I'm breaking the rules (and I'm not sorry)

A few days ago, I found this advice to bloggers and I know I've broken Rule#4 many, many times since re-launching this blog.

To the folks who check this every day, I apologize.  I need to do better.

Frankly, I think about stuff I want to post here all the time but I just need to find the time.

Now that my management team at KSHB is set, maybe, just maybe, I can find the time to make this a daily habit again.

And if I don't?

Maybe I'll just go back to writing my book or posting my random, silly thoughts on Facebook or Twitter.

(huh?)


Nahh.

IfItWasMyHome.com - Visualizing the BP Oil Disaster

IfItWasMyHome.com - Visualizing the BP Oil Disaster

Finish strong!

One day left of the May book and my first year at KSHB is drawing to a close.  I am so incredibly proud of the effort put forth by the team!  Today, for instance, we needed some help from the engineers and they didn't even blink.  The entire news department has endured even more changes as we unveiled a new web design today.  And we did it all sans the five open positions, soon to be filled, in news managers, assignment desk, producer and MMJ.

Every day of the sweep, our folks worked hard to find stories not to be seen anywhere else.  It's a marathon and a sprint and it is hard to maintain the pressure. 

I'm so pleased to report that in almost every newscast, we are up, year to year.

We can't/won't let up.  On to July!

Ethics question. What if the news is brutal? And you captured it?

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).

Here the CA's editorial boss explaining his decision to publish the photo.

And there's more. Here's a report from WMC after the shooting  about video they captured before the photo was taken.

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.

Letters, I get letters

Ten, even five years ago...when viewers/customers felt that we had made a mistake in coverage, they called the station.  Or sent a snail-mail (letter).  These days, it's easy for them to click an email off and let me know immediately that they disagree with my news judgement.

I got a classic a couple of weeks ago.  Let me set the stage.  We were in our afternoon editorial meeting when Gary (Assignment Desk) came in to report that someone had reported a gun on the KU campus.  We determined who we'd send but moments later, it became a search for a gunman on campus and a room-by-room search of a dorm.  We went on the air for just over an hour, preempting Dr. Oz.  As much as I appreciate the wisdom of Oprah's doctor, he garner's just a one rating here in Kansas City. 

Except William wanted to see that show.  So here's what William had to say:

Peggy;

You are out of control and should be fired.
Today, as I tried to watch Dr. Oz, I saw that you were freaked out once again.
Rather than the network programming of Dr. Oz, you were executing your version of "breaking news". I now know what you mean...."breaking in on " the network programming rather than waiting your turn at your assigned news presentation time slot. Not just a brief "this is happening" blurb, but a sustained gulp of stolen time to tell the public what you DON"T actually know. I don't give a tinkers damn what stray students might think about the hubbub at KU. Frankly, I don't care about anything happening at KU, but you should accumulate and sift the facts then present them at the "News Time".
Like your stupid weather reporting, even if I had offspring attending KU, there's not a thing I could DO about the events you were reporting.
Kindly pull you head out of the nether region and stay out of network programming.

My answer to William was to thank him for taking the time to share his concerns, that we take our responsibility to deliver news in a timely fashion seriously and that I was sorry our reporting of the breaking news interferred with his plans.  I apologized for that and promised to share his message with the appropriate managers at the television station.

Sometimes that works. 

But William, I fear, will be disappointed time and time again because we no longer have a "designated news time."

I understand his frustration.  I grew up like that. 

But the rules have changed.

When I was a child, the news came on at 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm.  No sooner, no later.  In South Dakota, except for the assassinations, the Viet Nam war, Nixon hearings and other random crazy shit that happened in the 60s and 70s, the local news stations didn't break into "regular programming." 

In SD, the big news happened far away and wasn't relevant.  Weather could have been important and relevant but  a tornado on the ground in Lake Andes (a handful of miles from our farm) didn't intrude on our soap operas and TV dramas either.  I remember standing with Mom and some of the other kids, watching a funnel cloud.  Dad ran in from the field and we all spent the next few hours in the basement.  Tornado watches?  Warnings?  Nope.  TV didn't warn us, that was not their job.

How much longer before Nashville gets significant attention?

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.

Mother's Day musings

It's was downright cold for our picnic at Clinton Lake!  We ate fast and retreated to the car to warm up.  But we enjoyed the history lesson at the Wakarusa Museum and the drive around the lake. 

We also spent a little time in Lawrence...

Things I think I think (tip of the hat to SI's Peter King)

Just like clouds are different, this post will be a mish-mash--a bit of a salad.  Some lettuce, some cucumbers, a handful of edamame, 3.5 ounces of boiled chicken and of course, the hottest sauce I can find with my fat-free, sugar-free, taste-devoid Ranch dressing...I eat it almost every day for lunch.

• My diet is about to enter the third month and I'm pleased to say that I've lost 30 pounds since it began on March 8.  Yes, I miss bread and potatoes but since some folks now mention that I look like I've lost a few -- that keeps me going!  And I feel great!  And so it continues...45 lbs to go.
• My manager hires are complete.  Brooke Givens (formerly Senior Producer, 5pm) is the new morning EP.  LaQunta Dixon (formerly Deuce at WHAS, Louisville) is the new evening EP.  Brett Akagi (formerly Senior Video Producer at Star Trib in Minneapolis) is the new Assistant News Director. 
• It's been too long since I've seen Charlie.  He'll be here at the end of the month and I can hardly wait.
• WTF with the stock market today?  We were busy with the serial rape suspect so I didn't know about the loss until it was moving back up again.   From the NY Times:  The near-instantaneous swings left brokers dumbfounded. Dermott W. Clancy, who runs a New York Stock Exchange broker, said Thursday was one of the five worst days he has seen in 24 years in the business. When the market dropped across all indexes in a matter of minutes, customers were calling him nonstop. Was it really the cause and effect of a misplaced letter in an order?  (A B instead of an M).  What happens to that guy/gal?  Do they at least get a verbal warning? 
• Man U is coming to KC!  Freaking awesome.  I missed the "friendly" in Baltimore last year even though I had tickets because we moved here.  God, I hope THAT doesn't happen again.
• That's all.  There's more but it's bedtime.

Weekend in Cedar Rapids

This picture of John in front of the Czeck/Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (closed on Sundays) is appropriate for our weekend.  I was the "keynote" speaker at the Iowa Broadcaster News Association convention this past weekend.

They couldn't find anyone else.

Here's a taste of what I told them:
When I was in Syracuse (just one winter, 125 inches of snow is a serious wakeup call) I hired a young reporter right out of college. Until then I’d never had a Facebook page. Until then I’d never hired a reporter based solely on his web resume. Until then I hadn't met Ray Villeda.

Believe it or not, Syracuse, despite the university, is not a destination market. And although the Orange are great at basketball and host one of the best J-schools in the nation, most of those kids are looking to get away from the eight month winter by the time they’ve finished four or five years of college. Ray, however, was different. He went to Ithaca College…(Ithaca is in the banana belt of Central New York…they only get about 70 inches of snow). Ray had no commercial television reporting experience but I hired him anyway. Sure he made mistakes but he was my project so we worked on writing, editing, presentation and six months in, he was leading newscasts with his stories.

It nearly broke my heart when I had to tell Ray and eleven of his-coworkers that it was over. Last in, first out. That’s the union way. The choices I made were dictated by a collective bargaining agreement and at the time, I almost quit TV news for good because it made me sick. I had hired some of the people we laid off that day and most are no longer in the news business. Ray’s story has a happy ending though. He worked at another station in Syracuse for a year and is now at WFSB in Hartford.

Those of us who remain, whether we’re managers or not, have a responsibility to work together as news gatherers—news is a team sport. I subscribe to many online resources to help me navigate the pathway of management and one I love is written by Jill Geisler, who lives in Milwaukee but is a leadership mentor at the Poynter Institute. She was the country’s first female news director of a major market network affiliate, and built an award-winning newsroom culture at WITI in Milwaukee, her home town. Hers was a teaching newsroom, where coaching and collaboration were as important as ethics and enterprise.

Here’s what Jill says about working in newsgathering today:

Your organization has cut staff, salaries and benefits, and it has asked employees to take on more work. If I ask about morale, the answer's obvious: It's taken a hit. But let's talk about how morale is measured and managed.

Morale can be measured across multiple dimensions. Consider who on your team might say:

I get satisfaction from my job.

I feel valued in this company.

I'm compensated fairly for my work.

I have a chance to grow.

People look out for each other here.

I respect and trust my boss.

I believe in what we do.

I think the leadership of this organization is moving us in the right direction.
When a substantial number of your co-workers find it hard to agree with a substantial number of those statements, morale is suffering.
What can you do about it?
First, take note that only one of those morale metrics deals directly with money. Make no mistake, money matters, and I never had a co-worker who demanded a decrease. Cuts hurt. But they're not necessarily fatal to morale.
That may come as a surprise to managers and employees who think money changes everything and assume that lowered wages and benefits dramatically impair engagement.
Bottom line? If you believe low morale is tied to dollars alone, you'll miss important opportunities to boost job satisfaction in ways that don't take a dime out of an anemic budget.

Can I get an amen?

Journalists should be careful with charges of racism - KansasCity.com

Best team in baseball (for now)

It was Zack Greinke bobblehead night at The K Saturday.  But it rained all day and John was growing increasingly irritable at the thought of sitting in the cold and wet ballpark.  Still, I convinced him by purchasing a Harmon Killebrew jersey because he didn't want me to be all dressed up with nowhere to go.  We snagged two of the soon-to-be valuable trinkets despite my attire.  Hooray!

It rained all the way to the ballpark and as we listened to the pre-game show on the radio, the announcer opined that the game probably wouldn't start until 8pm or so.  Buzz kill!

Miraculously, the rain ended just as we arrived and we walked through mist to the field.  John overheard a foursome ahead of us talking about Beale Street and struck up a conversation.  Turns out, one of them is Paige Heyward's sister.  (Paige is a producer at NBC Action News.)  Random!

Joe Mauer was incredible, as usual.  Almost hit for the cycle.

It was chilly and damp but really, not bad even though I was worried that the Twins wouldn't pull it off.  The Royals had numerous chances to win the game but three errors doomed them and the boys from Minnesota prevailed in the 12th inning.

I sure love going to baseball games!

Twins in town!

I agree with Ryan Kath.  If I can't live in Minneapolis, and frankly, it doesn't look like my career is moving in that direction, Kansas City is a pretty good place to be for a Twins fan.

I've got tickets to Saturday's game.  We'll be in Section 223.  I'll be wearing Twins gear; John will be disguised as a Royals fan.

He's so scary.

Seconds after the Chiefs picked Eric Berry in the NFL draft, my son Charlie called to say he wants an Eric Berry Chiefs jersey.

Best line of the day/week/maybe month?

"In my next life, I'm going to pose for Tony's Kansas City."

--Brooke Givens, new Executive Producer of NBC Action News

A taste of RTDNA

I used my Flip to document the five days of Radio Television Digital News Association and National Association of Broadcasters convention...I hope you get the sense that there's a lot of walking!

Shepard Smith and Haiti, 18 years ago

This came up during conversation at RTDNA in Las Vegas.  I remember this day very well.  It was scary for Shepard, Cesar Aldar and Moreau.  Tom and I look so...young!

Diet update...with some temptation thrown in

My diet is now four weeks old and according to my doctor, I've lost 22 pounds.  Awesome. 

The question is how I will respond to the temptations of NAB/RTDNA in Las Vegas!  Yikes.  I have a plan, though.  Good luck to me.

I just like this

Watching Women's Basketball, Musing All the While

 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.
-----------------

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.
------------------
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.
-----------------
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.
-----------------
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.

Happy Anniversary John Phillip

Twenty-three years ago, I married a guy.  At the time, he was the love of my life but who knew if it would last?  From Reno to Miami to Tulsa to Boston to Chicago to Memphis to Syracuse to Baltimore to Kansas City, John has been my rock.  Last year, I forgot to buy a card so made a list of the reasons why I'm one lucky gal.  This year, I thought I'd try again and it was easy to come up with 23 more!

1. I love your fiendish attacks on word puzzles in the newspaper.

2. I love going to baseball games with you, despite your misguided worship of the Yankees.

3. I love how helpless you are when you get sick.

4. I love that when I told you last May that we were probably moving AGAIN you didn’t flinch (much).

5. I love how gentle you are when helping my mom.

6. And for that matter, I love how much you love being with my family. OUR Family.

7. I love how you sold our Baltimore house, all by yourself, saving us thousands of dollars.

8. I love house-hunting with you in Kansas City.

9. I love the movies you pick for us to watch on Netflix. Well, almost always.

10. I love finding new recipes on the internet for us to try. And I can’t wait until I’ve lost enough weight so that we can do it again!

11. I love going to the grocery store with you, even when you wander off and get lost. Oh yeah, it’s me who gets lost.

12. I love how you’ve supported my diet and haven’t complained, not once, about the plain meals we eat now.

13. I love your annual ritual of studying college basketball for days before completing your NCAA brackets…and how surprised you are when you don’t win.

14. I love your fierce loyalty to Carly and Charlie, no matter what choices they make.

15. I love that you hate to attend social functions but always do, anyway.

16. I love how, once you arrive at said social function, you mingle and are charming and funny. Did I tell you we have to go to The Fur-Ball on May 8th?

17. I love how you helped me survive my very sad 53rd birthday this year when we had to say goodbye to our darling Dottie.

18. I love that you had the strength to stay with her the whole time because I couldn’t.

19. I love how you’re getting more interested in politics.

20. I love your patience with Billy.

21. I love how we can’t get through Omaha without some drama. But now, after all these years, we just laugh about it instead of getting into a fight.

22. I love how people wonder how/why I, a well-known bitch-on-wheels, got so lucky.

23. I love that coming up with a new list next year won’t be too hard!

Haley Has a Sense of Humor? Awesome!

Love the Local News Queen.

Check out this new blog by an anonymous TV reporter!

She's smart and sassy and I love her writing.  Sadly, I don't think she'll remain anonymous for long.  When I first started blogging, I considered keeping my name off my opinions.  I decided the effort it would take to hide my identity would be impossible to maintain.

From the Wayback Machine--March 31, 2003

Here's a look at what was on my mind seven years ago (from the first blog):

How can it possibly be the end of March already?
I've had it with "March Madness" since my two brackets are now worthless pieces of paper. I only had Marquette in the Final Four on one slip and not in the championship game. There's always next year.
I guess I hope Syracuse wins and then it will be interesting to see if Carmelo Anthony stays in school or heads to the NBA draft.
Speaking of NBA, the Grizzlies play the Lakers (at LA) in about a half hour. I will watch some and maybe all of the game, even though those west coast games wear me out. Last night's heart killer against the Clippers just did me in. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
On to the war. I thought I was outraged by Michael Moore's comments at the Oscars. Then Peter Arnett topped him and all previous.
Our viewer email was frighteningly angry. Some of those people seriously think Arnett and Joe Birch share an office except when we dispatch Arnett to Baghdad. Yikes!
I caught up on some reading tonight--I read Digital TV and enjoyed Scott Jones' advice about agents. Mr. Jones, as you know, is the founder of the newly upgraded FTV.  I agreed with almost everything in the column EXCEPT the part about market size. He believes you don't need an agent until you're in the top 60 markets. I say half that is fine. Top 30.
Of course, my postion on agents may be clouded by the fact that I'm in the top 43rd market. However, I do know that NDs at this level don't have as much wiggle room in the salary line of budgets with which to negotiate.
I also read a Sports Illustrated article on Bill Clinton and golf...and how much he cheats. It's in last week's issue, the one with the aforementioned March Madness on the cover. Unfortunately, it's not a linked story so you'll have to borrow or buy the issue to read it. Even if you don't like golf, I think you'll enjoy the perspective. The former president doesn't do "mulligans," he does "Billigans."
It's news time, I gotta go watch the 10p and then see how Lorenzen handles Shack. Or not.


posted by pp @ Monday, March 31, 2003

Happy Snowy Saturday--First Day of Spring!

On this, the First Day of Spring, a bunch of NBC Action News 5 (thank Mark, for pointing out my mistake)  staffers got up early to welcome the day by starting our morning news an hour early so that we could report on the (hopefully) last winter storm of the season.

I didn't get pics of everybody--Brandon Billinger, Beth Vaughn, Keith King and Chris Morrison were out in the snow and slush; overnight Assignment Editor Stephanie Liebergarden had gone home to sleep before I started snapping photos.

Here's George Waldenberger and Eric Schultz on the street near the station.

Videotape editing and web publishing are inside jobs.

Obviously, it's a bit chilly in the control room.

Gary and Najahe with the crack studio crew.

And last but not least, Charlie Ray, keeping it all together in the newsroom.

Happy St. Pats!

I'm not Irish...but I offer this for your holiday listening.

Excellent Movie!

It's only taken me seven years to watch this film about Stephen Glass and his made-up stories written for "The New Republic."  If you haven't seen it, grab it on DVD...and make sure you see Steve Kroft's interview with the real liar on "60 Minutes."

Me. On a Diet.

I read this today about Rex Ryan getting the lap-band surgery.  And this about Weight Watchers.  And this about how I can blame genetics for my "bigness."

See?  I can hardly write the word obese.  It's an ugly word, especially when spit out like a nasty taste by the little cartoon trainer on my Wii Fit machine.

(sigh)

I've been overweight for most of my adult life.  The only time not was during the post-divorce days in the mid-80s.  Since then it's been one diet after another.  I'd lose a little and then, eventually, gain back more.  Classic yo-yo.

I'm now under a doctor's care and following the diet she recommends.  Aside from a daily sublingual dose of HCG it's mostly protein -- steak and/or chicken and veggies.  No starch, no sugar.  No wine.  And no whining.

I started the plan when I was in South Dakota last weekend and I'm doing this for the people you see in the picture.  Mostly, it's for the one right in the middle.  Me.

/p

When I Read the Headline, I did a Doubletake

A television station in Georgia triggered a panic when it broadcast a mock half-hour report about a Russian invasion of the country.

And then I realized I was thinking of the wrong Georgia.
 
Just goes to show that for some of us, the Cold War is not such a distant memory!

Snow on the Prairie Farm

Check this out.  We are in South Dakota to see the family.  Saturday afternoon it snowed for about an hour.  Huge fluffy flakes.  I tried to capture the magic with my camera.  These were taken with a fast shutter (1/2000) and a flash. 

The images are almost devoid of color except when the flash hit something other than snowflakes.

This old schoolhouse (with a Case tractor in front) is a copycat of the one I attended for the first four years of elementary school in the mid-60s.  I learned to read via Dick, Jane and Sally in a schoolhouse like this.  One teacher, eight grades.

My dad uses it as a shop and he restored a 1951 Ford pickup in there.

These three evergreen trees are just west of the house.  The one that leans is that way because of a tornado that hit it in the summer of 1998.

The road to town is just beyond those trees

This is Millie.  She will be glad when winter is over.

Post-Olympics Hangover? Nope!

An interesting seven days.

We survived our first week off the Olympics teat and I'll be happy if our performance is indicative of the future.  We remained competitive in the early evening and late newscasts (number one last night at 10pm!).  We have work to do in the morning but I know once the team is complete on both sides of the camera, we will be on our way.

Friday was Craig Allison's last day.  I can truthfully say he is one of the most thoughtful General Managers I've ever worked with and I will miss him greatly.  I'm excited, though, for the future because our new boss is definitely engaged in the battle at hand.

KCTV is advertising for a "sportscaster."  What an old-fashioned term!  Remember when the former sports director for KCTV was on the cover of "The Communicator" in a story about how sportscasts didn't drive viewers etc etc?

From where I sit, the other stations in Kansas City have ceded sports to us.  We were the only broadcast outlet to send a crew to Surprise, AZ for Royals spring training.  That shocked me, given the performance of Zach Greinke and Billy Butler.

It's ok if they try to catch up.

From My Google Reader

From time to time, I'll share items of interest from my RSS feeds...

This Week in Review: Surveying the online news scene, web-first mags, and Facebook patents its feed

Posted using ShareThis

Katie, Bar the Door!

I love this video.  I love the Rizzo kid.  I love the speech.  When the youngster talks about the Russian hockey team, I mentally replace that country with the call letters of my opponents--KMBC, WDAF and KCTV.

The February book has only a few more days left.  We put our focus on the evening newscasts and I'm pleased with how it's played out, so far.  I'll miss Vancouver but I think that in almost every instance, our news team put its best effort out there and it will be interesting to see how our local news ratings play out when programming goes back to normal.

The Olympics are over and soon we'll find out what is real and what is a halo from the winter games. 

No matter what happens, we can never, ever give up.

I Heard the News Today, Oh Boy

We have a new General Manager at KSHB and he's somebody I worked with before...a long time ago.

Mike Vrabac has been the GM at KJRH for the past four years...he's managed Tulsa's NBC affiliate for the most successful years at the station in the past twenty years or more. 

And yes, we have some history.

In 1994, I was a first-time ND at KJRH and Mike was the GSM.  I arrived in February, he left in October to go to KOTV (also in Tulsa).  I recall his wry sense of humor and that he talked about "inventory" and "cost per point."  I learned from and liked him. 

Until 1994 I had never attended a TV department head meeting and I struggled to find my way with not one but two consultants, each breathing different messages in my ears.  Add to that, a disfunctional relationship with the GM.  We didn't have a shared vision. Fresh off of four years at WSVN in Miami,  I wanted to make my mark as the Queen of Breaking News, an unlikely goal in our quiet corner of Oklahoma (until the Murrah Building got blown up).  Meanwhile, my boss wanted us to do most stories about the ballet and the library.  We were a terrible match.  Not his fault.  My lack of focus, naiveté and lack of common sense eventually got me fired in 1996.

I have often said that I probably should have been fired sooner.  I made every mistake a new manager makes and some of them more than once.  I lasted two years in Tulsa before taking the bullet.

(Rumor contol.  Mike Vrabac did not fire me from KJRH)

I'm excited about the possibilities!

Long Beautiful Hair....

What is the big deal about hair? 

Genetics made me a blonde.  My six siblings and our mom sport hair that's various shades of yellow, thanks to our German heritage. 

Supposedly, that's a good thing but I've always felt that I had "bad hair."  Being blonde is ok, I guess but I was a permaholic for years, attempting to make my fine strands be more...full of life.  I've always wished for curls or waves or SOMETHING different.  About five years ago, I stopped getting my hair permed every six months and some days, frankly, I can't do much with my limp locks.  So now I do the best I can with a squirt of root boost or not.  I am what I am.

I know this is a big issue for some of my black friends.  Before Chris Rock's movie "Good Hair," my former co-worker Sandra Hamer wrote a book entitled "Glory, The Hair" about her encounters with a hairdresser;  it's a great read about faith, life and hair.  Rene Syler, who I worked with in Reno and was on the CBS morning show for years has documented her struggles with hair on Facebook and her blog.

I've had plenty of African-American female co-anchors talk to me about hair issues over the past thirty years and while I can't exactly understand what they go through, I know the conflict is real.

I admire women who are comfortable with the hair God gave them.  But I also understand the zeal to change it no matter what your heritage.

Seven years ago, our daughter Carly came home from Spain with a couple of dreadlocks.  She got her hair twisted into the locks on the beach and frankly, I didn't give it much thought.

A fews months later, though, she had twisted most of her long blong hair into locks and I couldn't help but complain.

"Our hair doesn't go this way" I told her.  "It's not natural."  I probably had a body wave in my own hair while I was lecturing her.

After awhile I grew used to the ropes of Carly's dreads and the attention she always drew. 

People stopped us and wanted to touch it.  Children were always especially fascinated.  Most older adults didn't like it.

I remember taking her to see "Heart" when we still lived in Memphis and we happened to be seated next to a hairdresser who was so horrified by Carly's apppearance she promised to "fix it," if she was given enough time.  She offered her services for free. 

My motherly protection mode kicked in and I thanked her politely but said I liked Carly's hair just as it was.

And I did!

Fast forward.

When we were in South Dakota at Thanksgiving, Carly announced that she had decided to cut her dreads.  For a short time, we were all going to cut one off and take it home as a souvenier...but cooler heads prevailed!

She talked to some experts and today, my daughter took a big step and combed out, then cut off the dreadlocks she's worn for the past seven years.

Isn't she lovely?

I'm a Believer in Miracles

I've enjoyed, so much, today's retrospectives on the 1980 Olympic hockey team.  Back then I was a much thinner, younger, cuter girl.  Not yet married, I had an apartment in Reno with my pal Cindy Scripps (yes, that Scripps) but being the South Dakota corn pone that I was, I had no idea of her heritage...or that I would eventually work (twice) for the company that bears her name.

We both worked for KTVN, the CBS affiliate, but not in news...we were in the traffic department (not that there's anything wrong with that).  Here's how I remember it--we spent our days entering endless series of numbers into a computer that would eventually spit out a log used by master control so they would know which spots to run and when.  A real fun job.  Real fun.  Now I realize how difficult it really is but back then, I was clueless.

Cindy had a white 13-inch color TV that sat on our coffee table in the living room and that's where I saw the replays of "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"

So three decades later, how FINE is it that the USA-Canada hockey game ended with the Americans winning?

Jack Harry just called me a few minutes ago.  Apparently his email and Twitter accounts are burning up with angry folks...mad as hell because tonight's hockey game was showed on MSNBC in analog rather than on NBC in HD clarity.

Jack wanted to know how to respond...and it's not hard to figure--the shirts at NBC made this decision weeks or months ago, based on the odds...that Team USA would not prevail against the favored Canada skaters.

I told Jack to remind viewers that these decisions are not made in Kansas City.  Because sometimes, boys and girls, network executives make mistakes.

I know, I know.  The men (women?) at the top have incredible resources at their command...research, ratings, history, focus groups...but still, they stumble at times.  Those of us way, way down the food chain suffer the consequences.

And Now Here's Something Really Different!

For a few years, the best thing on TV (for me) was The Gong Show.  I raced to my dorm many afternoons (Jerde Hall) at Northern State College (now University) to dance along with Gene Gene The Dancing Machine.

Enjoy!



I probably need counseling to figure out why Chuck Barris is still so hilarious to me.

Another Take on The Work Circus

Keeping the Plates Spinning
By MICHAEL WINERIP
Published: February 19, 2010
Many baby boomers are having to adjust to the modern workplace, where employees are consumed with calculating how to do more with less.

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.

What's on the Menu?

Staring Down the Challenge of Breaking News

Sometimes you're good.  Sometimes you're lucky.  We had a combination of both Sunday afternoon when a snow squall hit the Metro (not unexpected).  Our weather team had been saying all week that there would be snow on Valentine's Day.

I was already headed to the station when Caroline Rooney called me to say that a multi-car crash on I-70 had shut down the interstate.  Could we fly the helicopter?  Of course I said yes.

My trip to 4720 Oak Street had nothing to do with severe weather.  My intention of mischief will be fodder for another day but as I headed north on I-35 shortly after 1pm, I realized the road was somewhat slick.  By the time I got to the station, Caroline was in full breaking news mode.  She had already sent a reporter/photographer and live truck to the scene.  She had called Captain Gregg Bourdon and was awaiting his decision about the safety of putting the chopper in the air.

My partners-in-crime, Booke Givens and her daughters, worked our magic on a favorite co-worker's office and Caroline worked the assignment desk. 

When I saw the chopper video feed of the chain-reaction crashes on I-70 we decided to do the unthinkable--break into the NBC matinee coverage of the Olympics.

Wanna see the video that both CNN and NBC couldn't wait to get their hands on?  Here it is.

Some background.  I always love being at the helm of breaking news when I know another station really can't break in without a great deal of angst (NCAA basketball, the Oscars, etc).

So here's karma...the angst of breaking news decision-making because it's the Olympics!

With Tom, Phil and Jennifer in the control room and Mark in front of the camera, we jumped in over a Costas studio interview.  We stayed on until we felt we had warned people of the danger and showed the amazing video from Skytracker.  We didn't miss any Olympic events and we got off the air right at 3pm.

The remainder of the afternoon coverage was breaking news alerts, streaming video on the web and crawls over programming.  Larry Seward and Beth Vaughn were live at 5pm from two of the crash scenes.


Only one person called to complain.

Whew.

KMBC broke into their afternoon movie about an hour after we did.  I didn't see anybody else jump into the fray before evening newscasts but maybe I missed something?

This afternoon's exercise was perfect for the delicate dance that is breaking news.  I think we nailed it.

A Salute to the Departed

Newspapers occasionally publish ads congratulating themselves for various achievements. But a most unusual ad appeared last week in The Star Tribune of Minneapolis with a less upbeat message, honoring — and naming — newsroom employees who had left the newspaper in wave after wave of staff cuts.


From the NY Times.

New Faces

About six weeks ago, I blogged about how difficult hiring great people can be.  At the time, we had five positions open.  Since then, one more MMJ job opened up but as of today, FOUR jobs have been filled.

And I have to amend my earlier statement because when you find the right fit, you just know.  On this night, I think I'm one lucky news director because four folks are joining our team and I know they are perfect for our team.  And it's all happened within the past few weeks:

Welcome George Waldenberger, Beth Vaughn, Najahe Sherman and Curtis Jay!

I have one more MMJ to hire...and also, now, someone to sit second chair.  Eric Maze is leaving to head a news team in Florida.  Eric's footprint is a big one.  Can you handle the challenge?  If so, go to the company website and apply!  (Click on "Careers.")

What's Next? Black Lights on Hotel Sheets?

KMBC reporter Lara Moritz presided over a live Taser demo Monday night.

Hats off to Tony's KC for his dissertation on the matter.

Hi and larious!

Sinatra's Killer Song

I've commented before about how much I love the Sunday NYTimes.  Wierdest story in today's paper has to be this one detailing how a song can be deadly in some karaoke bars.

John took me to see Frank Sinatra when he appeared at what was then the MGM Grand in either 1985 or '86.  It was incredible, even though Mr. Sinatra had to use a teleprompter to help himself remember the words.

I was in Chicago when he died and somewhere in a box, I still have the special tribute editions of the Tribune and Sun-Times from then.

Whistling in the Dark

My cheese got moved AGAIN Friday morning when KSHB General Manager Craig Allison announced that he'll take an "early out."  Craig has been with Scripps for thirty years and I'm a bit jealous of his ability to start living the second half of his life exactly the way he wants to.

I will miss him.  He's been a good boss.

Beginning Middle End

Beginning:  The day started normally.  Coffee.  Morning show.  Newspaper.  Drive to work.  Then it went a bit south when Eric Maze, the assistant news director resigned.  He's been tapped to be the news director at WFTX in Fort Myers, Fl.  This wasn't unexpected and I'm happy for him but selfishly, I hate to see him go.  Eric is a solid, smart leader.  He'll be a great news director.

Middle:  Lunch with a strong news manager.  We met at NoRTH in Leawood (119th and Roe).  They have a salad (Tutta La Casa) that is fabulous!  Forty-five minutes of conversation about local news in Kansas City and then I headed back to the office.  Brief meeting with the EP of special projects to tune up a special report for Friday's 6pm news.  Tweaked plan to introduce new anchor Curtis Jay who joins us in mid-February. 

Our afternoon editorial meeting was relatively painless although we didn't have, IMHO, any home run story ideas for the late news.  I hate it when that happens.

In my haste to log-on to my computer so I could print some contracts, I accidentally re-set my password to nonsense which then could not be replicated.  After numerous attempts, I called Mark Bunker (IT) and the reset included signing a Sarbanes-Oxley document!  Grrr. I entered a new password with the help of the benevolent Mr. Bunker but by then I had been off-line for an HOUR!  Spent the next section of the afternoon answering a handful of viewer emails.  We got one today that was a doozy--the fellow had a laundry list of complaints including one about how we spent more time covering hungry puppies in Kansas than a double murder in KC.  Color me confused.

End:  After the post I drove a few blocks to Bluestem (Westport and Madison) to meet another potential new pal.  David Jimenez is the friend of my friend Dwayne Raymond.  What a delightful evening!  We enjoyed some Malbec and told each other stories for three hours.  I can't wait until we get together again.  I've promised to take him to a Royals game.  He's lived in KC for five years and hasn't been yet.  I will try to teach him to love baseball--or at least to enjoy a beer and a hotdog with thousands of others.

I watched the late news on the DVR.  Tomorrow starts 28 Days of February Sweep.  After three decades in TV, I still get nervous about how this will all turn out. 

I'm hopeful.  And tired.  Time to call it a Day.

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...