News Desk Nuggets

I have a number of 'nuggets' to share from the News Assignment Desk!

Final tallies (for now) are in for our weekend 'Heroes Help Northeast Ohio' drive. And Northeast Ohio, you came through yet again!

At last count, nearly sixty-seven pounds of food, twenty-five hundred dollars, eight bins of toys and sixteen bins of coats were collected Saturday at various Wal Marts around town. wkyc, the Cleveland Foodbank, Akron Foodbank, The Salvation Army and Coats for Kids all thank you for your unprecedented generosity.

Today is the first day of November sweeps! Keep tabs on wkyc.com, wkyc's facebook page, wkyc's Twitter page, YouTube and our daily broadcasts for promos & teases for upcoming stories the entire wkyc staff is working on for the next month. You can be sure these stories will help, inform, intrigue, and entertain the viewer watching. The ratings period ends on November 24, 2010.

Part of the Channel 3 newsroom is getting a face lift. After we switched over to a new computer and editing system, which allows everyone to work from their work stations rather than having to work in an editing bay, a more efficient work space flow was devised.

The Metromix area, Momslikeme area, editing bays, and photographers work room are being reconfigured and some of the walls are gonna come tumbling down!

And the newsroom is busy gearing up for what looks to be a very active and exciting election day on November 2, 2010. Make sure you get out and vote!

Everyone, please have a very safe yet spooky Halloween weekend!

Remembering Donna Kropf

I'm sad to have to share that one of our former wkyc staffers passed away.

Donna Kropf, long-time employee who worked in the Programming Department for many years died after battling an illness for the last few years.

Donna was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. I really did not have to go to the programming/business office very often, but would just to say hello!

She'd visit the newsroom more as she brought programming logs for the producers. And she would really make the rounds throughout the entire building when she had her grandchildren in the office. She was so very proud of her family, especially her grand kids.

Her family handed out bracelets at the wake which said "I am grateful. Thank you God." When we wear them, it will be a nice remembrance of Donna Jean Kropf and how grateful we are to have had her in our lives.

Even in death, Donna really helped me. The day of her calling hours was the one year anniversary of my Mom's death. I was off to spend the day with my family.

My Mom taught me to pay our respects to those who have passed so I was not about to skip this precious time to honor Donna though I was carrying a very heavy heart of my own.

Believe it or not, the 1st person I saw when I walked in was one of my dearest friends.

Donna and Mom both were watching out for me and allowing me to be surrounded by close friends and co-workers on such an emotional day.

Thank you both. I'm amazed at how you both continue making a difference in the world and helping others.

Heroes Help Northeast Ohio 10/23/10

Join wkyc and a whole slew of other agencies Saturday, October 23, 2010 for the annual "Heroes Help Northeast Ohio" all day food drive.

We're taking it on the road this year. Please stop by one of the four locations to say hello, but hopefully, to make some type of a donation for those in Northeast Ohio who really need help.

All locations will be accepting non-perishable foods, coats, toys, as well as monetary donations.

This year wkyc has teamed up with the Cleveland and Akron Foodbanks, Coats for Kids, and the Salvation Army.

The drive runs from 9:00 a.m until 3:00 p.m.

wkyc on-air personalities will be accepting your kind offerings all day long as well as other well known personalities from around town, behind the scenes staffers, and so many volunteers.

Stop and say hello while helping someone who may be less fortunate than yourself.

The all day event will be live during the Channel 3 News weekend morning show as well as the Noon News.

There will be lots of surprises, fun, possibly live music and so much more, so pop over to one of the four Walmart locations: Canton Walmart on Atlantic Blvd, Aurora Walmart on Market Place Drive, Strongsville Walmart on Pearl Road, or the Steelyard Commons Walmart on Steelyard Drive.

Hope to see Saturday for a wonderful cause!

Am I coming or am I going?

Whirlwind week.

The nature of the TV biz.

One thing's for sure--a whirlwind week goes by in the blink of an eye.

The last week has consisted of more computer training, some schedule changes and, on my own time, staying up all night long watching coverage of the Chilean mine rescue.

Rewind to last Friday and Saturday.

I was scheduled to work Friday night until 11pm which wound up being closer to 12:30am and then turning around and running the desk at 7am Saturday morning.

Not a shock to my system because I stay up late most nights and get up early.

Honestly, a change of pace is kind of nice every once in a while.

So I wound up getting about four hours of sleep, tossed on some comfy clothes which included my jeans skirt (being a Saturday morning) and my Evan Longoria t-shirt. Yes, Ms. Cleveland Indian does have a secondary team for the playoffs!

I stopped at my local coffee shop and got a Chai Tea Latte LARGE and as many pastries as I could carry for a crew that I rarely work with regularly.

The drive into work simply amazing as the sunrise dotted a city skyline I just adore.

I actually had Brandon the intern working beside me so I got more work done Saturday morning than I can usually accomplish during my regular shift! It was wonderful!

But the week is just about to get absolutely ridiculous.

I had 2 days scheduled for what they call SEO training. I work a lot on wkyc.com so I was included in this 2-day seminar to try and get more traffic for our website. The first day of the seminar was invaluable. The second day used more technical terms than I am used to but I'm sure it will all come in handy as I daily post stories to our website.

Because of this seminar, again, I was working double shifts and short turnarounds.

And then one of the greatest news stories in a long time just happened to unfold on my Mom's birthday. I'm sure this is a gift to the world from up above from my Mom. The Chilean miners got rescued. I could not stop watching. I mean it. When there is a huge national story such as this, I camp out and just watch MSNBC, CNN, and FOX all night long, never going to bed. I'm riveted and drawn to the action.

That's what I did. I watched all night long, attended morning mass in honor of Mom and headed back into work for day 2 of my seminar.

Once the seminar broke, back again to tv watching the rest of the miners being rescued and freed.

I too, got a lot of work done being off the news assignment desk this day. I even got some much needed training time on our new editing system, Edius. I actually cut a SOT-VO-SOT with a dissolve. I was very excited. Oh, I need much more training but at least I know I can do it and it's not out of the realm of possibility!

I can honestly say I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. This rarely happens to me. I'm sure I'll rejuvenate soon.

Even though there is much more on the job training with our new system and trial by error learning, hopefully the topsy turvy schedule will stabilize a bit and I will know if I am coming or I am going!!

First station with the passing of Dr. White

When you are an assignment editor, the news never stops, is never put on hold.

Dr. Robert White passed away on September 16, 2010.

I have pretty strong ties to this story for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Dr. White and his family belonged to my church for the longest time. As Dr. White got older, he stayed out in Geneva more and more. But, he held a very special place in his heart for our church and our Pastor (who he periodically checked on, even a week before his death). He also adored my Mom, who was our parish secretary for nearly 30 years before her passing last October.

When Dr. White passed away, I got a text from one of my contacts--while I was in the shower.

Shower time ends (for now) and I immediately messaged the station including my bosses, the news desk, Dick Russ (who does most of our religious stories), Health Anchor Monica Robins, and our webmaster.

I relayed the information I had at the time, which was not much, but it was a start. Also, from home, I called the Catholic Diocese, MetroHealth Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic and anyone else I could think of who I had in my cell phone, to get more details.

I then proceeded to finish getting ready and whizzed into work.

We beat the competition hands down on air and on the web with details of this sad breaking news story.

Dr. Robert White was larger than life. Not only a world-renowned neurosurgeon who saved countless lives and invented unimaginable medical procedures but served under numerous Popes.

One of my favorite all-time life moments is when I had the opportunity to give communion to Dr. White. I will never forget that occasion. I distributed the body of Christ to a man so much larger than life to me. I was humbled and honored.

And we've come full circle. I was able to help my newsroom break this developing news story about an amazing Cleveland and world-wide icon.

You just never know when news will happen, and when somehow you will be connected or have the opportunity to disseminate the information first.

What's even more humbling for me is that I was able to sing Dr. White's memorial service October 3, 2010 with my church choir, which included me soloing the 'Ave Maria.' It's very surreal and amazing to me, paying homage to a man I knew personally, who appeared on our news programs countless times, and who made the local and national news time and time again.

After the service, I ran into a fellow news person from the competition who could not believe it was really me singing. And she's right. We just assume that someone's job defines them and that is exclusively who they are.

The same holds true with Dr. Robert White. Everyone saw him as 'the' Dr. White, the man who saved so many lives and initiated so many medical breakthroughs, yet there was so much more to him which included his rich religious life attending daily mass, his kindness, his extraordinary family, and how he compassionately treated everyone as if THEY were the pope.

Rest in Peace Dr. White.