Ken's talent is real gift, and his drive to turn a bad situation into his dream job is certainly one that others could follow. Dick Dawson's guidance is good too, but I fear that too many folks aren't willing to take the risk.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Catching up .. long overdue
Blogging .. oh yeah, I remember how to do this. My schedule has become so much busier these days that it's been tough getting back in the habit.
I'm still pretty sore from our "Channel 3 News at 7 Olympics"
in which Monica Robins, Betsy Kling and I compete in 10 winter sports for fun. The series of stories will run each night during the Olympic games. We shot all 10 events in one day. Skis, skates, sleds, and even curling. It'll be funny for sure.
Thanks to those of you who have been encouraging me to keep writing .. and to Phil for threatening to UN-bookmark me if I don't share more soon. Ha.
A few notes:
I'm still pretty sore from our "Channel 3 News at 7 Olympics"
in which Monica Robins, Betsy Kling and I compete in 10 winter sports for fun. The series of stories will run each night during the Olympic games. We shot all 10 events in one day. Skis, skates, sleds, and even curling. It'll be funny for sure.I'm not hearing any complaints about fire response during the months following the layoffs of 37 fire fighters. That's not to say that there aren't manpower issues or that the department doesn't desperately need these fire fighters back. Rather, I'm just noting that no complaints have surfaced.
I find it semi-amusing that the 18 Akron Police Officers now working in our schools as their full-time assignment are being forced to pay for a background check because "everyone who works in the schools must have one" .. or something to that effect. Hmmmmm ... me thinks having Akron cops doing background checks on their own seems a waste of time and money. Nes pas?
Last week, it was a pot-bellied pig .. and now we have hybrid wolves? Ummm what the heck? A few months ago I actually got a tip that the Akron Zoo was hunting for a bear that escaped. After shifting one of our videographers to head to the zoo immediately, I learned that it was a drill.
Interesting to hear Matt Patrick on the air at WTAM. Can't get over hearing him read other call letters.
Got my first "I can't tell you" from Lisa following her first meeting on the Akron School Board. Nothing like being married to a public official, eh? Of course, in my line of work, that goes both ways.
Felt bad for the North Ridgeville Police today. They were already stretched thin by helping cover President Obama's visit to Lorain County when they got a call of a homicide -- a 55-year-old man found dead in his home. Tough to meet all those manpower demands on the same day.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
NewsNight Akron to return to 9 p.m.
Well, it was nice while it lasted.
Beginning Jan. 15, NewsNight Akron will move from its 9:30 p.m. time slot back to its original time of 9 p.m. The show had changed times to allow NeoTropolis time to debut at 9. The Thomas Mulready production will now air at 8:30 p.m., so both shows will remain interlocked.
The Jan. 8th show will be our traditional "Newsmaker of the Year" debate. Last year's winner was Ralph Regula, and Dr. Luis Proenza won the previous year. This year's show will include a live audience as members of Leadership Akron will be in attendance.
As a new nugget to the debate, we are inviting the public to weigh in as well. A list of the 16 finalists should be on-line soon at Western Reserve Public Media , so weigh in and vote. You can also share your comments here.
I can tell you that the panelists have already begun quite a debate with email traffic .. I can only imagine the fireworks for the actual show.
Beginning Jan. 15, NewsNight Akron will move from its 9:30 p.m. time slot back to its original time of 9 p.m. The show had changed times to allow NeoTropolis time to debut at 9. The Thomas Mulready production will now air at 8:30 p.m., so both shows will remain interlocked.
The Jan. 8th show will be our traditional "Newsmaker of the Year" debate. Last year's winner was Ralph Regula, and Dr. Luis Proenza won the previous year. This year's show will include a live audience as members of Leadership Akron will be in attendance.
As a new nugget to the debate, we are inviting the public to weigh in as well. A list of the 16 finalists should be on-line soon at Western Reserve Public Media , so weigh in and vote. You can also share your comments here.
I can tell you that the panelists have already begun quite a debate with email traffic .. I can only imagine the fireworks for the actual show.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Catching Up ..
OK .. after being challenged by folks all over town who keep giving me grief over not writing much (or at all) in the last two months, I'm making it my New Year's resolution to catch up.
Scribbles in the notebook:
NewsNight Akron's move to 9:30 p.m. from the 9 p.m. slot it held for years seems to be going well. I haven't gotten too many complaining emails from folks after the first week, so it sounds like viewers found us.
My Nov. 26th story on Lenny King (see below) is one that will stick with me for a while. To have life choices lead you to a life living under a bridge is tough enough, but to be attacked multiple times, including being set on fire, would leave me bitter I'm afraid. I'd like to believe I'd have the power to forgive the attackers, but I fear that I wouldn't. Lenny's story is really unique.
The University of Akron Soccer team is amazing. The NCAA needs to get rid of the penalty kick scenario though. It's no way to really settle who the better team was. Would we let the NBA Finals be settled on a free throw shooting contest? Ridiculous.
Can't believe Matt Patrick won't be on the air at WKDD after Friday. I don't remember the station without him.
I hope Mayor Plusquellic will promote some police officers soon. With Gus Hall now interim Chief, APD has NO Deputy Chiefs. All three positions are empty. That means four officers are being denied advancement for each vacancy. Promoting a captain to major also means that a lieutenant will get promoted to captain and a sergeant to lieutenant and a patrolman to sergeant.
Just like the military, there's an escalator as the higher ranks get filled. I understand why he kept one or two of the Deputy Chief slots open the last few years, but at this point, those promotions shouldn't have to wait while a permanent Chief is selected.
And while I'm on my bandwagon, I do hope the city will consider some of its senior captains as the long-term chief. Sylvia Trundel is well-respected and will-liked, and many in the Patrol Division tell me they'd feel "great" about having her as the department's new leader. Gus Hall is really dedicated and well-liked, so there's no immediate rush. Still, I hope that the nationwide search will include a fair review of the current leadership.
I learned a lot about the other side of public service during my wife, Lisa's, campaign for Akron School Board. It was odd to be working with some of the local leaders when I'm so accustomed to covering their events as a journalist. Many were very gracious with their time and advice for the campaign, while others weren't helpful at all. My goal now is to avoid a conflict-of-interest in my reporting. Lisa and I already have an agreement that there will be some things we can't tell one another, and if WKYC is pursuing a controversial story on the Akron Schools, I'll certainly raise my hand and step aside. Still, I hope that all my rants and raves to Lisa (and other board members I've gotten to know) about pitching more stories to the media will take shape.
I froze my you-kn0w-what off last Thursday night when I was live outside of Channel 3 for our newscast leading up to the Browns-Steelers game. The ratings were great that night, but the 15 minutes I spent in the cold wind of the third-floor balcony chilled me to the bone.
Today is the one-year anniversary of my role as co-anchor at 7 p.m. Hard to believe a year has flown by so fast. Carol Sullivan is now working as a morning anchor in San Diego. She left WKYC in the spring to head West after her husband, Mike, got a job with the Chargers organization. I fell so comfortable with Monica Robins by my side each night. No one works harder or is more dedicated in this business, and I'm so glad that she and I are teamed together.
Scribbles in the notebook:
NewsNight Akron's move to 9:30 p.m. from the 9 p.m. slot it held for years seems to be going well. I haven't gotten too many complaining emails from folks after the first week, so it sounds like viewers found us.
My Nov. 26th story on Lenny King (see below) is one that will stick with me for a while. To have life choices lead you to a life living under a bridge is tough enough, but to be attacked multiple times, including being set on fire, would leave me bitter I'm afraid. I'd like to believe I'd have the power to forgive the attackers, but I fear that I wouldn't. Lenny's story is really unique.
The University of Akron Soccer team is amazing. The NCAA needs to get rid of the penalty kick scenario though. It's no way to really settle who the better team was. Would we let the NBA Finals be settled on a free throw shooting contest? Ridiculous.
Can't believe Matt Patrick won't be on the air at WKDD after Friday. I don't remember the station without him.
I hope Mayor Plusquellic will promote some police officers soon. With Gus Hall now interim Chief, APD has NO Deputy Chiefs. All three positions are empty. That means four officers are being denied advancement for each vacancy. Promoting a captain to major also means that a lieutenant will get promoted to captain and a sergeant to lieutenant and a patrolman to sergeant.
Just like the military, there's an escalator as the higher ranks get filled. I understand why he kept one or two of the Deputy Chief slots open the last few years, but at this point, those promotions shouldn't have to wait while a permanent Chief is selected.
And while I'm on my bandwagon, I do hope the city will consider some of its senior captains as the long-term chief. Sylvia Trundel is well-respected and will-liked, and many in the Patrol Division tell me they'd feel "great" about having her as the department's new leader. Gus Hall is really dedicated and well-liked, so there's no immediate rush. Still, I hope that the nationwide search will include a fair review of the current leadership.
I learned a lot about the other side of public service during my wife, Lisa's, campaign for Akron School Board. It was odd to be working with some of the local leaders when I'm so accustomed to covering their events as a journalist. Many were very gracious with their time and advice for the campaign, while others weren't helpful at all. My goal now is to avoid a conflict-of-interest in my reporting. Lisa and I already have an agreement that there will be some things we can't tell one another, and if WKYC is pursuing a controversial story on the Akron Schools, I'll certainly raise my hand and step aside. Still, I hope that all my rants and raves to Lisa (and other board members I've gotten to know) about pitching more stories to the media will take shape.
I froze my you-kn0w-what off last Thursday night when I was live outside of Channel 3 for our newscast leading up to the Browns-Steelers game. The ratings were great that night, but the 15 minutes I spent in the cold wind of the third-floor balcony chilled me to the bone.
Today is the one-year anniversary of my role as co-anchor at 7 p.m. Hard to believe a year has flown by so fast. Carol Sullivan is now working as a morning anchor in San Diego. She left WKYC in the spring to head West after her husband, Mike, got a job with the Chargers organization. I fell so comfortable with Monica Robins by my side each night. No one works harder or is more dedicated in this business, and I'm so glad that she and I are teamed together.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Matt Patrick to announce retirement from local radio
Update: Matt said this morning his not retiring, and that he'll be back (sounds a bit like the Terminator) some day, somewhere. His statement and the audio are both on-line now. Wishing you all the best Matt!
Radio host Matt Patrick is expected to announce Friday morning that he will be stepping down as host of WKDD's morning program, a role he's championed for 30 years.
Radio host Matt Patrick is expected to announce Friday morning that he will be stepping down as host of WKDD's morning program, a role he's championed for 30 years.I'm told that Matt will make the announcement at 7:45 a.m. and that his final WKDD broadcast will be Dec. 18.
To say the least, anyone 40 and under in this town doesn't know local radio without Matt at the microphone.
I remember listening to him in grade school, wanting to be him in high school, and being relieved to hear his voice when I returned from Iraq .. as a sign that "wow, if I hear Matt's voice, I must really be home." Matt and I have had some great laughs over the years, including his willingness to play along with my April Fool's Day blog posting that Led Zeppelin would be playing a concert at the U of A's new football stadium. Matt's also been a great friend to Childrens Hospital as the heart and soul of its annual Radiothon fundraiser. I have an old cassette tape with Matt and B.A. doing "Wheel of Meat" .. back when they were the "waking crew."
I haven't had a chance to talk with Matt yet about the big move .. or his future plans .. but I'm sure he'll share some of that on Friday. I'm also not sure what this means to his conservative talk show on WHLO, but Matt will surely address that when he's ready too.
And regardless of which station is your favorite .. or whether or not you were a regular listener .. Matt is one of the guys (and voices) we all know .. and he's been part of Akron's community personality .. he's our Matt .. and that's not easy to replace. Make sure you listen ..
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Fire Fighter apologizes to Mayor Plusquellic
It didn't take a beer with President Obama .. but Mayor Plusquellic and a fire fighter have kissed and made up. Sort of.
It's been 10 days since Lt. Dennis Shumaker and his girlfriend, "Melanie", tailed DP from a Tallmadge restaurant and then called 911 in order to have DP pulled over. The firestorm that followed has been a mess for the entire city.
Today (Tuesday), Shumaker met with Plusquellic and apologized both in written and verbal form.
By phone, Plusquellic told me that the meeting was "civil" and "the way two men with differences should sit and talk." He told me that he'll have a press conference on Wednesday to discuss this and other issues .. but he released this written statement a short time ago:
"Today, I met with Lt. Dennis Shumaker who last Friday, requested a personal meeting with me to apologize.
I assured him that his apology would end this matter as far as I was concerned, and that I would take no action to initiate any action against him or anyone else, and that I would not consider any disciplinary action against him arising out of this matter.
It is unfortunate for everyone involved that emotions over public policy decisions I have to make have produced strong reactions rather than discussions on solutions. Tough decisions - including residency for public employees and requirements to balance the budget in this difficult economic downturn - must be made by mayors around the country every day on behalf of all taxpaying residents.
All of us make mistakes. This apology puts this matter behind us. We will move forward and concentrate on serving the people of Akron with the best services we can provide."
I haven't had a chance to talk with Shumaker yet, but I'm hopeful that two things will come out of this: a) the end of the cell phone paparazzi .. and 2) our city can make headlines for more positive reasons indeed ..
more to come ..
It's been 10 days since Lt. Dennis Shumaker and his girlfriend, "Melanie", tailed DP from a Tallmadge restaurant and then called 911 in order to have DP pulled over. The firestorm that followed has been a mess for the entire city.
Today (Tuesday), Shumaker met with Plusquellic and apologized both in written and verbal form.
By phone, Plusquellic told me that the meeting was "civil" and "the way two men with differences should sit and talk." He told me that he'll have a press conference on Wednesday to discuss this and other issues .. but he released this written statement a short time ago:
"Today, I met with Lt. Dennis Shumaker who last Friday, requested a personal meeting with me to apologize.
I assured him that his apology would end this matter as far as I was concerned, and that I would take no action to initiate any action against him or anyone else, and that I would not consider any disciplinary action against him arising out of this matter.
It is unfortunate for everyone involved that emotions over public policy decisions I have to make have produced strong reactions rather than discussions on solutions. Tough decisions - including residency for public employees and requirements to balance the budget in this difficult economic downturn - must be made by mayors around the country every day on behalf of all taxpaying residents.
All of us make mistakes. This apology puts this matter behind us. We will move forward and concentrate on serving the people of Akron with the best services we can provide."
I haven't had a chance to talk with Shumaker yet, but I'm hopeful that two things will come out of this: a) the end of the cell phone paparazzi .. and 2) our city can make headlines for more positive reasons indeed ..
more to come ..
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