Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Johnston County Fire Forces Water Restrictions

More than twenty four hours after flames broke out at the Atlantic Scrap and Processing facility, in Smithfield, smoke still fills the air around the site of the fire.

In our morning meeting, there was some great dialogue about this story.

Two questions seemingly came to the front of our conversation. Why, after a fire broke out at this facility less than six months ago, was more not done to prevent this type of fire from happening again? And, who will pay the tab for this fire?

We set course for the day. Our reporters, Shirley Min and Carolyn Costello tag teamed the story to get answers to these and many other questions that we had.

What we found out was that fires like this are not unusual at scrap metal yards, according to Smithfield Fire Chief. Allegedly, the crushing of metal & recyclables can sometimes cause sparks. The fire department says that was the cause of October’s fire & suspect it’s the cause of last night’s fire.

To the question of who will pay? The company will be charged for any additional resources brought in to fight the fire (same as what happened in oct.). The fire chief said the company has been cooperative with the fd in taking preliminary steps towards reducing some of these risks but then yesterdays fire happened.

I am now left with one thought…it is not concerning that this fire has drained the water resources of the county to the point that water restrictions had to be put into place?

Send your comments and thoughts my way.
Meanwhile, here’s today’s webcast.

Jason
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Monday, April 30, 2007

Can You Hear Me Now?

Today, I feel like a little kid at Christmas. I walked into our work to discover our newsroom got equipped with new high tech phones. It’s actually quite scary what these gizmos can do.

The old phones were, well…old. And for some reason, my phone receiver had some sort of weird rattle in it. My desk is now graced with this black phone that seemingly glistens under the fluorescent light of the newsroom sky.

I have set up my voicemail, set the contrast and brightness functions to optimize the display for my eyes and even picked a special ring tone.

I did have to laugh when we discovered a slight fluke in the system. It appears that if you are on the phone talking with someone, our station’s holding music may randomly start playing over your conversation. Thankfully, the fine telephone folks are here and have worked out the bug in the system.

On a serious note, the phone system allows us to more efficiently and effectively handle each call to our newsroom, resulting in easier routing of calls to the appropriate newsroom staff. 

I must say, it amazes me how far technology has come. I can’t even begin to imagine what a telephone will look like in 25 years. Will there even be a need for desktop phones? Home phones? Or will people simply rely on their Bluetooth connected cell phones as the primary means of being reached?

Comments are encouraged! Don’t be shy.

-Jason
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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Nine More American Troops Killed In Iraq

Within the past few hours, we have learned that nine American troops have been killed in four separate attacks, in Iraq.

Two of them from Camp Lejeune. The first attack occurred in Anbar province. At least three other attacks occurred just south of the capital.

Today’s announcement caps two weeks of extreme and deadly violence for troops fighting overseas. Just last week, nine paratroopers were killed, twenty wounded. All were members of Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne division.

So far, 99 U.S military members have died serving in Iraq this month alone. Since March 2003, there have been 3,346 military men and women lives lost, according to the AP. Websites keep count of those lives lost, as the debate over troop withdrawal continues in the US.

It seems that everyday in our newsroom, we are faced with the task of reporting these tragic events. I can honestly say, it does not get easier over time. Each life lost is something that even I have a hard time with. I don’t have family or friends serving in the military, but I do know the pain associated with losing a loved one.

The hard part about working in the news business is that I know tomorrow may bring a new list of causalities and more grieving families.
I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Here’s todays webcast.

Jason
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Friday, April 27, 2007

Duke Lacrosse: Naming The Accuser

Today, the North Carolina Attorney General’s office released their final report in the Duke Lacrosse case.

The Summary of Conclusions is twenty one pages long and outlines the discrepancies in the accuser’s account of what happened on March 14, 2006.

As viewers, you may have noticed that we have begun to identify the accuser. The naming of Crystal Mangum comes after careful review of our station policy and the AG’s press conference, several weeks ago.

It was at the press conference when Attorney General, Roy Cooper, stated that the three Duke Lacrosse players were “innocent.” Furthermore, the AG stated that, based on the evidence, no crime had been committed.

As a station, we took the time to review our policy and discuss the matter. In the end, we decided to name the accuser. Here is a statement from NBC17 News Director, Nannette Wilson “The determination that there was no sexual assault, I believe, does not protect her identity according to our policy.”

You may not know this but I have been covering this story from the very beginning. I spent many days on the steps of the Durham County Courthouse, reading court documents and chasing down leads. Despite all the media coverage at both a local and national level, I wonder how long will it be before the world forgets about the case. Or will this case be one that lives on in history textbooks that our children will one day read about?

I welcome your thoughts and comments, as usual.
Here’s todays webcast.

Jason
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Thursday, April 26, 2007

She’s A Mind Reader

Can you imagine getting paid to speak in fifteen second intervals? For our promotions producer, Jillian, that is exactly what she does.

You have probably heard her words but chances are you’ve never seen her actually speak them.  Jillian has the difficult task of getting your attention, in a matter of seconds.

She is responsible for writing all of those “Tonight at…” commercials that you usually catch throughout the day and night. 

Here’s an example: “coming up at 6…hillary and obama head-to-head in the carolinas…we take you live to the first debate of the 2008 campaign then…a health care crisis…  the shortage that’s complicating hospital visits. plus… storms rolling toward the triangle…  when and where we’ll get hit… join us at 6!”

Essentially, she is paid to do one thing…read your mind. I know, you are probably thinking that is crazy, but it’s true. She spends her days at work thinking about what stories you care about. How can she get your attention as you walk to the kitchen for a snack? What will trigger you to listen to what she has to say, and motivate you to watch one of our shows? With today being the first day of the May ratings period, her job could not be more important. 

As insiders, we refer to rating periods as “sweeps.”  In many ways, this is judgment day. It’s a time of the year when the currency of doing business is set by the number of eyeballs that are watching us. It’s a local race for the most eyeballs watching you.  February, May, July and November are all sweeps periods, and last for the entire month.

In short, the more people that watch you…the more money you make, as a station.

Here’s today’s webcast.

Send your thoughts!

Jason
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