Love That Jefferson County...

Looks like the district attorney’s office is going through the hundred’s of files recovered from the hard drive of the former county judge.

The local media (TV and Newspaper) has let the issue sink for a while.
Here are the arguments as I see them.

The new county judge Ron Walker says the former county judge Carl Griffith erased official county documents when he had hard drives wiped clean.

The former county judge (Griffith) says he had the computer hard drives cleaned out so the machines would run properly for the new county judge and the new staff.

…So the M.I.S. department recovers all erased documents off of the hard drives and brings that material to the district attorney’s office.

Here are the questions everyone is dancing around

1) How will the district attorney’s office determine which of the files recovered are “official” copies?

2) If the judge writes a letter on his computer and prints it out, is the digital copy on the computer hard drive the official copy or is the printout the official copy?

3) Is the new county judge concerned about actual missing documents,…. going on witch hunt …..or paying the price for cleaning out the old staff that knew where everything is? This question is not a loaded question…a charge against Judge Walker….this is a real question. What is going on?

4) If the files recovered are only “probably” the only copy, is that enough evidence to pursue charges against Judge Griffith?

5) If the former judge erased the files maliciously, will he get a deal like the former purchasing agent to avoid criminal charges?

6) If it turns out that judge Walker is pursuing sour grapes and trying to find some way to “get” the former judge, can he be charged with a crime?

I think everyone is afraid to ask these questions because they feel to do so will make it appear that they are taking sides on the issue.

Now, let’s get to a question that would affect a lot of people.

Is all of the legal mumbo-jumbo in Washington going on right now, going to kill the tax incentives that started all of this in the first place?

The Democrats say they want to kill certain tax breaks for big business so they can give that cash to the little man (sic.)

The Republicans say their actions could kill some or all of the plant expansion planned for our area?

Let’s see who is not afraid to ruffle some feathers and get into the real issues.

Back to my radio roots

Some of my friends who are sports fanatics constantly scream at the TV.

Case in point, here's a pic of Gary Stelly (KOGT) and I taken back in 1985...he was always screaming at a TV!

When they see a play they can’t believe, or someone pulls a bonehead move, they are quick to shout at the poor, innocent television set.

Not being a sports nut myself, I do find myself doing the same thing when it comes to news announcers or deejays on the radio.

I guess it comes from having over two and a half decades of working with folks who know a lot more than I about how broadcasting works.

I have thousands of words of advice from people who have gone on to bigger and better places and count it a privilege to have learned from them while they were in my neck of the woods.

Here is an example.

I was listening to one of my favorite stations the other day as I was driving to Beaumont.

At the end of the song the announcer came on and told me the name of the song that just played and the names of the previous three songs.

In my opinion, there are several things wrong with this.

I admit I might be the one “out of the loop” and may be basing my interpretation on outdated ideas.

But, risking exposing myself as an armchair quarterback, here we go.

First… telling me the name of the song that has just played or the names of the proceeding three gives me no reason to keep listening.

As a listener I might just say thank you and tune to another station that is not about to play commercials.

Now, if you tell me the name of the next three songs you are about to play I just might stay with you for my favorite tune.

I heard this at least a thousand times from a former program director of mine, John Martin. (KSLR around 1982 in San Antonio)

Secondly….I do not think an announcer should ever talk so long over dead air.

Robert X (another past program director I’ve worked for) once told me to talk as long as I wanted AS LONG AS IT WAS OVER THE INTRO OF A SONG.

I didn’t like the restriction at the time, but looking back, he was right.

If I hear the intro of a song, even if I don’t care for what the deejay is saying, I know he has to shut up as soon as the singer comes on.

I’ve heard stations try to “cheat” on this by playing a music bed under everything, but it doesn’t seem to work very well.

If I hear the music intro to “another one bites the dust“, I know what song is coming on and that the announcer is about to quit talking.If the announcer reads the weather dry then starts the song, I might tune out in the middle of the weather not knowing that the music is about to start.

If he reads the weather over the intro, I’m more likely to stay around because I can hear the music already playing and I know the guy is about to shut up.

Thirdly… there’s a little thing called forward momentum, which is basically… always looking to the future. Keep things moving forward. It would take too long to go into it here, but I have had so many bosses preach this to me, I’ve come to the believe that it’s a good thing. Keep the past in the past and tell people something they can use… tell them what is coming up.

Here’s something I have never understood.

I am probably in the minority on this one.

I love radio station contests and feel they absolutely help in the ratings.

But do we always have to hear a 30 second recorded phone call of the winner?

No one but the winner and his friends care that he/she won.

Don’t waste that much time.

Take caller number 3 and announce his/her name over the intro of the song coming out of a commercial break.

Keep it moving.

There are exceptions.

Specialty programs (Like Randy use to do on KKMY) and if the caller does something unusual.

But, sadly, most of them are identical.

Hi Bob, you are caller number 3...Bob says great… announcer says Bob you just
won a CD. Bob says cool… announcer says Bob what is your favorite
station…Bob says KXYZ.

Great for Bob. Good for the announcers resume tape. Bad for the listeners.

If you have to do this to show the listeners there are others joining in, at least keep it short enough to play over the intro of a song.

I really believe too many radio folks don’t realize how much you can say in 20 seconds (short enough to do it over an intro)

6:30 am .. KXYZ, congrats to bob Jordan our latest mega c-d winner.., keep
listening, another chance to win is coming up on XX-FM your new music
station.

In this example the announcer gave the time, station call letters, told you who won, gave you a reason to stay around, and ended with the station slogan… and did it all in 11 seconds over the intro of a song.

Isn’t this much better than paying a 30 second conversation over a music bed letting me know that someone else won?

I guess I’m set in my ways, but that’s the way I see it.

B problem

I know this is Southeast Texas, and news is not expected to be as exciting as it is in Houston or New York, but I’m left with a few questions in my mind about this area’s news agencies and reporters.

Don't take this as an insult.

One big question is: Are the majority of “reporters” in this area green or just lazy.

This past week there were so many good "B" stories buried in public documents just waiting for the picking… and they were ignored or not noticed.

I’m not talking about top stories.

I’m talking about the too often ignored “B” level story, the fill material.

Face it; this is the bulk of a news cast.

There can only be one lead story.

Someone has to do the grunt work and cover the meetings, changes in public figures and parades.

I would understand all of the missed opportunities if the majority of reporters around here were tied up with really big stories, but this is not what I saw in the “fill” stories this week.

What was the majority of the “B” or “fill” stories?

Fires at abandoned buildings, re-caps of stories we’ve already known about for days, etc, etc.

One story seemed kind of odd because of its timing.

Tuesday, we carried a story about a doctor running against councilwoman Lulu Smith.

The paper and at least one of the other TV stations carried the story on Friday.

I would understand carrying the story on Friday it if there was something to advance the story days after it was "out there" in the public records…. But really, they had the same story we carried on Monday.

I keep going back to the thought that the “fill” stories should be more than just "fill."

The attitude seems to be, even if they are old news stories, run them and “fill” the time.

All three stations do this, although I don’t think everyone will admit that’s what’s going on.

Stories that come from public documents (indictments, public notices, etc) are easy easy easy!

So why do they pop up in the news days after the document release date?

Why do these stories NOT get advanced?

I guess it’s good old fashioned laziness or immaturity.

This is not a “slam” on folks in the media…it’s a legitimate question.

Is the problem that journalists in this area are not trained properly… or ….is it stereotypical lazy ego-driven media people....or is it that everyone is bogged down in non-productive "busy" work at the office?

When I pose the question to people I trust, the answers usually follow a typical theme.

The reporters in this area are just starting out, do not make big pay checks, and are not expected to have block buster stories.

Here’s a huge hint to any reporter.

Get to be friends with photogs who have been in the market for years.

They usually know the players, and the stories, far better than the highest educated reporter who just graduated from xyz university.

I don’t care how well you know the top player in a news maker’s office; make friends with the secretary…

You know, the one who can either throw your message onto a pile or grab the boss for you?

I have been given more news leads from cleaning staff, security guards and other support staff than I have ever received from the top players.

Think about this.

The top players in a news maker’s office have an agenda.

The guy who makes minimum wage quite often doesn’t give a damn.

In my opinion, right or wrong, too many folks are either worried about going out without the suit and tie OR they are too lazy to do some fishing after office hours.

I see Jerry from the Examiner at all sorts of places after hours, and he breaks new stories.

How many anchors in this market will do like Rusty over at 4 or Dave at 12, and grab a camera once in a while?

Not many, if any at all.

News is a 24 hour business!

The folks I only see between 9 and 5 are the ones who rarely break new ground.

Not Everyone Hates Us

I don't make it a habit to repost items found on the internet.

I find it annoying when some people feel compelled to email me every scrap they find while they are browing.

That being said, I think this is one of the few items worth re-posting.

This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood, TX....

The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad.....

Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors.....

Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.....

To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.....

Do you know why we don't hear about this in the news???? Because it is heart warming and praise worthy...

The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect.....

But we can do something about it.....

We can pass this along to as many people as we can in honor of all our brave military who are making a difference......