Padd Solutions

What a day it was yesterday at the studios of KAMR-TV, Channel 4!

I actually work 2 jobs. One is at Cumulus Radio, which runs stations such as 95.7 The Kar (my favorite!), Rock 108, FM 93 The Beat, and so on. I run the audio board there, and I'll tell y'all more about that in a future blog.

My job at Channel 4 is Camera Operator. I run the studio cameras for the 5, 6, and 10 o'clock newscasts, and also for the 9 o'clock newscast for KCIT-TV, Channel 14. It is very fast paced and exciting! Since I want to get into the broadcasting business, this is a great "foot-in-the-door" position, and I'm making the most of it. Of course, Channel 4 has the very best news, sports, and weather teams in town! :) Please check out their website at http://myhighplains.com/

Well, severe weather season is upon us, and I've been really busy lately! On a normal day, I go in at 4 o'clock and leave by 11. However, if there is severe weather anywhere in the area, the meteorology team goes into action. Led by John Harris and assisted by Chris Martin and Alan Raymond, these guys do a great job of looking out for everyone, and they're a lot of fun to work with! If they go into action, so do I: someone has to frame the camera and cue them! I also do a lot of behind the scenes stuff, such as coordinating with John and the director when he cuts in with a weather update, telling the director which graphics John wants, relaying directions to John, etc. As long as there's a threat in the area, John is there; and if John is there, so am I, which can make for a really long day!

Like yesterday. Normally, weekends are pretty easy -- we only do 2 newscasts at 9 o'clock on Ch. 14 and 10 o'clock on Ch. 4. But John predicted severe weather, so he gave up his weekend to go into the studio, which meant I had to be there at 2 o'clock. There went my weekend! (By the way, to show you how dedicated John is, he was scheduled to fly to Houston for his nephew's wedding. He cancelled and stayed home to watch the weather. That's dedication folks!)

And, as usual, John was right--the Panhandles were rocked all day yesterday and late into the night. We had a tornado near Silverton, and baseball to grapefruit sized hail all over the place! So, even though I went to work very early in the afternoon, I didn't notice: we were busy all night. I thought it might be winding down about midnight, but no--Mother Nature threw us a curveball and gave us a tornado in Beaver County in Oklahoma in the middle of the night! By 1 am, we were all dead tired, and John let us go home. It was a long but action packed day, and was pretty wasted.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'll certainly take the overtime pay for yesterday. It's just that I value my off time on weekends. Couldn't Mother Nature skip nasty weather on Saturday and Sunday haha? :D

Anyway, anytime there's a threat of severe weather, be sure to turn the dial to Ch. 4 or Ch. 14. John Harris is the best in the business, and he will keep you safe!