This was written a day after Carly and her boyfriend were robbed by gun-toting fools near the University of Memphis campus.
we've changed our locks
One day after my child was robbed at gunpoint, we've changed our locks. And in spite of my dip into crime stats last night, what happened to us is not a story. Here's what we found out when we questioned crime patterns around the U of M:According to Michael Keidingfield, president of the the Shelby County Crime Commission...a study of all of the crime in the neighborhoods AROUND the U of M found that most common crimes were property related... And that crimes against persons were rare.
More importantly, he says any recent incidents are "not part of continuing significant issue around campus."
So...my bad for stating that I wish the U of M neighborhood was safer.
The bad guy got her license (with our home address), her checkbook (also with our home address), her bank card, her keys and the aforementioned New Kids tape. He also messed with OUR sense of security once we realized Carly's house key was stolen. The strangest thing is that her bank card was used three times in the short hour between the crime and her conversation with First Tennessee. Small amounts, probably gas, at three different convenience stores. Shows that the perps were professionals, not newbies, at bank card theft.
Whatever. It's a diversion, not a life changing experience, right?
We'll see.
The Griz are in the playoffs! I was distracted by the robbery last night and although I waited up until the Jazz lost, it was too late for the blog. Wahoo! May I gently remind you that I used the p-word way back on January 5? I'm just saying, is all.That said, tonight's game with Atlanta was get-the-lipstick-for-the-pig ugly. I know the Grizzlies HAVE NEVER won in Hotlanta but jeez, haven't they beat every other Eastern Conference team? Two overtimes, it took. My favorite Griz continues to be James Posey. Mike Miller is from the home state but he gets hurt too much. And I hope Pau Gasol suffered only a minor injury tonight.
Let's go to Cleveland! I was there to look at editing systems and newsroom layout. We have spacial (not special) questions about our floor plan. But I also have basketball needs..
Bill Applegate, my former boss and mentor, treated me to courtside seats for last Saturday's Cleveland/Jersey game. My first opportunity to see LeBron in person. (His newsworthy website is worth a quick visit) LBJ did not disappoint. In fact, I'm convinced he's truly The Real Deal. He scored a career high 41 points and had the intensity and passion that was amazing to see. I was in awe. Still am. I tried to verbalize it but could not. Nor can I, in writing. There are plenty of places where you can read more about LBJ...you don't need to find that here.
Cleveland...reminds me of a poor Chicago in many ways. There are too many panhandlers downtown. I gave a way a lot of money because that's just my nature but it made my walks uncomfortable. I like the architecture. All the buildings have character, all the houses look different. I had fun though because I got to spend time with my former GSM Lynda Nichols and my former GM, Bill Applegate.
I miss them sometimes. Their questions made me better.
Seriously. Today I had one of the Best. Birthdays. Ever.
I can live with being 55. Double nickles. The speed limit.
Birthdays that end in 0 or 5 are more momentous than the rest.. When I turned 50, I was unemployed. OMG!
I was fresh off of an eight-year-plus stint at WMC-TV in Memphis. Legacy station. Long time number one. Ratings leader.
Some background. I was hired in at WMC in 1998 by Bill Applegate, one of the most brilliant minds in the business. He moved on to Cleveland and was replaced by Howard Meagle.
Howard and I had a difficult beginning, to say the least. We learned to appreciate each other.
I was invited to leave (fired) after the November book in 2006. Not that it was a surprise. Howard was dispatched in July, 2006 and when the new I-want-my-own-puppet GM arrived, I knew my days were numbered. I lasted four months before hearing the words..."we need/want to make a change....blah blah blah."
Two weeks after a great 50th birthday celebration (January, 2007) in SD I traded in my beloved Mustang convertible for a Ford 500 (I am still driving the white Beast) and headed to Syracuse for a job at WSTM. Fifteen months later John and I moved slightly south to the Scripps station in Baltimore, WMAR. Forty-nine weeks later...west to Kansas City and KSHB.
I have now been at NBC Action News for two years, eight months. Learned some things. Hard things. Survived another general manager change. Learned to appreciate my strengths and to fix some of my weaknesses.
I let go of Memphis. I began to appreciate Kansas City. We bought a house here.
Most of all, though, I recognize the competitive spirit of the folks at 4720 Oak. Today, I saw evidence of a high-functioning newsroom. There have been glimpses before. Today, I saw it clearly.
When I showed John this photo, without any explanation, he thought it was a young man, hand-cuffed next to a van that had been shot up.
He didn't know the 16-year-old was dead, apparently from police gunfire, after this young man and his father allegedly killed two police officers earlier in the day. Two other cops were wounded in this shoot-out.
Death toll--four. Wounded--who knows how many?
This picture is from Friday's front page of the Memphis CA. I clipped it from their website and then discovered it was in the "top ten" for the Newseum's Front Page gallery.
Full disclosure. The Commercial Appeal is a Scripps paper and I work for Scripps. And as you probably know, I spent nearly nine years in Memphis at WMC-TV (formerly a Scripps TV station).
My thoughts: Sometimes news is ugly. Sad. Horrible. It is our job to report the facts, as best we can, without bias, without judgement. I don't know how this teenager and his dad got into so much trouble. I don't know why they apparently shot police officers. I'm sad for my friends in Memphis who are in law enforcement (and for the ones who have to report on it) because it seems like my former home town has had its share of senseless violence.
Four men died in the Mid-South yesterday. One was just a kid. It's the job of news gatherers in that community to do the best they can to discover the truth and report it.
The Commercial Appeal reporters and photographer did their job. I salute their courage in publishing this photograph.
I've been paying attention to the plight of Nashville and find the lack of MSM attention interesting. Twenty-three dead, property damage is now estimated at $1.5 billion.
My friend Chez blogged about it and it reminded me of when I was in South Florida -- Hurricane Andrew destroyed a large portion of South Dade County and for a couple of days, it seemed like nobody was paying attention. I was in Memphis when a freak summer storm left nearly a half million homes without power. So here's a little bit from the Wayback Machine:
July 30, 2003. More than a week has passed since The Storm hit Memphis.
My city is in shambles. As of this moment, more than 60,000 homes are still without power. In my own newsroom, Ursula Madden, Tracy Langlois and Janice Broach are all working in the newsroom by day and dealing with life in the Delta heat sans AC by night. The storm and its wake killed seven people. The city and surrounding areas suffered damages in excess of $40 million. Assuming that each home has two occupants, it may be Friday before 120,000 have electricity. Yesterday, President Bush (may I say FINALLY) declared Shelby and Fayette a disaster area. The weirdest thing about this whole thing (for me) has been the lack of national attention. No network crews, very little mention except for a couple of voice-overs on some of the networks. Tammy Robken got the attention of a CNBC producer yesterday and Tuesday night, Shelby County mayor A C Wharton did a "Kate Hale" on CNBC (anyone who was in South Florida during Andrew will know what that is, more than ten years later) and later tonight, NBC correspondent Kerry Sanders, will arrive in Memphis to put a story together for Thursday night's Nightly News. Finally, some attention! Send money! Send baby food! Send trees!
Nashville's disaster is much worse than what Memphians experienced nearly seven years ago. I hope somebody starts paying attention to them soon.
It was a strange Easter for John and me--the hardest thing about being Empty-Nesters? Holidays were so much fun when the kids were little. Hunting for the hidden baskets, then church, then a giant meal with ham as the centerpiece.
We had none of those. I was on call so didn't go to church at my chosen time and then, and then, and then we didn't go.
We did take a brisk walk through the woods that are greening up slowly. We made phone calls to our loved ones. We had a healthy lunch. We made a late afternoon stop in the newsroom when the weather threatened. Skytracker was up, Gary Lezak and George Waldenberger were at the ready but it was a passing cell that didn't cause much alarm.
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This cartoon is by Brian Fairrington, courtesy politicalcartoons.com. The iPod was released this weekend. Reviews are rolling in. I found Jeff Jarvis' report to be most interesting, especially after seeing the list of MSM sites who've jumped on the bandwagon.
I didn't buy one. Yet.
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Tiger Woods will talk to the media Monday at 1pm central. That should be interesting. I heard a soundbite from Tom Watson on the early news. When asked what he would ask Tiger, Watson said "How are you hitting?" My question would be "WHO are you hitting?"
Sorry. The door was open, I ran through it.
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Tip of the hat to Commerical Appeal reporter Marc Perrusquia. When I lived in Memphis, I always appreciated his hard work, his sources and his incredible pursuit of the truth. Apparently, the company we work for agrees.
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And finally, a reminder that Doh! I forgot to graduate! from a blog I love. I,too, got into news sans a diploma. There are times I wish I'd finished but most of the time, I'm ok with my choices. By the way, John McIntyre is simply awesome. You should add him to your Favorites.
I finally added the local constant-Christmas-music station to my car radio. Mostly I listen to sports-talk and KC has a couple of great choices although I'm partial to The Border Patrol. Steven St. John and Nate Bukaty make me laugh on my drive to work more often than not.
Friday morning I was flipping around and heard the word "Memphis" so I stopped flipping and listened. Turns out, a "Memphis suburban mayor" posted a controversial comment on his Facebook wall, blaming President Obama's Tuesday speech about the troop surge for disrupting his family's annual Charlie Brown Christmas viewing. Russell Wiseman is the mayor of Arlington, a community east of Memphis along I-40.
The city of Memphis is an oasis of Democrats surrounded by conservative Republicans so I'm no longer surprised by outrageous political stories and comments. The conflict makes Memphis one of the greatest news markets in the country.
But seriously? President Obama planned his speech on purpose to preempt Charlie Brown? Seriously.
When I was a little kid, my limited vocabulary made me the Queen of Misheard Lyrics. I remember being so excited when (and I think it was during the summer between second and third grade) I found the Christmas-themed songs in the United Methodist Hymnal. No more listening to the sermon, each Sunday I instead read and re-read the words to songs I'd heard all my short life, finally learning the truth about what was being sung.
King forever, seasoned leather...
So Russell Wiseman, ye with the name that is a holiday classic, it's time for you to admit you were wrong. Our president is not a Muslim. Facebook is a public forum. You messed up. Apologize and move on.
Every once in awhile, I'm going to reach deep into the archives of my old blog and pull out a post from before. This particular piece was written just before the November sweeps period ended in 2004. There might be slight edits to protect the innocent...
"Sweeps Burnout."
A full week has passed since I last blogged.
And I am t i r e d o u t. Not so much that I can't function, mind you. I'm just feeling the "sweeps burnout." For instance, I watched an WREG "dramatization" super tonight that was so small (extreme lower right) that it got buried in the video. Usually I would laugh at the...attempt. Tonight I just smiled.
But you know what? This is how I always feel at the conclusion of Nielsen hell. When will we/they ever learn? We should be in "ratings" all the time. Every day, every hour, every minute. Why should we save our best behavior for three or four months of the year. I was always a "what, in the book????!" manager when it came to requests for time off in February, May or November. July, I could handle. But I've been conditioned by sales and marketing and Nielsen to avoid allowing people to take time off during those three sacred months. And I'm really starting to wonder how wise that is. Why can't I expect people to jump high in January, April or October? And if they do, and if they need some time off in a "sweeps month"...why shouldn't I let them have it? I'm just saying, is all. Changing topics...let's all relax! In the interest of amusement and relaxation, here's a joke recently sent to me:
INTERVIEW SKILLS, PLEASE. A reporter is dispatched to interview the chairwoman of the quilting society. A gentile lady, she greets him at her door with a warning: "My pit bulldog looks vicious but he's quite well behaved. But you mustn't say anything to the parrot!"
Agreeing to her terms, the reporter enters the grand dame's living room and commences the interview. And as she promised, the dog looks vicious but is calm, lying on the carpet and watching the reporter, his tongue lolling out between sharklike teeth.
But the parrot is a horror, screeching profanity and bloodcurdling curses at the top of his lungs with a voice that could curdle ice cubes. The reporter tries to persevere, but finally the bird gets to him and he mutters, "Oh, shut up, you!"
Whereupon the parrot, a wry grin on his beak, says, "Sic 'im, Spike!" ... Another topic.Action News 5 has had a good run with the Mid-South Emmys. We've won enough over the past five years to make any GM or ND proud. Last night, the 2003 nominations came out and we didn't get many. I will admit to some initial disappointment but here are the facts: WMC is number one is this market. Has been for...years. We are UP in both rating and share in the key newscasts. We are VERYCLOSE to winning all news time periods, sign on to sign off. We don't do it with a sat truck or more crews on the street or fancy graphics or a fancy slogan. We do it in the trenches. We do it with journalism. We do it with our people. We do it with Mike Puccinelli, Carrie McClure, Ron Childers, Joe Birch, Donna Davis, Kym Clark, Dave Brown, Bill Lunn and Jarvis Greer on the front lines every day. Every single one of those people listed has at least three years in the market. Six of them have more than ten years. Four have more than fifteen years. Three have 25 years or more. That's what makes us what we are. OK, so Carrie's on maternity leave but she'll be back. And until then, Renee Malone is doing a fine job of filling in. My challenge to the other NDs....I'll put Janice Broach, Joyce Peterson, Anna Marie Hartman, Darrell Phillips or George Brown on our lead story any day. And we're ably backed up by other solid reporters and photographers, producers, editors and production folks who give 110-percent because they care about the product... I'm thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to you...
