Phone death

Every try to get video of a kid in the care of a government entity?
Don't even bother.

I spent all day "sweeping" up southeast of town.
Three long involved interviews.



That's a tape an interview. Plus b-roll... 4 tapes in one afternoon. Don't forget two camera batteries and a 9V for my mic and it's was quite a day.

I avoided the "wheel of death" (prompter) and "hell" (the assignment desk), so I have no complaints. We left the station at 8:30 this morning and didn't return until 6 pm. I enjoy days like this. The less time I spend in that bright yellow room the better.

No matter how much I enjoyed getting out of the newsroom, this day had it's own set of challenges. Mainly for my reporter.



That's how I saw her most of the day. When we weren't doing an interview, she was on the phone. We need video of a kid. He or she may or may not be in government care. The hospital would let us in if we get consent. The parent is out of the picture. She calls one place, they never heard of the case. She calls some other place, they can't confirm nor deny that they have the kid. ARRRRRGH!

No one could give her an answer. No one could get us video. We needed consent. No one could give us consent. Really, really irritating.

Eight long hours of shooting and calling, we give up for the day.
We finally head out of town,



and here she was,



still on the phone.

That's why I'm not a reporter.

demotion?

3pm to midnight.

I've been relegated to this awkward shift for the week and let me tell you... It's full of thrills. I come in too late to work with a reporter and I leave too early to help much with the overnight crew.

What do I get to do?



Teleprompt. woo.

Sitting for an hour, staring at a monitor, reading along to all the news of the night, keeping up with the anchors/reporters who all read at different speeds and ad lib at random times...



And it's dark in there. I sit in the room with the audio guy. He's pretty cool, but you can't really hold a conversation and read and listen to the anchor at the same time so there's little said. I think the part I dislike the most is the 12 other people I hear in my ear over the headset. The director, producer, camera guys... I have to listen to what they're saying and still pay attention to my lovely anchor so I don't get behind. It's definitely a job for a multi-tasker.

I ran prompter for the 5-6 hour, killed time, took dinner, killed time, then ran prompter for the 9-10 show. But I still had two hours before I could leave,
so I sat at the desk. While listening to the bank of scanners, blaring ambulance calls and directing officers to suspicious goings-on,



I slid colored puff ball characters into groups of three hoping to get to the next level.



So that was Monday. Where did I find myself Tuesday?



Right back in the booth.



Sliding the little wheel in time with the anchor's delivery. As I did Monday, I ran the prompter for both shows. I don't think I've been so informed about the day's news as I have been the past two days.

I won't be surprised if I have to go back in the booth tomorrow, but I will shoot something tomorrow! I don't care if it's simply pretty weather video. I need to get out of that building.

Cause this isn't working.

I'm lame. Sorry.

I feel like I should blog, but I'm not sure what I want to write about. A day working with the "i-team" does not fill my day with adventures. Besides, the "i-team" stories never run the day we shoot, so on even the most exciting of days I couldn't tell you about it anyway.

Remember about that morning show I told you about with all those new people? Well, most of them have started working. Every one seems cool enough, though we are experiencing some growing pains. The new photographers are fighting with the editing system, the reporters are searching for new contacts, and the production people are mulitplying. No really. I don't know what's going on in that control room, but every day I come into work there seems to be 3 or 4 new camera/audio/cyron people. I can't keep them straight.

Oh, and they start rehearsals next week and they STILL haven't announced the main anchors and the new host. That's right... No anchors. You should probably be nervous for us.

I promise to find something to write about soon. I'm hoping that the "i-team" is about done with me so I can get back to the rough and tumble world of general assignment.

Don't give up on me. It will get better.

Kirby

He's a big deal where I come from. I've been a Twins fan my whole life and Kirby Puckett is a household name.

I wish he didn't have to go out this way.

Here's to you, Kirby.



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Politics

I'm not going to dwell on my lovely day with the mayoral primaries. You've all been through the long cable runs, the live hits, the crowds... It was nothing out of the ordinary for the photog bretheren. Plus, I'm really too tired to expound much on the details.

I'll post some pictures and you can use your imaginations to figure out what's going on.

It will be fun. Like a choose your own adventure... except that you can't actually change the outcome... so I guess it's nothing like a choose your own adventure. How about a deduce the situation based on your own experience adventure. Yeah, that'll work.

My friday

It's Wednesday for you... but it's Friday for me. I'm ready for a weekend.

All week I've been part general assignment shooter, part investigative shooter... that means I'm full-time newsroom gopher. The "I-team" doesn't need me all the time. I may shoot an interview or edit a pack for them, but it doesn't fill a day. But don't worry, my "down" time is nothing but idle.

I can barely remember what I did yesterday...
And I'm racking my brain about Monday.
I really can't remember.

This morning was nothing special, but it got crazy around 3 PM.

90 degrees plus with high winds and low humidity.

What does that mean?



Grass fires.

I raced across the plains to get that video on air, so you'll have to forgive me for not getting a shot off on my own digi-cam. The "air-check" will have to do.