Raw, but c*nsored blabbing and blogging of a young journalista
and local news producer in Southern New England.
email topstorylive % at # gmail + dot = com

Sunday, February 23, 2003

HOW MUCH DOES SWEEPS SUCK? I'LL TELL YOU HOW MUCH SWEEPS SUCKS!.....

Apparently I haven't made a blog entry since sweeps has begun. Why does that not surprise me?

This week has been awful in my newsroom. Monday and Tuesday, we simply jacked up our coverage for the 20 or so inches of unending snow. Hotel rooms were reserved for those who lived far away. God knows how many of the day- and night-siders slept in each others' rooms. I can tell you this; it was all too obvious to many of them I talked to that several of them enjoyed the hotel's bar. Remind me to take advantage of an offer like that next time I have the chance.

I say "simply," though nothing can be called simple when it came to the coverage of the President's Day Snowstorm. Tuesday morning, the middle of the storm, we added an extra hour, an extra reporter, even an extra anchor! I taped it. Maybe one of these days when I have a day off and it's no longer sweeps I'll take a look at it and giggle. If only it was a director's track version.

The worst thing about the huge snow coverage was the closings ticker hoo-ha. All I'll say about this is that people are stupid. STUPID I tell you!

And then Thursday night rolled around. I guess everybody in the f%%king country needed a ratings spike. A##holes. Everybody and his brother called us repeatedly demanding one of our reporters give each of their stations a live hit, a custom hit, something personalized that the other folks didn't have. Remind me the next time any little thing happens to call every station about six times and make sure I speak to the same person to give them a dose of their own medicine. Just doing our jobs my eye.

As for us, I'm sure our news content is giving all of its commercial time up in favor of wall-to-wall coverage. This is such an awful thing. Everyone's saying things like this don't happen in Rhode Island. Well, did you think it would never happen here? Have we not learned the lesson? ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE.

So in search of therapy I decided to go to Toronto next weekend to see my best friend. Because of strength and fatigue issues I didn't get to looking for tickets until the Sunday before the Thursday I wanted to go. Most tickets are now between $800 AND $1000. I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, don't want to spend that much. I haven't told my friend yet; she's going to be disappointed, to say nothing of how p*ssed off I am.

THAT'S how much this sucks.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 2/23/2003 02:02:00 PM ... Email this entry ...
...
..........

RISING STAR? ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE?

A recent study commissioned by The Hartford Image Project says Connecticut's capital is becoming more popular with young people.

Strange.

It's been at least eight months since I drove the hour and a half from Providence to Hartford for work. Maybe the capital city has changed a great deal.

Think about it. Hartford is an insurance capital. It and New Haven are living in the shadows of New York City in all things that define a city, from dining to entertainment to quality of life to the very people who choose to associate in the area. It's worth the car ride, bus ride or train ride of two hours or so to get from Connecticut to The City. With a moniker like that, even within Connecticut's cities and towns, New York is obviously Xanadu. Why stay in Hartford when you can go to New York?

Hartford is not built up very much. There are a few very tall buildings in a very small area of downtown. Downtown also does not have much activity on weekends -- even less than Providence. Greater Hartford, Bolton, Wethersfield, East Hartford, Tolland, are all (strip) mall communities. The money is concentrated along the coastline, and only at certain times of the year. Elitism is concentrated in West Hartford, and that's about it from a reputation standpoint.

Someone I once knew who was just starting to get to know Connecticut as I was described the state as "town and country." There isn't a lot there it seems, because everybody could be concerned with getting to the higher-concentrated urban areas -- mostly New York. Hartford is not a "destination." It's a waypoint.

Providence, RI purports to be The Renaissance City. There's still more work to be done here. Right now Hartford is where Providence was several years ago. Hartford, while calling itself "New England's Rising Star," has a hell of a long way to rise if you ask me.

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 2/01/2003 06:59:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
...
..........

PUCKS: COACH GOT YOUR TONGUE?

The words "sore losers" come to mind with this next story.

In Canada they love their hockey more than we love our football here in the U.S. In Calgary, Alberta, on January 21st, there was a memorable clash between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames.

Calgary, it seems, has a 200-pound mascot named Harvey the Hound. Apparently rivalling Jimmy Stewart's friend in size, this hound is obviously more visible than Harvey the Rabbit. The growler in question must have been overjoyed during the game. He started hanging out behind the opposing team's bench and taunting the Oilers' coach, Craig MacTavish, when the Flames were leading in the third period.

The hound, not one to let up when he's in the catbird seat, started leaning over the glass to further stick the Oilers' nose in it. His lolling tongue apparently lolled a bridge too far.

MacTavish decided to rip the mascot's tongue out of its fixed position and throw it into the throng of puck-watchers. The Associated Press gave no word on their reactions to this surprising event.

Harvey must not be of the school of Disney characters, because he'd probably play up the injury to spotlight the meanness of the coach. Losing his tongue didn't deter him. He just kept teasing the losing team.

The Hound got a face-full of water squirted at him by the Oilers team-mates, but that was all before security at the Pengrowth Saddledome came to collar him.

Had Calgary still had a tongue to stick out at Edmonton, they'd have been doing it by the end of the night. The Flames won 4-3.

At this writing the next contest between the Flames and Oilers is Friday the 7th at Edmonton. The question is, will one or the other set their opponents alight?

Labels: Originally published

... Scribbled by Bill T ... 2/01/2003 06:19:00 AM ... Email this entry ...
...
..........