A postcard after sunrise
Climb every mountain
Posted Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 1 comment
Last August, I remember watching producers and anchors share their stories about working with Peter Jennings. One producer remembered arguing with him about broadcasting some of the first live images of Mt. Everest during the evening news. Jennings questioned the news value of simply showing the mountain...it's not like Mt. Everest is going anywhere. But the producer insisted it would take live newscasts to the another level...simply showing that it could be done. According to the producer, Jennings admitted begrudgingly that he got it. At the end of the show, he conceded that demonstrating the possibility of live TV from Mt. Everest could be considered ground-breaking. It set the stage for transforming broadcast news into a more immediate vessel of information.
It's not Chomolungma....but for a news operation that's been off the air for a bit...live TV news is a step in the right direction. Our morning show started taking the live truck out for a spin. Despite some scratchy noise, I'm quite pleased with this "out-in-the-field" element in our news show. There's nothing like the fear, I mean worry, over weather, city topography and karma plotting to sabotage the scheduled live shot for the morning. It's enough to get my heart pounding and it wakes me up after 6 cups of coffee.
It's a team effort to make it look effortless.
....making sure our reporter and photog make it out to the site with enough time to set-up and check out the signal. Keeping our anchor informed on the status of the live spot. Master Control working with our photog on the signal shooting back to our studio. Our director staying on top of sound checks and video available for the toss...from the double boxes that pop up our anchor in the studio and our reporter in the field to the live interview with the store owner. And keeping an eye on my stop watch....keeping our reporter, anchor and the rest of the show succinct and on time. It's a work in progress. On headset, I repeat cues to our photog. He wears multiple hats out in the field - giving cues, keeping track of power, keeping track of what segment we're going through in the show.
During our live shots...my mantra becomes "Keep it simple." And it has worked so far.
And speaking of keeping thing simple...I enjoy simple flavors in beer. I visited a few breweries that have those flavors on draft. Granite City Brewery...I love a bar that offers samples when I can't settle on a pint. On our way back from KCI, we stopped here for lunch. I had a little shot of the Brother Benedict's Mai Bock and my honey tasted the Duke IPA. Then we ended up switching orders for the pint. I wasn't in the mood for hearty bock and the IPA felt cleaner on my palate. The folks at the bar were friendly and they sounded optimistic about the Royals game that afternoon.
I also ordered the London Broiler sandwich with mashed potatoes....This is an extreme close-up of butter first melting on the potatoes, with the red skins worked in for extra yumminess. Yeah...I didn't think about my carbs that day.
For my birthday lunch, we went to the Blind Tiger on 37th. The first time I visited this brewery, I watched KU lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament. A damn shame. The Blind Tiger is a nice place to hang out and sip tasty beers. I became a fan of the Raspberry Wheat. It tastes like a fruity cider. For my birthday pint, I had the pale ale...a clean finish laced with a malty tang. 
Comments
May. 25, 2006 at 7:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)hope9999 (anonymous)
Happy Birthday Kris.
As good as it sounds, I don't think I am ready to try flavoured beers. I'm still for the old fashioned taste of the product from the malt, starch, and yeast... and of course that bitterness coming from the hops.
Keep on blogging about food, and drink, and places. It's always fun. Thanks.
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