Thursday, November 19, 2009

Pee Wee and Midget Football kids


And this is how tv and web stories come to life.


Just one call.

Earlier tonight I received a call from a friend, a former co-worker and a proud Mom.


Tonya called with information on a great group of kids who have been having a spectacular season in their prospective football leagues and are now heading to the regional playoffs.


She called to give me information on their practice sessions over the next few days. Tonya was so proud of these kids and how they've worked hard to make the playoffs. She wanted to get them a little recognition.


Fortunately, I actually had crews available. I asked her to email me background information, their upcoming schedule of events, and include pictures so that I COULD use them in the web story. Before Tonya finished giving me the details, I had a crew out the door to get some video.


Having multiple platforms these days, even if our producers can not air a story during their local newscasts, I still try shooting worthy stories so I can air them on wkyc.com.

And that is what we did this evening.


Brian Johnson wound up shooting enough video and sound for what we call a package --a complete story that may air anywhere from 1-2 minutes including narrative, soundbites, b-roll and anything else necessary to make the story sing. Or if you have real compelling sound from a subject, you can produce an 'in their own words' and have the interview subject walk the viewer through the story.


I wound up writing the story for wkyc.com and Videographer Brian Johnson edited a very nice little piece to attach to my web story.


And voila! At the end of the evening, we gave our little football warriors a shout out on wkyc.com.


Stay with wkyc.com and Channel 3 News. I'm sure we are going to follow the progress of these hard working young men.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Why do I feel so bad after doing a stellar job?


9 out of 10 times, the juices are flowing and there are high fives at the end of the night after kicking some major butt.


Tonight, we excelled at our craft from start to finish and hit a home run out of the ballpark.


Then, why do I feel so bad?


Maybe because a number of people just lost their lives.


This is the one downfall, 'collateral damage' so to speak about being an assignment editor.



Here's how it unfolded.


The call came over the scanner for a confirmed working fire on Clark Avenue in Cleveland.


Fires happen every single day. If they are not substantial, most of the time, I don't even send a crew.


But here, more rescue squads and fire units were requested to the scene.


I immediately rolled a camera man to the house. I also lucked out because one of my reporters, Mike O'Mara, and his crew Craig Roberson were in that area for their story.


This is why it is imperative to know where your crews are at all times.


I knew Mike O'Mara and his crew had an interview at Metro. I just did not know if they were still there.


I called Mike and told him I had at least 3 patients being transported to MetroHealth Medical Center after an extremely serious fire keeping my fingers crossed the whole time that they were still on site.


Yes they were. O'Mara and Roberson were just leaving Metro --they had to loop around and get in place, which is what they proceeded to do.


They took simply amazing, yet heart-breaking video at the hospital while Brian Johnson did the same at the Clark fire scene.



We had the video. I had the info from the Fire Chief and PIO as well as the Spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office.


I put the story on the web as soon as I dispatched my crews to the various scenes and kept updating it all night with the latest details.


Everything progressed perfectly and ultimately finished on a flawless note.



Except for the outcome of the breaking news, which ended tragically for the family, friends, and neighborhood.



I'm extremely proud of the teamwork, the quick action to change gears, to break the story and beat the competition hands down on all fronts.



However, working in the news business on an assignment desk calls for covering sad or disturbing stories at times.



This turned out to be one of the worst.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Weekly Feature: Hidden Gems



Today's Hidden Gem: The Fabulous Food Show


I am a huge fan of The Food Network and the bevy of shows they air on a daily basis. It seems I can not get enough of their competitions and their culinary delights.


So you say you are not as enthusiastic as I?


That's quite alright. But I would like to share why whether you are a fan of food or not, having the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland, Ohio is a win-win situation for Northeast Ohio.


The Fabulous Food Show people term this event as the "Midwest's largest taste try and buy culinary celebration."


This show does not happen in every city. For the last number of years Cleveland, Ohio has been chosen as the host and on their website they are already planning for the show coming back in 2010.


It's an extremely huge honor.


As Michael Symon explained during one of his demo's, Cleveland is one of the leaders in culinary excellence. If you look at cities with our same demographics, size, or even bigger, Cleveland by far has many more local, thriving restaurants. Local is the key word. Who cares about chains? We have so many local chefs who have turned their dreams into reality.



The celebrity chefs who come into town each year LIKE Cleveland and enjoy their visit.


How could they not enjoy their trip this year with the added bonus of 70 degree temperatures!


The 2009 show featured Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Tyler Florence, Sandra Lee, Jason Roberts, and of course the Ambassador for Cleveland, Iron Chef Michael Symon.


Bobby Flay absolutely LOVED Cleveland. He could not stop talking about how wonderful the people were everywhere he went. Symon took him to the Cleveland Cavs game Saturday night and he had a terrific time (especially seeing his friend Shaq!). Flay said the Knicks fans really need to get as revved up as the Cleveland Cavs fans! Flay and his wife ate at Lola's and could not say enough about Michael Symon, his talent, his staff, the hospitality, and Symon's influence on Cleveland.



When you go to this show, it's similar to others at the I-X Center in the respect that there are booths up and down each aisle. This show, however, doesn't tout floor tilers or hot tub retailers (though a hot tub is not a bad idea) but local food distributors, restaurants, and everything food and drink!


One local woman sold the most amazing Ultimate Brownies. Another stand sold Frappe Vino.


Though these distributors are trying to sell their fares, they all give out free samples. I've never seen so many people lined up from booth to booth just to get a small taste of pasta, a meatball, or a cannoli.


I must admit, I don't stand in those lines. I'd rather see the cooking demos with the stars and walk around to get a glimpse of the stands.


Someone said 'if you go home hungry from these shows, it's your own fault.' Well, I must admit, by 6pm Sunday night, I still had not had a lick of food all day but totally enjoyed my visit.


It was a real treat for me to see my co-worker and friend Jacquie Chakirelis. Jacquie runs our "Momlikeme.com" website. They had a stand at the show and said it was a complete success. There were so many people in attendance all weekend. If you have not logged on to this website yet, please do. It's not just for Mom's, though that is it's focal point. They help Moms with every aspect you can think of, including feeding a family on a budget. There are some pretty hot topics we all get involved in on the website. It's really an interesting site. I suggest popping on some time.


I just can not say enough about the show. They have home made food, they have demonstrations, live music, celebrities, tips, and so much more.


I was lucky enough to attend the Bobby Flay Show and the Michael Symon Show. Not only were both entertaining but they each cooked up three meals to absolutely die for! They offered tremendous tips, especially with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, and again, could not say enough good things about Cleveland.


If you've never been to the Fabulous Food Show, I strongly suggest hitting it in 2010. And if you have attended the show and been tantalized by the tremendous tastes, then you too, know why I've chosen The Fabulous Food Show as this week's Hidden Gem!




Friday, November 13, 2009

Jumped into action

That he did!

Producer "Don" sprang into action when he realized Coach Ted Ginn Sr. was in the newsroom.

Ginn Sr. had just done an interview with wkyc sports director and radio voice of the Browns Jim Donovan.

You always have to be on your toes and thinking in the news business.

It seemed at the same moment Producer "Don" and I thought it would be GREAT to get Coach Ginn to do our Facebook Tease.

And, poof!

One minute a pipe dream and the next minute a masterpiece airing on Facebook teasing what will be coming up later on the wkyc 11pm news.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Friendly advice

I've been given some friendly advice about the 'insight' shared about some of the inner workings of a news assignment desk and the daily life of an assignment editor.

Message heard.

I love my job at wkyc too much and especially what I do (which is TONS-- from the news desk to setting up stories, enterprising story ideas, answering phones, dealing with our viewers answering their questions, answering email, pre-planning, involved in the 7pm Live Web Chats, gathering information on heavy hitting stories, writing stories, pushing for the facts before the competition and then getting them out to our staff so they have them first, much computer work with a close connection to our website, wkyc.com, every single day as well as sharing our wkyc facebook teases and youtube sweeps videos....the list really is endless and that's what keeps it interesting).

My initial reason for this blog was to share what I do--heck, I think it's one of the best jobs in the world! You can't beat it! I race into work each day I enjoy it so much. You do the same thing each day BUT it's NEVER the same thing. No two days in my career have ever been the same. And frankly, I am one of the best! When you are good and you love your job --BONUS!

And my secondary reason for this blog is to continue my writing skills. I am an excellent writer. The more you do something, the better you get.


To my avid readers, thank you for your support. I will try my best to continue sharing interesting, up-beat, comical stories I encounter during the course of my shift.....as well as my "Hidden Gems."

My "Hidden Gems" are my baby and I will try to continue sharing the Cleveland I love so much, especially little-known aspects of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, with my readers.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Cheers!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A little tension in the air during November sweeps

We are in the midst of November sweeps.

For me, the concept of 'sweeps' always exasperates me for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, my belief and philosophy is that I should be giving my best EVERY day of the year--and so should my co-workers.

We all should pull out all the stops 365 days out of the year, not just during February, May, July, and October-November.

We all should be giving our customers the best, most informative and exciting stories year round to grab them and make them come back to wkyc for more. We should all be helping our fellow co-workers in anyway we can. We all should strive for perfection every single day leaving no room for error or sub-par performances.

The word 'mediocrity' is not in my vocabulary.


I understand that the industry and the sales department need these specified months to establish sales rates which ultimate pays for all of our bills and salaries. But again, we should be 'bringing it' every day and consistently at the top of our game.


The other major issue which boggles my mind is how so many people believe or think that our performance and our performance alone dictates our ratings.

Get serious. There are so many factors completely out of our control which effect our ratings. The lead in to our news shows play a major role. When the Jay Leno show tanks, regardless of how brilliant the 11pm news may be or how hard we all worked, the audience may be lacking because they strayed during Leno.


And then you have the antics of the local competition. Many of them pull out ridiculous and oftentimes deceitful gimmicks to reel in their audience. They tease a story all day long and their tease has nothing to do with the story that actually airs. Some stations have lots of giveaways to get viewers to tune in --giveaways which have absolutely nothing to do with the story at hand. And then you have those stations which 'bare' all and air the titillating stories to catch the eye of a certain demographic.


A bit of disharmony the last few days. Not sure if the 'sweeps' bug has gotten under everyone's craw, but I have to be honest--recently throughout the course of a day, 3 or 4 people will come talk to me about the SAME topic and all of them have differing stories. One will tell me 'this is supposed to happen' and the next will relay the total opposite scenario. Then someone will say 'so and so' is doing this and yet another person will come up to me and give me a different name.


Thank God I am a problem solver, get to the bottom of the truth and nip it in the bud before anything goes awry!


I've been in the business for nearly a quarter of a century and the way I feel about sweeps today is the exact same way I felt about it 25 years ago.


I will continue being a team player with my sunny disposition and giving 100 percent EVERY single day, not just during sweeps!

Monday, November 9, 2009

I had to visit the Imperial Murders scene

Come on, I'm in the news business.

Over the weekend I had to visit the scene of the Imperial Murders.

I must admit, there were so many people who had the same idea, I could not even exit my vehicle but I drove by the house and got a glimpse....I glanced at the memorial wall and the missing person wall....and saw all of the areas blocked off with yellow crime scene tape.

It is hard to fathom that I was just able to drive by the scene where Anthony Sowell allegedly murdered 11 women, at last count.

Mind boggling.

What is even more mind boggling is how close it is to where I live yet not really. Hard to explain. A hop, skip, and a jump yet a neighborhood I've never been to nor anywhere near where I live or frequent.

I guess I am not totally enamored with this story because it never even crossed my mind to take a picture of the crime scene.

This story definitely will be a historical landmark for this neighborhood, this city for many years to come if not forever.

And now I can say not only did we cover this story from the inception to the conclusion (whenever that may be) but I actually set foot near these gruesome grounds.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Weekly Feature: Hidden Gems


Today's Hidden Gem: Mom



As you've seen all week, I've used 'Swing by and Spray' as more of a 'catching up with Danielle' forum as well as a way to gracefully glide back into the work mode after being off for so long.

Believe it or not, this has been quite a transition.



Not only am I trying to adjust to not having my Mother and best friend physically here with me anymore but I have been out of work longer than ever before.



I needed to come back to work.



It's just like riding a bike or re-connecting with a terrific friend. I picked up right where I left off.



Now, for making Mom my Hidden Gem, there is no way in God's green earth that I can include every wonderful thing about her or do her justice!! But, I'll give you all a little snippet and glimpse into her greatness.



Mom was a stupendous human being.



She had the biggest fan club around, even more expanse than the Cleveland Browns and their world-wide Browns Backers.



Not sure what one particular attribute drew people to her, but they were drawn.



While dining at one of her favorite restaurants on Larchmere, she caught the attention of Gary Sandy, actor from 'WKRP in Cincinnati.' He was in town doing a play, and in Mom fashion, caught his eye, he was drawn to her and well .....Mom had this effect on EVERYONE!!



She ran our church for the longest time being the 2nd in command after our pastor. Even in her final days, Father would call Mom asking her for code #'s or account #'s, the name of someone he could not remember, or a little background on a longtime parishioner who had passed away.



She sat in the same pew in Church, and believe it or not, NO ONE sat in that spot during her funeral.



Next to her faith and devotion to her Lord, her family and her Cleveland Indians were her life.



She was so proud of her children and grand children. She loved them more than anything. When the kids were smaller, Mom would take us all globetrotting following our Cleveland Indians. Mom really opened up the world for us all. She taught us to respect life and everyone we met. She ingrained in us to enjoy each day as if it was the last and to reach for the skies. She had a tremendous work ethic allowing us to not only have what we needed but what we wanted. She told us all 'you can do anything and be whatever you want to be.' Mom familiarized us to all kinds of music, movies, entertainment, sports and so much more.


We were always on some kind of adventure traveling around to Boston, Detroit, Canada, Baltimore, Florida, Vegas, Arizona, Kansas City, New Orleans, Texas, and so on.....


Mom's energy spurred the rest of us on. We were trying to keep up with her on the Freedom Trail! Finally my Aunt hailed a cab and said, enough!



I remember Mom sitting in 'A Steak in the Neighborhood' in Boston with Indians' Pitcher Jack Morris as they pondered whether or not he should retire. I believe he retired the next season.



I hope one day Mom's fearlessness rubs off on me. She was not afraid of anyone or anything.



Mom would never miss an Indians' Game. Then her health suffered a bit, but we still made the trek to Jacob's Field. It may have taken longer, but was well worth it. Her Usher, Bob, would escort her to our seats and just about whisk her back up all the stairs at the end of the game.



And her health ailments did not stop us from taking our trips. Last year we made it to the final season of old Yankee Stadium, and this year we hit PNC Park.




Mom's 'home away from home' was the Terrace Club at Progressive Field. She'd walk in and they'd escort her to a terrific table. Two weeks before she passed, I had a blow out 80th birthday party for her there. It was one of the best things I could have ever done for her. Family and friends gathered to celebrate her life with her while she was still vibrant and alive and able to enjoy their company.




Mom always thought of someone else. When the WNBA came to Cleveland, knowing my niece's affinity to basketball, she was 1st in line to get Rockers' Season Tickets and had Center Court.


She shopped for Christmas all year long. She'd see the perfect gift for someone in March and buy it! Suffice it to say, we had SO MANY Christmas gifts, we had to start wrapping them weeks in advance!



Even toward the end, Mom never lost her passion for living. We'd be driving somewhere listening to Siriusly Sinatra and she'd be singing along to Frank or Tony or Dino at the top of her lungs not skipping a beat!



She brought her dialysis ward to it's knees laughing when she screamed HALLELUJAH after hearing Eric Wedge had been fired! And she was overjoyed when her 'boyfriend' Rick Manning wished her a happy 80th birthday on TV during the final Cleveland Indians' Game.



Mom was a perfect example of someone who loved life and who lived her life the way the Good Lord prescribed, and it came back to her ten-fold.



Oh, I have a bazillion more stories of my Mom. I've only touched the surface.



If you knew her, I'm sure you understand why I have named her this week's Hidden Gem! If you did not know her, I truly hope you can get a sense from this entry on why my Mom has been chosen as this week's Hidden Gem! I love you Mom! No, "I love you more!"

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Thanks for the beautiful flowers!


Words can not describe what I have gone through and will continue to live out for the rest of my life.


I understand this is all part of the chapters and cycles that one must go through in a lifetime.


However, I also know that no two people ever have the same experience.


People can say "I know what you're going through honey..." but they really don't know.


And honestly, someone upstairs is really testing me. To go through what happened to me and my car back on March 25, 2009 and then what transpired on October 26, 2009. Mom was really the only person who gave me the strength and support back in March and ironically, she and her 'posse' up in Heaven are guiding me through this second life altering occurrence.


I've learned ever since Mom started dealing with various ailments 4-5 years ago that everyone reacts differently to adversity, sickness, and death. We had friends & family who continued supporting Mom and I. We had those who said they'd come visit and never showed. We had those who totally ignored us. And then others who kept at a distance but did not want to shun us. Mom and I even had someone do something shocking back in May of, I believe, 2006 --when we really needed her most.


You just have to keep plugging along. I had the best role model for survival, compassion through adversity, faith, and never giving up --My Mom.



I thank my fellow co-workers and former co-workers from around the Country who have sent their well-wishes and prayers over the last number of weeks. I've really worked with some terrific people. I can't mention everyone and don't want to slight anyone but I must thank some former co-workers who went above and beyond --thank you Tommy, Wilma, Lou, Katie, Jane, Bill, Kate, and Allison! Hearing your voice Wilma and seeing the rest of you was a God send. But again, there are soooo many others --a big THANK YOU to all!


The night we thought my Mom was going to pass away, my 11pm producer and dear friend Dan actually came up to the hospital to support my family. I will never forget that moment. And a dear friend of mine and former wkyc weekend anchor, Lydia Esparra, has been helping me the entire time.


I sang my Mom's entire funeral Mass and Lydia and videotape editor Pat Woodside graciously said they'd sit in and back up my singing....take over if I lost it...or just be there for moral support.


Well, through the grace of God (and Mom), I was able to sing every single song. It was so nice having them their for moral support, though.



I just want to thank everyone who has left calls on my home phone, my cell phone, greeted me in person, sent a beautiful card, email, or even a Facebook or Twitter message.



And finally, I'd love to thank WKYC for sending a lovely floral arrangement as well as a delicious food and pastry tray to the Funeral Home during calling hours. Both gestures are greatly appreciated from not only me but my entire family.


Thank You.


As I've said before, we all have another guardian angel watching out for all of us from a better place! And she is also watching over my Cleveland Indians! Mark my words!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Perfect week to come back

The gods are smiling on me. I'm quite fortunate to have the perfect week to come back to work.

Not only an extremely busy week to help me keep my mind off of recent events, at least while I am at work...but a week of extraordinary news stories.

The Imperial serial murders. Let's face it, these stories do not come along very often. All of the National and International media have latched on to this story.

Tuesday's a pretty significant election day for Northeast Ohio. Not only can Cuyahoga County change their government system but Cleveland chooses the fate of the current mayor AND decides whether they want to roll the dice on a new casino.


It reminds me of the week I began at WKYC so many years ago.

I believe my very first day was a huge election day. I'm not sure why I chose that day or how it happened, but I remember having Eileen, a college buddy of mine, sitting at my side allowing me to run the desk as she answered questions specific to how wkyc did their thing!

I felt at home that first night and still feel at home today.


Ever since I've been back, there has not been a want for food in the news room--which is typical for a news department.

My Mom treated the news department to a last banquet (as she did so many times before) as I brought in a huge cold cut platter from Gallucci's for her favorite KYC folks....

Then election night, more pizza and salad than anyone could ever dream of!


It's great being back to work and in the grind. I'm one lucky girl.

Monday, November 2, 2009

A vacation I never imagined

Never ever in my entire professional business career have I been out of the office for so long. I'd like to say it was a nice break, and my dream vacation, but I can not. It was awful in so many ways yet beautiful in others...and continues to be a challenging struggle each day.


Not in a million years did I envision what would happen during my vacation.

What started out as being off to use up my "Indians' World Series" vacation time turned into planning my Mother's funeral.




I was off the first week for a normal, approved vacation. I had my best friend in town and was throwing a huge, blowout 80th birthday party for Mom at the Terrace Club at Progressive Field. I thought, this could be a great week.



Then Mom's 'mystery sickness' became worse and I had to take her to the ER. None of her doctors really know what happened. I guess only God will ever know.



On October 18th, we did not expect her to make it. She was very ill, in CCU and did not have that same will to live she'd had so many times before.



She said, 'Let me go. I'm ready.'



We did not expect her to make it. The entire family and so many good friends gathered at the hospital and kept vigil at her bedside. Fortunately, Mom was with it the entire time. Totally aware of what was happening and able to answer us with written notes, head nods or at the end verbally.



I called off the next week not knowing what would happen. Mom needed me at her bedside. I also made a vow that I WOULD be with her when she passed away.



It was the best decision I ever made. I enjoyed spending so much time with Mom each day, speaking with her nurses and doctors on a regular basis, playing an active role in what was happening and would eventually happen and just being there for her so she was not alone. I made it as homey as possible bringing her favorite pictures from home, her Puffs, watching her favorite television shows with her and acting as we would normally act on a daily basis.



At one point, Mom actually had a few days where she made a little progress and seemed to be getting that spark back. I was not too hopeful though. There was something different.



However, as I've done my entire life, as Mom taught me, I continued living each moment to the fullest and just enjoying my special time with Mom knowing full well what her next destination would be.



I was actually planning on coming back to work the 3rd week when Mom took a turn for the worse. She was still with it but was tired. She was not getting any better and would not.



Her final day, October 26, 2009, was beautiful. Members of my family spent the entire day together. I held her hand all day long. I made stupid jokes to make her smile and light up her eyes. I told her our dog was waiting for her along with so many relatives and friends who have gone before her.





For those three weeks I wondered was there anything else I needed to do, to say, to show her and there was not. Mom and I had been so close. Two kindred spirits, hearts, that we were good. She was my best friend in the entire world. When she was trying to write or say something, I knew what it was before she even finished her statement.





Mom took her afternoon nap with my sister at one side, me on the other, both of us grasping her hands, and she just never woke up.