Q’s Hats in Review, Prepping for Rocky

The complaining about how much snow we “didn’t” get is taking up too much room in cyberspace. It is time to just enjoy TV reporters and the hats they are wearing out on the elements.

The last post had some doozies. Thanks for the submissions. If you have a photo to submit, send them in an email to me at IPTVPaul@gmail.com or just put them on Twitter @paulyeager.

Taylor Umland, KWQC, Davenport.

But one of the best ones came directly onto my Facebook wall. Here is the bar for today. A Wartburg College hat being worn on my old TV station, KWQC in Davenport. Taylor Umland was rocking the orange and black during his morning reports in the QC.

One of my former co-workers at KWQC was Matt Davis. Mr. Matt was a nightside reporter when I started and we would do liveshots without a hat. A certain morning radio duo named Dwyer and Michael’s would razz him on-air about not wearing a hat and looking cold on his evening live reports.

The radio guys decided to send a gift to Matt of a hat, which he would sometimes wear and other times it was just sitting on his desk, ready for the call of duty.

Bailey Dietz, KWQC, Davenport.

Sticking at KWQC, we bring in Bailey Dietz from her nightside live shot Thursday.

Former TV6 intern and now reporter at WGBA in Green Bay, WI, Jonathan Gregg is in on the action.

Jonathon Gregg

Jon is a former board member of the Iowa Broadcast News Association. I’m sure he’s already made plans to attend this year’s convention on April 20 in Johnston at the Stoney Creek Inn.

Now to some of the morning crew.

Arielle Nixon was wondering why she had to take a picture of herself wearing earmuffs. She wasn’t sure what the request was all about, but thanks to Pat Dix for this.

Pat’s Tweet.

Thanks for playing along.

Arielle Nixon, WHO, Des Moines.

Thanks to the MW ESPN bureau for this submission of KARE photojournalist Nate Anderson.

Nate Anderson, KARE, Minneapolis.

Jason Rantala, WOI, West Des Moines.

Kim St. Onge, KCCI, Des Moines.

My little reporter, Levi. That’s a hat OVER his hooded sweatshirt.

Megan Ruether is always a good sport about trying new hats and thanks to Travis Jungling for lighting up Megan Friday morning for this picture.

Megan Reuther, WHO, Des Moines.

But it was Megan’s former station that wins the day. You may remember Nikki Newbrough from last year with the space cadet interview subject.

This year she’s gone above and beyond with a sombrero and a friend, Danielle Wagner. I think Danielle is the Ice Princess? Did I get that correct?

Danielle Wagner and Nikki Newbrough of KWWL, Waterloo.

Thanks again for the submissions. We’re only a couple of days away from doing it again with Winter Storm Rocky approaching.

Just because they may be thin, doesn’t mean the hats aren’t mighty

Nikki Newbrough, KWWL - TV Waterloo.

Thank goodness winter is here. We needed the snow to help bring out the hats.

We had one crop already this season. This would be the second round of lids.

We begin with Wartburg grad and now KWWL reporter Nikki Newbrough. She is the morning reporter for the NBC affiliate. Translation: She can be silly when needed.

Nikki's live shot on earth.

Earlier in the day, Nikki was at the University of Northern Iowa campus asking students about the cold and snow. Her interview almost stole the show. He was in a NASA-type space suit.

Earth to UNI dude, nice hat.

You can see in this picture, Nikki put the space helmet on her head for this still frame.

Brian Boesen, KWQC - HD, live on Brady Street Hill in Davenport.

Brian Boesen is reporting on Brady Street Hill in Davenport. I’ve done that shot a few times in my career.

The KWQC reporter and I met backstage at the Girl Scouts Night on Broadway a couple of months back.

I also met the clubhouse leader for hats in 2012, Megan Ottier that night in Bettendorf. More on her in a moment.

Back to Brian… I did ask him if he was related to the Des Moines Boesen’s. Specifically, former Dowling Catholic TE Ben Boesen who is now playing football at Iowa State. No relation between the two. Yes, I was that guy who asked.

Angie Hunt, KCCI - TV Des Moines.

Back to Central Iowa and an ‘ole favorite for hats here at PP&M and that would be Angie Hunt.

The Ames bureau reporter has been captured with many great lids on her head the last few years. She gets the plum assignments in all corners of the viewing area, many northern points, so wearing a good head topper is vital to her good health.

Thank you to Angie.

Krystle Kacner , WHO - HD Des Moines

Newly hired reporter Krystle Kacner of WHO-HD is now getting into the hat game. She’s new to the area and to the station.

But her hat is one of veteran caliber.

As she settles in, we’ll get her to tweet a couple of pictures of herself wearing a hat.

Chris Earl, KCRG Cedar Rapids

And back to eastern Iowa and KCRG reporter/anchor Chris Earl.

Mr. Earl deserves special attention for this furry wonder on his head.

Would you call that Cousin Eddy’s hat from Christmas Vacation? Or is that more Daniel Boone?

Now back to the hat that I received the most in my inbox.

Morgan Ottier of KWQC opens the competition with a home run.

Megan’s hat is spectacular. But some question if the hat is for show or if she’s serious about wearing the hat. Better yet, is she serious while wearing that hat?

I know many reporters were looking forward to getting out in the elements this weekend to talk about the ice and snow, but it looks like those pictures will have to wait, as the next winter death storm is staying to the west.

So Lauren Squires, bring us your hats from the Omaha market.

If you know of a hat to share, send the pic to IPTVPaul@gmail.com .

2 more deaths involving former staffers at KIMT and KSO

Don Harman, FOX4KC.com image

This blog has turned into the obituary page of the internet.

Earlier this week we learned former WHO and WOI TV anchor Bobbi Bergman Silvernail Brunscheon died.

Then it was Tom Bedore, or as he was known on KSO-AM, Tom Collins.

Now word is former KIMT meteorologist Don Harman has passed.

This Pitch.com story was posted this morning about Harman. (It has since been pulled or is missing from the site and now moved to here.)

The note below was posted on the Fox4 Facebook page this morning:

Good morning.
We know many of you have questions.
We appreciate your concern, and we consider you our friends.
But please remember that family comes first.
We’re honoring that right now, and we ask that you join us in that.
Please bear with us for a little while longer.
-Loren & Mark

As of 930, there’s been no official word on the station website, but former co-workers have posted status updates asking for prayers and support for the family. The Facebook post has generated a large amount of traffic.

Harman was at KIMT in Mason City in the mid-90′s, including the time when Jodi Huisentruit disappeared.

Don worked in West Virginia at two different stations during his career before going to Kansas City to work at Fox 4 where he worked on the morning show.

From the station bio:

Throughout his years in television, Don has played an active role in the communities in which he worked. He has a passion for educating children about science and enjoys teaching them about weather with his Doppler Don segments. In 2001, he was nominated for an Emmy and was a Missouri Broadcast Award winner for his educational childrens’ reports as Doppler Don. The best part of teaching weather for Don is seeing the kids’ eyes light up when they realize science can be fun.

When he’s not forecasting the weather or working with children, Don enjoys spending time outdoors. His favorite activities include hiking, camping, and skiing. Don, his wife, Monica, and their daughter, Avery, live in Kansas City, Mo.

Harman had a good sense of humor and his former co-workers I’ve worked with, always had great Don stories to share.

Another passing happened over the weekend. This one involving former 1460 KSO DJ Tom Collins, who died Saturday in Appleton, Wisconsin. Collins was part of the Tom and Jerry Show in Des Moines.

Bedore had been doing voice work and field production for radio and TV commercials.  His career also took him to New York, California, Iowa and eventually Wisconsin.

Part of Thomas’ obit is below, the full story is here:

Tom is survived by his parents, John and Dolores, Appleton; three brothers, John Jr. (Sue Swamer) Bedore, Timothy (Karen) Bedore, and James (Carrie) Bedore; and a nephew, Ben, and nieces, Annie and Claire.

A memorial mass for Tom will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1617 W. Pine St., Appleton, with Fr. Dennis Ryan officiating. Friends may call on Saturday at church from 11:30 a.m. until the time of the mass. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Tom’s name may be made to Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Memorial Contributions, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, TN, 38120. The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the caregivers with ThedaCare Hospice for your loving and good-humored care. Tom loved you all.

Please let this be the last of the death notices for media members for awhile.

Darboh returns, same result: Maroons win 43-3 against Ames

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER After scoring Dowling Catholic's first touchdown on a pass reception against Ames, #15 Amara Darboh, right, celebrated with #67 T. J . Palme, left, and #76 Mark Kenkel, center, in Class 4A first round playoff football game played at East High School Williams Stadium on Wednesday night Oct. 26, 2011.

West Des Moines Dowling Catholic started slow but finished fast against Ames in an opening round win in the 2011 Iowa High School football playoffs. The Maroons improved to 8-2 with a 43-3 victory to Ames’ season at 4-6.

Amarah Darboh returned to action to grab his longest TD of the season with a 45 yard catch and set the pace for the night. He grabbed 4 during game worth 81 yards. If not a huge stat line, it was a morale boost to a team that went 3-1 since his departure at Southeast Polk on September 23rd.  The Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Iowa recruit will be a vital part of the Maroons march to defend their 4A football title.

Since that SE Polk game, the Maroons have built depth at receiver with Matthew Haack and Brandon Ogden. The pair was used heavily in Coach Tom Wilson‘s game plan with Ogden catch 5 passes and scoring a 14-yard TD just before halftime. Haack was used more in the running game, carrying it 4 times and 25 yards. The Maroons would finish with 267 yards rushing and 190 yards passing.

Dowling Catholic also developed a double QB/TB combination with the emergence of freshman Ryan Boyle and Chase Dowell. Boyle would run the option style attack with Dan Hartlieb used more in the passing offense. Boyle provided a spark in the regular-season finale at Indianola and did so again against Ames. His 7 carries were worth 87 yards. A couple of those jaunts set up touchdowns and the freshman did put the last points on the scoreboard of the game on a 1 yard plunge.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Dowling Catholic's #11 Jon Wisnieski, right, looked up in thanks as touchdown was signaled after a minute delay, after his 70 yard interception return against Ames. A flag had been thrown on the play, but was against Ames.

Dowell put his head down and popped a few Little Cyclones during the contest. He finished with 10 carries for 75 yards and a blocked punt.

Ben Goaley started, played and continued to carry the load, but he’ll likely be used as needed to keep him as healthy as long as possible. He finished with 9 carries and 56 yards.

Jon Wisnieski played primarily on offense, but he made the most of his defensive opportunities when he stepped in front of a Alex Brammer pass and ran it back 70 yards for a score. Wiz would grab a score in the north endzone on a pass only he could catch for a 22-yard score on a drive that went 98 yards on 6 plays.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Dowling Catholic quarterback #3 Dan Hartlieb dropped back to pass against Ames.

Dan Hartlieb would get a TD following 2 great runs by Boyle in the no-huddle offense. That drive changed the tempo of the game and the firmly put the momentum in Dowling’s corner.

Michael Gillotti picked of a pass in the next drive to add to his season of accomplishments at cornerback. That defense held a beat up Ames team to 38 yards rushing on 22 carries and 102 yards passing on 35 attempts and 10 completions.

The Maroons advance to Monday’s game at Des Moines Lincoln. The Rails advanced with a 52-14 victory against DM East.

Our KWKY broadcast begins at 6p with kickoff slated for 7p on 1150 AM or KWKY.com.

Production innovation at TMZ

TMZ app on the iPhone

Recently, I looked at the information gathering of celebrity website and TV show, TMZ. The post drew some interesting comments. Many of them are posted on my Facebook page.

If you’ve got comments, post them to the end of this article. I may have to write another post about the comments received and if its truly a news site that the rest need to pay attention to. Clearly, they are doing something right, even if it is mostly celebrities. But, when you’re the highest paid golfer in the world, your life is a matter of celebrity.

Let’s now look at their TV show now. I don’t watch the show on a regular basis, but when I have seen parts of it, I’m intrigued in the set up of the show. They are taping their morning rundown meeting. Probably one of the most fun parts of a day in any newsroom. You pitch a story, make a joke and move on. TMZ will then see the pitch, run the video and then come back for some newsroom or manager comments and then go back to more parts of the story.

There’s no cheesy anchor, camera moves or over-lit studios, just the newsroom staff doing their job and being videotaped at the same time. Maybe there’s a little mugging going on for the camera, but its low-cost production and gets the job done.

The gathering of news in the field is also impressive. Broadcast Engineering looked at the technical side of the gathering but revealed a couple of interesting tidbits in this article.

This is what is amazing to me. Throw away some traditional multi-person crews. Hello one-man-band with camera, laptop and wifi card.

From the Broadcast Engineering article:

TMZ uses cutting-edge news-gathering techniques to air segments, sometimes within minutes of an event actually happening. A group of young new media professionals serve as producer, camera operator and editor, while adhering to fierce deadlines that lead right up to show time.

These one-man-band shooters, who formerly worked on the Web site, went through several weeks of training on how to use the video equipment. Some currently roam the field using backpacks holding a MacBook laptop and a lightweight Sony Z1U camcorder with camera-mounted Focus Enhancements FireStore hard drive recorders. This enables material to be immediately ingested as a QuickTime file and processed for both TV and the Internet. It also allows the producers to use the HDV tape for backup and as an archive media.

There’s a couple of long-standing news gathering traditions thrown out the window. They get more people in the field, but they get what they pay for in some of the questions from the not-so-well-trained media-gathers. I don’t know if they are journalists or not, but that can be debated at another time.

So I ask you, is TMZ the new-media formula for gathering, displaying and broadcasting their information?

Is TMZ changing reporting?

A young actress named Brittney Murphy died this weekend. Where did I learn about it first? The TMZ app on my iPhone. And it’s not the first time that app has given me the most current information and many times, is the first to tell me about it.

Regardless of what you think of their product, TMZ is a reporting force. They proved it again with the Tiger Woods story. They smelled something was up and kept digging. We now know they struck oil. Or several oil fields.

They dig up contracts, lawsuits, restraining orders, compromising photos. They know everyone involved and know how to find them when news is happening or as it’s happening.

Shoe leather. Sounds familiar.

This is not the first time that TMZ has been the leader in a big story.

Flash back to June and a lazy summer day when TMZ was the ONLY media outlet saying Michael Jackson was dead. There were several rounds of people on Twitter saying, “TMZ is the only one saying MJ is dead, if they’re wrong, ouch.” Well, as it turns out, they were right, they were first and they told the world the news.

After the MJ story kept going, the New York Times profiled the operation in a story. The article points out that TMZ has sources everywhere.

Sources. I’ve heard that term before.

They do pay for some things, photos, which all media outlets do, and will pay for tips, but stop at saying they don’t pay for stories.

From the New York Times:

Like many other media outlets, TMZ pays for photos. Harvey Levin, the site’s editor in chief, said in an interview that the site will pay “tip fees” that lead to stories, but not for stories outright. He refused to say whether he had paid any sources during the Jackson coverage but he denied that the site’s staffers paid police officials or nurses.

The upstart gossip blog is a gritty, some would say grimy, Web site that publishes celebrity news in real-time. It usually traffics in mug shots, rehab reports and other salacious tidbits about celebrities. TMZ first appeared in November 2005.

So I ask you, is TMZ a legitimate news organization to be modeled after? Or do you run away from it?

Tomorrow– TMZ is innovative when it comes to production of the show and gathering of information. So much so, it may put a few of us out of work.