Stop and Smell the People

Answer The Question!

I have time now to answer the question many of my journalism friends have asked: Is going from in front of the camera to behind the camera what I hoped it would be?

I really didn’t have very high hopes about the transition to start with. So exceeding my hopes wasn’t going to be hard. That said I’m having more fun than I expected. But it’s not the perfect job for me. It’s close though.  And it is exactly the right place for me. This town, my coworkers, this TV station, all are part of this strange morphing from TV guy to manager guy. Choosing WDBJ7 made this transition as painless as it could be.

The biggest surprise is I’m more exhausted than I ever imagined I would be. Here’s the Genesis.

It was a move I have given thought to since about 2000. I looked at television news, didn’t like most of what I saw, and wondered if I would be better off running a newsroom or should I just shut my trap and keep reporting.

I like reporting. It’s not hard work. You meet new people every day. Keep your facts straight, tell a good story and try not to babble in your LIVE shot. If you do all that you’ll go places. Of course some of those places suck. Ask any number of my reporter friends. But being on TV was something with which I was never entirely comfortable. No matter how comfortable I looked.

For me fame is a HUGE downside to being on TV. It bothered me. I was never rude to anyone who wanted to meet me, shake hands and say hello. I have met some truly wonderful people in my 13 years on TV.

And I would have stayed on that side of the camera if… Continue reading ‘Answer The Question!’

My peeps keep asking one question…

I have television news friends all around the country who have e-mailed me wanting to know just one thing: “Has the switch from reporting to management been all you hoped?”

There are other questions: Do you miss reporting? Ever get the itch to go out and cover a story? Don’t you get tired of sitting inside a building all day? But hands down what everyone wants to know is whether I think I’m going to hate management.

I promise I’m going to answer that question. Just not today. Sorry for the tease. I don’t have the time to cover all the bases right now.

For now, enjoy the horrible song in my brain radio this morning. Listen and die: Click here if you dare.

Peace… MR

Rockwell’s America is alive and well…

At the lower left the bonfire. Off in the distance is the city of Roanoke and the Roanoke Valley. And in between is our street-turned-sled-riding-hill.

Pleasantville, USA – Norman Rockwell’s America is alive and well in The Noke… AKA Roanoke, Virginia.

The snow started falling on our street at about 10:00 Friday night. Crowley was fast asleep and as I headed off to bed, I heard it. The sound of laughing children echoed up and down our frigid block. The sure result of an unwritten rule in Southern households. Never spoken, but clearly understood because snowfalls here are rare (most winters,anyway). Whenever it starts to snow, no matter the hour, even if you are snug in your pjs and under the covers, fast asleep… when the snow starts to fall, kids can, should, and must get up, get dressed and get outside! And so I fell asleep with a smile on my face as the giggles and shrieks of joy traveled up to our window.

The sled riding hill to end all sled riding hills is our street. The V-DOT (Virginia

Anna & Crowley staying warm...

Dept of Transportation) plows know better than to plow our street until the neighborhood has had a few days to turn it into a sled riding party that goes from 8 AM to 10 PMish… so long as school is cancelled.

I am writing this Sunday night and they’re still out there, squealing and hollering as they fly down our road on inner tubes, toboggans and Radio Flyer sleds. And it’s not just the kids. The little ones have to battle their parents for a sled! At the top of the hill, a bonfire warms up a circle of neighbors, keeping warm and laughing as one sled after another launches down the hill just a couple feet away.

Crowley and I kept warm by the fire, the Roanoke Valley sprawling out in front of us, as Mike “borrowed” a child’s sled and

Walk out my front door every morning and see a mountain! Just over that peak is the Blue Ridge Parkway...

made a number of runs.

It’s an amazing thing. All these neighbors gathered, kids running around giggling. I know nothing is perfect. None of these families is perfect. Including ours. But this feels so good, it’s as close I ever expected to get.

I wish you all could experience this… Anna