YouTube, We Hardly Knew U

Say goodbye to YouTube, at least the YouTube U knew. That's because its new owner Google has started cleaning up the content, specifically the copyrighted stuff from places such as the Comedy Channel. You can't blame Google. They've got deep pockets containing a lot of money and that has those wanting to file lawsuits for copyright infringment practically salivating at the thought of how much they could get. So, while we will still be able to see all of the home made stuff on the Tube, we'll see less of the TV shows we've come to expect. I know some networks have an agreement with YouTube to show their stuff but not all.
I think clips appearing on YouTube may have helped encourage people to check out some cable and network shows featured there. But a copyright is a copyright and the law is the law and when big corporations are involved they have to play fair or find themselves facing an army of Perry Masons.

A Political Ad That some Say Has Backfired, The Elusive Memphis Manatee, and Other Outdoor Ramblings!

I generally try to stay away from politics on this blog but the RNC ad against Democratic Senatorial Candidate Harold Ford Junior of Memphis is getting a lot of national attention. The ad has been pulled in many markets across the Volunteer State although I heard Thursday morning it was still playing in Chattanooga. Now HFJr has come out with a counter ad. This tight race in Tennessee has already been getting national attention and now this RNC attack ad is in the spotlight with some national pundits claiming it may have backfired. We'll have to wait and see on that.

Q:So, just what is a manatee doing in the Wolf River Harbor?
A:It appears to be the backstroke!
Goodnight folks, try the veal, it's the chef's favorite.
Seriously, this manatee thing is what we used to call a "No Sh*t" story. We'd tell people about it and they'd respond with "No Sh*t"! I got the same reaction when about ten years ago I reported that an alligator had been found up near Shelby Forest. However, we have gators not too far from here but a manatee is something completely different. When I lived in Florida and worked in Tallahassee at the ABC affiliate, we did a series of stories on manatees. We traveled down to the Crystal River near Tampa. We used scuba gear and an underwater camera and put together a nice series. Somewhere around here I still have the video of me with a manatee. Despite the fact they are quite large, they can move very quickly when they want to. I just hope some yahoo here in the MidSouth doesn't decide he or she wants to see what manatee ribs might taste like and attempt to put this one on the grill.

And I wanted to respond to a question from an anonymous poster on the previous post. I was asked if I missed MidSouth Outdoors (now NewsChannel 3 Outdoors) on WREG. The person said I always looked like I was having a good time.
Yes, I always enjoyed the Outdoor show and if I had been given the opportunity, I would have done the outdoor show full time. I started out as the original host on the show and was joined by Carl Graham and Craig Chapman (depending on whether we were talking fishing or hunting) on a set built to look like the inside of a cabin.
I spent a lot of time trying to put together stories for the outdoor show and had a tremendous amount of fun doing it. I remember thinking at the time, "I can't believe they are paying me to do this." That is a sign you really enjoy what you are doing. Remember, this was in addition to anchoring the morning show with MaryBeth Conley and turning a news package most days. A lot of my reporting switched over to feature which would never be allowed these days since consultants don't want to see it, but it was always interesting to me. One of the big differences I found with feature reporting was that for the most part, people actually welcomed you. This contrasted with the routine of daily news coverage where you almost had to beg people to let you come out to talk to them about the news of the day. I never did get the knack of knocking on the door of the family of a murder victim and asking them if they would talk to us on camera.
Anyway, I credit the arrival of photographer/editor/producer Dan Patton to the outdoor show and Jeff Woods switching to full-time co-host to the outdoor show's success. After a couple of years my news duties expanded to include anchoring the Noon show and that meant my duties on the outdoor show were slowly phased out. I used to tell people we had a two and a half man team on the show with me being the half-man.
While I did turn an occasional piece for show, most of my participation was limited to introducing pieces during the show. Still I had a great time and have very fond memories of the outdoor show and the many people I met. One of the best known pieces that ever aired on the outdoor show was when we first shared the story of the "flying carp" on the Mississippi. My dad is the one who first told me about it and supplied some home video of the fish jumping into the boat. Later, we traveled to Western Kentucky to fish with my dad. Both stories
ended up on the national news and for a year or so after that, CBS used our video to supplement their stories on the bighead carp. I have a recording of both stories and watch them occasionally. That trip with my dad on the river was one of the last times I went out on the Mighty Mississippi with my father before he died of cancer.
Did I enjoy the outdoor show? You betcha. Would I do another outdoor show? In a heartbeat.

Shame on The Station Down on the River for Not Helping Katie Couric

It's partially your fault that Katie Couric has dropped to third place among the network anchors. At least that's what the head of CBS News claims. He claims low-rated lead-ins from local affiliates are to blame for KC's drop to the tail-bone patrol. I bet that sure makes everyone proud to know that the blame is laid where the blame belongs. If you were Numero Uno leading in to her she would be kicking rear. As it is, KC's ratings are right where Bob Shieffer left them...oh wait his numbers were actually pretty decent if I remember correctly. And besides, your numbers are pretty good leading in to her. Perhaps this was all just a clever ploy to move KC to the CBS Morning show. I wonder if those in power at CBS STILL consider the hiring of KC to be such a great move and worth every penny of that 15-million.

Does Size Really Matter?

Apparently size does matter as opposed to what you do with what you've got. I'm talking radar here folks. I see where WMC has broken ground on a site in West Memphis for a one million watt weather radar set-up. For those of you who missed it, there was tease after tease during the Noon show on Monday before the big announcement. From a promotional point this a big deal. For several years now WREG has been able to brag that theirs was bigger than anybody elses and they never missed an opportunity to tell you about it. During weathergasms the weather folks would punch the "one million watt super-duper gonad weather radar". Hey, it's not bragging if it's so. It's kind of like when WMC had the only dedicated news chopper. They had it and nobody else did. When the station DOTR got their chopper, the made sure theirs was bigger and better and bright red.
That's what the station on Union is doing with this new radar. They've already emphasized that their radar site is located in West Memphis, Arkansas and that bad weather headed for Memphis usually comes in from the West. Now you can see what's coming a little sooner than those other guys who have radar sites in the eastern part of Shelby County.
I'm not sure how long it will take WMC's new super duper super radar to be up and running but theirs is now as big as any in the market and "state of the art" as they will tell you.
So, the reality is that size does matter. But then you can't just brag about that. You have to be able to show what you can do with it too. Let the games begin.

I Forgot It Was Illegal to Rob a Bank!

I think it was Steve Martin who, during a comedy routine, uttered the phrase or something to the effect "But I forgot it was illegal to rob a bank!"
I was reminded of this after reading about the 20-year old grocery store clerk who, according to investigators, amused himself by posting prank Internet warnings of terrorist attacks against NFL stadiums. You know the warnings: they made national news. And this wasn't just to some kids website. This Einstein made the post around 40 times to various webistes. Then the attorney for this nimrod said after a court hearing that his client was shocked by the way the threats were received. Wow. I guess he'd probably get a chuckle too if this guy yelled "fire" in a crowded theater. Maybe it's just me who is out of touch with reality but at what point in time do these wacky youngsters start grasping the concept that the defense "I really didn't mean any harm" ain't going to cut it in the wake of 9-11 and Columbine. It amazes me that kids still take handguns or other weapons to school and seem to be shocked when they're caught and summarily booted from school. When I traveled by commercial airliner in September I saw the notice that reminded people that joking about a bomb or terrorist actions can lead to arrest. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when people have to be reminded NOT to do something really dumb.
As for the 20-year old, I'm reminded of the old Warren Zevon song "Excitable Boy".
Here are a couple of lines:
He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy .

Maybe the lawyers for this 20-year old will use the "excitable boy" defense. I wouldn't be suprised.

Local Urban Myths in Television Part 2

For the readers of this blog, I am doing something that I've never done. I'm using the comments of one of the folks who posted a response to one of my blog postings. As I mentioned in a previous post, for the 17-plus years I've been in Memphis I've heard various incarnations of the story of WMC's Dave Brown getting punched out for saying it was not going to rain and it did. This supposedly happened when he worked as weatherman at WHBQ-TV many years ago.
Dave Brown has attempted to clear up the mystery for years and he shared the story on my previous posting about local urban myths. As was suggested by a reader, I'm posting Dave's comments for those who don't bother reading all the comments.
Many thanks to DB who is in my opinion, a class act and a good sport for taking time to share what really happened.
Here's Dave's account from my previous blogging:

Amused, I am indeed. This story has better legs than anyone could have ever imagined. I have "set the record straight" many times on this, yet the legend lives. I doubt this post will fix it either, but here goes...

FACT - In March 1975, a mentally disturbed man came into WHBQ. He asked for me because I was the only name he knew at the station. He came into the old second floor newsroom. Ed Craig, Charlie B. Watson, the 10pm producer and I were the only ones around. We thought he might be armed and began insisting he leave the building. He struck me on the side of my head with his forearm. I was not hurt at all.

We got him out of the building with no harm. We notified police. Some thiry days later, he returned. After I identified him as the previous intruder, the police were called, he was arrested and at his court date it was immediately apparent to all that he was quite mentally disturbed. He was returned to a mental institution in Waukeegan IL where he had previously been treated for alcohol and drug abuse that was at least partially attributed to his serving in Vietnam.

FACT - It had NOTHING to do with me personally.

FACT - It had NOTHING to do with the weather.

FACT - It had nothing to do with Wrestling. On the three occasions we saw him, he never made any coherent statements that made sense.

FACT - He was NOT a farmer, concrete contractor, roofing contractor or irate husband/boyfriend. He was not an irate housewife or bride-to-be.

FACT - I have heard over 100 variations on the story. NONE of them are true.

FACT - At least 3000 people have told me they saw it happen on the air. It was not on the air. There was not even a camera on the floor where the incident occured. It was about an hour before the 10pm newscast.

In those days, television stations doors were unlocked and a receptionist was on duty until after the late newscast. I claim that this story sold more "buzz-to-enter" door locks to television stations than any other single event in the history of the medium.

As to Ed's version...I assure you he was telling the story to amuse. In fact, he and Charlie were instrumental in helping to remove the guy from the building.

Hi to the lovely Mrs. Larkins and to Byron Day and all others who commented!

P.S. The microwave tower climber was on Union Avenue. Razor wire now covers the fence surrounding that tower.

Dave Brown

Look at Who has Come A-Courtin

Word out there is that some representatives of Hearst-Argyle Television group have paid a visit to the New York Times Broadcast operations center in Norfolk, Virginia and have also stopped by the NYTimes station there. I would imagine this would be some relatively good news for those who work in the NYTimes Broadcast group and are waiting for the other shoe to drop in the anticipated sale of the stations. Chatting with a friend at the Station DOTR, this person even commented when the planned sale of the group was announced that perhaps they would be lucky enough to be purchased by H-A. That group has about two dozen stations scattered around the country from Orlando to Boston to Sacramento and they apparently know the broadcast business. It's the second largest owner of NBC affiliates and the largest ABC affiliate group in terms of audience reach. (Their words, not mine). H-A already owns stations in Des Moines, Iowa and Ft. Smith, Arkansas so I guess they'd keep the stronger station in the markets and dump the other. This visit also kind of fits the time frame of what was rumored when the sale was first announced: That the NYTimes wants to have a sale in the works by the end of October and have this thing wrapped up around the first of the year.

Urban Myths in Local Television

A recent poster on this blog shared an interesting link that basically cranked up Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine and allowed me (minus Sherman) to visit well known Memphis weatherman Dave Brown back when he was working for WHBQ-TV. I'm not sure of the year but I would place it about the early to mid 70s. The clip also featured Charlie B. Watson doing sports and a very young Jerry "The King" Lawler who was planning to wrestle a boxer. I don't know if this was Dave Brown's pre-wrestling show host days. The clip shows you how far we've come technology-wise in local TV. Pay special attention to Dave's satellite map.
Anyway, the point of this post is that it reminded me of what almost qualifies as an urban myth in local TV. I say almost because I think there is some truth to this although I'm sure it's nothing like what actually happened. Perhaps Dave Brown himself can clear up this bit of mystery once and for all.
I first heard this story while interviewing a farmer in East Arkansas in 1989 and have heard many different versions since from little old ladies to business owners from all three states in the viewing area.
It goes something like this: Dave Brown was doing the weather at (WHBQ/ WMC) and some farmer walked into the (TV station/Studio/Dave's office) and (asked to speak to Dave/didn't say anything) and then proceeded to (punch him in the nose/give him a black eye/knock him out with a fist to the face). Supposedly this came after the farmer had listened to Dave's forecast which (called for rain and it didn't rain/called for clear skies and it rained) which in turn cost the farmer a lot of money. One version has it that some lady was planning to throw a big party outdoors and it rained and SHE cleaned Dave's clock.
I have heard this over and over and you would be amazed at the number of people who swear its true and supposedly knew the person who did this deed. Maybe there is some truth to this but I don't think it says much about a farmer who plans his working day around what one weatherman says.
Anyway, the person who knows what really happened if anything at all is Dave Brown. Maybe he will settle this once and for all right here. I just hope he doesn't punch my lights out for posting on this.

Is it SET Yet?

I won't have to go out very far on this particular limb to announce what the station on Union is about to do: Unveil a new set. It's been rumored for a while and they've already undergone a lot of renovation over there. They already have a really nice newsroom. I got a tour of that back in February. Since then I've heard people complain among other things about the need for a new set and new graphics. I got an email Monday telling me that I should watch Tuesday's Noon show on WMC. Well unless the anchors would be naked (and just where would they clip lav microphones if they were ) it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they're rolling out something new like a set and graphics.
I learned a long time ago that you always want to roll out something like a new set on a Noon show. If something goes wrong, you have plenty of folks around to get things fixed. The morning shows are too long and too early and if a problem develops you are stuck with it for two to four hours depending on how long the morning show is. You generally don't want to try out something new on your early evening news because that may be when your loyal audience is largest.
I was working at the now defunct WEVU-TV in Ft. Myers, Florida in the late 1980s when we not only unveiled a new set, it was unveiled in a new building. The problem was, most of the equipment from the old building and old set were brought over an installed in the new digs. On top of that engineering nightmare, the equipment wasn't the best to begin with. It was first tested when we hit the air at 5pm. We rolled the new News open, the tally light came on and the anchors started talking. But nobody could hear us because no one had hooked the microphones up in the audio room. We couldn't even apologize for the technical difficulty. I think we scrambled to get Cheers or some other syndicated program on the air for the rest of the half hour. The GM who used to be the GM at the NBC affiliate in St. Louis came in and said something like "Hey, even Tom Brokaw had problems with robotic cameras the first night they used them". That was supposed to make us feel better but it didn't help my mood much.
That's why I'm a firm believer of unveiling something when it's ready to be unveiled. If there is a problem, the new set will still be new when you take off the wraps.

Now This Is What Television Does Best!

I got an email over the weekend asking me what my take was on the coverage of the big fires in downtown Memphis. For those of you outside the viewing area, a historic church in the downtown area caught fire and the embers from it were spread by the wind to several other places in the downtown area. The Memphis Fire Department had its hands full fighting the blazes which destroyed the church and caused a lot of damage elsewhere.
The TV stations had their hands full trying to make sense of what was going on for those tuning in 6:30 as I did around 6:30.
I skipped through the channels to see what everyone was doing and I can say that the news choppers finally earned their keep on this one. There's nothing like seeing it up close and personal from the air and they gave a great perspective. The stations without helicopters used tower cams to help their coverage but there's nothing like a chopper view. I admit there was some initial confusion on my part as to what was going on but some on-air folks familiar with the downtown area helped clarify things by saying this building housed this business and that building is where so-and-so was located.
The bottom line: I ended up with more details the next day from the newspaper but TV had the pictures during the fire that made me stop and stare at the screen. The overall coverage in the morning is what TV does best and Memphis TV folks should pat themselves on the back. From what I saw, everyone did a good job of doing what they are supposed to do with breaking news.

The Future of Television News

It's not every day that I get to say I've heard about the future of TV news twice in one day.
It started when my lovely and talented bride heard a promo for on NPRadio Thursday morning about a report scheduled to run on "All Things Considered" in the afternoon. The report was about the VJ effort at WKRN-TV in Nashville. A lot of attention has been given to this and sister station KRON in San Francisco.
It was a good report IMHO except for the fact that the reporter said the VJs were required to "film" their own news stories. Come on NPR people, you know better than that. The rest of it was well done and balanced with people both for it and against it. Part of the report included a promo with former anchor and reporter at the station DOTR Jamey Tucker who is currently the Faith and Ethics reporter at WKRN. By the way, I chat with JT on a regular basis and he loves his gig at Channel 2 in Nashville. It sounds like it is a match made in Heaven, so to speak. If you want to read the story by Audie Cornish or listen to it, click on this link.
And in the second "future of television news" link, check out this. I'm not that computer savvy but this is how I understand it. The information (news) is compiled and then a computer generated person lays out the news in a three or four minute newscast from your computer. The current version looks like and admits she is from some video game and then starts talking about the events in the news. I can see how this has a great amount of potential although I think the current version is about as close to a news reader as Pong is to the current generation of video games. I can see an advanced Max Headroom kind of guy down the road and he or she will be a heck of a lot cheaper than even the current local anchor talking heads.
Just remember: We have seen the future and it is here. ( apologies to Pogo).

And Now For Something Completely Different.

My wife and I like to tune into MSNBC for our news during the Noon when we're making lunch. That's what I had on in the background as I worked around the kitchen. They had a follow-up story about school security in the aftermath of that Amish school tragedy. I actually stopped what I was doing because they had a live shot from a high school in Philidelphia I think to show the security measures there. There was a security checkpoint where police officers checked out the students. They commented about how they did not use metal detectors but still managed to keep things secure. They also showed how anyone from outside the school had to have a photo idea and a hall pass that they made up on the spot with a picture ID. It was a very good live shot, informative and well done. Then the live shot (which I admit I was getting into) was interrupted by breaking news. My first thought was that something really bad just happened. The anchor of the show issued an apology and said something about Anna Nicole Smith and all of a sudden we're at a live shot after some court hearing involving ANS and the people who claim they are her new baby's daddy. The lawyer for one of the alledged fathers stepped up to the microphone and spoke for about a minute and a half into an array of microphones about how they were NOT going to talk to the media AND would ANS please do the right thing. The attorney and her client then walked off camera and the shot cut back to the anchor who mumbled something and then threw it back to the scene where another lawyer, this one for ANS announced to the array of microphones that they would not talk to the media nor try this case in the press and he couldn't believe the other lawyer would speak to the media about this case. This went on for about another couple of minutes. This lawyer, who said he was not going to talk to the media, spent that time telling the media how he was not going to talk to them about any aspect of the case. Why didn't he just walk away after the first time he said it? As for the live shot that actually had me listening and watching, I guess they never went back to it as the folks back in the newsroom turned all of their attention to the fact that we will now have to wait until later this month to find out who fathered the child of ANS. I shouldn't be disappointed but I am. This is what passes for news and breaking news on a national level? I almost expect to see the folks from Monty Python jump out from the screen and shout "Now it's time for something completely different." This incident will teach me to bother watching breaking news.

The Spaghetti Effort to Find an Excuse

Normally I stay away from most politics on this blog as I found it's a surefire way to honk off about half the folks who might read this and quite frankly I don't need the grief. However, after checking in to an alchohol rehab joint, Former Representative Mark Foley of Florida caught so to speak with his hand in the cookie jar now claims HE was abused by a priest when he was in his early teens. He may have been. But IMHO he is now using what I call the "spaghetti effort" to justify or excuse his behavior toward Congressional pages. I'll explain the spaghetti reference. Back when I was in college, we made spaghetti about twice a week. My room mate showed me how to check to see if the noodles were ready. He used a fork to sling a noodle against the wall. If it stuck, it was good to go. If it bounced off the wall, you waited a few more minutes and tried it again.
Now I don't know anything about this guy with the odd sense of values down in the Sunshine State other than the fact that he sent some pretty salacious emails to some kids as reported in the news. Yah people in public office are supposed to set a higher standard but they prove over and over that it's all about themselves and way too many are just slimeballs. And it happens on both sides of the aisle. But what gets me about this guy is he just seems to be throwing things out and hopes at least one of his excuses will stick with somebody.
I'm reminded of one of my favorite uncles who was always a practical joker and still is at the age of 80. He told me once about coming in late and his wife wanted to know where he had been. He said he told her his truck had broken down and he had to fix it before he could get home. She didn't buy it. He then said he stopped to help someone who needed to get back to town and that's why he was delayed. She didn't buy that either. So he said he stopped by to visit his mother and father who lived down the road. When she said she didn't believe that either, he said he pulled a small book titled "101 Excuses" out of his back pocket and handed it to her and said pick an excuse you like and that's what I will go with. That sounds what this Foley character is doing down in Florida.

Please Help the Email and Internet Impaired!

I will admit that when it comes to computers and the internet I'm still a babe in the woods. About the time I think I've figured something out on the computer or some software program, something doesn't work and I have to ask for help. Then I watch my 21-year old niece sit down at my computer and not only resolve the problem but also then show me about two or three shortcuts as her fingers dance over the keyboard. I've been working on learning a video editing program and sometimes think maybe there is some truth about teaching old dogs news tricks.
Having said that, what was the congressman from Florida thinking when he sent those emails to former congressional pages? I can't say allegedly because I've seen some of the emails that were sent and apparently there was enough truth to them that the congressman resigned. One of the first things you learn when working on computers and the internet is that you never, ever send anything over computer that you don't expect multiple parties to see. I'm not that computer savvy but come on, how many times have you heard about people hacking their way into computers. It seems everyone can hack into a computer these days except my wife and me and I'm not sure about her. Then there is OE or operator error. My first brush with OE on a computer came not long after the Station DOTR installed its first newsroom computer system. Compared to the current operating systems, the system was slightly above typewriters but only barely. The EP (this was pre-HR days) was notorious for ranting and raving in the newsroom and belittled most staffers on a regular basis in front of everyone else. Apparently he decided he would use the computer to send a scathing note to one of the staffers who had made some grievous error that was going to cause the destruction of the world as we knew it back then. However, the EP did a mass mailing instead of to the one person. I was working at my desk when my computer "pinged". I scanned through the note and like a good soldier stepped over to the EP's office to alert him that what appeared to be a private memo went to everyone. He immediately wanted to know if I had read it. I just looked at him. After all, how would I have known what kind of memo it was if I hadn't read it?
After the computer system (third or fourth generation ) was upgraded DOTR we were warned not to use the computers for anything but station business. This warning came after some folks downloaded a bunch of stuff including porn that really bogged down the whole system. We were warned that downloading anything or even viewing non-business sites could be cause for dismissal. I think it was just prior to that announcement that a buddy of mine in the newsroom called to me as I was walking by his work station and said "Hey Joe, let me show you something on my computer." Just as he pulled up a screen with a picture that some might consider art while others might consider it to be porn, the GM who had just stepped into the newsroom walked up behind me and said "you really shouldn't be looking at stuff like that on your computer". I expected to get a call from HR but never got it. I made it a point after that to make sure I stayed away from most questionable sites at work. It wasn't long after that I heard one of the engineers at work was testing a program that allowed them to follow keystrokes on any computer in the company's network. And the management was very open about things when it came to the company's computers. They emphasized these were company computers and that anything sent or received was fair game for scrutiny by the company. That's very simply the way it is. So be careful about sending nasty or suggestive emails, especially from a company computer. The career you jeopardize may be your own. Just ask that congressman from Florida.