KMBC, WDAF, KCTV Roeder "Coverage?"

From: Phillip, Peggy
Sent: Fri Jan 29 19:37:18 2010
Subject: Great job!
I just want to take a moment to commend the hard-working Wichita crew of Tim, Dale, Lindsay and Matt.
Covering news far from the home base is never easy. Whatever can go wrong, will. Stuff breaks. Things change. Or they don't.
Here's one thing that's a given: The brainiac managers back at the station (well, me) always have crazy ideas for just how much can and should be done (I did and I was wrong).
Our team got up early every day, gave up a big chunk of their weekends and worked very long hours ... (Live every weekday at 6am and every night at 6pm with more sprinkled in between).
They tweeted, they posted, they edited, they fed. They never missed a live hit, they were up and in front of the camera in time with mic checks and roll cues submitted.
Our Wichita coverage was simply stellar from start to finish. I can't think of a thing I'd change.

That's a piece of a memo I sent to our team Friday evening.
 
There were only two local news departments that chose to cover the Scott Roeder trial completely.  The one at the newspaper and KSHB.  The other stations generally took a live feed from the courtroom and relied on others to do the work.
 
And now that the verdict is two days old, I'm still trying to figure out why our competitors didn't cover it gavel-to-gavel with a crew in Wichita.

Was it because the crime happened three-and-a-half hours away?  A perception that Scott Roeder wasn't really a local?  Abortion isn't a hot topic anymore?  There was too much going on here in KC?  Preparing for the February sweeps?  Too costly?

My guess is a combination of the last two. 

I think we made the right decision.  Yes, we spent some money on hotel rooms, satellite time and overtime. 

The story is too big to ignore or do a half-assed job of coverage.

Just sayin' is all...

Is This a Story?

Absolutely not.

I saw this on "Out of Bounds" -- the writer didn't know where the video originated because "there are a number of Fox 29 station in the US." 

There's only one that has a weathercaster named John Bolaris and that's WTXF in Philly.



Feh.  This is poor, even for a Fox station.  And I am sick to death of Craigslist as a source for stories.

Once More, With Feeling

I promise not to turn this blog into an emotionally silly and endless tribute to our dog.  We've been so grateful for the kindness of co-workers, friends and family who understand the connection we had with Dottie and why we miss her so.

John's cousin sent us a bit of prose that I hadn't seen before -- and it, combined with the cards, telephone calls and other messages, truly helped us both:

Hello Peggy ,Jon & fam, Colleen and I read your e-mail and were reduced to tears.We never got the pleasure of seeing Dottie just smiled through the years of stories told We could only imagine what a great companion and loyal friend of the family she was. Dogs are a gift to us in our lives, they give all for so little .The only comfort is we give them the love they depend on so much. I often wonder about the fate of finding a dog who found who ?.......... Michael . Colleen and Riley

The Rainbow Bridge

(inspired by a Norse legend)

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

Today, I left the office and accompanied Chris Hernandez on his day as a "one man band reporter."  Our story changed as the day progressed.  Later, we met up with Tim Hellhake and the two of them reported live during the 5pm and 6pm newscasts.

Actually, this video only shows what happened in the afternoon.  The morning included an interview with the new CEO of the fire department. 

I learned a great deal today about the MMJ workflow.

I need to go on more "ride-alongs."

Farewell, Good and Faithful Friend.

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really.

Agnes Sligh Turnbull

Dogs are the most amazing creatures;
they give unconditional love.

For me they are the role model for being alive.
Gilda Radner

No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.

Christopher Morley

You can say any foolish thing to do to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
"My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!"
Dave Berry

If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it;
to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and,
prospectively, to equally profound sadness.
Marjorie Garber

Profound sadness is an understatement. Overwhelming, nearly debiliatating grief is what we feel now that our dog is gone.  We miss our sweet Dottie.  Her pure love for our family was such an incredible gift.

Hating Kiffin

Although I no longer live in Tennessee, I still pay thousands of dollars in tuition to its state university so I've been watching Lane Kiffin's internet presence with a certain bemusement.

• He wrecked our Lexus.
• His sex life is "unnatural."
• He is the inspiraton behind a rap song:

• And my favorite--Somebody in Knoxville wants to name the sewer after him!

Hell hath no fury like a Vol football fan spurned...

Goodbye Kate McGarrigle. Travel easy.

As reported by the BBC, Kate McGarrigle died.  I loved her music in the 70s and Clyde was a big fan too.

Dear NBC: Seriously, Who is Making These Decisions?

The late-night unraveling continues between Leno and Conan and after last night's Ten at Ten between Leno and Kimmel, I am more confounded than ever. I'm not a giant Leno fan, I've always been more attuned to Letterman's humor but after his shenanigans with the young co-workers, I don't even watch Dave all that much.

This segment Thursday night, however, may be the worst smackdown I've ever seen:
http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/15/jay-leno-jimmy-kimmel-tonight-show-video/

Why, NBC, why would you allow the late night guy from a rival network to use a potato peeler to skin Jay Leno alive in front of...hundreds of Kansas City viewers? OK, maybe a couple thousand. The last quarter hour of Leno got a 3.9 rating, 5.6 share.

In other final-quarter-hour-before-the-late-news news, KMBC with Private Practice enjoyed a 19 share. The Mentalist on KCTV, a 17 share. And news on WDAF received an 8.4 share.

KCTV gets New News Director

Heads Up KCTV gets new news director; GM halts Hummer production - KansasCity.com

Welcome to Kansas City, Blaise!

(From photographer to news director isn't all that uncommon. I hefted a TK-76 and turned the manual white balance thumb screws on a Sony 1610 in the early 80's at KTVN in Reno.)

No More Tepid Lead-ins; Now I've Got to Improve Those Late News Numbers

Scott Jones of FTV (sorry  for the short-hand Scott, but my mom reads this blog) had the world exclusive on this one last week and today is like Christmas and my birthday with a little 4th of July thrown in for good measure.  Here's the email:

(Attention Affiliate Board, General Managers, Corporate Execs, News Directors, Program Directors and General Sales Managers)

NBC, in remarks made just minutes ago this morning by Jeff Gaspin, has announced that as of February 12, 2010, The Jay Leno Show will no longer air at 10pm ET/9pm CT.

We will send more information when it becomes available regarding prime time programming plans after the Olympics.

Below is a brief transcript of Jeff's remarks:

"I can confirm what many of you have been reporting -- starting February 12, we will no longer air The Tonight Show at 10:00. While it was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet the needs of our affiliates -- and we realized we had to make a change.

My goal is to keep Jay, Conan and Jimmy as part of our late night line-up. I've spoken to all three of them and proposed that "The Jay Leno Show" move to 11:35, "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" move to 12:05 and "Late night with Jimmy Fallon" at 1:05.

The talks are ongoing."

November 2009 was tough; we lost significant numbers of sellable demos due to poor performance on our late news.  No more excuses.  Now the real work begins.  Bring it!

"Hello, I'm a Reporter. Sorry For Your Loss. Can I Have a Picture of Your Loved One?"

The quote doesn't belong to me--some former KSHB journalist said it years ago and it came up while we talked about how aggressive reporters should be when covering murdered children.  (Thursday afternoon, this teenager was stabbed to death about 45 minutes south of Kansas City in a rural area that doesn't see much violence.)

After reading the Plog's admonition to KC reporters regarding postings on the 14-year-old girl's Facebook memorial, I thought about two reporters I worked with in other markets.  One in Miami and one in Memphis -- each had their own tactics for dealing with the relatives of the recently murdered.

The WSVN reporter's actions were the worst and a manager brought her scheme quickly to an end.  Background:  Miami in the early 90s was easily one of the most violent cities in the country.  At WSVN where I worked on the assignment desk, we ignored many, many homicides.  But some, based on unspoken criteria, broke through.  Tourists, the famous, children, the wealthy, anything tainted with Santeria; those killings were covered zealously for 24-48 hours.  After that, even the murdered children mostly were forgotten.

I recall the WSVN reporter's remarkable ability to get a grieving family to talk on camera about a recently slain loved one and even to provide photos.  Finally, I asked her about it.  She was very proud of her discovery--if she promised the family the TV station would promote a memorial bank account (shilling for donations), they would almost always agree to an interview.  And then, she'd tell them that it would really only work if her interview remained "exclusive."

I don't think she is still working as a journalist anymore, thank God.

The Memphis reporter has moved to a larger market and his methods aren't nearly as despicable.  He would, when a family member agreed to talk, start the interview and then, if the person he was talking to began to weep, he would say "Where are those tears coming from?"  Which would often mean even more tears and wailing as the person interviewed recalled happier days and times.

After more than thirty years in local news, covering murdered children should be rote by now but it's not.  Each murder is different.  None of the decisions about coverage are easy.

"What do I know?  What do I need to know?"  Those two questions always come to my mind (thanks Al Tompkins) when I'm dealing with ethical decision-making...like covering the murder of a beloved daughter, sister, student, friend.  Here's the list Bob Steele put together for high school journalism students.  It's the same one we "pros" should use.

By the way.  Russ Ptacek handled his request for information exactly the right way.  Honestly.  Above-board.  Without pandering.  That's the way it should be done. 

Back to the list.  Did you need to know that before she was killed, Katie Rios, an honor student, was in the band?  Did you need to know her friends called her "Smiley?"  Did you need to know her principal remembers her as a mentor when she was class president?

You did.

Otherwise, you cannot properly mourn our world's loss of Katie Rios.

Why Elizabeth is a Remarkable Co-Worker

Remembering a Remarkable Viewer who Became a Friend

I really love this story.  I think customer service is so important and the hardest thing is to turn an angry viewer into a loyal customer.  Plus Elizabeth gained a friend.

Buh-bye Leno Lead-in?

The NYTimes reports that Leno will soon be moved to after the late news -- a story that is the best yet of 2010!

Kansas City's Fifth Winter Storm

I generally enjoy the musings of John Landsberg and he did not disappoint in his analysis of Kansas City TV stations' weather coverage.

Some context and facts about our Wednesday coverage and decisions:

• NBC Action News did cover news other than the snow on Wednesday.  In fact, we were the only TV station to have a reporter (Cynthia Newsome) assigned to the strange investigation at New Covenant Church in Independence when a second raid took place.  (The Star had a reporter there, also).  Also, Chris Hernandez conducted a great interview with KC's interim city manager.
• Gary Lezak does weather reports twice a day, every weekday on the big sports-talk radio station in Kansas City.  He also blogs regularly.  Neither are unusual for him.
• We were on the air at 4am Wednesday morning, just like the other "TV folks."
• Our brand is "Breaking News Leader" not "the weather station."
• If there had been something of significance to report at 4pm, we would have been on the air, too.

And finally about the term "snowgasm..."

Never mind.

Reno 911

I spent the final week of 2009 in Reno, Nevada--nearly a week in the Biggest Little City that is both bigger and smaller than I remembered from when we left in 1990. 

You may know that I moved there in 1978 to seek fame and fortune.  I met and married two husbands.  Carly's dad and I divorced before she was a year old.  A couple of years later, I met John.  Two years after that we got married. 

Both Carly and Charlie were born at St. Mary's Hospital and although I didn't expect to darken those doors ever again, I found myself there last Tuesday afternoon.

John and the kids went skiing Tuesday morning.  By the time they got to Northstar (Tahoe), John was feeling poorly.  Combine the flu with altitude sickness and you get delirious and shortness of breath.  And some other stuff too but we won't go there.

John ended up in the St. Mary's ER where they administered some miracle drugs via IV and by the next day, he was almost as good as new.

I am not good with hospitals...or sick loved ones because I am not good at feeling powerless.  I know this is hard to believe but I prefer to be in control at all times.  Thank goodness it was not serious.

We did do some gambling and even though I know that slots are folly, I do love the nickle machines!  It's fun to win a little, which we did.

One night, our friends Mark and Debi Best cooked us a delicious dinner and we enjoyed getting to know their now-adult daughter Amber who was the first girl Charlie kissed (when he was two).  They hadn't seen each other since 1989 but are now Facebook friends...

We also enjoyed a meal with my cousins Doug, Kemble and Trenton Yates who were visiting from Washington, Oregon and Alaska, respectively.  If you get to Reno, we recommend Silver Peak Brewery!

I watched some local news and saw Bill Brown, Mike Alger, Terri Russell and Erin Breen, all of whom were either co-workers or competitors when I was haunting the Truckee Meadows, back in the day.  Better yet was the lunch organized by my pal Denise Clodjeaux that included Carly, Sharon Spangler and her daughter Audrey.  Audrey is a civil engineering student at the University of Nevada/Reno.  Go Wolfpack! 

The last time I saw Audrey, she was smearing smashed banana on the window that separated the assignment desk from the studio at KTVN while her mom anchored the morning cut-ins on the desk just a few feet away.  Good times!    These are some powerful women, y'all.

A big thrill for me was visiting the Sparks Marina.  When I was a much younger, thinner, cuter person I reported news from the "Sparks Bureau" for KTVN.  On air!  (Seriously!)  One of the on-going issues was the dispensation of a gigantic hole in the ground just east of the city center, alongside I-80.  The Helms Pit, as it was called then was more than a hundred feet deep.  A yawning maw in the earth.  Contaminated by run-off from a nearby tank farm.  Ugly.  Useless.  Or so it seemed.

From a city website: "Originally, consultants for the City of Sparks Public Works Department estimated it could take up to three years to fill the quarry and turn it into a lake. The New Year's Day Flood of 1997 made the lake a reality in a matter of hours. One billion gallons of water from the Truckee River and its tributaries filled the quarry as a result of the highest recorded flood event in Truckee Meadows history."

Now, it's rimmed with condos, a ubiquitous Legends shopping complex and even a beach.  Who da thunk it! 

I remain amazed.


Oh and Happy New Year, y'all.

Hope YOU got to kiss somebody...