On my computer at work, I use to have a sticker with some words that have served me well over the past 22 years in television news: "Do not weep. Do not wax indignant. Understand." Those words were written by Dutch Philosopher Baruch Spinoza who wrote them more than 400 years ago. He also wrote this: “The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free."
These are changing times in which we live and if you are going to live in these times, you must be able to change. That is especially true for television. Diane Mermigas wrote on BNET earlier this month that if TV stations are going to survive, they are going to have to reinvent local news. Mermigas quite accurately points out that "local TV stations depend heavily on their news operations, which typically account for about half their revenues. As a result, they're also highly vulnerable to the death spiral that's overtaken newspapers as news migrates to the web."
The traditionally model of television is changing. I have talked about that many times in past blogs and my advice was this: embrace the change for it is not going to go away. People are reluctant to change and often fear change. There was once a time in this country when people said a 24-hour TV network that only does news would never be accepted. They said the same thing about a TV channel that ran weather 24-7. Yet, CNN and The Weather Channel are now the first place people turn when they need to know. John C. Maxwell, in his book Good Thinking For A Change, says this: "Changing your beliefs changes your expectations; changing your expectations changes your attitude, changing your attitude changes your behavior, changing your behavior changes your performance, and changing your performance changes your outcome."
KRBC is changing and is now going in a different direction and I won't be making the trip with them. Some might think I'd be sad about that, but I'm not.
Thirty-three years ago, I walked into the radio newsroom at KRBC and began doing something I love: the news. I have always loved doing the news and I am grateful to those I have worked for over the years for allowing me to do what I love. I guess I got "bitten by the bug" when I was a teenager delivering the Washington Post. But it was also stimulated by the places I where I grew up. I was living in Montgomery, Alabama when Rosa Parks refused to give-up her seat on a city bus, igniting the Civil Rights Movement in this country. I was in Washington, D.C. when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream" speech. I lived the anxiety and fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis and stood on the freezing bridge leading into Arlington National Cemetery as the body of President Kennedy rolled by, carried on a horse-drawn casson. Surrounded by so-much history, how could I not love "the news"? It has been a dream come true: a dream born in the hallways at Walter Reed Army Medical Center one a Saturday morning. There to get a haircut, I got lost and found myself standing outside the hospital radio station. A teletype machine was sitting behind a large window, actively hammering out the news, one letter at a time. I was astounded by the realization that I was watching history being written as I stood there.
In 1987, KRBC radio got out of the news business and I moved over to TV.
You know, closing one chapter of your life and beginning another is a lot like those moments, when you are scurrying around as you head out the door, wondering if you have forgotten anything? So let me just say this: For the past 22 years, it has been my honor to come into your homes and to share with you the events of the day in our community. I hope I have been an objective voice, but admittedly, there have been some tremendous peaks and valleys that you were not allowed to see. I hope in that time, I have not overstayed my welcome or behaved in anyway other than as an invited guest.
It is time now for a change and my sincerest wish is for you to find happiness in your life and for KRBC to reach the heights to which I know it is capable of. They have some great ideas and some even greater days ahead of them.
In the film, "Apollo 13", there is that scene where the crippled space capsule is getting ready to begin its perilous re-entry and Tom Hank's turns to his crewmates and says, "Gentlemen, it has been an honor to fly with you."
It has been an honor for me.
Do not weep. Do not wax indignant. Understand.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Reflections on Patriot's Day
Well, here we are on Patriot’s Day, September 11, 2009; eight years after terrorists launched a series of attacks against free, peace-loving people and the very core of their beliefs. People ask me from time to time what was the greatest story I ever covered and invariably I tell them it was 9-11.
My most vivid memories of that date come from a 60-minute videotape I have locked away in my desk at work. It’s an old feed tape we use to use for collecting news stories, but on September 11th, 2001 I used it to grab every piece of video I could from the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Crash of Flight 93. On that tape are images of that day (many of which have not been seen since it happened), but what are most striking to me are the words spoken: the audio tracks. You can hear the shock and disbelief in the voices, but there is something else; a profound sadness for those who have just lost their lives.
I come from a generation of baby-boomers. We weren’t even born when Pearl Harbor was attacked. We didn’t gather around radios to be stirred into action by President Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech. In fact, I wondered what historians would remember about President Bush’s remarks to the nation on September 11, 2001. The strange thing is that most people can’t remember what he said. Here is part of his remarks from an address to a grief-stricken nation that night:
“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices -- secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”
I don’t watch my tape very often. It’s like a home movie that contains some very tragic images. It brings me to tears sometimes. I reminds of things I don’t want to remember, but at the same time, don’t want to forget. TV crews covering the attacks turning the power of the media into tools of compassion as they splashed the photos and posters of those unaccounted for across the television screens of the world, firefighters racing to the scene - firefighters who did their duty and tried to save the lives of others while putting their own lives at risk, crowd filling the streets, waving flags in support – holding candles in makeshift memorials to the dead. At Buckingham Palace, the band played “The National Anthem” instead of “God Save the Queen” and the closing shot that night from the networks was of the Manhattan skyline with smoke still pouring from the scene as rain began to fall.
Not all the images were from Ground Zero. There is the story about passengers on a plane that was diverted to Labrador and how people who lived there fed them and gave them shelter after all the planes were ordered from the air.
In my closet at home, I have an old tattered American Flag: weathered and worn. I guess it is the closest thing to a family icon that I own. I have it stored in a box with a slip of paper explaining that the flag was put up immediately after September 11 and flew everyday until it became too worn to fly anymore. It’s also a reminder that there was a time in the days after September 11th when you couldn’t find an American Flag in this country. People bought nearly everyone they could and flew them.
So, here we are eight years later. It’s a funny thing, but the words that serve me best these days I remembered from my high school Civics class; written by another American Patriot more than 200 years ago. His name was Thomas Paine and this is what he wrote on December 23rd, 1776 in The Crisis:
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
I gave a copy of those words to a young man headed to Iraq a few years ago…to lift his spirits when times seemed their darkest, just as they had in the days after September 11th.
God bless America.
My most vivid memories of that date come from a 60-minute videotape I have locked away in my desk at work. It’s an old feed tape we use to use for collecting news stories, but on September 11th, 2001 I used it to grab every piece of video I could from the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Crash of Flight 93. On that tape are images of that day (many of which have not been seen since it happened), but what are most striking to me are the words spoken: the audio tracks. You can hear the shock and disbelief in the voices, but there is something else; a profound sadness for those who have just lost their lives.
I come from a generation of baby-boomers. We weren’t even born when Pearl Harbor was attacked. We didn’t gather around radios to be stirred into action by President Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech. In fact, I wondered what historians would remember about President Bush’s remarks to the nation on September 11, 2001. The strange thing is that most people can’t remember what he said. Here is part of his remarks from an address to a grief-stricken nation that night:
“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices -- secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”
I don’t watch my tape very often. It’s like a home movie that contains some very tragic images. It brings me to tears sometimes. I reminds of things I don’t want to remember, but at the same time, don’t want to forget. TV crews covering the attacks turning the power of the media into tools of compassion as they splashed the photos and posters of those unaccounted for across the television screens of the world, firefighters racing to the scene - firefighters who did their duty and tried to save the lives of others while putting their own lives at risk, crowd filling the streets, waving flags in support – holding candles in makeshift memorials to the dead. At Buckingham Palace, the band played “The National Anthem” instead of “God Save the Queen” and the closing shot that night from the networks was of the Manhattan skyline with smoke still pouring from the scene as rain began to fall.
Not all the images were from Ground Zero. There is the story about passengers on a plane that was diverted to Labrador and how people who lived there fed them and gave them shelter after all the planes were ordered from the air.
In my closet at home, I have an old tattered American Flag: weathered and worn. I guess it is the closest thing to a family icon that I own. I have it stored in a box with a slip of paper explaining that the flag was put up immediately after September 11 and flew everyday until it became too worn to fly anymore. It’s also a reminder that there was a time in the days after September 11th when you couldn’t find an American Flag in this country. People bought nearly everyone they could and flew them.
So, here we are eight years later. It’s a funny thing, but the words that serve me best these days I remembered from my high school Civics class; written by another American Patriot more than 200 years ago. His name was Thomas Paine and this is what he wrote on December 23rd, 1776 in The Crisis:
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
I gave a copy of those words to a young man headed to Iraq a few years ago…to lift his spirits when times seemed their darkest, just as they had in the days after September 11th.
God bless America.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Dish It to Downing: Defending Your Right to Know
It was one of those defining moments. It happened between an elected official and a reporter. At the heart of the discussion: the public's right to know. It centered around construction of a new county jail.
Here’s what happened: Elected officials wanted an opportunity to let the jail's designer and the sheriff talk openly about the jail. So, they set up a meeting which elected officials would attend and listen to the discussion, but at which no business would be transacted and no decisions made - two things the law strictly forbids. It was only later that word got out about the private session which some contended was not properly posted because it wasn't posted at all.
It brought a somewhat pointed discussion between the reporter and the official that went something like this: “I think you violated the Open Meetings Act. It was an official meeting in which a quorum was present without posting notice of that meeting or what you were going to discuss.”
“We weren’t discussing anything,” the official answered. “We were listening. We wanted to give the principal parties the opportunity to openly discuss their concerns about the new jail. As I read and interpret the law, it says that we cannot meet to transact business or make a decision without giving public notice. We did neither. We only wanted them to feel free to speak frankly without the fear that it would wind up on the evening newscast or the front page of the newspaper.”
“Then, they really weren’t ‘openly’ discussing it, were they?” the reporter argued. “They were discussing the expenditure of more than a million dollars of taxpayer money in a private meeting, out of the presence of taxpayers.”
“But no decisions were made and we were not part of the discussion," the official insisted.
“Says you,” retorted the agitated report. “I don’t know whether you were part of the discussion or made any decisions or not, do I? I just have to take your word for it. If you did violated the law, who stands to lose more than you by admitting it? I find it hard to believe that none of you discussed what was talked about today…or will discuss it further in the future. As for making a decision, I certainly believe that at some point what was talked about will manifest itself in some decision. I may be wrong, but I don’t think so. And the only defense that you will have will be if there was an impartial party in there representing the public.”
It was a spirited discussion and in the end, nothing was ultimately resolved. I take that back. I understand that both acknowledged the need for officials to be able to conduct business as they were elected to do, but at the same time to make sure the "public" is protected from potential abuses. It wasn't the first such confrontation and was a catalyst for the Ombudsman program. An ombudsman sits in closed meetings and makes sure the laws are upheld, but who is forbidden to disclose what is talked about except to the proper authorities.
On September 24th, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott will defend the Texas Open Meetings Act against those who want to do public business behind closed doors. The suit is filed by two former members of the city council in Alpine, Avinash Rangra and Anna Monclova. According to prosecutors, Rangra sent emails to a quorum of city council members discussing official business. He was charged with conducting an illegal, closed meeting. The charges were later dropped, but Rangra and Monclova subsequently challenged the Texas Open Meetings Act in federal court, claiming it violates their guarantees under the First Amendment of the Constitution. The federal court initially rejected the argument, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later sent the case back to the lower court claiming it should be reviewed under a stricter standard of review. In his brief filed this week, this is what Attorney General Greg Abbott said:
“Elected officials work for the people. They do not have a First Amendment right against the very people they serve. They suffer no actionable First Amendment injury from being required to conduct public business in public, rather than in secret, to the exclusion of the voters who elected them to office in the first place. In short, open meeting laws expand, not suppress communication. Such laws do not limit public discourse – they broaden it. Open government is precisely what the First Amendment envisions, not condemns. Like virtually every open meeting law across the country … the Texas Open Meetings Act is based on a simple premise: Because the decisions of governmental bodies are made not on behalf of the members themselves, but on behalf of the people they serve, the people have the right to view the decision-making process.”
You know, for the record, there is no such thing as your "right" to know. It is sort of hinted at in that portion of the Bill of Rights that talks about government not making laws abridging your freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, but there really is "right to know what is going on". And that seems okay for a lot of people.
Sometime it seems like we turn our heads and look the other way when we should be standing up and being counted. I think the Attorney General makes a great case for defending us from the abuses of ourselves. I guess ultimately the court will decide.
Downing Bolls
Here’s what happened: Elected officials wanted an opportunity to let the jail's designer and the sheriff talk openly about the jail. So, they set up a meeting which elected officials would attend and listen to the discussion, but at which no business would be transacted and no decisions made - two things the law strictly forbids. It was only later that word got out about the private session which some contended was not properly posted because it wasn't posted at all.
It brought a somewhat pointed discussion between the reporter and the official that went something like this: “I think you violated the Open Meetings Act. It was an official meeting in which a quorum was present without posting notice of that meeting or what you were going to discuss.”
“We weren’t discussing anything,” the official answered. “We were listening. We wanted to give the principal parties the opportunity to openly discuss their concerns about the new jail. As I read and interpret the law, it says that we cannot meet to transact business or make a decision without giving public notice. We did neither. We only wanted them to feel free to speak frankly without the fear that it would wind up on the evening newscast or the front page of the newspaper.”
“Then, they really weren’t ‘openly’ discussing it, were they?” the reporter argued. “They were discussing the expenditure of more than a million dollars of taxpayer money in a private meeting, out of the presence of taxpayers.”
“But no decisions were made and we were not part of the discussion," the official insisted.
“Says you,” retorted the agitated report. “I don’t know whether you were part of the discussion or made any decisions or not, do I? I just have to take your word for it. If you did violated the law, who stands to lose more than you by admitting it? I find it hard to believe that none of you discussed what was talked about today…or will discuss it further in the future. As for making a decision, I certainly believe that at some point what was talked about will manifest itself in some decision. I may be wrong, but I don’t think so. And the only defense that you will have will be if there was an impartial party in there representing the public.”
It was a spirited discussion and in the end, nothing was ultimately resolved. I take that back. I understand that both acknowledged the need for officials to be able to conduct business as they were elected to do, but at the same time to make sure the "public" is protected from potential abuses. It wasn't the first such confrontation and was a catalyst for the Ombudsman program. An ombudsman sits in closed meetings and makes sure the laws are upheld, but who is forbidden to disclose what is talked about except to the proper authorities.
On September 24th, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott will defend the Texas Open Meetings Act against those who want to do public business behind closed doors. The suit is filed by two former members of the city council in Alpine, Avinash Rangra and Anna Monclova. According to prosecutors, Rangra sent emails to a quorum of city council members discussing official business. He was charged with conducting an illegal, closed meeting. The charges were later dropped, but Rangra and Monclova subsequently challenged the Texas Open Meetings Act in federal court, claiming it violates their guarantees under the First Amendment of the Constitution. The federal court initially rejected the argument, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later sent the case back to the lower court claiming it should be reviewed under a stricter standard of review. In his brief filed this week, this is what Attorney General Greg Abbott said:
“Elected officials work for the people. They do not have a First Amendment right against the very people they serve. They suffer no actionable First Amendment injury from being required to conduct public business in public, rather than in secret, to the exclusion of the voters who elected them to office in the first place. In short, open meeting laws expand, not suppress communication. Such laws do not limit public discourse – they broaden it. Open government is precisely what the First Amendment envisions, not condemns. Like virtually every open meeting law across the country … the Texas Open Meetings Act is based on a simple premise: Because the decisions of governmental bodies are made not on behalf of the members themselves, but on behalf of the people they serve, the people have the right to view the decision-making process.”
You know, for the record, there is no such thing as your "right" to know. It is sort of hinted at in that portion of the Bill of Rights that talks about government not making laws abridging your freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, but there really is "right to know what is going on". And that seems okay for a lot of people.
Sometime it seems like we turn our heads and look the other way when we should be standing up and being counted. I think the Attorney General makes a great case for defending us from the abuses of ourselves. I guess ultimately the court will decide.
Downing Bolls
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
New Media: A Wake Up Call
We are becoming an “online” society.
You look at where the news is going these days and it’s obviously headed to the internet, where you can instantly access it. In fact, we are invited to instantly comment on the story or participate in some form of opinion survey or online poll. Not everyone wants your opinion, however. The internet is the latest platform for the criminal element and that want nothing more than to take what you have. We better wake up and recognize that fact before we all suffer some form of irreparable damage.
I got an email Sunday from Customer Relations with Bell Canada, Canada’s largest communications company. It was short and simple: “Dear costumer,” it began, “This e-mail was sent by Bell Canada to notify you that we have temporarily prevented access to your account. We have reasons to believe that your account may have been accessed by someone else. Please verify your details by following the link below…”
Wow, looks important. But I suspected a scam and did some checking (without clicking on the link, by the way) and sure enough found that it was an identity theft scam. Here is the first clue that something is wrong here: the word “costumer” is misspelled. It should be “customer”; not “costumer”. A "costumer" is someone who makes costumes. Then, there was that other thing: “Bell Canada”. I don’t know anybody in Canada and I certainly don’t have any sort of account with them. One can easily see, however, how someone might go ahead and click on the link just to find out what this is all about. Unfortunately, in doing so, you may already be allowing a hacker to cut into your personal information.
I came across this story dated February of 2008. “Bell Canada has become the latest company to fall victim to the growing problem of personal information theft. On Tuesday, the company reported that the personal information of more than 3.4 million customers in Ontario and Quebec had been recovered from the home of a Montreal man. The case highlights a growing problem for businesses, as thieves continue to target large corporations for the personal information stored in their databases. The information could be sold to marketing firms, or used to commit identity theft.”
The story goes on to report that studies released in 2007 by the Ponemon Institute, a research organization specializing in privacy and security, show more than 85 per cent of businesses in the U.S. are estimated to have experienced some sort of data breach within the past two years, and more than 49 per cent of all data breaches come from lost or stolen laptop computers or USB memory cards.
Bell was at a loss to explain how the man in the Montreal case obtained the information found on a computer seized from his home — about 170,000 unlisted and unlisted phone numbers, names and a description of all the Bell services a person subscribes to. Maybe people just gave it to him.
It’s time for consumers to wake up and start being a little smarter about their online use. Here at KRBC, we have a rule: if you personally don’t know who and email is from, don’t open it. If it doesn’t have a “subject” entry, don’t open it. In no circumstance should you download anything that you are suspicious of. Oh, and one final note: if companies have a problem with your account, they will notify you by registered mail, not email.
It’s time to wake up and wise up.
You look at where the news is going these days and it’s obviously headed to the internet, where you can instantly access it. In fact, we are invited to instantly comment on the story or participate in some form of opinion survey or online poll. Not everyone wants your opinion, however. The internet is the latest platform for the criminal element and that want nothing more than to take what you have. We better wake up and recognize that fact before we all suffer some form of irreparable damage.
I got an email Sunday from Customer Relations with Bell Canada, Canada’s largest communications company. It was short and simple: “Dear costumer,” it began, “This e-mail was sent by Bell Canada to notify you that we have temporarily prevented access to your account. We have reasons to believe that your account may have been accessed by someone else. Please verify your details by following the link below…”
Wow, looks important. But I suspected a scam and did some checking (without clicking on the link, by the way) and sure enough found that it was an identity theft scam. Here is the first clue that something is wrong here: the word “costumer” is misspelled. It should be “customer”; not “costumer”. A "costumer" is someone who makes costumes. Then, there was that other thing: “Bell Canada”. I don’t know anybody in Canada and I certainly don’t have any sort of account with them. One can easily see, however, how someone might go ahead and click on the link just to find out what this is all about. Unfortunately, in doing so, you may already be allowing a hacker to cut into your personal information.
I came across this story dated February of 2008. “Bell Canada has become the latest company to fall victim to the growing problem of personal information theft. On Tuesday, the company reported that the personal information of more than 3.4 million customers in Ontario and Quebec had been recovered from the home of a Montreal man. The case highlights a growing problem for businesses, as thieves continue to target large corporations for the personal information stored in their databases. The information could be sold to marketing firms, or used to commit identity theft.”
The story goes on to report that studies released in 2007 by the Ponemon Institute, a research organization specializing in privacy and security, show more than 85 per cent of businesses in the U.S. are estimated to have experienced some sort of data breach within the past two years, and more than 49 per cent of all data breaches come from lost or stolen laptop computers or USB memory cards.
Bell was at a loss to explain how the man in the Montreal case obtained the information found on a computer seized from his home — about 170,000 unlisted and unlisted phone numbers, names and a description of all the Bell services a person subscribes to. Maybe people just gave it to him.
It’s time for consumers to wake up and start being a little smarter about their online use. Here at KRBC, we have a rule: if you personally don’t know who and email is from, don’t open it. If it doesn’t have a “subject” entry, don’t open it. In no circumstance should you download anything that you are suspicious of. Oh, and one final note: if companies have a problem with your account, they will notify you by registered mail, not email.
It’s time to wake up and wise up.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Dish It to Downing: There Are Always Consequences
A viewer contacted me the other day about a new state law that takes effect on September first than bans the use of cells phones and other electronic devices in school zones.
I told him that I knew a lot of local cities were looking at such bans and that the Texas Legislature had passed a bill addressing the problem, but I hadn’t heard if it had been signed into law by the governor. Obviously, it had and with little or no media coverage.
Here is what it does: it bans the use of cell phones and other electronic communication devices in school zones during times those school zones are active. It doesn’t ban their use outside of those times. Nor does it block the driver from using them when the car is stopped. You just can't be driving and talking at the same time. That means that from about 7:15 to 8:30 each morning and from about 2:15 to 3:30 in the afternoon, you can’t be on your cell phone, I-phone, blackberry, or any other communication device talking, testing, playing games, or anything else when you are driving through a school zone.
He asked me what I thought of that law and after giving it some thought it occurred to me that it’s a law that is probably needed, unfortunately, to protect us from ourselves.
It amazes me that people think driving is some kind of constitutionally guaranteed right in this country. It’s not. It’s a privilege and like all privileges, it can be taken away if you show you can’t handle the freedom of having it. That was one of the first things I learned as a child and even more so as a teenager. It’s all about actions and consequences, responsibility and irresponsibility. Unlike being grounded for a month, though, we are seeing increasing signs that people just don’t think before they act. I have to tell you, most of the people I see on cell phones while they are driving are adults: not teenagers, and adults should know better. My daughter is all grown-up now and has a night job. She calls me each night, usually on the way home from work, and I nearly always lovingly scold her about her talking on a cell phone while she is driving. It was the first lesson I ever gave her in learning to drive and a rule she knows by heart because she had to repeat it to me so many times. Here’s the rule: THIS IS A MOTOR VEHICLE AND IT CAN BRING YOU LOTS OF FREEDOM AND ENJOYMENT. IT CAN ALSO KILL YOU – OR SOMEONE ELSE -- WHEN IT IS NOT USED PROPERLY. When you are driving, you are responsible for the safe operation of your caR and the safety of everyone that is in it. Driving safely is your job and it is your only job. It is more important than applying make-up, talking on a cell phone, talking with other passengers, tuning the radio, changing CDs, or thinking about anything other than safety.
Okay, maybe that was a little harsh for the first lesson, but it is more of a lesson than most people have apparently gotten.
I was painfully reminded of that earlier this week when a man riding on the hood of a pick-up truck lost his balance, fell forward, and was run over and killed. It was a senseless loss of life and an accident that could have – and should have - been prevented. He was 37-years old and should have known better. The driver of the truck was 48-year old and will probably stand trial for intoxicated manslaughter. He certainly should have known better. This accident didn’t happen on some deserted dirt road. It took place on one of Abilene’s busiest streets and at night when visibility of marginal at best. The victim became the 10th traffic fatality of the year here in Abilene and the 7th in an accident involving alcohol. With more than 300 drunk driving arrests already this year, Abilene is well on its way to setting a new record for DWI arrests.
Here’s the thing: police will be the first to tell you that there are not more drunk drivers out there; the police are just doing a better job of catching them and getting them off the road. It’s about time, too. Several years ago a drunk behind the wheel of a pick-up truck lost control of his vehicle, crossed a raised median and slammed into the front of KRBC. Had that happened during working hours, it would have killed the person sitting at her desk doing her job. So, like the new law or not, it's probably necessary, although I'm really perplexed as to why. It seems so simple: when you drive through a working school zone, hang up the phone, turn off the I-phone (or at least put the call on hold), stop “texting” and pay attention to your driving. People are taking chances these days with little thought of the consequences. But understand: there are consequences. There always are.
Downing Bolls
I told him that I knew a lot of local cities were looking at such bans and that the Texas Legislature had passed a bill addressing the problem, but I hadn’t heard if it had been signed into law by the governor. Obviously, it had and with little or no media coverage.
Here is what it does: it bans the use of cell phones and other electronic communication devices in school zones during times those school zones are active. It doesn’t ban their use outside of those times. Nor does it block the driver from using them when the car is stopped. You just can't be driving and talking at the same time. That means that from about 7:15 to 8:30 each morning and from about 2:15 to 3:30 in the afternoon, you can’t be on your cell phone, I-phone, blackberry, or any other communication device talking, testing, playing games, or anything else when you are driving through a school zone.
He asked me what I thought of that law and after giving it some thought it occurred to me that it’s a law that is probably needed, unfortunately, to protect us from ourselves.
It amazes me that people think driving is some kind of constitutionally guaranteed right in this country. It’s not. It’s a privilege and like all privileges, it can be taken away if you show you can’t handle the freedom of having it. That was one of the first things I learned as a child and even more so as a teenager. It’s all about actions and consequences, responsibility and irresponsibility. Unlike being grounded for a month, though, we are seeing increasing signs that people just don’t think before they act. I have to tell you, most of the people I see on cell phones while they are driving are adults: not teenagers, and adults should know better. My daughter is all grown-up now and has a night job. She calls me each night, usually on the way home from work, and I nearly always lovingly scold her about her talking on a cell phone while she is driving. It was the first lesson I ever gave her in learning to drive and a rule she knows by heart because she had to repeat it to me so many times. Here’s the rule: THIS IS A MOTOR VEHICLE AND IT CAN BRING YOU LOTS OF FREEDOM AND ENJOYMENT. IT CAN ALSO KILL YOU – OR SOMEONE ELSE -- WHEN IT IS NOT USED PROPERLY. When you are driving, you are responsible for the safe operation of your caR and the safety of everyone that is in it. Driving safely is your job and it is your only job. It is more important than applying make-up, talking on a cell phone, talking with other passengers, tuning the radio, changing CDs, or thinking about anything other than safety.
Okay, maybe that was a little harsh for the first lesson, but it is more of a lesson than most people have apparently gotten.
I was painfully reminded of that earlier this week when a man riding on the hood of a pick-up truck lost his balance, fell forward, and was run over and killed. It was a senseless loss of life and an accident that could have – and should have - been prevented. He was 37-years old and should have known better. The driver of the truck was 48-year old and will probably stand trial for intoxicated manslaughter. He certainly should have known better. This accident didn’t happen on some deserted dirt road. It took place on one of Abilene’s busiest streets and at night when visibility of marginal at best. The victim became the 10th traffic fatality of the year here in Abilene and the 7th in an accident involving alcohol. With more than 300 drunk driving arrests already this year, Abilene is well on its way to setting a new record for DWI arrests.
Here’s the thing: police will be the first to tell you that there are not more drunk drivers out there; the police are just doing a better job of catching them and getting them off the road. It’s about time, too. Several years ago a drunk behind the wheel of a pick-up truck lost control of his vehicle, crossed a raised median and slammed into the front of KRBC. Had that happened during working hours, it would have killed the person sitting at her desk doing her job. So, like the new law or not, it's probably necessary, although I'm really perplexed as to why. It seems so simple: when you drive through a working school zone, hang up the phone, turn off the I-phone (or at least put the call on hold), stop “texting” and pay attention to your driving. People are taking chances these days with little thought of the consequences. But understand: there are consequences. There always are.
Downing Bolls
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hanging On To A TV Collectible
My wife antiques and I am constantly amazed at the things she brings home. A few years ago she brought home a great old console TV set. It probably sat in someone’s den back in the 1950s and 60s. She took it to a TV repairman and he made a few adjustments to the picture tube and the set was good as new.
For a 1950s-era television set, that is.
We had a lot of fun with it because it was an accurate reflection of what use to pass for TV in this country. One forgets how spoiled we have become until you watch a set that we needed a rabbit ears antenna with “tin foil” stretched across it to get acceptable reception.
The great thing about this TV is that it is a classic, but it’s not very practical anymore. Since the conversion to digital broadcasting, it doesn’t even get a picture anymore. I guess you could hook a DVD player up to it and play old TV reruns, but that’s about it. Maybe old sets like that are destined to wind up in a museum someplace because the value of them will be so high in the future. Most people have thrown away their old analog sets or recycled them, opting instead to buy a new digital set that allows them to see programs in High Definition. Still, I know a lot of people who simply purchased converter boxes using those discount coupons.
Today, July 31st, 2009, was a milestone in the evolutionary saga of television. Today was the last day to use those discount coupons to buy converter boxes. The FCC tells us that of the 63.4-million coupons sent out, only 33-million have been redeemed. The government said 49,000 requests were received on Tuesday of this week by people still hoping to beat the deadline. So, if you still have your coupons hang onto them. Someday, they may be worth something to a TV collector, much the way people now collect POW bracelets and old drive-in speakers.
As for the Digital changeover itself, many people are discovering the biggest single factor affecting your TV reception is location. Thousands of Americans have lost television reception completely, simply because of where they live. I got an email this week from a longtime KRBC viewer who, for the first time in 15 years, was unable to see the station after converting to digital TV. He used to have to use a 20-foot antenna to get us, but even that doesn’t help anymore. The sad fact is that he may just be out of our range now because our digital pattern is not the same as our analog pattern was. I feel really bad about that because I think he wasn’t told the whole story about this digital conversion. The industry spent a lot of time selling the public on the benefits and somehow neglected to mention that some people would lose TV coverage in the process. In the end, digital was an “all or nothing” process…and as some are now finding out, it has been a frustrating and expensive process, too.
Downing Bolls
For a 1950s-era television set, that is.
We had a lot of fun with it because it was an accurate reflection of what use to pass for TV in this country. One forgets how spoiled we have become until you watch a set that we needed a rabbit ears antenna with “tin foil” stretched across it to get acceptable reception.
The great thing about this TV is that it is a classic, but it’s not very practical anymore. Since the conversion to digital broadcasting, it doesn’t even get a picture anymore. I guess you could hook a DVD player up to it and play old TV reruns, but that’s about it. Maybe old sets like that are destined to wind up in a museum someplace because the value of them will be so high in the future. Most people have thrown away their old analog sets or recycled them, opting instead to buy a new digital set that allows them to see programs in High Definition. Still, I know a lot of people who simply purchased converter boxes using those discount coupons.
Today, July 31st, 2009, was a milestone in the evolutionary saga of television. Today was the last day to use those discount coupons to buy converter boxes. The FCC tells us that of the 63.4-million coupons sent out, only 33-million have been redeemed. The government said 49,000 requests were received on Tuesday of this week by people still hoping to beat the deadline. So, if you still have your coupons hang onto them. Someday, they may be worth something to a TV collector, much the way people now collect POW bracelets and old drive-in speakers.
As for the Digital changeover itself, many people are discovering the biggest single factor affecting your TV reception is location. Thousands of Americans have lost television reception completely, simply because of where they live. I got an email this week from a longtime KRBC viewer who, for the first time in 15 years, was unable to see the station after converting to digital TV. He used to have to use a 20-foot antenna to get us, but even that doesn’t help anymore. The sad fact is that he may just be out of our range now because our digital pattern is not the same as our analog pattern was. I feel really bad about that because I think he wasn’t told the whole story about this digital conversion. The industry spent a lot of time selling the public on the benefits and somehow neglected to mention that some people would lose TV coverage in the process. In the end, digital was an “all or nothing” process…and as some are now finding out, it has been a frustrating and expensive process, too.
Downing Bolls
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Lessons Passed Down By My Elders
Goodnight, Mr. Cronkite ... Wherever you are.
I got a call over the weekend from a newspaper reporter at the Abilene Reporter News. He was doing a reaction story about Walter Cronkite’s death and wanted to get some thoughts from local TV News anchors. In reflecting back on Cronkite’s life and death, I couldn’t help but remember the times in which he lived, for I think that they to played a part in who Mr. Cronkite was. In the field of behavioral study, there is a formula that goes like this: B=P+E -- Behavior is shaped by two factors: personality traits and environment.
No doubt that Walter Cronkite was an icon in the field of news. But, if Walter Cronkite became an icon, it may be a just as much a reflection on the times in which he lived as his personal style or presenting the news. The world has changed a lot since the Great Depression of the 1930s and the tide of history took a great many newsmen riding along on its coat tails. They grew up seeing first-hand world-changing events. They covered the Cold War, the Vietnam Conflict, the Assassination of President Kennedy, the Civil Rights struggle, the landing on the moon. How much the world changed in their lifetime, and yet Walter Cronkite was there to give those events some meaning in the larger context of our daily lives.
Now, I'm not goiung to compare myself to Walter Cronkite in any way. In fact, about the only similarity between myself and Walter Cronkite (and it is a very minute comparison) is that we both were lucky enough to have come up through the ranks. I didn't start in TV. I began my lifelong association with journalism literally from th ground up. I was a newspaper delivery boy. Remembering those times has brought me a lot of pleasure this past weekend.
I spent my formative years in Montgomery, Alabama. Those were the years of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and “separate, but equal”. Everyone was talking about this charismatic Baptist minister named Martin Luther King. I attended an all white public school, but was too young to understand “why” it was all white. In 1960, we moved to Washington, D.C. I got my first “news” job when I was just 13 years old. I delivered the Washington Post, every morning – rain or shine – in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland. I would always have one or two papers left over, so on my way back home each morning, I’d read the paper as I walked along, my “paper” bag draped across my shoulders. That is where I learned about current events and I think it was there where I first was bitten by the “news” bug. I began reading about history and being fascinated by how it all came together.
I saved enough money from my paper route to buy my first movie camera – a little 8mm Revere. I couldn’t routinely afford film for it, but once – when I did have film in it, I passed by a fire and ran up and started filming it. I still have the camera. The film of the fire is long gone.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, my parents took me down to the Lincoln Memorial the night before to see all the camera podiums set-up. I remember looking at all of those people climbing the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the stifling heat of that summer night, realizing that it was the eve of some great event, wondering what would happen and what the world would say about it all.
Over the years, I have been blessed to have worked with some of the best in the buiness. They aren't names that you'd readily recognize, but they were champions to me. Those great reporters told great stories and shared those stories with young, fresh-faced kids just getting into the business. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a newsman was from an intoxicated former TV news photographer one night in a bar. He said, “Let me tell you something. Nobody cares what you think. Your job is to keep your mouth shut and your ears open.” He was absolutely right and that advice has served me well over the years.
Most people don’t know this but Walter Cronkite actually re-learned his speech patterns. He understood that for a TV audience, he had to read slower, and he taught himself to do that. You see, the story BEHIND the story is often much better than the story itself. That is what I think about when I think of Walter Cronkite...the story BEHIND the story. “Class” is the word that comes to mind wheh I think of Walter Cronkite. He was never bigger than the story he covered and never forgot that entering America’s living room each evening was not a “right”, but a privilege. You are a guest and don’t ever forget that.
Goodnight Walter and thanks for everything.
Downing Bolls
I got a call over the weekend from a newspaper reporter at the Abilene Reporter News. He was doing a reaction story about Walter Cronkite’s death and wanted to get some thoughts from local TV News anchors. In reflecting back on Cronkite’s life and death, I couldn’t help but remember the times in which he lived, for I think that they to played a part in who Mr. Cronkite was. In the field of behavioral study, there is a formula that goes like this: B=P+E -- Behavior is shaped by two factors: personality traits and environment.
No doubt that Walter Cronkite was an icon in the field of news. But, if Walter Cronkite became an icon, it may be a just as much a reflection on the times in which he lived as his personal style or presenting the news. The world has changed a lot since the Great Depression of the 1930s and the tide of history took a great many newsmen riding along on its coat tails. They grew up seeing first-hand world-changing events. They covered the Cold War, the Vietnam Conflict, the Assassination of President Kennedy, the Civil Rights struggle, the landing on the moon. How much the world changed in their lifetime, and yet Walter Cronkite was there to give those events some meaning in the larger context of our daily lives.
Now, I'm not goiung to compare myself to Walter Cronkite in any way. In fact, about the only similarity between myself and Walter Cronkite (and it is a very minute comparison) is that we both were lucky enough to have come up through the ranks. I didn't start in TV. I began my lifelong association with journalism literally from th ground up. I was a newspaper delivery boy. Remembering those times has brought me a lot of pleasure this past weekend.
I spent my formative years in Montgomery, Alabama. Those were the years of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and “separate, but equal”. Everyone was talking about this charismatic Baptist minister named Martin Luther King. I attended an all white public school, but was too young to understand “why” it was all white. In 1960, we moved to Washington, D.C. I got my first “news” job when I was just 13 years old. I delivered the Washington Post, every morning – rain or shine – in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland. I would always have one or two papers left over, so on my way back home each morning, I’d read the paper as I walked along, my “paper” bag draped across my shoulders. That is where I learned about current events and I think it was there where I first was bitten by the “news” bug. I began reading about history and being fascinated by how it all came together.
I saved enough money from my paper route to buy my first movie camera – a little 8mm Revere. I couldn’t routinely afford film for it, but once – when I did have film in it, I passed by a fire and ran up and started filming it. I still have the camera. The film of the fire is long gone.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, my parents took me down to the Lincoln Memorial the night before to see all the camera podiums set-up. I remember looking at all of those people climbing the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the stifling heat of that summer night, realizing that it was the eve of some great event, wondering what would happen and what the world would say about it all.
Over the years, I have been blessed to have worked with some of the best in the buiness. They aren't names that you'd readily recognize, but they were champions to me. Those great reporters told great stories and shared those stories with young, fresh-faced kids just getting into the business. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a newsman was from an intoxicated former TV news photographer one night in a bar. He said, “Let me tell you something. Nobody cares what you think. Your job is to keep your mouth shut and your ears open.” He was absolutely right and that advice has served me well over the years.
Most people don’t know this but Walter Cronkite actually re-learned his speech patterns. He understood that for a TV audience, he had to read slower, and he taught himself to do that. You see, the story BEHIND the story is often much better than the story itself. That is what I think about when I think of Walter Cronkite...the story BEHIND the story. “Class” is the word that comes to mind wheh I think of Walter Cronkite. He was never bigger than the story he covered and never forgot that entering America’s living room each evening was not a “right”, but a privilege. You are a guest and don’t ever forget that.
Goodnight Walter and thanks for everything.
Downing Bolls
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