A New England Narrative: Pratt & Whitney Family Thrives on Competition, Speed

On my first week of my first television job at my first television station, I remember my news director telling me that every story I produce, write, shoot, and edit should ultimately be about people.

Zoning meeting?  Find a character that is impacted by a big decision.  Dangerous storm on the horizon?  Find a character getting ready to protect all that he or she owns.  Black Friday shopping?  Find a memorable character that is doing something different than the rest of the masses.

The advice I received sixteen years ago still holds true today for the stories I produce, write, shoot, and edit for clients.  I met two great characters recently at Pratt & Whitney.  (And let me tell you, I've quickly learned that aerospace is full of great stories.)  Mike Schmidt, and, um, Mike Schmidt, are a father and son duo who both work for the aeronautical giant, and have a very interesting hobby.

It's a pastime that involves engines...and speed.  (It makes sense they work for a jet engine maker!)

A George Washington Attack Ad

My brother can make me laugh like no one else on this planet.

We talk about all kinds of things, from movies to politics, and it usually ends up with one of us wiping tears from our eyes because we’ve been laughing so hard.

Today was one of those days.

On my way home from work, we spoke of the mid-term elections, and somehow, the conversation turned to our Founding Fathers, and what televised political advertisement ads might look like following the Revolutionary War.

Below you will find what we came up with.  It by no means has any political leanings of any sort, just two brothers who enjoy being silly from time to time.

And frankly, I would love to see George Washington’s rebuttal.

Now, go have your voice heard – and vote!

A New England Narrative.

I'm a Texan.  And for the longest time, I thought I would never leave Texas because there was no place better than Texas.

But we all grow up, our minds embrace new experiences, and I ended up falling in love with every region of the country that my mail was sent.  From Colorado to Virginia, Florida to Connecticut, each stop has been an education, filled with great people, great food, and great fun.

New England has become home, and I love it here.

That was the true joy of being a reporter.  I came across all walks-of-life, getting to tell their stories, albeit in a neatly wrapped two minute broadcast package.  It was a passion of my professional career, and remains that way to this day.

Everyone likes a good story.

So, with the blessing of my boss, I've picked up a camera, and I've decided I'm going to be a storyteller again.  With what free time I can find, I want to go out and find stories about the people and places of New England.  Unlike so many stories I used to cover, these will be about music, history, business, or just life in general.  No murder - no mayhem - just some feature fun.

My first venture is about the dulcimer.  I can't tell you exactly how I learned about this historic Appalachian instrument, but I love its sound.  So one day, I "googled" "Dulcimer New England" and happened upon a group of ladies who call themselves the Connecticut Mountain Dulcimer Gathering.  They agreed to meet with me at the Colchester Library where they hold monthly practices.

So I grabbed my camera, and had the best time.

I can't promise how often I will post, or how often I'll be able to go out and shoot stories (it does take time to shoot, write, and edit you know...), but I'll keep trying.  You'll be able to find them here, or at my company web page at Sullivan & LeShane Public Relations.

With that - I introduce you to "A New England Narrative" Chapter One.  I hope you have as much fun watching it...as I did producing it.  (Even a Texan can realize how great it is to live up here...)

Farewell to "Broadcast News": Hurricanes, Elections, and a Mustard Biscuit

It was sexy.

I’m referring to my first broadcast news story.  It was September of 1997, and I had just moved to Grand Junction, Colorado.  My first assignment out of the gate was about a proposed cross-walk on a busy street.

Oh baby.

It ran two minutes, thirty seconds, and looking back on it, watching it was akin to seeing the paint dry.  (But watching paint dry was far more interesting.)  Since then, I’ve covered rock slides, presidential elections, NASCAR, hurricanes, mass shootings, and a crime of passion that involved a mustard biscuit.  It was an exciting, rewarding, run, but it’s time to move on.

I’m leaving the broadcast business.

I’ve accepted a position with respected public relations firm Sullivan and LeShane in Hartford.  More than anything, I’m looking forward to expanding my skill set, and learning from people who have done this for decades, providing expertise in all things communications. 

I’ve worked with great people, met great people, and frankly, told some great stories.  I’ve always felt privileged to be a story-teller, and I feel I will continue to do that, just in a different capacity. 

My sincerest thanks to my wife, my family, my colleagues, and the thousands of viewers who have been so supportive all these years. 

I still have that cross-walk story somewhere, and perhaps this weekend I’ll see if my VCR works and watch that masterful piece of journalism.  Edward R Murrow would be so proud…he might even call the story “sexy.”

Nah, probably not.

(My last "live" in the field shot.  Please excuse the competition's car in the background!)

What's Old is New Again: The Rise of the "One-Man-Band"

I excitedly ran back into my new bosses’ office, eager to show him the video I shot for one of my first news stories.

“Your video is blue,” he said. 

People looked like they were ghastly ill, or worse, very large “Smurfs.”  And if memory serves, I think the tripod moved during one of my interviews, so only half of my subject’s face was showing.

“Go back out there and do it again,” he commanded. 

That scenario played out almost sixteen years ago at my first television station in Grand Junction, Colorado.  As a cub reporter, I had to shoot, write, and edit my own stories.  In the business we call that the “one-man-band.”   But as broadcast journalists work up to larger television markets, the camera becomes someone else’s responsibility.  Reporters focus on writing scripts and developing sources, while photographers delve into their craft of taking compelling pictures, and then later editing their video to hopefully make the story “pop.”

Technology has evolved greatly since my days of lugging a heavy camera around the mountains of western Colorado, and because of that, many large television companies are implementing what is known as the “VJ,” or video-journalist.  In some circles these people are labeled as “multi-media journalists” or “backpack journalists.”  (Because the camera, microphone and computer can all fit in a backpack.)

Last week, I had to learn how to ride the bike again. 

Recently, after a union vote, our company began implementing the multi-media model.  It’s been…interesting.  There have been training sessions, and my first jump back into the photography pool was bright, literally, as my interview looked like he was walking on the sun.  It’s a good thing the story never aired; otherwise my employer would have been responsible for supplying thousands of sunglasses to our loyal viewers. 

But things got much better the second time around, and I found myself crawling underneath a house to get an interview with a man who was cleaning out sand months after super-storm “Sandy” battered the Connecticut coastline.  (See story here.) 

Story number three was in a graveyard, where I amazingly didn’t trip over any headstones as I followed an army veteran putting flags in the ground before Memorial Day.  (That story can be seen here.)  It should be noted I did not edit these stories, as that too, will take some more schoolwork.  (Much, MUCH more…)

The move to MMJ’s is the source of much debate in our industry.  Some believe it takes away from what a reporter should be doing, because he or she is too caught up in how the video looks and the audio sounds. Some argue it's not safe to have one person at a crime scene responsible for interviews and videography.  On the other hand, since the one holding the camera is the one who will be writing the script, those in favor argue that the two talents complement one another best and are skills that just one person should cultivate.  And I recognize that from an employers point of view-- instead of having a news staff of ten reporter/photographer teams, a company can now have twenty reporters, theoretically increasing the news coverage output, without increasing cost.  But can a reporter truly match the skill-set of a photographer or editor who has been doing this for twenty or more years?  Some say yes – others say no.  There are stations who boast the move has been successful, others who have abandoned the idea and stuck with the traditional two-man-crew format.

My days as a young “one -man band" in 1997 are memorable. I got sick shooting out of a Cessna 172 airplane; I gave a homeless man a ride into town in a company vehicle with his dog “Sh-t-Stain;” I trashed the transmission on the station owned Saturn wagon by driving over boulders; I lost the camera lens on a mountain while downhill skiing (but found it later); and the list goes on and on and on…

But I did re-shoot my story that first turned out blue, and ever since then, I've had the sincerest appreciation for WHOMEVER puts their eye in a viewfinder, trying to get a perfect picture so a story can be picture-perfect.

Safety Versus "Big Brother": Is There Such a Thing as Privacy in Public?

Smile.

You could be on camera in a shopping mall, a coffee shop, the local dry cleaner, or even a parking lot.

For example, take Middletown, Connecticut.

In the past 18 months, the city has invested more than 100-thousand dollars on high-definition cameras for parking lots.  The cameras feed real-time video back to flat screen monitors at the parking office inside city hall.

“I don’t spend every single minute looking at the screen, but we use it in a very strategic way.  It’s not to be invasive, but to provide public safety, a public need,” said Parking Director Gene Thazhampallath.  

Public safety is also tied to economic development.  Main Street Middletown is incredibly popular due to the variety of restaurants and quaint shops.  Thazhampallath says if parking lots are monitored, thereby safe, it only feeds the local economy.

“We hope this will become a deterrent,” he says, standing in front of four high-def televisions.  “If the word gets out, if you are thinking about doing something, don’t do it in Middletown, or our public lots, because we are watching.”  He adds crimes have been solved because police have access to high-quality video.

The value of a watchful eye came after the Boston Marathon bombing, when police released surveillance video of the alleged suspects, who were quickly identified.  At the same time, it raises questions about the balance between security and privacy, and whether there is even such a thing as privacy when a person is in public.  In the past, the American Civil Liberties Union has been vocal against traffic light cameras, with one argument being that it is far too much “Big Brother.” 

“I always say, and I tell my city council, I want people to know that we have cameras in place,” Gene said.

Middletown has 600-thousand dollars in grant money yet to spend, and the goal is to install at least one hundred cameras.  Will dozens of electronic eyes make residents and visitors feel secure – or a bit uneasy? 

Regardless, this is the world we live in.  So smile – you are most likely on a not-so-candid camera.

Why I Don't Loathe the Yankees...Today.

Dear Yankees fans,

It's nothing personal.  Really, it isn't.

Please understand I wish you no ill will, it's just that I'd rather be blanketed in Hudson River toxic waste than see the Yankees win another World Series championship.

To understand my disdain for your beloved team, I must talk about MINE.  It's 1996.  I was a marketing intern for the Texas Rangers, which was a dream come true since I grew up watching my favorite team with my father.  In '96, Texas earned their first playoff appearance, and we were told if the Rangers made it to the series, and won it, ALL front office staff would get a ring.

Of course, we lost to New York Yankees.  It happened again in 1998.  And again in 1999.  I cried in '96, had an upset stomach in '98 and was downright angry in '99.

And so, the birth of my venom for one of the most storied franchises in all of sports took root, and I've never found the antidote.

But I must give respect where respect is due.

Today in New York, the Yankees (as well as all of Major League Baseball) honored the victims of Newtown, Connecticut.  In addition, some of the town's first responders were asked to be the color guard during pre-game ceremonies.  It was classy - it was just cool.

"It was really great to honor the victims that we lost.  Its affected the entire community, especially us as police officers.  For the Yankees to step up and do this for us, we really do appreciate it," said Officer Matt Hayes from the Newtown Police Department.

Fifty thousand fans put down their peanuts and Cracker-Jacks and stood silent as the names of the fallen scrolled on the "JumboTron" above center field.  I was standing next to the visitor's dugout, and as I gazed out onto the crowd, I was amazed at how a usually thunderous fan base was so still.

"It's emotional," said Officer William Chapman, also with the department.  "I keep the families, the teachers, the students in my mind when things like this are happening."

I even heard on the radio that superstar shortstop Derek Jeter allowed the family of lost teacher Victoria Soto to use his luxury suite.  Classy.  Cool.

Tomorrow, I will resume my disgust for the evil empire, hoping that baseball Commissioner Bud Selig hands down a rule that any Yankee with a vowel in his name is unable to play.

Never again will I be proud of the Yankees.

Until July 7th.

The team has dubbed that date "Newtown Day at Yankee Stadium," where more than three thousand members of the community are expected to attend.

Classy.  Cool.

Man, I can't stand you guys.