'Real' dress rehearsal

March has not disappointed! In a recent entry I sensed an exciting month ahead....and it's been absolutely nothing but action-packed!

On a personal note, I recently had a day off...yet work always seems to weave into the course of the day, even an off day.

During my day off, a very rainy day, I needed to drive over the Valleyview bridge not once, but twice! Holy cow. In light of the fatal accident just a few weeks ago, it is quite frightening driving over that bridge, let alone in a torrential rain storm. Even during off time, newsie events loom in the back of an assignment editor's mind!

I usually work every St. Patrick's Day --St. Pat's Day 2011 off the charts. OK, let me preface what I am about to say with this --I understand St. Paddy's Day can be crazy, zany, with thousands of obnoxious drunk people everywhere. But for some reason, 2011 stepped it up a few notches. I can not believe the constant calls on the scanners for public intoxication, people just laying in the streets passed out, broken limb calls, and then shortly before 6pm, a massive fight broke out in front of Tower City. A Cleveland Police officer broke his foot as patrol cars from everywhere zoomed to Public Square.

We were in the thick of things but honestly, it actually sounded much worse than it was....at the time, it seemed it could go either way and balloon into something much worse. After the fact, it was a typical St. Patrick's Day melee.

Closing out the week with a bang! OSU vs UTSA at Quicken Loans Arena! OSU blew the covers off this game winning 75-46. And with all of the NCAA festivities in town, wkyc took the Friday 11pm show on the road. Romona has been ill much of the week with an awful virus. (Sidebar --the news desk has been receiving call after call all week long asking where Ro is --she's just been sick everyone!! She will be back very soon!!)....

So the new 7pm team of Robin Swoboda, Chris Tye, Jim Donovan, and Betsy Kling had a 'real' dress rehearsal leading up to Monday's 7pm debut. Robin anchored from the studio as Chris Tye, Jim Donovan, and Jennifer Lindgren were all live outside Q Arena for various OSU /Sports stories. Add in Betsy and Maureen back in studio and you have a blockbuster show! The 11pm news rocked big time. It was so fun to watch and be a part of the entire production.

Perfect end to what has been a pretty perfect week so far......

Be sure you get outside this weekend to witness the Superbig Moon! A big end to what has been an enormously successful week!

Time to make the paczkis

Looking ahead into the wkyc crystal ball during the month of March and beyond should prove to be quite exciting!

Not only are we approaching March Madness, always an exhilarating time of the year, but I'm seeing more and more STO people roaming around the building as Spring Training winds down leading up to Cleveland Indians' Opening Day on April 1, 2011.

The time change always perks people up as the days begin getting longer and longer....

Spring is right around the corner.

And a transformation for our 7pm show as Robin Swoboda and Chris Tye take the helm with some wonderful new ideas and segments....

A few days ago many celebrated Fat Tuesday --a precursor for Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season.

But Fat Tuesday also means something else: Paczkis!

Personally, I prefer the plain, empty paczkis (which I guess are more like fried dough!)....the authentic New Orleans beignets are magnificent!

In honor of Paczki Day, we sent Betsy Kling out to whip up some tasty treats.....and she came back with a whole slew of authentic eats she made with her own hands! Delicious!

Big TALL Ships, basketball players, & decisions

We have a lot of 'big-ness' revolving around Cleveland over the next 24 hours.

Last night the Tall Ships entered the Port of Cleveland with wkyc's own Betsy Kling, Barry Wolf, and Steve Pullen on board.

Take a gander over to wkyc.com to view the stories and excitement revolving around the Tall Ships. Betsy and her crews sailed in after being on board from Pennsylvania. What an experience! She shared her experience during a 7pm Tall Ships special where she went in depth on each ship, their voyage, what it's like living on them, and so much more!

Then, we have big, tall basketball players who can begin talking about their free-agency choices ......rumors all over the internet at this hour say our very own LeBron James is making his way to Miami.

Not sure what to believe.

However, I am on my way to Tampa, FLA and have put out the calls to my pals to call me and text me when he makes his announcement during an hour long broadcast on ESPN -- 'The Decision.'

I've tivo'd the show. My best friend Craig has tivo'd the show and we will watch it after we get home from the Indians-Tampa Ray baseball game.

Out of my hands. Out of all of our hands.

But, you can be sure--this will be a HUGE day in Cleveland with LeBron's BIG Decision, Tall Ships, and dealing with follow-up with LeBron, whatever his decision may be!

I'm out! Heading to Tampa and may cross paths with LBJ during my travels, who knows!

Happy Birthday, Betsy!

You just never know who will show up at work!

Midge the crime fighting K-9 popped into the newsroom this morning with Sheriff Dan McClelland of Geauga County. It's always a treat when Midge visits!

And low and behold, this afternoon, our favorite Cleveland Indian mascot, Slider, made the grand entrance with balloons, flowers, and cake for wkyc meteorologist Betsy Kling's birthday!

Never a dull moment in the wkyc newsroom!!!

Producer Don grabbed the flip cam and took some video which you can see over on Facebook of Slider's birthday greeting to Betsy....

Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Betsy!

Weather whirlwind

I lied.

If you read my last entry about being a looong, tiring week, I lied.

Today has been a fast-paced, exciting day, with energy to spare.

We all knew the snow was coming....Betsy, AJ, Hollie, and Bruce are keeping their eyes on the radar, maps, snow totals and all the high-tech equipment they have to give you the most recent and accurate forecasts.

So, it's a given that we'd have a reporter on weather patrol --Dave Summers and his videographer Randy White were the lucky winners! They ventured out at the beginning of their shift, gave a live update for our 7pm show. As of this writing, they will have a complete report coming up for you at 11pm!

Producer Dan actually included me in his Facebook Promo tonight. All Facebook fanatics, hop on the wkyc page and take a glance at Tuesday's 11pm Promo! It zips along, as swiftly as this night as been hopping along....

The newsroom has been abuzz with a 'flurry' of activity. Eric Mansfield held a web chat on his blog. We are still in the midst of a live wx web chat with Betsy, Frank, and lots of other folks, towering upwards of 100+ chatters.

We've even been talking to our Facebook friends about weather conditions...getting updates from our Facebook friends in other parts of Ohio AND the United States!

I, being on the desk, have been trying to not only keep the producer and web folks informed on accidents, city alerts, snow emergency parking bans, road conditions, airport status, iAlert school closings, and anything else associated with this latest storm, BUT, have also been giving the most pertinent of that information on our live web chat! Everyone in the newsroom, besides doing their normal myriad of tasks, kicked it up a notch (BAM!) to participate in all of our extra social media exercises that sets us apart from the rest! The juggling surely paid off!

Whatever you do, stay tuned to Channel 3 News throughout the day and night for the latest weather updates, up-to-date school closings, and traffic conditions. Hop on wkyc.com and Facebook for the most complete coverage from Channel 3 News and Weather!!!

Hit or Miss business

Our weather folks did a wonderful job mapping out where the warnings and watches were, who 'should' be getting the heaviest snowfall totals, and sharing all the necessary details our customers needed to know about this new year snow storm.

Kudos to AJ, Betsy, Hollie, and Bruce!

It's hard to do.

From my end of it, I was lucky.

As an assignment editor (and a traveler), I skated by pretty easily with this latest storm.

Friday was like any other day, for the most part.

We had snow. My two reporters were on 'snow patrol' but, at least during my shift, there was nothing 'out of the ordinary.'

No horrendous accidents, no road closings, no airport shutdowns, no planes sliding off runways, no weather-related medical calls.

And considering we have our new and improved I-Alert school closing system, we really had minimal calls from administrators asking for help. They seem to understand the upgraded system. On our end, it is a dream. When I did get school folks calling in, I was able to assist them within seconds! We still need to work out a few bugs, but so far, so good!

The scanners were slow and quiet most of the night.

I even stayed late. We had a 'scheduling snafu.' There was no one scheduled to relieve me. Though I was not required to stay, I wound up staying about 3 extra hours (no charge!) past the end of my shift 'just in case' something happened with the weather (being the dedicated employee I am!!). Nothing!

After hearing there could be 'gloom and doom,' I was a bit anxious at how the roads would be once I did leave the newsroom.

It took me only 10-15 minutes extra to get home. What a dream. At times, the roads were a bit slick, but I was not 'white knuckling' it at all. Getting up a few hills I encounter were fine. And when I got home, I was able to maneuver around my neighborhood, which is usually impossible during big snow storms.

The worst of it: my driveway! Our plow guys never came until Sunday!

Stay warm, stay safe this winter season! And tune into Channel 3 News and wkyc.com for the most accurate weather coverage from all of our forecasters!!!!!

Baby 'Petunia' has arrived!

(photo Courtesy: Betsy & Paul & wkyc.com)

Ok, folks. Betsy and Paul did not name their child 'baby Petunia.' That's just the affectionate name given her while we waited, and waited, and waited!

And, TA DA! She has arrived! All 21.5 inches of baby Josephine Frances! She's already following in her mom and dad's footsteps on the height trait!

Paul and Betsy welcomed Josephine Frances into the world Monday night.

She weighs 8 pounds, 11 ounces.

For you Facebook fans, hop onto Facebook and become friends with wkyc-tv, where there is more information on the new arrival.

Also, log onto wkyc.com for updated photos of Paul, Betsy and their little bundle of joy!

Best of luck and a lifetime of happiness to Betsy and Paul and Josephine!

May Sweeps winding down

It's the final official day of May Sweeps. The strong effort and enthusiasm remains every day, but during this 'sweeps' we had a number of enterprising pieces...and investigative stories! We should know in a few days how we fared against our local competitors.


I've listed our '30 days, 30 ways to save' pieces as well as our other sweeps stories in the margin on the right side of my blog for anyone who would like to take a look back at a favorite!


We can catch our breath for a few days and then right back up on the horse prepping for the next sweeps period!


I'd have to say, this has been one of the craziest wrap ups to a ratings month and definitely NOT a typical day on the news assignment desk.


First off, check out the new look of the Channel 3 Website. You will love it! You, too, can become more involved.


The highlights include: social, search, clip, zip! Our new website is a social network community where the viewer can post photos, start a blog, become involved in ongoing forums, give us opinions on stories, and so much more!


Our web customers can navigate a bit easier searching for stories and video clips.


And when the reader supplies a zip code, they can get a weather report for that particular area!


Next, we've been doing special tapings the last few days with some of the Cleveland Browns. Yesterday, I believe Kamerion Wimbley was in studio. Today, Braylon Edwards.


I'm a huge Cleveland fan, Cleveland Sports fan, and Cleveland Music fan. However, being in TV, some unwritten rules include, 'don't gush,' 'don't ask for autographs,' and 'don't be a nuisance.'


There are times when those rules are bent a little. Today was one of those days! Braylon Edwards came into the newsroom and all eyes turned to him! He was absolutely one of the most gracious, charming, friendly people I have ever met. I hate having my picture taken, but I must admit, I jumped on the bandwagon when the opportunity presented itself!

Earlier in the day, the women of the building gathered for a baby shower for meteorologist Betsy Kling and her husband Paul Thomas, who are expecting in a few months.


Folks from all over the building came in a little early or stayed a little later to shower Betsy and Paul with gifts of all shapes, sizes, and colors!


It would not be an authentic Channel 3 Party without Marlene AND --the infamous Ho Ho Cake! As many of you may recall, Marlene recently retired from her longtime position of Newsroom Administrative Assistant. Boy, do we miss her!


Well, as you can see, NEVER a dull moment here at Channel 3! Click the attached link to view slide show of Betsy's Baby Shower!


Photos courtesy: Romona Robinson





































































1. Betsy cutting the infamous Ho-Ho cake
2. Betsy opening her gifts
3. Weekend Anchor Lydia Esparra and Betsy
4. Education Reporter Kim Wheeler, Marlene, News Director Rita Andolsen
5. Yours truly, Lydia, Romona
6. Yours truly, Carole Sullivan, Kim Wheeler
7. Barb, Brandi, Sarah, Kim
8. Backpack Journalist Lynn Olszowy, Carrie, Lydia
9. Romona, Braylon Edwards, guest of honor Betsy