Monday, August 14, 2006
Andrew On Alert
Thanks for checking out my blog. I plan to use this space in the coming weeks and months to take you behind the scenes as I make the transition from sports anchor to morning news anchor here at WTAE:
It was not 9/11 -- but it very well could have been worse. The thwarted terror attacks in London had the potential of being the worse act of terrorism in history and I awoke to the news Thursday at 2am. As is my morning routine, I check the news on CNN and Fox and they were running live coverage from the UK. Watching the story unfold before my eyes, I knew that I would be part of the team that would be the first to inform much of Western Pennsylvania about this plot. It was my first breaking news while serving as morning anchor.
As I drove into work, there was a sense of anticipation, relief and trepidation. You begin to realize that when these sort of events take place, viewers are relying on you to tell them what's going on in a clear and concise manner.
You also realize the story is changing as the morning goes on. Kelly and I were getting information on the minute as to how the US and how Pittsburgh was reacting to the terrorist plot and the changes being made to the carry-on baggage situation here in Pittsburgh. We had a live guest that joined us to discuss what you could - and could not -- carry aboard planes. While I felt I was well-read and kept up on the latest in the on-going situation, you are never fully ready for what could happen next and that is the challenge of live TV.
After two hours of coverage, I felt that we had given people the best information we could and done so in a manner which viewers would find helpful. The newscast that day had a little more urgency and I felt less like a TV anchor and more like a real disseminator of information. It was something I needed to go through to begin to reach my goal -- a goal of being a better news broadcaster.
By the way, I spent this gorgeous weekend doing -- what else -- playing golf. Here are the scores and the hilights from 36 holes of heaven.
SAT:Cranberry Highlands (45/46=91, played par golf on the front 5 of the back nine)
SUN:Diamond Run (57/45=102, played one-over-par on fabled final 4 holes)
It was not 9/11 -- but it very well could have been worse. The thwarted terror attacks in London had the potential of being the worse act of terrorism in history and I awoke to the news Thursday at 2am. As is my morning routine, I check the news on CNN and Fox and they were running live coverage from the UK. Watching the story unfold before my eyes, I knew that I would be part of the team that would be the first to inform much of Western Pennsylvania about this plot. It was my first breaking news while serving as morning anchor.
As I drove into work, there was a sense of anticipation, relief and trepidation. You begin to realize that when these sort of events take place, viewers are relying on you to tell them what's going on in a clear and concise manner.
You also realize the story is changing as the morning goes on. Kelly and I were getting information on the minute as to how the US and how Pittsburgh was reacting to the terrorist plot and the changes being made to the carry-on baggage situation here in Pittsburgh. We had a live guest that joined us to discuss what you could - and could not -- carry aboard planes. While I felt I was well-read and kept up on the latest in the on-going situation, you are never fully ready for what could happen next and that is the challenge of live TV.
After two hours of coverage, I felt that we had given people the best information we could and done so in a manner which viewers would find helpful. The newscast that day had a little more urgency and I felt less like a TV anchor and more like a real disseminator of information. It was something I needed to go through to begin to reach my goal -- a goal of being a better news broadcaster.
By the way, I spent this gorgeous weekend doing -- what else -- playing golf. Here are the scores and the hilights from 36 holes of heaven.
SAT:Cranberry Highlands (45/46=91, played par golf on the front 5 of the back nine)
SUN:Diamond Run (57/45=102, played one-over-par on fabled final 4 holes)
Posted at 4:42 AM
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