"Speed dating" our adult children...

The Game of Life?  Here's a square that doesn't exist...Empty Nest.  I can't decide if that's one that should send a player forward or backwards.  I do know that nothing really prepared me for my newborn babies or the sense of loss when they moved away from home.

When our kids were small, John and I used to treasure the handful of solitary hours on a weekend.  A softball game, a sleep over (somewhere else).  Bliss!

TV news was no less the task master when I wasn't a news director.  Most days were 10-12 hours plus the commute (I've always been salaried, somehow).  Sometimes we stole family time from our kids by playing video games (Dr. Mario) on their time and I wish we had those hours back.

Carly is now in Reno with her partner Denis.  She has a great job at Whole Foods.  Chaz is a senior at the University of Tennessee.  Both are adults who rarely need help from Mom and Dad. 

This weekend, we'll all be together for about 52 hours.  Sorta.  Carly and Denis fly to Omaha at 12:50pm Friday and Charlie arrives there ten minutes later.  All three depart Omaha Sunday evening at around 5:30pm.  In between is the happy wedding of my niece Cheray to Tyler in Brookings, SD (Home of Endless Possibilities), which is about three hours north of Omaha.  Subtract six hours in the car and sixteen hours for sleeping and it's about thirty hours of Together Time with our kids.  Assuming that they won't spend every waking moment with us, it's like spurts of opportunity to make those important parental points that we might have neglected when they were growing up:

•  You can't write Thank You notes soon enough
• The Boy Scout Rules are pretty right on
• Balancing the checkbook is really, really important

We're already old and rather uncool so we have to do this without seeming obvious.  It's not easy.  Especially since I've written it all in a blog that my kids might/could see.

Hey...over-communication isn't a bad thing!

What local news needs to succeed.

It's not about when (4:30am, 9pm, etc)

It's about WHAT.

It's content.  Important stories.  Avoiding the easy news releases.  Looking for the tough angle.  Asking the hard questions.  Never settle.



 Never settle.

Building a brand

Sunday, the Chiefs will attempt what hasn't happened in a hefty handful of years.  Going 2-0 to start the season.

They surprised many with their win over San Diego Monday night in the rain.

I hope these new Chiefs are for real.  I'm fascinated by the young draft class and especially Eric Berry because he went to UT where my son is in his final year (fingers crossed).

EB's website proves he is interested in building a professional brand.  That's great. 

I tried and failed once at using the internet as a way to build a professional brand.  (I'll save you the trouble of google-ing it)

I failed because I didn't remain professional enough.

It's a slippery slope but here I am, back again.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Wednesday Eve

It's only Tuesday and already my hair is on fire. 

That's not a bad thing.  It's just a thing.  This is the time of year when news directors who work on a calendar-year-budget try to predict the future and guess how much it will cost to run a newsroom for the next year.  I did not budget correctly in 2010 for two big events (Scott Roeder trial, Chiefs camp in St. Joe).  Both were predictable and I'm challenging myself to do better for 2011.

I'm also challenging myself as a leader to learn (and help my team to learn) how we can improve our response to distributing news and information on "the set, net and cell."  Not as easy as it sounds!

And then there's the personal stuff.  Somehow, I didn't pay close attention to how our company health insurance works.  Son Charlie is a full-time college student (in his fifth year; will graduate next May).  His birthday falls at the wrong time of the year and he got too old (age 23) for the Scripps coverage.  We were faced with a COBRA payment of $550 per month (not in the personal budget) through the end of the year.  I, for one, am happy that the health care reform bill will allow me to cover his medical expenses as of January 1, 2011.  And I'm thankful that the University of Tennessee has a health insurance alternative that costs just $350 for the fall semester that will take care of the minor emergencies.  It's not the best but hopefully Charlie can avoid a catastrophic health crisis for the next four months.

New topic.

So what about those Chiefs!?  I watched last night's game from beginning to end (and what the H happened with the KMBC signal for the first eight minutes?)  I looked for an explanation on their website and Facebook page.  Maybe I missed it?  The station got thrashed in the Twitter universe when the "technical difficulties" slide came up instead of the game.  I watched on ESPN2...and made a mental note that I'd always have a plan B and C if I had such a huge game to broadcast.  (Please, NFL and NBC, please?)

Life lessons.  Gotta love 'em!

On this day of remembrance; let's practice tolerance (which is not weakness)

All that and a bag of wackos

The minister of a small church in central Florida hijacked the nation's common sense this week.  Late Thursday afternoon, after days of coverage of Terry Jones' rants, he now claims that he's canceled his plans to burn the Quran on the anniversary of this country's darkest day.

This morning, the folks at Poynter issued some guidelines for coverage of what they called "a lone voice with a tiny following."

Among their suggestions:

 * Cover the reaction, not the fanatic. There are some creative responses to Jones' lunacy. Mother Jones wrote about a group that is rallying people to send a Quran to Afghanistan for every text Jones burns. Local churches and other organizations have planned dozens of events  to draw people away from the Quran burning. Already the response is greater than the event itself. Your coverage should reflect that.

* Talk about how you will react to confrontations ahead of time. A little pushing and shoving can look like a big kerfuffle depending on how you describe it or crop the image. Have a plan to ensure the events are accurately portrayed, so that production work, like creating a video tease or sending out a tweet, doesn't mislead your audience or undermine your journalistic purpose.

* Help your audience understand why this is hate speech, not a simple protest. Hate speech targets an entire group for a particular characteristic. In this case it's belief in the Quran as a holy scripture. A protest denounces a certain action or set of circumstances, not an entire group of people. Jones has justified his plan by claiming the Quran is "evil" and "Islam is of the Devil." He and his followers will burn the Quran with guns holstered at their sides. He admits the act is likely to incite violence.

Fox News announced their intention NOT to cover the burning of Islam's sacred book.  The Associated Press also distributed guidelines but didn't go so far as to say they would not cover the event.  The Columbia Journalism Review says the AP standards were too little, too late.  Perhaps Poynter was a little late to the party, as well.  Joel Mears of the CJR entreats us to "push back against a PR stunt and run in the other direction of a media pack all too ready to pounce on a flame."

I agree, Joel.  By the way, we were among the local Kansas City TV station news departments, who, along with the KC Star, covered the Ringling Brothers circus elephants eating lunch at the Sprint Center this week.

I know this comparison is a stretch but when will we stop being lemmings?

Hail, South Dakota!

John and I spent the holiday weekend with my parents and most of my siblings in Wagner, South Dakota.

I left work relatively early on Friday and we traveled north but because we stopped too many times (darn historical markers, etc!) we spent the night in Omaha and then finished our seven-hour journey Saturday morning.

Just north of Sioux City, Iowa is this sign, welcoming me home.  I always feel such a sense of calm when we cross over. 

There's something very special about the sky in South Dakota...it's so huge and blue on the flat prairie.  Calming and wonderful!

Especially incredible is the night sky.  The nearest "city" is Sioux Falls, two hours away, so there is not much light pollution.  The sky is just amazing.  You can easily see satellites, moving quickly through the dark canvas.

We wondered if they photographed us, sitting around our campfire Sunday night as Dad recalled his days in the Air Force, working on the B-36 Peacemaker during the Korean War.

Dad's stories were interrupted every so often by coyotes howling in the cornfields.  It was thrilling (and chilling) to hear them so nearby.  Coyotes are not dangerous to humans but once we realized how close they were, Lucy and Sidney, Pam and Perry's dogs, got kenneled, just in case...

Dad's brother, my Uncle Noel Wiechmann, was quite a photographer and Dad was able to secure his cameras and a tripod recently so, using Uncle Noel's tripod, I tried to capture the brilliant stars with my digital camera.  The shutter was set at 16 seconds and the aperture at 2.8.  Not the greatest because reality was so much better.  I was disappointed but when I go back in three weeks, I'm going to try again (after consulting with Brett Akagi).

I may need to use my uncle's 1970s-era Olympus.  I wonder what batteries it needs?

I saw many friends and relatives during the time we were in Wagner.  Here is the incomplete short list with their former names--Paula Faughender, Ina Miller, Don Doty, John Chrisman, Bruce Chrisman, Jeff Uecker, Julie and JoAnn Winckler, Sherrie and John Wiechmann, Jane Wipf, Pearl Weber, Patty Sip, Rod Cozad, Mark Gau, Chris Andersh and Karen Kocer.  Forgive if I didn't mention you!

Monday, we went to the Wagner Labor Day parade.  In this photo you can see my sister Pam talking to her grandson Hudson, John, Paula's husband Randy, my mom and dad and Cheray Gibson and her soon-to-be-husband Tyler Christiansen.  This was just before it started raining...

Thankfully, the rain was short-lived.  The procession, however, was not.  We were thankful when, after an hour and a half of grass-roots politicking, old tractors, some floats, one marching band and a lot of antique cars, we finally saw the horses.  Horses mean the end of the parade!  We hustled across the street to have lunch with the United Methodists.


In doing so, I apparently missed the big story of the day.  This wagon went into the crowd later down the route when something spooked the horses.  We were near the beginning of the procession but I got a shot of the horse-drawn buggy (seen here in much calmer times) when I was trying to capture the hilarious image of a motorized cooler.

Thankfully, the injuries were minor. 

Another great Labor Day in Wagner, South Dakota!

Early morning news

Some say we're lemmings but at WMC in Memphis, the 4:30am news has been SOP for nearly a decade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/business/media/01morning.html

Get used to it folks, the day starts sooner and ends earlier.

4:30am

 I'm pretty sure they WERE planning an earlier start.  And our announcement forced them to announce the earlier start earlier than they planned.  :)

http://www.bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/kmbcnowstarting430.html

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.

I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take this anymore

Steven Slater's story really struck a chord with me. And with stressed out workers everywhere, apparently. Who hasn't considered grabbing two beers, screaming a few obscenities and pulling the ripcord on their career?

"Screw it! I'm outta here!"

Sunday night I met up with my former co-worker Tony Kovaleski and his wife Laurie.  They overnighted in Kansas City while taking their daughter to Mizzou.  Tony and I worked together 25 years ago at KTVN in Reno.  During our dinner at Abuelos in Zona Rosa and for two plus subsequent hours we remembered and laughed about our early careers in television.  I was a green reporter when Tony arrived and even though he'd already earned his stripes at a TV station in Eureka, California, our boss ordered me to "show him the ropes."

I had worked my way into the newsroom from traffic and receptionist.  I'd paid my dues so I was fully prepared to hate Tony.  In fact, I already did hate him.

Tony's immediate and obvious competence forced me to spend most of my time sulking in the news car while he and a photojournalist gathered information and sound on a story about residential mailbox vandalism.  He didn't need me to show him the ropes.  I realized pretty quickly that I would soon be learning from him.

But he couldn't know that.  I had to keep it a secret.  So I resorted to my first, best defense.

I made fun of him.  To his face.

Tony and Chip Baker (the photographer, RIP) were prepping for his stand-up and I rolled down the window of the news car so I could exercise some intimidation, in case he was nervous.

"Three-two-one-mark," he said and then launched into his stand-up.

I started laughing.

"Who the hell is Mark?" I teased him.  He tried to explain that doing a countdown helped the editor find the starting place but I would have none of it.  I just mocked him unmercifully, all the way back to the station, changing the word "mark" to his first name.

"Three-two-one-Tony" has been a trademark of our friendship for more than two decades.  He is now a National Murrow Award winning investigative journalist at KMGH in Denver.  His career took him from Reno to Los Angeles to Phoenix to Houston to Denver.  I have a few more cities in my resume...

Though the years, when I've had career bummers or questions, Tony has been there for me.  A sounding board.  A constant friend.  A counselor.  Despite our rocky beginning.

Work relationships can save you from the overwhelming stress so prevalent today.

If you feel overwhelmed, you might lose confidence and become irritable or withdrawn, become less productive and effective.  You'll definitely think your work is less rewarding. If the warning signs of work stress go unattended, it can lead to bigger problems.

Don't be a Steven.  Hang in there.  Find your Tony. 

Leadership lessons from football

Correction alert. This post contained a misspelled name. Thanks DeAnn Smith, for helping me!


Saturday night, I watched the NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on ESPN.  John was still in Connecticut, spending time with his brother so I was home alone, trying to amuse myself for a few hours.

I found the speeches to be profoundly moving.  At one point, I called Charlie during Jerry Rice's acceptance and demanded that he watch it.  I'm sure he thought I was crazy (or drunk).  I was neither.  Rice is not a great speaker, frankly.  But his words were powerful.

"My fear of failure drives me," Jerry Rice said.

Fear can be a powerful master.  It can paralyze you...or make you better.

Learning how to prevail in the face of fear is the single most important step one can take toward becoming a successful risk-taker and maximizing success.

Linebacker Rickey Jackson talked about the importance of his hometown.  He wants his name to be part of the "Welcome to Pahokee" sign where he grew up. 

I get that.  (Wagner, South Dakota, if I get famous????)

Floyd Little's son gave an incredible introduction and Floyd's message was simple--Don't focus on your weakness.  This is easier said than done.  Many of us our most critical of ourselves than we are of others.  Self-reflexion is important but keep it in perspective!

Emmitt Smith, however, took the night.  He did two things incredibly right.  First, he recognized his teammates, most notably Darrell Darryl "Moose" Johnston.  He said Johnston took care of him like a little brother and he began to tear up.  So did I.

Second, Emmitt Smith said that to win, you have to show up every day.

That takes effort.  It's hard.  The road to success is paved with obstacles, most of which are unseen.  I read "Fast Company" for manager tips and here's what one expert says about bringing your best, every day:

It's not an issue of results. It's an issue of momentum. When you believe you can have a positive impact, others believe it too. Everyone's inspired to action. And you build momentum. When you vacillate in that belief, others vacillate too. Action starts and stops. Momentum never comes. And you get resignation and exhaustion instead. In this way, delivering your best is not something you can turn off and on depending on circumstances. It must be a daily habit. It must be a manner of traveling.

There is no wait-and-see.  There is only now.

Summer songs--when did you get old?

A little old and some new...as I  try to renew my relationship with this blog after a very trying month. 

Losing Nick Dutcher  hit our news team harder than any of us could have imagined.  We all still miss his shout of "breaking news" from the assignment desk, his everlasting smile--and of course, his constant demand that you smile back.
I don't think anyone was truly surprised by the turnout for his home-going service (that's what they call it in the south, I prefer it to "funeral.") 

And if you didn't catch Nathan Shain's excellent story about the memorial...click here.

Nick's untimely death has us all thinking about our own mortality.  And the longer I live, the more I realize that I'm getting old faster than I ever thought possible.

Six years ago...on August 19, 2004, to be exact, I posted on my former blog, a when-did-you-reach-middle-age test that was the subject of a Chicago Tribune columnist post:

The claim: This test pinpoints exactly when middle age kicks in by identifying the first song on the list for which you don't know the melody.

The list:

August 1974: "(You're) Having My Baby" -- Paul Anka with Odia Coates

August 1975: "Jive Talkin'" -- the Bee Gees

August 1976: "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" -- Elton John & Kiki Dee


August 1977: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" -- Andy Gibb


August 1978: "Miss You" -- Rolling Stones


August 1979: "My Sharona" -- the Knack


August 1980: "Magic" -- Olivia Newton-John


August 1981: "Jessie's Girl" -- Rick Springfield


August 1982: "Eye Of The Tiger" -- Survivor


August 1983: "Every Breath You Take" -- the Police


August 1984: "Ghostbusters" -- Ray Parker Jr.


August 1985: "The Power of Love" -- Huey Lewis & the News


August 1986: "Papa Don't Preach" -- Madonna


August 1987: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" -- U2


August 1988: "Roll With It" -- Steve Winwood


August 1989: "Right Here Waiting" -- Richard Marx


August 1990: "Vision of Love" -- Mariah Carey


August 1991: "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" --Bryan Adams


August 1992: "Baby Got Back" -- Sir Mix-A-Lot


August 1993: "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You --UB40


August 1994: "Stay (I Missed You)" -- Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories


August 1995: "Waterfalls" -- TLC


August 1996: "Macarena" -- Los Del Rio


August 1997: "I'll Be Missing You" -- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans


August 1998: "The Boy Is Mine" -- Brandy & Monica


August 1999: "Genie in a Bottle" -- Christina Aguilera


August 2000: "It's Gonna Be Me" -- 'N Sync


August 2001: "Bootylicious" -- Destiny's Child


August 2002: "Hot In Herre" -- Nelly


August 2003: "Crazy In Love -- Beyonce featuring Jay-Z


August 2004: "Confessions Part II" -- Usher


For me, 1988. The year Charlie turned one. The year after I got back into TV news after a short detour into publicity and public relations. (yuck) The year Carly started kindergarten. I guess I was just too busy to listen to the radio and it killed my youth. Damn!

Eric Zorn updated his column last year and added some more tunes. 

If you're wondering about 2009, my simple research says that 2009's summer song is Jay Sean with Lil Wayne.  A tune entitled "Down."    Guess what?!  I know this one!

Unfortunately, this year could be a Bieber tune and I just can't go there.

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.

I love emotion-marketing. Gets me every time.

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!

Gooooaaaaallll!

The Swinging Bridges of Brumley, Missouri

John and I traveled to the Lake of the Ozarks this weekend.  We stayed in a fine hotel and at a fine lobster dinner and we also enjoyed some of the local sights.  For hilarity, nothing beats driving across a rickety bridge!

We wuz robbed!

I took the day off so I could watch the match with people.   

I was, by far, the oldest female in the room.  Gary Lezak was there early, to give his daily weather report.  And what fun it was, especially after the Yanks tied the game!  Yes, the referee made a huge mistake.  There was no foul and this game was stolen from USA.  Frank Boal and John Holt were there, btw.  John looks good and says he's feeling stronger every day.

Thanks, Border Patrol, for hosting this event!

Getting ready for the USA match tomorrow

I'm taking Friday off so I can watch the USA/Slovenia soccer match somewhere and cheer for the Yanks.  Charlie sent me this song (Official World Cup Theme Song) and it's now on my iPod. 

I've become a K'naan stalker and signed up for his fan club.

I love you Dad.

I sent my mom flowers for Mother's Day.  I sent my dad a set of DVDs about Route 66.  He's a big fan of the Mother Road and I think he'll enjoy watching some of the anecdotes about the old days. 

I'm sad that when John and I retire, we can't really follow it from Chicago to L-A.

Warning.  We don't intend to have a home in our later days. 

We think we have enough relatives so that with our (still to be purchased) mobile home of some sort (I'm still saying a 5th wheel, John thinks more like a Winnebago) we can spread ourselves out with the sisters, brothers, cousins and friends so we can see the remaining parts of North America that have eluded us through the job changes since we started moving around in 1990.

But I digress (as usual).  Mom and Dad drove a portion of Route 66 last year in this Ford pickup my father restored.  I'm still dying to drive this baby but he's pretty careful about who gets behind the wheel. 

I don't blame him, even though I haven't had a car-to-car incursion since...welll....Christmas Eve, 2009 when the snow was falling heavily in KC and some youngster slid into me from behind.  Not my fault!

Anyway, I am so darn lucky to have great parents who loved us a lot, provided for us every day and taught us all the value of hard work.  My sister Paula says that if you want a job done, just make sure there's a farmer's daughter on the team.  We don't know when to quit.

I hope you are lucky enough to still have your dad with you.  I pray that as we honor dads this weekend, you can thank your father in person.

And if we still know each other in twelve years, can we park in your driveway for a few days?

Soccer mom

I watched every second of Saturday's World Cup match between the US and England with my laptop open and Tweetdeck bleating every second.  Funniest tweet was from some fellow who wondered if the game was being played on the back of a giant mosquito.  (Vuvuzelas)

I wasn't alone.  The ratings for ABC were the largest for a soccer game since 1994.  Nearly 13 million households.  And almost everybody I know watched the match in a bar, not at home, as I did.  (I am getting boring in my old age!)

"Since Thursday, fans have consumed more than one million hours of World Cup content on ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network, which is available in 50 million homes."

The draw is made even more amazing to me as we await word of Tim Howard's ribs.  Broken?  Not?

Here in Kansas City, KMBC has to be happy.  The game garnered a 10.3 rating and averaged a 22 share.  Not too shabby.

By the way, I DO NOT AGREE that vuvuzelas should be banned, as this Gawker article suggests.  I've been watching soccer for almost twenty years and truly, the buzz becomes background noise after awhile.  I don't even hear it anymore.

Maybe that's another sign of my advanced age....

Happy Friday!

Promotion!

Many from our investigative unit are in Vegas for IRE this week, including Jenn Strathman who will soon (sadly for us) be leaving Kansas City.  Jenn is transferring to the Scripps station in Cleveland.  A larger market and closer to her family.  Jenn is an award-winning journalist and one of the hardest-working reporters I've ever known.  Here's the email I sent to the newsroom to announce her departure last week:

Cleveland scam artists should be afraid. Very afraid.

It is with mixed emotions that I announce Jenn Strathman is leaving Kansas City. She's transferring to the Scripps station in Cleveland, WEWS.

For more than five years, Jenn has been tenacious as she tracked down crooks, exposed fraud and fought for consumers. Her file includes a letter of thanks from John Coughlin of Overland Park. His spelling isn't so great but the appreciation shines through. He writes "If it had not been for her effort we would still be waiting for a $2,000 refund…she did an outstanding job of putting the pressure on. She is a real asset to your organization."

I absolutely agree, Mr. Coughlin. I'm sorry to see Jenn go but I'm happy that she'll still be in our company.

In the meantime, Keith King will take over the Call for Action franchise.  If you're a consumer reporter looking for a challenge please apply! (go to http://www.scripps.com/ click on careers)

Jenn will be here for a few more weeks so you can send your congratulations...just click here and scroll down to the "contact" section on the right side.

Hakuna matata, Jenn!

Sah-weet! More on Lew (say that last part real fast)

Just got around to reading some of the other blogs about the Amy-versus-Al-who-is-the-journalist kerfuffle from Monday and I really, really appreciate this breakdown from KC Confidential.

A tip of the hat!

Asking tough questions is part of the job

Reporter Amy Hawley caught up with KU AD Lew Perkins today and asked a very pertinent question about his job security.  Mr. Perkins didn't appreciate the interuption of his golf game, apparently: 
Lew Perkins gets upset in interview after questioned about recent KU scandal - NBCActionNews.com

Incredibly, a reporter from WDAF, Al Wallace, was also there, recorded the whole thing and presented it as a "confrontation."  We were all amused when during the 6pm news, anchor Phil Witt appeared to congratulate our reporter for her tenacity.

Amy did her job.  Can't say the same thing for Al.

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.
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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.

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!