Friday, March 28, 2008

Share your Indians' Memories

What is your favorite Cleveland Indian Memory?

We'd like to hear from you!

Only 3 days away from the home opener!

Channel 3 will be airing "Indians 2008: It Our Time Now" beginning at 1pm and then the game at 3:05pm.

We will also be streaming our special live on the web. Remember, if you log on for the first half hour of our special, you may win tickets to the game!

We would LOVE your favorite Cleveland Indian Memory.

Just log onto http://www.wkyc.com and share your favorite Tribe memory.

It could be your very first game, a trip you took to see the Indians in another city, a special one-on-one meeting with your favorite player!

I have so many wonderful memories! My Uncle Johnny Adamo used to deliver the newspaper to Al Rosen. My Grandfather owned a pink Cadillac. One day my Uncle Johnny borrowed Grandpa's caddy. He was stopped at the intersection when Mr. Al Rosen pulled up right next to him. Rosen took a double take when he saw who was in the car next to him. When Uncle Johnny went to collect for the paper, Mr. Rosen said "You should be paying me if my paper boy can afford to drive a pink Cadillac!" True story!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Baby Sullivan has arrived!




The Channel 3 Family has a new little cub reporter!


Teagan Ann Sullivan arrived at 5:12pm Wednesday, March 26th.


Teagan weighs 9 pounds, 7 ounces and is almost 22 inches long! WOW!


Carole was expecting her little gift around St. Patrick's Day but as you can see, little Teagan did not want to deal with all the snow we have had either!


Carole and her husband Mike now have two children, Patrick and Teagan.


Hopefully we will be able to show you the little angel's picture soon!

Still time left to win tickets to Opening Day!

For those of you who know me, we are on the brink of my favorite season, Baseball Season! More specifically, Cleveland Indians Baseball!

Not only is the Home Opener on Channel 3 but we will be airing a special which begins at 1pm Monday, March 31st.

Take a look at a preview of "Indians 2008: It's Our Time Now."

If you are not near a tv, log onto wkyc.com, where our special will be streamed live.

Don't have tickets to the game? It's not too late! Log onto our website, during the first half-hour of Monday's special, for your chance to win tickets to Opening Day!

Go Tribe!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Night at the improv

Tonight, I'd like to do a little juggling act for you!

Perfect description of running a news desk.

There is no script in the teleprompter, no written monologue.

I just show up with the expectation that this is a game of dodge ball and everyone in the newsroom will be throwing the ball at me at the very same time!

Non stop action.

I would not want it any other way!

You think I'd be a beanpole. What's a dinner break? Thank God I don't smoke. But if I did, that habit would be snuffed out quickly. It gets a little dicey when there isn't a spare moment to hit the little girl's room! I tell my producer, "I am running to the bathroom, cover the phones" and REALLY RUN!

Today it has been a revolving door of reporters asking for camera crews for EXTRA SHOOTS --a standup at W 83rd Street.....b-roll (video which enhances a reporter's story) for the 'Casino campaign' story.....the 'Tribe merchandise' story....the 'Joe Tait' 3000th call story....Indians' memorabilia story.....

It's a challenge, especially when unexpected requests, breaking news, & sports enter the mix of ringing phones, blaring scanners, and a myriad of other duties required to run a news desk.

It's days like these when I know I have a co-pilot! Thank you, St Gabriel, the Archangel (the patron Saint of broadcasters).

Monday, March 24, 2008

Revolving door business

In days of yore, it was not uncommon for someone to stay with a company from graduation to retirement.

'Rapid Robert' Feller played with the Cleveland Indians from 1936 to 1956 and continues TODAY to be a very vocal spokesperson for the team.

Cal Ripkin Jr. played in 2,632 straight games with the Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 2001.

Here at Channel 3 News, we've had a handful of 'life-long' staffers who were fortunate enough to retire after 35, 38 or 40+ years of service.

Those days are gone.

It's a changing world, not just in television, but across the business spectrum.

After being fortunate enough to have a three day Easter weekend, I came back to three memos proclaiming that three of my comrades--a reporter/anchor, producer, and videographer are all leaving.

Quite bittersweet. Of course, I am ecstatic for all of their wonderful opportunities but greatly saddened to see such high-caliber, classy individuals exit.

I've been asked many times how someone can leave our station and wind up at the competition, with no hard feelings on either end?

I've had intense conversations with NON-TV folks about how someone can get 'fired' or not get 're-signed' even though they may be excellent at their craft?

There will never be valid answers except to say "it's the nature of this zany business in very crazy times!"

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Little Lake Nellie




I can not believe it has been fifteen years. It still seems like yesterday when Cleveland Indians baseball came to a screeching halt before the 1993 season even began.

March 22, 1993 will always harbor horrifying memories for Indians' fans or anyone hearing details of the boating accident on Little Lake Nellie killing Cleveland Indians' pitchers Tim Crews and Steve Olin and critically injuring Bob Ojeda.

The team was given a day off. Tim Crews invited a number of his teammates and their families over to his ranch for a day to relax and hang out.

Later in the day, Tim, Steve, and Bob went out on the Lake. Crews circled the lake once and as he made another trip around, no one ever imagined what would happen next. Life for the Cleveland Indians Baseball Team, their families, and everyone on Little Lake Nellie the night of the fateful boat crash was changed forever.

The boat crashed into a dock. Steve Olin died instantly from head and chest injuries. Tim Crews was airlifted to an area hospital but passed away the next morning. Bob Ojeda sustained severe scalp injuries and lived.

Ojeda physically recovered and made a very heroic comeback. His first game back emotional for everyone in the stands. My family happened to be in Baltimore for this game. The actual baseball game secondary to what we were about to witness. Sandy Alomar, who had been injured for much of the season, came off the disabled list and got a rousing ovation. And then there was not a dry eye in the ballpark. Bob Ojeda pitched in his first game since that fateful night. I cry just thinking about this momentous occasion in my personal history. The deafening ovation seemed to last forever. His courage to overcome physical ailments as well as the mental anguish of the accident is an inspiration to all.

Though the accident was over two thousand miles away, obviously THE big story back here in Cleveland.

I was on the desk that ominous night. It was after the news so I literally was the only person in the newsroom. When I got the information that there had been a boating accident and it may have involved Cleveland Indians' Players, I immediately started working the story. You don't have time to think of 'what just happened.' You have to react, confirm, get the facts, and beat the competition to the punch.

I contacted my sports director, Jim Donovan, who was actually in FLA covering Spring Training. He and his crew were hearing rumblings and were making checks on their end.

I continued working the phones, talking to our affiliates to get their spin and give them what information I had, looking up background information, compiling a list of contact names and numbers needed to continue this breaking news story...

It made for a very long night which did not end until the next day when my boss sent me home to grab a bite to eat, a shower, and grab an hour of sleep before I had to come back to work.

It was not until I got in my car, began driving home, did I have time to think about what 'really happened.' I cried the whole way home.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A day of beginnings and endings


The first day of Spring, 2008, has been masked by a blanket of snow which clings to everything it hits on the way down.

Mother Nature fights back. She turns up the heat and by midday, most of the snow is now a memory.

On this day of beginnings is the end of an era here at Channel 3.


Marlene, longtime newsroom administrative assistant, is turning in her time sheet for the very last time.

Marlene has touched everyone's life in one way or another in the newsroom, if not the whole building! Her infectious laugh, quick wit, and 'motherly love' for her staffers will be greatly missed!

One chapter may be ending for us, but an exciting adventure is just beginning for Marlene, her husband Nick, and their family!


Little does she know that we all programmed her number into our speed dials!


Good luck, we love you, visit often, and WHO WILL ORDER THE HO-HO CAKES?!?!??
Marlene (l) and Diana (r) --two women who keep Channel 3 News churning like a well-oiled machine (along with Rita and Brooke!)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The little kernel of corn that gets stuck in your teeth

Every once in a blue moon, you get those days where it's harder than it should be.

It's not a horrible day, but it's a tug-of-war struggle from start to finish!

We all have them.

Today was one of those days.

On my ride into work, the rain started turning to hail, which to my surprise, turned to a winter wonderland. The changing seasons give Cleveland some of its charm. But it's kinda freaky when you celebrate all 4 seasons in one day!

The snow made for GREAT backdrops for Dave and Paul's live remotes.

When little white pellets start falling from the sky, driver training protocol flies out the window. There were dozens and dozens of accidents, but they all seemed to be where our camera crews WERE NOT!

A camera crew called off. I always try to look on the bright side. We lucked out by having an extra crew scheduled. He was not supposed to be in the mix, but gladly helped out!

These types of days would not be complete without some type of miscommunication, and there was, but it's over!

Best way to handle these days is by tucking your head in your chest, planting your feet on solid ground and forging full steam ahead, taking no prisoners.

The politics of politics

Our Senior Political Correspondent openly admitted today that sometimes his 'beat' is not the most exciting, but oh so essential. He had the attention of a group of our 'bus stop kids' who were in for a taping. They were quite attentive and well-behaved--our future voting citizens!

Ironically, this day we have a blockbuster political story busting at the seams. This story is too good to be true.

Ward 6, an east side ward in Cleveland, held an election to fill the spot which opened when former City Council woman, Pat Britt, took the position of Council Clerk. Sounds pretty routine.

There were six candidates vying for the position. Three of them hold criminal records.

The candidates were:
  • John A. Boyd
  • Yvonne R. Grimes
  • James Thomas Jr.
  • Ernest Turner
  • Billy R. Walker
  • Mamie Mitchell

Mitchell is the interim City Council woman hand picked by Britt, and most favored to win with a landslide. I guess that's the 'politics of politics.' In her short time as acting Council woman, she has not impressed many of her constituents. In fact, she failed her first big test. We received call after call after call at the news assignment desk in the midst of the big 'blizzard' from many of her constituents complaining that they were forced to be home bound because their streets had not been plowed. Many never saw a plow for 5 days. Ward 6 residents who called believed their council person should have gone to bat for them with city hall.

Boyd was convicted of murder in 1973. He has other convictions including drug trafficking, several counts of forgery, theft and receiving stolen property. He is a felon running for office. The catch 22 is that the Board of Elections says felons have the right to run but can not hold the office?!?! More 'politics.'

Grimes pleaded guilty to attempted forgery charges and theft.

Turner was convicted on a misdemeanor drug charge in 1986.

I searched high and low to learn about the other two candidates, Thomas Jr. and Walker. There was hardly any press about these two. We may never know if they were the right folks for the job!

When all was said and done, interim Council Woman Mamie Mitchell and John A. Boyd received the most votes. Boyd says he will fight to the finish, but if felons can not serve, may be a futile attempt. The next Ward 6 council person will be chosen in a run-off April 22nd.

Being able to vote is a great privilege and should be taken very seriously. It is what makes this country great! However, nothing is perfect. Looking in from the outside, it seems that a lot of money and time was wasted on this election day when some candidates were hidden, other candidates' dirty laundry was prominently aired, and everyone seemed to know the outcome before the process even began!

'Politics of politics.'

One story sprouts many vines


When I send a reporter or a videographer out to cover a story --whether it be breaking news or day of coverage, it's amazing how many ancillary stories can sprout from that one bud. Usually, if the story is juicy, you can find multiple sidebars for a few days, even weeks.

Today our Senior Political Correspondent followed up on a story we first covered back in November and again in December.

A warehouse went up in flames on West 25th and Meyer nearly four months ago. At the time, my reporter went live during our 11pm news with the fire still burning out of control. While we were on scene, the building started to collapse almost hitting two police officers. You're thinking, great video, great tv!

Fast forward to March, 2008. The saga continues and we leave no stone unturned.

Housed inside the warehouse was a strip club. The owner wants to rebuild. However, he is close to a school. That's a no-no. He claims he is 'grandfathered' into the neighborhood and should be able to rebuild bigger and better than ever.

You can be sure this story is far from over, and we will follow the twists and turns every step of the way. Stay tuned!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Tyler's Irish Eyes are smiling

No matter how early you leave, or which road less traveled you take, invariably downtown Cleveland and all roads leading to it are in gridlock for the duration of St. Patrick's Day festivities.

It's not like we don't know what day it is or that the famed parade kicks off at 1:04pm sharp!

Good luck if there are any events happening near downtown or breaking news anywhere in a ten mile radius of the parade step off. It is already 2 hours after Pete Rademacher has taken his last spin on the world famous gasoline powered unicycle and downtown streets are still jam-packed!

The Cleveland St. Patrick's Day parade, touted as one of the biggest in the United States, always marches through the streets of Cleveland on the actual holiday. Fortunately, this year Mother Nature cooperated!

Hands down, the Irish Wolf Hounds, the pipe and drum corps, the Cleveland Fire Department and Police mounted unit seem to be the fan favorites.

This is one of those days with as many stories as there are people lined up and down the parade route.

A day when there are too many traditions to cover: Mass at St. Colman's Church, Slyman's corned beef sandwiches, and Guinness freely flowing at all Cleveland establishments!

We pride ourselves on covering all of the traditions but then honing in on a different spin to this celebration.

This year one of our reporters followed around 13-year-old Tyler Tag, who has been playing bagpipes for three years and is on the fast track to becoming part of the yearly tradition!
Tyler said he is saving his money for bagpipe summer camp in hopes of being part of the Irish Championship Competition.

Tyler's Irish Eyes are definitely smiling!

Atlanta Tornado

I can only imagine what transpired during the Atlanta tornado. The news assignment desk is Ground Zero. You quickly come up with a plan of attack to cover all angles of the story. Reporters and Videographers are called in. For big news stories such as this, the entire building is pressed into duty helping with phones or gathering information or sending pictures to the web or any task necessary for covering the big story. Each reporter has their specified assignment whether it be the 'nuts and bolts,' the victims, the damage, the help agencies, evacuation plan, cleanup...

Usually your anchor team is on the air constantly giving updates, tossing out to your reporters in the field, doing phoners with officials and emergency personnel who are currently dealing with the disaster. There, hopefully, is a constant flow of fresh information streaming to the anchor team as well as the reporters working in the field. Even during the huge power outage in 2003, we stayed on the air non-stop. We may not have been broadcasting to many people who were in the dark but we were giving important information to those who could view us!

These stories do not come very often, but when they do, you have to be ready and kick it up a few notches.

I'm sure our Atlanta affiliate, WXIA, took the above steps and more being in the center of the breaking news story. It's not out of the realm of possibility if there is a huge breaking news story, for all local television stations to work together. It's amazing how the competition, who usually duke it out on a day to day basis, often time come together during disasters.

Everyone eats, breathes, and lives at the station in order to cover this history-making story.

We've had our share including the Success Tech shooting, the CWRU hostage situation, and the Midwest Power outage of 2003.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Happy Friday!!!?!??!

An assignment editor embarks on a new adventure every single day.

No two days are alike and you never know what conundrum will get tossed your way.

That's what keeps this job interesting and keeps me on my toes!

It's Friday. The news has no regard for which day of the week it is. Usually, they are ALL crazy, and for some reason lately, Friday's the zaniest!

That's why one of my colleagues made me a 'pick me up' sign for Fridays! The first thing I do each Friday is proudly display this sign smack dab in front of my station to help conquer the day!

It reads "Happy Friday!!!! Having a good day?!?!?!" Not only is it meant to drag this fatigued body through to the weekend, but there's a little ribbing involved. Chris pokes fun at my use of exclamations and question marks?!?!???!?

The ribbing is cool. My newsroom comrades are my second family.

Oftentimes, I see them more than my blood relatives, due to the nature of what we do and the long hours we often work! We need to be in sync, perform like a well oiled machine, and get along! These attributes, believe it or not, help the final product we put on the air for our customers!

We see each other at our best at the beginning of our shifts and then by the end of the day, a bit bedraggled, makeup-less, and hair pulled back! But, we're family!

All in all, I could not ask for a better "extended family!"

Have a great weekend and Happy St Patrick's Day!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

What a difference an hour makes

The saying goes, if you don't like the weather in Cleveland, just wait a minute or two, it'll change!

The same holds true for news.

Immersed in our afternoon editorial meeting, we brainstorm for the 11pm newscast.

We came up with some pretty solid ideas for our night side reporters. One of them already out picking up a soundbite for the early shows, then onto his next assignment.

No sooner had we left the fishbowl (affectionate term for our conference room) had the news of the day changed.

Historic National City Bank may be up for sale. Our web gurus broke the story on our website. Numerous people within the newsroom began gathering details, making calls, pulling together a story that now will lead our 6pm news.

It's less than 2 hours before our next live show.

When news breaks, lots of changes have to be made. The producer must re-stack her show, add the new story or stories and oftentimes, kill other stories to accommodate the new ones.

The director must then make his new notations on the updated format.

The floor director must make new copies of the rundown for everyone involved and replace the old scripts with the new ones.

It's amazing how much work and how many people are affected when just one story changes.

Fast forward to 11pm. The solid stories we thought we had for our reporters are in flux. Paul will follow the breaking NCB story. Dave's window of opportunity ended for his initial story, and he is spinning onto something else.

We have less than four hours 'til show time, and I'm guessing Producer Dan's show will take a few twists and turns along the way!

Is the caller there?

Ironically, after discussing viewer callers a bit earlier, the grand daddy of them all dialed in! Being an assignment editor is exhilarating, exciting, jam-packed, and endless. Multi-tasking is a definite pre-requisite, a MUST. You may be doing a dozen things at once. I know you are saying, that's impossible, but when running a news desk, it's not out of the realm of possibility.

At any one time you may be listening to scanners, typing a fact sheet, monitoring the other stations, dispatching crews over the two-way radio, configuring the live remotes, barking orders to your reporters and camera crews, clearing the fax machine, checking the AP wires, viewing video clips, putting stories on the website, in constant contact with the news chopper, booking satellite time, typing school closings on the I-Alert, and answering telephones--all while listening in on an editorial meeting!

Though answering phones is probably the least glamorous of the above tasks, it is one of the most crucial. An assignment editor could be the first link to the outside world, our customers. Could be the first contact our customers have with our station. Answering courteously, and being able to help the customer is a huge task. However, at times it becomes taxing by many of the requests, questions, or comments tossed our way.

We run the gamut of questions from legitimate story ideas to programming questions to "what time does the 6pm news come on"..."does my child have school tomorrow"..."has anyone else reported seeing an alien airship above Progressive Field"..."can you charter a flight so my family and I can leave Hopkins Airport during this awful blizzard"..."get this comment directly and immediately to Brian Williams or Lester Holt."

Being the link to the outside world, we have to handle the wide spectrum of calls with a business-like decorum and professionalism.

Well, 75 percent of the time, it's bearable. Another 20 percent of the time, it's annoying but necessary. The last 5 percent of the time is "I want to run out of the newsroom screaming and waving my arms because these people are looney!"

Tonight was one of those nights. When I mentioned the grand daddy of callers dialed in, I meant it. We have our "usuals." They are viewers who call on a regular basis. No purpose, no directives, they just call in making comments on the story of the day. Unfortunately, most of them call at the most inopportune times and really do not offer usable information.

Tonight's caller has been a regular for years. We recognize his caller ID, which is a plus. Knowing it is him, we can put him on speaker phone and let him rant while continuing our task at hand.

The only way to explain this caller and still be politically correct--a lonely, misguided elderly man who has tendencies making him a war veteran. He gets on his jags and calls. And calls. And calls. Two nights ago, he called over 50 or 60 times. Tonight, he called in upwards of 50 times. He does not say anything coherent. You catch a word here or there like "dying" or "why do we hurt the precious animals" or "mayor ....coward." Unfortunately, every comment contains numerous expletives. Now, we've been told that once someone starts screaming, swearing, and ignoring any comments we have to offer, we have the right to hang up. This little man just keeps calling over and over again. Tonight, every 30 seconds like clock work. I oftentimes want to ask him if he calls everyone or just us. However, he does not answer any of our questions. That is why I do not feel bad putting him on speaker phone and letting him go wild. Then he hangs up and dials up again. And again, and again!

This is bordering on harassment. However, we've been told if he does not make any threats, there is nothing that can be done. I have a very hard time comprehending how anyone can call a tv station with some of the cockamamie requests. I take it personally when someone, such as our little elderly man, calls in numerous times disrupting my job with no purpose. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with another career where this may happen. I'm stalled. Everyone has their inane requests, but I think the assignment editor has outright won this strange award.

Then all of a sudden, the calls stop for the night. No rhyme or reason. They just end and peace of mind is restored, for the moment!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Left me scratching my head

One of the many privileges of living in the United States is so we can speak our mind, experience freedoms, stand up for what we believe, make a difference, tell our story, and just be ourselves!

Sounds similar to characteristics of someone in broadcasting, and many of the reasons I became an assignment editor many, many years ago (too many to tell!).

However, it does not matter how long I've worked at this job or continue working at this job, many of our viewers and callers still amaze me!

Don't get me wrong, our viewers should be able to speak their minds.

So should I! Hence, here is my say! It used to be that people were a bit more peaceful. People were willing to help their fellow man or woman, bend over backwards for someone else, lend a helping hand, and overlook a small oversight. Oh, yes, and forgive his or her neighbor.

Now, we have lawyers who say they are trying to win justice for the little guy when in reality they are trying to inflate their wallets! Everyone is suing someone for something and there are those people who have to complain about everything. Not only is their glass half empty, it is TOTALLY empty!

They win the lottery, it's not enough. They receive a birthday gift, it 's not the right thing. They lose a whole bunch of weight but say "I still look fat!" The list is endless.

I received a call from a viewer complaining about someone working at our competition. Mind you, nothing we did, but someone at a competing station. Why they felt compelled to call us about a reporter from another station, I'm still scratching my head. They said "the female reporter did a story on gas prices yesterday but probably does not give a darn about gas prices when she goes to get in her jaguar every morning!"

Good point! Excellent point. I guess, I just don't understand WHY they called us. Frankly, if THAT is all this caller has to worry about, I want their life! If that observation is the only thing they are pondering at this moment, they are darn lucky and SHOULD go buy a lottery ticket.

Oh right, they would probably win, but not be satisfied!