Pal's "Flash" Gallery
Recent Entries
TN Employees Face Job Cuts, but Fulmer Gets a Pay Raise
Back from the edge: The Bristol Train Station
How you can be a “Treasure Tracker” during Fun Fest
How you can be a “Treasure Tracker” during Fun Fest
The “Friends of Festus” Winner
Happy Birthday Rob! It’s the big 4-0!
You have to see this: a face in the tree?
You can be a “Friend of Festus”. Here’s how to enter and win.
Reaction to Rush: So far, not a lot of love
Monthly Archives
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
RSS Feeds
05
NBA… but do you care?
May 31, 2007
Good morning! It’s Thursday, May 31st.
As I read through the scripts before the show today, I was surprised to see that the San Antonio Spurs made the NBA finals.
Surprised?
Yes, I admit it. I quit caring about the NBA years ago. I asked friends in the newsroom this morning if they cared. Most didn’t. Our director Ben Lamb, a blatantly honest and, as a result, hilarious 20-something told me he only has one friend who cares about the NBA. That friend (Toby) happens to do audio for NC 11 Morning Edition. Yea, when you work this shift, most of your friends are also your co-workers.
I’m not sure why I don’t care. There’s just, well, no magic, and I don’t just mean Johnson. There’s not Bird either. No heroes. Just a lot of high paid people who don’t captivate my attention.
Is it just me? Do you care about the NBA? Why not?
By the way… Rob says we’re now more than 10 inches below normal in rainfall since January. How is the affecting you?
Have a good one.
Josh
Posted by Josh Smith Orlando or bust!
May 30, 2007Good morning. It’s Wednesday, May 30th.
I’m using the blog this morning to let you know the details of our Orlando Trip giveaway.
At this point, the only way to enter is to send an email with the Orlando temperature forecast from Rob’s Travel Weather segments. The email address is morningedition@wjhl.com. Don’t forget your name, address, and phone number.
The drawing will be Friday morning just before 7am.
Here’s what one person will win:
*(4) Roundtrip airline tickets from Tri-Cities Regional Airport to Orlando-Sanford International Airport courtesy of Allegiant Air. Voucher is good for a year.
*Alamo Car Rental for up to (4) days from Allegiant Air. Voucher is good for a year. (Winner will pick up car at airport)
*Accommodations at the Seralago Hotel and Suites in Kissimmee, FL
-Winner will receive certificate for 4 Night Hotel Stay for 4 people in deluxe guest room courtesy of
Seralago Hotel and Suites
5678 Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway
Kissimmee, FL 34746
-3 miles from Disney World
*Walt Disney World theme park tickets
-Winner will receive (4) 3-Day Disney Park Hopper passes
*$500.00 in Cash courtesy of Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Thanks to all who have entered.
Have a good one.
Josh
Posted by Josh Smith Delta and Dawn
May 29, 2007Are you tracking Delta and Dawn?
They’re the two humpback whales who made a wrong turn off the coast of California into a river… and into the national media spotlight.
Watching the national news coverage of this story, it seems a lot of people involved are VERY upset about these whales.
I, too, hope they figure out how to get back to the salty sea where whales belong.
Still, I can’t help but be reminded of a friend of mine who’s an elementary school teacher. She loves animals. But every time she sees intense news coverage of animals that are lost, abused, or confused, she gets highly agitated.
Why? She says this country is filled with children (human ones) who are lost, confused, and abused. She says they’re facing cruelty and chaos that often goes unnoticed, and she longs to see the rest of us - the ones who don’t have to stare it in the face every day - to understand what’s happening.
I haven’t talked to her about Delta and Dawn. But I’m sure that when I do, my friend the school teacher will tell me a story about Jimmy and Mary… or Tommy and Tina...or other children with other names… who are lost, not in a river, but in “the system”. And she’ll tell me who the national media doesn’t have the courage to be obsessed with their stories.
Your thoughts?
Josh
Posted by Josh Smith How will you spend Memorial Day?
May 28, 2007Good morning. It’s Monday, May 28th… Memorial Day 2007.
Fire up the grill, pack the cooler, gas up the boat.
For most of us, that’s the Memorial Day routine.
Often on Memorial Day, someone on TV or on the radio or in the newspaper scolds us for forgetting to remember. Scold us, they should. So many gave so much.
But this morning, it dawned on me that men and women we’re called to remember today gave their lives so we could be so carefree. For many, they probably spent some of their last hours, hunkered down in bunkers, dreaming of cookouts and boat rides and picnics with loved ones. Because they cared, we have the freedom not to have a care in the world.
For that reason alone, we must remember. Today, I’m going by Mountain Home cemetery. I’ll stop and give thanks by the grave of my grandfather, Lewis Paul Smith of Bristol, Tennessee, a Marine buried there who narrowly escaped death more than once in the Pacific Theater of World War 2. He passed away a few years ago. My Papaw never talked alot about the war. He certainly didn’t see himself as a hero. But for him, Memorial Day always had deep meaning. He knew a lot of people who never got to come home.
Do you know of any public events scheduled today? You can post them here.
Have a good one.
Josh
Posted by Josh Smith Stuck in traffic
May 25, 2007Good morning. It’s Friday!
We, the News Channel 11 Morning Edition team, try our best to keep you updated on traffic tie-ups that can ruin the morning commute. Fortunately, we don’t have many of those in the Tri-Cities Region.
Yesterday we did.
A tractor trailer overturned on Interstate 81 in Greene County carrying hazardous materials. Very hazardous.
Truthfully, we didn’t understand the travel implications of the accident until late morning. We knew it would be slow-going while on the air yesterday, but it wasn’t until 9a-10am that we (8 hours after the wreck) began to grasp that the wrecked tractor trailer on Interstate 81 (one of the busiest roads in the country) was going to be there for quite some time.
Listening to interviews this morning, it sounds like few of the drivers who got stuck knew about it until it was too late.
Give credit where credit is due: News Channel 11 ran “crawls” (those moving lines of text on the bottom of the screen), aired stories on our morning and noon news, and updated readers on this website.
TDOT issued alerts.
But travelers told us yesterday they saw just one warning sign along Interstate 81 South, and when they hit the backed-up traffic, it was too late to turn around.
Did you get stuck in traffic? Share your story.
By the way, the road is open this morning. Hats off to the people who worked hours and hours and hours to fix that dangerous mess.
Havea good one.
Posted by Josh Smith 
