Not what you want to hear on April Fools Day

Anyone who has worked in a newsroom knows you get some real crackpot calls on a regular basis. When I worked down on the river, we used to get phone calls from a man who identified himself as "Jesus". On the weekends back in the early 90's we used to get a call from a woman who I think called herself Mrs. Kitchens and ranted and raved and swore like a sailor. I always tried to be nice but after she started a long string of obscenities about something, I told her that I was not going to listen to someone with such a potty mouth and I hung up on her. When she called back and started again, I told her again I would not tolerate such language. This went on several more times until she finally realized I was serious so she stopped swearing and told me that she was sorry. Everyone on the weekend got to hear from Mrs. Kitchens at some point in time as she called several times a day.
But it was on April 1st, 1989 that we got the kind of call on a Saturday night that no one wants to get in a newsroom when you're short-staffed.
I had been filling in on Saturday night for Alex Coleman who was doing weeknights Sunday-Friday. Jerry Tate has not come back to 3 from WHBQ.
Also understand that I had only been in the market since the first of February at the time.
If I remember correctly, we had a skeleton crew with just me and the producer, and a photographer who was handing around to shoot spot news. The reporter had already gone home for the night.
We had already received a few crank calls since it was April 1st. About mid-evening, the phone rang and the caller said one of the Highway 51 bridges had collapsed over the Hatchie River just north of Covington, Tennessee and that several vehicles had gone into the water. I don't remember who answered the phone, but when the caller hung up and the information was shared in the newsroom, we stared at each other trying to decide if this was just another crank call. Then we started scrambling to make calls, trying to confirm the story. It turns out something had happened and we started making calls to the top of our newsroom foodchain to get some help and get crews to the scene.
Long story short, five vehicles had gone into the water when the older, northbound lane bridge of Highway 51 collapsed from what was called "scouring" by high water in the Hatchie River channel. Eight people died in the tragedy. Eventually the entire old bridge was torn down and a new one built in its place with some of the survivors on hand for the dedication.
April Fools Day has not been the same for me since April 1st, 1989.

Nothing like a funeral to bring out the best and worst in people

I'm not sure I know of many news people who enjoy covering funerals. Some might see funerals as easy, one stop shopping gigs where all the players can be shot at one location. Plug in some of the service, get tight shots of the grieving family members or friends, add a little B-Roll from the crime scene or whatever circumstances led to the person's demise, shoot a stand-up and it's Miller time. A live shot for the next newscast might also be in order.
I've found that covering funerals can bring out the best and worst of both sides.
If it's a high profile case like the one in Selmer, crews from all over descend on small towns usually not adequately prepared for the onslaught,requests and demands of big town media. They may feel overwhelmed and angry by the attention and instrusiveness. I understand in Selmer, news crews were kept a distance away from the church. I don't know if a pool camera was allowed in on the service or not. If not, that means the crews will have to scramble to get other video and sound to flesh out their packages. That can be when the feeding frenzy kicks into overdrive.
It's not just small towns.
A few years back, an Amtrack train hit an 18-wheeler at a crossing in Bourbonnais, Illinois, killing five people from the Midsouth area. The services were held at a large church on Poplar in East Memphis. It seems to me that we had about three or four news crews at the church and we were almost falling all over each other trying to get something different from each other. The family had asked that former Memphis mayor Dick Hackett be the family spokesman/liason. I had been told I had to get some sound from someone other than him and I asked him if he might be able to accomodate me. As I was under a lot of pressure from the office to get the sound and he was not very forthcoming, a decided to do an end run. He saw this and came over and said something to me to express his displeasure. He was nice about it and while I can't remember his exact words, what he said to me stayed with me for a few days.
I later wrote him a note apologizing for my behavior, telling him I had gotten caught up in the moment and that I had let the pressure to get a story over-ride my personal sense of decorum.
I got a call from the former mayor about a week later telling me he had just received a very nice note from (his words) "a guy with class" and he thanked me for the note and we chatted for a couple of minutes.
On the other hand, some folks in news organizations find out the hard way that they are not wanted. I've seen the video of bereaved friends and family who turn angry and the person holding the camera ends up being the object of their rage.
I think it was Bobby Hayes of WREG who was covering a graveside service and I think he was a slight distance away in the cemetery shooting the internment. Anyway, these were not nice people and I think somebody came over and it got physical. I seem to remember somebody telling me that Bobby had to roll under the vehicle as they were kicking at him.
It brings home the fact that, like on a date, sometimes "no means no".

Just a person willing to help out some fellow reporters

In Selmer, Tennessee while covering the Reverand Winkler murder, I ran into a guy I hadn't seen for a few years. The guy's name is Doug Viar and he was running a sat truck for NBC and some of its affiliates. I last saw Doug after the deadly tornadoes that tore into part of Jackson, TN which is now his home town. As I told some of the folks standing in his sat truck last Friday, I was never so grateful to one person than Doug Viar because he let me spend the night with him. No not that way. Here's the story.
I first met Doug while I was working at WBBJ in Jackson. He did some production work in his then hometown of Dyersburg and did some freelance news work for stations as they called for him. He did the one-man band thing back before the term VJ was a gleam in some consultant's eye. He worked primarily for WREG in Memphis. Doug would travel to WBBJ to use their production equipment on occasion for projects that he worked on for various companies in West Tennessee.
A couple of years later I moved to southeast Missouri to work for KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau.
I worked out of Poplar Bluff for about nine months in 1983. Robert Laney was the shooter I worked with in the PB Bureau. One week he and I were sent to Little Rock to cover a federal trial that lasted most of the week. By Friday, Laney and I were exhausted and quite happy to be driving back to PB for some rest. We had been back for about two hours or so when we got a call that a really bad person had been cornered by law enforcement officials in NE Arkansas not far from Walnut Ridge. Some background on this guy. His name was Gordon Kahl if I remember correctly he was with an organization called Posse Comitatus. They are described as an intermittently active, loosely organized group "Christian activists loosely dedicated to survivalism, vigilantism and anti-government agititation."
Anyway, Kahl was accused of gunning down two federal marshals in North Dakota who were apparently trying to arrest him for an earlier parole violation for non-payment of taxes. As you might imagine. he helped put Posse Comitatus in the forefront of national attention.
Kahl disappeared from view for a long while until he surfaced in Northeast Arkansas. Law enforcement surrounded him in a concrete bunker built into the side of a hill in the middele of nowhere. The local sheriff went to the door to serve an arrest warrant and Kahl shot him, with the bullet going into the arm hole of the sheriff's bulletproof vest, killing him. Law enforcement opened up. When the media was allowed in probably about six hours or so later, it truly looked like what I would imagine a battle field must look like. Spent cartridge casings were everywhere, the bunker was covered with pock-marks from bullets, ammunition inside was still exploding from the fires set off by teargas and Gordon Kahl was quite dead and would become a martyr for his cause.
Anyway, back to my story. Laney and I had left in such a hurry from PB, we hadn't taken any money or supplies, thinking we would be back home not long after midnight. Neither one of us had a credit card and the TV station hadn't issued us a corporate card. (They preferred to give out cash advances instead and we didn't have any cash to speak of.) On top of all of this, we needed a place to charge our almost depleted camera, recorder and light batteries which were almost drained from the Little Rock trip. We couldn't go back home because a news conference was expected to be called early in the morning. We figured we were going to have to sleep in that tiny Chevy Citation we drove.
Enter Doug Viar. Because he lived in Dyersburg, TN, he was the go-to guy in that part of the coverage area for WREG. He heard Laney and me discussing our plight and told us that he was getting a motel room and that Laney and I were more than welcome to share his room. His only stipulation was that he got one bed and we could fight over the other. I think we ended up bringing in an extra cot. I'm not sure what I was more appreciative of: a room for the night or the fact that Doug bought us breakfast as well the next morning.
It was no big deal for Doug. He's a no-nonsense kind of guy who works hard and will give his employers 100-percent. But he's not such a hard ass that he won't help someone who needs it and that night in Arkansas, Laney and I needed it.
I shared this story with Doug and some of the other folks standing in the sat truck. The funny thing was, Doug remember the incident but not the fact that he had helped us out. To him, it was no big deal. That's just the way he is. I'm still waiting to return the favor somehow some way.

Nothing like two-a-days to get you in shape

You know things get serious in football when teams start with two-a-day practices to get in shape for the season. That means a practice in the morning and a practice in the afternoon. It builds stamina and gives team members something to look forward to: no more two-a-days.
Word on the street these days is that the reporters and producers down on the river have something to look forward to. Their news director who took over at the end of January requires reporters to turn two packages a day. I'm hearing that this move has inspired increased activity in the job hunting department among some folks. A shortage of producers means some are having to double up on the shows they crank out.
Cranking out two packages a day is standard operating procedure by reporters in some shops. It used to be the rule of thumb down on the river by a couple of previous news directors who wanted more product available for the newscasts. Both eventually backed off that requirement after complaints that quality suffered. Two-a-days actually teaches a couple of things. It makes reporters and videographers work faster as they attempt to meet the goal for quantity. The field teams learn to manage their time better and it's harder for them to "hide" from the assignment desk,(not that this has ever happened in real life). Reporters and photographers tend to lose weight since they may not get time to eat lunch as they scramble to get their stories and that may help their health although the increase in stress may offset the gains. It also gives managers a chance to tell field crews to work "smarter not harder". (Note to managers: those under you LOVE to hear that phrase.....NOT)
Some crews have less problems with this than others. Those most impacted by the two-a-days are the early morning reporters who, IMHO, traditionally get the shaft anyway. These folks roll in and may do multiple live shots during the morning show and depending on how "hands-on" the news managers may be, may not get their story assignments approved until 9:30 or 10 a.m. That means they may have to wait until they can get a videographer or they may not even be able to line up their interviews until the afternoon. It doesn't take too many days of coming in at 4 a.m. and leaving at 3 or 4 p.m. for the grind to get old and for someone to begin re-evaluating career choices. Seeing the morning show anchors leave promptly at 12:35 and the frustration starts to mount quickly. A complaint to the managers may prompt a comment such as "if you want 9 to 5, go work in a bank."
Producers eventually learn not to believe promises of help until the shadow of the additional worker actually falls across their desk. Even then that new person may end up taking over another show as illness or departures deplete the staff. They learn how to slap a show together. Just give 'em time for a smoke break.
Some enterprising folks may offer to work as a VJ or one man band if they only have to work one story a day. Some managers may take them up on the offer. Others know that the life of a news director is only about two years in many shops and they hope they can just hang on and outlast the ND. Still others will find that a kick in the rear is still a step forward.
But there is one positive note about this. When all is said and done, those in the newsroom will find they have done so much with so little for so long, that now they can do anything with nothing in no-time flat. Now, get out there and find some news, there are holes to fill in the newscasts.

Two out of three ain't bad

I try to be a law abiding citizen. I've been known to speed on occasion and I don't come to a complete stop to turn "right on red". That's about the extent of my lawlessness at this particular time in my life. However, I have maintained for years that if I should do something really bad, there are only about three people I would ever want to represent me in a court of law. One is the current mayor of Shelby County, AC Wharton. Another is Leslie Ballin while the third person would be Steve Farese of North Mississippi. Folks in a world of trouble used to turn to one of these three but Wharton is now out of the picture with his mayoral duties. I see reports now that Ms. Winkler of Selmer, Tennessee, charged in the murder of her husband, the Reverand Winkler, has retained the services of both Ballin and Farese. This may be one of the smartest things she has ever done in her life. It will be interesting to see how this thing ends, but she's got some high priced talent. I think her fortunes have changed to some degree. Stay tuned.

Note quite back in the saddle but one foot in the stirrup

I got a call Friday morning from a local production facility. I had expressed an interest in any freelance work they might have available and I got a call wanting to know if I would be interested in doing some work on a news story in Selmer, Tennessee. It seems a young minster was found shot to death in the parsonage and his wife and three young daughters had disappeared, only to be found in L.A. (Lower Alabama). The caller said that some national folks out of Atlanta had called looking for a videographer and producer to round up some information and I would be the producer on this gig. I met up with a very nice young man who would be shooting the video and when I wasn't on the phone with the folks in Atlanta and New York, we chatted while enjoying the drive to Selmer. Once in Selmer, it wasn't hard to find the scene of the action. Four satellite trucks were set up outside Selmer city hall and there were cables and crews everywhere. The photog and I were trying to round up a couple of specific folks for the clients and we headed to the local Church of Christ where we found a sign on the door stating "No more interviews today". I knocked on the door anyway and a nice but rather tired looking lady came to the door and we chatted briefly but she was insistent on not talking and I wasn't going to push it. We later found the two people we were seeking and interviewed them and helped on a live talk-back with one of the townspeople for a cable news program. I ran into a number of folks from the Memphis affiliates and even one guy from Jackson, Tennessee I first met about 25-years ago. His name is Doug Viar and I have a story to tell about involving him but that will come perhaps later this week.
It was interesting being back in the saddle briefly on this still unfolding news event. I spent more time on the phone updating both sides along with the folks from the cable news than I did trying to round up interviews. I found it challenging to try to track down folks to talk about about this murder. Fortunately, we didn't have to do too much convincing. The sad part is that coming from a small town and knowing how close knit the community can be, I felt like an intruder. I offered apologies to those we talked with and told them how much I personally appreciated their willingness to talk and that I hoped things got back to normal as soon as possible. It's not going to be an easy thing. The wife confessed to the shooting and is charged with first degree murder. That means the three little girls will never really know their mother or father. Having lost my father in January after almost 50-years, my heart goes out to them.

No lions but Tigers and Bears (Bruins) "Oh My!"

A bittersweet evening at stately LarkSmith Manor as the Memphis Tigers won and the Gonzaga Bulldogs lost. My lovely and talented bride loves both teams and has bemoaned the fact they are in the same bracket in the NCAA tournament knowing there was the possibility they could face each other. That is now a moot point. Bethany became a Gonzaga fan when they first made their big run toward a title about ten years ago and they actually played in the regional tournament in Memphis at the Pyramid. Each year since she has proudly worn her Gonzaga t-short at tournament time. It turns out I used to work with someone down on the river who graduated from Gonzaga. That would be Lurene Cachola who now goes by the name of Dr. Lurene Kelly and teaches at the University of Memphis. Don't you know that would have been a case of torn loyalties if Memphis had faced Gonzaga.
So now Memphis will face the UCLA Bruins and while the Tigers beat the Bruins earlier this year, many people think back to the "Big Game" when Memphis and UCLA faced off in the finals back in 1973 and UCLA with Bill Walton beat the Tigers led by Larry Finch.
I will admit that I haven't really followed the Tigers much over the years and I'm getting on the bandwagon now. You can witness Tiger fever taking hold of the city after Memphis proved they were for real by not choking in the first round. I picked up a pie over at Memphis Pizza Cafe for last night's game and I was greeted by the phrase " Go Tigers!" I hope they win it all.

Entertainment This Morning and now I know why my roof is leaking

I ran across a discussion in the Watercooler section of Shoptalk www.tvspy.com
that was suggesting that Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight is being considered to replace Katie Couric on the Today show. The information is coming from Wikipedia so I'm not sure how valid it is, but some interesting comments were posted. Some people are up in arms about this but it wouldn't be the first time a non-news person has been put on a national morning show. David Hartman was on GMA for years and Phyllis George (Brown) was on the CBS morning show for a while. Bryant Gumbal came from sports to do the Today show. All of this speculation could be for naught. NBC may end up paying Katie 20 million a year or more just to keep her in place so their cash cow (the show, not Katie) can keep that morning show and network strong.
On a completely different note, work began Wednesday on putting a new roof on stately Larksmith Manor in Midtown. During his noon break, the guy actually doing the work told me he had something for me. He dug into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a .38 caliber slug. He said he found it imbedded in the shingles toward the peak of the roof. I found what looked like a bullet hole in the roof more than ten years ago when I built out the attic. I also found a deformed small caliber slug (probably about a .32 or .38 caliber) on the sidewalk one year while doing yardwork. Will the roofers find more bullets in my roof? Probably if they're looking for them. Is someone using my roof as target practice? Probably not. I know during New Years celebrations and sometimes around July 4th, we've heard gunshots fired. (Yes, a person can tell the difference between gunshots and fireworks.) I think someone just shot in the air and our house just happened to be where the bullets came down.
Am I worried? No I'm not. It's just part of the fun of living in Midtown.

The news business ought to get a BIG boost from this.

Polls show that the news business ranks somewhere along the level of attorneys in terms of respect among Americans. Well, it's getting a boost these days.
First the background.
In Florida, a 25 year old teacher from Tampa is accused of having sex with a 14-year old student in the back of a SUV driven by the boy's cousin. Attorneys for Debra Lafave, a pretty blonde, successfully argued that if the case had gone to trial, it would have been detrimental to the health of the boy who was said to be suffering extreme anxiety because of the intense media coverage. So Lafave, said to be bipolar, is undergoing counseling and won't be teaching, much to the disappointment of young teens throughout Florida and the rest of the country.
So, what does she plan to do now that she can't teach.
During a news conference, she announced she's been taking some journalism courses on-line and you know what that means. She's cute, blonde, and learning to string some sentences together to make a cohesive thought.
Any bets on where she mind get her first job on television or when and where she will get the big break to anchor a newscast? Don't scoff or laugh. I don't think it's a matter of "if" but "when". The fact that this is what she's decided to do next should make everyone in the business proud.

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco

With apologies to Mark Twain, this second day of Spring in the Midsouth feels like one of the colder days of this past winter. Granted I have seen it snow briefly on April 1st here in the Memphis area, but this isn't Nebraska or any of those other rectangular states in the Midwest where many people move from for warmer climates.
On a different note, I heard something last night on Countdown with Keith Olbermann that I'm not sure I like. Olbermann, who is constantly pushing the envelope in my opinion was reporting on President Bush and the fact Mr. Bush now claims he never linked Saddam to the Al Quaida terrorist attacks. I don't want to get into the politics of that particular story but as he reported it, Olberman used the term "Who is he 'F-ing' kidding?" Olbermann used the phrase twice, never actually using the "F" word but there was no doubt as to what he was talking about. Don't get me wrong, I've heard salty language and have been known to use it on occasion, but I thought KO crossed the line even using that phrase. He is too well spoken and too smart a guy to have dropped down to that level. Olbermann doesn't disappoint me very often. He did this time and again, it doesn't have anything to do with the politics of the situation.
And speaking of words, I saw on Shoptalk's Water Cooler folks were discussing "usless words and phrases in reporting." I copied the longest list I saw and am posting them here. Anybody recognize any of them. I do since I was guilty of using some of them. Remember, if it sounds like a cliche, it probably is.

USELESS AND MEANINGLESS WORDS AND PHRASES
-working the story
-singing sensation
-winter wonderland
-white stuff
-counselors on hand-- or anyone 'on hand' for that matter!
-lucky to be alive
-speaking out
-mixed bag
-out in full force
-stars were shining in hollywood (also, "stars were out...")
-hit the ground running
-stumping for votes
-pressing the flesh
-taking to the streets
-search for answers
-more questions than answers
-shots rang out
-under fire
-breathing a sigh of relief
-broken his/her silence
-worst nightmare
-details are sketchy
-mother nature
-on the run
-on the lookout for
-"left out in the cold"
-wheels of justice
-left for dead
-death toll, death toll's rising
-sneak peak
-what a difference a day makes
-calling for action
-tight-lipped
-key hurdle
-on edge
-bracing for the worst
-to make matters worse
-state of shock
-makeshift memorial
-race against time
-blazes a trail
-reaping the rewards
-off without a hitch
-center stage
-out of the woodwork
-clean bill of health
-cautious optimism
-beefed up
-counting their blessings
-bargaining table
-software giant
-'tell-all' book
-blasting (i.e. criticizing)
-wedding bells are ringing
-brazen robbery
-broad daylight
-turn for the worse
-last-ditch effort
-walks of life
-best and brightest
-heating up
-weighing in
-all eyes are on...

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery

First, there was The Weather Channel's "It Could Happen Tomorrow". Now I see that the Discovery Channel is following suit as is CNN. I haven't seen the Discovery Channel's version but I did see some of CNN's. It was actually well done and laid out the scenario that Houston was hit by a powerful hurricane which disrupted the oil operations and very shortly thereafter Al Quaida attacked the Saudi oil operations causing massive shutdowns across the U-S. Hey, we've seen imitation in the TV business before. Locally, everybody jumped on the "Does it Work" bandwagon and then there was the "radar gun/chasing down speeding scofflaws" reporting. And you can't forget the "dirty restaurant/clean it up" reports that several stations did. Hey, if it worked in one market, why won't it play here. I swear, sometimes it seems consultants have about ten ideas and they keep five of those in circulation at any one time before kicking one out and recycling another one.
The University of Memphis State University (thanks Markie B) is hanging tough and making liars of all those naysayers who didn't think they'd get this far in the NCAA tournament. It's been the talk around town when I've run into folks. Now, instead of the weather to start off a conversation, it's the Tiger basketball team. Go Tigers Go.
I managed to pry my lovely and talented bride away from college basketball Friday night long enough to go watch some pro basketball. Bethany and I along with Jamey and Cameron Tucker had been invited to attend the Memphis Grizzlies game against the Denver Nuggets. Jamey (now working in Nashville) and Cameron had never been to a Grizz game at the FedEx Forum and Bethany and I had only been there once before. Quite entertaining and we ran into a number of people we knew and met a number of other folks. I've also decided that the only way to watch a ballgame at the FedEx Forum is from a suite. Thanks very much to our hosts.

Basketball, basketball, and more basketball

I guess I'm going to have to put my wife's picture on a milk carton. This is the time of year I don't see her much because of NCAA's March Madness. Don't get me wrong, I like college basketball. She LOVES basketball. Right now, she thinks she's died and gone to heaven as she purchased the college basketball package from Direct TV which allows her to watch three games at once on one screen and then punch up the most interesting game if she so desires. It would have been much more interesting to me in the initial round of this tournament if Vanderbilt (her alma mater) or Western Kentucky (my alma mater) were playing but they both ended up getting knocked out of the NIT in the first round. Bethany is a big Gonzaga fan and wears her Bulldogs T-shirt whenever they play except she says she's pulling for Memphis all the time since they are the hometown team. We also are big Kentucky fans but the Cats don't have much to brag about this year. She also pulls for the Cinderella teams. Like I said, she loved basketball. Her shouts and admonishments at the players and coaches Thursday night eventually sent me to the other end of the house to catch up on some reading. I know better than to plan any serious outing during the roundball days of March. But we will take a break from college basketball on TV tonight to see professional basketball in person. We were invited more than a month ago to see the Memphis Grizzlies at the Fed Ex Forum. This is the first time we will have seen the Griz play this year. I'm looking forward to it but I will miss being able to Tivo the action.

Plastic surgery gone bad, Mike Wallace decides to slow down and "It Could Happen Tomorrow"

"Hello, I'm Mike Wallace." At one time those were considered the most feared words in the U-S if Mr. Wallace happened to be knocking on your door at the time. And as he approaches his 88th birthday, he's decided to slow down. SLOW DOWN! I just hope I live to be 88 years old, much less be able to say slow down. Wasn't it just last year that Mike Wallace was put into cuffs by some Transit police in NYC for violating some parking laws? Anyway, a former videographer from down on the river, now shoots for 60-Minutes. My wife and I had breakfast with Dan Bussell and his wife last summer when they came to Memphis for a visit. He had some interesting stories to tell about 60 Minutes staff, the staff and how they do things. I wonder if Mike Wallace will be like legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant after he retired. Bryant didn't last long. Perhaps it was just timing, but I think the job keeps certain people focused and keeps them going. I hope Mike Wallace gets to enjoy life a little.
I will admit, I seem to have more gray hair than Mike Wallace does but my wrinkle count while numerous, isn't as high. No one wants to look old, but I found when I started in the news business 25 years ago, you CAN look too young. I had more than one news director tell me that. I even volunteered to put gray in my hair but the offer was declined. Little did I know that soon enough I would have plenty of gray. I can't begin to tell you the number of times in the last five years while I was down on the river that I received emails and phone calls from people telling me to color my hair and not let it turn gray. I told them I'd rather it "turn gray than turn loose". In the TV news business, men have been allowed to age gracefully but for some reason women have not and some fight it harder than others. But for those of you in or out of the news business who are considering plastic surgery, you need to check out a website that will flat out scare the bejeezus out of you. Go to www.awfulplasticsurgery.com You will see some examples of a lot of famous people who look pretty bad after trying to look good.
And speaking of looking good, the future of Memphis DOES NOT. I finally had a chance to view The Weather Channel's special "It Could Happen Tomorrow" which focused on the New Madrid Fault and what it could mean to the city of Memphis and the surrounding area if the big earthquake hits. Folks, we DON'T want to be here when that happens. It will make what happened with Katrina on the coast look like a pleasant diversion. It is a rather sobering look at what will happen and experts say it's not a matter of if but when. Check out the rerun if you can find it on TWC.
And a "shout-out" goes to a former co-worker down on the river in connection with the show ICHT. Some of the footage shown in the Memphis area came from Graceland and in the credits, the show thanked Kevin Kern who works in their PR department. Some of you may remember KK from the days when he reported on NC3 Daybreak and shot radar at those who would speed through school zones. Way to go Kevin.

Goodbye Chef and the lack of an earthquake special on TWC leaves me all shook up

I will admit it. I've gotten spoiled to TIVO. All you have to do is point, click and it records your favorite program. It also records things it thinks you want to watch which can be a real pain, but that's a posting for another time. I had three things I really wanted to watch Sunday night: How William Shatner Changed the World (should not have been stretched to two hours), Mind of Mencia (this guy may be the funniest person on TV) and It Could Happen Tomorrow on the Weather Channel which focused on the earthquake we could expect from the New Madrid Fault. I generally don't care for programs about potential disaster since we have enough real disasters going on in the world as is but I do feel it's just a matter of time before the Midsouth gets hammered. Because of recording and viewing conflicts with the TIVO, I recorded ICHT at a later showing. Imagine my surprise and disappointment to discover the episode I recorded was about the San Andreas Fault. The info on the playback said it was about the New Madrid area but all I saw during the first five minutes was about California. Maybe the severe weather prompted TWC to postpone the later showing. I don't know if it was worth watching or not.
One show I generally do find worth watching on a daily basis is Countdown with Keith Olbermann and if Rendezvous Ribs has any marketing savvy about them, they should send him an order of ribs. Olbermann was talking with Howard Fineman who was in Memphis over the weekend to cover the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. They were talking about how Senator Bill Frist had treated some of the delegates to ribs "across the street from the Peabody" at the Rendezvous. Fineman bragged about the ribs and Olbermann commented since HE didn't get down to Memphis, he'd have to take Fineman's word on how good the food was. I'd almost bet Olbermann gets an order of ribs from Memphis before this week is up.
And speaking of publicity, I didn't see a lot of the coverage, but Memphis looked good from what I could see during the SRLC over the weekend. I know the Peabody loved the publicity AND the traffic as did the businesses in the rest of the downtown area.
And say goodbye to Chef on the Comedy Channel's show Southpark. According to the Commercial Appeal, Memphian Isaac Hayes who provides the voice of Chef says he was offended by how the show's creators treat religion and has quit. The creators say Hayes never had a problem with anything until it produced a show focusing on Scientology which Hayes believes in. My wife hates Southpark and I watch it only when there's not much else on. It has it's humorous moments (Mega-Barbara Streisand comes to mind) but generally speaking it's never been my cup of tea.

Hard work, timing and the Olympics courtesy of NBC

The folks down on the river have a huge reason to be smiling big time these days according to the Commercial Appeal. For the first time in 20-years, they've beaten the folks on Union at 10 o'clock. Partial credit was given to the millstone called the Winter Olympics that NBC placed around the neck of local affiliates. But in all fairness, I'm told the team is clicking down on the river. Bonuses will be paid now to those fortunate enough to have them written into contracts. Some may be licking their lips as they look toward the May book and what rewards it may bring.
The win at ten is a big deal down on the river where about a dozen years ago, efforts were made to demonize the folks on Union. Competition is good but one manager began referring to them as the "evil-doers". I guess the name came about because it seemed like they could never be defeated and perhaps they had made a deal with the devil. They were the only operation with a nickname. I don't know how the folks on Union referred to other news operations if they did at all.
According to the article in the CA, everybody's shows were up. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I miss former media reporter Tom Walter. Everybody thought he was biased toward somebody else's news operations. And Walter told the numbers of the news operations in other timeslots as well. I'd like to see the raw numbers on all this.
I'd been told the folks on the river were expected to win in the mornings rather handily but the paper didn't even mention this. What about Noon where the battles have been raging as well. Are the weekends not important anymore?
Perhaps we're headed for such Political Correctness where everybody wins and nobody loses and everybody gets a Gold Star.
So, winners, enjoy your successes and those who didn't win, lick your wounds and swallow your pride and let's get ready to gear up. We're almost halfway through March and April looms large which means planning should be well underway for the May book.
Go kick some NewschannelEyewitnessActionFoxNews Butt and don't forget those stand-up teases. You're gaining on the competition.

You can thank William Shatner for inter-racial dating and flip phones.

You gotta love William Shatner. No other person has reinvented himself so many times. He's been Ranger Bob on the Howdy Doody show back in 1954 to Captain Kirk, to police officer TJ Hooker to Denny Crane on Boston Legal. He even managed to record Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds! Coming up on the History Channel, he hosts a program called "How William Shatner Changed the World. It all ties into Star Trek/The Original Series. He claims he's responsible for inter-racial dating with the first kiss between a black person (Nichelle Nichols) and a white person on network TV. (I remember reading later that some NBC stations in the south would not run the episode. ) Then there was the flip phone (communicators), laser surgery, floppy discs, CDs and space travel to name a few others. It promises to be interesting.

Some folks who surf the internet now have some 'splaining to do.

This is probably old hat to some, but I've heard that "if you haven't read it, it's still news."
Apparently the names of about 17-million people who used the old credit card to view porn on the internet have their names being posted and shared out there. Not only are the names of these folks being shared, but so are their emails and and IP addresses. The good news is that the credit card numbers have not been shared. It all goes back to the company known as iBill
which was the top bill processor for adult websites offering such fare. Apparently the information has been found at two different private websites established for phishing and spamming operations. I predict a whole lot of people will be explaining to somebody about how they "loaned their card to a friend or business associate." I just hope it wasn't on the company card.

Earthquakes, tornadoes, heavy rain and now my roof is leaking

As I write this, the MidSouth remains under a tornado watch and I think I heard a tornado warning issued for part of North Mississippi earlier this afternoon. My lovely and talented bride and I had just left the Collierville area when the heavy rain hit. One of the nice things about driving an older vehicle is that people in the new, expensive cars generally get out of your way, especially in bad weather. We got home and turned on the Weather Channel to get the particulars about the storm. I went on-line to check out the local radar and then went upstairs to change out of wet clothes. That's when I discovered a leak in the upstairs area. It brings new meaning to the phrase "When it rains, it pours". In two different places it turns out. Wind damage coupled with an older roof means it's time to call the experts.
While dealing with the leak and listening to the Weather Channel, I'm reminded by Mr. TV Announcer that "A deadly secret lies beneath Memphis! It's called the New Madrid zone and a powerful earthquake is expected from it!" It's part of TWC's continuing series "It Could Happen Tomorrow". The video promo I found on-line at www.weather.com told how the big one would be felt from Louisiana to Canada. I kept expecting to hear how the New Madrid fault produced the biggest quake the U-S had ever experienced and how it made the Mississippi River flow backwards. Mr. Announcer never mentioned that part.
It reminded me of the frenzy caused back in December 1990 by climatologist Dr. Iben Browning. He predicted tidal loading would trigger an earthquake along the New Madrid fault. It seems to me that somehow the numbers 1234567890 came into play. The quake was supposed to hit on the 12th month with the dates either the 3rd&4th around 5:00 to 6:00 or 7:00 to 8:00 in 1990. I know the numbers figured in somehow.
Media types from all over the country descended on New Madrid. Missouri and WREG even sent a crew up there to spend the night. The only things that happened was that folks around New Madrid made a boat-load of money from those "out-of-towners". Pardon my cliche, but the locals laughed all the way to the bank. It's all about marketing.
And speaking of marketing. When I was helping my wife set up an exhibit at the Bartlett Chamber Business Expo this morning, I saw where somebody who was hawking air filters or something of that sort had as a prominent part of that display, a TV set with a large sign on it. That sign said something to the effect of " As tested by Andy Wise on Does It Work Thursday". Apparently they planned to show the video of Andy's report on their product. It must have worked.
I remember when Andy started that segment down on the river. It was promoted heavily and was heavily watched and soon there were imitators in the market. After a couple of years, someone high up the food chain decided that since it wasn't broke, it needed to be fixed. "I think the announcement went something like "we set the standard and had a good run with it. Now that everyone else is doing it, we're going to move on to something else."
I guess the success others had with it made someone reconsider because I'm told that "Does it work Thursday" is back in rotation.
I guess a lesson was learned there. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Now, if I can just get Andy to come over and reroof my house. We can call it, "Does it work 2006 through 2016."

Out in the hinterlands

I caught up with a former co-worker who was taking care of some business down in Tupelo, MS. My friend Jack and I worked together in Jackson, TN back in the early 80's. He was sports director, I produced and anchored the news at WBBJ. Later, we worked together in southwest Florida. I always enjoy visiting with Jack and he invited me down to Tupelo as he was meeting with some folks at WTVA-TV. I flew down (a 45 minute flight versus a two hour drive) and actually tagged along with Jack and was introduced to the news director, the chief engineer and the IT guy at the station. Super nice folks and I had forgotten how much more relaxed the environment appeared to be at a smaller station. I've worked my share of stations in markets 70 and smaller and some were better than others. One thing I learned a long time ago, when it comes to TV stations, size doesn't matter when it comes to markets. I've seen some crappy stuff cranked out in larger markets and have seen some quality cranked out in the smaller ones. Plus, I think TV stations in the Memphis area would kill for the numbers that the stations pull down in the Tupelo market. I did find in interesting that Comcast, which operates the cable system in Tupelo and will soon take over Time Warner in Memphis, pulled WREG and WHBQ off the Tupelo cable. According to the news director down there, they left WMC on which suprised me since WTVA is an NBC affiliate. And the news director also commented that Comcast hates WTVA.
Anyway, nice folks down that way although I will have to say I've never been at a station where there's a cemetery out the back door. Jack suggested that's where they put old anchors. Perhaps that's where they should steer consultants.

Maybe it's hard out here for a pimp afterall.

I managed to catch the last few minutes of Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC and he mentioned the Oscars, specifically the song by Three 6 Mafia of Memphis fame. One of his two guests was the Rev. Al Sharpton and some other guy whose name I didn't catch but sounded like he was a conservative. Matthews referenced the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" that won the Academy Award, referring to it I believe as "crap". Rev. Sharpton and the other guest both agreed with him. They seemed to be in agreement that it doesn't reflect well on black culture and it was said that one does not want a three year old to be repeating the lyrics.
Since I don't have youngsters at home and since I don't listen to rap, I never really gave the song much thought since Sunday night was the first time I had even heard it. Does anybody else out there feel strongly about this song one way or another? I know my parents really didn't care for the music I listened to as I was growing up, but for the most part, any suggestive lyrics were generally off limits since a radio station would never play it otherwise. On the other hand, some of the songs I grew up with were quite suggestive or alluded to certain things while other songs required the listener to read between the lines.
I'd be curious if people who listen to rap feel that this song should have won the Oscar or if anybody really cares one way or the other.

I need help finding the name of a song

Help. I've seen a TV commercial and I can't get the music out of my head, plus I can't identify the song. It features some kids at a birthday party. There's a clown eating cake and no one is riding his horse. Instead, the kids are lined up to ride in a Porsche Cayenne. I've been online to a couple of websites about tv commercials and have even been to a couple of chatrooms where some folks are also trying to find the song's title, but so far, no luck. If anyone knows the answer or can help track down the info, please email me. Thanks.

It just got easier out here for a pimp!

That's according to Academy Awards host Jon Stewart after Three 6 Mafia won for its song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the movie "Hustle and Flow" which was shot in Memphis. I'm told that some of the group Three 6 Mafia hails from the Bluff City as well. I couldn't find that information in my brief and hurried search of their website.
And they weren't the only folks from Tennessee to take home an Oscar. Nashville native Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for "Walk the Line". She's too cute for words. I've liked her ever since I saw her in "Pleasantville".
I really had not planned to watch the awards show since neither my wife nor I had seen any of the shows. Oh, we enjoy watching movies, but we found that too many people think of public theaters as their private living room and feel the need to talk to the screen or worse yet, talk on their phones or to each other in loud voices. We now wait until a movie comes out on DVD or on pay-per-view. Yah, we miss out on the big screen effect, but it's better than paying a lot of money and not being able to enjoy the flick. Wow, didn't mean to get off on that rant.
I ended up reading while the awards show was on in the background. My wife contends that she knows who will win some of the awards by things shown on the show. For example, she said Three 6 Mafia had just performed their song and they won. She said they showed a clip of the movie "Crash" going into the commercial break and it won "Best Picture". Who am I to argue. She was the one paying attention to the show.
Anyway, congratulations to those who won. Three 6 Mafia can now say they're on equal footing with Isaac Hayes, that other Oscar winning song writer from Memphis.

Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics and TV Ratings

With apologies to either Benjamin Disraeli or Mark Twain, it's almost time for the release of more "Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics and TV Ratings." Yes, the February book is behind us and it's time for the television stations to put their spin on the ratings. It's always interesting to see how the stations that run neck and neck put the ratings into perspective but you can't overlook those farther back in the pack either. The front-runners will show you how THEY have the key demographics that advertisers want. Those back in the pack will show you how they have DOUBLED or even TRIPLED their ratings. Depending on how they spin it, EVERYBODY can show how a particular book showed them doing well. But hey, if you don't brag on yourself, nobody else will.
Still, despite the fact that so many people in a newsroom live and die by the ratings, I would bet that most people in a newsroom DON'T know how to read a ratings diary. Oh, they may know if they're doing well and if they are beating the competition, but I think it's safe to say many can't tell you what a ratings diary spells out with all of the numbers. I know I used to struggle through reading them.
One other note about the ratings. I'm reminded of the old Cold War joke about an automobile race between the Russians and the Americans. The Russians lost to the Americans. The next day, the headline in the Russian newspaper announced the results of the race. It announced the Russians came in second while the Americans finished next to last. It's all about the spin.