Stuck in the Snow!

I got stuck pulling out of our parking lot tonight. Then I did an extensive video blog about it. Feel free to check it out.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Snow Blog!!

For the record, after I shot this video blog, I did help pack up our live shot. I even had to crawl under the live truck to turn the mast air release valve with pliers because it wouldn’t come down on its own.

I’d just like to say the automatic stills YouTube chooses are highly unflattering.

Violent Courtroom Outburst

On Sunday, News 3 photojournalist Jeremy N. and I covered a double homicide in the small City of Jefferson.  An off-duty police officer and her boyfriend were killed in an altercation at a local bar around 1:00 a.m.  Today News 3’s Angela Bettis and photojournalist Doug W. returned to Jefferson to cover the suspect, Andrew Wirth’s, arraignment.  Watch what happened after bail was set at $1 Million Dollars.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Television news – and journalism as a whole – can be a bit of a thankless business:  Long hours, loads of stress, and in general, low pay.  I know everyone thinks we roll in the dough, but we don’t.  I have plenty of friends who made more money in their first year out of college than I made in my first three.  Yet I have plenty be thankful for.

Working on a holiday can be a bit of a bummer.  The advent of Facebook and Twitter almost makes it worse.  The taunting of status updates and images of people with their family and friends while you’re at your desk writing a story for the six o’clock news.  Fortunately for me, it’s that moment that I realize how lucky I am and how fortunate I am.

Regardless of the long hours, loads of stress, and pay that isn’t as high as any of us would really like, I do have the best job in the world.  One plenty of people never got a shot at.  Thousands of eager young grads burst from the doors of journalism schools every May with degrees in hand ready to change the world.  The truth is only a handful of them will ever get the chance, especially in TV.

I’m in this business not because any of those people are bad or unqualified for the job, but because someone believed in me.  Someone thought I had something special to share the stories of others.  The happy stories, the sad stories, the stories that keep me up at night, the stories that make me cry. 

For me that person was Neal Bennett, News Director at WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, VA.  He gave a baby-faced kid a chance to hone his skills in front of the viewers of a respected small-market station.  I am thankful for him.

I am also thankful for all the people before Neal who gave me encouragement, and convinced me I could do this.  Their names are too many to list, but to name a few by first name only they are Karen, Amy, Michele, Jose, Dave, Steve, Shannon, Herbert, Gio, and Linda.  All seasoned professionals who taught me much about this industry and made me eager to learn more.

There are college professors, school teachers, and mentors who made me believe in myself every day no matter what I was doing.  People like Lisa, Doris, Karen, Linda, J., Tom, Michael, and Dale.

And of course there is my mother who has supported anything I’ve ever done, even when she thought I was making the wrong decision.  I’m most of all thankful for that.

I also say thanks to the people at Channel 3 who brought this southern boy to the frozen Midwest to see things in a whole new shade of light.  Like my current News Director Colin Benedict who chose me out of an enormous stack of resume tapes and gave me a shot here.

To me, this is the best job in the world.  And every day, from the stressful to the successful, I’m thankful for the people who willingly share their stories with us and every single person who turns on the TV to watch and listen.  Happy Thanksgiving.  There is a lot to be thankful for.

Robot Maria on News 3 at 10

I did mean Sunday, even though I said both Saturday and Sunday in the clip. Sorry, cold medicine does bad things to people.

Live TV is a 24 Hour Business

In the Heat of Battle

As we sleep in quiet Wisconsin, more than 3,200 Wisconsin soldiers are overseas in Iraq.  A hostile environment considered by some to be the most hostile and unpredictably dangerous war theater of all time.  Last weekend I had the pleasure of catching up with many military families at the Tailgate with the Troops event held at the Alliant Energy Center.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to present the story on the air because we had to head to Columbus to cover breaking news, and as a result I didn’t get a chance to finish the companion blog post I was planning to go along with the on-air story.

I want to share some photos with you sent to me by Sergeant First Class (SFC) David Tourdot who we profiled before he left for Iraq.  Because of the nature of the mission at hand, he isn’t able to share a tremendous amount of detail about the photos, but where possible I have some basic descriptions.  Sadly, there are many  more, which as of this moment my computer refuses to recognize as JPEGs and will not open.  Here’s what I’ve got.

SFC David Tourdot in Iraq. Image Courtesy SFC Tourdot.

Old Iraqi Air Base. Image Courtesy SFC David Tourdot.

Old Iraqi MiGs. Image Courtesy SFC Tourdot.

Old MiG engine. Image Courtesy SFC Tourdot.

Old Iraqi Tanks. Image Courtesy SFC Tourdot.

Into the Air, Off to Iraq

Long-exposure photograph of the afterburner takeoff of multiple F-16s from Truax Field early Tuesday morning. Photo Courtesy 115th Fighter Wing Public Affairs.

Live near the airport?  You heard it.  You heard the launch of 14  F-16 fighter jets as they departed for an airbase in Western Spain, their stopover point on their way to Iraq.  So why the early takeoff?  The military wanted to make sure the pilots land in Spain before Sunset, which is why your windows rattled at 3:25 a.m., and again at 3:55 a.m. 

Photojournalist Jeremy Nichols and I were there for the spectacular show.  He’s putting the finishing touches on our 6 p.m. story right now.  With thirteen minutes until the show, I’m going to go have a look myself.

Here’s another photo from the 115th Fighter Wing’s great public affairs unit.

An F-16 fighter jet is ready for its pilot to climb into the cockpit. Photo courtesy 115th Fighter Wing Public Affairs.

Racism in Reedsburg

I didn’t really see this one coming. Working in Virginia I covered racist incidents. They happened to my friends and people I knew growing up in South Carolina. I didn’t think I’d see it in Wisconsin.

Today, I did.

Today, I looked a Reedsburg mother in the eye as she told me what someone wrote on her driveway in shaving cream last night. It isn’t spray paint, no. Yet the method doesn’t matter, the message does. The method does though indicate it is likely a part of a series of annual homecoming pranks pulled on Reedsburg High School students by their classmates. Which makes it more disgusting when you consider a young person, someone part of a generation we hear is more tolerant, understanding, and inclusive than any previous may have done this.

So if the vandals are high school-aged and read the news story on Channel3000.com, or read this blog and get a kick out of what they think is funny getting a moment in the spotlight, know that you are sick. You need to grow up. And you need to rethink.  Realize while words may not break bones, they do leave wounds.  In the end though, your heart will be the one with the guilt and ultimately the most pain.  Change your ways while you still can.

Full Circle

It was one of those moments when I realized how far away I was from something I once invested everything in, yet felt so close to it all at the same time. Posted on Facebook in front of me was a new promo done by college television station I once worked for, enticing viewers to watch the newscast I once conceived. Phoenix14News has been the student produced newscast at Elon University since the Fall of 2003. I realize I’m revealing my youth here, but if you’ve seen me on TV it isn’t much of a secret.

First, have a look at this:

Then watch the spot below. I produced it as a senior at Elon, including shooting and editing of much of the spot. This spot was done after the Broadcast Education Association named Phoenix14News the number one college newscast in the nation. Like everything, the show has had its ups and downs, but it’s cool to see how things evolve under new leadership, new ideas, and an ever changing group of people working hard to deliver an awesome product. Underneath the spot, you’ll find a link to the first show of the year. Great job to everyone involved, and I can already tell — you guys are going to have an awesome season!

Watch the show!