My hardest week in television: Tragedy in Chardon

I sit here wracking my brain at the last 27 years as a broadcaster and I can't seem to recall a harder week--professionally and almost personally.

I stretch back to the Kirtland Cult Killings in April of 1989. Another horrendous story. I was a newbie in television news with only a few years under my belt eager to experience all and every thing news. I was young, working at WEWS, and extremely pumped that we beat the competition on this story. I guess the fast flowing adrenaline did not allow me to focus on the tragedy at hand as it was happening. Though awful, with a stunning development that as a student at Hiram College, I may have met Jeffrey Don Lundgren on a tour of the Kirtland Church, it still does not compare to this week.

I ponder the East 87th Street house fire from May, 2005 where 8 children and 1 adult were killed. I was actually on the news desk working the overnight shift that night. I heard the call and got the wheels in motion for our coverage in Cleveland's most deadliest house fire. I was moved, but not like this.

The shooting at SuccessTech and the hostage standoff at CWRU did not elicit the same feelings I experienced this week.

The collapse of the Twin Towers came very close, maybe even paralleled the turmoil within and the non-stop working hours. Many tears were shed the week of and weeks following 9/11.

Yet, the events on February 27, 2012 in Chardon, Ohio has affected me in ways I never imagined. I can't quite put my finger on it and may never have an explanation, except remembering how I've felt all week.

Personally, nothing will compare with the death of my Mother and then 6 months later my father figure. I'm still not over her death--really never will be. Daily I carry so much grief around in my heart from that life altering day. Maybe life as I knew it changed when Mom died leading me to how I feel today--dictating how circumstances affect me now.


This unexpected calamity happened in our backyard. Chardon IS and has always been the poster child for 'hometown America' and Northeast Ohio's 'adopted city.' If you are from here, you've more than likely visited the Great Geauga County Fair in your lifetime or the Maple Sugar Festival. We'd go every year. We'd hit the pancake breakfast and have contests on who could stir the maple sugar fastest to make candy while we were twirling around in the ferris wheel.

We knew people from Chardon. I had an intern, a big football hero, who went to John Carroll and lived in Chardon. He wound up opening The Hilltopper Restaurant.

Going to college right down the road from Chardon could be another reason I hold it near to my heart. And taking it one step further, Mom's family had a farm in Chardon when she was growing up. She'd tell us such great stories of her family memories from Chardon, Ohio.


The day of the Chardon High School Shootings I was getting my car fixed in Portage County. The first I heard of the news was a breaking news text alert on my cell phone. All I could do until I could race into work was monitor what was happening via the service department's lounge tv. Even at that early stage, it seemed so surreal. Was this really happening? I felt like I was watching the events unfold on tv in slow motion.

This could not be happening down the road in Chardon, Ohio. Certainly not.

Finally, I was able to get into work. Similar to 9/11, I rushed in with my jeans and sweater, no shower, no food since Sunday making a quick stop back home tossing anything and everything into my car for the long haul. I knew I may be living at work or at the hotel next door, if need be, so needed whatever would fit from my cell phone charger to extra changes of clothes.

We excel in breaking news. Our non-stop, continuous coverage towered over the competition in every way, mainly because of our seasoned veteran reporters, anchors, and the hard working staffers at wkyc who all went above and beyond to cover this story all week long.


It's really hard to explain what happens during a breaking news story. There is mass chaos. That says nothing about an organization --it's just the nature of the business for a number of reasons: deploying your talent to numerous locations, processing hundreds of emails constantly flowing in, answering non-stop phones, trying to make calls verifying details pertaining to the story, feeding new details to my anchor people who could be going live in studio for 16 hours straight, being able to roll with new developments and change directions in a moment's notice, as well as just trying to keep the energy level up, stay hydrated and a little something in the belly so you don't pass out. There is sooooo much more than I just mentioned. It's absolutely insane but one of the many reasons I got into this business.

This goes on for days. You really don't have time to process what happened.

Then there comes that point where maybe the phone calls die down, you are able to leave work and depending on where you live, that short or long drive home in silence and solitude allows you to realize the events which unfolded. The tears begin flowing uncontrollably when you realize 3 young men just lost their lives at the hand of another confused young man and 3 others have been injured --the entire event took only minutes but will affect hundreds if not thousands of people forever.


Maybe this story has affected me so because it is 2012. This is the age of social media. In years past, you would see stories on tv and read about them in the newspaper. Today, it's hard to go a few seconds without seeing a new Tweet or new status update on facebook--many of them coming from all over the world.

We were receiving constant emails from viewers telling us about the victims' facebook pages, their twitter handles, friends of the victims sending us pictures from their facebook pages, and local media (whether it be print or tv) keeping everyone updated via Twitter and facebook.

The amount of information flowing in to the news assignment desk was insane. Crews in the field and staffers at 13th and Lakeside were exchanging information via email and text. Pictures were being sent both ways. Pictures coming into the station had to be verified, approved and then put on the air quickly. Emails were being circulated around by wkyc staffers so hopefully the reporters in the field knew where to go, what angles to pursue, any new information, and what the next game plan step may be.

I'm not going to lie. It was overwhelming, and at times, very confusing and frustrating. But you can't give up. You have to keep pounding the pavement, processing the information, keep the lines of communication open and just do anything and everything to tell the story and inform our viewers what is happening supplying everything they need to know.


I think at first, I was in work mode. I never shed a tear watching wkyc reporter Eric Mansfield interview Nate, the student who got grazed by a flying bullet. But I was stunned by the young man's matter of fact recounting of the morning's events and drawn in by his interview. He was clearly in shock. I was jarred that first day seeing parents hug their children, and first responders talk about the events. Then day #2, how could you not get teary eyed seeing Danny Parmertor's mom and dad give one of the most compelling interviews I've ever seen in my entire life. They recounted the minute they got the call straight thru them yelling at Danny in the hospital to breathe, don't give up, and pull through. I can't even imagine.

I think we, I, was too close to this story. Hearing Sheriff McClelland talk about meeting his wife at Chardon High and just seeing his sad face in interviews. It began weighing me down. These are all people I've worked with for years. They are our contacts, many our friends.

As each day went by, some new astonishing development unveiled or we came upon even more riveting sound from Nick's mom or Demetrius's mother or someone who just pulled at your heart strings reminding you you're human. The Parmertor family continues sending us home movies to let the world see Danny's great smile!

The more information that flowed into the assignment desk, the more you got to know the victims: Danny Parmertor, Demetrius Hewlin, and Russell King. I will never, ever forget them. I never knew them but feel as if I do.


Toward the end of the week, it was evident that everyone in the newsroom had been affected by this tragedy. We oftentimes spend more time with our co-workers than our families. We have to continue to be there for each other. We need to supply that shoulder to cry on or, as happened in the editorial meeting Friday, someone said something funny and we all erupted into laughter which eventually turned into tears because we all just needed to let it out, whatever emotion.


The entire world is sending love to Chardon. There is a great picture circulating on facebook from a battalion in Afghanistan sending prayers to Chardon. A Chardon resident coming back from overseas went thru the checkpoint in Minnesota. When the TSA official saw where he was from, he offered his condolences and told him everyone is praying for Chardon, Ohio.


I truly believe everything happens for a reason --even tragedy. I may never know why something happens but I know for sure that out of tragedy and evil, so much more good blossoms. It's hard to look at this situation so soon and even begin to assess the good but it is there. Daily miracles continue from the events which happened the morning of February 27, 2012. From the Supt. telling everyone to hug your children, to the outpouring of love we've already seen, it is there.


As part of my healing, I put aside my Sunday 'to do' list and drove out to Chardon. It was quite emotional yet necessary for me to begin processing what happened. As I drove east on 322 toward Rte 44 I saw red ribbon after red ribbon tied on trees and poles. As I turned on Rte 44 I began seeing even more red and black ribbons & signs in peoples' yards. Burr Funeral home has a huge heart on the front. I really did not know what to expect when I arrived at the Gazebo. I was able to park right in front. Again, a very surreal moment. I prayed and placed 3 religious momentos at the growing memorial for Danny, Demetrius, and Russell. It's overwhelming to be in the midst of the Gazebo memorial. There was a steady flow of people the entire time I was there. 1 man from Elyria stopped me to ask if I was a local. We chatted. Yet another miracle bringing complete strangers together to pray over this awful happening.

Being on the square definitely helped my grieving process. It was not a morbid scene. On the contrary. The spiritual energy was amazing as I walked around reading the heartfelt notes watching people light the candles which had been blown out. The school across the street had hearts in every window. My next stop: Chardon High School. That was hard. The memorials at the school continue to grow. But hearing the 911 calls, the dispatch tapes, seeing the video from Monday of SWAT deployed and then to be standing at that very same spot was quite eerie for me.

It's a school in 'hometown America' with yellow buses parked in the back, a track and football field yet the visions that kept running through my head were students exiting the school, parents running up to the school, SWAT with guns drawn, and imagining the scene as it unfolded in the cafeteria as the alleged shooter struck those innocent 6 students.


I have no doubt that the residents of Chardon and everyone affected will rise from these ruins even stronger than before. Life must go on, though life has been changed forever.

Eventually, I, we all must get back to the normalcy of our jobs, but for me life has been altered as well. I wasn't expecting Mom to pass away when she did. After her death I grasped the mantra of living each day as your last because tomorrow may never come.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in daily living, unnecessary worries, and really stupid, petty problems that we lose sight of living, we lose sight of loving, we just lose sight. God always reels us back somehow. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a magnanimous tragedy of this caliber to reel us all back to hugging our children, loving our neighbor, and believing in our God.


God really does work in mysterious ways. 3 young men I've never met before will be a part of my life from here on out. Danny, Demetrius, and Russell, your heroic actions will be a beacon for me to follow for the rest of my life. Losing you has not and will not be in vain.

You will be with us, in our hearts forever.

I look forward to that day when I get the chance to meet you in Heaven, thank you in person for all you've done for me, and give you all the biggest hugs in the whole wide world!

Scooped the competition

Hello friends.

I know this blog intends to give you all a glimpse into the day and the life of an assignment editor.

I have to be honest. A) My new computer is not yet configured to allow me to save these blog posts. Yes, I am working on it....just imagine if I actually knew my way around a computer! And 2) I have been off the radar while the task of working the assignment desk has been non-stop and quite grueling.

I definitely do not have time while at work to share my daily grind. That's what the middle of the overnight hours or crack of dawn are for, unless you have a bum computer!

I apologize for doing you all a disservice by not sharing the hectic, chaotic pace up here on this desk.

As you all know there has been storm after storm, wall to wall weather coverage intermixed with my amazing Cleveland Indians' baseball...daily developments with the Cuyahoga County Corruption saga as well as countdown to jury selection for the Sowell trial.

Other top of mind stories have included national stories out of Joplin, Missouri, the NBA basketball playoffs, Arnold & Maria, Congressman Weiner, and the biggest story of all, the end of Osama Bin Laden.


One story that really makes me beam from ear to ear happened back in April.

At the end of the day, I'm usually tired but pumped up by a job well done.


Breaking news back on a Friday in April completely revved everyone.


After receiving a tip about a body found in Seven Hills, it was an awesome feeling to dial up my contacts (which you make after all these years in the business) and verify within minutes what the heck may be going on out there.


I immediately sent a crew before really having verification....


My crew said, 'yep, we got a crime scene out here and it's quite extensive and there is no other media on scene.'


That said it all. It was go time.


From that moment on, everything we'd been working on flew out the window and we focused on the new breaking news, on-line and on air.


Crews stayed late....crews came in early......I stayed 3 hours past the end of my shift to monitor what was happening, update wkyc.com and brief the next producer in to the station....


Still no station had anything on their air and when I left the station 3 hours after we aired the story, still no other stations had anything on their websites --Rare in a time of Twitter, Facebook, monitoring the competition, and checking everyone's websites.


But I'll take it!


What absolutely made my week and was the so-called 'cherry on top' of the entire story is a text I received from one of my contacts who saw our story and realized no one else had it! The gist of the text told me what a great job we did.....and then congratulated me on being the only station on the story.....and went so far as to tell me that they thought I was a great news professional....


Knowing the leg work I personally put into this story.....the ethics and accuracy we exhibited ....and then receiving this message from someone I hold in high regard and have the utmost respect for put a smile on my face from cheek to cheek and made what I do so worthwhile.





It is rare to be congratulated or patted on the back on a regular basis for a job well done. When it happens, by someone you hold up on a pedestal, makes you feel that what you are doing is well worth it and just soooooo right!

A week of breaking news

Don't blink or you'll miss a new, unfolding spot news story.

Holy cow! What a whirlwind since the very beginning of the new year.

Some of this week's highlights include a home invasion/stabbing in, of all places, Pepper Pike. Dave Summers and Randy White started out on this story...which began with a wkyc viewer calling me the minute I stepped on the news assignment desk asking if we were going to do anything on the incident in Pepper Pike overnight? I had not even logged on the computer but took down the man's information...looked in our computer and when I did not see any information tossed a call to Pepper Pike. They were very forthcoming in what happened and immediately faxed over the information. In our effort to be first online, with Twitter, on Facebook and everywhere else, we tipped off the competition to this story. However, they did not get as much as Dave and his crew.

Now normally the aforementioned story would lead the news....unless you wind up stumbling onto a standoff /hostage situation in the Walgreens in Barberton.

Akron wizard extraordinaire Eric Mansfield received a call from a contact telling him about the situation....he made a few calls, pinned down exactly what was happening and we re-routed Dave Summers and his crew Randy out that way. I also dispatched a live truck to meet them in order to feed back video and go live.

In the meantime, we had another soldier killed overseas, and on the lighter side, the story we had been tracking about the Yorkie theft had a break in the case. The suspect was busted and the cute little Yorkie rescued.

While the reporters and producers are writing this all up for air, I'm going as fast as I can to get the ever flowing 'new' news on our website--hopefully before the competition.

If that was not enough, houses and gas lines started catching fire in Fairport Harbor....what an amazing story. I can not even believe how fast this story spread (no pun intended). Our crews were out at the scene for at least 2 days non-stop bringing the latest developments to our viewers on air and on-line. We had so much video coming back to the station and being fed back, it was hard to keep track of every element. We also really implemented our new Mobile 3 Live Gear which we recently put into play. Without getting technical, it's live gear basically in a backpack which allows you to pretty much go live from almost anywhere....Pretty snazzy stuff.

When Dominion East Ohio and the Mayor held their first presser, I listened in while they were feeding it back live.....and immediately put an update on wkyc.com. At the same time, our producer was doing the same to get the story ready for air....

But wait, there is more.....a few days later, Summit County officials uncovered a house having Ricin inside. Hmmm, interesting. For the next few days, officials, FBI, Homeland Security, Sheriff, men in funny HAZMAT suits roamed every inch. Another story Eric Mansfield and Carl Bachtel won hands down. They checked the house each day and were allowed closer than any other tv station. In fact, one day Carl was on the scene solo. No other stations were there. They were digging and searching with all kinds of activity. There was a press conference away from the scene where everyone else did their live shots....then I got the call from Carl saying "I'm here all alone." While he was giving me the lowdown on his scene, I was relaying to the producers and newsroom. For a few minutes, it was quite confusing because the press conference going on simultaneously with the search never mentioned that a concurrent search was happening. But, let's face it. When you have a stellar crew on site, seeing with his own eyes what's shakin' you have to go with it and totally trust your crews in the field.

And folks, all of the above is why I love what I do, where I do it and no day is EVER boring or uneventful!

Public Official #1 has been arrested

County Commissioner Jimmy DiMora being brought out of his home in handcuffs is a picture that I, and probably most everyone else, will not soon forget.

I am not going to rehash the facts and figures of the Cuyahoga County Corruption Story which has been going on for the last two years. I will leave that to our wkyc team of experts which includes Senior Political Reporter Tom Beres, The Investigator Tom Meyer, Dick Russ, Chris Tye, Dave Summers, Jeff Maynor, and the rest of our reporters who have covered the biggest story in Cleveland over the course of the last two years.

From a news assignment desk standpoint, I know this has to be our biggest story of the year (besides LeBron James).

Keeping track of each public official, when they are going to be in court, the status of their case, and so forth is a full time job in itself.

Keeping tabs with the Department of Justice, the F.B.I., the U.S. Marshals, the County Prosecutor's Office, and each judge and bailiff has been a daily challenge.

The stories that have evolved out of the hundreds of pages of the various indictments boggle the mind.

A good read to say the least.

There aren't too many stories that never get old. For me, this is one of them. Our reporters continue uncovering and digging up new details to keep this story rolling along.

And in today's times, we have to be on the top of our game on all platforms --distributing details via the television but also wkyc.com, facebook, twitter, and your cell phone.

Once the arrest happened, it was only a matter of minutes until the story wound up on all platforms for most news agencies.

Being in this business as long as I, I actually have fond memories of Jimmy DiMora as the Channel 3 All-Stars softball team would play DiMora's team each summer. I don't think either team really got blown out year after year. After each game, we all wound up sharing food and drink and stories with the various city officials including Jimmy DiMora himself.


Lesson to be learned, you just never know....

Enough already! Plane crash, house explosion, bear attack

The last few weeks have been packed with news.

The irony is the reason I worked different shifts revolved around vacations.

Not only is it the middle of summer, which could be slow by nature, but there have been a whole slew of folks off.

Yet, I think, we've still had two really great weeks of news.

And this day did not disappoint.

Nothing starts off the day like a house that explodes to augment your fresh mango fruit salad.

I'm not making lightly of this event, I am stating the facts.

Before much of the rest of the city even arose, a big house went boom in Ashtabula County.

I/We all pretty much knew what would dictate the rest of our day.

I knew immediately what I wanted to do but I did need to contact my boss to get them in the loop and make sure calling a few guys in early was ok.

And away we went.....I sent Jeff Maynor from home since he lives out that way....sent a few crews to meet him as well as calling in the satellite truck operator early to make the trek towards the Ohio /PA border.

You strive to be first at events but you also aim to get the information as quickly as possible on the website and shoot for live coverage for your next live show.

Check, check, and check again!


If that was not enough, we ended the week on a bear attack in Lorain County.

This story has been bubbling over for years and years. Sam Mazzola has acres of land with lots of wild, 'tame' animals. Animal activist groups have been protesting events he has sponsored and public appearances he's had with his animals through the years.

Not sure how this one will end up but one of his workers was killed by one of his bears. That can't be good.

In the news business, you are only as good as your last show. The last two weeks have been pretty darn good and I am extremely proud of the effort put forth on the news assignment desk.

The news desk rocks

I'm in the midst of vacation relief so my schedule is a bit out of sorts.

Actually, I'm looking at this change up as a breath of fresh air! A different shift, working with some folks I normally don't see all too often and allowing me to do things on my off-time that I NEVER can do.

A mini vacation, yet I am still working!

Let's face it, running the assignment desk is the same every single shift, though no day ever mimics the last or the next.

I still and will always love working on the assignment desk. The most exciting part of the building.

I attack each shift whether it be day, night, overnight or weekend the same way.

Working this shift, I actually am able to attend the editorial meeting which is nice because I can impart my story ideas on the room.....

I don't have as many live shows, but still strive to get updates for the live shows we do have...

For those folks who think the desk is boring, they must not be doing something properly! Never a dull moment. Never a free moment! There are always stories to research, checks to make, updates for the web, stories to send camera men and reporters out to cover, logging, calls galore to make, ringing phones, blaring scanners....

This week I feel I contributed so much to our product around the clock from morning til night and beyond.

I suggested a friend of mine be our Focus guest regarding the flight attendant who went nuts....and how to quit a job the proper way without burning bridges! Katherine Miracle of Miracle Resources is the best at her craft and was perfect for our segment. Katherine and I were interns at WEWS over 25 years ago. Now that is how to keep contacts through time and utilize them when necessary!

I ventured out of the building with videographer Dan Bowman for a meeting at WJW regarding the Sowell Trial. A nice break but also a chance to see old friends/co-workers and meet new contacts who I'd only heard their name from time to time.

I'm called the 'breaking news queen' by many and that did not stop this week. Holy cow! We had the I-90 truck flip which killed a man and blocked traffic for hours...that was just for starters. Every single day it seemed there was a 'breaking news' scenario.


End of the week really revved up. We had a little plane crash at Put-in-Bay which threw the rest of the day in a tizzy!
We were on top of this story. The minute I got the call, I alerted everyone including our news director who actually had ties to the story. She worked her magic, I worked mine, web master Leigh and everyone else did their part...needless to say, this was the focal point for the rest of the night.

In the meantime, I had been in contact with a media guy who was on retreat with his group on the islands. They emailed us pictures of the plane sticking out of the water...they emailed us terrific cell phone video.....Our news director did a phoner with the Ferry Captain shortly after the crash so we had it in house and then we wound up sending Paul Thomas, Chris Kunz, and Dan Medsker out to cover the story as well.

A extensive team effort for a huge breaking news story.

Never a dull moment!


In the meantime, received a tip call that a house had been raided in Solon with tons of dirty animals. When we arrived, nothing. But, I left info on the call I received and passed along a note saying we should probably make follow up checks on this to see what came of it.


Finally, a lighter end to the week.

Dave Summers got the primo assignment Friday night --hitting the Feast of the Assumption. Must be nice! I put him onto a family I've known my entire life! I went to school with Michael, Michelle, and Tina Rapposelli. Their family has had a stand at the feast for at least 50 years!

I told Dave and his cameraman Brian, to search for the fried dough stand run by the Rapposelli's! He found them, put Flo on the air and she is still getting cell phone calls as we speak!

As an assignment editor, every contact, every person you meet can one day assist you on a story. Never take anyone or anything for granted.

This week proof positive, at least for me, that I have a lot of contacts and every single day, they helped us develop and push ahead successfully on stories we pursued.

A win-win week! Very proud of not only my performance but how we all pulled together, even with a bunch of folks on vacation, and kicked a little booty!

The news machine continues cranking

Awesome stretch for news--hard news, breaking news, and some fabulous local features, kicker type stories!

Thursday night we had a big fire that broke out in the old lumber company in Medina.....everything came together perfectly!

I sent my camera man /truck operator Dan Medsker in his truck.....he arrived on scene of a fire still burning out of control. Old joke that many 'old timers' including the infamous Ed Verba used to say --'if it's really a good fire worth covering, it will still be burning when I get there!'

Dan shot the fire, some sound, established a signal and had already fed back the story in time for the 11pm news show! Funny how news comes together.

I had written the web story when it first broke out and attached a new picture as well as the video he sent back.

Love it!


Then Friday--another great news day.....tragedy inter-mixed with jubilation.

On one hand a little boy drowned in an Akron pond--awful story heading into the summer.....we covered it and reported it on our news shows.


Later Friday night, the highly anticipated Spelling Bee winner was crowned --and low and behold, she was the little girl from North Royalton, Ohio! Whew!

Anamika Veeramani outlasted everyone else and took home top honors! Again, it seemed it was the 2nd night in a row the entire newsroom was watching a television monitor cheering on the local girl.....and through each word, the cheers went up at various cubicles and watching stations!

What a hoot!

Though it is very difficult to watch television during the course of a shift, when a potential lead story or story in your show is unfolding before your eyes on tv, all eyes are watching!

And when she won, the entire newsroom burst into cheers for the little girl from Ohio who finally brought home a championship!!!

LeBron & Larry King go head to head

The busy holiday is over, and by the looks of things, it appears this will be a super busy month!

Again, the minute I arrived into work, the news mill began cranking out "breaking news."

One of my contacts from CNN called and then emailed me saying they are working very hard to get us the entire transcript from Larry King's one-on-one with our very own LeBron James! He said he is also working on getting us some video clips.

If indeed they can assist us on this, a ready made great story for all of our shows.

And poof--my CNN buddy came through just a few short minutes later by emailing me the entire transcript and some video.....

Our Sports Director had also been working on getting video......so this will play in news and sports.....

Interesting reading to say the least! It's great to have the upper hand on a story ....and though the other stations who were CNN affiliates eventually got this, it's also HOW you play it and WHO you have reporting it.

Our Web Master touched base with CNN to see what and how much we could put on our website. That is the 'right' thing to do. The 'wrong' thing is what all the other local stations apparently did--they put the entire transcript on line and that was a no-no. CNN did have restrictions they set down. We followed their rules to a tee.

Since wkyc has the best sports anchor in town with Jim Donovan, it's a no brainer how this will be reported.

If this story regarding LeBron and will he stay or go is unfolding before us, fire breaks out at Streetsboro High School. Another big story to conquer, and we sure did it right.

Not only did we cover this story from top to bottom, but one of our staffers has a child who goes to the school and kept giving us updates and they became available to her.....

The nature of the news business, it can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone and you just have to be ready!

W 83rd house explosion

Nothing gets the juices flowing and the heart pounding more than walking into work, tuning into the scanners for just a few minutes and hearing a house explode into a million pieces.

The only other thing may be swiping your entry key card and it has been CANCELLED!!

Thank God that has not happened yet!

So went the chaotic house explosion day. A house had exploded on West 83rd Street in Cleveland, Ohio. The main house in question was gone. There were numerous other houses and buildings affected in the neighborhood.

We were on it. Believe it or not, the emergency units called to the scene were not screaming or frazzled, at least not while speaking on the scanners.

But I heard where they were responding, sent Dave Summers and Mike Leonard...Dan Medsker in his live truck...and then Chris Tye and Chris Kunz to double team this breaking news story.

Dave Summers covered what we call the 'nuts and bolts' which means he attacked the story that was happening as it happened and continued gathering updated facts throughout the night.

Chris Tye, on the other hand, focused on the neighborhood and the people who were affected by this awful occurrence.

We had it up on the wkyc.com in not time, tweeted it, teased the heck out of it......we were on the top of our game from beginning to end.

Again, it's great to know your contacts so well that you can call them on their cell phones and get the skinny. That's what we did with the Fire PIO guy as well as the Media Rep from Dominion East Ohio.

It's nice when you know about something way before the viewer calls start rolling in.....when our viewers began asking what happened and where, I could tell them. Most of the viewers calling in either felt the boom or heard the noise.

I called my niece, who lives blocks and blocks away but you can never be too sure. She and the dogs were fine and nothing in her house was smashed, broken or destroyed.

This is the 2nd Monday in a row where we had breaking news right off the bat. Last Monday we had a plane crash in Lorain County. Today, a house explode. I'm ok with not having ANYTHING disastrous happen next Monday!

Lorain County Plane Crash

There are days when you wrack your brains trying to come up with stories. And then there are days like today. The story falls in your lap and dictates what you do for the rest of the shift.

Even though today is a holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, that never matters. I've said it before and will say it again, breaking news has a habit of happening on a holiday.

Today, a plane crashed in Lorain County near the airport.

After speaking with Elizabeth Isham Cory from the FAA, it was a no-brainer that another reporter had to tag team this breaking news. Cory said there were at least 3 dead from the crash, and a 4th person on board. She also said the NTSB would be picking up the investigation.

It's great knowing who to contact when an incident such as this occurs. Makes my job easier as well as more efficient.


The first reporter covers the 'nuts and bolts' as we call them. 'Nuts and bolts' consist of what has happened and is happening and the information currently available.

Usually, you put a second reporter on something like this to delve deeper and try to find out more about the people involved --who they were, where they came from, and a bit more into why this happened.


We caught wind of 'who' it may be early on but were unable to confirm immediately. That's OK. When we received a tentative id, we started researching on-line as well as sending a camera man to that city, Vermilion, to nose around. Reporting a story is equivalent to putting a puzzle together. We arrived in Vermilion and found the victims' home which was blocked off by Vermilion Police. However, we were 'shooed' away by Vermilion Police. Though they would not speak to us, we knew we were on the right track.

You take all of these little signs, though unconfirmed, and start putting together the big picture.

Eventually, through hard work and a tight team effort, we had completed the entire puzzle and confirmed enough facts to report to our viewers on-air at wkyc and on-line at wkyc.com.

4 live shots and counting...

A great news day --oh heck, news, sports, and weather!

I knew it would be good knowing that the 'Holmgren-Mangini' meeting was still in progress and because I have been getting text alerts on my cell phone from wkyc.com weather regarding the snow events for the rest of the week.

You too can get text alerts from wkyc on anything you want --weather, sports, breaking news, just about everything. All you have to do is log onto wkyc.com and hit the section slugged 'text alerts.' Then follow the directions to sign up and voila, you are well connected!!!!

So I've been getting continuous weather updates...and if I had not been sitting on the news assignment desk when it happened, I would have known instantaneously that Mangini was coming back in 2010 because I received an alert on this breaking sports as well!

Today was tricky but it all worked out.

We had 4 live shots. Now, that's not really a lot but everything had to be coordinated. It's my job to think of everything and make sure this goes off without a hitch. I won't go into the tedious detail but part of my job is making sure the crews are sent out with trucks which are compatible for what they have to do. For instance, a crew heading further out should take the truck with the tallest mast.

I also have to be cognizant of the schedule. If a crew is off at 530pm, then I have to make sure he is replaced, which was one of my constrictions today.

And I have to check with our editing department to see if and how many crews they may need to use to edit reporter packages.

It really is rare when anyone is just sitting around doing absolutely nothing!

In the end it all worked out. We had:

Rem 1 --Paul Thomas and Chris Kunz LIVE at Pershing for weather

Rem 2 --Dave Chudowsky and Dan Medsker LIVE at Berea Browns Camp

Rem 3 --Chris Tye and Mark Smilor LIVE in Willoughby for weather

Rem 4 --Mike O'Mara and Brian Johnson LIVE in Brook Park for Mangini reaction

The snow continues......Josh Cribbs is still disgruntled.....and I'm daydreaming about how many live shots we may have Friday!?!?!?

It's a bird, it's a plane, it IS a plane making an emergency landing

For the last 2 days, it's clear that it is Labor Day Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio and the Air Show is right around the corner.

Mid-week before Labor Day Weekend, the planes which will be performing in the Air Show begin arriving.

What a sight not only to see but to hear.

As I sit at the news assignment desk, I don't even have to see anything but just hearing the planes zooming around as if they are feet away is a thrill.

I can not say it enough, I love living in this city and all it has to offer.

Seeing the Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport each Labor Day Weekend is a great treat for young and old alike.

An absolutely great vantage point to watch the Air Show is our very own third floor porch. Best seat in the house and we don't have to pay a thing!

But tonight, we had a different, exciting twist, which fortunately ended happily.

As we were doing a weather bump live shot from our porch off of the back of the wkyc building, Videographer Mark Smilor saw a plane come in for a landing and then loads of fire trucks head for the location of the landing.

He immediately called the news desk. I immediately dispatched a crew (George Payamgis) down to Burke Lakefront Airport as well as reporter Paul Thomas. Then I called the control room to tell them what was happening if they did not already know. I told the producer to keep their eye on Mark's shot.

Our sigac operator dialed in one of our traffic cameras to see what they could see.

And as luck would have it, wkyc was airing the Indians' Game so the Blimp was up in the friendly skies.

The blimp caught the entire thing in the STO control room.

Now, even though technology today is phenomenal, it still took a little doing to get what was captured by the Blimp in one control room over to the other control room. I believe we had to make a dub before we could get anything on our air.

As luck would have it, Paul Thomas also ran into someone who caught the event on video as well. He allowed us to use his amateur video.

It's amazing how things sometime come together and how a number of individuals must work together to piece together a breaking news story.

Fortunately, the pilot was not injured and landed the plane safely. The plane sustained some damage because the wheels were not down during his landing.

I had a new employee on the desk who was able to see first hand during her first week how 'spot news' happens and how you must react to it and pull everything together.

When we had a lull, I explained to her what I did, who I called, who I communicated to, and how to handle a situation such as we just had.

And the great thing about this: No one had it on their websites all night long, no Twitter, no Facebook.

The 10pm competition did not have the story.

One other station at 11pm regrouped and added a VO into their show after ours aired.

It's nice when everything comes together and falls into place!

Perfect ending to a tremendous week and wonderful start to a holiday weekend!

Sister stations help with commuter train collision coverage

Locally, it was an ok news day.

It's the eve of the recall election for long-time Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic.

We also had an arrest over the weekend in the Laundromat murder. Ironically, the suspect may be attached to two other incidents in two other counties. This story is far from over. Not only do you have what we call the 'nuts and bolts' for this story alone --what is new and happening in this murder case today--but there are many sidebar stories like WHY did the judges ever let him out of jail with his long list of offenses and are there even more suspects with serious offenses roaming the streets?

And, of course, everyone...I mean EVERYONE is awaiting that call from the Cleveland Indians gathering the local media for a press conference regarding some kind of shakeup...


However, the BIG story of the day was miles away....states away......

Yet, we were still able to cover the BIG story with help from our NBC/MSNBC, Gannett, and CNN affiliates in the D.C. area.

WUSA9, our Gannett Sister-Station, had superb coverage of this catastrophic event from its inception. Producers/Writers/Reporters kept all of their affiliates in the loop with updated email regarding new information, upcoming news conference details, pictures and the latest video.

Steve, the CNN Producer servicing our region, kept us in the loop in a number of ways including continuous Twitter updates.

And, of course, NBC/MSNBC kept Producer Dan informed of the latest developments as well. Dan was able to use Reporter Steve Handelsman to update our customers during the 11pm news.

WKYC in turn, was able to get updated information out via Twitter, wkyc.com, and during our LIVE news programs because of the support we had from our affiliates in the region of the breaking news story.

This is how news coverage and getting information out to our customers is supposed to work...and I believe, we did a pretty good job Monday evening on a tragic story.

Paradoxical day

This is the first chance I have had to sit down, take a deep breath, and recollect the events of Thursday, March 5, 2009.

Now, if I were a daily beat reporter for a paper....yea, my article would have been filed with minutes to spare!!

If you read my entry for last Monday, you know how my week began. Unfortunately, I must report it did not get much better.

Picture it, Cleveland, 2009. In the midst of a 'crappy week' (and remember, I am the glass totally full girl, so you know it must have been bad!).

I pull into work--the parking garage has cars triple parked in all directions. I go back out to the front lot, and our on-site manager says he has been told to save room for 30 clients. The lot only holds 15 or so. I double park out there, with his blessing.

What is happening?

I walk inside and feel like a stranger in a strange land. The green room has been transformed, cloaked and blocked off. I am being watched wherever I go and forbidden in some parts of the building.

Much to my surprise, Conan O'Brien is in the house.

Best kept secret. I had no clue. But I was not alone. Most night shift workers I asked were clueless as well as other fellow employees from various departments.

The standing joke in television, not just at Channel 3 and not just in Cleveland but all over America is, "for being in the communications business, television people are the WORST communicators" --and I just proved exhibit A!

It's really too bad all staffers were not informed. I work on a show that leads right into Conan's new gig and it would have been a thrill to meet him or at least get a glimpse of him.

Now, those fortunate to meet the man, the legend were walking on cloud nine. Good for them! But that jubilation would soon turn to horror.


I really did not have time for the bitterness to sink in and manifest itself.


Being the queen of 'spot news,' we hit the mother load Thursday night.

I've been doing this long enough to know when something is happening even if NOTHING is coming over the scanners. That's one of the biggest signs. When emergency personnel go over to their sneaky channel, you know it's big.

I heard one line--a 12-year-old child flagged down a passerby and told him what his step-father just did. The way it was said, the lack of other details, and a feeling in the pit of my stomach tipped off that I had a HUGE news story.

I will continue covering spot news--substantial spot news. Earlier in the week, a few staffers/producers did not think the Lorain County triple fatal accident was newsworthy. They said, fatal accidents happen every day. I'm not sure about that, but nonetheless, I'm sure glad we covered it and followed up on it for the 11pm news.

And now, more horrific spot news. I started mobilizing my crews. I initially sent a camera crew to the scene....I told Producer Dan what I "thought" had happened by the bits and pieces I was gleaning off the scanners....

My other crews and reporters were out but easily accessible and easily available to head out at a moments notice...

A plus on our side --great communication lines and coordination between me, the producer, our room 1 supervisor, sigac, and the web producer so we were all operating on the same page...

It was also great to know that we were first on scene. Simultaneously as my crew pulled up to the scene, a police dispatcher chimed on the scanners that 'the media had just arrived!'

From that moment on, non-stop, grueling work to not only get the story, win the story, and do the very best, but to keep emotions out of it for the time being.

One moment bringing levity to the situation is when my pal from the coroner's office called me to tell me they were rolling out to the scene.....and asked ME for the address! Now I know he had it, but we go way back and he knows I would never steer him wrong and my information is usually spot on!

It's good to be on a first name basis with my contacts. I instantly dialed up the chief's PIO, the coroner's PIO, and was able to touch base with the hospital's media relations supervisor.

Once I heard back from my initial guy, no brainer --EVERYONE on deck for this tragedy.

The next day, my news director and a reporter both said to me, 'great job scrambling last night.' I'm not quite sure why they used the term 'scrambling' because we did not scramble. We don't scramble at night. We know how to cover breaking news and do it very well. We may not have as many people but excel at breaking news and get the job done!


And that's what we did. All hands on deck. It was a well-oiled machine from the crews in the field back to the station. Even to the point where my live truck operator kept his live signal going and CNN and NewsChannel both cherry-picked the video we were feeding back and monitored our live pictures. I also emailed Tracy at Newschannel still pictures and the suspect's mug shot as soon as we received it. They were much appreciative!

In an instant like this, you can't get caught up at what has happened....though every update that another child had died was like getting sucker punched for all 5 of us sitting in the newsroom.

I believe we were first to report on our web that 6 people had been shot while others were still reporting 3 shot....and we were first with the suspect's mug shot and pictures from the scene. That's what we do!

The crews in the field all did a MARVELOUS job. At one point, Dave Summers and his truck operator Brian Johnson veered off the beaten path to the train tracks where the suspect may have been spotted......did not pan out, so they high-tailed it back to the the hospital. The gods were smiling on us because when their live slot came up on the show, they were ready (with much help from sigac operator Chris!!).

Watching the competition at 10pm, they both triple-teamed it, and ya know, they had nothing more than we had with less staffers. In fact, we had more. Dave Summers had background on the perp and Eric Mansfield spoke to family members.

At 11:35pm, the news was over but the story still very much alive. My crews were all raring to go to take this breaking news to higher levels for our morning show. We do have a no-overtime edict, but that was rescinded for this breaking news. This is a story you can not just walk away from in the midst. And we never did....

WHAT I thought happened at 8pm Thursday night IS what happened. We were on the mark all night long......and when all was said and done, all gave a great effort.

Never promise anything

I learned it as a news assistant so many years ago and still stress it today: NEVER promise ANYTHING!

It's a good rule to live by, even out of a newsroom.

Today is a perfect day to exhibit this mantra.

In the afternoon meeting, the story cards were dealt out to each reporter and camera man.

What everyone started out on quickly changed when we got the call from the Chief's Office that there had been four arrested in connection with the tragic double shooting over the weekend at East 12th and Chester.

Switching gears-- and fast! We had lady luck on our side as crews were actually IN the places they needed to be without even knowing it!

The transition went off without a hitch.

A big thank you goes out to the room including, Dan Stadler, Dick Russ, Chris Tye, Chris Kunz, Dave Summers, Craig Roberson, Carl Bachtel, Dan Medsker, Julie Ocepek, intern Jeff Kinder, and editor Matt Hein for their great joint effort at getting this breaking news on the air.


Earlier in the day, a local restaurateur contacted the news desk about coming out to his Mardi Gras party being held during Downtown Dining week. I cover it every Shrove Tuesday. However, I knew better not to promise anything. I put it on my agenda and hoped to have a crew eventually to send over there...


A little dicier situation lay ahead. One of my managers pulled some strings for us to go live at 6pm and 7pm at another downtown locale. Breaking news blew those plans out of the water.

In fairness to the business who welcomed us with open arms, we still wanted to shoot video of their establishment for their accommodating nature. After the craziness died down, I sent a free cameraman back over there to shoot video for the 11pm show. There are times we can't even do this much for stories we must vacate.


I've said it before and I'll say it again, NEVER PROMISE ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!


Now, before the next emergency hits, I'm gonna get back to my peas in a bag, salad in a Styrofoam cup, and fettuccini alfredo with 0g Trans fat in a cardboard vessel.

First on Facebook

It appears that the other local television stations are finally jumping on the Facebook bandwagon enveloped with this social media phenomenon.

Honestly, Channel 3 has been on Facebook for many months now, if not almost a year.

Most of our personnel, off camera as well as on camera, and their families have been 'friending' viewers at lightning speed.

Our producers and other staffers (including yours truly) have been doing daily teases promoting what's coming up in each of our live news broadcasts.

We share previews for upcoming sweeps stories, investigations, Prime time Network favorites, polls, live chats, and so much more.

We've gotten feedback, story ideas, and background for breaking news stories within Facebook messages.

We BROKE a story last Thursday on Facebook minutes before posting it on wkyc.com. 7pm Producer Jon Adkins first unveiled the chimp attack woman arriving in Cleveland en route to the Cleveland Clinic EXCLUSIVELY on our Facebook page in a video release....

You don't have to wait for the 6pm, 7pm, or 11pm news anymore. We'll get you the story every which way we can-FIRST. But know that the most comprehensive and in depth coverage will always be on wkyc.com and on our live broadcasts throughout the day and evening.

The challenge comes now in staying ahead of the curve. We've been leading the pack the entire time and will continue coming up with unique, interesting ventures to entertain and inform you, our customers, as well as keeping a leg up on the competition on Facebook and all of our other social media, electronic, and broadcast venues.

Rest assured, you can always count on us to Report the Facts, Respect the Truth (first!).

Now that's team work!

(photograph courtesy Channel 3 Videographer Shane Snider)

The house explosion in Eastlake late Wednesday evening was not a drill.

More often than not when you hear so many cities and units responding to a single event, it's a drill.

A perfect example of WHY drills are conducted among mutual aid cities on a regular basis --so they can quickly mobilize when the 'real thing' occurs.

And that's exactly what the Channel 3 Newsroom did Wednesday night --quickly mobilized inside the building as well as outside of the building.

The initial call came over as an explosion, but because crews had not arrived on scene yet, we did not know exactly WHAT had exploded.

Shortly after the initial call, the various Lake County Police Departments started getting inundated with calls from residents asking what happened....as did the Channel 3 News Desk. Viewers were asking if there was another earthquake in Lake County? Had there been an explosion? Was there a serious crash? Just WHAT happened???? So not only were the phones ringing off the hook for school closing iAlerts but now they were really non-stop asking about 'what was going on in Lake County!!'

It's a fragile tower of cards.

Being so late in the night, the plan for the 11pm show was pretty much in place...yet this is what we live for, covering breaking news when it happens. You have to throw your plan out the window and all parties focus on the breaking news at hand.

I immediately sent a camera crew in a truck toward the scene......

And then we huddled for a minute to ascertain the best plan of attack strategy. Producer Dan even confabbed with our News Director, Rita, to get her spin and get her in the loop...

We were down a reporter due to illness and down a camera crew.

But, just because we may be staff-light does not mean we can't win the big story!

Fortunately, we have employees who live out in the affected area. Shortly after the initial incident, one of my videographers, Shane Snider, called in asking what had happened and where.....it was very close to where he lived so he headed out with his camera phone to shoot whatever he could to send back to our webmaster.

He was instrumental in assisting our crews in the field, taking numerous scene pictures, gathering details until our reporter could get on site, assisting my truck operator, nabbing the 2 heroes who pulled the elderly couple out of the burning home, and even doing a phoner with Romona and the heroes during the 11pm news.

After the initial flurry, it all came together.

Marc in the web immediately posted the story WITH Shane's pictures.

Sigac folks and the room 1 operator were notified that there would be a live shot and possibly video fed back....

And all crews were given their orders.

The plan came together very well and worked! It all happened so fast, you really don't have time to think or over think too much.

But it does not end at 11:32pm.

Our News Director, knowing we were all busting a move, called our overnight reporter in early to pick up the story.....any overtime has to be approved by the boss anyway, so she led the charge!

I briefed the first overnight producer in on what had happened, what we had and were still efforting in the field, and WHO got what.

The key is communication to make anything a success.

Overall, I think we definitely won this story at 11pm....and when all was said and done, had a very successful day at work.

I'm whipped & it's only Monday

Last week's grueling agenda with MLK Day, the Inauguration, the Medical Mart, Browns Watch, and so much more has whipped my derriere!

It is only Monday, and I am spent, pushed to the limit! It's gonna be a loooooong week.

There is never a reprieve, a break, a time-out up here on the news assignment desk. Something is either always happening in the newsroom OR on the scanners. It's up to me to weed out what IS or IS NOT pertinent and newsworthy on the scanners.

The wall-to-wall non-stop news began this morning with the Browns' GM announcement....right where it left off Friday with breaking news on the Medical Mart situation.

The Canton Mayor story was more reporter-driven, not much for the desk to do except be aware of, should something else break. Tom Beres and Dave Summers rocked on their coverage.

My entire shift, breaking news after breaking news ......my camera guys sat down long enough to ingest their tapes and the minute they were done, I shooed them out the door again on something new.......

We had a lot of new 'spot news' including 3 serious armed robberies (two involved shootings) and then the fire at the Eastlake CEI plant. This fire sounded worse than it was on the scanners as they asked for mutual aid from Willoughby, Wickliffe, Euclid, Painesville Twp, Mentor-on-the-Lake, and Mentor....but a representative from CEI said it was not as serious as it sounded and there were no injuries reported.

Gathering updates on the water main break, child left alone, home invasion/dead body ID, ID on the morning fatal fire, etc., occupied the rest of my time.....

Needless to say, it IS going to be a LONG week on this rollercoaster ride.....

Breaking stories, Exclusives

Today is a 'good' day at the office.

The kind of day news people strive for on a daily basis.

I have to admit, my day started off rocky. In the great scheme of life's daily tragedies, my inconvenience is nothing compared to those dying in Iraq, fathers and mothers who can not feed their children and so many other hardships plaguing the world.

However, in my world, it was a pain in the butt arriving for work, early, and being banished to park outdoors in the snow. This is a daily occurrence for my shift. We always get shut out. It sucks (I know, that phrase sounds so adult) and puts a bad taste to the start of my day... but that's life! I deal with it, because I'm overjoyed to still have a job!

It goes to show you, live for every second....battle every moment.....and eventually you will overcome anything--from the smallest of inconveniences to life-threatening illnesses and situations. Don't give up hope, ever!!!! And do not let those little 'pieces of popcorn stuck in your teeth' get you down for very long!!!!!!


After my initial minor set back, the day got rolling at full speed ahead. THE best Sportscaster I have ever worked with broke the Cleveland Browns new coach story way ahead of the competition nationwide! Jim Donovan's expertise and knowledge of his craft surpasses most. Eric Mangini has become the Cleveland Browns Head Coach. Jim Donovan blows me away day in and day out by his smarts, the stories he regularly breaks, his passion, his quick wit, his wealth of knowledge, his memory bank, the excellent packages he crafts, and then the way he presents it all on the Sports Anchor Desk.

Donovan works harder than anyone in this building. I can say that 100 percent sure. Jim starts his day early at Browns Camp or covering the Indians or Cavs and works through the 11pm News. In the midst of his long day, he also tapes numerous shows, segments and one-on-one interviews which air not only on wkyc but on SportsTime Ohio. He does work on the web and radio call in shows. And, he anchors other live broadcasts including 'The Point After.' I do not know how he does it. He is one of Channel 3's top assets, and I sure hope everyone knows what a gem we have in Jim Donovan and his commitment to Channel 3, SportsTime Ohio, The Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Indians and all of his projects!


If that was not enough news, Senior Political Correspondent Tom Beres scored a HUGE get with his EXCLUSIVE ONE-ON-ONE interview with the head of PNC Bank, James Rohr (PNC Chairman). Mr. Rohr, in town to speak with National City Bank workers and community leaders, took time out of his busy day to sit down with Beres and share his thoughts on the NCB/PNC situation as well as his fond memories of his early ties to the Cleveland area.

Tom Beres is yet another valuable asset to the Channel 3 Family with his experience, contacts, dedication to putting together the best story he can produce for our customers, and mastery of the political arena in Northeast Ohio. Tom always juggles multiple stories on a daily basis for every show and the web. It is not uncommon for the assignment editor and the producer to get a 'love call' from Mr. Beres on a regular basis. When he gets calls at home from his contacts, he immediately calls them in so we can break the news first. He, too, has passion for his craft and tries to get a new political nugget in each live show.

You can also catch Tom Beres on his 'Between the Lines' Segment each Sunday morning during our morning show which runs from 9am until 1030am.


It was a good news day! We hope you enjoyed the show and keep coming back to Channel 3 News and wkyc.com!!!!!

The news waits for no one

Finally able to come up for air! Friday took it all out of me.

Friday I learned that the news waits for no one...like the postman --thru rain and snow and ...well you know the saying!

I'm gonna resort to being a bit 'all about me' right now, JUST to explain my story!

Friday, December 19th was the last day before my vacation. I must add, this is THE VERY FIRST time I have actually been off the entire week of Christmas in my entire broadcasting career. I was so looking forward to getting all caught up, putting all my ducks in a row before being off for a week so that when I got back I didn't have a mound of anything to tackle.

Friday, December 19th was also my birthday. No way, no how am I saying how old...however, the last thing I wanted to do on my birthday and the day before vacation is work overtime.

Normally, not a problem. That's why I prefaced this entry with the 'selfish' and 'self-absorbed' explainer!

Mr. News reared his ugly head just to foul up my perfectly orchestrated plan.

He crashed a little plane into a house in Stark County....sent the Cleveland Homicide unit to a person killed on Dibble on Cleveland's east side.....placed a suspicious package under a government vehicle at an Army recruiting station in Medina County.....and turned off the power to thousands in the western suburbs--without their consent!

But wait, there's more!

ALL of this on the day when I am web girl --meaning the normal person who handles the web is not in for the bulk of my shift and I have to focus more on the web than normal, including putting the reporters' video packages on the web...

Amazingly enough, I got all of the necessary work completed...and most of my other agenda checked off. But, it was one heck of a shift. I did wind up working over about an hour and then I just had to throw in the towel and concede that whatever was not done was not getting done until vacation ends.

At one point, I was the only person in the newsroom for quite a while. Romona Robinson walked back in and said, "Dani, do you realize that before I came in, you were the only person in the newsroom?" I told her --"that is why I am always talking to myself. There is usually no one in here with me!!"

On days like these, you do the best you can. You ARE only one person. With breaking news, I first and foremost have to get a crew out to the story WHILE I am attempting to toss something on the web and hopefully beat the competition at that task! Friday, we had so much stuff and one of them (the plane crash) was huge. I could not shoot the bomb threat or power outage but still put those stories on the web. As much new content as possible is what I strive for when it comes to the web. And as much UP TO THE MINUTE content, especially!

That's all I did. Oh, I answered the phones and listened to the scanners of course....but the bulk of my duties was web, web, web. I had to leave my archiving and future preps and court checks and wading through all of my email and messages and so much more on the back burner while I dealt with trying to win the big breaking news story on the air as well as on the web. I think we did it!

And my birthday was not half bad, either. Everyone remembered it and made me feel like queen for a day --a very crazed and busy queen, but none the less!

The day I get back from vacation, I'll just have to take a deep breath, tackle one task at a time, remember that I am only one person and see where the chips fall!

Happy Holidays to all of you! In this fast-paced world, I hope you can slow down, enjoy the moment, savor memorable occasions, delight in those around you and surround yourself with the unconditional love of family and friends!