Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Got Camera? Will Shoot
Thunder crashing… lightning flashing… rain pouring and wind howling…that was our Tuesday night in Chatham County! Team NBC 17 made a stop on our Listening Tour in Pittsboro last night for a Community Focus Forum. In the midst of setting up and getting ready for the forum, a much needed summer storm was forming and coming at us hard! Sure enough the storm blew through the entire Triangle with a force that was not to be reckoned with.
As we were about to start the meeting, we got a call from Wes Hohenstein NBC 17’s Chief Meteorologist saying a tree had fallen on a house in Pittsboro and we needed to get pictures and video of it but did not have a reporter to go down there. The news crew knew we were there, so low and behold I headed out with my camera phone and handheld camera to find this house. As I was driving down the street looking for this house, there was no tree to be found. I called the NBC 17 assignment desk to check the address again, and as I pulled up in front of the house I was greeted by Catherine the owner of the house and her neighbor. Catherine was frazzled, but still very nice and invited me into her home to show me where a branch had gone all the way through her roof/ceiling into her bathroom. Then she took me to the backyard to see the tree on top of the house. I took some pictures on my cell phone and immediately e-mailed them back to the station. I then shot some video on my handheld camera. I got back in my car and drove back to the station where they were able to edit my footage and get it onto the 11 o’clock news. Keep in mind, I am neither a journalist nor a photographer. I am a just a girl with a camera, and by having my position of Community Content Liaison, I was able to be out in the community where something like this happened! A special thanks to Erin who got me to where I needed to be, and Brad and Monty who were able to edit my footage and get it on air!
Also a thank you to the Chatham County residents who braved the storm and came to our forum: Gabriel, Ilana, Claudia, Patti, Sheila, Michael, Jeanette, Joan, Sterlin, Norma, Carol, Bill, Pam, Andrea, Vance, Dianne, Neha, Molly, Gilda, Loyse, Melissa, and Rita! We look forward to meeting more of you on one of our stops during the NBC 17 Listening Tour…coming to a town near you!
-Teran
