School Closings 101

I figure I'll take the opportunity to explain how our school closings alert system works, brag on it a little bit, and rant a little bit.

(My rant is about the incessant callers who are too impatient. More on that later.)

School districts must give us their assigned pin number before we report the schedule change. It's very secure.

(Aside: a couple years ago, a Dallas station got a phone call that DISD was closing. The call apparently had DISD on caller ID. It was fake. Half the kids stayed home. Epic fail.)

We enter the information directly into the tickers that you see at the bottom of the screen and the tickers automatically populate our website. That gives you three ways to find out about school closings: instantly on the web (don't have to wait for alphabetical order) or flip back and forth between KTAB and KRBC and one of them will be closer to your school than the other. Less waiting time.

(Speaking of waiting, this is the most adorable video ever!)

Anyway, we are extremely proud of our efficiency and accuracy of our school closings systems.

Now to my rant.

On days like today, from about 5:30 to 6:30 a.m., the phone rings off the hook. Schools, day cares, businesses, organizations... everyone calls to let us know what their plans are for the day and asks us to announce them. Awesome. That's why we are here. BUT our phone is constantly tied up by people who are too impatient to wait for the news. So we repeat over and over and over, "Hello? No, AISD has not yet informed us of their decision." "Hello? No, AISD has not yet informed us of their decision."

Then AISD calls. Within 90 seconds we have it online, on the tickers, and the anchors on both stations are saying it out loud exactly every 5 minutes. We then spend the next 30 minutes saying, "Hello? Yes, AISD has delayed two hours." "Hello? Yes, AISD has delayed two hours."

In the time it took you to look up our phone number, call, go through the automated line to get to us, we've probably said it it on air and run it across the ticker. Patience, people! The fact that they're calling us means they know who we are. We are a television station. TURN ON YOUR TV!

(That's my rant. I'm not really mad. Just trying to be funny. Sort of.)

Enjoy your shortened Friday!

Computer Problems

I started back in the dark ages. I was doing radio news in the late 1970's..more than 30-years ago. We used notebooks, tape-recorders and telephones. NASA had computers. The military had computers. The closest we had were clocks that flashed the red numbers instead of the big round circles. I got here this morning, and the computer didn't work like it usually does. For young reporters, that's not a big deal. They just right-click this and left-click that and get it working. For me, that's a big problem. If it doesn't work the old way, I'm about as lost as last-year's Easter Egg. I'm here almost by myself with a long newscast to prepare, and it's all on that computer. I'm sure that the morning doubled the strands of gray hair. I guess that's the good part. Computers are only good if they work right. By the way, thanks Chris for showing me a way around that problem and helping me get the newscast on TV. It's great to have the help of these young people.

It's Nice to Have Fans...But Wow!

So as I often do, I try to connect with the people I meet on stories...After all, they're more than a story, they're people. Plus, who am I?

Anyway, I am often humbled when I meet others on the street, and on Monday it went to a whole new level.

To tell this story I have to back up to a cold night, on January 6th. The year was 2010, and Connan O'Brien was the host of The Late Show...remember that time? Wow..what memories..Alright, back to the point, a family had been held at gun point inside their own home that night. It was a breaking news story, I met with the victims, and they shared their story. A masked man tried to bust through their door waving a gun, the mom quickly and bravely pushed the door closed on the bad guy before her husband chased him off. (See that story here: http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=207151)

So that night I tell their story, as best as I can, and return for a live shot at 10. After wrapping the shot, I thank them for their time and share my relief that no one was hurt. At that time the mom asks me how old I am, (I get this a lot, because well I'm young) I answer 23. She then says, "I notice you don't have a ring on your finger, are you single?" Knowing that this question and more was coming, I braced myself and answered her. She then quickly turns to her 21 year old daughter and says, "Have you met my daughter?"

Don't get me wrong, I was flattered, but what am I supposed to do? I politely wave, thank her for her time, and say I better leave.

Fast forward to the present.

The same family gets targeted again, this time having four shots fired at their home. Everyone is okay, but scarred. So I return, to get the story. (See that story here: http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=214952)

This time in the small talk, they tell me they've been following me ever since I first came out to their house. Wow! I'm honored. I don't always think of myself as having a following beyond my Mom and a few people at church. The mom then tells me they have a running joke at their home, when I come on, the 21 year old says "Is that my boyfriend on TV?" and the younger daughter asks, "Is that the cute one, reporting?"

I had no clue, but I had become the target of fan-dom affection. I now have reached the once unattainable level with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, now Tim Johnston...RIGHT? (stop making fun of me) Okay, I know I'm not with them, but close.

So, again, I blush and thank them for the compliments and then laugh it off and leave. I was honored, humbled, and even shocked to learn I had "adoring" fans...but seriously what was I supposed to do?

By the way, a thank you goes out to this family, they really did impress me with the nice thoughts. I'm not trying to mock or embarrass anyone, I just found this all too funny and wanted to share it.

My Bout With Jack Frost (but he hasn't seen the last of me...)

While most of you guys are at home sleeping and waiting to see if your school/business is closed or delayed, there's a group of people that go to work before sunrise to make sure you stay in the know. That's where I come in. Or at least...where I'm supposed to.

My job this morning was to make sure you see the lovely KTAB reporters that freeze their tails off to give you a live report on the weather and road conditions. Little did I know that I would be the one left to freeze...with no lights or cameras. (By the way, while I was writing this blog, the power in my apartment suddenly shut off, so I know this day is off to a great start.)

I got a call from my boss saying I needed to be in around 6 o' clock. Sure!

I hopped out of bed, got ready, headed out the door, unlocked my car with a press of a button, started to pull the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge! No biggie. I'll just go back in my apartment and get some water and an ice scraper.

Take two: Armed with my water bottle and a scraper, I started to tackle my ice problems again. I watered down my door and chipped off some ice, but still no progress. You can't beat me, Jack Frost, I'll just open up one of the other three doors and slide my way to the driver's seat. But first, I needed to retreat back into my apartment because the bitter cold plus my wet hands and clothes equaled what felt like a frost bite.

Take three: With my gloves in tow and a fresh batch of water, I started to water down all of my doors. Scrape, scrape, chip, chip...STILL NOTHING?!?? At that point, I felt a bit perturbed because I've already seen three other people go to their cars, get in with ease, and drive off into the darkness. (Mind you, because of where I parked, each driver had to blast their headlights at me while I tried to avoid looking foolish). Mr. Frost was making a joke out of me, so I had to regroup and run back into my apartment. Plus, I couldn't feel my fingers or toes again.

Take four: About 25 minutes had passed since my first try. I called my boss to let her know why I was running late (which I'm sure sounded more like "my doggie ate my homework"). When I hung up the phone, my de-icing routine turned into 'Operation Open Up.' Ice scraper? check! More water? check! Let's do this!

My original "scrape, scrape, chip, chip" turned into "scrape, chip, kick, hit, kick, scream!"

With numb fingertips, a possible bruised hip, and a slightly damaged paint job, I got a call from my boss.

"Hello? Umm...yeah....still can't get in. No, I'm still outside of my apartment. Alright." ::click:: She told me to give it up and go back inside.

Oh the shame! I'm not that worker who calls in! I usually pull off any situation, but the ice on my car today was no joke (and what's crazy is that the roads around my area had no serious ice issues). Oh well, I guess there's always a lesson with each passing day.

Prior to this incident, I'd hear about freezing temperatures and think everyone was just overreacting. "What's a few hours of cold weather gonna do?" Now I'm starting to think the weather people actually know what they're talking about.

Just wish I didn't have to learn it this way....

What an Assignment

Katherine Lane and Tim Johnston's trip to cover the devastating earthquake is an amazing assignment. It's what starry-eyed college journalism students dream of when they declare a major.
They are going to the site of one of the biggest events in the world. This is likely one of the most significant world events for all of 2010. Their reports will help all of us understand the horror and the heroism. Many of us had to choke those green-eyed monsters when we learned that our colleagues were on the way to document the work of the Dyess Airmen helping with the relief efforts. This is the kind of story that transforms a young reporter into a veteran. The things they are seeing, hearing and smelling will change them just as certainly as the event is changing Haiti. We are anxious to see and hear what they see and hear...and to feel something of what they feel because of the tragedy and relief work.

A New Day, A New Delay

By: Katherine Lane

So far, the trip can be summed up with one word: Delayed. I have to say, the stress of these delays has been a little much, but every time I get worried about making it to Haiti at all, I remember we're being delayed for the greater good of the Haitian people.

In the time spent between delays, I've had a BLAST. Every time I've felt like we were not going to be able to eat or get to Haiti at all, someone in the Air Force has come through for us! When we were told today at the hotel that the nearest food establishment was a 2 mile walk away, a car miraculously appeared from the Base Commanders office to take us to the BX (like a food court + Dillards + Wal-Mart and all Duty-Free!)

Right now, I am sitting in a Florida Starbucks, uploading video and establishing a game plan for the rest of the day. We are so fortunate to have found a ride with a sweet Air Force Inn employee who brought us straight here! Another fine example of how well we've been treated!

Currently, our plan is to hang out in the Inn's lobby until we get picked up at 1:30 am to be taken to the Flight Line where we will board a C-130 and head to Haiti around 4am.

I hope this plan will stick, I'm anxious to see our Airmen at work doing something they are all so ready and prepared to do. Sweet dreams, everyone! Hopefully while you are sleeping soundly, we will be Haiti-bound!

Getting Bumped is Hard to Do...But It's for a Good Cause

If you've seen the Twitter updates (which I'm still learning to make), you've no doubt seen the back and forth emotions and plans we've gone through. It's been a wild ride, but I'm seeing the best of these men and women as they re-group and readjust to follow the orders given.

While it's been tough to stay on edge since Thursday, when we learned this trip was possible, I'm learning to be flexible. I touched on that in my first post...it's even more true, now. Although, I'm also learning to see the greater good being served, each time we get scratched from a flight.

Recap: We've been scheduled and rescheduled on 8 different flights now... Kinda tough to see the whole number there...But it's important that you know why we've been bumped from each of these flights: The crew, and the supplies.

For several flights, the plans have changed because of crew rest and health. That's fair, they work so hard, they need their rest. I'm in no position to grant that, but I certainly support it.

However, on two flights now we've been scratched simply because the plane was too full, and that is a good thing!! Each flight has been packed full of supplies and trucks to use by the military to get the goods to the people in need.

Sure it's a challenge trying to keep up with the latest plans, but when I weigh out the good that can and will be done with simply one C-130 fully loaded with supplies, I can take the heartache.

It's so cool to see the planes being stocked from front to back with palettes of water and medical supplies. Don't worry we taped the whole process, and courtesy the wifi at Starbucks you should be able to see that video on the news tonight. (crossing fingers)

Anyway, that has been one of the many conversations we (the media crew and Dyess PAs) have had as we analyze the many ups and downs of this trip. Still, the relief is coming, and THAT is encouraging.