Behind The Scenes With Begnaud

David Talks Carrie Underwood @ CBS13!!!

Fri, 21 May 2010 01:48:49 GMT

My Opinion...What's Yours?

Wed, 19 May 2010 01:36:59 GMT

Let's think about this...

A seven year old girl writes in her OWN yearbook that a classmate, whose allegedly been bullying her for a year, is rude. She then proceeds to scratch out the girl’s picture...again, in her own yearbook.

It is, on its face, no big deal. That is my opinion.

However, the top school official in Yuba County says there's a "history of involvement" with Natalie Day, the first grader at the center of it all. Nancy Aaberg, the superintendent of schools for the Yuba City Unified School District, wouldn't talk about Natalie's "history," but she asked viewers to reserve judgment. Fair enough.

When I imagine what I would do, as a parent, if my child were to do what Natalie did, I might just do the same thing Natalie’s mom did: call a television station. Admittedly, we weren't that type of family growing up. We didn't call the tv station to voice a complaint. It just didn't occur to us. Thankfully, it did to Natalie's mom, and that is how we found out about this story. Some people are slamming the mom for calling the media. Dont. She had an issue she couldn't get resolved, albeit in the way she wanted, so called CBS 13. There's nothing with wrong with that. Natalie's mom was told she had the right to request a meeting with school officials. She did, but as her daughter sat at home on suspension Tuesday, no one returned her call until we got involved.

The schools superintendent told me she was a little surprised that this issue had elevated to "this level." "Really," I asked. "Put yourself in this mother's shoe," I suggested. Natalie’s mother tried to get a meeting Tuesday with the superintendent and her assistant , but noone would called her back.

There are people making comments on the CBS 13 website that the child must have written other things in her yearbook. No. I looked through every page and there is nothing but names on the front cover...names of classmates who wanted to sign Natalie's yearbook.

Of all of the words she could've written: a curse word, a racist remark, a gay slur - she wrote, "No, (the girl) is rude." What is disruptive about that? It's her book to do with what she wants.

People are also commenting and saying that Natalie showed what she wrote to other students. That has not been confirmed, so we don't know if that's true. If that was the case, I can understand how that would be disruptive, and hurtful to the other child. But worth of suspension? Might a sit down lesson be better?

Natalie is a high energy young girl. She wore me out while I was at her house today. Her endless questions are both endearing and exhausting. I can see how thirty little Natalie's, in a classroom of first graders, would be taxing for a teacher, but I would hope that if my child did what Natalie did the school would take the oppurtunity to teach the kids a lesson about how words and bullying can hurt.

Just my opinion...

PS: The "other" child was also suspended from school.

Runaway Suspect & Preferential Treatment

Tue, 18 May 2010 02:12:12 GMT

Why was there a foot race outside of the Sacramento Jail today?

Bye Burrous

Tue, 04 May 2010 01:44:42 GMT

My mentor once said people will forget you as soon as you're gone. I guess. I'd rather believe the degree to which you are forgotten is due largely in part to the impact you make while on the job. Chris Burrous made quite the splash. He's like TV's version of Hillary Clinton...polarizing as all heck!

I describe him as brilliant, creative, and stubborn.

I marvel at his ability to do things on television that makes the most complex subjects seem so simple. His use of a prop to explain something amazed me the first time I saw him do it.

He did news, weather, features, and I'm sure he'd do sports if you asked him too. For peet sake, he tried to do a dot com show. It was a ratings flop, but the fans he had were loyal to a fault. I remember going out in the community and listening to a woman lecture me on why she thought the station was wrong for canceling the "Chris Burrous' show." "It wasn't exactly a ratings bonzana," I told the her. "He is his own show," she told me, and then proceeded to praise him like she was getting paid to do it.

Love him or hate him, people watched him. He loved the fact that people didn't agree with him. Creating controversy was a talent of his. He pushed the envelope, sometimes to far some might say, but arguably never crossed the ethical line.

I've always said that I learned the most about being a repoter from watching other reporters. Chris Burrous is one of those reporters.

Forget him? Please. Forgetting him would be like forgetting Hillary Clinton. Impossible.

Good luck, Chris!

Boycott Arizona?

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:14:37 GMT

How do you feel about the new law directing police to arrest anyone they "reasonably suspect" is in the country illegally?

Some California leaders are calling for people to boycott the state.

1. San Francisco's Mayor, today, banned city employees from traveling to Arizona on official business, effectively immediately.

2. The leader of California’s Senate, Darrell Steinberg, is calling on the Governor to cut all business ties with the "Grand Canyon State." Read his letter here: http://urlm.in/emoy

Some have compared the new law to the discrimination blacks faced during the civil rights movement of the 1960's. There's a large number of people in Arizona who support the new law, joining the chorus of people who believe Arizona had to act, based on the federal government’s failure to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

What do you think?

The Woman Who Walked Into My Live Shot

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:54:43 GMT

The wife of a man I interviewed Monday wanted to make a point, and she wanted to make it on live TV.

She claims to know a thing or two about television. The woman, who says she's a producer at KVIE, Sacramento's PBS station, waited until I went LIVE and walked into my shot. As I was introducing my pre-packaged interview with her husband, she stepped in front of the camera and asked what we were doing. "You're scaring my children," she could be overheard saying.

I can see how a television live truck parked on the side of your house might be alarming to your children, but it should serve as an opportunity for this woman to teach her kids a lesson about the mistake their father admittedly made.

http://bit.ly/dicHMK

Her husband said from jail Monday, he had been drinking and allowed his daughter to get behind the wheel of his car so she could practice parking. He said he wanted her to know what to do in an emergency. Regardless, police considered it reckless behavior and charged him with child endangerment.

The suspect, Aaron Gorman, gave me his home address. When my co-worker and I went out to his home Monday no one answered the door. A little while later, an elderly woman drove up with a group of kids. That woman walked up to our live truck saying someone wanted to talk to me. It was the suspect's wife. We had a very pleasant conversation on the phone. I explained to her why were were that, that her husband had spoken to us from jail, and that we were preparing a piece for the 5pm news. Done. Not really.

As I was waiting to go live, the woman walked out onto her lawn and stood three feet from me. She was staring. No problem. She was on her lawn; I was on the sidewalk. We both were well within our rights. But, instead of telling me what she thought, she waited until I went on live to make a point. She failed.

It's the first time someone has ever walked into my shot on live TV. I assume it won't be the last.

For Me: It Was Meant To Be

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:14:10 GMT

I'm a Christian. I'm proud to say it. Specifically, I'm a practicing Catholic. But you know, I don't bring my faith to work. I don't let it influence my stories, and I don't share it with others, unsolicited. It is personal.

Having said that, a rather sureal thing happened to me, Wednesday.

I was at crime scene in Oak Park where a police officer had been stabbed. As I prepared my 5pm piece, a car approached. I noticed the vehicle about two hundred yards away. The dilapidated red toyota corolla was missing hubcaps, it looked like it needed a paint job, and I think I heard rattling under the hood. But as the car approached, the two people inside were well dressed....seemed to be wearing their Sunday best. I knew they were going stop. Everyone always does and the first question they ask is, "what's going on?" The driver, a young man wearing a suit and tie, drove up and said, "hello." The woman sitting beside him was distracted eating what looked to be Taco Bell. "Hello," I responded. "What's going on," he asked in a polite soft tone. "A police officer was stabbed here today," I told him. "O, well that's going to bring some suffering," he quipped. "What," I thought. No one has ever responded like that. Suddenly, his passenger snapped, "give him one." The young man reached into a bag and handed me a pamphlet entitled, All Suffering Soon to End. "Thank you," I responded, not really knowing what else to say. "Yeah, read it when you have some quiet time," he told me. "Have a good day." As I watched him drive away slowly, I noticed he didn't stop to give a pamphlet to anyone else standing on the street, and there were about fifteen to twenty people nearby. "Why me," I thought.

The brochure talks about creation and the end of time. I assume the couple is part of a traveling ministry. I don't know. I'm certainly not looking for a new church, or another faith group to join, but I appreciate their guesture.

In life, I think we sometimes question everything, and take it from me, questioning is good! But I didn't question this; I don't need too. The thirty second encounter I had with this young couple, was for me, a reminder of what's really important in life. Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in my stories I lose sight of the world around me. In that moment, I stopped what I was doing to think about family, and my faith. Because, along with my friends, those are the two most important elements of my life.

Just thought I'd share that with you.

Much Ado About My Shirt

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:07:09 GMT

I hadn't been off the air five minutes Wednesday when I got a text from a friend saying, "U looked buff in your muscle dress shirt."

http://bit.ly/aDgXiW - See what you think!

For the record: I wasn't going for buff; I was just going for what I like, and yes, that tends to be form fitting clothes. What I don't like is that people were talking more about what I wore than what I was talking about.

Another viewer wrote to me: "U looked great during the US Health Works report."

And then there was this:

"Hey David,
My compliments on your shirt choice today. It allowed for two critical points about your physique to stand out. Keep that up and you may increase the number of viewers you attract for the station.
Chris

Thanks for the compliments, but going forward, I hope to attract viewers based on my performance and not my attire. :)

Its Never Happened To Me Before

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:11:09 GMT

I was in the middle of a live shot today when I noticed a man and a woman walking toward me. My photographer and I were standing live in front of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association regarding a story of a peace officer whose been arrested for fraud. The man and woman waiting to talk to me are the media relations folks for CCPOA. So, it seemed natural that they may want to say hi, except if you consider the fact that I did a story on one of them for driving drunk, last year. 'I wonder what he wants to tell me,' I thought as I waited to go live. They clearly weren't leaving until they spoke to me. Truthfully, I had prepared myself for a earful. Turns out, he was there to thank me. WHAT!!!!

Lance Corchran thanked me for what his female co-worker jokingly referred to as the "hit piece" I did on him. Thank me? That's never happend to me. Most people who drive drunk run from me, curse me, blame me for the backlash, etc. To have someone walk up and say thank you....well, it left me speechless. He went on to describe what a life changing moment it was for him to to be arrested, spend a week in jail, and then have to pay a fine after pleading guilty. And above all that, to have his story flashed across the news. Tough.

Lance, I tip my hat to you for taking responsibility. I wish other criminals would SHUT UP and STEP UP like you did.

His Wreckless Arrogance Is Mind Blowing

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:27:53 GMT

I was surprised. When I walked into court in Auburn this morning for Eric Cephus' preliminary hearing, I wasn't expecting him to change his plea.

No one was expecting that!

He accepted resposibility for having sex with a 13 year old girl, and was immediately senteced to 18 years in prison.

As I typed as lightening speed to record what was being said, I glanced over to see who was sitting beside me. It was the victims family. And to the right of them, guarded by deputies, was the thirteen year old victim. She was smiling! I'm not sure why. Maybe she was happy to see her family, (whom she ran away from) or maybe it was because she was enjoying the attention.

When Cephus asked to make a statement before the court, the judge asked prosecutors if they had a problem with it. They did not, and so Cephus proceeded to turn toward the victim and her family and say:

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I have a family of my own; I don't know what I would do if something like this would happen to my family. I've destroyed my life, and I've ruined the lives of people around me. I'm sorry. I really am."

Cephus' wreckless arrogance is mind blowing.

Let's list the reasons:

1. He was on duty

2. ...in uniform.

3. ...in a marked patrol car.

4. He gave the girl his phone number and name "Deputy Eric"

5. He just left her in the parking lot of the hotel after he had sex with her

How did he think he would get away with this?

The only redeeming thing about this idiot is that he accepted responsibility. His former boss, Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness, said it best. "I still hate him for what he did, but maybe a little less now because of his change in plea."