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Mast extended to send microwave signal back to the station.

It takes quite an effort to report live from various locations.  Usually, we use microwave technology.  A signal is sent from a dish on top of a 40-foot mast that extends from the live truck.  We have numerous receive sites all over Chicagoland in order to bring that signal into the Fox Chicago newsroom and then out to your televisions.

But in some cases, locations may be too far or too low for a microwave signal.  Cue the satellite truck!  It was put to use yesterday when I reported from Dyer, Indiana.  A viewer came up to the truck to ask, “Where’s the tall pole thingy?”

Beam me up, satellite dish!

Well, no need for that thingy when we’re in the satellite truck – this dish beams out to space. But assignment editor Lisa Sharmat notes that we only use it when we have to. Satellite time costs money and there are just more issues involved – booking the times, figuring our coordinates and other techie stuff.

Our crews have strict guidelines and standards for operation of the trucks.  I no longer worry about any risks or health effects.  But early in my career, there was little research and a lot of concern about regularly working in trucks beaming signals.  A former cameraman once joked, “Your kids might come out with three arms!”  I worried during both of my pregnancies since my husband also worked in television at the time.

No need for satellite time while reporting from Michigan Avenue.

Thank goodness my son and daughter are healthy.  But, sometimes, I would love to beam their messy rooms into space!

There’s a big difference between anchoring a Fox Chicago newscast in a studio with just a few people and speaking in person in front of lots of people.  Strange as it may seem, I actually get quite nervous before speaking engagements.  But seldom do I feel that way before a newscast which is broadcast to far more people.

The Sears Holdings HQ has over 7,000 employees.

Today, I visited the headquarters of Sears Holdings in Hoffman Estates.  Their Asian Network had invited me to speak about my career and my experiences as an Asian-American.

I talked about immigrating from Hong Kong, growing up in a Chinese restaurant and my path into journalism.  I’ve given roughly the same talk dozens of times before at other companies, schools and organizations. Whenever an audience is actually looking at me, I get distracted by expressions, movements and body language.  Of course, these are reactions impossible to see through television.

Networking with some of the Asian Network.

Just about everyone has interesting stories to tell.  I honestly feel somewhat selfish talking about myself for an hour (and then blogging about doing it). I know there is a lot I can learn from others.  But if others can learn anything from me, I am touched.  And maybe a little nervous.

My parents are enjoying a well-deserved retirement.

My parents are in California but they watch Fox Chicago every day, either on satellite or online.  If I take a day off and they don’t see me on the air, they’ll call to make sure I’m okay.  Otherwise, they expect me to call them at least every other day or so.  It’s among the few opportunities I get to speak Chinese.

As I drive along the Kennedy Expressway, my mother’s on the line complaining about my father’s hearing.  He’s lost all hearing in one ear and the other’s at just 2%… I think.  Something’s getting lost in translation.  My dad gets on the line to boast it’s 20%, not 2%, so he’s got 80% of good hearing in one ear!  They proceed to bicker loudly about the amount of hearing loss – “The doctor said it was the amount left not the amount lost.  You hear?”

My mom goes on about always having to answer the phone because he can’t hear it ringing. He simply refuses to wear a hearing aid.  The patriarch often has the final say in many Chinese families.

It’s all like a “Seinfeld” episode.  In Chinese.  On mute.

Chicago Bear Matt Forte : Super Nice Guy!

You never know who you might run into in the Fox Chicago newsroom.  We’ve always got newsmakers and celebrities stopping by for interviews.  This morning, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte joined us for “Good Day Chicago” to talk about the new season. He’s a great guy – friendly and cordial to everyone.

In contrast, many in the newsroom can still recall the visit of a certain movie star years ago. Only the anchors were allowed to look at or speak to this person.  It was amusing to watch people looking and/or trying not to look!

My television career has allowed me to meet some pretty fascinating people over the years – from Shakira to Stevie Wonder to President George Herbert Walker Bush.  I first met Barack Obama when he was still serving in the Illinois state senate.

A particularly interesting celebrity combination prompted producer Pete Siegal to record this video last year while Rod Blagojevich was still the Illinois Governor:

I have to say I meet far more non-celebrities who are equally impressive.  One of the veterans at our Fox Chicago/Jewel-Osco Food Drive last week spends hundreds of dollars packing and delivering meals to the homeless every weekend.  He clearly doesn’t do it for publicity.

Our newsroom construction zone

The Fox Chicago newsroom has been under construction for about a year now.  Our new HD studio was the priority – that debuted months ago.  But the main newsroom area is still evolving.   We never know what the place will look like every time we return.

Entertainment reporter David Viggiano with a HOT drink!

But another challenge is the constantly fluctuating room temperature.  More often than not, the newsroom is cold.  Executive producer Melinda Tichelaar jokes that our average temperature is about 55 degrees.  As a survival tactic, I keep a pink shawl (a Christmas gift from Patrick Elwood) at my desk for emergency layering.

This morning, the cubicles were in a new formation and half the lights wouldn’t turn on. “It’s a cave”, says producer Roy Santoro.  He’s like a caveman.  He likes it.  I’m shivering despite the company-approved space heater under my desk. His theory:  ”You’re a girl.  You guys are always cold.”

Entertainment reporter David Viggiano confirms the newsroom temperature is colder than 70.  He adds, “It’s always cold.  But I’m running around so I don’t feel it as much today.”

My close pal, traffic reporter Sondra Solarte, always warms my heart.

I guess it’s hard to please everyone.  The cool conditions are ideal for all the technical equipment.  In addition, studio lighting and humming computers can heat up a room pretty quickly.  All over the newsroom, there are sweatshirts and jackets. At times, I’ve seen producers working in hats and gloves. But Melinda says, “If you go stand by Roy, it’s hotter because he’s always blowing hot air.”

The Celtic Fest Best: The winning contestant does a jig.

My job at Fox Chicago includes far more than anchoring and reporting.  I emcee or participate in charitable events and dinners all year long – at least 4 or 5 a month.  Today, I joined other broadcasters in judging the “Men in Kilts” contest at Celtic Fest Chicago.

The Emcees: John Michael Dias and Timmy Quinlan from the Chicago production of "Jersey Boys"

Perhaps I felt a special link to this event because my husband is part Scottish.  He’s also Irish and German, with a family tree that even includes Abraham Lincoln!

When I mentioned my weekend plans earlier this week to cameraman Sean Gibbons, he said “You better bring two pairs of sunglasses, you’ll be looking at a lot of white legs!”

There’s a crowd of thousands and they were making a lot of noise.  But that made the judging a little easier.  Almost everyone agreed to disqualify one contestant because he was wearing a plaid blanket, not a kilt.

Sister Bernie keeps everyone in line.

Sister Bernie was on hand to make sure the contestants behaved – especially the guy with the “Commando” shirt. He was countered by a cute little boy in a “Got Kilt?” shirt.  The two guys who looked most authentic were the clear crowd favorites.  The guy who won did the best jig.  It was all in good fun, of course, with just about everyone laughing throughout.  At least, no one split their pants.

The Judges: Me, Lee Ann Trotter of NBC5 & Stacey Baca of ABC7. (Not pictured: Mary Frances Bragiel of WBBM Radio)

I'm wired!

Whenever I wear a dress to anchor a newscast, there is nowhere to clip the units for the remote microphone and IFB (that’s for our earpiece, allowing us to hear the director and/or producer in the control room).  Each pack weighs almost a pound so we need pretty sturdy material to hold them in place.

Years ago, I learned this great trick from other anchors – clip the packs onto an elastic/velcro strap on one of our legs. Then, they can be hidden under the dress.  There are other options – I’ve actually seen anchors have equipment clipped onto their bra straps in back or they wear a belt underneath. But that makes for a pretty lumpy look in back.

The "ugly" accessories.

Since “Good Day Chicago” is on the air for 5 hours, the audio guys have to make sure every mike and IFB pack has new batteries at the start of the show.  With numerous anchors, reporters and guests weaving through every hour, you can imagine what a challenge it can be for the person running the audio board.  The guys we have doing that are great.  I never see them wearing dresses, though.

Who's on first?

One morning show, 8 live segments, 1 taped report, 5 live interviews and over a HUNDRED guests!  That’s what I needed to juggle this morning for our “Good Day Chicago” food drive coverage at the Jewel-Osco store in Glendale Heights.  I hope I pulled it all off okay and didn’t look too frazzled.

What an amazing community!  Among the volunteers and donors;  the mayor, local police and fire departments, veterans, students from at least 4 schools and the incredibly enthusiastic staff from Jewel.  Among the grateful who’ll be distributing the food to the needy:  workers from the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

I am always assigned “hit” times when I’m out on location.  But since it’s a live show, those times are always rough estimates. So I spend a lot of time “standing by”. In between, it’s great to meet and greet people as I continue to monitor our show through my earpiece. Segments often get changed around during the show.  There may be breaking news or a live studio guest running late – that’s the way it goes.

Cameraman Ed Flynn explains how the live truck works to students from Glenbard North HS.

It’s all worth it.  By 10 o’clock this morning, Jewel-Osco reported over $100,000 in store donations – $3,000 from the Glendale Heights community alone.   But this is only Day 10 of Hunger Action Month. C’mon, Chicagoland!  There’s still time to donate at your local Jewel-Osco or join our next live drive.

Give a little.  Feed a lot.

"Mmmmm... breakfast!"

I forgot to eat yesterday!  I didn’t realize until this morning that I was so busy all day, I never had a chance to eat.  Today wasn’t much better – only had time for a yogurt and coffee while on the way to my “Good Day Chicago” live shot in suburban Glenview.

In the news business, you often don’t know where you’ll be going or what you’ll be covering until that day.  If there’s breaking news, you might even get diverted to something else entirely.  The Fox Chicago camera guys are always saying, “Go to the bathroom when you can and eat when you can because you don’t know when the next chance will happen.”

Sean sets up the live truck after his Reese's breakfast.

Cameraman Sean Gibbons keeps an emergency stash of prepared foods in his backpack. But most of it is smashed and likely long expired.  “How’s that taste?” I ask, regarding the mangled Reese’s peanut butter cup he downed while driving.   He deadpans, “It tastes smashed and stale.”  But it’s enough to fuel him through the morning shift.

A long line & wait for the Mobile Food Pantry.

By this afternoon, I was in Gary, Indiana to shoot a story set to air next week. Nothing like a reality check to put things in perspective. We followed NW Indiana Food Bank workers to a mobile pantry site where a long line awaited their arrival.  For some people, it’s their first time requesting food aid. Each person received a big box of non-perishable items and even some fresh bread and vegetables.

Most of us have never known true hunger.

Got a hunger to help?  Click here to join our Fox Chicago/Jewel-Osco “Give a little. Feed a lot” campaign.  I’ll be live in Glendale Heights tomorrow morning during “Good Day Chicago”.

Executive Producer Melinda Tichelaar is a speed reader!

At least every week or so, I exchange books with Melinda Tichelaar, the executive producer of “Good Day Chicago”. She’s an avid reader like me. This morning, I handed off “The Shack” by William Young even though Melinda is still plodding through a biography on Hitler.  I’m enjoying the book she highly recommended, “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt.

Meteorologist Mark Strehl reads more than weather maps.

In a room full of journalists, it’s interesting that practically everyone at Fox Chicago is reading something outside of work.  Even our crazy producer Roy Santoro is a book worm. He’s reading “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman.  This book examines the post-human Earth.  His favorite book is “The Alphabet of Manliness” by Maddox.  This may explain a lot about Roy.

My co-anchor Patrick Elwood is reading “Face Time”, a political novel by Erik Tarloff. Meteorologist Mark Strehl just started “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert Pirsig which Patrick said he enjoyed.  Producer Becky Rohde is currently reading about the plight of two kids in Chicago’s inner-city.  Maybe she’ll let me borrow “There Are No Children Here” by Alex Kolowitz when she starts “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold which I gave to her last week.

Anchor Jeff Goldblatt "reads" his scripts.

Anchor Jeff Goldblatt says he has no time for books.  He reads as many newspapers as possible and then it’s on to children’s books with his little ones. Regardless, almost everyone in the newsroom has read “Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson – a haunting read with great Chicago history.

This just in: Crazy Roy knows how to read!

Producer Pete Siegal says his one-year-old makes it tough to read anything other than children’s board books.  Pete produces the newscast at       5 a.m.  Because of that, he admits to spending most of his time outside work “reading the back of my eyelids”.