Sorry it's taken me a while to update this thing, but the past week has been nuts. Work has been grueling lately. My station recently moved my office from Jacksonville to New Bern. The Bern is about an hour from my house, so the commute has added two hours to my day and made an already tiring job a little more tiresome.
I think that's a large part of the reason I just can't get over this cold or sinus infection or whatever it is that has been absolutely dogging me for more than a week now. I haven't been sick like this in a long while, and I haven't really been getting better.
The good news? I have the upcoming week off, and I'm looking forward to getting better and enjoying some (in my opinion) well-deserved rest and relaxation. The weekend has been very restful and enjoyable. Friday evening was a good time -- I had dinner and did some hanging out with a group of my co-workers and even some of our friendly rivals from Channel 7. As good a time as it was, it came with a price -- it was a going away party for one of our reporters and my good friend, Marisela. She's leaving Channel 9 in a couple of weeks, and I will definitely be sad to see her go.
The rest of the weekend has consisted of a massive amount of couch time. Feeling as crappy as I have been, I haven't felt up to doing much more than that. Hopefully, with copious sleep and Benadryl, I'll be feeling up to snuff again in a few days.
I'm looking forward to this week for a couple of additional reasons, because two of my favorite annual events take place in the coming days -- the State Fair and Late Night with Roy. I am OBSESSED with the State Fair and can't wait to get up to Raleigh to enjoy the rides and the great food! And, as it would happen, I'm also OBSESSED with my Tar Heel basketball team -- and they'll get the season kicked off with Late Night on Friday. Definitely some good stuff on tap. I'm also have some time with my family and some good friends along the way, so I'm looking forward to it.
On Friday, at Burgie's going away dinner, I got the chance to catch up with one of my former co-workers for a while. I worked with Laila Muhammad at Channel 9 for a little more than a year before her contract expired and she headed to WTKR in Virginia. She's extremely talented and I always enjoy talking to her because she tells it like it is. She's great at giving feedback and speaking with her got me excited about figuring out where I want to go next, considering my contract here is up in 10 months.
I've definitely got a plan in mind and I've spent the weekend scoping out stations online. I know where I want to go (and it's probably not where you would guess, if you've heard me talk about where I want to go in the past) -- but we'll see if that eventually aligns with where I end up. It's hard to believe that with 10 months to go that I need to go ahead and get the ball rolling on my next job, but I do -- especially considering the state of the economy and the keen competition out there. As the process unfolds, I'm sure I'll update y'all with more.
Anyways, hope y'all have a good one -- I've got to restock on Kleenex!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Whirlwind of a Weekend
Shew. So it's Monday night, and I'm just now catching my breath from Friday. The past few days have been a blur -- including a weekend that proved to be somewhat restful.
But if you've been in eastern NC and seen a white Channel 9 truck flash by you on the road, there's a good chance it may have been me. On Friday and Monday, I logged a combined total of 400+ work-related miles. On Friday, that meant racing to Greenville from Jacksonville (after two doctor's appointments) to anchor the noon newscast. Then, racing from Greenville to the far reaches of Craven County to track down a school bus wreck. And then back to Carteret County at the end of the day.
On Monday, I had to anchor our morning and noon shows -- in Greenville. So that meant an uber-early morning and a long afternoon nap once I made it home. It's been tiring -- but I really enjoy anchoring, so I suppose that makes it somewhat worth it.
Despite all the work shenanigans, I managed to sandwich in a pretty good weekend in between two insane days. On Saturday, I got a solid haircut and spent a lot of quality time on the couch watching college football -- including my now #18 Heels beating Notre Dame! What a game! The sports spectacular continue after football, as the NASCAR fellas took the track in Charlotte. My boy Kevin Harvick was in the news a lot this week, but I'd say he got the best of Carl Edwards in the end.
Sunday proved to be interesting, too. After sleeping in, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I don't know what got in to me, but it likely won't happen again. I followed that up with an awesome hike around the North Carolin Coastal Federation's Patsy Pond Nature Trail. I saw a LOT of bear tracks while I was out there, but no bears. Now that would have been interesting! Still, it was a beautiful hike and it was great to get back into the woods and off the beaten path for a while.
Truth be told, though -- the biggest highlight of the weekend came on Saturday. That's when my best friend, Dave, got engaged! He's been dating a fantastic little lady for somewhere in the
neighborhood of two years now, and after a fair amount of planning and plotting, he took a break from his busy med school life and popped the question. I love that kid to death, and it's exciting to see him take such an awesome step! I'm really proud of him. He's an amazing friend, an amazing leader and will no doubt make his fiance a very happy woman.
And on that bombshell, it's time to turn the page on this Monday. My brain is fried, and I'm sure I'll need what few brain cells that remain intact to attack the rest of the week. Take it easy, y'all!
But if you've been in eastern NC and seen a white Channel 9 truck flash by you on the road, there's a good chance it may have been me. On Friday and Monday, I logged a combined total of 400+ work-related miles. On Friday, that meant racing to Greenville from Jacksonville (after two doctor's appointments) to anchor the noon newscast. Then, racing from Greenville to the far reaches of Craven County to track down a school bus wreck. And then back to Carteret County at the end of the day.
On Monday, I had to anchor our morning and noon shows -- in Greenville. So that meant an uber-early morning and a long afternoon nap once I made it home. It's been tiring -- but I really enjoy anchoring, so I suppose that makes it somewhat worth it.
Despite all the work shenanigans, I managed to sandwich in a pretty good weekend in between two insane days. On Saturday, I got a solid haircut and spent a lot of quality time on the couch watching college football -- including my now #18 Heels beating Notre Dame! What a game! The sports spectacular continue after football, as the NASCAR fellas took the track in Charlotte. My boy Kevin Harvick was in the news a lot this week, but I'd say he got the best of Carl Edwards in the end.
Sunday proved to be interesting, too. After sleeping in, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I don't know what got in to me, but it likely won't happen again. I followed that up with an awesome hike around the North Carolin Coastal Federation's Patsy Pond Nature Trail. I saw a LOT of bear tracks while I was out there, but no bears. Now that would have been interesting! Still, it was a beautiful hike and it was great to get back into the woods and off the beaten path for a while.
Truth be told, though -- the biggest highlight of the weekend came on Saturday. That's when my best friend, Dave, got engaged! He's been dating a fantastic little lady for somewhere in the
neighborhood of two years now, and after a fair amount of planning and plotting, he took a break from his busy med school life and popped the question. I love that kid to death, and it's exciting to see him take such an awesome step! I'm really proud of him. He's an amazing friend, an amazing leader and will no doubt make his fiance a very happy woman.And on that bombshell, it's time to turn the page on this Monday. My brain is fried, and I'm sure I'll need what few brain cells that remain intact to attack the rest of the week. Take it easy, y'all!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Bleh
Ever have one of those days?
I just had one today. In fact, today's bleh day started yesterday afternoon when I started getting a bad headache. By the time I got home, the headache was pounding -- so I hoped heading to bed would make it go away.
It didn't.
I woke up this morning and felt like I'd been hit by a bus. I was going to try to make it to work, though. But just as I was heading out the door, things got ugly. I wasn't able to keep the half bottle of water and three sips of Diet Coke down. So I called my boss and told him work wasn't happening -- and went back to sleep.
After waking up mid-afternoon, I felt a little better. Once my stomach decided it was OK with keeping a little liquid down, I developed the biggest craving for a Digiorno stuffed crust pizza. Don't ask why, because I don't know. And I didn't get up the courage to eat anything until about 8:30p. I was thrilled to be making my pizza -- but when I went to get it out of the oven, it had disintegrated and was all over the oven. Ugh.
Oh well. I DVRed The Office and I'm going to have a slice of what's left of my pizza, then I'm going back to bed.
Let's hope tomorrow (which is sure to be a marathon) goes much better. Heck, I'm only feeling about 70% now, so let's hope I can even participate in tomorrow's activities.
Hope y'all had a good one -- at least better than mine!
I just had one today. In fact, today's bleh day started yesterday afternoon when I started getting a bad headache. By the time I got home, the headache was pounding -- so I hoped heading to bed would make it go away.
It didn't.
I woke up this morning and felt like I'd been hit by a bus. I was going to try to make it to work, though. But just as I was heading out the door, things got ugly. I wasn't able to keep the half bottle of water and three sips of Diet Coke down. So I called my boss and told him work wasn't happening -- and went back to sleep.
After waking up mid-afternoon, I felt a little better. Once my stomach decided it was OK with keeping a little liquid down, I developed the biggest craving for a Digiorno stuffed crust pizza. Don't ask why, because I don't know. And I didn't get up the courage to eat anything until about 8:30p. I was thrilled to be making my pizza -- but when I went to get it out of the oven, it had disintegrated and was all over the oven. Ugh.
Oh well. I DVRed The Office and I'm going to have a slice of what's left of my pizza, then I'm going back to bed.
Let's hope tomorrow (which is sure to be a marathon) goes much better. Heck, I'm only feeling about 70% now, so let's hope I can even participate in tomorrow's activities.
Hope y'all had a good one -- at least better than mine!
Monday, October 6, 2008
How It's Made
I know some people who think that TV rots your brain. Seeing as I make my living on TV, I've always taken exception to people who hate on the tube. Granted, their criticisms of television may not be completely unfounded -- there are people of people in this country (and others) who spend too much time on their butts in front of the TV and don't experience the world around them.
But I've always been fascinated with television -- particularly the "behind the scenes" stuff. One of the things I enjoy about my job is the fact that so much goes in to even something like a local newscast that viewers know nothing about. Whenever I'm putting a microphone on an interview subject and I'm concealing a wire behind their lapel or their collar, I always tell them that "50% of TV is just hiding all the wires." I tell it as a little corny joke to set them at ease, seeing as most people are nervous about being on TV. (Aside: That's something else I've NEVER understood. I don't get what freaks people out about being on camera. It's an inanimate object that just sits there and watches what's going on. There's nothing to it! I love being on camera -- but then again, I love public speaking, and that scares people more than death.)
Anyway, my little lame line about "hiding the wires" is more truthful than you'd ever know. If you got a look behind the scenes of any TV program -- from your local news to any high-budget network show -- you'd be shocked at how completely unpolished everything and everyone is. But it's amazing how put-together people and things can look when the little red light comes on and it's showtime.
So what does that have to do with anything? Well, like I said, I've always been fascinated with how TV shows are made. I'd even like to know how exactly the other TV news stations in my market get their product on the air. But what I really enjoy is seeing how TV is made in other countries, compared to how we do it here in the ol' US and A.
Enter BBC America. Folks, this is one fantastic network. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I love to pick on Britons (and their teeth and our kicking their butts and winning independence and ... well everything else about them) as much as the next guy, but I'm not gonna lie -- they've got something going with this whole TV thing. A number of the shows you'll watch on TV this fall are knock-offs of British series -- The Office, Worst Week, Life on Mars, American Idol, Hell's Kitchen, Survivor, Big Brother and the list goes on and on and on.
But there's one show in particular that I just can't get enough of. Top Gear. I mean, this show is absolutely amazing. In fact, I'd be willing to say that it's my favorite show on TV now. It's beautifully shot, the hosts (or "presenters") are FANTASTIC and the editing is top notch. Not to mention, it's all about cars -- which earns it bonus points off the top. The show is just presented and produced in a way that's just so much more beautiful and sophisticated than any American TV show I've ever seen. No wonder there is a 21 year waiting list to get tickets to be in the studio audience (I'm not kidding -- 21 years!). And its hosts are powerful, too. On a couple of different occasions, they've bashed a couple of cars they reviewed -- and those respective car companies either went out of business, ceased making the particular model in question or closed down some manufacturing plants. Talk about influence!
People often ask me about the trajectory I'd like my career to take. I think I've found the show I'd love to host the rest of my life! I'll just have to work on my British accent...
Word on the web is that NBC is planning on bringing an American version of Top Gear to our TV sets next year -- with American hosts. I can guarantee you that without the original British hosts and their wit, the US version will be nowhere near as good as the original.
Moral of the story -- don't hate on TV. Especially something as epic as Top Gear. But don't spend your life sitting on your butt, either.
And speaking of unpolished, here's my You Tube Clip of the Day, courtesy of our friends at CNN: "Nice Melons!"
Have a good one, y'all.
But I've always been fascinated with television -- particularly the "behind the scenes" stuff. One of the things I enjoy about my job is the fact that so much goes in to even something like a local newscast that viewers know nothing about. Whenever I'm putting a microphone on an interview subject and I'm concealing a wire behind their lapel or their collar, I always tell them that "50% of TV is just hiding all the wires." I tell it as a little corny joke to set them at ease, seeing as most people are nervous about being on TV. (Aside: That's something else I've NEVER understood. I don't get what freaks people out about being on camera. It's an inanimate object that just sits there and watches what's going on. There's nothing to it! I love being on camera -- but then again, I love public speaking, and that scares people more than death.)
Anyway, my little lame line about "hiding the wires" is more truthful than you'd ever know. If you got a look behind the scenes of any TV program -- from your local news to any high-budget network show -- you'd be shocked at how completely unpolished everything and everyone is. But it's amazing how put-together people and things can look when the little red light comes on and it's showtime.
So what does that have to do with anything? Well, like I said, I've always been fascinated with how TV shows are made. I'd even like to know how exactly the other TV news stations in my market get their product on the air. But what I really enjoy is seeing how TV is made in other countries, compared to how we do it here in the ol' US and A.
Enter BBC America. Folks, this is one fantastic network. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I love to pick on Britons (and their teeth and our kicking their butts and winning independence and ... well everything else about them) as much as the next guy, but I'm not gonna lie -- they've got something going with this whole TV thing. A number of the shows you'll watch on TV this fall are knock-offs of British series -- The Office, Worst Week, Life on Mars, American Idol, Hell's Kitchen, Survivor, Big Brother and the list goes on and on and on.
But there's one show in particular that I just can't get enough of. Top Gear. I mean, this show is absolutely amazing. In fact, I'd be willing to say that it's my favorite show on TV now. It's beautifully shot, the hosts (or "presenters") are FANTASTIC and the editing is top notch. Not to mention, it's all about cars -- which earns it bonus points off the top. The show is just presented and produced in a way that's just so much more beautiful and sophisticated than any American TV show I've ever seen. No wonder there is a 21 year waiting list to get tickets to be in the studio audience (I'm not kidding -- 21 years!). And its hosts are powerful, too. On a couple of different occasions, they've bashed a couple of cars they reviewed -- and those respective car companies either went out of business, ceased making the particular model in question or closed down some manufacturing plants. Talk about influence!
People often ask me about the trajectory I'd like my career to take. I think I've found the show I'd love to host the rest of my life! I'll just have to work on my British accent...
Word on the web is that NBC is planning on bringing an American version of Top Gear to our TV sets next year -- with American hosts. I can guarantee you that without the original British hosts and their wit, the US version will be nowhere near as good as the original.
Moral of the story -- don't hate on TV. Especially something as epic as Top Gear. But don't spend your life sitting on your butt, either.
And speaking of unpolished, here's my You Tube Clip of the Day, courtesy of our friends at CNN: "Nice Melons!"
Have a good one, y'all.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Blog is Back!
Wow. Has it really been about a year and a half since I posted on this thing? Time flies!
I've been thinking about bringing the blog back for a long time -- and for some reason I just feel motivated to do it now. But before I explain why I brought it back, I guess I should explain why I quit blogging in the first place.
This blog started as a project for work. My company had been pushing for its employees to start blogging, and I thought I'd set the trend and be the first one to do it. I also wanted to expose myself to people in the Carteret County area as much as I could. That's the primary area I cover at work -- and for so long, WNCT was an afterthought for people who live in this area. When I started at WNCT, it became my mission to win viewers in this area and have them turn to me first for their local news needs. (And I think I can honestly say that, over the last two years, I've done that for a number of viewers!) So for however long I blogged the first go 'round, the posts were more or less work-related. Someone must have been reading, because over the few months I had this blog going, it got more than 2,300 hits.
Well, eventually I became burnt out with work. More than burnt out. In the interest of good taste and not airing dirty laundry in public, I'll leave it at that. Writing is one of my greatest passions. But back then (and even now), I'd come home from work completely frustrated and spent. Writing was one of the last things I wanted to do. (It sucks when one of your passions is stolen from you.) The blog went away, and naturally so did the readers.
I want to give the blog another chance, though. This time, it's not going to be work-related. In fact, I hope I really don't talk about work on here that much. My job consumes so much of my time that I don't really want to think about it when I'm not at work. My family likes to talk about/ask me questions about work when I'm around them (naturally). Often they get get snappy answers when they ask me about work -- not because I'm trying to be ill, but because I don't want work to even cross my mind when I'm not there. If there's one thing I've learned in a little more than two years at WNCT, it's the value of time. And I want my time to be just that -- my time.
And while the initial goal of the blog was to generate a large readership in hopes of promoting myself to viewers in the area, that's not the goal anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'd still love for every television viewer in eastern North Carolina to read this. But I want to focus on the title of the blog -- Staying Connected. I have a ton of AMAZING friends and family all over the place, so this is a fantastic avenue to combine my passions for writing and for people.
So there you have it. The blog is back. And writing this is a good way to cap off a great weekend. I went to Chapel Hill with my parents to the Carolina football game -- and not only did I get to see a phenomenal game (the now-No. 22 Heels spanked UConn), I also got to catch up and have a ton of fun with some good friends. Also throughout the course of the weekend, my best friend told me one of the most hilarious true-to-life stories I've heard in a long, long time (sadly, I can't share...) and the NASCAR boys raced at Talladega (one of my favorite races of the year). And while my man Kevin Harvick had a car that could have easily won, he got swept up in someone else's mess. He's 171 or so points back in the championship hunt now, but listening to him and his team on their radio as they repaired his car after the big wreck, I'm convinced they're a galvanized group that could make a run for the championship over the next few weeks. We'll need luck and a few wins to make it happen. We'll see!
Have a great evening, y'all!
I've been thinking about bringing the blog back for a long time -- and for some reason I just feel motivated to do it now. But before I explain why I brought it back, I guess I should explain why I quit blogging in the first place.
This blog started as a project for work. My company had been pushing for its employees to start blogging, and I thought I'd set the trend and be the first one to do it. I also wanted to expose myself to people in the Carteret County area as much as I could. That's the primary area I cover at work -- and for so long, WNCT was an afterthought for people who live in this area. When I started at WNCT, it became my mission to win viewers in this area and have them turn to me first for their local news needs. (And I think I can honestly say that, over the last two years, I've done that for a number of viewers!) So for however long I blogged the first go 'round, the posts were more or less work-related. Someone must have been reading, because over the few months I had this blog going, it got more than 2,300 hits.
Well, eventually I became burnt out with work. More than burnt out. In the interest of good taste and not airing dirty laundry in public, I'll leave it at that. Writing is one of my greatest passions. But back then (and even now), I'd come home from work completely frustrated and spent. Writing was one of the last things I wanted to do. (It sucks when one of your passions is stolen from you.) The blog went away, and naturally so did the readers.
I want to give the blog another chance, though. This time, it's not going to be work-related. In fact, I hope I really don't talk about work on here that much. My job consumes so much of my time that I don't really want to think about it when I'm not at work. My family likes to talk about/ask me questions about work when I'm around them (naturally). Often they get get snappy answers when they ask me about work -- not because I'm trying to be ill, but because I don't want work to even cross my mind when I'm not there. If there's one thing I've learned in a little more than two years at WNCT, it's the value of time. And I want my time to be just that -- my time.
And while the initial goal of the blog was to generate a large readership in hopes of promoting myself to viewers in the area, that's not the goal anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'd still love for every television viewer in eastern North Carolina to read this. But I want to focus on the title of the blog -- Staying Connected. I have a ton of AMAZING friends and family all over the place, so this is a fantastic avenue to combine my passions for writing and for people.
So there you have it. The blog is back. And writing this is a good way to cap off a great weekend. I went to Chapel Hill with my parents to the Carolina football game -- and not only did I get to see a phenomenal game (the now-No. 22 Heels spanked UConn), I also got to catch up and have a ton of fun with some good friends. Also throughout the course of the weekend, my best friend told me one of the most hilarious true-to-life stories I've heard in a long, long time (sadly, I can't share...) and the NASCAR boys raced at Talladega (one of my favorite races of the year). And while my man Kevin Harvick had a car that could have easily won, he got swept up in someone else's mess. He's 171 or so points back in the championship hunt now, but listening to him and his team on their radio as they repaired his car after the big wreck, I'm convinced they're a galvanized group that could make a run for the championship over the next few weeks. We'll need luck and a few wins to make it happen. We'll see!
Have a great evening, y'all!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Hokie Love
Today started as a busier-than-normal day for me. I tried to leave my house early, because I needed to stop by the State Highway Patrol office in Morehead City to pick up a report about a potentially newsworthy car accident. When I got to my office and started making beat calls to all the law enforcement agencies in the area, it quickly became clear that the past few days had seen a small surge in criminal activity-- and it was going to take me a while to gather all the information about some of the newsworthy criminal activities.
I also had to check the area for storm-related damage after this weekend's nor'easter, as well as get an update on the latest about the Carteret Co. wildfire that started Friday afternoon.
Things really got crazy when I had to drop everything I was working on right around noon and turn a story on the state auditor's report in to the Gallants Channel land transfer and the whole Tall Ships hullabaloo.
At some point in the middle of all that, I made a mental note that I needed to come home and
update my blog tonight. At that point in time, though, I had planned on ranting about how Don Imus got shortchanged ... or how I had originally believed every word Mike Nifong said, but that I've now joined the chorus calling for his head.
That was all before someone turned on a valve, and emails started pouring in to my inbox. See, WNCT is owned by Media General, a company which owns about 25 TV stations throughout the US. There's a "Breaking News Alert" that is sent out to every employee of every station when something particularly newsworthy happens.
The function isn't utilized all that often. Today, it was used more than I've ever seen.
The first Breaking News Alert hit my inbox at 12:15 p.m., and it had a simple Subject -- "20 Dead." I opened the email and saw, for the first time, that someone had gone on a rampage on the Virginia Tech campus.
Throughout the day, 64 more Breaking News Alert emails trickled in as more facts became available. Sadly, the death toll kept climbing. No doubt more emails will continue to come -- I can only pray that the death toll doesn't rise any higher.
The rest of the afternoon was a mix of sadness, stress and disbelief. I'm less than a year removed from college, and I just am having a hard time grasping that someone could destroy the lives of so many at a place that is supposed to be so safe.
When you're in college, you're so insulated. You're so care-free. And you're supposed to be living it up. I can remember days in Chapel Hill when I felt on top of the world. I was living in a bubble, and it felt like the world ended at the Orange County line -- like all that existed was held within the stone walls of our campus. To have that tranquility shattered is gut-wrenching and sobering.
It happened twice my senior year -- first when two students fell from a third-story window. One died, another was seriously injured. Days later, Muhammad Taheri-Azar drove a Jeep through the heart of our campus and injured nine people. He was intent on killing many more, but thankfully everyone survived and made a full recovery.
That tranquility was again shattered in Chapel Hill recently, with the death of Jason Ray. His death shook that campus to the core. I can only imagine what students, staff and family in Blacksburg must be feeling right now -- 32 people, not including the gunman, are now dead. It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around that number -- 32 people who started their day dodging snow flakes on their walk across a beautiful campus to class. That's 32 futures that were cut short for no reason. That's 32 kids, killed in their prime. That's 32 sons, daughters, sisters, brothers murdered -- and for what?
It just doesn't make sense to me -- and to be honest, I'm still kind of numb right now. These shootings could have just as easily happened on Carolina's campus -- and I could have lost dozens of vibrant, fun-loving friends in their primes. That's a scary, scary thought.
It's going to take a long time for us to figure out exactly what happened at Va. Tech -- and we may never know why. But it only takes a couple of minutes to stop and pray for the students, faculty and staff there. That's something we should all do.
I also had to check the area for storm-related damage after this weekend's nor'easter, as well as get an update on the latest about the Carteret Co. wildfire that started Friday afternoon.
Things really got crazy when I had to drop everything I was working on right around noon and turn a story on the state auditor's report in to the Gallants Channel land transfer and the whole Tall Ships hullabaloo.
At some point in the middle of all that, I made a mental note that I needed to come home and
update my blog tonight. At that point in time, though, I had planned on ranting about how Don Imus got shortchanged ... or how I had originally believed every word Mike Nifong said, but that I've now joined the chorus calling for his head.
That was all before someone turned on a valve, and emails started pouring in to my inbox. See, WNCT is owned by Media General, a company which owns about 25 TV stations throughout the US. There's a "Breaking News Alert" that is sent out to every employee of every station when something particularly newsworthy happens.
The function isn't utilized all that often. Today, it was used more than I've ever seen.
The first Breaking News Alert hit my inbox at 12:15 p.m., and it had a simple Subject -- "20 Dead." I opened the email and saw, for the first time, that someone had gone on a rampage on the Virginia Tech campus.
Throughout the day, 64 more Breaking News Alert emails trickled in as more facts became available. Sadly, the death toll kept climbing. No doubt more emails will continue to come -- I can only pray that the death toll doesn't rise any higher.
The rest of the afternoon was a mix of sadness, stress and disbelief. I'm less than a year removed from college, and I just am having a hard time grasping that someone could destroy the lives of so many at a place that is supposed to be so safe.
When you're in college, you're so insulated. You're so care-free. And you're supposed to be living it up. I can remember days in Chapel Hill when I felt on top of the world. I was living in a bubble, and it felt like the world ended at the Orange County line -- like all that existed was held within the stone walls of our campus. To have that tranquility shattered is gut-wrenching and sobering.
It happened twice my senior year -- first when two students fell from a third-story window. One died, another was seriously injured. Days later, Muhammad Taheri-Azar drove a Jeep through the heart of our campus and injured nine people. He was intent on killing many more, but thankfully everyone survived and made a full recovery.
That tranquility was again shattered in Chapel Hill recently, with the death of Jason Ray. His death shook that campus to the core. I can only imagine what students, staff and family in Blacksburg must be feeling right now -- 32 people, not including the gunman, are now dead. It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around that number -- 32 people who started their day dodging snow flakes on their walk across a beautiful campus to class. That's 32 futures that were cut short for no reason. That's 32 kids, killed in their prime. That's 32 sons, daughters, sisters, brothers murdered -- and for what?
It just doesn't make sense to me -- and to be honest, I'm still kind of numb right now. These shootings could have just as easily happened on Carolina's campus -- and I could have lost dozens of vibrant, fun-loving friends in their primes. That's a scary, scary thought.
It's going to take a long time for us to figure out exactly what happened at Va. Tech -- and we may never know why. But it only takes a couple of minutes to stop and pray for the students, faculty and staff there. That's something we should all do.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
How Slack Am I?
It really has been too long since I last updated the ol' blog. I feel like I find myself saying that a lot.
This time, part of that was by design, though -- I wanted to go about a week or so without posting to make sure that anyone and everyone had a chance to read about the Jason Ray that I knew. He was a great guy, and I can tell you, folks are still reeling from his death. I've been up to Chapel Hill a couple of times since JRay died -- and folks there are still hurting and trying to make sense of what happened. I get the sense that his close friends have accepted what happened and are really working hard to move forward. But there is simply no questioning the tremendous impact he had on everyone around him. Even folks that didn't know him personally are coping -- he was truly an amazing person.
So while part of my lack of posting has been by design, that still leaves a few days when I simply didn't do it. I apologize -- I hope that the folks who've made this blog a part of their web-surfing routine will tune back in.
As a matter of fact, I'm at WNCT's corporate headquarters (our station is owned by Media General, by the way) in Richmond, Va. right now -- learning more about blogging and connecting with folks like you over the internet! So I hope to learn some cool lessons that can benefit all of us soon.
I hope this finds you doing well!
This time, part of that was by design, though -- I wanted to go about a week or so without posting to make sure that anyone and everyone had a chance to read about the Jason Ray that I knew. He was a great guy, and I can tell you, folks are still reeling from his death. I've been up to Chapel Hill a couple of times since JRay died -- and folks there are still hurting and trying to make sense of what happened. I get the sense that his close friends have accepted what happened and are really working hard to move forward. But there is simply no questioning the tremendous impact he had on everyone around him. Even folks that didn't know him personally are coping -- he was truly an amazing person.
So while part of my lack of posting has been by design, that still leaves a few days when I simply didn't do it. I apologize -- I hope that the folks who've made this blog a part of their web-surfing routine will tune back in.
As a matter of fact, I'm at WNCT's corporate headquarters (our station is owned by Media General, by the way) in Richmond, Va. right now -- learning more about blogging and connecting with folks like you over the internet! So I hope to learn some cool lessons that can benefit all of us soon.
I hope this finds you doing well!
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