Mike's Meanderings

SAYING GOODBYE

mikewalter — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:32:00 GMT

So I don't mind telling you when they first started pushing this newfangled concept of blogging I approached it like most people in the newsroom. I basically ignored the request. I did start to do it though. In fact one day I was so delighted with a blog entry I had written, that I talked to Miriam Wright about it. She responded by basically rolling her eyes.

"Mike your blog entry was about something that happened four days ago."

Over time I came around. An edict was handed down to blog three times a week. For anyone who reads my blogs, you know I have routinely defied that edict. I'm sorry that's the kind of guy I am, that's why I chose a profession where I could talk back and ask questions when people didn't want to answer them. Not real good qualities in a classroom, but great qualities in a newsroom. Over time, through fits and starts, I have managed to update you on my life through this instrument we call a blog.

Now the question is, what do I do now? I'm not sure I have the answer. I know what I plan on doing. I'm starting my own company, www.waltermedia.tv

I want to keep blogging, and probably will. But I'm thinking about that other thing that I have devoted all of my adult life too. Television News! It is a funny thing. People who anchor newscasts are like the ruling junta in a tiny nation. When the next coup happens, it happens quickly, and then suddenly pictures of the Junta leader or dictator that were everywhere are gone. Same is true for those of us. We get promoted, our pictures are plastered everywhere, you can read our bio on line, and then suddenly you are gone and it's as if you never existed.

I was talking to Bob Thill on the phone the other day. Bob used to be an anchor in Kansas City. He owns his own production company now. He said "You know Mike it's a tribute to you, that you are still on the air there. That says a lot. Most of us are told when we get off the air, get your things, and get out of the building."

He's right of course, the station has been very good to me. They have let me stay on the air right up until the end of my contract. We couldn't agree on terms that would keep me at Channel 9, and so I'm leaving with a smile and nothing but good thoughts, and great memories. So I am not like one of the many disappeared in my profession, one day on the air, the next day poof..you've vanished!

But here's the tough part, saying goodbye to you. Sure I wouldn't be able to pick most of you out of a police lineup. But I know you are there. I know that you are walking around in the morning, eating cereal or toast. Or perhaps you are racing to get a cup of coffee before you head out the door. Some times you only have a towel on, and you are looking at the forecast and trying to figure out what you are going to wear.

It's strange what we do. We know you are there, or at least we assume it. We think it's a two way street. But only you get to see us. So it's really blind faith. We sit in front of a camera, and talk and hope that there is someone listening. I know you are there. How do I know it? I know it because when my mom passed away a few months ago, you sent me notes of encouragement. Some of you told me how you cried when you read my blog. You let me know that you were praying for me and my family. When I talked about what it was like to have my daughter away at Sea for so many months, you wrote me to share your stories too. When I told the story of hugging my son goodbye and driving off in Lawrence Kansas...you wrote me and talked about how your heart ached when you became an empty nester too. That's pretty special. So even though I don't know you, I do. Even though I don't consider you a part of my family, I know in a sense you are.

You invited me into your home, and I invited you to my blog. It's here where I learned about how big your heart is, and how much you care. These are tough economic times, everyone seems to be suffering, or knows someone who is, but that special quality I just described is what will carry us through. So keep caring, keep letting people know just how much you care. They need it now more than ever. It will mean a lot to them, I know it has meant a lot to me. I told someone the other day that if I were to write a book the title would go something like this, "How the worst year of my life was the best thing that ever happened to me!' My mom passed away, I became an empty nester, I lost my job, my 401K is in shambles, the list goes on and on. Yet through it all I've learned about what really matters. Your family, and your friends. I know it may sound trite but it's true. I have no doubts that 2009, and the years ahead will be great for me. I'm not afraid, I'm excited.

So as I write my final blog entry here at Channel 9, I wanted to share some of the things I know. I've learned some things about you, and I hope you've learned a little bit more about me. In the end we came to know each other pretty well.

I know that our business is changing. A lot of really, really good people are walking out the door. They may never come back. I worry about them, and I worry about this craft, I really do. But I know that as new people walk in the door, they may not be greeted by the largest audience in Washington, D.C., but I can speak from experience, they will have the best. They will have you! That's what you are, the very best, and I will miss you!

HOW IT STARTED.

mikewalter — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:32:00 GMT

So I've gotten a lot of great feedback from a piece written about me in the DC Examiner. It's all about my film, "Breaking News, Breaking Down." How this story ended up in the paper is pretty interesting.

Just for background, we are very proud of this film. We are beginning to enter it in film festivals here and abroad. We are also just about ready to begin selling it. Interest in it is huge, and reaction has been enthusiastic from around the globe.

Breaking News Breaking Down is exceptional. It resonated as I watched
it a few days after the Gaza war and many nights spent trying to know if
our people were safe, whether we were doing the right thing leaving them
in our office, whether their families would make it (they did, but many
lost homes). You've got to find a bigger audience.
Tom Curley, President and CEO, The Associated Press

I love "Breaking News, Breaking Down." It's beautiful. It's important.

Tom Bettag, Former Executive Producer Niteline & The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather

Mike Walter has managed to capture on screen an element of media life that's been neglected for too long. This is an extraordinarily frank and honest piece. With this documentary Mike has taken us all a step closer to a greater understanding.

Lisa Millar, Senior Correspondent at Australian Broadcasting Corp

Breaking News, Breaking Down is a compelling study of the toll that telling the story can take on the storyteller.

Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times of London, Named 2007 Foreign Correspondent of the Year in the British Press Awards

This is the DVD Cover.

Now on to how the story ended up in the newspaper. It began a while back when Jeff Dufour sent me a note asking me what Films I had seen recently. I flippantly talked about mine, and then mentioned that I had also seen Benjamin Button. That peaked Jeff's interest. He asked me to send a copy of the film to him. I did, and yesterday he wrote this piece. That's how it all began. A simple comment that led to a nice piece in the paper. It's just the latest in a string of good things that have come as a result of the film. Those who have seen it have wonderful things to say. If you get a chance check out my website. www.waltermedia.tv

If you check the praise section you'll see what some already have to say about it. We should be ready to sell copies of the film in the very near future. I'll keep you posted on the progress of the film. I'm hoping to screen it at nearby film festivals and would hope that you can come to see it.

CHANCE MEETING

mikewalter — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:23:00 GMT

I end up on the elevator at the Renaissance. I'm trying to find one of the meeting rooms. I get distracted. Next thing I know I'm on the wrong floor. I step off the elevator and hit the down button. The young man comes springing around the corner and we begin to talk.

He has a big smile, his face is framed by those small glasses that are so ever present. He's young, has an infectious smile, and incredibly friendly. I ask him where I should go, what should I take in at this conference. He laughs, he wouldn't know, he's in meetings all day.

I'm at the Real Screen Summit here in town. Andy Berg is the hitter, maybe slugger is a better metaphor. This place is crawling with pitchers, and they all have their sites on Andy Berg.

Andy is the Director of Non-Fiction & Alternative Programming at A&E. We have a nice chat. I learn that he's the father of 6 year old twins. Ironically both of us are in Television, but we might as well be living on different planets. Our worlds are that different. Why you ask? Well my business is all about misery these days, and his is all about diversion.

People can plop down on the couch and watch me talk about the economy in flames, or they can flip on A&E. If you go to their website you'll see them positioned this way:

Real Life. Change.

Turning storytelling into action. A&E produces programs that you can't turn away from--shows that are dramatic, authentic and impactful.

It's your choice:

A. Stories that you can't turn away from.

B. Stories you can't wait to turn off.

So while the news business sees a shortage of viewers and advertisers these days, and as a result a reduction in the workforce, things are humming along for Andy and the people who produce other forms of content. You know the stuff that takes your mind off of the ailing economy, the foreclosures, and all of that other stuff.

I ask Andy about the art of Pitching, since in the very near future I'm going to have to suit up and do my very best impersonation of Nolan Ryan. Pretty soon I will be a pitcher. On Friday the 13th I will anchor my final newscast here. I'm going out on my own, creating my own production company.

Andy: "The key is knowing what we program, if you sit down and try to pitch me on a show on knitting then I know you don't know what you are doing."

It's a pleasant conversation, but suddenly it's over. Andy has to go grab his bat. Hopefully we'll meet again soon. I think I made the first cut, I've never had any interest in knitting.

WE THE PEOPLE

mikewalter — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:54:00 GMT

Three words. "We the People." This Government is built on those words. Our founding fathers thought so much of those three words that they were the first words in the Preamble to the Constitution. Those three words mean a lot. They are powerful, and empowering. They are also pointed. They were words made to differentiate a new country breaking away from it's parent. It was a statement to England that we would be different. We wouldn't have a bunch of elitists telling the minions what to do. This government was going to be about us.

I remember learning about those words as a child in school. At an early age I understood the power of words. But those words, as powerful as they are, had fallen on hard times. For years now I had watched more and more people who felt that those words were hallow, meaningless, and archaic. They believed our government looked like the Government we broke away from. I remember interviewing a guest on our 9 am show. She had spent a year going out and interviewing women who voted or didn't vote in 2004. She had wondered how President Bush had won re-election. She wanted to see why some women voted for President Bush and why some voted for Senator Kerry. What she learned was a lot of the women she talked to didn't vote, and those that did, didn't see a difference in either candidate. They had stopped believing in their government, and their leaders, they had stopped believing in "We the People."

So many people believed that we had lost our government to them. Who is them? The lobbyists and the powerful. A week ago I witnessed history. I witnessed something I will never forget. Tuesday was about one man, but it was also about "We the People."

I was on the air for much of the morning, anchoring our coverage. At 8am we were told we would have to leave the roof of the Chamber of Commerce building overlooking the White House. The President elect was going to go from Blair House to St. Johns Church. No one would be allowed on any rooftop while this was going on.

I exited and went inside to warm up. We had a tv on. Here I could watch the world change, surrounded by the world. Journalist from all over the world. They were off the roof all crowded in this hallway. So you would hear someone say something like this.

"Guten Nachmittag Barrack Obama"

Then you would hear someone else say something like this.

"Misa' in noor Barrack Obama."

Then over here there was this person saying something like this.

"Xin chào Barrack Obama"

I think you are getting a flavor of things. I asked one of the journalists from Germany what the people in her country thought.

"This is a big day, they are all watching."

I was watching the news coverage too. Then it dawned on me, history was going on right downstairs and here I was watching it on TV. Warmed, I decided to take the elevator down to the lobby. I exited and walked about a half block where I could see all the people crowded around trying to get a view of the limo or the President elect.

The police kept saying, "Keep moving, Keep moving!" I complied. At the same time police officers on horses kept ordering people out of the street and on to the sidewalk. In this sea of people, remarkably I ended up bumping into a friend from California. We ducked into an establishment nearby and I ordered a hot cup of coffee. By the time I had finished it, and started back towards the Chamber building...the tsunami of people had grown. Now the officers on horseback had given up. The street was packed with people all heading towards the mall. I decided I would walk with them. I wasn't back on the air until 1:30. So I walked with them to the edge of the mall. The crowd was enormous.

Not far from the Mall is the D.A.R. Constitution Hall. Best Buy had invited people to watch the ceremony there for free. There were lots of big screen tvs and comfortable seats to watch it. But they weren't allowing anyone in. I asked if I could get in after flashing my media pass. The man shook his head violently from side to side.

"Look I'm not going to stay, I just need to take a peak inside so that I'll have something to talk about when I get back on the air. Come on!'

"Okay make it quick!"

He swung the door open, I slipped by and he slammed it shut before anyone else could enter. It was standing room only. I was struck by all the people taking pictures of the big screen as the President Elect began to stride outside. The chant was deafening.

"Obama, Obama, Obama."

There was a white man in his 50's leaning in towards a young African American woman. They were both watching the big screen, as the camera shifted and began to pan around, showing more than a million people crowded together. He spoke softly, almost reverently.

"This is the America we dreamed of!"

The young woman glanced at him, her eyes beginning to moisten.

"I'm going to cry."

At that moment I thought about what was happening, that this was all about "We the People." It was the people who had come here, it was the people who now felt invested in their government. It was the people who recognized that this country had turned a page. It was at that moment that I knew I made the right call to go out in the bitter cold and experience history, rather than watch it unfold on television.

WASHED UP WONDER

mikewalter — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:12:00 GMT

It's a tough time out there. It's tough for workers everywhere, and my profession is no exception. I have a good friend who's a terrific journalist out west. On Friday she reported to work, with the same enthusiasm she always has. The President of the Hearst Newspaper division delivered the blow. The Seattle P.I. would be put up for sale. If they didn't have a buyer within 60 days there was a good chance the newspaper would be no more.

Ruth sent a note out to all of us in our Dart Society world. Her note was another cold reminder that change isn't just coming to our business, it's here! So what's next for all of these talented journalists who are being impacted by these dramatic moves? I don't know. But I do know the journalistic community is becoming a closer one. I sent Ruth a note of encouragement, as did my good friend Gary Tippet in Australia. His note really resonated with me. It wasn't just aimed at Hearst, it was aimed at everyone who publishes a newspaper or runs a TV station, radio station or network. Here it is:

Everything they are doing is wrong: for the profession, for the public; and in the end, for the bottom lines they hold so dear. There's a line from an old blues and soul songs: You don't miss your water 'til your well runs dry. When all the real journalists are gone, when the newspapers and serious news stations dry up and die, when the bloggers and twitterers have no-one to do their heavy lifting and to leach from, who protects and defends a free society?

It's a really good question that seems to be lost in these terrible economic times. All of our words were embraced by Ruth...who got back to us with a note saying thanks for the kind words. She's got to be numb from this news.

It's easy in a situation like this to feel as though you are being tossed away. You ask yourself, are you done? Will you have to leave your chrerished profession? It's easy when you are hurting, to miss an important story that emerged this weekend. So I'm going to share it for Ruth, and other journalists, and the people out there in other professions who find themselves out of work, or on your way out the door.

It's the story of a washed up wonder. 9 years ago Kurt Warner was a media darling. He was the type of story we fall in love with. We fall in love with it, because it's the kind of story America loves. It's a Cinderella story. AHollywood writer could jot down this story and try to peddle it in Tinseltown. The only problem they'd get laughed out of town. Why? Because it just couldn't be real, it's plain unbelievable. But it is a true story.

Let's face it, Warner goes from a grocery store clerk to an Arena League q.b. to League MVP and the hero of the Super Bowl. Pretty amazing!

But then came the tough times. You couldn't fall much farther than he did. Gone from St. Louis, a short stint with the Giants, finally landing with the lowly Cardinals. There he was supposed to be the backup to Matt Leinert, until he quietly faded away.

But somehow this washed up wonder wasn't washed up at all. Now he's poised to return to the Super Bowl, and I for one, hope he makes it. Kurt Warner is the American story. It's a story of hard work, dedication, and determination. It's the story of guy who gets knocked down and gets back up.

I'd like to think that Ruth and journalism are just like Kurt Warner. There is no discounting the value of journalism 9 years ago, and there's no discounting it's value today. I know in my heart that Ruth will be o'kay, because she's not going to give up. We can't afford to lose journalists like her, or her colleagues at the P.I.. What we do is just to important.

There is a story out there about Winston Churchill as an old man delivering a commencement address. They say he hobbled up to the podium and uttered 9 words. They are the words all of us in our field need to embrace.

"Never give up!"