"You can be whoever you want to be."
When talking about what was ahead before my big move to Wisconsin last month, my best friend said these words to me. He added, "There isn't a single person there who ever knew you."
Hearing it put this way catches one off guard. It can even be said to alienate. I'm just one little drop in the great big lake that is the world. It used to be easy -- I was always with someone or some group that I knew well anytime I had traveled.
But when I left small-town Ohio six days after graduating from college, I came with what could fit in my car. If you're searching for a comparison, think first-year college student leaving home in the pre-cell phone era.
"You can be whoever you want to be."
Moving from one Midwest town to another also helps. Small-town Ohio to New York City would have been an extreme adjustment. But my move here helps in more ways than just "feeling at home."
This is because, in all actuality, no matter how hard we try to do otherwise, we remain the same person at the core. When I came here, I didn't suddenly stop laughing at jokes that were funny to me in Ohio. I didn't forget how to produce a newscast (though I've learned how to produce a BETTER newscast since coming here). My friends here don't have opposite interests from those who now can only reach me by phone or facebook messages. Deep down, I'm just Kevin Hunt.
Newscasts are the same. The idea of our news stories is to let viewers see and hear a conversation about what is happening. There's a lot more that goes into it, but the basic idea is that we give you news you want to know.
Our anchors and reporters are one part of the dialogue and you are the other side -- which is why our phone number is posted in public, we have a place on nbc15.com for posting comments and feedback and we try to talk with real people in surrounding communities.
So remember, we consider the viewing public in what is important for our daily "conversations" -- be it The Morning Show, 11 a.m., 4, 5, 6 or 10 p.m. newscasts. Our station motto is, "Coverage You Can Count On" -- and we're doing what we can to include everyone in our conversations.
It's the same reason why I'm loving it here in Southern Wisconsin. I came with nothing, yet I feel like I've been a part of the dialogue since I arrived. I look forward to continuing the conversation at ten o'clock every night on NBC 15.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Where are You
Pack your bags and head out.
It's one of the toughest things to do, especially when doing it on the fly. What's tougher is not knowing where you're going, what you'll find there or who you'll meet.
But it's what a lot of college graduates face every single year. Job seekers can't be picky because it seems that this economy rewards ANYONE who simply HAS a job. What job and where it is doesn't even play in the minds of a lot of those entering the job market.
This is extremely true for those going into journalism, a degrading form of person plugged into society for the sole reason of lying to everyone else for whom they write (often tagged as "the audience" or "key demographic"). They start out their freshman year with ambitions aimed high. If they're lucky, the hope lasts the entire first year.
Then professors give up trying to sell. There's the "you won't make money until you're 35, if you're lucky" line. Or recently there's the "you need to know how to do everything because you're going to have to produce 18 different types of media on the one story" phrase that's taking the schools by storm.
But the one most prevalent in the radio-television business is the "figure out where you want to live and go about 1,000 miles in another direction to find where you'll ACTUALLY end up" nugget. They're told not to worry too much, though, because they can work their way to their final destination by the end of a career by working extremely hard, meeting as many people in the business as possible and sucking up to those people with hope that some day they'll be in a position of power looking at a resume with a recognizable name.
Some take a different approach. They don't really figure out what's coming right away. They might even do something different from the end result they seek just to do something new. It puts them at odds with a definition of "achievement" while, at least for the time being, sending them in a "wrong" direction. But the worry doesn't come in the form of finding a job or even circulate around the occupation whatsoever.
The worry in these seekers comes with going somewhere completely new. They don't know anyone. They don't even know where the closest grocery store is. And, most importantly, they don't know where they fit in because the world is altogether new. Some pieces of a puzzle are easier to place than others and people are the same way.
Some people can jump right into their place in the puzzle of society. Others have a few sides that are too intricate to just slip right into a spot. And anyone who has put a puzzle together knows that shoving pieces into a spot in the puzzle where they don't belong only makes for hardship later when it's revealed that the piece really, truly didn't belong there.
The real point is that putting together the same puzzle over and over is OK with some people. But for most, the completion of a brand new challenge is what makes the activity interesting. Those in broadcasting are all but forced to do this or take a job in something that just involves writing. Not settling is one of the toughest things to do in this life. But trying to be the puzzle piece that fits is one of the hardest things to avoid. If you're not in the right spot, don't worry -- to finish the puzzle, you'll find your spot.
So pack your bags and head out. There's a puzzle in this big world waiting for you so it can be solved.
It's one of the toughest things to do, especially when doing it on the fly. What's tougher is not knowing where you're going, what you'll find there or who you'll meet.
But it's what a lot of college graduates face every single year. Job seekers can't be picky because it seems that this economy rewards ANYONE who simply HAS a job. What job and where it is doesn't even play in the minds of a lot of those entering the job market.
This is extremely true for those going into journalism, a degrading form of person plugged into society for the sole reason of lying to everyone else for whom they write (often tagged as "the audience" or "key demographic"). They start out their freshman year with ambitions aimed high. If they're lucky, the hope lasts the entire first year.
Then professors give up trying to sell. There's the "you won't make money until you're 35, if you're lucky" line. Or recently there's the "you need to know how to do everything because you're going to have to produce 18 different types of media on the one story" phrase that's taking the schools by storm.
But the one most prevalent in the radio-television business is the "figure out where you want to live and go about 1,000 miles in another direction to find where you'll ACTUALLY end up" nugget. They're told not to worry too much, though, because they can work their way to their final destination by the end of a career by working extremely hard, meeting as many people in the business as possible and sucking up to those people with hope that some day they'll be in a position of power looking at a resume with a recognizable name.
Some take a different approach. They don't really figure out what's coming right away. They might even do something different from the end result they seek just to do something new. It puts them at odds with a definition of "achievement" while, at least for the time being, sending them in a "wrong" direction. But the worry doesn't come in the form of finding a job or even circulate around the occupation whatsoever.
The worry in these seekers comes with going somewhere completely new. They don't know anyone. They don't even know where the closest grocery store is. And, most importantly, they don't know where they fit in because the world is altogether new. Some pieces of a puzzle are easier to place than others and people are the same way.
Some people can jump right into their place in the puzzle of society. Others have a few sides that are too intricate to just slip right into a spot. And anyone who has put a puzzle together knows that shoving pieces into a spot in the puzzle where they don't belong only makes for hardship later when it's revealed that the piece really, truly didn't belong there.
The real point is that putting together the same puzzle over and over is OK with some people. But for most, the completion of a brand new challenge is what makes the activity interesting. Those in broadcasting are all but forced to do this or take a job in something that just involves writing. Not settling is one of the toughest things to do in this life. But trying to be the puzzle piece that fits is one of the hardest things to avoid. If you're not in the right spot, don't worry -- to finish the puzzle, you'll find your spot.
So pack your bags and head out. There's a puzzle in this big world waiting for you so it can be solved.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tribe-ulations
Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge says he doesn't want to give up on the season yet. Most Tribe fans have trouble understanding this theory. The Indians are going to need a 2007 Colorado Rockies-type run over the next four weeks to get back to being a legitimate contender.
I know Wedge has toyed with the lineup a BUNCH this season, but I haven't seen Grady Sizemore out of the lead-off spot enough. Why not give him some more RBI chances with the likes of Shin Soo Choo or Jamey Carroll leading off (both have marginally better on-base percentages)??
In addition, if Sizemore reaches the base paths in front of the #4 or #5 hitters (whomever they may be on a given night), wouldn't the threat of a stolen base make the opposing pitcher at least consider throwing more fastballs than off-speed pitches in case Sizemore is planning on taking second base??
It's easy to understand why Sizemore is still in the lead-off spot -- he doesn't seem to be the problem. And it's hard to argue with the numbers: .261 average, .366 OBP, team-leading 19 HR, team-leading 19 stolen bases. So Sizemore is having himself a decent year. But the team isn't.
In a June issue of the Akron Beacon-Journal, Wedge said, ''Grady likes it up there, and he's one of the best in the game...I don't see why you would want to take one of your greatest areas of strength away?" The reason why is because there's the possibility that Sizemore will be BETTER as a #3 hitter than as a lead-off man. Even more, there's the possibility that Cleveland will be a BETTER hitting team with Sizemore in the three hole.
In the American League, a .500 winning percentage probably won't get you close to winning a wild card spot. In other words, an exact reversal of the first half of the year won't be enough to keep the Indians in it. And if Eric Wedge truly believes there's hope left for this season, he might want to consider a MAJOR change because small lineup changes obviously aren't helping Cleveland score runs.
Swing and a Drive...
I know Wedge has toyed with the lineup a BUNCH this season, but I haven't seen Grady Sizemore out of the lead-off spot enough. Why not give him some more RBI chances with the likes of Shin Soo Choo or Jamey Carroll leading off (both have marginally better on-base percentages)??
In addition, if Sizemore reaches the base paths in front of the #4 or #5 hitters (whomever they may be on a given night), wouldn't the threat of a stolen base make the opposing pitcher at least consider throwing more fastballs than off-speed pitches in case Sizemore is planning on taking second base??
It's easy to understand why Sizemore is still in the lead-off spot -- he doesn't seem to be the problem. And it's hard to argue with the numbers: .261 average, .366 OBP, team-leading 19 HR, team-leading 19 stolen bases. So Sizemore is having himself a decent year. But the team isn't.
In a June issue of the Akron Beacon-Journal, Wedge said, ''Grady likes it up there, and he's one of the best in the game...I don't see why you would want to take one of your greatest areas of strength away?" The reason why is because there's the possibility that Sizemore will be BETTER as a #3 hitter than as a lead-off man. Even more, there's the possibility that Cleveland will be a BETTER hitting team with Sizemore in the three hole.
In the American League, a .500 winning percentage probably won't get you close to winning a wild card spot. In other words, an exact reversal of the first half of the year won't be enough to keep the Indians in it. And if Eric Wedge truly believes there's hope left for this season, he might want to consider a MAJOR change because small lineup changes obviously aren't helping Cleveland score runs.
Swing and a Drive...
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