A deeply personal experience was after Hurricane Katrina. I spent two years in Mobile, Alabama and grew to love the region. I profiled families who fled the Gulf Coast for the safety of central North Carolina. When it came time for them to go back to visit family for Thanksgiving, I jumped at the chance to profile their journey. We return to Gulfport, Mississippi through the lens of photojournalist Dartise Johnson (who's now a big-time star at Fox News). Special thanks to my friends John and Pam Fitzpatrick for hosting us for Thanksgiving dinner after our 30-plus hours of working straight.
A career (and life) highlight for a longtime hockey fan, following the amazing Stanley Cup Championship run of the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes. After being able to consume a beverage from the Stanley Cup, nothing else will ever compare to this!
Beginning with the Rapid City Council, Pennington County Commission and South Dakota state legislature, politics was a constant focus in a dozen years of broadcast journalism. The big event during those years was a chance to spend 4 days covering the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City for WNCN-TV in Raleigh, NC. Upon a little begging to management, they decided to counterbalance the coverage of then Democratic VP Nominee John Edwards, a trip to NYC would be in order. Here are a few highlights.
After watching all those Republicans party it up, we need to be fair and balanced, so here's Democrat John Edwards announcing his intention to run for President for the 2008 campaign. Guess we all know how that turned out.
Before extreme budget crunches hit the TV industry, it was from Raleigh, NC to Columbia, SC to be the morning anchor at WIS-TV. Ratings increased during my time on the show, but a management change led to my being another victim of the budget ax. This same management team dumped a longtime anchor with no notice and several other station employees, shortly before Christmas 2008. But here are a few WIS-TV Highlights.