Call it "Gi-walking"

Jay Leno has a segment in his show called, "Jaywalking" where he quizzes America on everything from current events and literature, to state slogans and mottos. It's hysterical. I was working the 11 last night, (which happened to be Super Bowl Sunday). In desperate need of a story idea, I figured I'd marry the two- my plot to one day produce a Jaywalking segment in Gainesville, and the Super Bowl- and in the end, I got Gi-walking...("Gi" for Giannas) in G-ville. Okay, not as cool as Jaywalking, but my producer liked it.

*Scroll down to watch the story*

"I really want to be with my mom right now"

one way ticket to Haiti

Tragedy has swept the already suffering lands of Haiti, but this morning I saw hope. Hope not written between the lines of a news article, but behind the eyes of a man who says he literally cannot sleep because so many are suffering. 

This morning I interviewed Mark Atkinson, a UF professor who has been doing missionary work in Haiti for years. On January 11, the day before the earthquake struck, Atkinson arrived back in Gainesville after a two-week mission trip to a town just north of Port-au-Prince. On his office computer, Atkinson showed me pictures from his recent trip, fighting back tears with every click.

Atkinson has purchased a one way ticket to Haiti. While looking through pictures from the AP wires, I asked him if he was scared of the harsh reality he'll soon face. Atkinson said fear has no presence in his life, and with tears in eyes he added, "I just love people."

Prime Time Football

Orin and I

11.13.09

After class I drove over to Prime Time to hang out with the kids. One of the second graders volunteered to be my photographer. He did a good job, don't you think? 

Prime Time is a nonprofit after school program for at-risk kids in East Gainesville. 

Prime Time Website

mtvU!

While sitting in a lecture hall learning about the many laws of mass communication, I got an email from my producer at mtvU saying he was airing my package...three times! At 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30!

HOW COOL!

I haven't figured out how to grab the video from the mtvU broadcast, but here's the link to the story on ABC's website:

Click to watch my "Gator Big Spirit" PKG

Lunch with Dean Wright

Patrick, Miles, Dean Wright, myself, and Brittny

Yesterday Dean Wright took the ABC News on Campus team to lunch at Ballyhoo. It was a nice treat and I realized, I am SO excited for my senior year of college!

Clunkers, Clouds, and a Cameo

It's Sunday, and this morning I went to church. Leaving inspired and rejuvenated, I decided on a lunch date to Panera with my laptop. Sitting in one of the prized booths next to an outlet, I'm catching up on my emails and taking sporadic bites of my panini. I just sent Rob, fellow journalist and friend, a response to his email I received at the beginning of the week. I unleashed some of the feelings I've been harboring since last night, when I left the station at 11:46 PM. I figured this makes for a good blog post.

I'm sorry I'm just now getting back to you. My weekend has been pretty crazy. Yesterday I worked at TV20 as a fill-in reporter for the 11. They sent me to Chiefland for a "cash-for-clunkers" package. On the way back to the station, my producer asked me to drive to Hawthorne to get a vosot on a man who fell from a water tower. To save time, the assignment desk gave me directions from Chiefland to Hawthorne. I guess sometime between pulling out of the car dealership and steering with my knee while searching for a pen, I misunderstood the directions. For the next 45 minutes, nothing but me and WCJB's white hyundai were on a long two-lane road, smack dab in the middle of a thick forest that reminded me of The Blair Witch Project. Having no service on my cell phone, I began to panic. At the first sight of human life, I pulled over. I grabbed my useless cell phone thinking that if I was abducted, at least I could pray for a miracle. A woman wearing overalls and chewing a piece of hay was selling peaches. Great, I was closer to Georgia than TV20. The woman gave me directions back to Gainesville. I put the pedal to the metal and called my producer at the first bar of service. She still needed the Hawthorne video.

 I make it to Hawthorne Road. Up ahead I see dark clouds stirring together. I was approaching a severe lightning storm. When I couldn't see anything but the powerful bolts striking two feet from my car, I pulled over. I called my producer and explained my life was in danger. "Kristin, try to stick it out. We need this vosot. It's leading the show," she says. It wasn't long before I found myself hovering under a tree with my tripod and camera, getting video of a tall, METAL water tower surrounded by WATER. Good thing the rain didn't short out my camera...right? As soon as I got back to the station, I jumped in an edit bay and got to work. At 10:53pm I delivered my package. Wait. I forgot to insert super times in my script. My friends watching at home say they saw my graceful sprint behind the news anchor, as I booked it across the studio to the control room to give the director my cue sheet for supers.

Yesterday, time was not on my side. In the short hour I had to edit, I was forced to repeat video and use shaky shots. Not mentioned in my email, but will be explained to my news director on Monday, was the lack of footage at the car dealership. I wanted to get video of a customer bringing in their clunker, interacting with the salesman, etc. Of course when I got to Chiefland I had, "just missed the wave of cash-for-clunkers customers," (said the GM).

When it's all said and done, the important thing is, I survived. I did the best with what I had to work with at the ghost-town of a car dealership, made it to Hawthorne without getting struck by lightning, filmed the water tower without getting electrocuted, didn't trip and twist my ankle while sprinting to the control room, and my cash-for-clunkers package made slot.

Here's a link to my package, (watch for my cameo run during the anchor intro).

Click to watch:Cash for Clunkers WCJB TV 20 News

Black Violin

Patrick setting up for the interview

               Talking to myself/Patrick fixing camera angles

Wil B and Kev Marcus hit the stage! 

Click to check out Black Violin's Website! 

Ester and Murray

My parents invited the relatives over for Father's Day, so I drove to Palm Harbor to pick up my grandparents. I was in their kitchen when I looked out of the window and saw a butterfly flying around the garden. When I see a butterfly, I think of one person.

Giulia Lewis was my best friend growing up. On November 5, 2003, she passed away. She was 15-years-old.

After Deadly Crash, Many Tears in Queens

Working as a reporter, I see articles like this one all the time. Many of us experience the initial heavy-heart, showing our coworker the police report with a check in the "fatal" box. You think of the parents who lost their five-year-old son. They were just trying to keep him safe by putting him inside the boat's cabin. They never thought the boat would capsize, their son drown. A producers voice, a phone ringing, the realization that you're live in ten minutes; the newsroom snaps you back into reality before you can think any deeper. Your emotions cannot stop you from performing, from doing your job. You're a reporter.

But I know these articles and police reports aren't just pieces of paper with facts to include in the VO. I know the pain and suffering behind the words. At 14 years old, I saw my friend in a coffin. An experience that has changed my life. I saw how one death can affect the living. The parents who lost their only child. The aunts and uncles who lost their niece. The best friend who lost her sister.

"There is an old school of professional journalistic thought that reporters must adhere at all times to the appearance of detachment. We must eschew any activity or association that might reveal or even signal a bias, for that might undercut the credibility of our reporting," (found this in my notes, most likely the words of a professor).

Basically we cannot act like real people. So many times I see reporters who tell a story like Giulia's without a glimmer of emotion. They don't seem to have souls. I understand we must be "detached" as journalists, and I'm not saying we should shed tears during our stand-ups, but we must show that we're human. Viewers need to know they can relate to us, trust us. A reporter without emotion or caring is not much of a reporter in my book. You must have a heart. You must have compassion.

Not many understand the great power a journalist holds. Look at Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two reporters working for The Washington Post who discovered and published the information that led to the resignation of Nixon. Woodward and Bernstein spent countless hours investigating leads and news tips, looking at documents and interviewing people, and it wasn't for their health. It was to help the people-ultimately the American people. That's our job as journalists. To help others. Robots aren't reading our articles and watching our newscasts. People are.

After seeing the butterfly in my grandparents garden, I decided to call Ester and Murray Lewis, Giulia's grandparents. Over the years Giulia's grandma Ester and I have kept in touch. We write often and I send her pictures and update her on my adventures reporting.


Grandpa Murray just celebrated his 90th birthday on May 6th. The last time I spoke with him was at Giulia's funeral, six years ago. Yesterday Ester put him on the phone, so I can wish him a happy Father's Day. I was afraid he wouldn't remember me, but to my surprise he screamed "Kristin!" right when he got on the phone. He went on to say how happy he was that I've stayed in his and Ester's life. He started crying, and said "I love you Kristin, you're my granddaughter." Of course I broke down, and we both talked about life, crying and laughing at the many memories we shared.


I guess what I learned this Father's Day is not to be afraid of changing, of showing your emotion and your heart. It can do so much good for others. Us journalists need to understand the power that lies in our hands. We have the ability to change the world, to help countless people. One newspaper article, one police report, one story, one phone call can change a life. Not just the viewers or readers, but your own.

Giulia and I

1998

My grandfather (Papoo in Greek), my brother Peter and I

Father's Day

6-21-09

Baseball Dreams

Robbie Lumpkins and I

ABC News on Campus Website Photo Shoot, May 11 2009

On Monday, May 11, I drove back up to Gainesville. The new bureau hires were meeting to take a group picture for the website. Later that night, Brittny and I decided to go to Swamp with some friends. When I was there I ran into a friend of mine, Clayton Pisani. Clayton is on the UF baseball team. We started talking about baseball and he asked about my job with ABC News on Campus. The reporter in me came out and it wasn't long before I asked if there was anything newsworthy about baseball this season. After a few seconds, he said, "Robbie!"
"Robbie? Is he on the team?" I asked.
"Well, kind of," he responded. Clayton preceded to tell me about Robbie Lumpkins...

I had discovered an amazing story. Clayton said I could meet Robbie at the next home game that Friday.

When I got to the stadium, I walked up to the dugout and looked for Clayton. All the players were facing the field, looking exactly the same in their baseball uniforms. Their distinguishing marks were of no use because of course, I didn't know Clayton's number. So for a good five minutes, I awkwardly stood above the dugout, looking for Clayton, as onlookers most likely assumed I was checking out the team physique.


Once I found my friend, I asked if he knew where Robbie was.

"Over there," Clayton pointed to a man in a wheel chair sitting in section F. I walked over, sat next to him, and started talking.


Robbie was so friendly and kind. I explained I was a reporter from ABC News on Campus interested in doing a feature story on him and his love for the Gators. Robbie's face lit up and he quickly responded, "anything for the team!"


That week, my photographer and I followed Robbie around at two home games and one practice. Meeting Robbie was a blessing. His story changed my life. Robbie faces obstacles every day, yet he is so positive and has so much love and passion for life. He doesn't let his disability define who is he and what he can do.


I finished the story on Wednesday, May 27, and sent the script over to Hank Astengo, the sports anchor at the local ABC affiliate in Gainesville, WCJB TV20. I called Hank on Thursday and asked if I could swing by and let him take a look at the finished product. When I got to the station, we went to an edit bay and popped in my tape. When my story was over Hank said, "I have to rearrange my show."
"What?" I asked, extremely confused.
"I'm using this tonight," he replied, "This is amazing!"


I was in complete shock. I thought Hank would critique my package and have me change a few things, and if I was lucky, maybe he'd post it on WCJB's website. To my surprise, he wanted to air my package that night.


So, I called Robbie and everyone else I could think of and told them to watch the news at 6 and 10pm.


The next day, (yesterday) WCJB's assignment desk called me and said CNN picked up my story!
CNN Baseball Dreams


ESPN also picked up the piece! ESPN U Gators' No. 1 fan


I hope all who watch this are inspired by Robbie and his incredible story...

Gators Give Back

I turned a package after I finished the documentary for "First & 15."  It's on ABC's website. Check it out!

Click to watch "Gators Give Back"

My Spring Semester Has Officially Ended...

Interviewing Aaron Hernandez, Draft Day April 14 2009

It's 2:40am and I'm staring at the purple bows on my sheets and the high school shrine my mother has made of my vanity. I'm back home, lying in a twin-sized canopy bed I've had since the third grade. The spring semester ended this past Friday, and that means sorority house move-out, and summer move-in with the parents. But there is a silver lining. Interning in New York City this summer is still an option. I need to make some calls this week.

I got home about two hours ago. I was at the bureau till about 11pm, editing a story for ABC.

Before that I was squeezing my entire room into my car. It's a miracle Sparkles (my fish) survived the two-hour drive. I had a few close calls with him. I actually pulled over on the interstate when it looked like he was floating.

Prior to the big move-out, I was at Firestone getting new tires. And guess what? The television in their waiting area is set to WUFT....(all along I thought no one watched us). After about an hour of some great local programming, I decided to get up and watch the mechanic work on my car. He was no where to be found. Bored, I walked around the store checking out the tires. I was thinking about a story Brian Ross did on aged tires being sold as new. In his standup he showed viewers how to decode the digits on the tire that represent the manufacturing date. I couldn't remember what Brian Ross said but that didn't stop me from playing detective and investigating the tires anyway. I had to look closely because I'm blind as bat. Around my fourth tire, the man at the front desk cleared his throat and looked at me. I smiled and walked toward the garage.

My mechanic was back, and with a McDonalds bag in hand! For the next two hours I waited as the man at the front desk suspiciously watched my every move. I debated telling him, "I was just checking the dates on the tires," but realized that would be weird, and it'd be easier to let him think I was a tire-thief.

What compelled me to get my tires changed? Well last night after I left the bureau, I decided to get a burrito for dinner. I called my mom while on my drive, to complain about how stressed and tired I was. I quickly realized my car wasn't moving when I put my foot on the gas pedal. A glance at my gas gage...oh, what do you know, empty. I pulled over as my car slowly lost momentum. I started crying. My mom started to panic as she yelled at me for being irresponsible. It was when I called triple-A, and they asked for my location, that I realized I was in front of Shands hospital, blocking the turning lane into the emergency room.

The one-eyed man from University Towing was there in a flash. Yes, he had one eye. He looked like the old man who repaired Woody in Toy Story 2.

The one-eyed, Toy Story repair man look-a-like from University Towing told me my tires were bald. When I called my dad this morning he said, "ya know, you need to get new tires on your car before you drive home, they're pretty bald." Funny you say that dad...

So, it's been a long week. The picture at the very top of this post is from "Draft Day," one of the events during the week of First and 15. Shortly after that interview, my documentary was presented to over 1,000 people. To see first hand, my work touching the viewers, evoking their emotions; it was the most amazing feeling. All those eyes fixed, for 7 minutes, on something I created...I'll never forget that night. And it gets better, that Saturday, April 18, my documentary was shown a second time, at the Black Tie Benefit Dinner. But this audience was very different. The dinner was $1,000 a plate, so you can imagine what high rollers were in there. Guests included Governor Charlie Crist, James W. "Bill" Heavener, Coach Urban Meyer, and Erin Andrews. I stood in the back of the room and watched as hundreds watched my documentary. Later that night I was told by an athletic director that he's, "never seen so many people crying at the same time."

My spring 2009 semester of college has officially ended. I am in one piece, my family and friends are in good health, I got three A's and a B+, Sparkles is alive, I have new tires on my car and one amazing documentary under my belt. I couldn't have asked for a better semester.

Tim Tebow and I, Black Tie Benefit Dinner April 18 2009