Jaded in Emerald City

Adventurous romps in Seattle city experienced by yours truly

The Flood is Coming……..and a Punch in the Face

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Woah…..information overload. Today was nuts! It befit that description at 6pm when we “thought” the day was over. From the top…..

I went out again today with one of the best reporters, and found myself in quite a sketchy neighborhood, as I presume I often will in this line of work. Oh well, it was worth it. We were covering what is turning out to be a pretty controversial story and was the lead at 5 and 6. A lot of people in Seattle, particularly in the neighborhood the instance occurred, have approached us today with comments about this story. In short, a high school in south Seattle asked for police to crack down on J -walking on a very busy street in front of the school because it is dangerous. There is a cross walk bridge the students are supposed to take. Yesterday, four girls J-walked and an officer tried to stop them to give them a ticket and they resisted arrest. The following occurred:

RAW FOOTAGE *WARNING: VERY INTENSE PROFANITY. YOU CAN MUTE THE SOUND IF YOU JUST WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED.
http://www.kirotv.com/video/23904902/index.html

The link below is to a survey of people on the web with interesting results. You can vote after watching the video if you want.
http://www.kirotv.com/surveyresults/23904673/detail.html?section=news&coid=23904673






CROSSWALK BRIDGE

So, we headed first to the Seattle Police Dept headquarters to get a statement from the deputy police chief. After that we headed to a noon press conference at the urban league where the NAACP and several ministers and community leaders spoke. Obviously, there are two sides to the story and I see valid points on both. As much as some of my friends and family would probably love for me to go on one of my soulful rants, I will not.  In the true spirit of journalism, I will let everyone else decide what they think.

Later, we headed to the school where it all happened. As we were arriving, there were police lights and two more people on a cop car! The reporter was writing his script for his live shot/package and told me I could go over and see what the heck was going on if I wanted. Of course, I leaped out of the van and almost forgot my reporter’s notebook. I crossed the bridge and stood there for a minute until I saw the two kids who had just been on the cop cars walking towards me. They started talking to me about their experience with police in the area and the photog was there at the point and I was interviewing them!! Straight up! He basically threw the mic at me and said hold this up to them and keep going. He even let me keep asking MY questions!

We got their names and he ingested the footage to send it back to the station. We had more time before the actual reporter was going live because the president was speaking, pushing the newscast back. So, the photog took me up to the bridge to shoot some stand ups and they turned out awesome. He told me I was a “natural,” which I acted casually about but actually made me jump for joy on the inside that someone in the industry would say that to me. 




STAND UP




After the reporter did the live shot, the photog was watching the feed from the mini TVs in the live truck and said “Look, they’re using our footage.” They were using the stuff from earlier! The MOS’s (that means man on the scene or witnesses) that I hunted down and interviewed!! 



LIVE TRUCK

I had a smile on my face and was in a generally cheery mood when the reporter said “Oh, man we gotta go.” The desk called and asked us to head down to Kent, which is about thirty minutes outside of Seattle, to a flooded mobile home complex. Lake Meridian, made up of the glacial waters from the nearby mountain ranges, had flooded this place because a dam had partially broken….or something..  Sorry guys..I was pooped by this time! Lol….

So, we went to Kent and there were little kids running around and playing in the water and people trying to clean up. The ducks were swimming in the parking lot and none of us had boots. Also, today was an especially chilly summer day, even for Washington and it was 50 degrees outside. I stood just outside where the waters reached the homes and held the photog’s tripod because it couldn’t go into the soggy trailers with him. My lips must have been turning blue because a very friendly fireman on the scene lent me a blanket from their truck. I overheard heard them all discussing the Floridian intern girl when I left. But, most of all they felt empathy. I must look pathetic or defenseless. Lol….




I DIDN'T GO VERY MUCH FURTHER....





After we headed to the lake to see the damage there, the reporter said we could head back. I was really not the least bit excited about catching a bus so late, but it was well worth the adventure. On the way home, the reporter was going to get on a bus back to his neighborhood from somewhere instead of going all the way back to the station. So, I asked them if they could just drop us in the U-district and I could walk. So, I didn’t have to pay for a bus, and I jumped out of the news van and walked across the street to my apartment.  Ahh….now I have really got to catch some zzzz’s if I want to be able to do this again tomorrow!!

Until then…..

Song of the Day- “Where Does the Good Go” Tegan and Sara