Behind the Lens

2011-10-04T14:51:00.013-05:00

This has really been an exciting year!

Since I started at KTAB back in August of last year, I have seen so many new things, met tons of wonderful people, and done so many things that I had only dreamt of.

For example;

1) Meeting Randy Travis

2) Filming and reporting on devastating fires

3) Filming a tornado (From the Easter 2011 Outbreak, not the tornado I was thinking of, but close enough)

4) Getting my video played on CNN, CBS Early Show, and countless other stations around the nation

5) Going to Cowboys Stadium and filming an LSC game from the sidelines that was carried live across Texas

And most recently, taking my first ride on a hot air balloon!

The Big Country Balloon Festival is an annual fundraiser for the Optimist Club of Abilene, many people come out and see the balloons rise majestically into the air, but few get the chance to ride in the balloon. Even fewer get to do it with such wonderful people as the Sunny-D-Lite crew.

Ron and Brenda McKinney from Oklahoma City are avid balloonists, not only are they great at what they do, but they make you feel like you are part of their family when you are with them.

So let me tell you how this all started...

I was walking through the newsroom one day and overheard my boss telling Alex that he wanted her to go on a balloon ride, I literally ran to her desk and said, “Can I go too!?” Of course Austin had something funny to say about my enthusiasm, but I didn’t care, he agreed and we set the date!

We woke up super early (5 AM) on the morning of September 23rd, 2011. I came to the station, grabbed the live truck, and headed for the park. After meeting Alex, setting up our live shot for Josh that morning, and making a quick run to Starbucks (I told you it was early!) we came back and waited for our ride.

While we were standing around we noticed a group of people in bright orange shirts, keep in mind this was around 7 AM so it was still dark outside. They’re shirts were bright! One of the “orange shirts” came up to us and started talking to us, my first thought was, “I hope we get to go with them!”.

Sure enough, it came time to set up the balloon, we chitchatted for about 30 minutes before getting everything set up. They got the balloon all aired up and ready to go, then it was “hop in, hold on, here we go!”, and we were off!

The feeling was like floating on a cloud, you knew you were going in the air but it sure didn’t feel like it! The heat from the burners right above my head kept us nice and cozy, but a little breeze kept us moving. It was a perfect flight! We took off from Redbud Park, drifted over Buffalo Gap Road, South 27th, and eventually came to rest in a baseball field behind the Hendrick Home for Children. The landing was just as smooth as the takeoff. It was amazing how far you could see, we could clearly see I-20, Kirby Lake, the Mall of Abilene, every direction you looked you could see for miles! The cool thing was, you could hear people on the ground probably better than they could! The sounds of cars driving, children playing, and even passing fire trucks made the event even more amazing.

After coming to rest, we talked... for about 30 minutes, about this and that, how they met, who they were, etc. Then we all loaded the balloon in the trailer, piled into the Suburban, and went back to the park. It was such a wonderful experience, but little did Alex and I know, it wasn’t over!

When we got back to the park, we met up with the rest of the crew. Then, Brenda told us they had something special for us. I was excited! Alex went first, Brenda went over the history of ballooning and then the fun part! They said the balloonists’ prayer, then we had to drink our “champagne” (ok, so it was sparkling grape juice, but it was still good!). They sat the cup in front of us, had us on our knees on the ground, then told us to drink our juice... without using our hands! Alex was a pro and had no problem with it... I on the other hand, was not as graceful.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience that I would do again in a heartbeat!

A special thanks to Ron and Brenda McKinney and the entire Sunny-D-Lite team for giving us such an awesome experience, you guys rock!

The video of my ceremony is below, feel free to laugh AT me!

Cody “Captain” McDonell
Videographer,
KTAB-TV KRBC-TV

No, Seriously...Local TV Stations Might Go Away!

2011-09-05T15:46:00.005-05:00

Folks, you need to take note of what is going on with the Government with regards to how we bring you not only the news but also CBS and NBC programming. In the future, local broadcast TV stations might be FORCED to stop broadcasting in HD...or worse, even off the air all together.

Here's how it works right now. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has issued us a license to broadcast to you on UHF Channel 24 (KTAB-DT 32.1) and UHF channel 29 (KRBC-DT 9.1). Every TV station in the country is assigned a channel to broadcast on. That signal can be picked up by an antenna and watched on your HDTV (or older TV with a converter box) for free. That signal reaches a certain radius from around our transmitter tower. Cable and satellite companies also pick it up and send it to you.

The FCC wants to get rid of some channels in the spectrum (see the links below for an explanation of what the spectrum is). That means there are less available channels for TV stations to broadcast on. If channels are eliminated from the spectrum, some stations will be forced to change the channel they broadcast on. That means you will have to re-scan your TV or box to get those stations. If the FCC eliminates enough channels from the spectrum, some stations will be forced to share a channel. Right now, our competition does this. Notice the other channels on their frequency are not in HD? That's because there isn't enough bandwidth (again, see the links below for an explanation on what the spectrum is) to broadcast two HD signals on the same channel. To do it, the quality must suffer. And that's what could happen to all broadcast stations..they could get consolidated into sharing a channel. This means you could lose your over-the-air free HDTV signal. What you would be watching would most likely be a wide screen standard definition signal. By the way, I mentioned earlier that most cable companies and both satellite providers use our off air signal to get our stations to you. If consolidation happens, you could also lose HD reception until those providers find an alternate way to get it to you. The methods of doing that are fiber optic or microwave direct feeds from our studio..and that's very expensive and would most likely raise your bill.

The FCC wants to take our channels and sell them to other companies, mostly cell phone and Internet providers. Don't be fooled. It's already happened a couple of times. At one time, there were 83 available channels for TV stations to broadcast on. That was reduced to 69 (in the 90s I believe). When the DTV transition happened in 2009, channels 2-6 and 52-68 were eliminated. Things like wireless Internet routers, cell phones, blue tooth and many other technologies now occupy that space in the spectrum.

This summer the FCC proposed a "voluntary" system where broadcasters give their channel up and get compensated for it. Stations who chose to do this would be re-assigned another channel or share with another station. Our industry, with your help, fought to make this remain a voluntary thing. We succeeded. But it's far from over. We need you to help us keep our ability to bring you over-the-air free TV. See the following links for more information. There's lots there. Take some time and explore these sites.

http://www.thefutureoftv.org/

http://www.nab.org/television/thefutureoftv.asp

Beating the Heat

2011-08-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

In my previous post, I mentioned how I've transitioned from "the streets" as a full-time videographer to a desk job. I've actually really enjoyed these last couple of months....and not to mention, it's 68 degrees at my desk, and I have a fan blowing on me. I don't miss the outdoors in the summer!

From Behind the Lens to Behind the Desk

2011-06-17T21:14:00.000-05:00

I guess you can call me a broadcast news veteran. For 10 of the 11 1/2 years I've been in the television industry, I've been a news photographer (videographer/cameraman/whatever you want to call us). I could go into excruciating detail on the specifics of my professional career, but here it is in a nutshell: I worked at KRBC from 1995-99, mostly as a news photog. I then moved up to a "big" market, working as a photog for WINK-TV in Ft. Myers/Cape Coral/Naples, Florida for a year and a half from '99 to the end of 2000. I left the news business for a "real job" in Houston, but I was "downsized" in early 2005. I returned to Abilene, and in the summer of that year I was named Chief News Videographer of the now-combined KTAB/KRBC.

Fast-forward six years, and it's time for a new position with a new title. I'm now the Assignments Manager for the KTAB/KRBC/Bigcountryhomepage.com News Department. The title doesn't mean much to people outside of the business, but it's the #2 position in our news operation, just below our fabulous News Director, Austin Kellerman. My functions are too numerous to describe here, but in future blogs I'll elaborate on my new digs.

The biggest change is the scenery. As a photog, the majority of my time was spent on the streets; my news vehicle was my office. I was on the scene of the news as it happened, documenting it all with a very nice high-definition television camera. Now, I sit at a large, U-shaped desk most of the day, with scanners and telephones constantly blaring in my ear. But it's a nice change, and I'm enjoying it! And the best part is not having to be out in the 107-degree heat; or the 2 degree cold....

Much more to come later!

Rotan Gets Evacuated...and I'm Right in the Middle of it!

2011-04-19T22:43:00.004-05:00

I was alone while shooting all this. I was sent to get fresh fire video. The wind changed, sending the fire straight toward Rotan. The evacuation order happened right as I got into town. It presented a unique opportunity to show it as it was happening. Normally the town is already closed down by the time we get there. I've allowed some of the video to roll RAW, so there are long clips between narration and a lot of shaky shots. Hopefully it will give you a sense of what it was REALLY like in Rotan that night. I was also working VERY quickly to get enough to tell the story but get out of town before the fire got there.

Are You Watching News or Listening to Someone's Opinion?

2011-02-11T22:38:00.008-06:00

You need to be careful about how you form your opinions around what's going on in the news these days. The information you are getting might not be fact but someone's opinion.

More and more, it's becoming OK for "anchors" to state their opinion on TV. I use "anchors" loosely because the person you are watching may not actually be a journalist.

This is not generally the case in local news (certainly not KTAB-KRBC, I can assure you). It tends to happen on the cable news networks (CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel) and syndicated tabloid shows like Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight and TMZ). You also need to be very aware of what websites you get your news from.

In the age of hundreds of TV channels and millions of websites, everybody is competing for your eyes. Lots of opinion-based shows have emerged, even on the news networks. It's getting harder and harder to distinguish between a newscast and an opinion show with news topics. As we move further and further in this direction, (and here's my opinion) I think some people are not able to tell the difference, especially young folks who weren't around before the change took place.

Glenn Beck, Bill O'Riley, Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow, and Nancy Grace do not do newscasts, they do opinion shows. Sometimes a big national or international story (like what's going on in Egypt right now) breaks during one of these shows and they do news, but for the most part each one of these shows is planned as an opinion program on a nightly basis. And it works. Ratings have soared. If you listen to them closely, sometimes they will say "this is my opinion, I've done my homework and you should do yours". Be careful. Not every talk show host reminds you of that.

You don't have to get a degree in journalism to be on TV. Likewise, you can go into TV not knowing anything and become a pretty good journalist just by learning from those who are and by practicing it yourself with guidance. All of our reporters at KTAB-KRBC have good training and guidance, just so you know. That's not the case with the national cable networks these days. How do I know? I went to Colorado City every day for a month covering the Hailey Dunn story. During that time I worked with many people on the Nancy Grace Show. That's all I'll say about that (it's a whole different topic for another day)

You can trust your local TV news outlets (not just here, but anywhere). Here's my opinion again...if you hear about a story on one of the opinion shows, look it up on the website of a local TV station in that area. They are probably reporting the most accurate information.

And, most importantly, be aware of what you are watching and use your head to determine if someone is reporting or giving their opinion. It's getting harder and harder to tell what is fact and what is opinion in this changing society we live in.

Behind the Scenes (er, Lens), January 2011

2011-01-28T21:45:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since Goose or I updated the blog, and for that I apologize. But I've been busy documenting some of the "daily routine" with my BlackBerry's somewhat-decent camera, so here's some photos to start the new year....

The KTAB/KRBC News Department received two very generous Christmas gifts, courtesy of our parent company, Nexstar Broadcasting Inc. For the first time in four years, we were able to purchase brand new vehicles for our news car fleet, both 2011 Nissan Rogue SUVs. Pictured here is the new Unit 5, which replaced a dilapidated 2003 Honda Civic. When this picture was taken, it had about 9 miles on the odometer. Just over a month later, it has about 4,500 miles on it.

Our other new Rogue, Unit 10, is silver with a black interior. It replaced a 1999 GMC Jimmy that had over 200,000 miles on it. Both new cars take their place among our existing fleet of Honda Civics, Ford Focuses, a Chevy Trailblazer, a Honda CRV, a Chrysler PT Cruiser, and three live vans. Unfortunately, Civic Unit 4, pictured in the foreground, was involved in an accident a few days ago. It's likely totaled. Thankfully, Manny Diaz (who was driving) wasn't injured.

KRBC's Morgan Bond smiles for the camera after a live shot from a grass fire near Hawley in late December. She and I were using our live remote van dubbed "ENG-9." In the background, KTAB's Priscilla Luong and Goose get ready to go live on the KTAB side while standing on the roof of our other primary live van, ENG-32.

A heartbreaking sight....two days before Christmas, and a family loses everything when their home is destroyed by fire. This is just off FM 707 north of Tye.

While driving along Barrow, I noticed a CityLink bus several blocks ahead of me, with a large KTAB logo on the back. I had never seen it before, and when I finally caught up with it at the intersection of S. 7th and Sayles, I had to take this pic....

This Cessna ran out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing on an I-20 access road in northeast Abilene. Talk about luck!

Just after 11am on January 4, Abilene firefighters responded to a structure fire in the 1200 block of Cypress Street. Upon arrival, they found this detached garage and upstairs apartment involved in heavy smoke and flames. No one was hurt, but the owners lost many items in the fire.

Bob and Lane anchor the 6pm news live, while Sam chills out in the forecast center. Notice the television set on the top right....that's what's being broadcast at that moment.

The biggest news story of this young year, unfortunately, has been the disappearance of Colorado City teenager Hailey Dunn. CNN/HLN host Nancy Grace has been closely following the story, and routinely interviews Hailey's mother, Billie, from her Colorado City home. KTAB/KRBC are CNN affiliates, so we get to use their Dallas-based satellite truck whenever it's in C-City.

On the left is the CNN camera crew's fancy setup for the Nancy Grace show, while on the right is my meager camera shot for KTAB's 5 & 6 newscasts.

Here's Goose, editing a news story inside the CNN satellite truck. Our company has our own "sat truck" based out of Lubbock, but it's not nearly this nice!

On Friday, Jan. 21, Dyess AFB received its 5th C-130J. Eventually the base will be home to 28 of the brand-new planes.

Sam Nichols and I are live at the Abilene Civic Center, previewing the West Texas Rehabilitation Center's 2011 telethon and auction.

Our news director, Austin Kellerman, and his wife Laura, hosted an "After-Christmas Christmas Party" at their home. It was a fun time for the KTAB/KRBC news family!

It's Willie!

2010-12-09T20:50:00.000-06:00

I get to do some really fun things in my career. The highlight of December, so far, has been covering Willie Nelson's concert at the Abilene Civic Center on Thursday, Dec. 2. I had emailed Willie's "people" earlier in the week, and they let me get in front of the stage for some great video. My good friend, Shellie, came in from Austin to join me. She's a magnificent still photographer, and together we got some great footage!

I wasn't allowed to shoot the entire concert; only the first two songs. That's typical with big-name musicians, because of copyright reasons, etc. But it's still an honor to be so close to a legend! I have been much closer to Willie before, though. During his last trip to Abilene, in March 2008, Sam Nichols and I were actually invited on board Willie's bus for an exclusive interview! I swear, both Sam and I were star struck as we were sitting on the couch just chatting it up with Willie and his daughter Lana! This is the same bus, by the way, that was "searched" in far West Texas a couple of weeks ago....but when I was on board, there was no "odor"....

Here are a couple of videos I shot during last week's concert. The first is Willie opening his set with "Whiskey River." The second video is of Willie's son, Lukas, and his band Promise of the Real. They opened up the show with an incredible mix of rock, blues, and country, with some latin beats thrown in. Lukas is definitely a chip off the old block!

Make sure and watch these videos in High Definition!

Editorial: Why does road construction take so long?

2010-11-19T14:59:00.007-06:00

Is it just me, or is construction along I-20 on Ranger hill dragging on way longer than it should? I've only lived in Abilene for a year, but it seems every time I made a trip here before that there was some sort of delay at Ranger Hill. According to some folks that have been here a while, it's been about 10 years since the project began. So I'm asking...Why is it taking so long? Does anyone have an answer?

The good news is this: it seems to be wrapping up. I have been fooled a few times over the past few months, though. On one trip to Fort Worth I noticed all 4 lanes were open! On my next trip a couple weeks later, they were re-surfacing the hill and it was one lane in each direction again. It seems that each time it's complete something else comes up and it becomes a construction zone again.

The reason I thought of this was because the city of Abilene re-surfaced South 14th street in front of our station this week. And that's just how long it took. This week. In a matter of days, the one mile stretch from the freeway to Pioneer was torn up, re-surfaced and the lines re-painted. If it can be done that fast, why do some projects (like Ranger Hill) take so long?

Yes, I admit a few things. An Interstate is a bit different from a city street. Also, several streches of I-20 between Ranger and Weatherford were re-paved (with concrete, not just re-surfaced with black top). Ranger Hill was probably part of that project. I-20 is also a federal roadway, and dealing with money for roads from the Feds comes with a lot of red tape. But seriously, 10 years? Isn't it a bit much? I know you guys living in Eastland County have to be more frustrated with it than me.

The discussion starts right here, right now. Post your comments.

Reporting Live, Via Satellite!

2010-11-09T21:59:00.001-06:00

If you've been following our high school football coverage on BigCountryHomepage.Com Sports this fall, you've no doubt noticed that our BCH Sports Team, David, Tyler, and Manny, are serious about Big Country football! This season, we have covered more games each Friday night than ever before. And we've added a great new feature....live coverage from far-away cities each Friday night!

In 2007, our parent corporation, Nexstar Broadcasting, purchased a satellite uplink truck, or "sat truck," to be shared by Nexstar's western Texas markets; stations in Abilene, San Angelo, Wichita Falls, Midland/Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo. The truck is based in Lubbock, primarily because it's used for broadcasting many Texas Tech athletic events. But virtually every Friday night this season, our sat truck has been, well, "ours!" During 3-5A district play, we were able to cover both Abilene ISD schools live; we used our local "live vans" at Shotwell Stadium, and the sat truck in Midland. In addition, we used the truck to broadcast from Brownwood's game at Cowboys Stadium, and we've already booked the truck solid during the playoffs!

To many people, all t.v. live trucks look fancy, but to us, there's nothing like a satellite truck. While our friends at KTXS have had their own sat truck for years, the freedom to go live from anywhere in the hemisphere is new to us. Yes, we have the fancy live vans with the tall towers, or masts, that rise 40'-50' above the ground, but those have limited range, usually 30-40 miles from the television station. Sat trucks have much larger dishes, which point to the sky, and transmit their signals 25,000 miles up to an orbiting satellite.

Here are some pictures of our sat truck, taken at the Cooper/Midland High game on November 5, 2010:

This is a rare sight at any high school football game: two satellite trucks. On the left is, of course, KTXS' Live Star, which they've had since 1992. Our truck is on the right. Since we share it with several other stations, our truck only brands the Nexstar logo.

The interior of our truck is truly a television station on wheels. Bob Bailey, the Chief Photographer at KLBK/KAMC in Lubbock, is the truck's primary operater.

Our powerful laptop computer features the same Avid Newscutter professional editing software that we have in our edit suites at the station. Our JVC HD cameras shoot on SDHC memory cards; all we have to do it take the cards out of the camera, insert them into the laptop, and begin editing!

This is a shot of the "dish" as seen from a small window inside the truck. The dish is about 6 feet wide, and the transmitter is powerful enough to send the digital t.v. signals to orbiting satellites 25,000 miles in space. The bright spots are reflections of ceiling lights against the window.

Manny Diaz and I prepare for the first live satellite shot of the day from Midland's Grande Communication Stadium. In all, we did about a dozen "hits" for both KTAB and KRBC during the 5, 6, and 10pm newscasts.

This is not a satellite truck. This is one of the three "microwave" vans we have here in Abilene. The dishes sit atop towers, or masts, that when pressurized with air rise up to 50 feet. The digital microwave signals are sent between the dish on the van and an antenna at the t.v. station on S. 14th. The maximum range is 40-50 miles, depending on terrain. In this shot, the dish and mast are in the stowed position while filling up at the 7-11 at S. 7th and Butternut.

One of our microwave vans at work on election night, November 2, 2010, as KRBC's Morgan Bond prepares to go live.

An "artistic" view of my camera with the 50' mast in the background....

It's Football Season!

2010-09-23T20:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not at all what you would call a rabid sports fan, but as a videographer, there's something magical about covering high school football.

I vividly remember the very first football game I ever covered: September, 1997, in Hamlin. At the ripe old age of 22, I was a rookie photog for KRBC, and I remember driving up to Pied Piper Stadium in my Jeep Cherokee news vehicle, with the Backstreet Boys blaring on the radio. Standing along the sidelines, carrying 50 pounds of 1970s-era Sony U-Matic 3/4" video gear, my sole focus was to attempt to follow the ball through the old-school black and white viewfinder. I wasn't very good at it. At all. Luckily, Steve Strain and Mike Miller, the "9 NewsChannel" sports team, were able to pull a couple of highlights from my video. But those first couple of years of shooting football were awesome. After moving to Florida in 1999, I had the opportunity to cover two seasons of HS football in the Sunshine State; and though football there is on a smaller scale, it was still fun.

2010 is my sixth season covering Big Country HS football since returning to KTAB/KRBC, and my tenth season overall as a videographer. And though the equipment has changed....my new tapeless HD camcorder features a color HD viewfinder that's like watching a movie in your eye....the experience is still the same. This Friday night will be typical. I'll start the evening at Shotwell Stadium, doing 6pm live shots for both KTAB and KRBC previewing Cooper's Homecoming game. At 6:30, I'll head to Haskell to get a couple of highlights. Then I'll stop in Hamlin for a little while....I'm still sentimental about that place! The goal is to be back at the studio by 9:15 or so....edit the highlights....then get back out to Shotwell by 10pm, and meet up with David Bacon so we can interview Coach Spradlin after the game is over.

It may sound like a lot of work, but it's fun. And most of my time is spent driving, so that's my relaxation time. And thanks to our team of videographers, we'll have highlights from more than a dozen Big Country games!

Here are some pictures of games I've covered so far this year....

Week 1: The Early Longhorns visit the Cisco Loboes at Chesley Field.

After missing Week 2 due to illness, Week 3 finds us doing live coverage from Wylie as the Bulldogs host the Graham Steers. One of our live vans, ENG-9, stands ready to broadcast our live reports back to the tv station.

Between the 6 and 10pm live shots at Wylie, I made the short drive to Tuscola as the Indians hosted the Munday Moguls.

Week 4 featured Abilene High hosting Tampa (FL) Plant HS in a Thursday night game that was aired live nationwide on ESPNU. It was a rare opportunity for me to stay and watch an entire game...I was in charge of the KRBC 5, 6, and 10 live shots, while Goose took care of KTAB. And though Shotwell Stadium has awesome new lights, ESPN brought in a set of mobile stadium lights that lit up the entire stadium like daylight.

On Friday night of Week 4, I traveled to Early as the Longhorns hosted the Sweetwater Mustangs. This is one of those instances where you spend 1.5 hours driving there, spend 15-20 minutes at the game, then drive 1.5 hours back!

98x changes to sports

2010-09-20T14:46:00.005-05:00

Last week KTLT 98.1 made the switch from alternative to sports. If you're like me, you're glad to have ESPN back but ANGRY to lose what I (and many others) thought was the best non-country radio station in Abilene.

The station is owned by Cumulus, which also operates Power 103, 102 The Bear and KBCY. Why did they chose to make the change? Your guess is as good as mine. KTAB/KRBC attempted to contact the station but got no return phone calls. Corporate probably decided there was more of a market for sports talk than alternative rock music. I don't have access to the ratings, but if I had to guess, 98x probably had the lowest ratings of the stations I listed above.

Here's the sad part...the station probably had a much larger following than the ratings showed. In my job, I am always driving all over town. I would constantly come across other cars tuned to 98x. Sometimes I'd overhear it at a gas station. Other times, the driver in the lane next to me would be blasting it loud enough for me to hear in my car. (and I knew what station it was because it was almost always tuned in on my radio). I also heard the station playing in local businesses like the barber shop and some clothing stores.

Why weren't the ratings better? One possibility is 98x's listeners just didn't participate in the ratings process. Arbitron, the ratings company, sends out diaries to random people. Those people log the time they spend listening to the radio. It's kind of a pain. So lots of people never send the diary back. There are many other ways the ratings system is flawed. The bottom line is, it isn't perfect but it's the only system available, and like I said, I think it underestimated 98x's audience. Let me also say this. Since I don't have access to the ratings, I don't know for sure that 98x was in the hole. As I said before, even if 98x had good ratings, ESPN radio will probably draw a larger audience (in the eyes of the radio executive). That's just what research shows across the nation.

So why not listen to Rock 108? I guess we have no choice now. It's not a bad station. In fact, it's much better than rock stations in other cities. The thing I don't like about it is it's too hard. What I liked about 98x is that it was the lighter side of rock music. It also had no DJs...just music. Now that it's gone I really notice how much hard rock is played on 108. I guess that's why their slogan is "Real Rock Radio". Don't expect them to pick up any of the lighter music 98x played. That doesn't fit the "real rock radio" format, and it could drive away the people that like Rock 108. That station has been successful for years, and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

The bottom line it this...nothing is forever in the media business, so enjoy what you have while it's there because someday it will change.

Coming soon: Katrina raw video shot by me

2010-08-30T22:17:00.003-05:00

It's the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I covered the storm for KTAL in Shreveport, LA. I went to New Orleans with meteorologist Todd Warren and our own Lane Stone when she was the main anchor there. I still have some of the raw tapes laying around in a drawer full of tapes. I'm sifting through them to show you some of what I shot. Stay tuned for that. As soon as I find the stuff, I'll post some of the video.

Our New Digital Newsroom!

2010-08-15T18:02:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we "made the switch!" Here are some pictures of our new cameras and edit systems, installed and ready to go!

Our JVC ProHD cameras record high-defintion video on tiny memory cards, not videotape. We have about a dozen cameras total.

Most of our reporters will use the smaller, handheld cameras, while Goose and I (as well as the sports guys) have full-size, shoulder mount cameras (thankfully they only weigh half or less than the old tape-based cameras). The picture quality of all of the cameras is absolutely amazing.

Smile! You're on tv!

This is one of our eight new edit stations. All of the video we shoot with the new cameras is edited using the latest Avid Newscutter software. Until a few days ago, we had to "capture" the footage from our old videotape cameras in real time into our older Avid computers. That meant if you had 20 minutes of raw video, it took 20 minutes to capture before you could edit. Now, we just take the memory cards out of the camera and insert them into the computer....the video files are instantly available for editing.

Each of the six general edit stations is located in secluded "edit bays," away from the noise of the newsroom. Once we've finished editing a news story, it just takes a few mouse clicks to send the video file to one of the computer playback servers located across the building in Master Control. During the live newscasts, the directors just pushes a button, and the stories are instantly on tv.
And note that while all of our video is shot and edited in 16:9 high definition, we will still air our newscasts in standard definition for the foreseeable future. Before sending each story to the playback servers, we "downconvert" the video to 4:3 standard definition.

This is the KRBC Producer's edit station, located next to the producer's desk in the newsroom (KTAB has an identical setup). Along with all the functionality of the standard editors, the producer computers are also hooked up to the station's Routing Switcher system, BetaSP and DVCPRO tape machines, DVD players, and the "video on demand" services from NBC, CBS, and CNN. This allows us to record anything from anywhere, such as the "national" news stories you see on our newscasts.

It's Almost Here!

2010-08-03T18:54:00.003-05:00

Back in the spring, I blogged about our plans to transition the KTAB/KRBC News Departments into a "Digital Newsroom" operation.

Well, the transition is almost complete! By the end of this month, we will "go live" with our new tapeless JVC Professional camcorders (which record broadcast-quality HD video onto small memory cards), brand-new Avid Newscutter editing workstations, new ingest/playback servers, new edit suites...etc. It's the whole nine yards! (For those that don't know, Avid is the company that basically invented computerized, digital editing for the professional broadcast and cinematography markets. Most major news operations worldwide, as well as most Hollywood movie studios, use Avid editing software.)

Ya'll might be wondering how this will affect what you see when you watch our newscasts. In a nutshell, things won't change much for the viewing audience. While stations in larger cities are producing local newscasts in High Definition, our newscasts will still be aired in "standard definition" for some time to come. This is true of most smaller t.v. markets such as Abilene. We've spent millions of dollars in the past few years upgrading our facilities for "digital television," including the ability to broadcast CBS and NBC network programming in HD, but it will take millions more to fully outfit our studios for complete local HD programming. It will happen some day, just not in the very near future.

What our "Digital Newsroom" upgrade will provide, however, is much more efficiency in the way we deliver the news. Our old, tape-based cameras are just that....old. As are our current generation of editing computers/servers. They break down a lot, and getting raw news footage from the camera to the editor is time-consuming. If you shot 10 minutes of video at the press conference or car wreck, it takes 10 minutes for that video to "capture" to an edit computer. That's not good if it's 5:55 and you're video is supposed to be the top story for the 6pm news! With our new equipment, editing will be pretty much instantaneous. Insert the SDHC memory card into the edit computer, and start editing right away! You'll have the top story video ready in just a minute or two! Not to mention, all of our equipment is new and under warranty.....so we won't have to worry about breakdowns for a while!

In many ways this is an evolutionary step for us, since we've already been "halfway" digital for the past 5 years. Our current, very old cameras record the news on videotape in the field, just like it's been done for the past four decades.....we then "capture" that video in real time to our current, older Avid computer workstations. Then the stories are digitally edited, and sent to a hard drive server system for playback during our newscasts. We were, and still are, the only news stations in the Abilene market to eliminate videotape from the editing and playback processes. Ironically, our competition has been doing the reverse of us for a number of years....shooting news in the field using tapeless cameras, but using conventional videotape for the editing and playback processes.

For the next couple of weeks, we're putting the final pieces together, making sure all the equipment is in and working properly, and LOTS of training! Below is a picture of one of our new Avid Newscutter version 10 workstations. Once we're "live," I'll post pictures of the complete operation!

Follow KTAB "On The Road!"

2010-07-16T16:57:00.000-05:00

As many of you may know, KTAB News is going "On The Road" to area towns next week, July 19-23. Monday we'll be in Albany, Tuesday in Eastland, Wednesday in Sweetwater, Thursday in Brownwood, and Friday in Anson.

We're bringing an entire mobile studio to each town, including big satellite and production trucks. It will be quite a production. Of course the big draw will be the opportunity for Big Country folks to watch Bob, Lane, Sam, and David do the 5, 6, and 10pm news live, in person!

I'll be there, too, documenting each day's activities. I'll be posting updates and pictures throughout the day on Twitter, so make sure and follow along! My Twitter name is andrewktab, so feel free to follow along!

Why do we ? How do you _?

2010-06-25T14:20:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of things we do on TV, and sometimes we do them because it's just how things have always been done. Have you ever wondered why we do some particular thing in our newscasts? Or have you always wondered how we do something? Leave me a question and I'll do my best to answer it.

The Flight Of A Lifetime!

2010-05-22T22:54:00.001-05:00

On April 28-29, 2010, KTAB anchor/managing editor Bob Bartlett and I had the opportunity to fly to the home of the USAF Thunderbirds at Nellis AFB, located just north of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Air Force organized the "media flight" to promote the Thunderbirds' performance at Dyess' Big Country AirFest the following weekend.

A KC-135 Stratotanker from Altus AFB, OK, stopped at Dyess to pick us up. The following day, after touring the Thunderbirds' facilities at Nellis, and spending the night on the Las Vegas Strip, we returned to Dyess. The return flight wasn't quite ordinary, however. We were escorting the Thunderbirds' F-16 fighter jets to Dyess, and the long trip required us to refuel each jet in flight. So there we are, at 25,000 feet, going 500+ mph, with the Thunderbirds literally feet away from us. Following are some of the most awesome pictures I've ever taken. I'll note that Bob and I learned of Abilene Police Officer Rodney Holder's death prior to leaving Vegas, so the day was very somber.....

Here's a link to the story that aired on that evening's 10pm newscast: Aerial Refueling of the Thunderbirds!

And since I had the chance to ride in the cockpit for much of the journey, I had amazing views of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and the Las Vegas skyline!

UFOs in the Big Country!

2010-05-09T21:07:00.002-05:00

Ok, so we have gotten a ton of calls over the past few weeks about lights in the sky. Every time it happens, the phenomena are not visible from KTAB/KRBC's studios. Usually it happens in the southeast sky. I have yet to capture it on video with our Sony PD-170 cameras. We would love to show the UFOs to all of you on TV. That's why I'm calling on you, our viewers, to capture the lights on your home video camcorders. Cell phone and still pictures are good too, but the resolution on those devices would probably yield what looks like a star on the air. Moving color video is the best. Doing the following will improve the quality of your image:
-Use a tripod
-Zoom in as little as possible; the more zoom you use, the lesser quality image (but you might have to zoom to get it if it's small)
-both of these things impact how shaky your video is...more shake = less quality.
-turn off autofocus as focus will go in and out if you zoom in on an object in the night sky in auto mode.
-stay away from trees, power lines and other obstructions that could hinder you from getting a clear shot of the object.

If you capture something unusual on video, send it to us in the "SHARE IT" section of bigcountryhomepage.com!

Also, join us on facebook and twitter. If you see something, that's a good place to start a discussion with other viewers and compare what you see. It also alerts us to the UFO's presence.

There may be no way of identifying what's out there. I will say this. The military has a rather large chunk of airspace in the southern Big Country it has reserved for its use only. What they use it for is in most cases none of our business. They conduct lots of training and testing that relates to our national security, and that may be what you are seeing.

This happened when I worked in Shreveport. Lots of folks saw UFOs flying low to the ground. At first the military denied they were testing anything. But, after hundreds of sightings and lots of public fear, they did release they were testing an experimental aircraft..of which the details could not be released.

Keep reporting your sightings to us. You never know. Your video could make national news like the sightings in the desert Southwest in the 90s!

I Never Thought It Would Happen

2010-04-25T19:13:00.000-05:00

I began my career in broadcasting in 1995. And in the '90s, when you needed to record and playback video, you used videotape...just like it was done in the '50s. Of course those early VTRs (videotape recorders...the industry term) were larger than refrigerators, and used reel-to-reel tape, up to 2" wide, that traveled at astonishing speeds. And they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per machine. And since it was somewhat impractical to drag around a fragile VTR the size of a bookcase, all news footage was still shot on film cameras.

It wasn't until the 1970's that Sony developed a cassette-based videotape format, called U-Matic, that allowed VTRs to be small enough to be truly portable. And though the early U-Matic (or 3/4" as they are commonly called in the industry because of the width of the tape) machines recorded less-than-stellar video, and weighed up to 50 pounds, the format resulted in the ENG (Electronic News Gathering) revolution; by 1980, film was all but gone from t.v. newsrooms across the county.

Professional ENG videotape formats progressed in quality (and, thankfully, shrunk in size and weight) over the ensuing decades. And by the start of the 21st century, as hard drive-based computer servers were quickly replacing tape machines in control rooms and edit bays around the world, videotape was still the only practical option for portable broadcast camcorders. Because even though CDs, DVDs, and eventually iPods had taken over the consumer audio/visual markets, the quality just wasn't good enough for broadcast use.

If you've read this far, you're probably wondering what the point of this blog is, other than a history of professional videotape formats. But the fact is, back in 1995, 2000, even 2005....I never could imagine a day without videotape. But we are close to that day.

KTXS was the first station in the Abilene market to transition to "tapeless" ENG camcorders. For the past five years or so, they've used Sony XDCAM camcorders. XDCAM uses a robust, professional-grade variant of the consumer Blu-Ray disc format. The full-size camcorders have a drive mechanism inside that spins the disc as it records the digital video and audio data.

At KTAB/KRBC, we've been shooting news using handheld Sony DSR-PD150/170 camcorders since about 2002. These cameras use digital videotape as the recording medium, but the recorded digital information is identical to the data stored on KTXS' XDCAM discs.

Our videotape-based camcorders have significant limitations that are shared by all VTRs. Since we edit all of our news footage using computers, the raw footage must be played back in real time and "captured" into the edit computer. So, if you shot 20 minutes of footage at a press conference, it will take 20 minutes to ingest that video into the edit computer. Also, videotape is a "linear" medium, meaning if you want to find a specific shot or interview, you have to fast-forward or rewind the tape. That's also very time-consuming. And tape machines have many moving mechanical parts that wear out and break down; and the tape itself wears out after repeated recording and playback cycles.

But all that is changing. Our parent company, Nexstar Broadcasting, is in the process of converting our operation to a completely tapeless "digital newsroom." We are receiving brand new high-definition JVC camcorders that record all footage onto small memory cards. In fact, the only moving parts on the cameras are the lens focus and zoom controls. There's no tape or disc drive, and the operation is completely silent. And when it comes time to edit, all we have to do is pull the postage stamp-sized memory out of the camera, insert it into the edit computer, and all of the video is instantly ready for editing. And once the story is edited, the story is sent to the playback server with just a few mouse clicks, ready for the newscast.

It's a very exciting time.....and I'm excited to be at the forefront of 21st century technology!

Verizon Wireless outage in Abilene?

2010-03-18T23:00:00.003-05:00

How many of you have been having trouble with your Verizon (formerly Alltel) service? I've noticed over the past month or so that the signal goes out on a fairly regular basis. It usually happens late at night, but sometimes happens during the day too. The bars go to one, none, or no service in areas of town where there is normally a full strength signal. As a customer, I have been unable to get any straight answers from the company. I also tried calling as a reporter for KTAB/KRBC and didn't get any response.

I'm writing this to find out what your experience has been. I'm sure it's a network outage because all of our phones at the station go out (and come back) at exactly the same time.

I'm just as stumped as all of you probably are. I hope to report the cause and fix of the problem ASAP. Post your reply describing any problems you've been having. I think it's happening across the Big Country. I'm curious to find out how wide-spread the problem is.

One thing the company did tell me is to have all of you call customer service. If more people call, it makes it easier for them to track the problem down. You have to call from a phone other than the one having problems, though, because they will want to do some troubleshooting. They can't do that if you are talking to them on the phone in question.

Why yes, that is my video over Brian Williams' shoulder!

2010-02-01T21:36:00.000-06:00

You know those little pictures, or sometimes video, that appear either next to or over the shouldesr of news anchors? The technical term for those graphics is OTS, which stands for, well, Over-The-Shoulder.

In the following segment from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, there are four video clips in Brian's OTS as he intros the story: First, a Saturn SUV; second, a flood guage at the 2-foot level; third, water flowing through a drainage culvert next to a road; and last, a shot of cars on a snow-covered highway. The first and last clips came from other NBC affiliates, but I shot the videos of the flood guage and the drainage culvert...both at N. 18th and Treadaway. Pretty cool, huh?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This story was from Thursday, Jan. 28, when Abilene received over 2.6 inches of rain.

Thanks to the magic of high-speed internet, it's now daily practice for affiliates and network hubs across the nation, and world, to share video almost instantly. I shot the video around noon, had it back at the station by 12:30, it was edited by 12:45, and then the broadcast-quality video file was on it's way to NBC News via the internet. A random editor in New York was likely searching through video files from the day, liked what I shot, and inserted it in Brian's OTS.

Not too many years ago, the fastest way for either KTAB or KRBC to get video to the networks was to drive (or sometimes fly via American Eagle) the actual videotape to the big stations in Dallas-Ft. Worth, where it was uplinked to a satellite to New York. That was a very expensive, and time-consuming process....

Abilene...the city that cares

2010-01-25T18:09:00.002-06:00

Wow. Folks in Abilene are kind. I was standing on the corner of E.N. 11th and Judge Ely today shooting video of the intersection for a story on road improvements. A person drove up and asked if I wanted any money. I said no, then they asked if I needed a burger or something. I didn't think I looked like a homeless person, but I guess I did. I had the camera and tripod set up. Oh well...kind of funny.

Technology brought you the earthquake

2010-01-21T20:45:00.003-06:00

If you are reading this blog, chances are you've already checked out our coverage of the Haiti earthquake. If not, see that portion of our website:

http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/aid_to_haiti

It's incredible. Per my previous blog entry, the way we bring you the news is changing. Every report from Haiti was brought to you via I-phone. We also used FTP to send some video, but the I-phone is what really counted on this story. It enabled Katherine and Tim to QUICKLY shoot a piece of video and have it on the way to the station almost immediately. They had no time to stop and edit/feed video. They were also able to send constant updates using Twitter. Without that phone, much of what you saw on our air between Sunday and Wednesday would not have been possible. We would have had to wait for them to return to bring you the video.

It's hard to appreciate what Katherine and Tim did over the past few days without going through it yourself. I know that from covering Hurricane Katrina. I don't know of any other local TV station in a city our size that sent a crew to Haiti. As an added bonus, our reporters were embedded with the military. Even the networks couldn't make that happen. The point is...what you saw is absolutely INCREDIBLE...and EXCLUSIVE. Watch for our video on the national news...CBS, NBC and CNN. We sent it to all 3.

Oh..just so you know...I was not on the Haiti trip. Katherine and Tim shot all their own video.

The Magic of Live Television

2010-01-12T15:50:00.000-06:00

One really cool part about our jobs is that we get to witness events firsthand that most people only see on the news (because we're the ones putting it on the news!).

I've been in this business for many years, but one of my most memorable moments happened on live television. On Monday, November 16, 2009, a large warehouse on the east side of downtown Abilene caught fire. Coincidentally, the fire was reported about 5:20pm, and Goose and I were already downtown with two of our live trucks preparing for 6pm live shots from the AISD building. So we just moved the trucks a few blocks to the fire, and we were up and broadcasting well before the 6pm newscasts started.

Goose was taking care of the KRBC live shots with Tim Johnston, while I was teamed up with Victor Sotelo for the KTAB shots. Bob and Angela came to us many times during the show, but here's a link to what happened during one of our live reports: Wall Collapses on Live Television

Luckily, there was no one in the warehouse, and no one was injured. If you watched the clip, you noticed that Victor, who was standing beside me, was talking about the heat from the fire. It was quite chilly that evening, but as soon as the wall collapsed, a blast of heat hit us.

I've covered countless fires in my career, but this was one of the "big ones."

Wave of the Future (or present!)

2010-01-08T17:56:00.003-06:00

Last night, I brought you Katherine Lane's report from Brownwood at 6PM via an IPhone. Those of us in the business are well aware that this is the direction our business is heading in. As a viewer, you are probably aware of it too, but I thought I'd bring it to your attention just in case you aren't. Why are we heading this way? Because it's cheap and easy. To get video back from a remote location (what we call "feeding") requires a signal between the station and the remote location. Locally, we do this with our live trucks, which operate using microwave signals. The trouble with this is range is limited. We can feed you video or a live report using one of our 3 microwave trucks (which have been referred to as ENG-9, ENG-32, and the Chase Lab in previous blog posts by Andrew) from about 20-30 miles away from the station. It all depends on where the hills, trees and buildings are. All of those things will block a signal. When you are in an area where no signal is possible, in the past, the only way to get a signal would be to use a satellite truck. We do not have one readily available in Abilene. If a big story breaks, we have access to one at our Lubbock sister station. Satellite time is VERY expensive. It costs $5 to $10 a minute depending on whose satellite you buy the time on. The average story requires at least 10 minutes...5 to feed video and 5 for a live shot. That's $100! It adds up fast. The advantage to satellite is you can get a signal from anywhere in the country, provided you have a view of the southern sky, which is where all the satellites are. And, any station in the country can pick up your signal if they need your video. In the age of new technologies, we have found ways to feed cheaper. The first way is via FTP over the Internet. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Basically, we create a video file using a laptop and send it over the Internet. The drawback to this is it takes time. The file has to upload on the remote end, then download on the station end and be imported into our video system. The speed varies. The whole process generally takes at least 30-45 minutes. You need an Internet connection on both ends of at least 12-15Mbps to make it efficient. The average cable connection? 6-8Mbps. DSL is even slower. At about 20Mbs it becomes as efficient as feeding over microwave or satellite (which happens in real time). Connections that fast are far and few between. Oh...by the way...you have to be in a remote location with Internet access to make this happen...an air card, even at 3G speed, is WAY too slow. The quality of video sent via FTP on the air is generally the same as what I shoot in the field. Sometimes it degrades a bit depending on the type of compression used. Using FTP is free. So, while all this technology is being perfected, along comes the I-Phone and other "smart" phones. It works on the same principle...We shot the video using the phone's camera and sent it over the Internet using the phone's 3G network. This is MUCH faster, except the quality is not near as good. (the phone shoots low resolution video). The point of all this? You will be seeing a lot of lower quality video, not just on our station, but on stations across the country. News is becoming more and more URGENT and about what's happening RIGHT NOW. It is also more competitive. Technology gives us the tools to bring you the news faster and as it's happening. The technology will improve. Someday, you will not know the difference between cell phone video and that shot by a $3,000 camera. Until then, enjoy live news from places we couldn't have even dreamed of 10 years ago. If it hadn't been for the IPhone, you would not have seen any video from Brownwood until 10PM. And by the way, you can help us cover the news using this technology. See the "SHARE IT" section on bigcountryhompage.com to send us your pictures.

FIRE!!!

2009-11-17T22:14:00.003-06:00

You probably didn't even have to be paying attention to the news to hear about the big fire downtown. Everyone could see the smoke. It was a monster. When it broke out, both Andrew and I had no idea. We were already downtown working 5 & 6pm live shots from AISD, just a few blocks away. It must have been the only place in town where smoke wasn't visible. It took a few minutes for someone to call us and let us know how big of a deal it was. Suddenly it's 5:40 and we are having to move both live trucks, re-establish a signal, run cables, and get live at the top of the 6. It sounds easy, but trust me, it's not. It's very stressful. Andrew had the "chase" truck and was able to break away quicker than me. I was in ENG 9. When I got to the scene, my generator wouldn't start. I didn't know where Andrew was, but the first familiar face I saw was KRBC's Tim Johnston. That made me the KRBC photographer. I was at the corner of 4th and Plum. Victor Sotelo and Andrew had found each other a block down the street (5th and Plum) on the other side of the fire, making them the KTAB team. (keep in mind Andrew and I work for both stations and the reporters only appear on one or the other). At that point there was no real plan; it just came together that way. It's now 5:50 and I have no electricity to raise the mast or transmit a signal. Tim is running back and forth between Andrew and me. I'm getting MANY phone calls from various people in the newsroom asking for my status. They requested I find an outlet to plug the truck into. At that point, I heard someone say in the background that it was going to be a 30 minute spectacular. Oh boy. It's almost 5:55 and I still have no working truck. There was NO electrical socket anywhere in sight, nor was there an open business nearby. I looked down the street (toward 3rd and Plum) and saw an open garage door at an electrician's shop. I pulled up and asked them for an outlet. We ran an extension cord inside. Then, like a madman, I raised the mast, powered the transmitter up and RAN down the street with an audio and video cable. I plugged into the camera just in time to get a confirmation on a usable signal, and then it was time to hit the air.

They came straight to us. Tim didn't know much. The fire department didn't have time to give us any information yet (nor was there any to give). He simply described what he was seeing. Every now and then he stepped out of the shot to see what was in my viewfinder. He did a great job ad-libbing. Every few minutes he tossed it back to the anchors and they would ad-lib over my live picture. Mark, the producer, was on the phone with me the whole time making the decision of what to do next. I never had time to give Tim an IFB (earpiece), so he did the whole show without being able to hear what the anchors were saying. At some point during the half hour, the roof and walls of the warehouse started collapsing. I'm sure you, the viewer, after watching, realize that makes for some pretty incredible live television. Actually being there is even more incredible. I've said it before and will say it over and over again-the camera never does it justice ("it" being anything I shoot, not just fires)

So what next? All the reporters raced to find different angles to the story. They did a good job of it. By about 7pm they had all gone back to the station to write and edit their stories. Andrew and I, meanwhile, decided to stay on scene because we had great positions to shoot from. When something this big happens, after a certain period of time, police and fire block off the area and don't allow close access. We were there early enough to be right across the street and didn't want to lose our positions. There was also the possibility of the situation getting worse, so it was a good idea for us to be there to capture it on video if it happened. This is the perfect example of how this business is a lot of hurry up and wait. Andrew and I had been working under extreme stress and chaos, and now we had 3 hours - from 7pm to our 10pm live shots- to do nothing but hold out positions for those upcoming shots. Then it was back to normal for us until the next big one......

Election night irony

2009-11-03T22:38:00.002-06:00

On election night they sent me to Baird to get what we call MOS, which stands for Man-on-the-street. That's where we go to some random public place and ask random people their opinion on something. It's not easy to do because you have to approach complete strangers with a camera. The issue this time was the alcohol proposition on the ballot. I was supposed to get some opinions on both sides of the issue. Baird was voting on whether or not to allow alcohol sales in stores. Well, after 5pm it's extremely difficult to get any people on the street (or town square) because everything closes in small towns like Baird. The only other option is to knock on doors, and that's even more awkward. I tried a local Mexican restaurant. Everyone eating inside was from Clyde. So I looked for another place to go. There was nothing. I noticed a place (which shall remain anonymous) with the lights on and lots of cars out front, so I went in to ask if anyone would go on camera. As soon as I walked in I noticed some flyers on a table. I had walked into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting! I couldn't bring myself to tell them what I was inquiring about, so I just asked them where else in town I could go to ask locals about the election, not mentioning the issue. If I hadn't noticed the flyers or they hadn't placed them on the table, who knows how embarrassing the situation could have been. My thanks to the folks there for pointing me in the direction of a local steakhouse where I interviewed the cook (because there were no customers at the time).

becoming the news

2009-10-28T16:53:00.009-05:00

driver rear side of car

driver seat

passenger rear side; trunk & back seat separated

front passenger door

Front of car

Last week I went on vacation and got a little more action than I bargained for. When a photographer is on vacation, he tries not to think about news (that's not easy to do). This time I became the news. While driving on a rather long road trip to Nebraska I got into a BAD accident. I'm lucky to be alive. Where did it happen? Abilene, Kansas. The town is much smaller than the one you all know and love. I was just 2 hours from my Grandparents' Nebraska town. It was cold, rainy and dark. I missed a stop sign at the intersection of two country two-lane highways. In that intersection, an SUV broadsided me on the passenger side just behind the front seat. The car is in two pieces; the trunk and back seat were separated. The only safe place in the car was the driver seat where I was. Luckily no one was with me. I escaped with cuts and bruises. The other driver got some stitches.

Storm Chasing!

2009-10-12T17:15:00.007-05:00

Many of you experienced some severe weather last Thursday. Of course, when that happens, we chase them. Just after the 6pm news that night, I was in engineering getting some equipment fixed. I walked through the KTAB studio on my way back to the newsroom. Bob Bartlett was talking to Sam about the approaching storms. He saw me and said, "Head toward Sweetwater". So I did. Abilene skies were still clear at the time, but by the time I got past Tye, they got dark-and fast. I wound up stopping in Trent. It's always a gamble deciding where to ride a storm out. You do not want to be in the middle of nowhere, not just because of safety, but because it's hard to shoot video. I stopped at the 7-11. Gas stations make an OK place to shoot storm video because you can use the cover of the building to block wind and rain. And at night, the lights help show heavy rain, hail and wind. I shot video just outside the front doors. It didn't take too long for the parking lot to fill up with cars. It was raining too hard to see anything, and people were looking for cover. The radar-indicated rotation disappeared before the storm hit Trent, but it was definitely windy. If I had to guess, sustained winds were probably around 40mph, with 60-70mph gusts. Rain came down sideways; you could tell there was still rotation in the storm (but not strong enough for a tornado). Pea-sized hail fell for a short time as well. Then it let up rather quickly. After doing a phoner (live shot over the phone; sound only; a phone interview) with Sam, I decided to head back to Abilene. On the way back another cell crossed over the interstate. I had to pull over. I couldn't tell what lane I was driving in. This was the definition of zero visibility. In this situation, it's hard to tell what is safer-pulling over and risking someone who is unable to see hit you-or keep driving and risk going off the road. It finally let up some. I got back just in time to bring all of you video of the storm. Luckily there wasn't any tornado damage in the immediate Big Country, but when there is I will probably be there bringing you the video.

about myself

2009-10-05T13:35:00.007-05:00

OK-Here's a little on my background. I come to Abilene from Shreveport, LA. I was a photographer at KTAB's sister station there. I have been there for the last 5 years. I graduated from the University of North Texas in 2004. I've covered a lot of cool stuff. After only a year there Katrina hit. Then Rita. Between those two storms I spent 8 weeks on the road covering the aftermath. I spent a week in San Diego covering Marine recruits going through basic training. While I was there, the reporter and I interviewed Bob Dole, who happened to be signing books at the time. I have met countless celebrities at various events. Nascar races at Texas Motor Speedway are a melting pot for famous people; you never know who you are going to bump into. Sports trips are the best part of this job. I was on the field for the BCS National Championship game in January 2008 (LSU vs. Ohio State in New Orleans). Other bowl games I've attended include the '07 Sugar Bowl (LSU vs. Notre Dame) and the Chick-Fil-A- Bowl last season (LSU vs. Georgia Tech). I've also been to the New Orleans Bowl a few times, and the Independence Bowl many times because that game is in Shreveport.

Next up...a little on what I've been up to since moving to Abilene. Stay tuned!

Hello Big Country!

2009-10-01T21:33:00.004-05:00

Hello Big Country! I am Danielle's replacement. My name is Marc Gustafson, but I'm known around the newsroom as Goose. Why? Well, no one can pronounce Gustafson. (It's "Gus-tuff-sun" like the guy in "Grumpy Old Men", by the way). I get a lot of "Goose-tuff-sun", "Gus-tuff-a-sun", and most commonly "Gustaf" or "Gustav". That's where Goose came from. In my old newsroom, the main anchor, 10PM producer and the sports guy were calling me Gustaf. One of them, I can't rememer which one, said "how about Goose?" one night. That was it. In less than 10 minutes it caught on, and ever since then I've been Goose.

Coming up...more about me and a little on how my Abilene experience has gone so far. But I don't want to tell everything now; stay tuned! (as we say in TV)

Letting It Go....

2009-09-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

I've come to the decision, without any input from station management, to remove my previous posts discussing an incident with a Dyess security officer. We were both doing our jobs, and everything turned out the way it should. Though no "insults" were intended, some readers may have taken it that way.

I look forward to continuing my professional working relationship with all Dyess personnel in the future.

Maybe next time I'll blog about a Downtown Artwalk or something a little less controversial!

Best Friends Parting...

2009-08-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

The tale of two best friends here at KTAB/KRBC is coming to an end this week. Megan Dobbs and I are long-time buddies and never thought we'd have the opportunity to work side-by-side but Abilene made that dream come true... Sadly my circumstances are changing... I'm headed to Little Rock for a new position at one of our sister stations. It's a bitter sweet good-bye. I'm excited to be moving up but I'm sad to be leaving Abilene and the special relationship Megan and I had here at the station. Although it's hard to part, we are just happy to have had our time together in Abilene... But I couldn't leave without saying a sweet farewell and commemorating the years that we have stood by each other.

This is our story...

Danielle is Leaving!

2009-07-31T21:10:00.000-05:00

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!!

2009-07-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

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!"

2009-07-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

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.

Goodbye Analog!

2009-05-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

The nation's conversion from analog to digital television broadcasting is just about complete. The federal government has mandated that all broadcasters turn off their analog transmitters forever by June 13. At KTAB/KRBC, we didn't want to wait that long, so on May 12, we joyfully shut off our ancient transmitters live during the 6pm newscasts.

Danielle was with Bob Bartlett and Chief Engineer Glen McCandless at KTAB's analog transmitter, which is housed in a concrete-block building at the base of our broadcast tower on Highway 36. Our tower is easy to spot...it's one of three "flashing," 700+ foot towers on the hill about 10 miles southeast of the airport; ours is closest to the highway, directly behind the Church of Christ. If you're wondering, the middle tower broadcasts the signals of the KEAN/KEYJ radio station group, and the 3rd tower broadcasts Fox affiliate KXVA, whose programming originates from their master control facility in San Angelo.

I was with Brittany Pelletz and engineer Carlos Valdez at KRBC's analog transmitter building. It's located on top of Cedar Gap Mountain, pretty much due south of Abilene along US Highway 83/84.

Though few people have ever actually seen it, this is a very historic building. KRBC was the very first t.v. station in the Big Country, signing on the air in 1953. However, the "station" building, at 4510 South 14th, wasn't completed until 1954. So for that first year, the lonely transmitter building, accessible only by a crude, twisting dirt road, was where everything happened. Harry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald, John "Stubby Baldwin" Turner, and other pioneers would climb the hill each day to bring live t.v. to the region.

KRBC's original General Electric transmitter served the station for 26 years (it continued to serve as a backup...it was last powered up several years ago). It was replaced in late 1979 , when a top-of-the-line Harris transmitter was installed. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but the transmitter was installed about a month after KTAB went on the air with a very similar unit! The major difference was that KTAB's transmitter (like our new digital units) are water-cooled, much like a car's engine. KRBC's analog transmitter was air-cooled, which meant it was always nice and chilly inside the building!

In January, 2007, KRBC's 550-foot broadcast tower crashed to the ground during an ice storm. Luckily it fell away from the building, but we never had reason to build a new tower, since we were already constructing our digital facilities at the the KTAB tower. We continued to broadcast using our backup analog antenna, which was located on ground level next to the building. This resulted in a loss of coverage for much of the Big Country, but it just didn't make economic sense to spend millions on a new tower that we would only use for a couple of years....

Just feet from KTAB's old analog transmitter building sits a shiny new structure that houses both stations' top-of-the-line, multi-million-dollar Acrodyne-brand digital transmitters. KRBC's original analog facility on top of Cedar Gap Mountain is now owned by AEP, the electric company. AEP leased space on our collapsed tower for their communications needs, and they recently built a new, albeit much shorter, tower on the property. Soon we will abandon the facility, and a historic chapter in Abilene television will be closed; however, the new digital chapter is just beginning!

I've posted some random pictures from KRBC's old analog site, including Brittany getting ready for her analog-shutoff live shot! There's also a picture of AEP's new tower, and our ENG-9 live van, which struggled up the mountain.

Smoke and Mirrors

2009-04-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

It's not often that us photogs "make it" into a shot or two. I always take note when I see a photographer in a shot on network television or something. I say a little cheer to myself for the guy who "made it" in hopes that it will one day be me. Just last night one of our reporters made it into a KTXS shot on accident and Scott, KTXS's Chief Photographer, made an appearance in a live shot of mine once in a flamboyant lime green T that proudly sported their logo... Whoops =/

Mirrors are a tricky way for us to find ourselves in the spotlight occasionally and this Biggest Loser shoot has found me dodging mirrors in a gym full of them! I'd rather not watch myself work out but it seems to be a popular part of getting fit.... Gyms are packed with mirrors. I thought I'd give a little behind the lens look at my battle with the mirrors on this week's Biggest Loser shoot.

Some shots made the air, some didn't...Take a look!

The Biggest Loser series

2009-04-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

Kyna and I are deep in production of KRBC's "Abilene's Biggest Loser" series and it's been a truly moving experience. We began the series with a piece that introduced each of our contestants which allowed us to talk with these inspiring people about the years that have led to where they are now and what they are looking forward to in the future. Kyna and I have been fighting tears behind the camera in some of these. I thank these contestants for the honesty that they share with us and all of our viewers about years of hurt and anguish. Each of them have incredible stories and seeing them in the gym everyday and working hard for their respective goals has been quite an inspiring experience. We can already tell the impact that it's having on these individuals and their families. What is seen in the ten o'clock news is such a small glimpse into the battle they are waging.

In case you missed out on the first two, the links are below...

STAY TUNED! More to come soon!

Marilyn Hart's story...
http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=127872
Ashley Wetsel's story...
http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=128432

The Weather Channel

2009-04-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

What a rough week it was last week! 60 mile per hour winds and wildfires sparking across all of the big country. Shooting in the wind was pretty miserable... I even saw one of the KTXS photogs decked out in some goggles and a bandana covering his face! He looking really goofy but made everyone around him jealous with his protective wind gear! The fires had me running all about the big country! Through Thursday and Friday I made it to Lueders, Clyde, Eula, Cisco, Albany and Anson twice... Mostly in our extremely conspicuous live van that maxes out at about 75 MPH. It had it out for me. Bruises are still healing from where the live van door continually swung around hit me while I was getting my gear...

However... This weekend I realized that it's sometimes worth it. I had the chance to ride along with the Texas Forest Service on Friday. They took me as deep as they could into the thousands of acres of fires that plagued Albany and Eastland. I shot as much as I could in the little time I had and rushed back to get it on the news that night. On Saturday, I was checking out the forecast on the weather channel and as they began talking about Texas conditions, up pops MY video! I was the only news photographer whose video of the Texas wildfires was available to the weather channel apparently. I know that my video gets picked up occasionally for national news but I've certainly never seen it happen before. It was thrilling. I saw it again on Sunday! Same video on the weather channel.

Exciting stuff for a newby in the news photoging business.

Oh and here's a random picture of us girls in KTAB's newsroom

The Dream Team

2009-03-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

We are certainly a couple of nerds... We find joy in pans, zooms and off tripod action. Although the two of us are very different, Andrew and I are kindred spirits of the photog variety. We love what we do. Andrew's past news experience has taken him to what we call "the show" while mine has been a more uniquely amateur road but with our hearts following a similar love we find ourselves here- Abilene, TX KTAB/KRBC. Being the only 2 news photographers for 2 entire stations we often find ourselves pulling off minor miracles to get the job done. The rush is what drives us and the occasional exhaustion and bitterness that define all that is amazing about this thing that we love. We had the rare chance to chat this week. In discussion we realized our dynamic may be one of our station's best in recent years. Being only two, our weaknesses are atoned in the strengths of one another.

Proud of our geekiness and modestly honest about shortcomings, we are a special little team.

As such, we are happy to welcome a new member to our overly sentimental photographer contingent. A new camera joined the team this month. She brought with her a new wide angle lens, light and wireless mic system. She was initiated today. A faulty tripod sent her on a frightful dive. She weathered the fall with only flesh wounds but the fresh scars make her quite official. She lacks only a name. We have tossed several around the news room and finally settled on a gender but we have yet to choose a name. We are open for ideas. It has to be tough and ugly to make the cut... Agnus is a strong competitor at this point but post your ideas and we will throw them in the pool.

The Female Photog

2009-03-04T14:48:00.000-06:00

Being a news photographer is a lot of fun. We end up in some neat places shooting things we don't quite understand sometimes... occasionally it's not too challenging like when we are shooting public events or simple thing but sometimes we end up in below freezing temperatures, blazing wildfires and at tragic accidents. This job is not necessarily designed for a woman... Every other photographer in this market is a man. My assignments editor and I share this one thing in common. Before her position at our station she was a photographer for KRBC. We are not a common breed in film and television. I ran into a NBA network photographer recently and asked how often he runs into a female photographer... he replied that we are about as common as a female cab driver in New York City- it just doesn't happen very often. There are obvious reasons for this position being better filled by a man. HOWEVER, with my love for the job I often find myself in situations that no man could ever satisfy.

For instance... When breaking news happens and we rush to the scene and find ourselves doing a live shot 30 minutes later. Katherine Lane is on the scene with me and doesn't have her make up and is looking rather... windswept. No worries! The female photog has powder, lipstick, bobby pins and hairspray! It was a magical moment!

Or... when we were on assignment in Austin at the state capitol building and the mic clip for our lapel mic has gone missing. Don't fear! The female photog whips a hair clip out of her hair and neatly clips the mic out of sight. Again Katherine was grateful.

More recently... Brittany Pelletz and I were on a shoot at a gym. We needed shots of her doing her daily work out. I shot like I normally might of but I was brainstorming some very cool ideas for a few shots that would require me to get, well... in a rather questionable position that no man could reasonably put himself in. We got the shots! It looked great!

I love what I do but I'm certain that some people don't quite understand my presence on scenes. My validation is my camera and always will be. There are ups and downs but the female photogs, as rare as they may be, are held to another standard. Cheers to us ladies and the men we work with!

Fire and Ice

2009-02-02T21:56:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks have proven to me that mother nature can steal the spotlight at a moments notice sometimes. One week we are covering grass fires that span thousands of acres and the next we are doing live shots in 14 degree weather with all of Abilene iced over. Everyday is a gamble in Texas when it comes to the weather.

I love the opportunity to do live shots - I can be more creative and it's normally the type of news that is much more pressing. At the grass fires in Hawley we set up and did live cut ins into the national programming all afternoon. Homes were being evacuated as the fire took barns and houses in the Big Country. Fires were still smoldering behind us and literally yards from where we stood for the shots the charred ground was still hot from the blaze. If you kicked the ash a cloud of hot embers would fly up from the ground as if it was still burning under there. It was an eerie thing to shoot.

THEN... a week later the entire KRBC/KTAB news team was out for what seemed like 3 days straight for the Abilene ice storm. One KTAB reporter, Katherine Lane and I had a 2 night "sleep over" because the drive home for her was too dangerous to traverse. With only what she had on her back she had to unexpectedly stay and report 3 days in the Abilene area. From the moment the weather hit we were live until late that night (for 3 days). Andrew started the day with live shots for the daybreak news and we were cutting in with updates from the newsroom all day, then going live for the 5, 6 and 10 o'clocks. We were broken down and back at the station by 11 and all heading home for a few hours of sleep and what seemed like the greatest shower of my life before we were out on the road again reporting the school closures and road conditions at 5AM.

I was out with Priscilla Luong and Tim Johnston doing lives from the bridge at I-20 and Arnold Blvd. It was at most 14 degrees at our location before the sun came up and not much above that after. We would dart back in forth from the news van trying to warm up between shoots. Unfortunately during one of those darts one of us hit the automatic locks and suddenly... we were locked out of the news van... Haha! It was unreal. Our temperature reading on out satellite clock said only "LO" refusing to report a temp while we were locked out of the van for an hour. That was an awkward call to make... I had to notify the assignments editor that we had a little situation and among the chaos going on at the station and everyone reporting on something they had to find time to come rescue us. Andrew got there as fast as he could with a spare key. We jogged in place... did jumping jacks... and a variety of other things that we thought would either make us feel warmer or get some strange looks from the folks driving by...which we did. I'll treasure the memory. It was a crazy few days. Cold weather will take it out of you!

It's COLD out there!

2009-01-28T20:03:00.000-06:00

January is traditionally the coldest month of the year in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and the Big Country is no exception. But below freezing temperatures are one thing....throw in precipitation, and we've got a mess!

So far this month, we've had two winter weather "events." The first one, on Monday, Jan. 5th, was somewhat limited in scope. A round of freezing rain moved through the area, causing chaos on bridges and overpasses during the morning commute. Of course, KTAB/KRBC was there, live, telling all of you to stay home....and not to get out on the nasty roads like we were. But by afternoon, temps were above freezing and everything was back to normal. (If you'll recall from my earlier blog, our own News Unit 11, a very nice Chevy Trailblazer, was a casualty of the ice on I-20. 11's still in the body shop, but the reporter is back at work!)

This week's "Deep Freeze," however, was the kind of winter weather event we only experience about once every year or two, on average. From 5pm Monday, until noon on Wednesday, the temperature was below freezing....and near continuous freezing rain/drizzle/fog coated everything with a slick sheet of ice, only to be covered by up to 1/2 inch of sleet on Tuesday evening.

I'm VERY proud of the efforts our entire staff put forth to bring our viewers the absolute best coverage possible. This includes all of the 100+ employees of KTAB/KRBC. In addition to the 30+ News Department employees, there are dozens of people behind the scenes in the Production, Operations, Engineering, Sales, Promotions, Business, and Traffic departments.

Anyway, back to the very cold weather! Here is a picture, taken by KRBC reporter Brittany Pelletz, of me and KTAB reporter Victor Sotelo standing behind one of our live trucks, ENG-2 (Victor is faking a frown because it's so cold). It's Wednesday morning, Jan. 28, and the three of us were doing live shots from the Olive Garden parking lot at Southwest Drive and Clack St. We had been there since 5am, informing everyone of the treacherous road conditions. Suddenly, around 8am or so, as Britt and I were sitting in the van with the heater at full blast (it was about 13 degrees outside), the generator died, and everything went silent. It turns out the generator overheated; this unit, putting out 12,000 watts of electricity, is powerful enough to power an entire house, is mounted in the rear of the van (most live broadcast trucks use on-board generator systems to provide power for all of the equipment). Since this generator was just recently installed, our engineers haven't yet finished installing the ventilation system...so, to keep the thing cool, at least one of the back doors of the van has to stay open. I guess a gust of wind closed both doors....the generator's engine overheated, and we were out of service! Luckily, since it was 13 degrees outside, it wasn't long before the generator cooled back down, and we were once again ready for live shots!

And as you can see in the picture, the roads were totally covered with nasty frozen stuff. Our live vans weigh up to 5 tons, and are very top-heavy. So what's the best way to drive on frozen roads???? VERY SLOWLY! However, there were still the large number of morons in their pickup trucks who think they're better than everyone else, and have little regard for laws, safety, and common sense.....

High Speed Chase!

2009-01-16T18:41:00.000-06:00

Breaking news is always what makes our work worthwhile. It puts our skills to the test and allows us to be the best that we are. Last night I got my first high speed chase. It was a dangerous event that spanned all of 2 and a half hours through the highways and back roads of Abilene. We had Andrew or Chief photog, Tyler Edwards with KRBC Megan Dobbs with KTAB, and myself all out on the streets following the chase as it ran through the city. At times cops were flying past all of us. It was a difficult situation to stay safe while still trying to stay on top of what was playing out. The chase began just after the 6 o'clock news ended and the guy finally surrendered just before nine. Megan and Tyler ran back to the station to start writing and get info on the web as Andrew followed the chase as it went high speed out of town. I came back to edit and flew from the station to set up a live shot for the 10pm show. We were running out of time to set up so I had to just pull over in a large median on I-20. This was most definitely not the safest option but with time running out before the show we had to do what we had to do. Megan and Tyler showed up for the live shot as I was running about setting up lights, audio and video gear and getting everything connected to the station. Meanwhile, Andrew was in Eastland where the guy finally gave up. He got close ups of him detained in the cop car and some impressive video of the scene where it all ended. He rushed back toward Abilene and realizing he couldn't get back to the station in time for the shows with the video he had, he stopped in Clyde and set up a live feed to the station so we had the video on for the 10 show on KTAB. We did our live shots and broke everything down but what a crazy night.

A very melodic Artwalk!

2009-01-11T00:31:00.001-06:00

Danielle's last blog talked about how we did live shots from January's Artwalk with Randy Turner. Well, between the 5pm and 6pm shows, music filled the streets of downtown. I looked across the street from where we were set up, and in front of the Cockerell Building there was a 12-year-old girl playing the flute, all by herself.

She seemed to be the biggest hit all night, as people gathered around her, requesting songs, and throwing money into her flute case!

Once I had a chance, I grabbed my news camera and went over there....she was playing for a couple of teenage girls, who were amazed with her talents!

This is a perfect example of how, as journalists, we're always on the lookout for a "human interest" story. Unfortunately, a short video of a girl playing the flute doesn't fit in with the format of a t.v. newscast, but it's perfect for a blog! So, without further ado, I present a short video of this wonderful girl playing the flute:

Live Shots

2009-01-08T20:03:00.000-06:00

Live shots (meaning when we go live with a reporter or one of our on-camera personalities from a location outside of the studio) are one of my favorite things to do. We are able to get out in the community and it allows us to be a little more creative and really show our capabilities as a news team. However, there is a lot involved in setting up and executing a live shot - I've had some pretty strange things happen during live shots...

Tonight for example... I was live downtown at the art walk with Randy doing weather for KRBC. We went live for weather during the 5 and 6 shows which means we cut in several times for different shots. The 5 o'clock went just fine - Randy is the greatest at live shots! He never misses a beat. During the six o'clock show we had a little "technical difficulty" attack us. We had a problem receiving a cue to let us know that we were coming up and whoops there were were on the air! Randy was in mid-conversation with one of the ladies he was about to interview and thank goodness he's so great at what he does! He just jumped straight into it but it wasn't without some adjustments and a bit of confusion with me trying to convey in sign language what our producer was telling me in my ear. We got through it with a few hiccups. Andrew was there to document the whole event in photos so I'm sure we'll be seeing that addition to our blog soon. That is just one glimpse at what is actually happening when you see us fumble a few things on air.

Tonight also reminded me of another live shot that took place at that very street corner just a month or so ago...
Maria and I were live downtown and Andrew was live with Dan Edwards near our location. When we do a live shot there is a lot of running of cables - video, audio, power cables and then some. We try to be organized about it but sometimes we have to run the cables across sidewalks, pathways or just in some awkward way have it reach from the live truck to where we are at. So in this case I had run my cables across a sidewalk. Maria and I finished our live shot at 5 and had to wait around for the 6 o'clock live shot so we went over to check out Dan's live weather. To open up one of his segments Dan actually interviewed a bulldog... haha - leave it to Dan to interview an animal. Well... after Dan's live shot was over, Andrew held down the fort at the live vans while Maria and I went to get the team hot dogs and hot chocolate. When I returned I find out that the bulldog that had just had its five minutes of fame had promptly turned around and number two-ed on squarely on my cables... Andrew made the owner clean it up before I got back but I still had to touch those cables when we finished... Yuck. Above is a photo of the culprit and another photo of Maria and I doing our thing that night.

"Getting the story no matter what the cost!"

2009-01-08T00:33:00.000-06:00

As Danielle mentioned in one of her previous posts, in order to cover the news, we have to go places and see things that "normal" people wouldn't. On Monday morning, Jan. 5, as we're telling people to stay off the icy streets, we had our entire news department out on those same icy roads, getting video of wrecks and doing multiple live shots.

Unfortunately, we're not immune to Mother Nature. One of our newest news vehicles, a very nice Chevy Trailblazer which we affectionately call "Unit 11," became an "ice victim" on Interstate 20 while responding to a car wreck. Thankfully, the reporter who was driving wasn't hurt; but Unit 11 is now spending a few weeks in the body shop....

The Photogs

2009-01-07T21:09:00.000-06:00

I know I can speak for Andrew as well when I say that we both love our job very much. It's not hard to suddenly become a news junkie when you love your job like we do. Working at a news station has been a great change for me. Before two months ago I worked independently doing videography and post production freelance in Dallas. I love the production and post-production (meaning editing, mixing and special effects) part of film and television. I have for a long time. I love coming to work everyday and exercising my capabilities as a photographer/videographer. Everyday I have to stretch myself to learn something new or be able to do something faster, more efficiently. I love it. I love learning.

On another note... We hope to be putting some faces with names so we'll work on taking some photos and videos of what we do and some behind the scene stuff of the personalities that you know and love already. But for starters, here are a couple of photos from a shoot about a month ago. Andrew and I were both out live downtown for the Christmas parade with Maria Oliver and live with Dan Edwards and because of the crowd we were blocked in until the event was over so we made the most of it and got on top of the news van for a nice view of the parade.

Photos by Dean Carter.

This is me... and ...Severe Weather Day

2009-01-05T20:35:00.000-06:00

I'm Danielle Reeves - news photographer here at KTAB/KRBC - one of the members of the news team who's role is often invisible and when done right should be invisible. I'm from the Dallas area - went to college in east Texas - I enjoy good music, fine wine, art and news. As a news team we all live and breath what we do. As photographers we are often close to the action - first on the scene and last to leave. This lifestyle fits me well. I like change and no day is the same for us.

Like today for example...

My day began at 5:40 this morning when I got a call from my assignments editor - Abilene roads were icing over and there were accidents all over the city. Andrew (our Chief Photog) and I were up before the sun with live trucks in different parts of the city with the rest of the news team shortly behind us. It's interesting sometimes how it's our duty to deliver the news that may help protect others, but we still have to be out there in it. This morning I found myself on a bridge that was completely iced over. A 12 car accident had taken place minutes before on this particular bridge and in order to get to where I needed to be for the live shot I had to get across it. We love what we do and the purpose behind it. We are held to a very high standard as a team of journalists and as such it's not difficult to do things I might otherwise think ridiculous. We cross icey bridges, set up on the side of highways and sometimes shoot Santa Clauses' arrival at the mall. It's a very intense game and I love the ups and downs. Today's severe weather live shots, extended broadcast and subsequent hectic news-day are what make it all worth while.

Until next time.

Welcome to Behind the Lens

2009-01-02T10:31:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "Behind the Lens!" This is my first blog, ever, so bear with me.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Andrew Carlson, and I'm the Chief News Videographer for Nexstar Abilene, aka KTAB/KRBC.

Second, let me describe my title. To the general public, I'm one of the "cameramen" at news scenes or events. However, the term "cameraman" is quite outdated and annoying; the word is never used within our industry. Within the t.v. news biz, our official title is photographer..."photog" for short. I've chosen the newer title of Videographer, however, because when I tell almost anyone I'm a photographer, they automatically assume I take still photographs, even though I work in t.v. news, which just confuses people even further....

As Chief Videographer, one of my primary duties is the oversight of the entire news video product that you see on the local news. I train our videojournalists on the proper use of the cameras, and the specific techniques of shooting t.v. news.

Most of our videographers are actually the reporters themselves; in the business we call them "one-man-bands." Basically, the reporters usually work solo, shooting, writing, and editing their stories all by themselves; in fact, Danielle, who also joins me on "Behind the Lens," is our only other dedicated videographer. One-man-bands are the hot new trend in t.v. news in both small and large markets. Traditional news crews consist of two people: the photographer and the reporter (and in the largest markets or at the network level, a third person running audio). And at the larger station, there were/are sometimes editors whose sole job was/is to edit the news stories. Thanks to new media sources such as the internet, blogs, etc., local t.v. news isn't the cash cow it used to be. So managers have decided to do away with the more specialized positions, thus creating the one-man-band....why pay two or three people to shoot and edit and report when you can train just one to do all three? Add in the fact that broadcast-quality cameras are now a fraction of the size and cost that they were 15 years ago, and voila...you have a station like KTAB/KRBC!

I'll be adding many more pictures and videos of "behind the scenes" stuff, to help ya'll get a glimpse of "real life" inside the small-market t.v. news biz. But for now, here's a quick video of a guy dancing.

Why am I posting this? Because the world is full of weird, crazy, funny, sad, outrageous, heartwarming, and tragic events, and people of every imaginable background. They're everywhere, if you just look for them. And in the news business, it's our job to find them and tell their story.

Anyway, here's the story behind this clip: KRBC reporter Brittany Pelletz and I were working on a story about the City of Abilene's plans to install red light cameras at certain intersections. Just before noon on New Years Eve, we were at the intersection of S. 1st and Sayles shooting a "standup," the part of the story, usually in the middle, where you see the reporter on-camera. Just behind us, stopped for the red light, were some jerks in a pickup truck that kept revving their engine every time we tried to record (they were doing it just to mess with us....). So, while I was waiting for the light to turn green (and the jerks in the truck to leave us alone), I saw this guy across the street joyously dancing by himself. I don't know why he was there, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, and the passing motorists seemed to enjoy his "performance." So, I just started rolling.....you can hear Brittany talking about the guys in the truck as they're revving the engine; she didn't even realize I was shooting this guy!

Enjoy!