Television PhotographerJob Description

I've known for a while now that Time Warner's News 14 was coming to Greensboro. They already have News in Charlotte and Raleigh so the middle ground of the Triad is obviously the next step.

According to their website they are coming this fall and with the move they are looking to hire some TV Professionals to run the show. They have several jobs posted from News Manager at the top of the list down to News Photographer at the bottom.

Why the bottom? That bugs me.

(Quick RANT here) Without the Photog there is NO TV! Period....You can hire all the reporters and producers you want (listed above the Photog in Jobs posting) and you just get radio, or maybe a website. (End RANT)

Anyway, I've seen a lot of TV job postings with varying amounts of descriptions but the one for the News 14 positions are quite detailed.

Take for instance the "Photographer/ENG Tech" listing.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :• Shoots professional, top-quality video for on-scenes, packages, VOs and VOSOTs. Conduct interviews for sound when needed. 60% • Skillfully edit any story assigned for TV newscast including VOs, VOSOTs, and packages either in the field or on Newsbytes. Thorough knowledge of TV News video storytelling and editing techniques required. 20% • Write succinct, accurate, informative television news stories in ENPS. 20% • Aptitude and ability to train for operation of SNG/ENG live trucks for live reports, events, press conferences or breaking news events. Sets up live shots and operates camera during live events. • Performs other duties as assigned.

That's a pretty standard account of what our job can involve on any given day. But in their listing there's more....

JOB DIMENSIONS: Must have valid NC driver's license and a safe driving record. Responsible for the safe operation of the Satellite/Microwave truck, cameras and gear. Observes and enforces all safety and FCC rules and regulations to assure safe and appropriate operation of LIVE trucks. Responsible for checking out gear at the beginning of shift and checking gear in at the end of the shift. Responsible for reporting any malfunctions or technical issues with gear and equipment.REQUIRED WORK EXPERIENCE : Previous experience shooting video in a TV news environment. Non linear editing experience

Yeah we do all that...But they go the extra mile and list their physical requirements....

ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS : Lifting and carrying up to 100 pounds. Sitting, standing, kneeling, crouching, reaching, stooping, handling, fingering, pushing and pulling. Works inside and outside throughout the year and may be exposed to extreme weather
conditions.

100 pounds, is that all? Oh, Yeah....that's about it. Not very often really.

But now that you've read this description of my job you'll know that if your looking for me, you might find me inside, crouching and reaching for something to handle or finger while pushing and pulling then kneeling before standing to lift it up take it outside and stooping to let it down.

Or something like that.

Where's Weaver?!On Vacation!

OK, so you know I'm in Florida! Here are some pictures of our Monday.



We spent the day at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure where I conquered the Incredible Hulk Roller Coster...



Twice.



I found this nifty little secret called the Single Rider Line.



They want to fill up all the seats on the rides and also move the line faster so they take all the solo riders straight to the front of the line and put them on the coaster in the single seates left over when groups that want to stay together don't fill up a row.



Let's just say I took advantage of this option on all the rides my wife didn't go on. She doesnt' do thrill, but somehow I got her onto this Jurrasic Park water ride with a big drop!



I liked the Spiderman ride too. But it got me thinking.



Spidey and Superman are both newpaper guys, toting their still cameras to the scenes of news, and the Spiderman ride is based around this 21st century news gathering vehicle called the SCooP.



So I got to thinking....Why can't we introduce a TVPhotog superhero. Maybe we could call him Lenslinger. Hmmm.

Anyhow, More pics on Wednesday of Tuesdays Adventure which included 3 theme parks in one day.

I hope to go fishing on Wednesday!

Where's Weaver?!UPDATE(like yall care:)

First things first....Happy Anniversary to my wife Julie. It's been 2 years Today that we said "I do". I also just found out that Smitty, aka, Lights, Camera, Jackson and his wife are also celebrating 2 years today!!!

OK, So did you guess...(A)"Somewhere in Florida" or (B)"Miami" or (C)"The Florida Keys"?

The answer is (D)All of the above.

After heading to Florida in a nice, shiny rental car on Saturday we arrived in Jacksonville, making great time, we decided to stay south on I-95, arriving in Miami 12 hours after departing from Thomasville.

We drove on to Homestead where we found a fleabag and bedded for the night.

On Sunday (the day of my previous post during breakfast) we did this.....





We drove about halfway from Homestead to Miami to the area of Marathon in the Keys. We hung out on the beach looking south for about 2 hours before making the trek back north, stopping at several waypoints and souvenir stands along the way.





Then we drove for another 4 or so hours and found a hotel to stay at for 3 nights. It has WiFi in the lobby, but it has a killer rate.





And Monday was a really long day with a bunch of great pix.

The pix from Monday sometime on Tuesday.

For more pix of the Keys go to my Flickr Page

Where's Weaver?!

Isn't that a good question coming from a guy who hasn't posted in a week or so?

Well, right now I'm in Denny's in.....well....I'm not tellin'....yet.



Last week I was at Myrtle Beach with the kids, but now that they are all back with their other parents my wife and I are off on our own vacation alone. If you read last year's vacation post you may remember that this is our annual protocal since we both have the luxury of ex-spouses that have their visitation with the kids. It gives us a week to travel and do whatever we want to.

About that...

Anyone one to guess where we are now?

Here's a dark picture from our drive last night after about11 hours on the road.




One hint. We're in a metro area where another TVPhotogBlogger in my links section lives.



More pictures later!

The Sky is FallingMore Often Than Ever!

Is it me or are strange things falling out of the sky more often than ever. Just this week in Raleigh a hunk of metal, thought at first to be from an airplane, came crashing into a Cary, NC home. (Click for WRAL Video Report)

Back in February in Miami a similar hunk of steel crashed through through the roof of a house. The CBS/UPN affiliate did a story on it wondering just what it was.

And a few years ago in High Point a so called "Moon Rock" crashed into the domicile of a peaceful North Caroina family. (High Point Moon Rock Saga--- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

Of course, the High Point "Rock" came from a near by wood chipping machine. This week's Raleigh event has also been attributed to a grinding machine used to clear trees.

The Miami event, I can't immediately find an explanation for, but I'm sure it
was something similar based on the similarities in all three reports.(Dave, Angie help me out here!)

So is this all just a coincidence? Should there be a recall on tree grinders? Will someone die from a falling hunk of heated, overstressed wood chipper tooth?

Watch out! The sky might be falling again today!

Another Rocketboom Replacement

Here's another RB replace straight from the files of YouTube.....


Link to Video

Rocket Booms Again

There's a new host at Rocketboom and Rocketboom is back on the air.



Introducing Joanne Colan a British Television personality who has come to save Rocketboom, at least temporarily.

The note on the page when you go to www.Rocketboom.com says, "It's easy enough to recreate the same thing, the challenge here is to
do the next."

MSNBC made fun of the fact that Colan bears a strong resemblence to Congdon and says they've recreated the same thing.




You have to go to www.Rocketboom.com/vlog to actually se the new episodes.

It's OK...a well produced bit.

Amanda's cuter!

UnBoomed!!!Amanda Congdon Leaves Rocketboom!

I had always kind of wondered what might happen or how long it would take for Rocketboom to blast Amanda Congdon to a celebritous altitude that would land her a real TV job or a Hollywood deal.


Amanda at Converge South in Greensboro in October 2005

Apparantly that has happened and Amanda has left Rocketboom. The Rocketboom page says she quit, Lost Remote has a report saying that she was fired.


Amanda and me at Converge South in Greensboro in October 2005

The Rocketboom explanation says, "We wanted to meet her demands to move production out to L.A., however, we are a small company and have not been able to figure out a way to make it work..."


The world map is upside down as Amanda Congdon announces her Rocketboom departure.

Amanda explains in front of an upside down world map via a NOT ROCKETBOOM Vlog that Rocketboom founder and producer Andrew Barron no longer wants to be her partner and since he owns 51 percent of Rocketboom she has to accept that. You can see the pain on her face and in her eyes on her fairwell.


Amanda speaking at Converge South in October 2005

I'll miss her chipper and unusual delivery of the news and non-news. I liked Rocketboom and will continue to like it with the right replacement.

Losing Amanda isn't the end of the world it's actually the other way around. Hosting Rocketboom was the begining of Amanda's world. We'll likely see her all over the place now.

That's my 2 cent.

4th of JulyWhere will I be?

In the news business, especially as a News Photojournalist, I can never be 100 percent certain where the next day will take me. But certain days of the year, and a quick review of what I did on that day last year can reveal clues.



With that said, Tuesday being the 4th of July and having checked with 2005 I have a funny feeling I know where I could end up tommorrow. And it could turn out that my specific geographic location differs from 2005, but I bet the subject matter if very similar no matter where I end up.



Nothing like working on the holidays!

Follow UpFormer Jailer takes Plea Bargain

Recently I posted about using my cell phone to make positive ID on 2 former jailers who are now defendants in the death of an inmate in the Davidson County, NC jail. I had their pictures sent to my cell phone so that I could get the appropriate video for the story of them walking in and out of the courthouse.

My original post drew nasty comments from a woman who I am guessing is a family member including jabs like, "you vultures just want to shove a camera in their faces & put them on public display as if they are the criminals." and "I should have tried to run one of you idiots over instead. How's THAT for a news story?!?"

On one hand the writer of those comments was upset about us not getting the defendants' sides of the story(they refused to talk), on the other hand she wanted the story to just go away(not gonna happen in a high profile case like this).

I knew this story would play out over time and we'd get the official version of what happened in the jail that night that Carlos Claros Castros was killed. I was right that we would have to wait until the defendants' days in court. That day was today for one of the former jailers charged with 2nd degree murder.

Brandon Huie pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of Involuntary Manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 to 20 months in prison.

But for us news vultures, I mean, crews at the courthouse today it was Huie's grand entrance with his family that was the most interesting. <----click there for video!