Los Angeles, CA —Before I share my thoughts I want you to see what a seemingly thoughtful journalist, Matt Waite has to say about the use of drones for Electronic News Gathering or ENG .  It’s important that you first watch his video presentation. My response is below the video. Okay, Waite made a really melodramatic example of anecdote from his reporting past to make a point.  It was a really unfair and simplistic overstatement of a highly unusual situation he once encountered.  Waite’s dramatic example is one we all can resolve by simply keeping enough distance between the drone and the grieving woman that Waite described. Only the most soulless bastard would dare to bring a buzzing drone into that poor woman’s face!  Additionally, Waite unleashed his little drone inside the theater where he’s speaking and the natural acoustics there exaggerated the multi-rotor drone’s noise substantially.    At 40 or 50 feet outdoors that noise is barely n...

Phoenix, AZ— It appears that KTVK-TV has at least for now ended their decades long romance with expensive helicopters.  Pilot/Reporter Bruce “Chopperguy” Hafner’s current leasing contract ran out and has not been renewed.   It appears this will significantly change the way news will be covered in this medium TV market. For the last nearly two decades TV news has hemorrhaged viewers everywhere and keeping a helicopter on standby with a pilot/reporter is more difficult than ever considering that is any news department’s single largest expense.  TV news has had to adjust to lost revenue by replacing some news crews with multi-media journalists that write, shoot and edit reports that once involved as many as four or five people.  They’ve made drastic cuts and quality of the news product delivered has sadly declined.  The once glamorous and high paying careers of reporters and anchors are on the ropes. Replacing anchors with a director queuing ...

Tucson, AZ —Today’s horrific shooting in Tucson that maimed or killed so many people needed to be reported. It was the weekend when most people in the news business are home with their families. The weekends are usually slow for news stories and a major story is a challenge to cover for the much smaller weekend TV news crews. All aspects of this story needed the best work the reporters, producers, photographers and assignment desk people could provide. KTVK-TV came through meeting their responsibility to quickly provide all of the relevant information to their viewers. KTVK-TV put their best on display today and I know there will be an Emmy Award or few in the future of these professionals. Sit back and watch some great reporting.

I’ve been a fan of Crystal Gayle for 30 years. I first saw her in person at a front table in Dale Niedermaier’s, Park West Theater in Chicago in early October of 1979. (Thanks Dale!) She was as good as it could get for me. Then one Saturday morning I met this great lady in the Phoenix, Arizona, KTVK-TV newsroom in early 1998. I spent about 20 minutes chatting with her trying to keep my composure. I’m sure this old investigator came off sounding like a nervous Porky Pig. I told her my very favorite song she ever sang was Someday Soon. When Crysral left I held the car door for her and her sister, Peggy. I watched her as she took her really long hair and carefully wrapped it around her hand so it would not get caught on anything as she got in the car. The songbird also gave me two tickets to see her at the ASU Sundome in Sun City. The second song in her show that night was Someday Soon. She rocked. I saw her afterwards and got to thank her and got a hug. What a gal! Here is ...