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Camera 8

As if I don’t spend enough time on camera.  (Actually, there are quite a few people who work in TV news who feel they never get enough time on camera.)  My son got me a web camera for Christmas so I can chat with him and our relatives everywhere.  At Fox Chicago, we have five cameras in the studio and Cam 6 in the newsroom.  I figure I work on Camera 7 whenever I’m out in the field so I refer to the newest location as Camera 8.  Besides, many Asians love the number 8.  In Chinese, the number sounds very close to the word for “prosperity” so, “Hello, Camera 8!”

My parents are senior Skypers!

Within a day of setting up my new web cam, I had a Skype account so I could start videochatting away.  The best part has been teaching my parents to Skype, too.  They had never used the built-in cameras on their laptops! They are clearly enjoying their novel new communication tool since we can Skype with relatives in Hong Kong or anywhere for free! It’s also nice to “see” my brothers more often and I may soon do a video chat with journalism students at my alma mater, the University of Oregon.

Of course, Oprah talked up Skype almost a year ago.  I’m behind!  I better go see what’s on her book club list.

Working in any business can be stressful these days given the dismal job market and economy.  But the television news business has always been stressful due to deadlines and constant competition.  A journalism professor once told me it wouldn’t be a stretch to estimate that for every broadcaster you see on TV, there are at least 5,000 other people who want that same job.

Chew on this!

Long before I worked in television, my parents spent thousands of dollars on my dental and orthodontic bills.  I’ve always had a sweet tooth so I half expected the dentist to find a cavity during every visit!  There’s probably nowhere left on my teeth for cavities to form due to a lifetime of fillings, bondings and crowns.  But a new problem developed about two years ago.

My dentist noticed chipping and a lot of wear and tear due to grinding.  He said it’s more common than ever given all the stress that so many people are under.  I was fitted for a night guard and now I can’t sleep without it.

How ironic that the stupid thing has added stress on top of my stress.  The “C” shape seems to cry out, “Can’t do without me!”, “Chip, chip, chip!”, “Cuckoo!” or “C’s before the Z’s!”  I am now afraid to fall asleep unless I’m wearing the darn thing.  ”C” is for crazy, too. I guess I’d see a different doctor for that.

No longer on the grocery list.

It’s been about a year since I gave up Diet Coke.  I used to drink about three a day.  I would never make a grocery run without buying at least a case of Diet Coke.  Zero calories and a caffeine kick! What harm could it be in a somewhat-balanced diet, right?  And it’s a far cheaper habit that smoking or drinking!

It wasn’t a formal New Year’s resolution.  I don’t make them anymore – perhaps so I won’t fail in keeping them.  But I’ve actually succeeded in giving up Diet Coke.   Last year, a nutritionist convinced me to take a close look at the ingredients.  Then Dr. Oz talked me into staying on course – though he said a Diet Coke here and there wouldn’t hurt.  No matter.  I’ve quit altogether and now I usually just drink water.

There are quite a few people in the news biz who are fueled by Diet Coke.  Some are Pepsi fans but Coke seems to be more popular in the newsroom.  There are often cans behind the anchor set and at workstations throughout the studio.

It doesn’t help that my co-anchor Patrick Elwood drinks a lot of Diet Coke.  A big part of the equation – pop is just 35¢ in the Fox Chicago break room and a bottle of water costs twice as much.  What’s up with that? I need to make a concerted effort to keep a bottle of water on hand at all times.  But I won’t make that a resolution.

It's Double Dose Friday!

There are few people on the morning shift at Fox Chicago who don’t drink coffee.  I have to have it – enough to get up extra early (2:38 a.m.) in order to grind Starbucks coffee beans and brew it fresh. On Friday afternoons, I often stop in at one of the gazillion Starbucks so I can refuel, stay awake and shift to “normal” hours for the weekend.

I’ve been a Starbucks addict for so long, “Starbucks” and “coffee” were among the first words my daughter could read!  It’s strange since I didn’t even try coffee until after I graduated from college.  My boss at TVB News in Hong Kong invited me to lunch soon after I moved over from the States.  It was a place where the waiters knew him so well, they knew what to serve and then naturally poured coffee for both of us after we ate.  I was too intimidated to admit I didn’t drink coffee.  And it wasn’t watery, starter coffee.  We were at a fancy, schmancy restaurant that served coffee so strong, it was opaque and almost syrupy. Whoa, was I flying after that lunch!

Among my daughter's first words.

So now I start every day with what my husband calls “industrial strength” coffee.  On top of that, I used to drink just as much Diet Coke.  I would actually have one or two cans a day.  But I gave it up cold turkey about six months ago after talking with a nutritionist.  I switched to drinking water.  I suppose that balances out all the coffee, right?

Mizzou's amazing J-school.

Graduates of the journalism school at the University of Missouri, Columbia, are known to be members of the Mizzou Mafia.  They are everywhere in the news business and members include Russ Mitchell of CBS News, Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News and Jim Lehrer of PBS. Here in Chicago, there’s Ben Bradley of ABC7, Judy Wang of CLTV/WGN and my boss, Fox Chicago News Director Carol Fowler!

I graduated from the well-respected journalism school at the University of Oregon but I married into the Mizzou Mafia.  Although my husband is no longer in the news business, he enjoys heading back to see friends and former classmates.   Ahead of the big homecoming weekend (and the big loss to Texas in an ugly game), professor Jen Lee Reeves organizes a “Mizzou Mafia Real World Lunch” to allow journalism students to converse with those of us working in the real world of journalism.  Jen and I are always in touch through social media so I got the pleasure of being a part of the mob lunch.

Future journalists.

I was quite impressed by students live blogging and tweeting with a #realworld hashtag during the event.  But, as they did, they heard about the grim situation in the real world. Some of the panelists had been laid off and they are looking for work.  The rest are working harder than ever. I stressed the underlying need to truly love writing and journalism.  Our business tools and avenues are changing but there will always be a need for effective storytellers and communicators.

My ongoing love for words has served me well during my career.  Though when I got out of J-school, I never envisioned that it’d also lead me to my own blog and an addiction to Facebook Scrabble.

Patrick Elwood was back at work today and just about everyone involved in Fox Chicago News at Noon asked him, “Did you see Dr. Oz filling in for you yesterday?”

Dr. Oz did a great job and the studio crew loved him.  He even called Patrick’s cell phone to leave a message about co-anchoring with me!  I think it all got Patrick’s Irish up:

My "co-anchor" today, Dr. Oz!

You never know what might happen during a live newscast. Today, I was supposed to anchor Fox Chicago News at Noon by myself.  And Dr. Oz was supposed to come on as a guest. He’s the doctor who now has his own program on Fox after becoming a household name on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.

Dr. Oz showed up early for his segment.  He’s a great guy – very friendly and at ease with everyone in the studio.  During a commercial break, he plopped down in the chair where Patrick Elwood usually sits so I joked that he should just fill-in as my co-anchor.

The studio crew scrambled to rework the show and before you knew it, he was on the air announcing, “Patrick is sick today so the doctor is in!”  It was great fun to have him join me for two segments of the show.

I asked Dr. Oz if he’s ever considered doing broadcast news.  He was quick to say no but he enjoys television.  His true passion is medicine so his new show allows him to dabble in both.  And still have time to help me out… at least, for today.

Shhhh, time to relax!

In many TV newsrooms, the term “face time” refers to when an anchor is on camera in a single shot. There are anchors who crave a lot of face time.  But I never keep track of such things. The biggest priority is conveying whatever news we’ve got to share in the most effective way.

Nonetheless, I need to spend time caring for my face in order to be ready for face time.  And every time I get a facial, I’m reminded that I don’t get them often enough.  I probably should get one at least every 3 months.  But since I’m always so busy and facials can add up, I get them rather haphazardly.

Women who work in television obviously wear far more makeup, far more often than the average woman.  Most days, I am eager to race home and clean off what my kids call my “TV face”.   I’ve had enough facials to know the importance of proper skin care.  It improves collagen production and elasticity, reduces lines, eases your woes over yet another losing year for the Cubs and spares your kids from seeing you in a scary facial mask.  A makeup artist once told me, “Facials are like maintenance for your car!”

With Duong Sheahan & Sarah Evans: "Look Ma, no makeup!"

So like my car, I am in for “service”. But it’s actually on my schedule only because of a spa event put on by a girlfriend.  Just the mere description of the facial is worthwhile – deep cleansing, exfoliation, hydrating mask and massage.  Any massage always makes me recall what an esthetician once said while I was away on a vacation.  She didn’t know I worked in television news. She asked, “What do you do?  You are so stressed out, you’ve got knots on your knots!”

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?

Crazy Roy is all business in the control room.

Every office seems to have certain people who keep the place lively and laughing.  We’ve got a lot of personalities like that on the morning shift at Fox Chicago.  But a big standout is producer Roy Santoro.  He’s proud that I refer to him as Crazy Roy.  This guy works hard in the evolving news biz but he also plays hard.  More than once he’s told me he’s surprised to still be alive.

Just yesterday he asked the newsroom, “Is it so wrong to be disgusting?”  Roy usually can’t go more than five minutes without using the F-word.  So last year, I challenged him to go an entire workday without dropping any F-bombs. I even offered to donate $100 to the charity of his choice if he could do it. Everyone in the newsroom lent their ears to enforce to challenge and he did pretty well.  But during the sixth hour, a technical problem prompted a pretty big and loud “F*#%!”.  The whole newsroom reacted and he looked pretty disappointed.  Maybe it’s time for another challenge.

Grammy Winner Richard Marx and ABC Radio's Roe Conn, who confirms Roy is crazy!

ABC Radio host Roe Conn happened to be in the newsroom yesterday.  He had worked with Roy years ago at WBBM-TV. When asked about Roy, Roe has a lot to share including a story about a newsroom fight!  I can’t recall the details but Roe says it made him respect Roy ever after. However, he adds, “I don’t know anyone darker, crazier or more passionate about hating himself.”

But we all know Roy is quite passionate about his work.  He can produce the heck out of a show and he’s got top-notch instincts when handling breaking news.  He may be crazy but a lot of people are crazy about him.