldiers' cremains to be really touching. Combine that with the Honor Flight story, and the faucets began running, so to speak, in my eyes. I found this link on the "Missing in America Project" blog, and I really lost it. So many people have died serving their country yet no one knows their stories, their families, their sacrifices and heroism, and it's my role as a journalist to seek out those people. That's what was tough for me - the incredible, sometimes unfulfillable burden we have to convey this realm to people. I felt my story, and the Honor Flight story, were a valiant attempt at seeking that grain of truth. It took me a few hours and a long phone conversation with my Mom to really accept and acknowledge this.

All 3 stories aired in the A blocks of the 5 (A-10), 6 (A-10), and 10 (A-18). http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/79fcf367-80ce-0971-0125-0bcc01ff7598

confusion

2009-05-24T15:24:00.002-05:00

OK, so I've been using Twitter a lot since Friday when I opened my account. But I don't understand what the hell any of these acronyms or special symbols do - I know what # and @ do, but what is RT?

Selling out, or staying on the curve?

2009-05-24T11:21:00.002-05:00

I was very anti-Twitter for a long time, and to an extent I still think it's dumb. But I created an account and I've spent some time on it. It's okay, I feel I've seen bigger technological or social networking breakthroughs (Facebook, to me, is still king), but I understand the reality we're in where everyone needs to know what's going on at all times. I feel like I've sold out and lost some of my personality (i.e. being original and against the popular thing), but at the same time, it's interesting. I can't knock it anymore!

I'd say in the last 24 hours I've overhauled my internet accessibility:

I'm creating a Flickr account now - should I upgrade to the bigger account? I have a lot more pictures I'd like to put online. I like how the pictures seem to be optimized. The quality is a lot better than Facebook's picture area.

I updated my KOMU Social Networking page. I'd like to see that area grow - it'd be nice to get more viewers on there and interact with them more.

I've added a Twitter feed to this page, as well as KOMU headlines.

A week ago I acquired a Blackberry. Since then, I've added the Facebook app and synced it with my contacts, so those with Facebook have their profile pictures show up on their contact page. I've also synced the Blackberry with Blogger and Twitter, so I can update stuff from the road. Long overdue, I guess.

2009-05-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

Headed to see Star Trek with Travis. Hope it's as good as everyone says!

Chillin' at the Capitol

2009-04-26T20:58:00.007-05:00

This past Friday I fired up the Acura for an extra-credit trip down Highway 63 to Jefferson City. It involved meeting with Phil Brooks, the Missouri School of Journalism's political guru, and taking in some inside-access of the Capitol. I left very early from Columbia assuming we had to be there at 12:15, but really, I messed up my schedule so I didn't need to be there until 2. So when I got to the Capitol, I tried to get into Brooks' office but the door was locked. I moseyed around the 1st floor and checked out some of the interesting historical displays. After giving him about 30 minutes, I left to get lunch at a great New York-style pizza place in Jefferson City, "Kate and Ally's". I've been there before with a friend of mine, and it's pretty good. It's not quite full-legit NY Pizza, but it's definitely the best I've had in Mid-Mo since Columbia's "NY Pizza" closed last spring - the place attached to the former Athena nightclub.

So after lunch I returned to the Capitol and promptly met up with Brooks. We waited around in his office while other B2ers slowly filtered in. Once everyone had arrived, we were off to return a legislative journal that Brooks "borrowed" from the Senate Secretary. Brooks told us that his little newsroom operation was the only oen of its kind in a state capitol - something I definitely believe. I haven't spent much time in other Capitols but I know for certain that Trenton, New Jersey and Albany, New York are MUCH less accessible to the media. Brooks also showed us MDN - Missouri Digital News - and all its amazing information. It seems like an incredibly valuable resource for political reporters.

After looking at the newsroom and getting the others acquainted with the building, we went to the Senate debate chamber. I had no idea we could not shoot video in the Senate without prior approval - in which we must register with the Senate Majority Leader, in this case, now Kevin Engler. Brooks explicitly said that men must wear a coat and tie while in the Senate chambers - another good dress code issue to know. He made the point that there is always a Christian pre-debate prayer that everyone must participate in, regardless of their religion. Another important rule I did not know was that legislators cannot refer to each other by name - instead, they must say "the gentleman from the 18th district" and such when trying to single one out.

After stopping to chat in the Senate room, we moved on to see the House chambers - an area I've been before both for KOMU and for a Political Science class. Brooks reemphasized that reporters must shoot video from the side galleries. Reporters also cannot enter the debate floor.

We then looked at the Senate lounge - the room with the awesome mural, before going downstairs to the committee meeting rooms. Brooks had us find the XLR connections in the rooms so that we know where to set up audio cables if we have to cover a meeting in one of those rooms. Since we were on the ground level, we proceeded out through the garage (where Brooks would later tell us he learned of the late Governor Mel Carnahan's death) and found the parking spot for KOMU - a spot I have been to!

I chatted with Brooks after the tour "ended" just out of curiosity about dealing with Missouri politics - he had previously mentioned that former Govs. Holden and Blunt were terrible at dealing with the media, so I was curious why/how those administrations were not open with the media, and what he thinks of Governor Nixon's accessibility now.

School violence in 1927

2009-04-19T16:09:00.003-05:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103186662

I stumbled onto an interesting NPR StoryCorps story about a school bombing in Michigan in 1927. A man angry about property taxes being used for public schools decided to plant dynamite in the basement of the town's school - killing 38 students, 45 people in total. The man was the caretaker of the school building and had access to many of the underground areas. The StoryCorps piece features two of the bombing's survivors. You can tell by their voices they're VERY old but the memory of the bombing remains fresh to these two men. I've always liked the StoryCorps pieces because they let the interview subjects express a lot of emotion. They're incredibly powerful at letting people tell stories without much interference from an anchor or reporter.

I also like that these stories generally tend to coincide with a bigger issue; in this case, the tenth anniversary of the Columbine shootings, so it's fascinating to find out that violence at schools is not a recent phenomenon.

As far as newsgathering process goes, I haven't had any shifts since Spring Break. I need to sign up for one more (easy to fit in the schedule!) so I'm not worried about coming up with some good story ideas in the meantime. Plenty has been going on, too, with state lawmakers in action in Jefferson City, spring weather, and upcoming high school spring sport championships.

Excellent Journalism...

2009-03-30T17:58:00.002-05:00

I've lagged in writing about excellent journalism. My apologies.

I caught a great story on Nightly News about "bird strike" data and airplanes. Here's the link:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I thought this was a great example of "computer-assisted" reporting (it seems all reporting we do now is computer-assisted) but computer-assisted in how the data was used. I'm in David Herzog's computer-assisted reporting class, and this story really reminded me of some of the assignments we've done in that class. I enjoyed how the reporter compared the massive spike in bird strikes from 1990 to 2007; clearly this is not an easy category to find data on, especially as we've seen in his class, it's difficult to pinpoint certain things when there is no uniform standard for that data. Since the system in place is a "voluntary" reporting of bird strikes, descriptions of a bird strike can vary. One could say "hit birds in path" or "struck flock" and, for the most part, they mean the same thing to the general public. I also get the sense it would be pretty difficult to find data on the bird strikes, as I would imagine the FAA might try and claim their privacy for national security reasons. In addition, to have found 166 emergency landings because of bird strikes is a nice job of reporting, too. I think Tom Costello's note in his standup that "only 20% of bird strikes are ever reported" is very interesting, because he highlights my point above - that even if the bird strikes are voluntarily reported, they can vary in description. And, it makes us question how common these bird strikes really are. Is the "mechanical problem" delaying my flight caused by a goose in the engine? Too many feathers in the flaps? Wonderful to consider, especially when my parents are flying out here this week.

My next story, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/25/60minutes/main4891800.shtml, details the observations of Frank Devine, who produced the interviews with Barack Obama on 60 Minutes. I thought this article was very interesting because we never really hear about the producer's role in high-profile interviews like that. We also learn that this producer, an experienced vet of the field, had met with Obama before and kept a good rappoire with his communications staff. I liked that he was able to stay above the drama of an interview and remain objective in trying to fulfill his role as a media watchdog. He understands that President Obama is not immune to criticism or tough questions. I liked how he characterized the president as "He still has a way of engaging you while simultaneously observing the scene as if from afar. It's a kind of detachment that is common among writers." I've never read that before about Obama, and it makes perfect sense. I think that sort of perspective - being in the moment but remembering the bigger picture about an interview subject - is what gives Devine a good reputation in the field.

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Newsgathering/Reflection

As I dry up the tears I left in last week's blog post (just kidding) I feel the remainder of the week went very well. Thursday, I arrived at KOMU with the plan to do a story on rising (again, unfortunately) gas prices. But, Lauren Whitney was Assignment Chair for the morning shift and she had a press release from the Governor's office regarding a bill signing. It seemed more pressing and doable than my vague gas prices story idea. Me being a political geek, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to be in the same room as Jay Nixon. I headed down to Jefferson City, managed to find the KOMU parking spot outside the Capitol, and lugged the equipment into the luxurious Governor's office on the 2nd floor. I got there with plenty of time to set up the gear. It was a pretty standard political event - staged speeches, a reaction speech from the opposing party sponsor, and a brief Q&A from the present media. I didn't ask any questions because I had no need to, but some of the beat reporters were grilling Nixon on the "Militia report". It was very interesting give-and-take, as Nixon would respond with a generic, political "This was not my doing, this was the previous administration's, and I support all law-enforcement methods provided they are legal" while facing some tough questions, not the least of which came from the J-School's Phil Brooks. Brooks essentially got him to admit that he condoned the report in body language and non-verbal communication, but on the record, "against" the militia report.

As the press conference ended, I followed some of the beat writers outside of the governor's office where they were interviewing a state Senator. After they were done, I figured he might be useful to the story for a soundbite (as he was from the Republican party but still supported the bill). I asked him 2 questions but didn't use them since the lighting in the hallway was bad, and I didn't really frame him on-camera very well.

I then wandered the halls of the Capitol for a little while, trying to figure out where to go from there with the story. I found my way into the House chamber, where session was just beginning. It turned out that the Kirksville state championship wrestling team was going to be honored for their victory, so in case I needed another story, I interviewed the 2 state champions and shot some b-roll of them being honored on the floor of the House. I never ended up getting to use it, but I'm glad I had a backup in case my bill-signing story went to the crapper. I decided to take a break for lunch, so in the downtime I had while standing on line at seemingly the only decent lunch place close to the Capitol, I spoke with the dayside producer, and she told me to try and get some reaction from anyone. I told her it would be difficult because the law was a unanimously passed, bipartisan bill, so it'd be very difficult to find someone against the law. She advised that the state treasurer would be a good place to look, so I went back to the Capitol and went to Clint Zweifel's office. Taking a total shot-in-the-dark, I asked the secretary if he would be available for an interview during the afternoon.

I went back to the car and shot a standup outside of the Capitol. It was a pretty worthless standup - I'm not showing the viewer anything besides my squinting face. By the time I was finished, I miraculously got a call-back from the Treasurer's office telling me he could meet me in 20 minutes. I told them that would be perfect, and went up to his office. His media relations organizer was very helpful and had me into his office within minutes. Zweifel was very cool, calm, collected and seemed at ease in describing the new law's affect on the state treasury. I did my best to make small talk with him off-camera to try and loosen him up, but he seemed very well-oiled at speaking in soundbites. Obviously, that makes our job a little easier, but at the same time, they're not authentic answers. Overall he was very accessible and helpful to putting together the story.

It really helped to have his soundbites for the VOSots and package. I had very little in the way of storytelling video (aka almost nothing!), so to have numerous bites from various officials was good for the reality of finishing the story. I liked what I was able to do for the story, I think it would have been incredibly difficult to do more with it on such short time. I also enjoyed the Jefferson City experience - being in the same room as Gov. Nixon was fun, and seeing him go back and forth with reporters was very interesting too.
---
I had another dayside reporting shift for the next day, Friday. I arrived with the same story idea from the previous day, rising gas prices. But, as with the previous day, I was handed a press release and told to go to that story. This time, it was a factory adding (!) jobs in Glasgow, MO. I was immediately up for it, as I love any story outside of Columbia. The only [slight] problem was that the event was scheduled for later in the day when we had to have it in for the 6pm newscast. So, I called the people in charge and asked if they would be OK with having me come earlier in the day to interview them and shoot some video - they were fine with it.

I got to Glasgow and discovered that it's a town in transition. In a town of roughly 1,500 people, its lost jobs from the weak economy while its bridge crossing the Missouri river, a thoroughfare to other towns, has been demolished and a new one is slowly built in its place. Meanwhile, the little downtown has a major railroad spur going through it and the buildings are all full of unique, bizarre little shops and restaurants. I would later dine at one of these fine establishments.

So for the story, I found it to be very interesting. The previous ownership of the factory had apparently laid everyone off, so in swept a new owner determined to keep the factory alive and active in the community. The plant once employed 350 people, but at its initial closing, it had less than 40 people at work. It re-opened with about 15 workers, then grew to its current size of about 50 workers. So, to be in good condition in tough economic times was very interesting. I interviewed the new owner, and several employees, and they had some candid remarks about what it was like to have their jobs axed in a small town heavily reliant on industry.

I got some good video too of the people at work sewing sleeping bags and blankets. It was very easy to shoot in sequences, since the workers were doing the same thing all day. It reminded me almost EXACTLY of the corn-cob pipe video we worked with in B1! Except of course, this in high-definition!

It was very easy to make a package out of it, and to have a VoSOT for the 10. Anyway, I've written too much and have to get off my computer.

Spring Break: Columbia, MO

2009-03-25T12:08:00.004-05:00

I'm hanging out in a coffee place in South Columbia right now because my internet stopped working at home. The router is on the other side of the duplex, and it's locked, so I'm SOL for now. I've had a fun few days of PA announcing for Mizzou Baseball and various shifts at KOMU. Mizzou Baseball won a big series against Texas A&M over the weekend and had a chance to complete the sweep on Sunday but fell short. They lost last night to Illinois-Chicago (very bad loss) and have a chance to redeem themselves this afternoon against the Flames. Should be very interesting. Meanwhile, I've been SLOWLY recovering from a terrible sinus infection - more on that later.

As for my KOMU shifts, I started the week on Monday with a VO Patrol. I had a few story ideas, but upon getting to KOMU I realized they had already been covered. After the story meeting, I found a story about the Missouri River Regional Library receiving a grant to update its website. I arranged an interview with the library's manager, and it seemed fairly straightforward. After I got off the phone, Randy Reeves came up to me with a press release about a "DECA" conference in Lake Ozark - basically, a big gathering of high school students with an interest in marketing and business. It sounded good to me - I didn't have anything else to do that day, and I was 100% up for a drive to the Lake. Randy also mentioned that the newscasts would be very light, so the more I can get, the better. I figured it would be an interesting story to at least talk to students and see how they feel about their efforts as the economy sags. I figured it would be a better story than the library grant, so I called the manager back and apologized, saying that something had come up and we had to try for another day. So, I gathered the gear and hit the road. As with most trips to the Lake, it was a nice drive but I was bummed that I lost reception on 1580 (ESPN Radio)!

The trip took me down US-54 into the Lake region. I drove across the Bagnell Dam, which I've never seen before, so it was pretty cool. The whole drive was pretty spectacular as well with elevation changes, curves, plenty of foliage, etc. I'd never really been into the heart of the Lake's tourist areas, so this was a good opportunity to check it out. The main drag on Business loop 54 through Lake Ozark reminded me a lot of a combination of the Jersey Shore and Laconia, New Hampshire. Plenty of kitsch and riff-raff but most likely a lot of fun for everyone. I'll have to get down there this summer to experience it in its full glory. But I digress.

I arrived at the Lodge at Four Seasons, and found my way inside. The media contact, Chris Young, was a recent Mizzou grad and he showed me around - overall he was very helpful. Here's what was going on: students would be given a scenario and X amount of time to come up with a proposal or presentation on what they would do, then present it to various professionals from the business world. Their proposals would be judged, with the best groups or individual presentations earning a trip to the National conference in California. Entering the hotel, I was shocked at how many high schoolers were there. Kids from every corner of the state were dressed up in "professional" attire. Chris Young took me to a room where students would be presenting, so I set up in there and shot some video of different groups presenting their proposals. I thought my video was pretty good - it could have used some extra light, but I really liked my cutaways and sequences. It wasn't the most visually-appealing story to tell, but I was able to get plenty of people in it - not BOPSA, but close ups and angles that I thought were good for showing the kids' enthusiasm and efforts.

I interviewed several students from all over the viewing area. I met two young men from Hickman who had some interesting stuff to say - my one problem was that the lighting was not good. Their faces have a bit of shadow on them. I also didn't frame one of them very well - part of his head got cut off on the aired story. It looked OK in Avid and on the camera, I'll just have to remember to be more careful next time with the framing bars so that people with non-HD TVs can see it. I interviewed a few other students, and only used one more - a young woman from Tipton High, and she actually had a good bite. Two students from the KC Area had some filler comments, but I figured they wouldn't be as good since they were not from the viewing area. Altogether I was pleased with this story. Holly Edgell said she liked how I mixed up my shots and sequences. My writing was decent but Kent Collins suggested making my lead more interesting for one version. It was something to the effect of "Your intro line just says 'conference' and boring stuff. Make it more interesting." I definitely agree with him - in retrospect I would have changed that. I also learned that "Lake of the Ozarks" is not a town or city, so my locator at the beginning was wrong for the 5 and 6. Stacey Woelfel and I changed it to "Lake Ozark" instead for the 10. To be fair, the Tiger Chairs did not catch it for the 5 and 6, so I feel like it's an innocent mistake, but I should have known better. So, I felt good about that shift and hope I can enjoy future shifts as much as I did on Monday. I was basically at KOMU from 7:45am to at least 7:00pm - no problem at all, I enjoyed it. Here's the link.

Tuesday's VO patrol was a completely different story.

As I mentioned above, I have been suffering from a TERRIBLE sinus infection that leaves me severely congested, coughing, and in general very tired. I've been suffering from it for over two weeks, just trying to soldier through it, and it had improved somewhat, but not nearly to the point where I can be 100% active. I finally got so fed up with it on Tuesday morning that I made a doctor's appointment for the afternoon, so I didn't have much time to put in at KOMU like I did on Monday.

So, I went out to shoot some video for the red light camera contract approval in Columbia. What I didn't know was that those cool little cameras on top of various intersections in Columbia don't actually record red light runners - they just "monitor" traffic. So, essentially I had barely any good video to use for the VO because most of my video was of traffic cameras in Columbia. I managed to overcome that with some crappy sign shots - Providence, Business Loop 70, Rangeline, etc. and several generic shots of traffic lights. No sources called me back for this story, and in the limited time I had before my doctor's appointment, I couldn't wait around for someone to get back to me, so I went without a SOT for the 5, 6, and 10. I also noticed I had several typos in the script - "the average fine is could cost close to one hundred and twenty two dollars." Obviously, the "is could" is not good. Maybe I'm being hard on myself, but I'm honestly embarrassed by my work on Tuesday. I just hope I can get back in there and do a better job tomorrow when I GA report.

Cleared for Takeoff

2009-03-15T19:38:00.002-05:00

I finally got cleared for KOMU. I liked Greeley's suggested changes to my story - first off, the audio problems I had were easily fixed, and the redone standup was a lot better than my original. So, I'm quite relieved since, as I understand it, we don't have to do packages for class until our KOMU reporting shifts. I might knock out a few of them over Spring Break as I'll be here in Columbia. The VO patrols sound absurdly easy - I think I'll enjoy doing them because it basically involves going out, shooting video, and coming back to the station to edit them. The picture to the right of the police officers on the bikes is kind of how I imagine the VO patrols - we'll be ON PATROL!

I also purchased items for the "reporter's briefcase". I enjoyed an exhilarating 2+ hours at Target on Saturday, roaming the aisles to find various items. I then bought a leather briefcase on Craigslist from a woman in North Columbia. Part of this shopping spree included buying a few additions to the work/journalist wardrobe. I found a few great deals at Dillards, so I'm happy with the new threads. It's VERY rare for me to spend money on myself like that (even $50 total at one store) so to be honest, I'm happy I got it over with.

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For my journalism reflection for this week, I really enjoyed the 60 Minutes interview with Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chief. Apparently it's the first interview of any kind with said Chief, so it was impressive for Scott Pelley to get Bernanke on camera.

I thought producers Henry Schuster and Rebecca Peterson did a great job of getting video for almost everything they referenced - be it Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Bear Stearns, etc. We also saw some really cool shots of the Federal Reserve's interior, especially the machines making cash. It really looked like the most basic form of shooting in sequences and editing in the camera, but to the viewer in me, it seemed really awesome. The photog did a great job of shooting Pelley and Bernanke while walking around the Reserve - giving the two plenty of depth, showing us all the ornate artwork and masonry. I was a little surprised at how dark the interview seemed - the light was a bit odd. It could have been my TV, but the background behind Bernanke was totally red and Scott Pelley seemed out of focus on the reversal questions.

One of my favorite aspects of this story was how Bernanke is portrayed as more than just an Ivy League scholar economist. We see his hometown and his VERY humble roots in Dillon, SC. I think he has a lot more in common with the "Everyday" American than what people expect. I think one of Pelley's objectives in this story was to find out more about Bernanke and show his personal side so we can understand the difficulties his job entails. I was really impressed with this side of the story and I think Pelley did a good job of telling it.

We also saw Pelley preface his questions with phrases like "I know there are thousands of Americans thinking ____", "Everyone wants me to ask this", and "for most people". I was intrigued by how he tried to put himself in a viewer's place and really ask some tough questions - whether he was successful in getting some modicum of truth out of it, I don't know - but I really liked his approach.

Feeling the burnout

2009-03-06T23:40:00.003-06:00

Something has hit me in the last two weeks or so and I don't have the same enthusiasm for reporting that I used to. It could be stress, it could be poorly-done packages, I don't know. It's like I have to push myself to even do something as simple as logging into this Blogger page to write a blog post. I feel like sometimes I don't have any sort of motivation to do anything. I've been falling behind in my other classes and I'm really frustrated. I did a really shitty job on my last package and I should have done a better job - I blew a great story and jumbled it together into a garbage conglomeration.

Anyway, I stumbled onto a good CBS Evening News story about the stimulus package's job creation. It's very fluffy but I enjoyed it:
Watch CBS Videos Online

I think in covering the stimulus stuff we, the media, have gotten too caught up in the political wrangling and fail to see who it will benefit - in this case, people like Philadelphia's George DiBruno. Jeff Glor and Ben Tracy did a good job of finding hourly wages for blue-collar workers, i.e. $21.50 an hour for electricians. I think it was also good to see the "working man" view of this issue - instead of just corporate spokesmen and bullshit-spewing economists. Yeah, I admit, this story could be construed as a PR piece for President Obama - but as the "brilliant" Wayne Freedman would say, this story sought to tell "what is" instead of what we expected - we could have expected to hear from a Republican opposed to the stimulus plan, or someone else against it, but from Glor's reporting it appears he did not find anyone of that opinion. It helps that Philadelphia is a liberal city, but regardless, he went into a situation and told the story from their perspective.

I have no idea what I am supposed to do for a story idea for next week. Newsgathering? I used a story idea I pitched several weeks ago for this most recent package. As I wrote previously, I'd been brewing it for several weeks. Assuming my corrections to the most recent package are enough to clear me to KOMU, then what? The syllabus says we have to do packages - I'm really confused and feeling like an idiot.

Following up...

2009-02-27T20:09:00.005-06:00

I've been brewing the story for several weeks - the autistic kid who works at Gerbes and uses his paycheck to help his family buy groceries. I went to the Gerbes yesterday and asked the supervisor when he's working next - on the condition that I was doing a story on him. I know it's sketchy to show up and ask when someone's working! He's scheduled to work tomorrow afternoon, so it'll be perfect if I can get some video of him at work, then go to his house and interview his parents and get some video there. Obviously, I'll need to interview him too - thankfully I have the camera for an overnight, so I'll have plenty of time to interview him. A news angle of this? Not much - like my last package, this is oriented more towards human-interest. But I think as I talk to the family, there might be something I can tie in - for instance, the amount of children/teenagers who are autistic or how people in Mid-Mo could have support networks in place for people with autism.
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Reporting on my feet

2009-02-20T21:28:00.003-06:00

My original story idea for this week was "old news" re: the pit bull ban in Fayette. I'm glad that Greeley told me beforehand about that - instead of going through with the entire story and then getting hammered for it being a crusty, old, overreported story. I had thought my angle on it - that the ban goes into effect this week - was worthy enough, but as you'll read a little bit further on, I'm glad I didn't do this story.

Greeley mentioned this week that it's vital to have a "plan B" - and for me, this week was a great time to put it to use. There's an older woman (Nancy) in my Cross Cultural Psychology class who seems to just have an incredible burden and an amazing all-around story. I spoke with her and found out she has lupus (and needs a motorized wheelchair to get around), takes 20 hours of classes at MU, cares for her two high-functioning autistic children, and has had to deal with an incredible amount of stress in the past few months. Her husband got sick and had to be placed on long-term disability from his job, and her 18-year old daughter just found out she is pregnant. Sound crazy? That's not all. Because of legal technicalities surrounding her husband's long-term disability payments, the insurance company has taken steps to try and recollect the payments at an incredibly inopportune time.

Phew. All that aside. So now, as I mentioned above, Nancy's son is considered highly-functioning autistic. He's 16 and Nancy tells me he works about 20 hours a week at Gerbes. Sound good? Yep - sure, what high schooler wouldn't want spending money? Well, it turns out that because of the family's dire financial straits, he has taken it upon himself to use his paycheck to help pay for groceries and other household items. Nancy said it best herself, "You just can't make this stuff up, I can't believe this is actually going on." So, my plan for tomorrow (Saturday) is to try and meet up with Nancy and her son - she tells me he is scheduled to work at Gerbes during the day, so I'd like to get some video of him at work, then interview him and his parents at home.

My first thought this morning upon arriving to the commuter parking lot at the Hearnes Center was, "What the hell is going on!?" There were quite a few buses already in the lot, and it seemed like the entire parking lot was full - the Missouri State High School Wrestling tournament is at Mizzou Arena for the next few days. So with my plans to interview Nancy's son in limbo, I figured I'd swing by the Arena when I had the camera today to find a story. So after picking up the camera, I fought Columbia's stop & go traffic down to Mizzou Arena and managed to sweet-talk my way into the lot behind the Arena where all the buses park. I figured there'd be a gold mine of stories waiting to be told by some of the bus drivers - especially since many come from all around the state for this.

Now, I know what you're going to ask - what's the local angle? Well, the CCC I found isn't a Mid-Missouri resident, but the story he told me sounded like something many people can identify with - and his presence at Mizzou Arena was much more than just a job.

I struck up a conversation with a gentleman by the name of Anthony (whose last name slips my mind - he gave it to me on the tape but I haven't reviewed it yet). A bus driver for two years, Anthony drives for the Kansas City Center School District. Long story short, he retired from his old full-time job several years ago, but as cost of living expenses kept rising (i.e. gas, food), Anthony says he had to take the bus driving job to help pay for the future cost of his daughter's college education. While saying he is a "Jayhawk fan", he says he is immensely proud of the fact that his daughter will be attending Mizzou in the fall. He spoke passionately about how much it meant to him that his daughter has a chance to get a college education. He says he feels, as an African-American, that society has made vast strides in furthering racial equality; but at the same time felt that it is up to our (and his daughter's) generation to truly cement the gains made in his lifetime.

It was an incredibly moving conversation. I felt like he had a lot of emotion and approached life with a lot of zeal. I followed Anthony and another bus driver into the Arena, and I got some video of Anthony watching the wrestling matches. He said he'd be here all weekend, so I'd like to try and track him down again and try to get a picture of his daughter than I can use for the story. I also got some video of him cleaning out the bus - sweeping, talking on his cell phone, etc., so I feel I'm turning an "event" story into a more full feature on the little people behind the big high school tournament show.

Phew. Quite a week, and yet all this work to do!

--------------

As for a journalistic reflection, my Mom told me about a fantastic hour-long story on 20/20 about poverty-stricken areas of Appalachia. Diane Sawyer reported on four teenagers all trying to find a way out of their situations. I thought the stories themselves were tremendous - each kid had been through some amazing experiences - both difficult and uplifting at the same time. All four had dealt with horrible family conditions - one young man has to live in his truck because his parents are alcoholics and deal drugs, and his dream is to get out of there, get to college any way he can - which for him means playing football. Another man gets a job in a coal mine at the age of 17 - paying $65,000 a year, a fantastic sum for someone without a college diploma. There are two girls who both live in drug-infested houses. Basically, the hour-long show followed the four for about two years.

This is the story: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=6865077&page=1

I felt it was an amazing job of getting the real authentic scenario for each individual. We are taken inside each person's home and spoken to like a trusted friend. The adults even show us their drug staches. Sawyer travels miles underground into the mine where one of the teenagers works. We're shown the horrible health and dental conditions that many children have in the region. My only complaint about this story was that at some very select moments, it seemed like Sawyer inserted herself into the story.

Car Chronicles and Newsgathering 2/13

2009-02-13T12:06:00.003-06:00

So I'm sitting in the Albert Honda waiting area to get my state inspection. For my last story, I REALLY wanted a nat sound bite of the old lady using the intercom to page and saying "KEVIN WILHITE, PICK UP LINE 4" or "ERIC CRONACHER, PICK UP LINE 3", "SALES, LINE 2".

Anywho, I'm covering the "Erase Hate 5k" tomorrow for my second package. It should be a relatively easy package with plenty of action video and a good variety of voices to use. As far as newsgathering goes, I got an email about it with a PDF file with all the details. I'm on the LGBT listerv in addition to having a class where the professor sends out any multi-cultural events going on in Columbia.

The proceeds of the race go to benefit "The Center" project, which is an LGBT community center. The Center going to be in downtown Columbia. It's significant because it's the first of its kind in Mid-Missouri, and even more interesting because it's not affiliated with any of the higher-education institutions in the area. It'll be financed purely on donations and fundraising projects, so it's quite ambitious. I have no vested interest in this because I don't plan on ever going to The Center. It's also an interesting take on the event to proclaim it a memorial for Lawrence King, a 15-year old victim of a hate crime in California. Since his death, there has been (at least from what I've read/watched) a large outcry for more anti-bullying and hate crimes protection laws. Missouri does not have laws to protect students in a situation like this.

The 5k starts at 11am at Stephens Lake Park, and later in the day is the Polar Bear Plunge at the very same location, so it'll be fun to see if there are any early-arrivers for the Plunge. I wonder if anyone practices their "plunge" too into the lake?

This is what I was hoping for

2009-02-08T19:19:00.002-06:00

60 Minutes' story on Wilmington, Ohio and the worldwide recession's effect on a small Midwestern town. I had hoped to to tell a similar story with my "American Auto Dealers of Mid-Missouri".

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4752321n

Working On A Dream: 65 Degree Weather in February?

2009-02-07T19:37:00.002-06:00

NPR is generally absurdly good when it comes to covering economic and political issues, and this week was no exception with the "stimulus" package in the Senate, and worsening employment numbers throughout the world. I caught a lot of All Things Considered this week, and one story that stood out to me was Nancy Mullane's story on California's job-placement offices suddenly being swamped with people desperate for work. Here's the link to it -

It really struck me as a story with great sound and a lot of very interesting characters. It was timely with 200,000 state employees being "furloughed" from work due to a complete lack of cash within California's coffers. As I re-listen to this story, her use of background sound is incredibly effective. She introduces the scene with a security guard fumbling with a lock to open the doors of the Downtown Employment Development Department. We also hear workers at the center trying to keep the job-seekers calm - we overhear a man frustratedly say "I've been coming here for 4 days!" to which someone responds "I'll treat you with respect but all these need to be stapled together." The whole story was very interesting because Mullane gets great quotes out of people, especially those recently laid-off. One woman mentions that she came to the employment office because they have direct lines to unemployment insurance processing companies; when she tried several times from home BEFORE the lines opened at 8AM, the representatives were already too busy to take her call.

She includes some intriguing details, like how some people's eyes are "sore and red" as if they had been crying. Her final soundbite is with a woman who says "It's hard to be positive but sometimes that's all you have." I felt like this story was incredibly poignant and reflected much of the frustration of people trying to deal with bureaucracy - a pain in the neck for sure, but a necessary move to begin receiving unemployment checks. The story is effective because for all the political rhetoric and garbage being thrown around about "government stimulus", we can get down to the bottom of what it's like for "normal" people to suddenly be unemployed - for example, the 32-year old working in formerly a "hot" field, internet marketing, somehow laid off. That was my goal in my American Auto Dealers of Mid Missouri story, and I feel I fell well short of it.

Oh, and the title to this entry stems a combination of Bruce Springsteen's fantastic new album, "Working on a Dream" and our fine Mid-Missouri weather treating us to three 60+degree days in a row in February!
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My first B2 package has been incredibly difficult to tell visually. I feel I found an intriguing CCC and plenty of facts to wrap around his story, but Mid-Missouri's auto dealership struggles directly affected me too. Besides John Rettis and the sales manager of Albert Honda, no dealers were willing to talk about either their struggles or the "American Auto Dealers of Mid Missouri" commercial; especially not to a student doing a story for class. I feel sometimes I am so wrapped up in finding a GREAT story outside of Columbia that I miss easy/worthwhile stories happening right around me. For instance, my story proposal about the highway intersection in Marshall - I love the notion of getting outside of Columbia, and usually it's a worthy pursuit. But it would involve a massive amount of time, travel, and research to fully tell the story. I think that same problem befell me on this story. I would need to take several trips to Fulton or elsewhere, after signing out equipment (an enormous pain in the rear) to get more interesting video. My ideal situation with this story would have involved shadowing John Rettis on a normal business day (not a Saturday, when I interviewed him) to follow his interactions with customers, employees, and his family. His wife called his cell phone as I was finishing up at the dealership, and he agreed to give her a ride home from where ever she was - that led me to believe Rettis definitely is just a normal family man trying to ride out the economic storm. I had wanted to tell that aspect in the story, but I don't think I succeeded on it. I feel I definitely put in my best effort on this, and I'm very happy with my stand-up, but I'm dissapointed in the final product.

Producer Shadow Shift: 1/28/09

2009-01-28T14:44:00.007-06:00

In a typical broadcast newsroom, the producers are the big dogs. As assistant producer Lisa Russell put it, "They're in charge."

I experienced a day's work with the "big dogs" on Wednesday. The first major part of their job involves participating in the story meeting for the nightside reporters with Stacey Woelfel, KOMU's news director (or his designee). From there, the producers figure out where the assigned stories will be placed in the newscasts (for the 5, 6, and 10). Their job also means they format how one's story will appear - for instance, whether a reporter will do a live shot or weather wall. Perhaps the most important aspect however comes from their determination of how long a story will run.

This idea that producers control the time of stories is one of the biggest things that Russell has learned since she arrived to KOMU. She says, "If you're a reporter, you can't just have extra time, it has to be talked about." She also said that while seemingly scary and threatening, the staff at KOMU are all incredibly helpful and easy to ask questions of. Russell added that time management is also a huge lesson she's learned since joining the producing ranks.

Reporters understand most of their assignment details after the initial story meeting, but one important morsel of information displayed by the producers in INews is whether a reporter will move to the weather wall or be assigned a live shot. This means that, in some cases, a reporter will basically do two standups; one in-studio at the weather wall, the other out in the field. Both of which are included in the story.

Producers can be most helped by reporters when they call in with story updates. Russell says that regular updates from reporters help producers time their shows. For example, if a story is very difficult and a reporter is unable to get people to talk on-camera, their assigned time of a story may be reduced since it has less-solid video. On the flip side, if a reporter finds fantastic sources and records great video, then they may merit a longer report.

Russell says the most common mistakes made by reporters has been with scripting in INews. She says some reporters struggle with the formatting involved for live shots, weather wall appearances, and locators. She said there's no excuse for reporters to make mistakes like that - she demonstrated that many tips and suggestions for formatting are already in INews "help" files.

The hardest part of producing, according to Russell, is that the entire job of creating a newscast can be overwhelming. She said it's also difficult to accomodate everything that reporters want, or to deal with on-the-fly changes that can come up as late as midway through a newscast.

The biggest difference between a reporter and producer, says Russell, is that reporters enjoy physically leaving the station, talking to sources, and doing something new every day while storytelling. Producers, she says, must enjoy being in charge and looking at the big picture.

Post-B2 Lecture Rant on "New Media"

2009-01-27T21:24:00.004-06:00

I'm all for advancing good storytelling through all forms of media - be they broadcast, radio, internet, and social networking. But I have a beef with Twitter. It's one thing to use Facebook to share your "status", personal info, pictures, etc to relevant friends or acquantences. But Twitter is essentially a worthless text tool for people whose attention spans require them to check their cell phones every 3 minutes and send a text saying @BRIAN "I'm sitting on the toilet!" or @BRIAN "I JUST DRANK A GLASS OF WATER!!"

What's the purpose of referring to yourself as @___?

I might be stuck in 2004 when the mainstream Verizon cell phone didn't have all these newfangled goodies like nationwide internet access, touch screens, and applications. I refuse to get a Blackberry and I regret the 2 weeks I spent with an Iphone over the summer of 08. To me, there's a distinct personal line that comes with a cell phone, and I don't enjoy sharing my every move with other people. Maybe I'll be forced to get a Twitter account - I won't welcome it, I won't enjoy it, and I certainly don't look forward to it. But at the end of the day, it's part of the "new media" and I accept that some find it useful.

Live Truck Shadow Shift: 1/26/09

2009-01-26T23:19:00.002-06:00

I knew this shift would be interesting with snow expected in Mid-Missouri - it was only fitting that my guides for this shadow shift were assigned a winter-weather live shot at one of Columbia's busiest roadway intersections. Kyle Seever was the driver and overall "live truck operator" while Candice Crawford reported.

Setting up a live shot doesn't seem to be very difficult; just somewhat time consuming and very step-intensive. In other words, miss a connection or plugging in a particular cable, and an entire newscast (or at the very least, a particular live shot) can be ruined. Seever and I arrived about an hour and a half before the 5pm show to the scene of the live shot, set to be the intersection of Providence Rd. and Stadium Blvd. - all 7 or 8 lanes of its beauty.

Before leaving KOMU, Seever made sure that we had extra batteries for the camera in case the truck's generator failed. We ensured that there was a tripod in the back of the truck and a tool kit with all mic extensions and wires. Upon arriving at Providence & Stadium, our first task was to raise the mast of the live truck - the DirecTV-sized dish capable of sending microwave signals to KOMU's studio in an instant. Seever noted that it is important to make sure the mast is raised to its maximum height of roughly 7 sets, and directed my attention to the large "DO NOT PARK UNDER A POWER LINE - YOU CAN BE KILLED!" warnings. Trees are also a risky nearby object - avoid them. From there, we can start the generator and begin setting up the camera, tripod, and mic/IFB for the reporter. As the weather was the focus of our story, we made sure that the tripod and extra light kits we brought were safely secured to the ground with sand bags from the back of the truck.

While I'd love to continue on in-depth, it's 11:44pm and I have an 8:00am class - I'll keep it brief for the sake of staying awake through Broadcast 2 Lab at 1pm.

Seever pointed out that an IFB is an "interruptible feedback" device. It allows the reporter to talk to producers and the control room, and also to stay on-pace with the newscast's upcoming cues. He advised that reporters MUST bring their scripts, weather gear, and, when necessary, a separate IFB as sometimes reporters find it icky to share an IFB among many people. Seever said that reporters can best help live truck operators by showing up on time - at least 15 minutes prior to a show starting. He also said that specific directions on where to bring the truck are important - in other words, not just "downtown Columbia" or "along Highway 63" - he said directions like "8th and Cherry" or "Northbound 63 and Broadway" are vital to proper setup. Lastly, he said the most common problem facing live reporters include: overt nervousness and looking at scripts (one should know their topic well enough to not memorize a set script) and being unfamiliar with IFB sounds (as one can hear producers, anchors, and themselves speaking on delay) and becoming confused.

Shadow Shift #1: Production Assistant

2009-01-26T13:22:00.003-06:00

Brian Mortensen
Production Assistant shadow, Jan. 23 10 PM show.

Upon arriving to KOMU, I was told that no trained person would be working the shift that night. Jennifer Niederjohn, the supervising producer, taught the Recuts and teleprompter duties to two trainees as I observed and asked questions. In general, the job seems quite simple but very detail-oriented. During my shadow shift, Jen emphasized the necessity for production assistants to communicate with other people in the newsroom; especially the main producer.

The recuts area seems quite overwhelming on first glance, but after a few minutes of being shown the set-up, it's relatively easy to grasp. The overall job of the production assistant is to take video from the NBC Newschannel server and import it to the KOMU system for use in the newscast. Some shows may require you to create teases for upcoming stories from video on the local system - this scenario seems easier than a national story because you don't have to download the video, instead one just creates a sequence into the existing slot on INews. Niederjohn said teases are usually about 20 seconds long, while national stories require about 45 seconds of video. The production assistant will find out what video specifically needed for a show by talking to the producer, who should specify what shots they want. In addition, most requests are assigned on the INews rundown for the show. Niederjohn said it's important to reference video and avoid showing things that have nothing to do with words being read. She also said that graphics from national stories cannot be used unless there is no other video available from Newschannel.

Once this video is found, the production assistant must enter the NRCS server. NRCS is basically how the station gets video onto its server for use elsewhere in the station - and how specific sequences stay within the rundown for use on air. Once entering the NRCS, you drag the specific sequence into the bin you're working on, and then capture the video using "QuickDub" or a playlist on Newschannel. The PA must ensure that the downlinked video is properly routed, so checking the large switchboard in the middle of the recuts area is important to make sure that video will be captured.

Niederjohn said the hardest part of the job for most production assistants is being able to get all video done on time for a particular newscast. Of all the nightly shows, she said the 5pm is the busiest, while the 6 and 10 are less recut-heavy. The difficulty in finishing comes from the amount of time necessary to properly edit the video - including resizing and adding curtains to make national video (which comes in 4/3 format, not high-defintion standard 16/9) suitable for KOMU broadcast. She said if a production assistant is pressed for time and overwhelmed with the amount of work necessary, the PA must ask for help from just about anyone bar reporters. She said most of the time any of the producers in the newsroom can help answer questions provided they're not loaded with duties at the time.

Niederjohn said the computer system is reliable, but if it were ever to fail, she suggested rebooting or restarting the computer and moving to another work station. If the problem exists at another work station, then she recommended telling a supervisor about the issue so it can be investigated.

As a supervising producer, Niederjohn had a unique perspective as a staff member on the best way for PAs to get along with reporters and producers. She said simply that respect for each other and communication are the biggest issues among coworkers. In addition, she said that one should "Always ask, don't assume" if in doubt.

After finishing the recuts for the 10PM show, we went into the control room to operate the teleprompter for the newscast. This seemed very simple but crucial to the overall broadcast - I feel the prompter is an enormous crutch in broadcasting, and it makes Jim Riek and Angie Bailey's jobs incredibly more straightforward.

During my shadow shift I saw the necessity for steady production assistants. Niederjohn told us that PAs' work is essential and provides a backbone for a smooth show.