Breaking News

So, this weekend, there was lots of late night breaking news.  Friday night, a referee at the Dothan vs. Eufaula game, collapsed on the field, and later died at Southeast Alabama Medical Center.  I get breaking news alerts on my cell phone, and when I heard the official died, I immediately called the newsroom in Montgomery.  They asked me to go out to the football field, grab some video of the game, and try to find people to interview that saw what happened. So, I jumped in the car, and headed to Rip Hewes Stadium.  I realized that most of the people at the game, which was now in the 3rd quarter, didn't know that the ref had died.  So, I would have to be careful when I was interviewing people.  I wasn't in a position to relay that information. 

I think this is a good time to talk about the different types of people you encounter when it comes to interviewing them on camera.

There are the people who say:

* "I WANNA BE ON TV...CAN I BE ON TV??"

* "NO....get that camera outta here"

*"Um...I don't know."  Me-It will only take about 2 minutes... and if you mess up, that's no big deal, you can just start over, and I'll edit it all out."  Them- "Well, I guess that's ok."

After a while, you can look at people and know what kind of interviewee they will be.  If they make eye contact, they'll probably agree to be on camera.

So, back to the story.  That night, I saw a man with a little kid on his shoulders, who seemed pretty outgoing.  I walked up to him, and said.  Did you happen to see what happened with the referee, I was trying to find someone to tell me what they saw.  He explained that he saw the whole thing.  I asked him if he would mind just telling me that again on camera, and he agreed.  Well... I pressed the record button, and realized that I didn't bring my P2 cards, which is what we record our video on instead of tapes.  It's like a digital camera card, but that can hold lots more information.  That was a lesson I'll never forget.  Don't leave your P2 cards at home.   Needless to say, I didn't get anything for the news that night.

One thing I'd like to mention is... in all of this running around, hoop-la, it's easy to forget that I'm covering the death of someone's loved one.  A father, grandfather, husband, and friend. That's one thing that I know, everyone in the news business is constantly struggling with.  We listen to police scanners all day... waiting for car wrecks, burglaries, or shootings.  And, if it's a slow news day, it begins buzzing when something like that happens.  Amongst each other, we talk about how it's easy to lose your perception of reality.... that the news you are writing about, talking about, and reporting is about real people.  That's something that I try to work on everyday.  Remembering that the news is about people... that when I am speaking into a camera, I am speaking to people.  Not just a hunk of metal, glass, and plastic.  People sitting on their couch, watching me between the two feet propped up on their coffee table.  It changes the way I think about my job.  I think the best role model for that is Kim Hendrix.  She is a long-time anchor at WSFA.  She is so good about connecting with the audience, showing compassion in the way that she speaks and interacts.  I hope I can be like that one day.

But Friday night wasn't the only breaking news.  Saturday night after the newscast, I walked into the newsroom to a ringing phone.  When I answered, the man told me that there had been a police chase that ended in a crash.  He said it was near Maxwell Air Force Base.  About that time, Sally walked into the newsroom.  We were the only people still there.  She said, "Wanna grab a camera and go out there together?"  I, of course, said yes!  So, we jumped in the car, and sped to the scene.  Literally, sped.  We made it to the scene to find lots of flashing lights, and a pretty substantial wreck.  Luckily, no one was seriously injured, so it made the situation a little lighter.  Apparently, a car tried to evade a DUI checkpoint, and police followed him in a chase.  It came to an end when the car crashed into an innocent bystander's car.  He was so thankful he or his wife in the car wasn't hurt when the evading car crashed into him.  We talked to him, and he was a great great interview.  The police didn't want to talk, but after lots of persuading from Sally, they did.  We ended up going to Waffle House after our late night covering the crash, with one of our other photographers who met us out there.  While I was eating, I was thinking... normal people my age are at Sky Bar right now.  But, I'm sitting here with my work friends, after we covered breaking news, and eating Waffle House.  These times make it feel like it's been ages since college.

Well... that was about the longest entry I've ever seen.  Until next time...