Media City

I hate media mob scenes.  I'd much rather be off somewhere by myself, telling an interesting story.  When you are covering the Sandusky trial in Bellfonte, the media mob is a fact of life.  Get used to it.  It has to be done.

The only Pennsylvania media market NOT represented here is Erie.  CNN, CBS Radio and NBC all have a presence.  There was talk FOX invades Bellefonte when opening statements begin.

On stories like this, it is inevitable.  Someone inadvertently gets in your way, or vice versa.  Strangely enough, Monday morning was surprisingly calm and well organized.  The biggest nuisances were a chilly drizzle, a little satellite signal interference,  and an angry man walking around, looking for Nancy Grace.

I try to look on the bright side.  It's almost like a broadcasters' convention.  You check out the gear other stations work with.  You talk about your own.  The business is changing so rapidly, and you always find something you haven't seen before-- something you want your own station to buy.  CNN was really interested in a new thing we're using, and I'll blog about that one of these days.  I'm a geek, and I enjoy looking at the trucks, inside and out.

I wasn't the only one taking pictures here.  It seems like every member of the media, print and broadcast, on and off camera, were snapping off a few.  Some wound up on Tweets and blogs.  I assume the rest go in personal files somewhere.  My face wound up in more than a few photos.  No problem.  You don't see stuff like this every day.

I should explain the reason we had a banner over the windshield of one of our satellite trucks, pictured above.  Simple.  Sun shade.

Then, there are the people.  You reconnect with old friends, and make new ones.

I had a short chat with Kevin Flanagan from WTAJ, the CBS station in Altoona.  It is common for affiliates of the same network to pool resources and work together on big stories.  I spent a couple election nights with Kevin, in Philadelphia, back when I was with WYOU in the early 90's.  Nice guy back then.  Nice guy now.  It's good to see some things haven't changed.

There are a few people who work just down the street, who I haven't seen in a long time.  It was nice to reconnect, but it was brief.  There was a live hit every few minutes.  There was barely time to walk to the portable bathrooms and go over notes.

Tomorrow-- a new, yet familiar, friend.