Weekly Feature: Hidden Gems

Today's Hidden Gem: Manny Acta

I attended a luncheon today sponsored by The Press Club of Cleveland and The Cleveland Indians where new Cleveland Indians' manager, Manny Acta, spoke and then fielded questions from the audience.

Stealing a line from a very famous movie, he "had me at hello!"

Today's event was the final leg of the Cleveland Indians' Press Tour Caravan, which has been going on all week.

During these caravans, players, management, broadcasters, and other staffers hop on buses and criss-cross Ohio and Pennsylvania meeting and greeting fans and trying to reel them in for the season ahead.

I was not kidding. When Mr. Acta began speaking, he had me. Within minutes, the audience witnessed what a savvy baseball man the Indians hired. You could say he is a student and teacher of the game of baseball. Acta combines his charisma, honesty, and humor making him a great speaker who wows a crowd.

He prefaced his speech by saying he knows the stats from his last gig are not the greatest for a resume but he looks forward to coming to the Indians because they have much talent already. They are not starting from ground zero. Acta said the Indians already have most pieces in place and he's excited at the prospects currently in the Indians' minor league system. He also brought the audience to laughter by saying if this job does not work out, he'll be handling paper and plastic at WalMart.

Acta said, 'Give these guys a chance and stay behind us. Good things are coming to Cleveland.' Acta refuses to be a realist and expects nothing less than the best. He promised to the sell out luncheon crowd, 'we're going to give everything we have.'

Acta said the top three questions commonly asked during the press caravan were:

• Will there be a set line-up this year?


• Where will Grady bat? Ever bat 3rd in the line-up?


• Will he use the word grind?

In regards to the line-up, Acta first gave high praise to former manager Eric Wedge. He said Wedge had many injuries which is why he had to mix up the line-up on a regular basis. However he did go on to say he really would like to have a set line-up day in, day out.

As to Grady's role --he will continue being the Indians' lead-off hitter and may gradually, as let's say Brantley gets more experience, move to the meat of the order.

And he really never touched on whether or not he will use the 'wedge-ism' --GRIND!!!

At the end of his speech, Acta left the audience feeling hopeful for the 201o season as he said, "I'm not here to compete, I'm here to win!"

I expanded on the Manny Acta luncheon on wkyc.com. To read that story, CLICK HERE!

I believe Manny Acta is the right fit for the 2010 Cleveland Indians. As Spring Training progresses and the Season opens, I hope you too will see why Manny Acta is this week's Hidden Gem!

Welcome Back Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Though I am a person who admittedly gets star struck on occasion.

My schedule rarely allows me to come in early or late or on the weekends to see an in-studio guest, even if they are one of my idols.

By chance, I found out that 'The' Sandy Alomar, Jr. was going to be in studio taping a show for STO with Matt Underwood. Always cautious and never wanting to make a fool of myself, I asked the sports producer if it would be ok to come in and observe the taping.

He said no problem.

As many of you know if you follow this blog, I am a huge fan of Cleveland, baseball and my Cleveland Indians.

I have a special place in my heart for Sandy for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact that he was an awesome player and will surely make an incredible coach. He was/is my oldest niece's favorite Indian....we've seen him many times on the road as we traveled from city to city following the Tribe visiting various ballparks.

A very memorable moment happened in KC. The family was there. We saw him in the lobby of our hotel and I took the girls up to talk to him. He remember my oldest niece...asked my youngest niece who her favorite player was and then just rolled his eyes at me and laughed as he saw that I was wearing a Herbert Perry t-shirt.

Ahhhh, memories!

He was just as gracious to speak with me today. I think when he saw me speak to Matt Underwood, who I worked with a million years ago, he knew I was not too scary of a groupie! I told him that he has THE biggest angel up in Heaven rooting for his team and his personal success and he should feel free to call on Mom whenever he needs her! I also gave him a few articles I had written on him last year.

Hopefully he will read them, enjoy them, and take my advice to call on Mom whenever the boys need some guidance, good luck, and divine intervention!

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!

Conan O'Brien's final show as The Tonight Show host

As you may have read in one of my earlier posts, this Conan-Leno tug-of-war has produced some very entertaining and compelling tv of late.

It's too bad it has not been there the entire time.

Conan's shows have been much funnier and more entertaining than Leno's by far.

However, Conan's final show as the host of The Tonight Show was sheer perfection.

Thank goodness for the DVR!

Not only filled with humor, surprises, and stellar guests, but his heartfelt departing message not only brought the audience to tears but had Conan on the verge himself.


Conan's speech was tremendous. His own words which almost brought him to tears states:

"To all the people watching, I can never ever thank you enough for your kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing, especially to the kids out there. Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen..."

Words we can all live by.

Good Luck, Conan!! I'm sure we'll see you VERY soon!

Big week for helping those in need

This week proved to be a crucial week for helping those in need.

WKYC took part in the Ohio Benefit Bank.

There are so many people who may be eligible for help of some kind--regarding Medicare or other medical concerns...with utilities or hundreds of other options but they just do not know it.

WKYC and a number of local organizations offered a phone bank staffed with experts to answer questions from the public.

The response was tremendous. Many people were helped and given beneficial information to assist their needs.

There were a number of people who could not get through because the response was overwhelming.

The overflow calls reached the news assignment desk. I kept offering the numbers for the phone bank and then the number the Ohio Benefit Bank could be reached at after the phone bank closed.

I must share with you. Toward the final minutes of the phone bank, an elderly lady called the news desk dozens of times. She'd attempt to call the phone bank and then when she could not get through called me. Well, all I could do was pleasantly tell her to keep trying and give her the alternative number to reach the Ohio Benefit Bank at a later time.

I swear. I was laughing my butt off. I understand this lady needed help. But she must not know you get more bees with honey....I apologized to her for not being able to get through and gave her the numbers again. After I gave her the numbers and told her to keep trying she said to me, "You make me sick! You disgust me. I hate you all! You all are evil!" And hung up.

I'm sorry for her frustration but that won't get her through to the phone bank.


And then a wonderful joint effort by all networks, cable stations and many radio stations to simulcast the Hope for Haiti telethon which George Clooney pulled together. What a wonderful production. Entertainers, singers, actors, sports people manned this phone bank and spoke to their fans thanking them for any size donation for the Haiti victims. Musicians performed giving the audience a bit of entertainment. I believe the proceeds from the compilation CD will also go to Haiti.

No matter how people are hurting and struggling, there are many giving human beings who open their purse strings to help those so much more less fortunate.

Up to our ears in Emmy Entry dubs

It's that time of year again--time to submit Emmy entries for the NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter.

It happens the same time every year ....but many of us do it. We wait until the last minute to make our dubs, fill out our on-line forms and tie up all loose ends.

Like clock work--dues are due in December....the on-line paperwork must be filled out a few days before the dubs are actually due at NATAS HQ in the middle of January.

Unfortunately, just after the holidays, another huge chunk of change is due for all Emmy entries. But, the way I look at it, if I've done something worthy of an award that I am very proud of, I'll somehow scrape up the money or 'charge it' in order to submit an entry and give myself a fighting chance. What many do not realize is that unless you submit an entry, you can't win. It's not like someone just picks your name out of a hat and 'poof!'

You must submit an entry which then goes to a city across the country for a group of peers to judge. They give it the thumbs up or the thumbs down.

There are strict rules and regulations and deadlines that must be followed to a tee. A story that happened in 2009 can NOT be submitted in 2011. So we have to adhere to the time-sensitive urgency of this process and suck up the costs...

I'm uncomfortable entering any award contest. Submitting an award is quite expensive, especially for non-members--whatever the group. I was hot on submitting a story that I kicked butt on and totally beat the competition. I sent out an email to every single person who had their hand in assisting me on the story. I did touch base with everyone.

No one wanted to enter the entry with me. No one.

If that story gets nominated, though I will be extremely proud and happy on one hand, on the other hand I will feel awkward. I initiated the story and started the ball rolling and we would not have had the story without me but there were a handful of folks who continued and furthered its path to the logical conclusion.

Always bittersweet......and then to take it one step further, if you spend all that money and don't win???

I'm thinking tooooo much. Way ahead of myself. One step at a time girl! People say it all the time, but really it IS an honor just being nominated even if you don't win. It really is. And I am very blessed to have already won 7 Emmy awards in my career. So I have no right to ever complain or feel down!

I am very proud to say I filled out my on-line paperwork 3 days before it was due....paid the entry fees...and even had my dubs at NATAS HQ 2 days before they were due.

Now, it's just wait...and wait.....and wait.....fingers crossed! We'll all find out who is nominated in April and then who takes home Emmy on June 19, 2010.

Who's your favorite? Metromix knows!

Metromix is in the midst of their 'best of' contest and the rest of us are reaping the benefits!

Log on to Metromix Cleveland to vote for your favorites--whether it be restaurant, burger, bar, wings, pizza, hair salon, wine bar, happy hour, bowling alley....the list is endless!!

Every night, Metromix has featured some of the nominees during Channel 3 News at 7pm.....

Holy cow, from delicious pizza to french fries, wings, burgers, hot dogs....you name it, they've had it!

I'm not complaining, mind you! But, I thought in the new year, we were all supposed to get healthy and slim. This is not helping!

Vote for your favorites! Keep watching wkyc and check Metromix Cleveland and wkyc.com next week for the winners and see who is 'tops' in C-Town!

Oooooh, aaaaaah!

We do it all the time. Especially at baby showers.

Last week we had a baby shower for one of our producers who is expecting.

It's a treat to gather, even for a few minutes, away from the grind and deadlines to spend quality time together at a 'non-news' event.

We all met in the conference room for Susan's baby shower.

Even Marlene came back for the happy occasion. Mar used to keep us in line (still does!) as Rita's right hand! You know it is a very very special event if Marlene comes back!

And with her, came the Ho Ho Cake. Again, we only unveil the Ho Ho Cake for the best!

Never fails....as Susan opened each box, each bag, each wrapped gift, the 'ooooohs' and the 'aaaaahs' became louder and louder. Why don't they make that for big people? I'd wear it!

Then the stories go around the table with the women who have children who are almost grown--on how they wish they had 1/2 the stuff today's mothers have to help them raise their children!

Susan made out like a bandit. I'm not sure what else she may need, but her car will be stuffed to the gills with the cutest, styling outfits and so much more as she makes the trek home!

Congratulations Susan!

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.

Haiti Relief

We, as well as most other news agencies, have been running on all cylinders with Haiti coverage.

As an assignment editor, it always amazes me how one singular act can snowball so quickly into an around-the-clock mission.

The tragedy in Haiti, though half a world away, affects us all. We are all part of the same world. And though it may sound trite, no man is an island. We all need each other to exist.

Catastrophes also show us, at least me, that some of the ordinary happenings many stress over are nothing compared to what is happening in Haiti and to other human beings.


Some of what ensues on a news assignment desk during a global situation include the following:

• gathering all the information available via email, faxes, press releases
• speaking with local viewers about possible story ideas
• compiling factsheets on various topics to keep all the info straight & current
• Making sure wkyc.com is as up to date and full of info as possible
• tracking locals traveling to the affected area & keeping in touch with them
• getting the word out on local agencies' causes or who are collecting supplies & money
• keeping a top of the national happenings and local ties
• giving the customer, the viewer the most comprehensive and complete coverage

You can log onto wkyc.com and look for the special section: "Haiti Earthquake: How you can help relief efforts."

We here at wkyc have in our midst an amazing man who not only runs our sister station, SportsTime Ohio, but has traveled to Haiti many times with his church. Jim Liberatore was in Haiti weeks before devastation struck. Back just a few weeks, he knows what type of help they needed before the earthquake struck. Anyone wishing to help those in Haiti can make a contribution to:

Christianville Foundation

C/O STO

1333 Lakeside Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Team Leno vs Team Conan

This 'drama' began unfolding last week.

In fact, I'm proud to report that wkyc was on the cutting edge of this 'news' and I played a role in alerting my 11pm Producer as well as 'The Director's Cut with Frank Macek' of what I had heard! We cautiously and responsibly reported only what we could confirm but had to acknowledge what was happening. The rest is history as they say.


Believe it or not, working in a television station does not mean we can sit around and watch tv all day.

I hate to admit it, but I rarely get to see Leno or Conan--at least not in their entirety. Heck, there are soooo many shows that I never started watching until they were in re-runs!! But, that's the nature of the biz!

What I have seen: sometimes funny, other times long & drawn out skits, and on occasion, painful having to turn the channel.


However, with the new developments heating up in both the Leno and O'Brien Camps and at NBC, it has given the customers very good television and their comedy new life.


This 'feud' has taken on a life of its own in the social media arena as well, especially Facebook and Twitter. I don't think this is the case but in the off chance it is some mastermind publicity stunt, it's working.


Tuesday evening --I was able to catch Leno's interview with Sandra Bullock. They were HILARIOUS! Sandra kept asking him if the interview was actually going to air or if they may get yanked at any moment....

Then on Conan, can't believe the circus which transpired during the Zachary Levi interview with 'the' most venerable Tom Brokaw at Levi's side probably stunned at what he was hearing and living. But again, very good TV!!

Whatever happens, I do hope everyone comes out alive so to speak. It is smart to admit when an experiment does not work and try to make things right. Hopefully Conan will not take a huge hit being that Leno is more of the veteran.

At the end of a stressful day with so much bad news day in and day out, it's nice to have some comedy to unwind to --if possible! And maybe they will find a way to keep the 'funny meter' as high as it has been working overtime this week!

The iAlert Instant School Closing System

I never understood why agencies, school districts, churches or businesses wait until the 1st big snow storm to sign up for the iAlert System.

I guess it's the organized, over-achiever in me which says 'be prepared' before it happens!

Honestly, I was never a girl scout, but I would have made a darn good one!


So we at wkyc have the iAlert Instant School Closing System. For example, a school supt. contacts our administrator, signs up, is given a password and ID and a packet of information on how it operates. Every once in a blue moon, a kink pops up...but for the most part, the system is a dream.

The principal or school administrator can close his or her school or district themselves typing in exactly what they need to share such as 'closed Monday,' or 'evening classes cancelled,' or 'all activities cancelled.' You get the picture.


I, working on the news desk, 'police' the entries that automatically come in to the system. I can not even believe the mistakes.

First, I think there is a rule where you have to use the computer to close your school in advance but you can use the phone system the morning of the day you are thinking about closing. Many still don't get this concept. At least this is how it was last year....

Doesn't seem to be a big deal-- after the stroke of midnight, call off your school via the phone.


There are other discrepancies which wind up on the system. All sense of following directions seems to fly out the window.


And I never understood how the smaller groups that join don't have a 'phone chain' in place. It's common sense. Every organization should have a list of their members and if something goes awry, they should start the calling chain to get the info out to every last member!!


Some of the bigger no-no's: I have teachers calling off for Friday yet it says Monday? They are only calling off for one day yet the expiration date is a week later.


It's quite simple and all spelled out in the paperwork sent out and then while enacting the closing. The operator just needs to pay attention, follow the directions, and adhere to each step --step by step.


All in all, the iAlert Instant School Closing System is a wonderful tool that anyone connected to a school, church, business, or big organization should subscribe to in order to get the word about themselves. It's a huge help to our customers, our viewers, those who log on wkyc.com or who subscribe to our text alerts.

There are mornings when we have upwards of 500-1000 schools who have called off and we, as a news agency, must get this information out to our customers as quickly as possible.

Please, if you have not joined the iAlert system yet, think about it and log onto wkyc.com and take the proper steps to do so before the next big snow event. It will only help your group and more easily facilitate your closing or cancellation.

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!?!?!?

Decisions, Decisions

It's that time of year when I like handing in the bulk of my vacation requests.

Though we are not required to have them in until the end of March, I usually have most of them in by now.

Last year was one of the most atypical years regarding days off, vacation, and time away from the news desk.

Though I had more time off last year than ever before, unfortunately, the bulk of it was for tragic reasons.

I used up all of my 2009 vacation, all of my sick days, had a furlough week, and then used my allotted funeral leave days.

I never use all of my sick days. I hate taking sick time.

If it were up to me, I could have done without using my sick days or having to enact my funeral leave, but some things are out of our control.


So this year, after having so much time to 'manipulate' last year, it's been quite the complex puzzle trying to whittle it down.


I rarely take time off and do nothing. OK, let me rephrase, I never take time off and do absolutely nothing.


When I request time off, it's because I have plans--I'm taking a trip, I have a special event, a family function, a wedding, a reunion, am singing all of the holiday Masses, my 'boys' have made it to the Playoffs and/or World Series, or we are hosting folks from out of town....there is 'something' happening which triggers the vacation request.


Trying to look into the future, my magical crystal ball, and plan out the next 365 days is next to impossible this year.


Especially after last year.


Last year, Mom and I began our conversations about which trips we wanted to take in 2010--Kentucky Derby, Indians' baseball, maybe Chautauqua again and of course, hitting Progressive Field as much as we could --especially in OCTOBER!!!! These talks and plans are in complete disarray now.


I already lived by this philosophy, but with Mom's passing, it became more vivid--live for today. I really have a hard time planning ahead now knowing that tomorrow may never come.


I even wrote an article back on September 29, 2009 slugged "Will she see it come to fruition?" Unfortunately, she didn't.


So, it's been a struggle trying to map out the next 12 months, narrowing down the precious few necessary days to maximize quality time spent with family & friends, as well as the respite needed for rejuvenating ME....not having a clue what 'emergencies' or 'unplanned events' may pop up in 2010 tossing all of my best laid plans into yet another upheaval.

There's a mouse in the house

Finally!

After hearing for the last 9 years that there may be cute little creatures co-existing with us, I finally witnessed for myself evidence of that claim.

I've seen mouse traps.

I've heard others' tall tales.

I've even read personal testimonials on Facebook and Twitter shared by the weekend crew.

After the news, back toward the Sports Department, the cutest little brown mouse was scurrying back and forth.

He ske-daddled behind the cabinets near Metromix and lay silent for a few minutes.

Then he peeked out from behind the steel monster....

The loud sports dudes made their way back to their cubicles scaring the little guy who quickly ducked back behind the cabinets and apparently made a vow to lay low until a wave of silence hit the newsroom.

That was my cue to hit the road and step lightly....