Fun with the Weather Guy

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job is stuff like this. Always a good day when you have some fun with the weather guy.

Stories I Love

I'm pleased to have been involved in a couple stories lately that have turned out to be bigger than originally thought. In fact, I was originally against airing one of them because it just didn't seem that important to me. Instead, it drew quite a response from viewers and will remain a story for several more days.

The other story just aired and has also caused quite a stir. I'm enjoying the feedback email we receive on these, which leads us to do follow-up stories providing additional information.

Neither story has been covered by any other outlet in town. We're not trumpeting them as "exclusives," but I do think both stories demonstrate strong efforts to be a better news operation.

And I truly appreciate all the feedback on the new KSPR. Keep it coming.

Be Careful What You Wish For

So after being struck down with a nasty cold going around the news room, I go to work today thinking it will be a fairly simple newscast. After all, we had a lot on the planner for today, including at least three reporter packages. After the five-thirty cast I believed I had a pretty good grasp of the rundown for the 10 p.m. cast, including a couple national stories.

At one point I said to no one in particular, "gee, I almost wish we had some breaking news tonight." Not too long after we began to hear scanner traffic on what appeared to be a robbery spree. One night side reporter (who really is the weekend weather guy), one photographer, two anchors, and me.

Along about 9 p.m. everything went crazy. Police were running all over town. Decided to send the live truck to the last robbery along with the night side guy (who stepped up and volunteered). That meant changing the rundown, especially since the reporter had already packaged what was to be the lead story. Then it got better, or worse, depending on your point of view.

A fourth robbery on East Sunshine, out near where I live. Send the live truck and reporter there, get on the phones gathering info, let the production staff know everything is changing less than an hour before air...including doing live promos.

Knowing he loves reporting, I called the Chatter guy who rushes toward the fourth robbery location. While on the phone with me he sees two police cruisers rushing away from that location, heading west. At the same time I hear scanner traffic indicating an arrest is imminent. Chatter dude does a U-turn and chases the police, swearing at drivers who won't get out of his way. I announce this to the newsroom and the entire production team lets out a laugh. Yes, we do have fun at our jobs!

If you watched the 10 p.m. cast Wednesday night you know the rest. The adrenaline rush hasn't stopped. This is what I love about the news biz! After the cast, Chatter guy informs us our intrepid weathercaster/reporter dude stole the SPD officer from a briefing for the competition in order for us to have a live interview! We're playing with the big dogs now!

What a night. What a crew. What a business.

And yes, several people reminded me what I'd wished for earlier in the evening.

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

Regular readers may have noticed the relative quiet here at Chez Lost Chord. It's partially due to some traveling, partially due to family, and partially due to work. My current employer has been gearing up for a major change beginning this weekend involving lots of techy stuff that I so thoroughly enjoy. And I truly have been having fun with this job.

However, it is time to move on. Sometime in the not-too-distant future I'll be joining the Chatter guy in the KSPR newsroom. I'm honored to have been hired and excited about the opportunity to build the news department. Most of my professional journalism career has been behind the scenes, and that will be true here. A new set and lots of new faces await me. The big roll-out is September 9.

The blog will continue, but it may undergo a face-lift. As they say on the TV, stay tuned.