Inappropriate? You tell me.

After the Royals took Game Two from the Orioles at Camden Yards, I heard one of the broadcasters close out the post-game by saying "We are watching something special here, folks."

It has been such a magical post-season and the statement was uttered in a poignant way so I tweeted it.

And almost immediately, a former co-worker from WMAR, tweeted me back.

Honestly, for a second I was taken aback. It's no secret that I got fired from KSHB. And it's also no secret that I'm a Twins fan. I have enjoyed the Royals winning ways -- and although I did spend a year in Baltimore and some fun evenings at Camden Yards, I'm a Midwestern girl and decidedly in favor of the Royals winning it all.

My response:

Was that wrong?
Was my former co-worker being predictably snarky?
Should I have just left it alone?

Maybe so.

Tip of the hat to the Pitch!

It's sweeps month. We give you a different reason to yell at your TV during the local news:

The days of KCTV Channel 5 busting dudes who have set out to bang underage kids? They’re likely over.…

[ Read more ]

Tornado Alley

Last Friday there was a wire story exclaiming how strange the severe weather season in Kansas had been so far...no tornadoes in May.  I suggested we have Gary Lezak, our chief meteorologist do an "explainer" about the science since so many other communities, most notably The South, had been hit so hard.

Managing Editor Brooke Givens told us we were tempting fate and she (knocking wood) voted no.

We did the "explainer."

The next day a tornado hit Reading, Kansas.  Then Sunday, Joplin, Missouri.  We expected bad weather Tuesday.  Didn't happen although it looked bad.  Then Wednesday, Sedalia and Poplar Bluff.  Both in Missouri.  Also Wednesday, baby tornadoes danced around the Kansas City metro area, sending kids in school to the hallways, business people to the basement.

 Brooke may have been right.  Maybe we tempted fate.  After all these years in the news business, I'm more than just a little bit superstitious when it comes to situations. 

At around noon Wednesday at 4720 Oak Street, moments before the storm was to arrive at Country Club Plaza, I ordered everyone left to stay away from the windows.  I looked around the newsroom and saw all of the STUFF that reporters, anchors and producers keep around them.  Photos in frames, rocks, videotapes.  I focused on a baseball bat, imagining it flying through the room as a deadly missile.

(Note to self.  Clean up this place.)

All of the TV stations were hard pressed to find real damage in Kansas City proper after four hours of wall-to-wall coverage.  Frankly, we were saved by the temperature.  Our baby funnels would have been much worse had they happened in the afternoon with more heat earlier in the day.

Scientists tried to explain why we in Missouri have experienced a "tornado tsumami."  (We called our coverage Tornado Outbreak, by the way.  I've broken myself of the alliteration trap.)

I don't know why but I do know this.  Larry Seward,  Mike Butler, Fernando Ochoa, Jill Jensen, Chris Hernandez, Sloane Heller, Lindsay Shively, Christina Medina, Beth Vaughn, Russ Ptacek, Jonathan Goede, Brandon Billinger, Chase Lucas, Lisa Benson, Al Miller, Nathan Shain, Matt Reeb and Tim Hellhake have done INCREDIBLE stories from Louisburg, Sedalia and Joplin.  Please look at some of their work and see if you don't agree.

Running with scissors (the spelling in this title was corrected; thanks M!)

 Danger!  Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I understand the desire to try new things but I think the KC Star attached itself to the wrong trend with its 3-D Halloween edition:

• My focus group -- the bleary-eyed husband who was deep into the A-section when I asked him if he wanted to use the 3-D glasses.  He had no idea what I was talking about.
• It took both hands to hold the paper glasses around the readers necessary to enhance the work of my bifocal contact lenses.  Handcuffed by the 3-D pictures, I couldn't drink my coffee.
• The KC Star isn't "Avatar."  I paid the higher ticket price, donned the goofy specs and saw that movie in an IMAX theatre.  On purpose.  It's called "content."  Today's edition of the Star didn't have enough interesting material to drive me past the irritation of reading it.

The WSJ already weighed in on this tech trend, calling it "overdone."

And as this piece points out, a newspaper's strength is generally the words, not the pictures. 

The Great Midwest Aug 13-15, 2010

We had such a fabulous weekend! 
This video doesn't do it justice but I continue to try...
Love the lightning show Friday night in Olathe, seeing A-Rod hit THREE home runs Saturday night and then, best of all, the Missouri State Fair Sunday.

Life is good, indeed.

Thou shall not kill. No exceptions.

I have been doing this TV news thing for a long time and still have plenty to learn but not much prepared me for the past five days.

On Tuesday afternoon, around 2:30p, Steve Kaut asked me if I had heard from Nick Dutcher.  Nick worked on our assignment desk and by now, most people who read this blog know that he was found dead in his home by the police we sent there for a "welfare check."

We found out at 4:30pm that Nick was dead and just before the 5pm news, I gathered as many of the news team as were available and told them.  Four hours later, we were dealing with the shocking news that Nick had been murdered.

Wednesday and Thursday are a blur as my team tried to deal with the shock of losing a sweet, gentle co-worker who was loved by many and the ethical decision-making involved with covering the story. 

I told them I didn't have all the answers about what we should do and that I wanted us all to talk out our next steps.

Marissa Cleaver, Sloane Heller and Najahe Sherman were the faces of our initial stories but many more were involved behind the scenes.  I am grateful for the guidance and advice of my co-workers.

Somewhat surprising has been the offers of help from our competitors.  I am grateful for that support.

These are challenging times for NBC Action News.  We are up to it.  But we're very sad, too.

I've moved on from the initial sorrow and now I'm mad as hell at whoever is responsible.

Since you been gone

I've been out of town so...blogging...not so much.  But I'm soo excited for this holiday weekend. 

I'm the MOC (manager on call, koo koo ka choo) so we aren't leaving town.  However, the challenge will be to convince John that we MUST attend KC Riverfest so I can see Head East Saturday night.

From the news release:

Head East has Missouri roots and has appeared in more than 5,000 concerts over the past 25 years. From St. Louis to Seattle and Dallas to Detroit, Head East has performed in every major city and market in North America. Led by founding member, keyboardist and producer Roger Boyd, Head East is one of the hottest, most exciting live shows touring today.

The "Flat as a Pancake" album was a staple in my college dorm room, my early matrimonial home(s) and I've rocked out to these songs like Dottie used to drink from her water dish.  Sloppy and with enthusiasm!

It's good to be back in KC and I hope you have a wonderful Independence Day.  America is grand!

Pioli in the House!

Jack Harry casually walked into my office Tuesday afternoon and proceeded to MAKE MY DAY with the news that elusive Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli agreed to a one-on-one interview in our studio Tuesday night.

Wow!

Pioli has preferred to have Coach Todd Haley be the face of the once-proud team as they rebuild from a devasting trifecta of losing seasons.

Nice job Jack!  Part of the interview will be broadcast Tuesday (after the Olympics, natch) and I'm sure that we'll learn a great deal about Pioli's plans for the future.

I want to love the Chiefs

I love KC, I really do. I could easily create a list of a hundred things I love about Kansas City but it's hard, hard, hard to love the football team. John and I went to one game (when they were anniliated by the Giants) and the most entertaining thing was how KC football fans finish off our national anthem:



Y'all know I'm sports crazy. High school, college, pro. Basketball, football, soccer, boxing (sometimes), softball, NASCAR (sorta) and especially BASEBALL. Go Twins.

I realize I'm pretty mainstream (don't like the fights in a cage, for instance). That's how I roll.

Last year at this time, the Ravens, with a new head coach and a rookie QB, were capturing the hearts and minds of Baltimore. Gosh it was fun.

If you didn't wear purple clothes to work on the Friday before a game, you were a turd. Here, I wore a red blouse on Monday and was taunted (in fun) as being a homer.

In Baltimore, if you needed to go to Wegmans, go during the Ravens game. The place would be a ghost town. Here, the mall and grocery store parking lots do not seem to be impacted by Chiefs football.

Chiefs fans say they are the best fans in the world. I don't doubt it. There just aren't very many of them right now.

And then there's Larry Johnson. A real stellar guy who calls out his coach on Twitter and says he didn't know that the word "faggot" is offensive.

It's not very pretty. However, I'd still love to see a win over Jacksonville today!

Go Chiefs!

Lone wolf?

Twelve Thirteen dead, dozens more injured. Early reports were that the shooter was dead. Hours later we learned that despite being shot numerous times, he's alive and in stable condition.

I find myself glued to the cable stations. All of them.

A former co-worker, Matt Mulcahy, detailed in his blog how Twitter and other digital platforms covered the story.

Here in Kansas City, we rejoice that one of our own was injured, but survived the shooting.  Through her family, we learned that she was in the classroom when the shooting started.  She and her fellow soldiers dropped to the floor and covered each other.

But why?  What drove him to turn on his comrades?  A doctor is not supposed to kill.  Some are calling the rampage the work of a "lone wolf."