Los Angeles, CA--While TV news is dying nearly everywhere, the late KTLA-TV weekend morning anchor, Chris Burrous found better ways to reach the audience.
What made Burrous rock was his fearless attitude about broadcasting his way, always departing from the routine. He was a TV Maverick that truly knew how to have fun.
Burrous has proven his news reporting chops on so many high profile stories. But there was always so much more for him to deliver to the audience!
Rather than accept reality that few newsworthy things happen on the weekend, he used exceptional creativity to fill a five-hour show!
Burrous often, brought the normally unseen weekend KTLA production crew into the studio.
Burrous encouraged everyone connected to the show to simply relax and show his or her human side.
There was much more on display than sterile anchors and a plastic studio set to see. Burrous gave viewers real warmth as he made his own vulnerabilities acceptable!
With Burrous there was real interaction with viewers as he merged their, e-mails, photos, tweets and fun into the broadcasts.
Burrous really deserves a posthumous star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame!
Broadcasters that try to copy Burrous will fail. They should take a cue from him and many of the successful Internet vloggers that simply refuse to follow the very stale TV template of Murrow and Cronkite. They need to create their own brands.
Let me say that the rest of the weekend morning show talent has likewise always delivered their fair share to the show.
The void of Burrous leaves KTLA is huge. However, the show must go on!
I expect great things from KTLA-TV News Director, Jason Ball. Please let the unpredictable adventure continue.
Glendale, CA—Yesterday afternoon fire and police officials responded to the Days Inn Motel here after being called.Reportedly KTLA-TV newsman, Chris Burrous, 43 was found un-responsive in a room there.He was present in the room with a currently unidentified man that supposedly had unsuccessfully performed CPR on Burrous.
Glendale Police and the LA County Medical Examiner are investigating this death as a potential accidental overdose. It will take perhaps several weeks to obtain the results of toxicological tests that will identify any drugs involved.
This death has shattered KTLA-TV, their workers and viewers to the very core. All are mourning the loss of a very unique and bright TV personality of this or any market.
Is this yet another tragic example of the Opioid Crisis? Who supplied the drugs and how will this shake out in the Criminal Justice System?
Will we learn the name and history of Burrous’ afternoon rendezvous and motel male roommate?
Burrous leaves behind a beautiful wife and pre-teen daughter. They will have to deal with the shame involved with the apparent illicit conduct of a husband and father. Los Angeles society has managed to somehow legitimize Gay sex and drug abuse so that stigma will be reduced.
Undoubtedly his family may also suffer financially over their loss. I, for one want to morn the loss of his very likable public persona rather than his failings.
The lesson here is, that his family, co-workers and television viewers really loved this fellow. He let them all down and lost his charmed life apparently due to bad choices.
Using drugs properly prescribed by physician caries a genuine risk. Ingesting or injecting drugs from criminal sources always invites poverty, pain and death.
Recreational drug abuse now kills more people that both automobile accidents and gun related deaths combined.
Thousand Oaks, CA—The November 8th massacre of college kids and a Sheriff’s sergeant by a crazed gunman still generates many more questions than answers.
It’s now more than obvious that the answers will have to be forcibly extracted from the officials by legal process and court orders.
Right now, lawyers helping victims face a solid stonewall as far as getting enough information to even file lawsuits. Legal authority is required to open the reports, surveillance video and evidence for inspection.
The lawyers must sue before they can obtain subpoenas or any discovery material. However they can’t sue without having a proper theory as to negligence or some other tort claim. With the records locked up so tight, justice may never be done.
The first obvious liability target is the Borderline Bar and Grill itself. We know that those people injured were not shot. Due to inadequate emergency exits those fleeing the gunman had to break windows and jump a dozen feet or so to the ground that was covered with broken glass. People suffered nasty injuries simply trying to get away to safety. The people shot and killed by the gunman definitely had no clear way to escape!
The entire property including its parking area was quickly surrounded with a tall, opaque green fence and 24/7 security to keep lawyers and their investigators from discovering and documenting the serious lack of viable emergency exits.
Did local government officials enable and accommodate the crazed gunman’s death trap through shoddy safety inspections of the property?
Will they destroy evidence before the fence comes down? Will they simply demolish the club to avoid liability claims?
Next, what was the role of the at least eight cops both armed and unarmed that were inside the club that clearly never challenged the gunman? Case law has long ago established that cops have no legal duty to protect anyone. Perhaps they do have a duty to arrest, disable or kill a murderer engaged in his crime. That’s one for the lawyers to figure out.
We know that the surveillance video will tell the real story of this holocaust. Not only has the Sheriff refused to release them his office won’t even reveal what they contain.
Everyone loves a hero like, Sergeant Ron Helus. Nobody loves a coward. Apparently those cops that were socializing in the club that night were beyond a disappointment.
People close to the investigation told me that some were armed and still were simply too afraid to confront the gunman.
Again the surveillance video will tell the story of both the heroes and cowards. I say the video must be released at least to the victims, their families and the media.
The chips must fall where the may. Remember the crime is always in the cover up!
Thousand Oaks, CA—Exactly one month to the day, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayob and his PR department held a press conference to release some “new” details. In reality those details were not so new since a small 5.56 MM projectile was removed from the body of Sergeant Ron Helusduring unsuccessful emergency surgery.
Since they knew immediately that Ian David Long,the shooter was only armed with a .45 automatic Glock pistol and only the police were using Ar-15 style rifles capable of discharging the 5.56 MM rounds. They did learn definitively from the FBI laboratory that the round came from a CHP officer’s rifle. This was and is beyond humiliating as well as epically tragic. I don’t envy these fellows that had the duty to let this troubling cat out of the bag.
I did not make things easier for them when I asked about several off duty officers from at least three departments socializing in the Borderline club that were disarmed by a failed public policy. The answer they provided was skewed with a response that off duty cops aren’t required to carry off duty like it was their own choice!
They wanted no part of my follow up questions on that hot potato topic! One thing for sure, if one or more of the off duty cops were armed, Ian David Long would have been taken out well before so many, including Sgt. Helus were murdered.
I asked about surveillance video from inside the club during the shooting. They admitted that had the video but flat out refused to say what was caught on tape!
This was nothing more than another epic failure involving a Gun Free Zone. Off camera, I was told this was a political issue! I countered it was a public safety and survival issue. One thing for sure, toughening this venue and other soft targets was apparently not on anyone’s agenda.
Hollywood, CA--Marianne Williamson founded the Project Angel Food charity in Hollywood in response to the HIV/Aids epidemic in the 1980s. Angel Food brings meals to those people due to illness are unable to shop and prepare their own meals. As of 2004 the program was expanded to include people suffering from all types of disabling and deadly diseases.
Make no mistake; Project Angel Food is in the business of saving lives everyday. The workers, donors and contributors involved with Project Angel Food are true heroes. I’m delighted to introduce you to the Executive Director, Richard Ayoub who will take us on a tour of this amazing operation.
Los Angeles,CA—I just got a new vlogging DSLR camera. I already had a decent news gathering video camera, a couple GoPro cameras, an iPhone and four drones.
I actually have a working video and photography studio in my home. Needless to say, I also have a video editing suite and can post whatever I please on Social media sites. However now, I really do have all need to regularly produce a very watchable vlog.
I’m still learning new things every day. The largest vlogging obstacle is a lack of subject material. I finally made the realization that the best vloggers can make a story out of a trip to the dentist or even the grocery store watchable and interesting! It’s time for me to learn how to be an enterprising vlogger. I must go out and find my stories and share them.
I do have a huge TV news background working on such stories as The Oklahoma Bombing and Ted Kaczynski, the long sought UNIBOM, serial bomber. I’ve produced hundreds of news stories on high profile murders and other infamous crimes.
Running around with a camera in the cities where I spend most of my time seems so lame by comparison! Then it dawned on me that most of the other people in the world rarely or never have the opportunity to see things through my eyes! They are in all different parts of the country or world! Yes, it’s all brand new to them! I’ve become jaded and unimpressed with my lame surroundings! It isn’t my surroundings but me that has been lame!
Super Vlogger, Casey Neistat who makes $8 million a year from YouTube, takes us to all of his local haunts in Manhattan when he’s not traveling. Since I only visit NYC occasionally I find it very interesting. Casey can do a vlog about, doing laundry or riding his skateboard interesting and that is the fundamental art of storytelling.
It’s not the material, but the vlogger’s ability to bring his or her adventures to the audience. Telling the story with excitement and energy is an absolute must! However, I’ll skip the Neistat skateboard and the trip to my local hospital emergency room. Sorry, I know there are people that would enjoy that episode, way too much!
If you’ve thought about doing a vlog to cover your hobbies, travel or business just do it! I want to tell you that without phenomenal luck the likelihood of you getting rich is similar to winning the lottery. The reward is in getting to know how to let others far away live your adventures. That is incredible empowerment!
You should also know I’m a senior citizen and and I’m convinced vlogging will help keep me young. Last but not least you can learn the mechanics of shooting, editing and posting your own videos at my own video Guru, Michael Rosenblum’s teaching site, thevj.com
Los Angeles, CA—George Orwell said in best, “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.”
I’ve enjoyed a joint Career, along with being a licensed private eye, I was drafted into TV news as an investigative producer.
Fortunately I’ve never been sued despite thousands of investigations and news stories. I’ve always been very careful to avoid common pitfalls or errors in gathering and disclosing records. However I’ve seen plenty expensive litigation both legitimate and frivolous plague news organizations. Right or wrong litigation costs can be crippling to any newsroom.
It is routine for every investigative story to be reviewed by lawyers before broadcasting is approved. The cost of the lawyers has steadfastly increased while the revenue form advertisers has been steadily tanking.
What you see these days, are routine and somewhat lame consumer stories disguised and packaged as investigative reports.
Seemingly gone forever are those great hidden camera stories from the 1960s,70s and 80s.
Going after politicians or celebrities carries little risk since they are clearly public figures. Those are considered safe targets since their legal protections are very limited.
This is really a sad state of affairs for news organizations. The public no longer has a watchdog press waiting to pounce on lawbreakers and scam artists.
Los Angeles, CA--Do you have a cause, perhaps a beef with your government, school, employer, homeowners association or even the news media? Do you have something you need to promote or sell? You can unleash that beast in your smartphone and get results!
If your voice is not being heard you’ve apparently found yourself helpless in calling attention to your situation. Don’t expect others to speak up for you, but now you can speak up for yourself through technology.
Yes, you can tell your story to the masses on your own terms. It’s far easier than you may think.
Your smartphone has a powerful video camera and video editing system. You just must be able to tell a coherent and compelling story. You use that smartphone to shoot, write, edit and create your story just as any seasoned TV journalist or vlogger would.
You simply sign up for a free Youtube account. An important part is creating the tags or search words that people will use to find your video. If the names, places and subjects aren’t listed in the tags, nobody will find your video unless you first send them the link.
If you put up a watchable video that contains solid and steady pictures, good audio, decent voiceover and perhaps some text or even music you will get your video noticed.
First and foremost always hold your smartphone horizontally! TV and computer screens are horizontal!
Keep your videos short and to the point. Speak naturally as you would to a friend. Always obtain interviews from witnesses whenever possible.
Find a pleasing news story or a vlog that you can emulate in monkey see, monkey do fashion and your good to go.
There’s lots of internet training videos out there. I highly recommend taking the on line course offered by thevj.combecause they train video journalists worldwide.
Imagine that you’re inside a business or at the scene of an important news-making event. If you can put a news video story together you can sell it for a tidy sum!
You too can become video literate. Once you begin, there may be no stopping you. You may even find this learned skill is life changing and bring you unexpected wealth.
When Conservative Blogger, Andrew Breitbart suddenly suffered a heart attack and died, I wanted to do a simple story for my blog.
There was a belief by many that Breitbart was murdered because of stories he was publishing about Barack Obama.
I went to the scene and just by chance I ran into an eye witness that saw Breitbart fall and die on the street. I included that interview in my video and made a bundle!
Winettka, IL—My work has taken me to Europe, Mexico and even India. I’ve met some amazing people during my adventures. Last summer I somehow found myself at a great concert. The venue was the spacious back yard of a beautiful home where some wonderful intimate concerts are held.
The weather could not have been nicer. I had an elegant date for the evening but we did not quite know what to expect. I loaded up with the wine, cheese grapes and other snacks in lieu of dinner.
I grabbed a front row seat and the show began. The opening act was a precocious and amazing teen, Breezy Love. She writes, sings and plays a guitar. Soon she was wowing the audience with her raw talent. This youngster absolutely owned her audience as few pros can ever equal.
The star of the show was, Logan Brill who was not in anyway, chopped liver she has been honing her craft already for years. Logan did not disappoint, but this review is all about Breezy because she was a real prodigy.
Breezy must now concentrate on her education first and foremost. But her gift of entertainment must soon be shared with the world.
Let me say that my childhood was a real mess and music lessons were out of the question and whatever special talents I had were never discovered. Every child’s possible talents for the arts must be explored. I’m always thrilled when I see a youngster excel beyond not only their peers, but the adults in their lives.
I was so impressed with Breezy I immediately contacted a long time friend working with NBC’s The Voice and America’s Got Talent. Hopefully Breezy can catch a break and be seen there. The rest will take care of itself.
I love selfies with talented stars!
I’ve seen many talented people that were never properly promoted or represented by successful talent agents or managers. They simply grow old in church choirs or lounges without ever getting the rewards they deserved.
If you have a child your absolute duty is to discover his or her’s talent and promote the Hell out of it. That is if the child does not have some other interest that shows real promise.
We all want to see our children have better lives than we have. Life is too short to not take full advantage of our creator’s gifts.
I know you will hear a lot more from Breezy. I give her a definite, thumbs up!
Here is a video from Breezy’s Youtube Channel. Please enjoy, like and subscribe to it.
Chicago IL--It was 50 years ago in June of 1968. The location was the old Franksville hotdog stand just across the street from Wrigley Field.
There was a Town Hall District Cop, Richard Nuccio, just two years on the job.
He apparently had an ongoing situation with a neighborhood lad, 20 year-old, Ronald Nelson.
Nuccio allegedly once exercised an unusual act of curbside justice. In the brutal Chicago wintertime Nuccio supposedly took away Nelson’s shoes and ordered him to walk nearly a mile barefoot in the snow as he slowly followed him in his squad car.
Things came to a head in early June of 1968, as Nuccio chased Nelson on foot at the popular hot dog stand across from the ballpark.
Nuccio shot Nelson in the back killing him. A 3 1/2” knife was recovered that Nuccio claimed Nelson threw at him. The rub here was Nelson was shot after the knife was thrown that actually missed Nuccio.
Once the knife was thrown and missed, the threat and justification to use deadly force ended.
Nuccio was tried twice his defense lawyer was none other than the legendary, Julius Lucius Echeles.
Julius Elcheles Left, Mob Boss Tony "Big Tuna" Acardo, Right
Elcheles was actually my neighbor for several years at Marina City. His clients included every major mob boss of the day. He even served a short term at Club Fed himself!
Echeles was quite the showboat and was always dressed to kill in the finest suits. His girlfriends were always the hottest babes of the day. He had an incredible sense of humor and I’m sure he’s reincarnated now as a comedian hosting late night TV.
Echeles lost the case and Nuccio went to the joint only to have his sentence commuted by Governor, Dan Walker who was himself later sent to prison.
Nuccio was released after serving only six years. He drove a cab after that. I’ve got no clue where he is today.
Nuccio’s Story was repeated to Chicago police recruits for decades as a teaching example.
Chicago, IL—Chicago’s politicians have steadily used the police pension fund as their personal ATMs looting millions. It’s no secret it will fail at some point soon.
Were the board members asleep while this was happening? Were they complicit or just negligent? One thing for sure the pension was not aggressively protected or it would be solvent today.
Retired officer, Rosemarie Giambalvo has fought for the rights of disabled officers for many years. She’s fought for retirees along with the disabled too.
Ro really earned a spot on the Pension Board and now needs the votes to make it happen. I anticipate Ro flashing her razor sharp bulldog teeth and making life really miserable for those victimizing retirees. Ro will never get in bed with the city politicians and administrators.
It’s long past time to bring new watchdogs to secure retirement of Chicago cops. Vote for Ro!
Los Angeles, CA—The future is already here and so many adults have been left in the dirt. They like all of us communicate by voice and in writing. However technology has given all of us huge megaphones. The Internet came and so did huge advances in video-making equipment. While most of us were sleeping, Democracy suddenly came to mass media.
You no longer had to be rich like William Randolph Hearst who could afford huge printing presses and bought ink by the barrel to get your message out to millions. David Sarnoff and a handful of others created the radio and television empire, RCA that morphed into NBC. It took untold billions in equipment for RCA to broadcast moving pictures with sound to their fellow Americans.
That’s all changed now with a computer and as little as $500.00 in equipment anyone can create and broadcast watchable video on the World Wide Web. That video is far superior to what was routinely broadcast on television 35 years ago. Video equipment is both a lot cheaper and better than ever before.
Our children are either hunkered down texting gibberish with their smart phones or worse with those disturbing and violent video games. Instead they could be learning the art of communicating with the world via their very own created videos.
Rather than shooting up the school and kids they have problems with using guns they could expose the crummy teachers and school bullies with clever videos. Video making is raw empowerment and will be for as long as we have Free Speech. Of course along with that immense power comes responsibility, which our children must eventually learn.
Soon we will find that people, who are video illiterate, are just as handicapped as those that can neither read nor write.
If you have a child, your absolute duty is to make sure he or she has the skills to read, write, tell coherent stories, photograph, edit and post watchable video. These are simple and fun disciplines to learn and the satisfaction of creating is what we all want our children to discover.
Schools are slow to adapt to technology so you’ll have to find other sources to teach your children.
The modern camera drones are also a great way to introduce your children to the joys and empowerment of video making, editing and posting their creations on the Internet.
Manhattan Beach, CA—I met with my favorite Media Guru, Michael Rosenblum yesterday.He’s a long time TV producer and founder of TheVJ.com.Michael is giving 30 rookie Video Journalists their hands on training to cover news for Spectrum’s SOCAL-1, 24/7 news startup.I suspect there’s no doubt that this offering will shake up the L.A. news market in a big way.
Gone at SOCAL News1 are the news crews and the obscenely expensive TV gear. The news stories will either work or fail through the individual efforts of these hand picked youngsters. These lucky VJ’s will be seen by all manner of agents, producers and TV network decision makers. Those talented ones, that shine will have unlimited opportunities.
Spectrum has already done the same thing in NYC and this concept is spreading over the nation. Traditional TV new is in a death spiral over their insane fear of making the slightest changes in format or style. Frankly people have flocked to YouTube because their content is a huge departure into a new world of wonderful technology and real eye candy.
Storytelling today is enhanced with wonderful inexpensive user-friendly cameras, audio equipment, editing software and even drones! The Mainstream broadcast media and their overpaid news managers are being left behind in the dirt.
Vloggers like me will only have success if I post great content and promote it daily. That’s easier said than done. If I do that, I demand compensation now, not after six months or a year. My rent does not pay itself. I won’t be one of the dozens of YouTube multi-millionaires anytime soon. I will however be ready for the right opportunity.
The skills and abilities to vlog about whatever you like is beyond empowering! You can use a vlog to promote yourself, business, hobby or political ambitions. You can report news items you come across and so much more.
You must begin with the basics of good writing and storytelling abilities. You must snag your viewers right away with interesting video or you’re toast. When they leave they will not return.
You can easily spend $25K on vlogging equipment. I have what I need but I still want a lot more. Then there is that significant issue of lugging all that expensive crap around as you travel. I say go light!
Your editing suite can be as simple as a quiet place to use the incredibly powerful iMovie app on your cell phone or iPad. Using Final Cut Pro X on a laptop gives you more options but you can get very pleasing results with iMovie.
I like using GoPro cameras because of the versatility of the cameras and the high quality images. I may need my cell phone as a communication device so having the GoPro is a plus.
As for audio your iPhone or GoPro cameras can disappoint especially beyond let's say, six feet. I now use Zoom brand recorders to capture audio especially for interviewing subjects. I’ve not been using my expensive wireless microphones because they are less reliable than the simple Zoom recorders. Quality wireless microphones cost a bundle more than the terrific Zoom recorders.
I have one word to say about audio, redundancy. Better to have more sources than less.
Let me make this clear, if you’re lucky enough to be around a really important news happening and you’ve got viewable video documentation, you can demand as much as $100K for a one minute video.
VJ training can be obtained on line at Michael Rosenblum’s TheVJ.com or you can attend his class in NYC or the UK.
Be empowered and let the world see what you create!
My Minimalist vlogger kit is lightweight, easy for travel and a lifesaver. The best camera is always the one you have with you.
The list as pictured above:
iPhone
iPad
DJI Mavic Pro Drone
Zoom Hn4 microphone recorder
Zoom Field Recorder 1
Lav mic
Zoom Shotgun mic capsule for use with Field Recorder 1
Earphones
Cables
batteries
Below is a fun GoPro vlog I did during a trip to Chicago last February:
Los Angeles, CA--LAPD Public relations people are spinning like a top to somehow sanitize their killing of a hostage. Frankly they should have incapacitated or shot the offender dead before he was able to grab his innocent hostage. Officers managed to actually kill the hostage with two misplaced rounds. The offender, a career piece of shit, deserved his fate. Could this be the result of cops being fearful of Leftist and minority political retaliation? Did they wait until the situation was even more dire and out of control before they shot this bastard? The LAPD officer's Marksmanship is way over-rated in movies and television! Additional police training cost money that the Democratic City Administration would rather waste elsewhere instead.
