11-29-05

Last week one of my friends decided to quit his job as a VJ. It is an unfortunate loss because he is very talented and did a great job. He has a great voice and a very natural delivery plus he could put together a story very fast. I was sad to see him go but his heart was no longer in it. I have always said if I get to a point were I’m not happy doing a job, then it is time to look for different work.
I’m not at that point yet and I still enjoy my job even with all the recent changes around here.

Stories

I feel like I’ve been fortunate during the first phase of becoming a video journalist. I’ve had ideas to present in the meetings which for the most part have turned out to be good stories. Lately though, I’ve noticed I am more nervous and anxious about the possibilities of not having any ideas for stories.

The management is moving from the “Oh, they are still learning” phase into a “performance” phase where we are expected to “get'r done” so to speak. Heading into the weekend I find myself worried about Monday and whether or not I’ll come up with stories to do. I been working the same beat for several weeks now so hopefully I will start getting good tips from the contacts I’ve been making.

There is a new discussion board for vj issues at blueprintpost.com. The board was created by Tim French, who trained the VJ's at WKRN and is currently training at KRON. The discussion board is a place were VJ's can go and post questions or comments. Check it out here.

Computers!

There are days when I love computers and can’t even remember how I ever managed without them. Then there are days like today when I could take a 10lb hammer and smash the living day lights out of my computer. Boy would that feel good until the boss wants to know why I can’t edit any stories.

I’m sure most of my problems are from my lack of computer knowledge and not knowing what I’m doing. I have come a long way in a short amount of time. Compared to just a few months ago I’m a whiz now but that’s not saying much.

It is hard to spend any extra time on the computer other than what I need to do for work. I think that is one of the reasons writing a blog has become a chore. The computer and the fact I’m not a very good writer! Writing is a laborious process for me. I keep hoping it will get easier and I guess it has a little but not as easy as I would like.

Still Learning

I’m almost four months into this vj thing and I still enjoy it. I have even become a little faster in the writing process and feel more confident about hitting deadlines on time. I’m making progress with my voice and how I sound but I still have a long way to go.

I had an opportunity to do my second career live shot this week from Clarksville, TN. My first live shot was also from Clarksville but I was not as good the second time around. I haven’t looked at the tape yet but the feed back I heard said I looked and sounded like I felt. I felt nervous and lacked confidence in what I wanted to say which unfortunately showed on TV. I'm will working on the areas which need improving and continue to learn.

On the plus side, I have my new car assigned to me and on Friday night, I’m getting ready to go jump it and head for home.

Halloween Past

Here is our little Gracie, dressed up as a ladybug for Halloween. She was a big hit with everyone who saw her!

Guess who's back?!

Thanks for those who have been checking in to see if I am still around... it's nice to be missed! It's amazing how quickly time passes and with each passing day, I tell myself, I will get on here and post an entry. Things have been busy but who can't understand that, especially this time of year with the holidays right around the corner?

The week of October 23-29 I was down in Slidell, Louisiana with my church helping with disaster relief. What an awesome opportunity! As many of you know, this is an area where Neil, Davis and me spent some time right after Hurricane Katrina first hit. You would be amazed at the amount of work that still needs to be done for the next several months - it really surprised me. This trip was easier on my heart since I felt like I was able to make a tangible difference, even if it was one yard at a time.

The vj thing is going well. I'm getting a new car any day now- it's getting the windows tinted and radios transferred. I feel like I'm becoming a faster writer but it is still my weakness. It certainly doesn't flow out of me like I would hope.

This is enough writing for now because I don't want to overwhelm anyone on my first day back.