Chris Vlahos Blog 10

VO PATROL 2

A new week and the same story is what I was looking to avoid for my second VO Patrol, Friday April 10th. I arrived at the station ten minutes before my shift started and talked to the producers of the five and six o’clock shows about what story they wanted me to cover. To my surprise they informed me that someone had shown up at 12:30 claiming they had the two o’clock VO Patrol, so the producers gave them my story and had no other ideaas. Not exactly the way I had planned it. We checked the schedule and I was correct, someone had indeed taken my shift, but rather than let it ruin my day I remained flexible. I have learned in my short time of working as a journalist that in order to be a successful broadcaster it is crucial that one remain flexible.
I began to search for a new story idea and decided I would take the six o’ clock shift. I came across Columbia’s first ever Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt at Stephens Lake Park. The event started at 7:30pm, but fortunately I brought some work and searched for story ideas to help pass the time as I waited at the station. Rather than waste the extra time, I also wrote parts of my script and questions for interviews. I then inspected the camera and tripod I planned to use in order to make sure I didn’t run in to any problems or surprises when I was in the field. The focus of my story was kids hunting for eggs at night with flashlights, so I talked to my producer about how to adjust the camera in order to make sure my shots didn’t look too dark. Once everything was ready, I headed to Stephens Lake Park.
I arrived early and surveyed the scene. Registration was inside a building, where the Easter Bunny was posing for pictures. First I talked to the coordinator of the event and introduced myself and told her what I planned to do. Then I found a spot to set my sticks down and start getting some shots. I started with the Easter Bunny and then looked for kids with baskets and flashlights. This story was a VO/SOT/SOT/VO and my producer wanted bites from kids. Instantly I began to reflect on Thursday’s lecture of how to interview children. Let me just say, I knew kids wouldn’t be easy to interview, but wow these kids were more difficult then the one’s I interviewed last week at the Geography Bee (Probably because they were younger..) As the room filled with excited children anxious to search for eggs I looked for kids that seemed overly enthusiastic. Once I found a child that didn’t seem shy I would approach their parents and make sure an interview was agreeable. If so I would kneel down and be at eye level with the child and introduce myself. I avoided long questions and tried to ask them to describe things and emotions, but even then some of the kids stuck with “yes” and “no” answers. After interviewing five different kids and a parent it was time to go hunting. I took my tripod out to the area where the kids would search for eggs, but realized that it would be best if I didn’t use it. That is how I got my best shot. I stationed myself in the grass and put the camera at leg level for a five year old. I then waited for the event to start and once the coordinator said go, forty to fifty four and five year olds came running at me with baskets and flashlights.
Scripting and editing were quick, because I wrote my intro in the car and picked the clips I wanted off the camera’s memory card. The only negative thing about the night was that the show was running heavy, and by the time the anchors came to my story (The Kicker) there wasn’t enough time to run the whole story. Instead the only thing that ran was the VO, not the entire VO/SOT/SOT/VO. All in al though, a good night.

GOOD/BAD JOURNALISM
Now I’m not sure what to make of this clip. It’s not a story, but rather an in-studio segment gone horribly wrong….I think…. Former women’s basketball great Cheryl Miller was an analyst for a show on NBA TV and was angry that NBA Center Scott Pollard was late for there in studio show. Miller berated Pollard earlier in the day and the host decided to show the clip. Now I’m not going to talk about Miller or Pollard, but I am going to talk about the host. I’ve watched this clip multiple times and it seems surreal. At first I believed this was real, but the more I watch it the more I think it was staged. If this was staged in order to bring in publicity and viewers, which is possible I don’t have any gripes.
However, if this wasn’t staged the host should be ashamed of himself. There are many hosts that must deal with analysts that love to talk, but it is still the host’s job to moderate the discussion. Chris Fowler of College Gameday is the master of this, he knows when to cut Lee Corso off and move the discussion in a different direction. Chris Rose of The Best Damn Sports Show Period is another host that is extremely gifted in this sense. In this particular case not only did the host not diffuse the situation, he perpetuates it. Along with Cheryl Miller he joins in at taking shots at Scott Pollard. I couldn’t imagine any host in their right mind would behave this way, which is why I think this may be staged. Another reason I am skeptical of the clip’s authenticity is the producers are too ready to shift the shot to the basketball court nearby. I also found it extremely unprofessional that Cheryl Miller would take shots at her employer while knowingly on the air. I hope it was staged for this reason alone. I feel like I could watch this clip twenty more times and still not know if it is staged or genuine.

http://neswsports.com/2009/04/06/cheryl-miller-vs-scott-pollard-nba-tv-video/