Who are you?
My first name is Bill. The rest is being withheld for reasons that should become apparent. I am a local newscast producer for a television station in New England. You can find further clues elsewhere on this website.
Like the guy at Microsoft I am contractually prevented from revealing how I ply my trade. In many cases I am not violating this condition; certainly not in print and often not through other means. I do consider it possible for me to refer to content in a program that has aired after the fact. I'm keeping mum on how it got on, though -- that is, if I do indeed know.
I don't take things seriously, but that is one of the things I actually do try to take seriously -- not taking things seriously. You know what I mean?
I will from time to time blow off steam about how my day went -- usually vaguely and more driven by emotion than anything else. You'll basically see demonstration of the thesis that WORKING IN (LIVE) TELEVISION IS STRESSFUL. Also often underpaid, more so in local than in national markets.
There is a lot that's wrong with the work that I do, to many educated people. Others say the evils of the work we do are necessary to generate the revenue when the viewer base is constantly distracted and shrinking. Being in the environment, you get used to it, and I try not to. I am also trying not to be overly overly exploitative, which television tends to be, especially these days (thought many times now it's the people who put themselves in the spotlight for exploitation -- think of everyone who ever tried out for a reality TV show). Everybody's a critic, and they all hate (local) television news -- every man-jack of them.
One thing I do like to do is critique things I see on TV, including on my own air. I like what I like and I don't like what I don't like, and I am obviously one solitary voice out of the millions. I could be wrong. Who can ever be certain that he or she is right?
If an entry is posted "On Location," I may be blogging from my phone via SMS text messaging. I think that is really cool. It's just a pain that every time I do it, it costs ten cents.
As I write this, I'm 25 years old. I was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1978 at Bess Kaiser Hospital. Or was it one of the others? I went to a private school where I lived a somewhat turbulent though sheltered life in lower and middle school. When high school came along I had just had a boost to the confidence, and then all of a sudden somehow all us "undesirables" or "misfits" or "the people who were not the 'POPULAR' people" found we could get along by ourselves, or by forming our own clique. So high school was better than my preceding years, with only a major career disappointment to note near graduation. But I did graduate with my class. For college, I went to Boston, and desperately needed the change. The four years needed to be about ten, and the play could have been at least three times harder, or at least as hard as I worked. I graduated, entered the career, and now after three years here I am.
In high school, a notable teacher who is no longer with the school, or with us, saw in me a newspaper columnist. The news director of my first internship figured I would be a good candidate for producing. At points, I've been a chamber choir member, actor, theatre technician, floor director, technical director, screaming director, reporter, anchor, tape and non-linear video and audio editor, film cutter, audio engineer, character generator operator, telephone switchboard operator and receptionist, computer lab assistant, and data entry clerk. When teaching, I use the best method I know, which is to "guide your hand," and tell you how to do it. It's the only way you'll learn. Then again, sometimes you have to figure it out on your own, which I am still doing (cue Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat into the air).
I don't think blogging is going to get me a boyfriend. Even less likely a girlfriend. But I'm doing it anyway because it's fun, and I hope someone understands that.
The old historyLabels: Originally published
... Scribbled by Bill T ... 9/25/2004 08:25:00 PM ... 
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