I just received an odd call.  Now, odd calls are actually fairly common to the newsroom.  Still, I’m baffled every time I receive such a call, wondering why the caller thought this call was the correct course of action to take.

Me: WQAD Newsroom.

Caller: Yes, can you tell the Illinois Department of Transportation that their two workers are doing a great job patching Andalusia Road.

Me (intending to appease the caller with no intention of calling IDOT for him):  Okay.

Caller: Now, will you do that for me?

Me (refusing to out and out lie): No, sir.  We are not a messenger service, but I can give you IDOT’s number so you can call them yourself.

Caller (baffled): Um, okay.

Okay, I was a bit rude by saying we’re not a messenger service.  However, I was so taken aback that this person was able to look up the phone number to WQAD, but couldn’t look up the number to IDOT.  Why would someone think that the newsroom is the proper place to call to convey a message to a state department?  Weird.

Posted: February 15th, 2011 under Behind the Scenes.
Comments: none

Last night, WQAD presented News 8 at 10 without commercial interruption.  It was 35 minutes of news, weather and sports without a break from 10:00 to 10:35, roughly.  A huge pat on the back goes to producer Lee Ann Watson for putting together an interesting newscast that presented quite a producing challenge.  Well done, Lee Ann!

Last week, our Internet Content Manager posted the announcement of the break-less newscast on our facebook page.  One of our viewers had this to say:

I don’t get the value in that. I could appreciate fewer commercials, for sure, especially if it meant that the newscast was shortened. But unless there is some important breaking news, it’s going to be 30 minutes of fluff and 5 minutes of weather.

Wow.  Pessimistic much?

I took some offense at this comment and remembered it well looking at Lee Ann’s rundown for last night’s newscast.  I was so impressed to see that Lee Ann had 19 minutes of “real” news without anything that could be considered fluff.  At 19 minutes, she included an interesting story about a Chicago man getting revenge on a snow shovel thief.  The video is viral and, therefore, it’s easily argued that the story is not fluff.  However, I can see how some (like the pessimistic commenter, perhaps) might label it as such.  Regardless, it didn’t air until 19 minutes into the newscast!  And, it was followed by weather and sports and no more fluff stuff!

So, 30 minutes of fluff and 5 minutes of weather?  Nope!  Way to go, Lee Ann!

Posted: February 8th, 2011 under Behind the Scenes, News 8 at 10.
Comments: none

And so it begins.

Today, Storm Team 8 forecasts a major winter storm to begin, with a few inches falling today and then a foot or more falling tomorrow afternoon into Wednesday.  That’s a lot of snow!

It also makes for a lot of phone calls.  As if handling the dozens and dozens of cancellations that’ll be phoned in tomorrow AND Wednesday, people are already calling the newsroom today - before a single flake has fallen!  They’re preparing, of course, for the pending snowstorm and a potential cancellation.  It stands to reason. However, on this end, it’s annoying!

It’s a struggle to deal with the phone calls for cancellations and then the angry phone calls when the cancellation doesn’t show up within 30 seconds.  Doubling the phone calls by adding today’s pre-prep calls just prolongs the struggle. Ugh. And, we don’t have a receptionist dedicated to taking these calls (though we should!)  So, right now, I’m the only person in the newsroom picking up the phone to answer “Do we need a password?” while also trying to put together today’s newscast.  It’s not going well.  And, the snow hasn’t even started!  Sigh.

Posted: January 31st, 2011 under Behind the Scenes.
Comments: none

The 6:30 just went through a significant change this week.  Actually, much of News 8 did, too.

Jason Fechner is no longer the 6:30 anchor.  While we’re sad to see him go, he’s not going far.  Jason now co-anchors News 8 at 5, 6 and 10 with Rae Chelle Davis.

Matt Hammill now has the honor of sharing the 6:30 with you each night.  Matt brings a very different style, but also a strong news telling nature that we hope you’ll like.

We are also pleased to say that Storm Team 8 Chief Meteorologist James Zahara is still the 6:30’s meteorologist!

Posted: June 16th, 2010 under Behind the Scenes.
Comments: 3