Nothin' makes for great television like a good ol' fashioned election. And boy, Sacramento's got itself a doozy of a mayoral race. There aren't too many times in life when someone can ask you, with a straight face, if you voted for the bounty hunter, the basketball player, or the bearded lady. The crazy part is that those are only a few of the candidates.
As previously reported, former NBA star Kevin Johnson is among the dueling candidates.
Gosh that flyer looks familiar.
Our assignment for the massive election coverage was simple, though not without some time constraints. KJ was supposed to arrive to his election night party at 9, greet his supporters, give a quick speech, and boogie the night away. Our 10:00 lead story hit gave us little time to dilly-dally, so we were gonna have to crank out some quick b-roll of the arrival, a quick bite from the speech, and rock it on out.
9:00- No sign of the popular, if media shy, mayoral candidate. His people told my people (me) that he's running a little late, but would be there in the next half hour. Also, we were promised a 1-on-1 interview for the 10:30 hit. No problem, he's gotta make a fashionable entrance. Just to be safe, we decided to send back random shots of the party and a sound bite from that morning. Knowing KJ's less-than-punctual record, I figured we'd need a back-up plan or two.
9:30- All quiet on the KJ front. His supporters danced and cheered his name, yet he was unable to bare witness to the spectacle. I was starting to get a little nervous.
10:00- The show started, our live hit approached, and the podium stood empty, aside from a white balance-assisting sheet of paper.
The hit was lackluster, the b-roll lacked KJ, and the sound bite was dated. Indeed, not quite as planned. But hey, we were set up to cut into the show as soon as the man of the hour hit the stage! While that "guaranteed live interview" was starting to look doubtful, I remained in high spirits, knowing that he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like this to address the people of this city live on all four stations simultaneously. I mean, that's local politics gold!
10:30- Second live hit approached. No 1-on-1, no impassioned speech, no KJ.
Producers lost interest and dropped the second live hit. All our preparations, our blood, sweat and erratic emotional outbursts were for nothing. Even the band was packing up and leaving. Poles closed at 8! Party started at 7! Oh KJ, where are you!
11:00- The show ended, any prospect of a live cut-in is crushed, and I'm supposed to be on my way home to get a real dose of nightly news. Instead, I remained on the riser, camera ready to roll, unable to call it a night until the man of the hour(s) arrives.
My shift had come to an end, yet a beer (or perhaps some sort of juice box) was not yet in my hand, and I was starting to get cranky.
Then... just shy of 2 hours and 10 minutes late, the crowd starts cheering. Could it be? Is it really?
It was! KJ had arrived, and just in time to miss the evening news. He gave a "fired-up" speech to his rowdy supporters, thanking them for their hearty efforts and impressive canvasing.
On his way out the door, he was briefly cornered by a ravenous pack of media junkies, with a long drawn-out hunger of inquisitiveness.
In the time that we had been waiting, he says, he was getting his thoughts together, praying, and preparing his speech. He repeated his major talking points as responses to a barrage of questions, and left us with nothing more than perhaps a quick mention in the morning show. But hell, nightsiders don't care about the morning show. We care about our show. Our show...
And thus, the day left my plans beaten and berated. This whole journalism thing looks a whole lot different from the backside of a camera. Where's the glee... the whimsey that was promised by the movies of my childhood? You lied to me, Newsies!
(On an unrelated note, did you know Christian Bale was in Newsies? What a dork.)
Back to the election... None of the candidates crossed the 50% threshold. Therefore, KJ and current mayor Heather Fargo will partake in a run-off come November. Be sure to keep your waitin' shoes on.
Our assignment for the massive election coverage was simple, though not without some time constraints. KJ was supposed to arrive to his election night party at 9, greet his supporters, give a quick speech, and boogie the night away. Our 10:00 lead story hit gave us little time to dilly-dally, so we were gonna have to crank out some quick b-roll of the arrival, a quick bite from the speech, and rock it on out.
9:00- No sign of the popular, if media shy, mayoral candidate. His people told my people (me) that he's running a little late, but would be there in the next half hour. Also, we were promised a 1-on-1 interview for the 10:30 hit. No problem, he's gotta make a fashionable entrance. Just to be safe, we decided to send back random shots of the party and a sound bite from that morning. Knowing KJ's less-than-punctual record, I figured we'd need a back-up plan or two.
9:30- All quiet on the KJ front. His supporters danced and cheered his name, yet he was unable to bare witness to the spectacle. I was starting to get a little nervous.
10:00- The show started, our live hit approached, and the podium stood empty, aside from a white balance-assisting sheet of paper.
The hit was lackluster, the b-roll lacked KJ, and the sound bite was dated. Indeed, not quite as planned. But hey, we were set up to cut into the show as soon as the man of the hour hit the stage! While that "guaranteed live interview" was starting to look doubtful, I remained in high spirits, knowing that he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like this to address the people of this city live on all four stations simultaneously. I mean, that's local politics gold!10:30- Second live hit approached. No 1-on-1, no impassioned speech, no KJ.
Producers lost interest and dropped the second live hit. All our preparations, our blood, sweat and erratic emotional outbursts were for nothing. Even the band was packing up and leaving. Poles closed at 8! Party started at 7! Oh KJ, where are you!11:00- The show ended, any prospect of a live cut-in is crushed, and I'm supposed to be on my way home to get a real dose of nightly news. Instead, I remained on the riser, camera ready to roll, unable to call it a night until the man of the hour(s) arrives.
My shift had come to an end, yet a beer (or perhaps some sort of juice box) was not yet in my hand, and I was starting to get cranky.Then... just shy of 2 hours and 10 minutes late, the crowd starts cheering. Could it be? Is it really?
It was! KJ had arrived, and just in time to miss the evening news. He gave a "fired-up" speech to his rowdy supporters, thanking them for their hearty efforts and impressive canvasing.On his way out the door, he was briefly cornered by a ravenous pack of media junkies, with a long drawn-out hunger of inquisitiveness.
In the time that we had been waiting, he says, he was getting his thoughts together, praying, and preparing his speech. He repeated his major talking points as responses to a barrage of questions, and left us with nothing more than perhaps a quick mention in the morning show. But hell, nightsiders don't care about the morning show. We care about our show. Our show...
And thus, the day left my plans beaten and berated. This whole journalism thing looks a whole lot different from the backside of a camera. Where's the glee... the whimsey that was promised by the movies of my childhood? You lied to me, Newsies!
(On an unrelated note, did you know Christian Bale was in Newsies? What a dork.)
Back to the election... None of the candidates crossed the 50% threshold. Therefore, KJ and current mayor Heather Fargo will partake in a run-off come November. Be sure to keep your waitin' shoes on.
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