2011. My year...in pictures

 

Started the year with Reno Friends.  Sharon Spangler and Denise Clodjeaux.

I love these two kids.  A lot.

And here we are with the Bests.  Debi was Carly's babysitter back when I was a single parent.

Family Reunion in Las Vegas.  Here are sisters Penny and Paula

Papa-Daughter Moment

My Dad and his Nephew Tom Wiechmann, son of my Uncle Earl Wiechmann.  

Just a couple of years separate them; they grew up as brothers.

Trying to rally folks for a group photo

Our children are beautiful

This was a bad idea.

Dad initially didn't think he could climb the hill to the bridge.

But he did.

Attending "O"

My crazy cousin Doug and equally crazy Uncle Wilbur

Dad scared us a bit in February.  He was in ICU for awhile and then rehab.

Summit League Tournament Hijinks in March

Overtime.  Lady Jacks.

Dad was feeling good enough to supervise in April.

That Bob is a brute

Pat, also.

Typical cutthroat card game at Easter.

Spoons.

We vowed to always take pictures, whenever we gather

Even if we are dressed in traveling clothes.

The Twins were a disappointment but we still enjoyed lots of Royals games starting in April

I think the Royals won this game.

In June we bought a house.  And started looking carefully at every receipt

The kids came to help us move and to celebrate...

John's Birthday!  (Also in June)

We splurged on a tailgating canopy

Team colors.

Carly helped paint the kitchen

In tight spaces

And managed to paint herself too.

The Missouri River flooded, hampering our trips to South Dakota all summer long

Dad and Mom came to Kansas City to visit and see the WWI Museum in July

Two of the three most important men in my life.

Pat's 50th Birthday was an opportunity for us to wear our fancy hats in late July

He was surprised!

My sibs

John and I went to Joplin in August.  This is tornado damage a little more than two months later.

Also in August, I walked in the Komen Race for the Cure in honor of my mother-in-law Bernice Phillip.

And Cynthia Newsome

Here's Carly after a mountain biking mishap. 

She rehabbed in KC for few days and we took in a Sporting KC match.

So cute, that Jimmy!

Carly had a birthday

Charlie met friends in The Cauldron

Small Class of '75 reunion at Two Spurs in September

BFF!  Cheryl (Broz) Deibert is the person outside my family who has known me the LONGEST.  And she still tolerates me.  We had fun catching up (again)

The Chiefs season soon went south.

September conference in New Orleans

Two incredible women.

John hit a jackpot!

Attended a wedding in Memphis in October.

Rekindled a friendship with Miami pals in November

Charlie at a bouldering competition in November

Charlie helped decorate the tree in December

Dottie ornament.

Best. Game. Ever.  Chiefs stun the Packers at Arrowhead

Christmas number one in South Dakota

Christmas number two in Kansas City

NBC Action News in 2011

This made me cry. Ron? Love ya man

3 reasons why journalists could make good entrepreneurs

A few months back, I went full time with AdYapper, an early stage startup in the ad space. Since around that time, I’ve been thinking of reasons why I think journalists could make good entrepreneurs.

Why is this important? Newsrooms continue to lay off reporters, and starting a business could be a great alternative to a path in the communications field, which is where many journalists go once they’re done in the news business.

Read more here:
3 reasons why journalists could make good entrepreneurs:

Desperate move.

Sick holiday movie that always amuses me.

How to cover the death of a popular meteorologist

Here is Aaron Barnhart's take. I can assure you that although the decisions were most difficult at WDAF, we also struggled with how to tell and how much to tell about how Don Harman died.

Fox 4 struggles with death of meteorologist Don Harman - KansasCity.com

WCCO’s Chinatown Dog Meat Story

IRE and RTDNA need to do seminars on this incident at the next conventions.  Best case scenario is that the news director, reporter, producer (anyone who had their hands on it) participates in a panel discussion on what happened.  We can all learn from this.

Here’s WCCO’s Chinatown Dog Meat Story

48 years ago

I still remember the day when my president was killed. I was in the first grade. We were sent home early from school. I was wearing red boots and there were slippery patches of ice on the road. When I got home, both parents were watching TV.

They watched TV for three days.

We all did.

Modern Dallas coming to grips with Kennedy assassination

Powerful.

I hate it when this happens...watch all the way to the end.

This guy cracks me up.

Viewfinder BLUES: Some Kind of Monster: In an industry that keeps hiring younger and cheaper, it's almost impossible to age gracefully. And while I'm no longer the Velociphotog I ...

I love this.

A story of old-school entrepreneurial journalism:

When was the last time you received a personal letter in the mail? I received one recently from a woman I met at the Society of Professional Journalists conference in New Orleans in September and it totally made my day.

Becky Dickerson is the editor and publisher of The Community Current in tiny St. John, Wash. We “met” when Dickerson spoke up in the first of two sessions I did about entrepreneurial journalism at the conference and offered a quick version of her story: She started a community newspaper 17 years ago and serves 1,000 homes with a 24-page tabloid that prints every six weeks. (She was kind enough to include a copy of the paper with her letter.)

The town had been without a newspaper for 20 years when Dickerson decided to go into the business of news armed with a journalism degree and an affection for the town of St. John, which she calls “amazing.” (Her husband Todd runs the family farm.) She started the business with a simple letter to businesses asking them to advertise and a credit card to charge her printing expenses.

I spend most of my time talking about shiny new digital startups and the transformation of news in the digital age. But the basic principles that decide whether those businesses work or not are the same that Dickerson used. She met a need in the market and has been rewarded with a career as editor and publisher. While I’ve never visited St. John, I have to believe the community is stronger and much better informed because of her efforts. I wish I had met her in time to include her story in my new book.

Congratulations, Becky. And thanks for the letter.

Tip of the hat to the Pitch!

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

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

[ Read more ]