It's a world gone mad

Today is the quintessential day every assignment editor loves!

Aside from the fact that there was fresh food when I walked in (pasta, healthy salad and Pat Halsey's sweet potato pie), there was news oozing from every angle.

From the minute I clocked in, non-stop.

Before I even arrived, the busy day was in full swing with Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates (and Nightly News anchors) in our neck of the woods. Brian Williams and NBC folk were in town to cover McCain & Palin. We were fortunate to have Brian Williams live during our 7pm show. John McCain and Sarah Palin were visiting Green, Ohio.

We had a horrible double fatal crash in Lorain County. A story you can not ignore. First order of business was to send Chris Tye and Craig Roberson and Brian Johnson out to cover this tragedy. We were also able to send up our Chopper to augment our video.

The news, the tips, the spot news never stopped. Every 5 minutes we had legitimate calls: Aurora High School locked down after a student made threats.....Newbury Schools being investigated for reports of a teacher threatened.....another report of a student making threats at Rootstown Elementary and similar reports out in Massillon. It's a world gone mad!

When I have the chopper up, I MUST keep track of it at all times. That's essential. Required. We need to keep a log of who is flying, who is shooting, when they leave, where they are in their journey every 10 minutes and when they arrive to their location. Then when they start heading back, if they have to land for fuel and when they land. The big boss must be notified of all of the above. We can not lose sight or track of our chopper.

Besides the new items of interest, I was tracking stories covered previous to my arrival. I was fortunate enough to get updates on the Wickliffe HAZMAT....the Dentist murder sentence....and a few new accidents.

In the midst of this mania, still try to log the competition at 5pm and 6pm....continually add stories to update wkyc.com....submit more election day story ideas and logistical suggestions for the big day AND suggest other enterprising story ideas!!

It's quite the privilege to work in a newsroom on a news desk. The first chance I got for coming up for air was 7 and 1/2 hours after I arrived! Exhilarating! Time flies when you are covering the news, chasing down stories, gathering information and web-bing!

Pinch me!