We got shucked

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

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

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?

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

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?

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

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.

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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.