Performance Growth

There have been many improvements in my progrees in Broadcast Speech.  I feel the biggest improvement is the boost in my confidence on camera.  Other improvements are my awareness and listening to my pronunciation and inflection.  Areas that still need improvement are knowing when and where to emphasize words and have pauses. I still have room to improve my confidence on camera.  

Inflection

Inflection is the raising or lowering of your voice to add emphasis to certain words.  Depending on where the emphasis is effects the meaning of the sentence and what you want to project.  Radio and tv are similar in the way the announcers use inflection with the exception that radio has to add more color to draw a mental picture with their audience.  Listening to radio and watching television I find that most announcers have their own style with some being more dramatic than others and the station the represent has the ultimate say in how far they can go.  For instance, Eric Thomas on WBTV shows more inflection and excitement when he has new or different weather related phenomena.  (ex. new technological equipment, storms, etc.)

Commercial Scripts

Today October 26, in Broadcast Speech, we selected voice-over commercials suited to our voices.  I selected travel and one children-related topic.  I love children and relate to them and thought my voice would reflect my passion and emotions I have for them.  Everyone love's Chuck E. Cheese and I felt this would be a good choice for my voice.

Since I love to travel, I selected commericals relating to travel.  Again, I felt that something I was passionate and knowledgeable of would reflect in my voice.  Also, these commericals for the most part have female voices because we all know, if mom wants to do something, it is usually done.  The old saying, "when mom is happy, we are all  happy" plays into this scenario.  The ad agencies know this and if they can connect with the decision-making female, they have better chances of selling their product. 

Different Radio Genre

I enjoyed our latest Broadcast Speech project.  Everyone picked a different radio station genre to evaluate.  It was very interesting to compare the different announcer's styles.  I selected classical music.  In 2007, Arbitron stated there were only 300 classical radio stations nationwide.  Classical radio station announcers have three requirements which include: have knowledgeable background of the music, know music theory, and know several languages.  The stations play portions of opera and symphony music.  With the low numbers of stations and the length of songs played, I found it difficult to find a sampling of a classical radio announcer.

The project required us to record ourselves as the announcer for the genre we selected.  Everyone did such a great job representing their specific format.  Classical, News, and Gospel station announcers have similar styles.  They have a more authoritative, formal voice with a stereo sound.  Classical announcers have to know more trivia about the composers and how to properly pronounce their names.  The Rock, Oldies, and Country station announcers seem to have a closer connection with their audience by having contests and song requests.  They also can be more creative and have more freedom to ad lib and add color to their announcing.   Everyone represented their genre of music very good and captured the character of the announcer for each.

I prefer the Oldies radio station and dj's over the classical, gospel, and news.  They appear more personable and relaxed.  With my age I can relate to the music.  With new technology, digital is changing the way radio is being broadcast.  The internet has more music, less talk.  Satellite radio opens more stations and offers a broader choice for the listener and more competition for the radio dj.

Interview Listening

Interview listenting is a process that requires work for most people.   In conversations, we get anxious about our thoughts or experiences on the particular topic or even a topic we want to share and want to input. I find that it is an area that I need to stay focused on and continuously improve on.  When in conversation, I am always waiting for a pause and ready to interject my thoughts.  I have found that I am very anxious and when the person I am in conversation with talks slow or has a lot of pauses, I take that opportunity to input my thoughts.  I have three sisters and when we get together we get excited and want to share our stories,  it takes great patience to listen and wait your turn, especially for me.  I tend to be the "talker" too much and have realized this over the last several years.  Now that I am aware of it, I concentrate and actively focus on listening and keeping my mind on the subject of conversation.

The class exercise to sit quietly for one minute and listen to the other classmate talk was difficult for me.  Upon doing this, I realize that I have a need to at least interject a "yes" or "no" feedback or simple comment, just to let the other person know I am tuned in to the conversation.  I wanted to ask questions about the topic of conversation.

Being a detailed person, I am always asking questions and curious about the details of the topic of conversation or other subjects. Listenting is an art and requires me to be actively aware of my conversations and is a constant work in progress.  I have found it makes a more pleasant environment when I listen more and talk less.

Television Commercials vs. Radio Commercials

Television commercials always have background music that intensifies throughout the commercial.  Also television commercials can draw their audience in by offering a lot of emotion and visuals whereas radio must draw a picture in words.  Visuals from television commercials include a lot of graphic overlays that keep your attention.  Depending on the product, the commercial on television can make more of an impact by playing on the emotions of the viewer.  For instance, a chanel perfume commercial was very sensual with romantic music to create an environment that we desire and thus temp you to buy the product.  Another commercial for McDonald's chicken nuggets focused on a group of young people feasting on the nuggets and as one of them was talking the others ate all of the nuggets, and it was a situation most young people could relate to - a fun loving time with humor.  Radio doesn't have the luxury of enticing us with all the visuals.  The commercial on radio was more exaggerated audio with background sound effects and music.

Interviews

Even though I have done many interviews in several of my Broadcasting classes, I still have picked up on many different techniques that will make for a better interview.  After going to a conference last week I realized how much the speaker or the person doing the interview plays a large role in the interest of the audience.  There are many details to consider when either doing an interview or speech.  The way you project your voice and your facial expressions, hand gestures, and especially your tone and dynamics in your voice.  Smiling and responding to your guests' responses makes for a much better interview. 

I experienced different speakers last week at a conference.  The morning started out with dynamic speakers that really kept your attention.  They had a lot of emotion and expressions.  However, that afternoon speakers began like a slow moving train.  The first speaker after lunch had a very soft spoken voice and didn't have the emotions as the morning speakers.  The next speaker was very low key, kind of monotone, and it was very difficult to stay focused, especially after you had just returned from lunch, which is when your body tries to tell you it wants a nap.  That would be a much better time to have a dynamic speaker. 

In public speaking when we were trying to choose our topics for our speeches, we were told not to worry about getting material the audience will be interested in, that there no boring topics, just boring speakers.
This puts it in perspective.  You as the host or speaker have the responsibility to connect with your audience.
I know there are many more opportunites to learn different techniques and I look forward to moving forward and applying these.

Newscast

Brigida Mack is news anchor for WBTV-TV.  She was nominated for an emmy in 2004 and has won many awards in Creative Loafing magazine under "Best of Charlotte" section. She came from WSOC.  Brigida enjoys watching Tar Heel basketball, working out, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

On Tuesday I watched the news on WBTV with Brigida Mack.  Her presentation is always very professional but at times she talks with too many pauses in my opinion. Sentences come across as poor pausing techniques. I guess this is a good thing because it allows her to have inflection in her voice by taking her time and paying attention to her speech.  Her tone was not as dramatic as most news anchors.  She comes across to me as just a normal news anchor, whereas, so many add color to their newscast to draw you into the stories.  I would much rather have her professionalism than the news anchors that try to be humerous and get so dramatic.  For instance, Eric Thomas, when he does the weather.  He is definitely one that adds color to his presentations.  He has a lot of inflection and use of tone, a very dramatic presentation, especially when there is exciting weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, etc that he gets to use his new technology.  Interesting point about someone that adds the dramatic aspect, will always be remembered more than the anchor that tends to sway more to the monotone area.

Announcer Profile

Although I don't see Billy Graham as an announcer, he is at the top of my list of favorites.  Working at BGEA I saw firsthand a closer look at his life and commitment to his beliefs. He was very careful not to ever put himself in a questionable position.  He definitely was a motivational speaker with great impact as he changed and influenced so many people of the world and his ministry still is changing lives today.

Of course, I like mine, Harry Smith.  He always comes across very professional and relaxed.  

Dane Cook and Glen Beck are two I would put at the top of my list also.  They are very colorful in their expressions and performances.  Dane Cook has an exceptional ability to draw a mental picture and put you right in the story.  He has great eye contact with his audience.  Glen Beck uses such drama and creativity to draw you in to his statistics and data you can't help but watch.   It will be interesting to see how successful he will be on radio because he won't have the luxury of all the props and media he used on television. (Trey had a very good presentation of Dane Cook)

I do like most sports announcers as they tend to show a lot of excitement.  Stuart Scott and his famous catch phrases create an entertaining as well as informative atmosphere which draws in his audience.  Will did a great presentation, well rehearsed and knowledgeable of his subject.

Jay Leno and Jon Stuart are two I don't really care for.  I do not care to listen to negative people bashing.  I know in politics it is popular to trash your opponents or the "other party", but I do not care for that.  It does not benefit anyone and I personally think there is much better material for comedy than constantly degrading people just for a laugh.  I try to stay away from negative as much as possible. I did find it interesting that Jay Leno built his career on personal experience and that his 5th grade teacher said if he were a comedian, he would be a star.

Lastly, didn't care for Dick Cavett either.  Video clip didn't really show me enough of Dick Cavett, it focused more on his guest.  He really didn't seem to have control of his show. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I knew more about him. I have never watched his shows.

Interesting array of different announcers.  Each one has their own unique way to connect with their audience, some more colorful than others.  It takes many different personalities and approaches, and knowing your audience will determine your success.

Broadcast Challenges

In summary, the most challenging skill I will face in broadcast speech will be my southern accent and my posture.  I tend to slump and not be in the best physical condition.  My southern accent is very strong and I never realize it until I hear myself on video.  My perfectionist attitude and determination to complete a project sometimes can be more of a hindrance than an advantage because I end up spending too much time on my projects and making them late.  I look forward to working on these skills and getting that southern accent a little less noticable.

Osama or Obama

It was very exciting worldwide to hear the news that Obama bin Laden, I mean Osama Bin Laden was killed by Navy Seals at his compound in Pakistan.  As my husband told me, he had to correct himself because he first said Obama. As the day progressed, I continued to watch news updates and each time there were new video images released to the media.  Americans in joyous celebration, chanting U-S-A, U-S-A on college campuses.  Every channel had some coverage of this historical event as it unfolded and the news traveled. Late last night on the Jimmy Kimmel show, he did a segment to recap clips from reporters from many different stations.  To my surprise we were not the only ones that mistakenly said Obama instead of Osama. There were quite a few.  Many, many years ago we would never have imagined that our President would be questioned about his Muslim faith, his name would be Barack Hussein Obama, and there would be an issue with his birth certificate. We can only imagine what the future holds for us.

Osama Bin Laden Killed

  I did not find Osama Bin Laden was killed until around 8:30 am yesterday morning.  As the day progressed and more updates were being revealed, along with video images from celebrations all over the world, the reality of just how significant this was became evident.  The images from the site of the World Trade Center and surrounding in New York were extreme jubilation.  It was a strange feeling to see the images from Americans in celebration over killing someone.  That is something we only see in other countries where they are in celebration and are burning flags and images of some political figure.  And the preacher that burned the Koran is another news story that you wouldnn't expect to hear about in America, but we did.  What does this say about the direction our country is going?  It was sad to see the families of those that lost loved ones in the 9-11 attack, but joyful for them to express their sentiments of having closure in a sense.  They have waited ten years for this day and in some strange way brought some peace.  The media reported how the attack on the World Trade Center changed so many lives and brought many changes to our way of life. We will continue to see the changes and stand guard for what door this event will open in our future.

Spring Semester

It is hard to believe we are at the end of this semester.  Where did the time go?  Having spring break and easter break made the time fly by.  I traveled back to Florida over Easter break.  My daughter, her boyfriend, and myself traveled to Orlando for a few days and then to Daytona.  What an awesome place to visit.  On Tuesday and Wednesday the temperature broke records in Orlando, topping out at 95.  The next couple of days it was in the 80's and on Saturday, after the cold front moved through, it was 73 in Daytona.   What a great day on the beach with clear, blue skies, the ocean breeze brushing across my face, and relaxing in the lounge chair soaking up that golden sunshine.  I could feel the heat on my legs as the beams of sunshine were getting me ready for a night of burning.  But, I was not alone, the cool day was quite deceiving, as others didn't realize the sun quietly burning our skin under the covers of the wind.  As nightfall approached and the sun had gone for the day, it's work did not go unnoticed, for everyone was walking around quite different from the morning.  It was as if some artist had brought his palette of only red paint and highlighted the exposed skin of the beachcombers.  Everyone that stepped on the beach that day, walked off with a new glow.

The adrenaline and excitement of the Endeavor shuttle launch was incredible.  It was like a festival as vendors selling shirts, hot dogs, jumbo boiled peanuts, and drinks were everywhere.  The bridge over the bay in Titusville was buzzing with people as they claim their spot to watch this historical final launch of Endearvor.  Photographers were everywhere.  Tripods and cameras ready for the big lift-off.  The roadside was lined with campers and RV's, canopy's, television crews, folding chairs and people were tailgating.  This was a big event and a crowd of over 750,000 was expected to view the 3:47 launch.  But, around 1:00 p.m., officials were driving up and down the road making the announcement the lift-off had been scrapped until Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m.  What a group of disappointed people.  Thousands all along the coast from Titusville to Cocoa beach.  It was like getting ready and no where to go. Everyone was set and waiting, waiting for what?  Nothing, nothing but heavy traffic and hours of waiting to be told there was going to be no show here today!  Despite the disappointment of the launch being cancelled, it was an awesome experience just to see the excitement and festival atmosphere that goes with a shuttle launch.  I was so surprised to see the tailgating, the campers, the RV's, all the vendors and television crews.

This was a trip to remember with some excitement, but I did not forget I was in school.  I took my work with me only to have that same cloud of technological problems follow me.  I was limited on what I could do.  I logged into the youtube video site to upload my art video and it would not let me log off.  This created a roadblock and would not let me log into my facebook or email account. After hours of frustration, I just closed the computer and went to the pool.  It sure gets discouraging when there are so many problems hindering your progress.  I just hope I have enough motivation finish out these last two weeks.

Gaston College Broadcasting

 The Gaston College Broadcasting Program continues to grow and improve.  New equipment and program updates are elevating the program to a professional level preparing students for entering the media industry.  The program allows students opportunities to participate in field trips to top media outlets, like WSOC, WBT, WBTV, NASCAR, and many more production studios.  This gives you a broader prospective of the opportunities available to you and opens your eyes to some of the requirements.  It is very inspirational in directing you into the specific area that may interest you. Often times during the field trip, there are always questions that enlighten you to things you don't even think about.  Students should always take advantage of the opportunities to visit the local media outlets.

Next semester will be even better when the new video recording studio will relocate to the CASS building with the other Broadcasting Programs.  Having all the Broadcasting classes centralized to one location will benefit the students and staff as well.  New students in the fall will have the new restructured program which has been updated where the classes flow better.  Many of the classes will now have prerequisites that will enhance the learning in other classes.

The video section uploads their work to  youtube.  There has been a lot of progess and improvements over the quality of work that has been produced.  I am sure this will continue as improvements are made with equipment and curriculum.

Thanks to our program directors for your efforts in continuously working to make the Broadcasting Program at Gaston one of the best in the area.  It is such an asset to the student when we have a staff that continues to try to improve the program. 

Life Lesson-Handling Adversity

The life lesson of handling adversity was put to the test on Tuesday.  It was my scheduled day to record my final video project in the tv studio.  When I entered my writing class first thing Tuesday morning, I was told my host would not be able to be there until 1:00 p.m. and my recording was scheduled to begin at Noon.  No problem, we would use someone else to host the first interview.  This was not the end of the conflicts that would arise, just the beginning.  I should have stayed home, but if it did, then I would not have experienced the adversities and made a better person by handling them, one at a time as they occurred.

Entering the studio at noon, I began to get the studio and crew in place for the shoot to begin.  It was great to see Phil return and he graciously accepted the request to be my first host.  When I noticed we were one camera short, Phil volunteered to go to the Broadcasting Department and get us the additional camera needed for our shoot.  One problem, it didn't have a faceplate for the tripod, so we had to improvise and use a podium.  The cameras needed blank tapes to recored different angles and having enough footage to use for editing.  Next challenge, the tape deck ate my tape, so Kyle had to disassemble the tape deck and remove the bad tape. Ok, now we are ready to record the first interview.  We had to move cameras during scenes to be able to get the shots needed.  Recording went great after we were able to overcome the many adversities.  But we were not clear of them yet.  Many more were to arise.

At 1:30 my second guest arrives and has brought over a tripod with a faceplate.  This eliminates our issue of having to move cameras around.  Now we start recording, batteries are dying and there are no back up batteries.  Finally we find a battery with enough charge to start our interview.  After we begin, there is a major problem with the sound.  The sound technician can't figure out the problem with the mic.  Troubleshooting, it is discovered the sliders controlling the lapel mics are reversed on the audio board. At this point, anything is possible.  My tape had run out of room, so I had to get a new tape.  Finally, we put in a new tape and started the second interview.   Soon after we began, a piece of equipment started in the sound room and it was so loud we couldn't hear the audio.  There was nothing we could do about that, so we just continued.  A few minutes later, we were informed the battery on camera "C" was dying and we didn't have any more charged batteries.  Luckily it held out for us to finish the interview. 

What a day of adversities.  The studio was like a sauna and everyone was so gracious, doing their role and putting up with all the roadblocks, and stuck in there until the very end.  Thanks so much for being such troopers.  The recording didn't wrap up until after 2:30 p.m.. I feel confident we were able to get some great footage and two great interviews.  I am so grateful to everyone for their patience and to my hosts and guests for hanging in there til the end.

But, you ask, did the adversities end there?  Nope, when I went home and began my blog, halfway through this blog on adversity, my battery dies on my laptop.  Little did my laptop know, I am a person of perseverience and I will continue to handle those little life interuptions as they occur - one at a time.

I leave you with this thought on the life lesson of adversity.  When life hands you adversity, don't let it get you down, don't get angry, or throw in the towel.  Just handle it in a postive way, one issue at a time.  You will become a better person from your experiences.  Remember, life is all about how we handle the adversity that comes our way.

Post for Wednesday, March 30 - Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach, Florida has become one of my favorite places.  I am sitting in the newly remodeled hotel room of the Holiday Inn Resort.  The Holiday Inn Corporation has told all of the hotels in the chain they have to upgrade to the new design and upgrades or they will loose their franchise and Holiday Inn name.  The new upgrades are comparable to a four star hotel and the room reflects this.  Our room is on ocean front and close to the Daytona Beach pier.  I can hear the ocean in the background and the Ohio and Kentucky basketball game is currently on television.  My husband was watching the game but his eyes were too heavy from the long drive down.

There is a car show at the Daytona International Speedway this weekend and we are planning to visit it tomorrow and spend some time relaxing on the beach.  Spring break is winding down and there are still some college students enjoying their time off.  We saw some really interesting sights driving up the beach today.  I wish I had checked out a video camera and brought it with me.  This would be some great and interesting video.  The fashion always grabs my attention and leaves me with the puzzling question of, Why? and What are they thinking?  Tomorrow when we sit on the beach I plan to photograph some of the interesting fashion statements. We always have to visit the famous Zeno's and get some salt-water taffy.  They have so many unique flavors.  This time we just got blueberry, cotton candy, and maple, which is our favorite. After walking on the boardwalk we ate at Pepper's, a nice Mexican restaurant.

After a three hour drive to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday we leave for the Caribbean.  I hope my cameras work and allow me to get some great photography.  There are so many good opportunities in the Caribbean and I can easily take over a thousand pictures.  It is so exciting just thinking about it.

Well, I must go and get some rest and try to catch up on my sleep.  These last couple of nights of only three and four hours of sleep are catching up with me.  Happy blogging! Thanks for visiting.

Dancing With The Stars

Tonight is the premiere of Dancing With The Stars.  It is hard to believe this is already the twelfth season.  It will be interesting this season as Kirstie Alley will be dancing with Max.  Kirstie has received a lot of media attention in recent years because of her weight.  Sugar Ray Leonard and Hines Ward are two sports personalities competing in this season's competition.  These are the only three stars I am familiar with.  It is   disappointing to see that Derek Hough is not returning this season.  He is one of the best choreographers on the show.

Dancing With The Stars is an excellent show to get a good idea how lighting and camera work can add or take away from the show.  Sometimes the dances are so quick and all over the dance floor which requires a good camera operator to keep up with them. They do a lot of different camera angles.   Lighting is a major challenge because each dance is different and there is always constant changes in props.  This also plays a large impact in the camera work.  To make the challenge even more intense the show is live.

The three judges, Len, Carrie Ann, and Bruno are all returning this season and always bring entertaining comments as they critique the dancers.  Tom Bergeron and his assistant, Brooke are also returning.  In my opinion Tom makes the show, with his quick, off the cuff, witt and one-liners.

This should be another exciting season of Dancing With The Stars as the stars and dance professionals compete each week to see who will take home the famous mirror-ball trophy.

Trip to Nascar Media Group

Today Video II toured the NASCAR Media Group.  Their top-notch facility is equipped with the latest technology. It provided valuable insight to the many opportunities available in the media industry.  From receiving the media from the field to the editing of the images, adding graphics, and working with the colorization and audio to sending it out local and international clients was very fascinating.  Touring the production studios and hands-on in the radio studio provided a different perspective into broadcasting.

Lighting always seems to be a challenge in studio production and in one of the production studios there was an unbelievable amount of lights.  Another studio on the street level was surrounded by windows so people on the street could see the live productions.  We discussed different aspects of the lighting dealing with the changes in the outside lighting from the windows as it changes throughout the day.  There were curtains that could be shut as well.

Another topic was the challenges surrounding the screen aspect ratio of 16:9 versus 4:3,  that is still being dealt with by producers.  Producers take into consideration those that have not upgraded their televisions to the 16:9 ratio.  Some stations just provide black banners on the sides and will put their station logo's or other graphics to compensate for the shows that are still produced in the 4:3 aspect ratio.  One of the challenges that the NASCAR media group contends with is having room to add graphics or banners at the bottom of footage when the camera operator has framed the shot too close and not allowed enough room.

In the archive library we saw a new and unexpected process.  They take the old video tapes from the 70's and put them in a convection oven for several minutes.  Over time some tapes deteriorate because of the breakdown in the glue or binder that holds the oxide on the tapes.  Baking the tapes temporarily restores the tape so it can be copied to another format.

Other areas we experienced were editing of the live in-car radio on race day which is on a three second delay to allow the editors to "sanitize" the audio to make it acceptable to the young audience, and the live radio broadcast for Sirrus satellite radio.  This was a very informative tour that provided a greater vision of the opportunities in Broadcasting.

Change of Seasons

Change of Seasons
The last couple of years has taught me there is much more to the term "change of seasons" than the weather.  As seasons come and go and we live our lives day in and day out, the world around us continues in it's routine schedules.

Spring brings us March Madness with basketball fans daily checking their brackets and baseball's spring training.  Then summer comes with a season of baseball and family vacations. Followed by the long anticipated football in the fall, which takes us through winter to the SuperBowl.  Then we're back to Spring!

Different from the seasons of the year are the seasons of life.  I turned the corner at age fifty a few years ago and it brought new experiences.  After working since age sixteen, I was laid off two years ago and my mother suffered her first stroke the same month.  Nothing in life prepares you for the task of caring for a disabled loved one.  My children are grown and the house gets very lonesome and quiet at times.  I now have a beautiful grand baby that continues to attract my attention and bring me so much joy.  This new season of life has brought many changes, but the one thing that remains the same is the love and closeness of our family.  I am very fortunate and blessed with a wonderful family.

So summer will come and go along with the other seasons, and our routine schedules will continue, but I look forward to the future as new seasons of life will continue to bring new experiences and lots of joy.

Commercials

After all the focus on commercials in the last couple of weeks I have arrived to this conclusion.  It all depends on the individual watching the commercial how persuasive it is.  If I am hungry and a O'Charley's, Chili's, or pizza, etc. commercial comes on - it motivates me to want to go there.  I will try some of the new menu items because they make it look so good, only to get aggravated at myself because it is never as good as it looks..  If I have just had dinner, then the food just isn't appealing.  I just went and bought cereal because of the commercial.  Commercials that use babies, people, and animals in unrealistic circumstances tend to be comical and become some of the most popular ones. For instance the Budweiser horses playing football, the Budweiser frogs, the Etrade baby, the mayhem commercials, and the woodchucks chucking wood,  have all been very popular.  We pay attention to the commercial that pertains to our interests.  There are some very "cheesy" commercials too.  The Tennessee Pride Sausage commercial was so ridiculous.  The setting was a science classroom and the teacher was interacting with a student.  Every time the teacher ask the student a question a person dressed as a crab would come over and smack the student on the head. After he had the sausage the student answered questions normal.  It's one of those commercials you tend to scratch your head and say, "what was that about?"  I wish there were more regulations on the number of commercials allowed during a break.  Sometimes there are too many commercials played back to back.  

Gorilla walks upright at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, England

The gorilla, Ambam, at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, England has become quite an attraction.  The 21 year old gorilla tips the scales at a mere 485 pounds. There are now several youtube videos of Ambam walking upright like a human.  Phil Ridges, the zoo keeper, stated several reasons for this.  Other family members have sometimes walked and stand in the same way. His father walked upright when he had handfuls of food to carry. Zoo officials think maybe Ambam would walk upright to get a height advantage to look over the wall when the keepers came to feed him.

There are numerous youtube videos of Ambam walking upright and dancing and wading in a pool.  Exactly what I imagined would happen came true.  A story like this would certainly bring out all the evolutionist.  They would jump on the chance to captilize on this story.  I opened the comments, and as expected, there they were; the evolutionist saying, "I told you so". 

Ambam isn't the first to walk like a human but does so more often.  There have been many that do but tend to do so very rarely. He is a member of a critically engangered species of gorilla.

This is just a story that went quickly viral on the internet and gave opportunities for people to have something else controversial and humerous to post comments about. It just doesn't take much to stir people up.  Walk on Ambam, you are a star for the day.

 

Current Event – Regis Philbin retires after 28 years as talk show co-host.

Television legend Regis Philbin announces his retirement, Tuesday, January 18^th after 28 years with, “Live”.   Sources say he made his decision based on a proposed pay cut.  His co-host Kelly Rippa covered for Regis on several medical leaves and many other absences from the show with no decline in ratings.  His $15+ million a year salary is more than double of Rippa’s, so Regis was insulted by the offer presented him under his new contract, significantly lower, from his long time manager, Jim Griffin . He fired Mr. Griffin and decided he would announce his retirement.  Kelly found out only fifteen minutes before airtime, which upset her, claiming Regis made his decision with no respect for her.

Initially, the show began in 1983 on ABC as, ”Live With Regis and Kathy Lee” and later changed to “Live With Regis and Kelly”.  Regis will remain on the show through late summer.  ABC executives say they are already pursuing his replacement, but are unsure if they will replace him with another male host, claiming there would never be anyone to replace Regis.  It is possible the replacement will be a woman closer in age to Kelly and the change will be considered a “new direction” for the show instead of a replacement.

Plans after retirement for the 79 year-old Regis have not been made public.  The viewers will certainly miss him after being entertained by his humor for so long.  Unlike many celebrities that retire and disappear from the public eye, you will be seeing Regis make many guest appearances and possibly begin a new venture after his retirement from “Live”.  It is with anticipation; we wait for further developments from this unexpected announcement.

TV vs. Radio

WSOC 11:00 News, January 19^th

News items were precise and to the point.  They used descriptions and emphasis that drew your attention and covered basic points.  Transitions between stories were smooth.

Actions Words:  More details,  robbed, punched,  Today, Doctor did the Unthinkable, Frigid artic air, Major blow,

Passive Voice:  On a few stories, especially when they broadcast the NC powerball.  No enthusiasm.

Follow up at the end of most stories?  Weather did follow-up, but most stories didn’t, they just seemed to just move right into the next story.

What differences in writing styles between tv and radio? Radio seemed more serious.

Did the writing engage you in the newscast? Why or why not?  No, the lead-in story was the MLK make up day again.  Tired of hearing about it.  The next story was the Charlotte Meck. Budget issues.  Tired of hearing about it. The usual shooting in Charlotte and again-the subway robbery.   After these two long drawn out stories, the weather twice, and then the boring sports, there was very little time left for other news stories, especially after all the commercials. There were too many commercials. Thank goodness for DVR.  I don’t like the way the sports talent broadcast the sports. She always has choppy sentences with too many pauses.  They don’t flow smooth and it gets frustrating waiting on her to complete a sentence.

WBT – Internet, January 19, 2011

Used more descriptive language.  Slower speech with more clarity.   Use of music used more. Non-stop talking, not many pauses to prevent dead air time.

Action Words: Music creates emphasis.  Dramatic station call letters.

Passive Voice:  Stock Updates

Differences in tv and radio? Writing for radio has to be more creative to draw a picture for you with words whereas tv complements their broadcast with video clips.

Were you engaged in radio?  Engaged? I don’t know. The stories were new items and not the repeated news stories you hear on tv over and over day after day.  So, I guess the answer is yes, I tended to be more interested in their broadcast. Also commercials were very limited and radio personality seemed more interesting and serious. Tv personalities tend to try to make jokes too much.

Biography about Me

Hi, my full name is Brenda Elaine Abernathy Rushing, hence the name BEARushing.  I choose not to us the double "r" for ease of typing.  And with that being said, I have a tendency to collect anything with bears on it.  My husband and I have three children and just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Outerbanks of North Carolina.  My hobby is photography and I realized last year that it has developed into an addiction because I have a desire to constantly snap pictures.  Broadcasting has helped with this addiction and now my interest has moved to video and video editing.

After this semester, I should only have one semester left, and I can graduate.  This is a great accomplishment for me as I do not comprehend things quite as well as in my younger years.  I have taken Audio I, Video I, TV Performance and am now enrolled in Broadcast Writing, Sales, Video II, and Programming.  The only Broadcast course I have left are Broadcast Law and Ethics, Public Speaking, Math, and Professional Research and Reporting, along with my internship.

The area I dedicate most of my time to is my family.  My sixteen year old daughter, Stephanie, and I just returned from a trip to the Bahamas.  We drove to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, spent time in Daytona and South Beach, Miami.  Then we boarded a cruise ship for a couple days in the Bahamas.  She and I love to travel.  This past summer, just before school started, we embarked on a road trip south.  We had no plan or reservations any where, just wanted to go towards the coast.  Our trip took us to Fernandino Beach, Florida, which is the first beach crossing the Florida state line.  We took a sunset cruise to Cumberland Island which is only accessible by boat and has wild horses, pigs, turkeys, and many other animals.  There only one place to stay on the island, which is a very expensive hotel, otherwise, you have to backpack and camp out.  There is a port in St. Marys, Georgia that has a ferry to take you to the island.  Any time we go to Florida, we end up at some point on Daytona beach.  After our adventures here, we headed to Daytona and drove on the beach, found a nice spot to park and grabbed our chairs out sit on the beach all day.  We love the beach and the Caribbean and have a vision to move there one day.  I will do video and photography and Stephanie wants to be a scuba diving instructor.

I love to write.  My grammar has never been that great but my spelling is good.  I have always had a desire in the back of my mind to write children's books or instructional books. Hopefully, this class will help me enhance my writing abilities.