Anchor of the Year? Update: Not Quite

Looking back at previous posts, I see that I mentioned that I was a finalist for the Society of Professional Journalists Florida Anchor of the Year. And I left you hanging.

Now I have this to hang. The award ceremony happened in Miami last month, and I finished runner-up. Second place for the second year in a row. I obviously would have preferred to finish first, but second place in the whole state is not bad for a weekend guy at a small market station. It will have to do. I have likely anchored my last TV newscast. If so, I feel proud of the work I did, and glad to see it recognized as good.

Even if not quite as good as I'd hoped!

Here is the entry I submitted:

Hello Again!

Hello faithful readers, from your far less than faithful correspondent. I cannot explain my absence, though not having anything interesting to say could explain some of it.

(Good rule of thumb: when you have nothing to say, don't say it!)

But I saw on Facebook, that vast wasteland of status updates thumbed on phones and viral animal videos, that a friend of mine had earned an award nomination for her blog.

But first, because I know this might be a long time away from Facebook, here's a viral animal video:



Now back to our programming. Here's the link to the blog award finalists: http://typeaparent.com/announcing-still-blog-award-finalists.html. Back in the day, I would have made a hyperlink so you wouldn't have to see the URL. Of course, back then, I could remember what URL stood for.

Turns out I should have spent more time typing in this space more often. My friend's name is Des Miller and her blog (again with the lack of hyperlink, sorry: http://stressfreebaby.com) actually makes her money. This is a wonderful but alien concept to me since my online scribblings have only made me trouble.

And she's not the only one. One of the other finalists, Carter Gaddis, is a former sportswriter for the Tampa Tribune who interviewed me when I got my job at WFLA-TV in Tampa. Forgive him if he does not remember me, for the occasion stood out far more to me than to him. I was so thrilled to get a mention in the newspaper without having to get arrested! Plus, it was in 1997, which at last count was 17 years ago.

Not that I do count these things, but I was much younger then. I'm not saying I'm old, but when asked my age, not only do I not like to reveal it, it takes me a while even to remember the number.

Old being relative. A former colleague of mine at WWSB-TV named Linda Carson was 75 when she signed a new contract with the station earlier this year. When (though at that age you must allow for the possibility of an "if") she finishes it, she will be one month shy of 79. And, knowing her, ready to sign another contract.

I'm nowhere near that age. I just feel like it sometimes when my knee sounds like Rice Crispies popping in freshly poured milk as I hobble up the stairs.

But where was I? Oh, yes. People making money from blogging. Pretty cool. They do have to put disclaimers on many of the posts about the free stuff, or free trips, or other payment or consideration for writing about them, while the only disclaimer I put here is that nobody would possibly pay for this mess of caffeine-fueled stream of consciousness.

I should probably mention for that one person who actually does follow this blog that I have found gainful employment again, in addition to my personal documentary business (at http://personal-documentary.com), though I better check the definition of gainful, because if it means making a lot of money, well...

Yeah, so it's like a lot of my jobs in TV news were.  This one is not in TV news but is a job that involves writing and appearing on camera. It's not secret, but if I say no more about it, maybe I won't cause myself any trouble!

You know what that means if I start to write more often here: lots of cat stories!

You can't wait, can you?

Don't answer that. I was just beginning to feel good about this.

Song in Progress

I have some lyrics that I wrote a long time ago that might fit with this one, but I'm not sure yet. It will take some re-working, both for the words and the music, for them to go together well. And the music itself is not finished, but it's a different kind of sound than I usually do.

"No Words":

Here are some other recent recordings:

"Hope":

"Wanted":

"Better Day":

No Arms, No Problem for Table Tennis Player

How do you play ping pong without hands to hold a paddle? This is how:



Video from ITTF Channel.

Anchor of the Year?

The Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has released the list of finalists for its annual Sunshine State Awards. I am one of two up for its "Anchor of the Year" award for my work with WWSB in Sarasota. In the whole state of Florida! See the list here.

Here is the entry I submitted:

Penn and Teller on Vaccinations

I am not a doctor. Or an epidemiologist. Or a health professional of any other kind. But I have interviewed them, and they worry about the increasing number of people who don't get their kids vaccinated. Warnings stirred up and spread online have erroneously blamed vaccines for causing problems, most notably autism. No study has ever shown such a tie.

What health professionals have told me as that people fear the vaccine when they need to fear the disease. Some, which vaccines had virtually wiped out in the U.S., have made a comeback thanks to parents failing to get their children their shots.

None of my stories on the topic explained it as well as the first 90 seconds of this video from Penn & Teller. As you can tell from its title, it includes adult language, but it's language that apparently more adults need to hear.

NBA Team Owner: Don't Bring Black People to Games

The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers tells his girlfriend not to bring black people to his team's games in a phone call caught on tape. Donald Sterling's Clippers have a roster comprised mostly of African American players, a black coach, and — as his unnamed possibly soon to be ex-girlfriend points out — she's half black herself.

TMZ acquired a recording of the call. This can't possibly cause any problems for Sterling, his team, or the NBA, can it?

Superhero in Gray T-Shirt

A 65-year-old man faces armed robbery charges after a witness took him down and held him until police arrived.

Sarasota Police say Freddie F. Johnson walked into a CVS store planning to rob it of prescription drugs Sunday. He thought to cover his head to avoid showing his face to the drugstore's security camera, but he failed to account for the man who foiled his crime. Watch:



Police did not name the superhero in the gray T-shirt. Video provided by Sarasota Police.

Bulldog Argues over Bedtime

A little cuteness to end the week. You have seen similar exchanges between parents and young children. Here's one between a "mommy" and her French bulldog puppy.