Stories for my Mom

I sent the following links of recent stories I've done to my Mom. I thought some others might want to look at them as well. If you get a chance to look at them, take a minute and tell me what you like and what you don't like.
My favorite two are Weakly Airport and MP training. I had a lot of fun shooting both of the stories.
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/24689 bike commuter
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/24063 Band of Brothers
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/23896 MP Training
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/23544 Female Battalion Chief
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/22677 Wounded Warrior Project
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/22638 Rocket Club
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/21828 Fisk Graduation
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/21243 Slave Cemetery
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/20555 Weakly Airport
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/20374 P.U.T.

Heroes

<http://www.iwo.com/heroes.htm> http://www.iwo.com/heroes.htm

Here is a pretty neat tribute to our American heroes. Click on the link above if you have a minute to watch.

Close to home

http://www.wkrn.com/node/25337
I had to cover a house fire the other day. The fire was started by lightning when a storm rolled through the area. I've cover dozens of fires over the years so this was no big deal except for the fact the house on fire was my neighbors. Every one was fine and the firemen put the flames out quickly. Unfortunately, the water caused the ceiling to fall in and the roof will need to be completely torn off and rebuilt. They will be homeless for about 6 months.

I was in the middle of another story about 3o minutes from home when I got the call. Wayne and Kitty house might be on fire. The only number I had for them is a home number which had no answer. I quickly wrapped up my story and headed to see for myself what was going on.

When I turned onto my street there were two fire trucks, two ambulances and a police car on the scene. I had already told the station what was going on and that I was going to check on my neighbors so I jumped out to see what had happened. After talking with neighbors for a few minutes the station called me back and asked me to shoot a walk-n-talk about what was going on. A walk-n-talk is usually 1:45, one take description of the scene. The idea is to make it feel as if the viewer is right there in the moment seeing what I'm seeing. Check it out at the link above.

Talking with my hands

http://www.wkrn.com/node/23896 -MP story link-
Here's a picture from taken from a standup I recently had in a story. My wife cracks on me for talking with my hands (me and Tony Stewart) during the few standups I've done. I included the story in the above link so you can check it out for yourself. On a serious note, what do you think about reporters who use their hands? Distraction or not noticed? Give me some feed back when you get a chance.

The story above is about the 551st MP Company stationed at Ft. Campbell. The 551st recently won the honor of being the Best MP Company in the entire Army. A big accomplishment. I was able to do a story on some training they were doing to help them get ready for another year in Iraq. Probably the biggest threat these men and women will face are from roadside IEDs or improvised explosive devices. The soldiers tell me the IEDs are hard to spot because the streets are lined with trash which make great hiding places for the bombs. Even with all the dangers they face the soldiers and their families do believe they are making a difference with the missions in Iraq.

On an unrelated note, we had some VIP guests at our station Tuesday. GM's from another station group were on hand to check out how we are doing things at News 2. They observed a morning meeting and had a lot of questions about the VJ system. Very interesting.

Fisk Graduation

On Monday, Fisk university graduated their 132 class of seniors of whom 10 percent maintained a 3.87 gpa or higher. The class of 2006 had the highest percentage of Phi Beta Kappa Society members since the early 50's.
I did a story on Diana Groza who is originally from Romania but is now a proud American citizen. Diana received a bachelor of Arts in foreign Languages and teaches middle school Spanish. Diana decided to study at Fisk University because of the influence of her father Michael, who works for the university as a physics researcher. Michael was a definitely a proud father and delighted to see his daughter graduate and he had a great view to see graduation. Michael also graduated. He earned a Masters in Physics.
Diana told me her family was poor and didn't have much in Romania and now they feel extremely blessed. Go to www.WKRN.com or click here.

Adam Street

I didn't get to know Adam Street before he died. He was only 18 years old and would have been graduating from high school in a few days. His family tells me Adam was a great kid who loved life and easily made people smile. Adam was a jokester who would quickly make the joke himself if he thought it would get a laugh. Bill Street, Adams father, told me that Adam was killed in a late night car crash. He did not go into details but said that Adam loved fast cars. Part of Bills reason for sharing his story with me was to stress to Adams friends the importance of making good decisions. Bill said kids should think before they act because decisions they make have a ripple affect and not only impact themselves but can have a huge impact on others. A good reminder for all of us.
The loss of Adam Street was not in vain though, as seven people received his organs to help change their lives forever. The heart recipient was in critical condition and would not have made it any longer without Kevin's heart.
The family thanked me for telling Adams story and helping to get the message to other kids to think before they act.

Weakly's Field

The other day I met a really neat guy. His name is Dale Weakly. As a kid he had a dream of being a pilot an he stuck with his dream as he grew up. In 1975 he bought 17 acres of tree covered land in the country. Dale had the dream to build an airstrip so he could fly his yet to be bought airplane in his back yard. For the last 3o years Dale has been carving, digging and shaping the land into a 36oo foot long grass runway. Here is a man that knows how to stick with a dream and make it happen. I did a story about Dale and went for a fun airplane ride as well. Check out the story here.

P.U.T.

I met some neat police officers today - twelve of them to be exact. Seven from Los Angeles, one from New Jersey, two live close to Buffalo New York, one from Tennessee, and the last is from Texas. I met them near Leipers Fork as they were riding bicycles across the state of Tennessee. For the last 15 days they have been riding their bikes across the United States from Venice, California headed to New York City. The riders are all police officers riding to raise awareness of the upcoming Police Unity Tour. The tour helps raise money for the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C. where officers who are killed in the line of duty are honored and their name is added to the memorial.
May 14th is National Police Officer Week and police and their families will converge on the Nations Capital as the names of officers killed in the line of duty during 2005 will be added.

Once the crew I met today arrives in New York City they will have a memorial service at Ground Zero then they will continue to ride with about 600 more officers as they ride the Unity Tour into Washington DC. Middle Tennessee has about a dozen officers heading to DC.

Here are a couple of sites you can check out. The x country blog is very well done and the Police Unity Tour has a web site. Enjoy! Here is a link to the story which aired Monday night at 10pm.

BayouBike Ride

How far do you think you could ride your bike? I met a 57 year old woman who is riding her bike 50 miles sixteen days in a row. Becky Jones is riding from Evansville, Indiana all the way to Eunice, LA. SHe is raising money and awarness for the small city of Eunice which has taken in a lot of their neighbors from the cost after Katrina and Rita.

I enjoyed meeting Becky and wish the best for her. If you would like to see the story I did with her you can check it on the News 2 web site. YOu can also check out a blog which is giving updates during her trip.

Army's premier gunship

The Army Aviation association conference wrapped up Wednesday night in Nashville. The conference is a chance for industry folks to gather with top military leaders and network together. Different military groups share ideas and thoughts about what works and what doesn't.
I met some guys from the South Carolina National Guard who gave me an up close look at an AH-64 Apache. It is a cool helicopter and I enjoyed being that close to an Apache.

The Phillips

I met a really neat family Wednesday evening. Tom and Beth Phillips and their four kids. The Phillips already had two children before they felt God leading them to adoption. After prayerful consideration they decided to adopt two girls from India.
Raising four children would be hard enough for two parents but because Tom is a helicopter pilot in the Army he is often deployed leaving Beth to hold her own at home. I will have a story about the family on the news tonight.
Here is a link to the story.

Dyersburg

I'm spending the night in Dyersburg, TN after covering the devastating tornados that ripped through the area. Twenty two people were killed in Tennessee, 19 of them in Dyer county. I saw one house were two people were killed and if I had not been told a house used to be there, I would not have know by driving by. Most tornado damaged homes have a pile of ruble laying next to where the home used to stand but today the only sign of a home was a patch of dirt and a few bricks. There was not even debris scattered in the field. The whole house was blown completely out of the area. It was amazing!
Another observation about tornados that always amaze me is the randomness of destruction. One house completely destroyed where the house next door is untouched. Driving into the neighborhood on Cobb St today and I passed two boys playing outside with tennis rackets and driving over the next hill to see officials who are searching for bodies of several people missing.

I'm Still Here

I'm still around although you haven't been able to tell by checking this blog. I obviously have not been very faithful about writing entries. Thank you if you are still checking for new entries.
For the first time in my career I'm a salaried employee complete with a contract. I even received a nice raise during the process.
I'm just trying to do the best job I can. I'm curious about your opinion. I haven't had any critiques for a while so if you get a chance, give me some feedback. Click the links to see the last three stories I did.
URL=http://www.wkrn.com/node/13702 Historical land preservation purchase
http://www.wkrn.com/node/12978 My first Spot news story.
http://www.wkrn.com/node/12830 Max Anderson 86 year old volunteer.

My favorite of the three is the story about Max. What a great guy he is. I hope I will have the energy of Max when I'm almost 87 years old.

LD Poston

This week I was able to tell the brief story of LD Poston. A World War II hero. He became a hero during the war saving his buddies. After the war, he continued to helping others. LD Poston spent his life looking for ways to help people. What a great way to be remembered. If you would like to see the story go to WKRN.com and search for "Community Honors WWII Vet For Generous Spirit"

Red Tape

I had a small taste of "red tape frustration" today. FEMA operates a camp which host volunteers who are here to help with disaster relief. I have been trying to do a story about the camp, as there are about 42 Tennesseans who are currently living there this week. After several days of trying, I finally reached the right person with FEMA and set up the story . I even lined up a local volunteer to meet me at 7:50 this morning.

When I get to the gate, ready to meet my volunteer, the security guard had no clue what I was talking about. Long story short, after multiple phone calls an hour and a half of standing around and an act of congress, FEMA finally gave me the all clear.

Once I finally got to take a tour of the camp I saw how great it is. Because of the volume of construction workers, people with no homes, and the up coming Marti Graus celebrations there are no hotel rooms available. Volunteers can stay at the camp at no cost and get three meals a day. Every thing else you could possibly need is provided from linens and towels to laundry detergent and washing machines.

If you ever thought you would want to come down to help out the time has never been better. There is still a big need for help and you can stay for free with no reason to spend any money at all.

New Orleans

I got into New Orleans Sunday evening after a nine hour drive. Looking into neighborhoods during the drive here, you notice roofs everywhere still covered with blue tarps. We got up Monday at 3am to be ready for the morning news cast. I don't think I would enjoy working that early on a regular basis. The only good thing about being up that early is seeing the sunrise. Both mornings have had really pretty sunrises.
Monday I did a story about a pastor from Tennessee who is working with the New Orleans Salvation Army. In fact there are about 42 Tennesseans down here working with the Salvation Army preparing hot meals and taking them out to the people of New Orleans. It is great to see people helping people. There is such a big need for volunteers. This area will need help for quite some time. The level of destruction is overwhelming. We drove through a whole community that was flooded out. You can still see the water line on all the houses and buildings.

New Orleans Trip

I'm getting ready to head back down to Louisiana.


I'll be down in New Orleans with Neil Orne and Boyd Sadler for a week. Neil will be doing some anchoring for the morning show from there and we'll both be doing stories through Friday. Including two previous work trips I been to Louisianan four times already. I've been fortunate to have been able to go to Slidell twice with a group from my church. Check out the pictures taken in December. I'm on the left on the end of the group photo. The houses are a common site.
I'll keep you posted about this trip. I'm looking forward to revisiting some areas where Neil and I were during the aftermath of Katrina.

Fan of the System

Since I began blogging about the transition of becoming a Video Journalist I have given several reasons why I like our system at News 2. I have another reason to add to the list.

Yesterday, I had two events going on that I wanted to cover so I spent the first part of my day shooting the stories. Since the station already had plenty of stories to chose from I was not under pressure to get a story on the air. Instead of hustling back to the office I took my time and visited some contacts of mine. I dropped in just to say hello but I left with a list of three potential stories which I would not have found had I been in a big hurry to get back to the office.

For me, that is just another reason why I think News 2 will be successful with Video Journalists.

Good News

News 2 is one person away from having a full staff again. I heard people speculate the VJ move was implemented by management to reduce staff but I haven't seen that happen. We did lose a few talented employees but their heart was no longer in the job and that is okay because we have filled our openings with quality people who are excited about being a VJ.

An interesting fact someone recently pointed out to me is that the other stations in Nashville currently have more positions posted for employment than we do. Especially at the present time because the only available position right now is for an executive producer. So if you are interested about coming on board at News 2 as an EP you better hurry, the line is already forming.

If you want a job as VJ, you'll have to wait until the network calls me up!?! :) LOL, I wouldn't hold your breath for that to happen!

Stand up

In the last two weeks I have shot two different standups (the standup is the part of the story where you see the reporter talking. It is typically in the middle of the story) for stories I've done. I have probably shot well over a thousand standups during my career but this is the first time I have ever shot them for myself. I even did a two part standup for one of the stories where I said half of the standup and then moved the camera to another position for the second part. They both came out pretty good for doing them by myself.
Our on-line producer took a job in Raleigh-Durham so the web site is not getting up dated like it should for the time being which means my stories were never posted on the web. If you know a simple way to put video on the web, tell me about it and I will try to post the stories for you to see.