Ghost of Vietnam

Iraq was the quagmire. The war that had bogged down. The war that would defy international coalitions, cooperation and persistent action. The war started by one president that would define and unravel another president.

It would sink Obama the way Vietnam sunk Nixon.

How wrong we were. Instead Iraq, while still a flawed country is now showing progress. Despite continuing horrific violence there are signs of hope.

Now Afghanistan is on a precipice. Everyone says so. There is constant strife and as many opinions about what should be done as there are people involved. President Obama struggles to decide what to do about the war there even as pundits demand he do this or that. Now a US official has resigned over the war(http://bit.ly/3aDHVR). The deaths of US servicemen there makes October 2009 the deadliest month of the war(http://bit.ly/4fuCnG).

Today Afghanistan is Vietnam and the media is taking notice. I ripped the title for this post straight off the front page of CNN.com. "Ghost of Vietnam haunts Afghanistan".

I think the homepage screen grab above captures that mood perfectly. Whether it's the font or the picture of faceless soldiers on patrol or a combination of the two it grabbed me. I can't say that website headlines often do that but today it happened.

Anyway-- I wonder if a year from now we'll look back and say October 2009 was when it all turned south. Only time will tell.

Fall Prime Returns

Wow...So I forgot how much I missed primetime programming...

And call me crazy...but I really like NBC's shows. I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to this but oh well. Kind of crazy but I've liked most of the dramas they've developed over the last couple of years. I don't know why but I think it's probably just some sort of blow-back in my mind against the gradual CSI-ization of TV. Or I'm crazy. Who knows.

But I still love me some Law & Order..

On Daily Habits

Going to keep this short(er)...

And only to personal stuff.

Wow... More than 2 weeks since my last post and I'm digging in again. I've been struggling to stay on my normal sleep schedule... which if you've ever worked graveyard you know.. can be a real killer. But because of that today I noticed something. My schedule besides being opposite in time of day working also lends itself to other oddities. For example, most people wake up, eat, go to work. I work, then eat, and go to bed. So strange. Just one of those little observations that make life great.

The Fancy Moving Picture Box Machine

TV People love TV for the most part. I love tv. Watching it. Reading about it. Talking about it. Making it. I'm head over heels when it comes to TV. The rest of the media too. Movies in particular always amaze me. I hate horror films and slasher gross out flicks. But it still blows my mind that special effects can do what they do.

So what you ask am I talking about? I'm talking about movies.. about TV. Yes. It's official I just blew your mind. Get excited. We TV people likes us some movies.

So without further painful waiting... My top 5 films about TV.

5. Broadcast News --> Yes. Intraoffice romance does happen.

4. Network --> Sometimes you do just get "mad as hell".

3. Anchorman --> Because TV people can take a joke.

2. Live from Baghdad --> How the Cable News Network got started & why it deserved James Earl Jones as it's voice.

1. Good Night & Good Luck --> The Absolute Gold Standard.

Honorable Mentions:

All The President's Men --> Not about TV but Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman crack a joke about CBS & NBC swooping in through the windows for a scoop. So true.

The Wire --> Again, not about TV News but the final season's focus on the dying Baltimore Sun and the state of the media is worthy of attention. Even if it's a TV show... It should have been a film.

Absence of Malice --> The @KTVBKelsey award for ournalism & ethics... Starring Sally Fields!

If you haven't seen any of these... Go out and rent one. Trust me. It'll be worth it. Scotch scotch scotch.. scotchy scotch scotch.

Terror Grown At Home... Right In The USA

ELF.

Who's scared? Not me.

Now paint those letters on a white sheet and knock down several radio transmission towers with a bulldozer... http://bit.ly/Zhrr

Who would have thought a little ole Elf could do all that?

Watch out for the Earth Liberation Front. Crazy enviro-terrorists. It's not confirmed that they're actually responsible for this incident but a sign at the scene included their signature acronym.

They're also the same organization which were thought to be responsible for an arson attack that destroyed several multimillion dollar luxury homes near Seattle in March of 2008.. http://bit.ly/TfvFB

What a crazy world we live in.

When Enough is Enough... Or is it?

Ted Kennedy. The Liberal Lion of the Senate. Elder statesman. Most accomplished legislator of our time. One of the greatest Americans. Oh. And a killer. At least according to one acquaintance of mine. It's very interesting how viewpoint can shade an opinion of people. Especially people you've never met. One thing is certain. Kennedy is and will continue to be a controversial figure. I believe it was NBC News which used the phrase, "Lionized by the left and demonized by the right" to describe the senior senator from the Bay State. For anyone who can illicit such a strong response from both sides of the aisle I think it's understandable that we would plan major coverage for his passing.

That leaves the question. When is enough, enough? As @BMW said... Breaking News: Ted Kennedy... is still dead. I disagreed with his implication that the story was effectively over the moment it broke. I did so because in my immediate judgement, and as it was born out over the next 48 hours, the story was in fact just beginning. The real story became how Kennedy would be remembered. Would he be villified? Lauded? Mourned? Celebrated? As it turns out I'd say it was all of the above.. and more.

So when do we wrap it up? Cut it off and get passed it. I thought perhaps it was the day after once Brian Williams was finally done reporting live from Hyannis Port. Or perhaps Friday morning after more than 20,000 people had paraded past his body in repose in Boston. Or maybe by Sunday after the President of the United States had cut his vacation short to attend his funeral. But no, the story continued, with hundreds lined up at Arlington National Cemetery to see Kennedy's gravemarker, just feet away from his murdered brothers.

The public interest in the story was huge. Apparently it still is. I'd been in the eye of the storm for nearly a week starting within the first 30 minutes after his death was announced. So why did I still sit down and read a 5 page article on the man in Time? I think it's because of the depth of this man's story. For all his faults, and there were many his triumphs speak to our best days. The worst of personal tragedy. The most difficult of personal pressures. And failures of morals and character. He reflects our best and worst. It's probably why we're so interested and why I'm glad I was part of the storytelling.

You Tweet. We Report.

That's it in a nutshell. Of course it can be a little more complicated than that but really, the power of interactive and social media becomes more and more evident each day. From large scale examples like the fallout and protests in Iran following what many have claimed was a rigged election to more local examples like the Pioneer Courthouse Square Dave Chappelle performance here in Portland social media is breaking down barriers between journalist and citizen. In fact, the blog movement has in many cases been referred to as citizen journalism. It's also blurring the lines between what is fact and what isn't. Most often though, social media is supplanting telephone tips and viewer emails as the most direct and often expedient way of sharing news.

Only a few years ago it seemed that email was the height of viewer connectivity. You could see news happening and shoot an email to a TV station. That email would find it's way into someone's inbox and the tip might be followed up on. Now it's even quicker. A tweet or a tip in a live chat bypass that inbox. They go right to a person whether it's an anchor on twitter during a newscast or a producer monitoring a live chat. I've personally seen both happen AND seen those tips yield legitimate real time results.

In the past week it's happened twice. Just today a twitter tip lead to a breaking news situation in which I rearranged my entire newscast. It was a matter of minutes from the first tweet to the time the news made air. To break it down. A viewer tweeted to our anchor who was on the desk during the newscast saying they had seen police activity and believed there was some sort of major police situation developing. My anchor relayed this information to me. I contacted our assignment desk with the information and less than 5 minutes later we were rolling to the breaking news and I was cutting into my show to tell the audience about it. It doesn't get much quicker or streamlined than that. Viewer interaction and control at it's best. Another example shows how official sources can become even more versatile when they use social media as a means to get information out. We had been following news of a fire in our area through the course of the early morning hours. Traditionally we would listen for info on the emergency scanners. What seemed like a fairly minor fire over the scanner quickly turned into a larger story when we caught a tweet from a fire deparment information officer explaining that half a dozen families were now displaced because of the fire. What might have taken 30 minutes or an hour to figure out via old tech methods was reduced to a 5-10 minute window. That allowed me to re-order my show and allocate resources in a different way. It also lead to a more compelling story and better information for the audience.

There are other applications besides breaking news applications. Last spring I was monitoring a live chat during my newscast. A parent who lived hundreds of miles away in a different city was online in the chatroom. She was seeking information about a situation that was developing at the university where her son was enrolled. It involved the expulsion of and investigation of another student who was later accused of possessing illegal firearms on campus. While that mother may have emailed us it's not a sure thing. Instead, by coming to us and actively looking for the information she made us aware of the situation. We quickly followed up on this information and consequently had an advantage of several hours over the competition on a large story.

Both methods have great merit and while I find it unlikely they'll completely replace phone tips and email I do think that they will increase their share of news sharing. They'll also help us bring the audience information in a more timely manner. We always preach that our reporting is for the viewer and we're constantly seeking their input. This is a great example of how new media are letting us do that job better. Like I said.. You Tweet. We Report.