Danielle is Leaving!

My videography partner, Danielle Reeves, is leaving us. Her last day is Thursday, August 6.

Though she's only been with us for a short time, Danielle has had a tremendous impact on the KTAB/KRBC news department. She is a master editor, and can do things with Avid (our video editing software) that no one else can even comprehend. Her videography is awesome, and above all, her positive attitude rubs off on everyone!

Dani is moving to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she will be a Topical Producer for our sister station, KARK-TV, the NBC affiliate there. Their studio building is literally across the street from the state capital. I'm somewhat jealous, but I'm still needed (and happy) here.

Though we will find a physical replacement for Danielle, we will never replace her in our hearts. That's a very cheesy line, but true.

We'll miss you!

Save the animals!!

I had a very traumatic experience this morning that was quite the reality check.

Animal lovers... reader discresion is advised...

First, I'll say that I'm the proud mom of a healthy 2-and-a-half-year-old cat. Her name is Phyllis... I adopted Phyllis 2 years ago from an animal adoption agency. She was saved from the streets of Azel, Texas. I'm a lover of cats and dogs alike.

...Which leads me to my blog today... I had a quick shoot this morning to get video of some animals that were siezed and taken to the animal shelter. I went to the back and got a few shots and as I was on my way out a huge fluffy white dog caught the corner of my eye. I thought he was sleeping... When I looked closer, I realized there were several dogs... and cats... and a bunch of roosters... and there were NOT sleeping. These were all animals that had been euthenized... After realizing that all these animals were in fact dead I was rather traumatized. These were CUTE dogs... and they were all dead...

I immediately wanted to adopt a dozen dogs and cats to save them from their not to distant fate but unfortunately, I don't have the means...

So this is a call to action of sorts for all you casual animal lovers out there. There are heaps of dead animals at shelters in the big country because space is limited and their time is up. I think that if you are capable and somewhat willing, you should save some of these animals... and spare one photographer of a haunting image...

"Your horn works, now try your lights!"

My grandad used to always say that whenever someone honked their car horn. I always found it quite humorous.

However, in the t.v. news business, car horns are a major nuisance. For reasons that I've never quite understood, people like to honk their horns when they see a news crew along the side of the road. (This also applies to loud exhaust systems...."Let's rev our engine just because it's fun!")

I guess people think that honking lets them "connect" with us on a certain level, that they become part of the story. But what honking does, for the most part, is screw up a perfectly good sound bite, or even worse, a live shot. We could be interviewing a mother who lost her daughter in a drunk driving wreck at that spot, the tears are flowing, emotions are strong, and along comes some "person" and thinks "there's a news crew...let's honk!" Talk about ruining the moment. Or we could be doing a live shot, which, of course, is live, about the dangers of unsafe driving, alcohol, etc., and people driving by think that it's "cute" to honk. Ruins the shot.

I seriously doubt that the "honkers" are going to go home, turn on the news, and say, "hey, that was me honking!"

Overall, people in this part of the world are quite pleasant to be with. Just remember, the most courteous thing you could do is let us do our jobs, without worrying about somebody driving by and honking every 10 seconds. Maybe honkers expect us to turn around and wave with a smile. Usually, though, our work has just been rudely interrupted, so expect the cold shoulder.