Eek, where'd my earring go?
Somewhere between the Northwest suburbs and downtown Chicago this morning, I lost one of my earrings. I didn’t notice until just before the News at Noon. For some reason, I had just one spare pair in my locker and they were too bohemian for the argyle sweater I wore today.
I just went without. But my Fox Chicago colleagues were happy to weigh-in on my dilemma:
Hair spray: No help at all today!
Most Chicagoans know the Windy City nickname is linked to blathering politicians and not the weather. But today, we had very windy weather in the Windy City making it tough to look composed while I reported outside the Willis Tower. Soon after my first live report at 6:30 this morning, a viewer commented on twitter, “I can see from your hair that it’s very windy outside. Don’t blow away!”
It’s tough to control the elements but our Fox Chicago crews do what they can to deal with them. Camerman Stuart Orlin (who’s camera shy) used sand bags to keep the light stand from blowing over. Then, he positioned me behind the live truck so it would block most of the wind. But that meant I had to stand on the light kit box since I was down on the street and Stuart was shooting from the sidewalk.
Making the best of a windy situation.
He couldn’t do anything about the gusts swirling around the skyscrapers. For me, that meant hair flying everywhere and many strands getting caught in my lip gloss.
The wind is nothing compared to the elements we’ll have to deal with in just a few more weeks.
ABC7's Charles Thomas doesn't need hair spray.
Snow and sub-freezing temperatures are far tougher to work in. Many of us will be breaking out the parkas and serious winter gear soon.
As I messed with my messy hair, ABC7′s Charles Thomas stopped by the truck to say hello. Of course, he never has to worry about his hair blowing around.
David Novarro, ignoring the "funny face" cue from floor director Jacques Eady.
Among the many people you usually don’t see on the air during a newscast is the floor director. This person is like a field general in the studio – making sure we are in place, pointing us to the right cameras, letting us know about show changes, etc.
This morning for “Good Day Chicago”, David Novarro and I worked with Jacques Eady. He’s a proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame and he loves floor directing because “everyday is different and exciting”. Jacques understands the importance of the job, noting “I am the conduit between the director, producer and the talent to make sure everyone knows what we’re doing.”
Mark Strehl signals for a particular weather graphic.
Since we are on the air while things change, many of our cues are hand gestures. You can imagine the fun we often have without saying a thing. Some floor directors use cue cards that may say “:30″, “stretch” or “wrap”. Others use fairly universal hand signals. If we work with someone new, we may try to go over that person’s signals before the newscast.
Sondra Solarte makes a "T" sign for the "Traffic Times" graphic.
When meteorologist Mark Strehl and traffic reporter Sondra Solarte aren’t on camera, they are likely gesturing during their updates in order to cue their various video sources and graphics. It’s always fun to watch them from over at the news set. They are pretty adept at changing things up quickly since their alloted time can fluctuate.
I think David Novarro wants me to steal second base!
Many people who come to visit the studio comment about the “show behind the show”. Viewers see a lot of fun on the air because we are having fun and truly enjoy working together.
How about a high five?
What Chicago Olympic bid? What healthcare debate? There’s a chicken on the loose at Concordia University Chicago!!! When I considered this assignment for “Good Day Chicago” this morning, I was concerned it would be like a wild goose chase. But minutes after arriving at the school, students were asking “Are you here for the chicken? Please don’t take him away!” There were “Save the Chicken” signs all over campus and students were more than happy to flush the guy out for an appearance on live television:
Alright, it may not be the most hard-hitting story. But within an hour of the report, I had quite a few emails, messages and tweets about the chicken. Several viewers said, “Thanks, I needed that good laugh this morning.” Steve wrote, “I have had the worst month of my life. I’m losing my house and lost my job. I haven’t found anything funny lately but that chicken story you just did made me laugh so hard!” A viewer named Mike said, “Been miserable for several days but laughed my butt off with that chicken report.”
I’ll take covering a chicken over death and destruction anytime.
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.
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.”
"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”.
Sarah is constantly connected!
Today I’m networking with Sarah Evans. Not the singer Sara Evans – this Sarah is a rock star in the world of social media. She was at Fox Chicago earlier this month to talk to anchors, reporters and any interested employees on how broadcast journalists can better utilitize social media. I’m glad she was able to jump off the internet long enough for us to visit over lunch.
I met Sarah on the web long before her visit to the station. She somehow found me when I first joined twitter over a year ago. I think she was intrigued that a “traditional” broadcast journalist was on the scene. Sarah has nearly 30,000 twitter followers and is the founder of the site’s popular #journchat series – a weekly live chat between PR professionals, journalists and bloggers. She’s also a guest writer for Mashable and just launched her own PR and new media agency.
“What’s stopping people from using ustream?” Sarah asks. She predicts the internet and technology will soon change the world of traditional broadcast journalism even more. Like many other social media strategists, Sarah believes a tidal shift is happening. Journalists need to catch the wave, jump out or risk washing ashore. Hang ten, baby!
The keys to keep blogging...
This blog is about this blog. Its existence and readership are now permeating many facets of my life. In the Fox Chicago newsroom, quite a few co-workers tell me they’re reading this blog daily. Even my boss approached me to say, “I love your blog!” When we had an issue with some equipment earlier this week, a technician blurted, “Blog about that – how a lot of our stuff doesn’t work!”
Even my former co-workers are checking in. One newscast producer-turned-executive in NYC, emails “I am very impressed with your blog. You go, girl!” Another wrote, “Great website. I’ll tell the gang at 7 Lincoln Square!” That’s the address of WABC-TV, where I worked for seven years before joining Fox Chicago.
At “Back-to-School” night, I’m caught off guard when my daughter’s math teacher tells me she loves Scrabble, too. She had read about my Scrabble addiction on my blog. ”How do you know about my blog?”, I asked. ”Oh, I heard about it from ______, the English teacher.” Soon after, a mom of a classmate tells me how much she enjoyed the post “Question Mark Died”. Wow, people are even recalling my blog titles!
I’m touched that one of my high school classmates in California is also dropping in here regularly. She writes her own blog and it’s great to get to know her in a new way.
I made MORE work for myself with this blog!
At my daughter’s cheerleading practice last night, another mom is quick to tell me, “I love your blog.” Might I write more about all the people she watches on TV? Or how about that guy who’s no longer with the station?
I better watch what I say in here – though I can talk about the middle school history teacher. His colleagues call him “The Sage”. I love his passion for history and the way he breaks it down for middle schoolers to understand. But he doesn’t like computers, boasting to parents, “I’m old and about to retire.”
Never mind. He might still hear about this from the English and math teachers.
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