Tracking Noel

Once again a reminder just how long Hurricane season is. After a pretty quiet season, Tropical Storm Noel is putting everyone on edge. Even though all the forecast tracks show the storm staying over the Bahamas… that huge mass of color on the satellite is disconcerting! As you can imagine it is the big story of the day. Here’s some of the coverage you can expect on South Florida Nightly News at 7PM on NBC6:

Chief Meteorologist Paul Deanno will have the latest forecast tracks and advisories… including what we can expect for Halloween tomorrow night.

Hank Tester is braving the strong winds that are battering South Florida Beaches… and are making a lot of surfers Happy.

Amara Sohn is travelling to the Bahamas, where the islands are bracing for Noel.

Everyone Loves A Hometown Boy

I go on vacation, and come back to a Tropical Storm. That’s the way it works in news. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a news junkie. I travel to other cities, and turn on their newscasts to see what they’re like. And that’s what happened this weekend. I was in D.C. visiting friends, and the weather guy casually mentioned Tropical Storm Noel in one sentence of the forecast. Why do they care about a storm, when they’ve got freeze warnings? But of course, this Miami girl perked up… and I knew what Monday’s lead was, before it even got here.

Storms that hit the caribbean are extremely relevant to our extremely diverse population… so we’re going to continue to keep an eye on the storm as it makes it way. Looks like it’s going to be a wet Halloween.

But my favorite story of the day– after all the weather coverage– has to be homeboy Mike Lowell being named World Series MVP. He was a Marlins and South Florida favorite… and even though he’s in BeanTown now… his family, friends, and Miami fans are still rooting for him. Hank Tester interviewed his dad and people at his high school… just an all around feel good story.

We’ll be back tomorrow… with more news… see ya then.

Gloomy Day… but it’s Friday!

I don’t know about you but the rain seems to make the day go by that much slower, and a little more difficult to get through. It was cloudy outside but clear in our morning meeting everyone was feeling that way… and was happy it was Friday. A lot of people had trouble getting into work on rain slicked roads… and once everyone was there we all spent a good amount of time chatting about some of the stories over the past 24 hours: How cute the little boy struck by a stray bullet in Miami was, and how disconcerting it was that he was talking about what happened to him like a 25 year old, instead of a 5 year old; All the questions surrounding a police involved in shooting in North Miami (Hetal Gandhi is following up on this today); How long was the rain going to last? I know we need it… but come on!; And how funny Jennifer Gray’s oversized cowboy hat looked as she covered fanstasy fest in Key West. Our white story board looked pretty empty this morning but it’s full now. Here’s some of what we’re working on for South Florida Nightly News at 7PM:

Rain rain go away:

But it doesn’t look like it will any time soon. Chief Meteorologist Paul Deanno will have the details.

Big weekend:
From the world’s biggest boat show to Fantasy Fest: the funnest Halloween party in the country, we’ll show you where pretty much everyone will be this weekend. Sharon Lawson and Jennifer Gray have us covered.

Busy as Usual

It’s already shaping up to be a busy day of news here in the NBC6 newsroom. Normally this is a welcome situation to be in. As the Assistant News Director at NBC 6, and a news junky, my feeling is always the more news the better… but with several reporters, photographers and a writer out sick.. it poses an interesting challenge of how to cover it all. Somehow our assignment desk figures it out and manages to do it! Here’s just some of what we’re working on for South Florida Nightly News at 7PM:

Silent Killer?

Two young men have been found dead inside a home in Southwest Miami Dade… and police say carbon monoxide poisoning may be to blame.

Superbug Worries

Today we’re finding out another person, this time in Broward County, may have the MRSA bacteria. Health Connection reporter Diana Gonzalez will also take us inside the command center that’s answering your questions about MRSA.

Fashion Fabulous

We’re going one on one with Badgley Mischka, desingers to the stars… but now you can buy their clothes too. Find out how in our Ocean Drive Magazine on Scene segment.

SuperBug, Super Shuttle, Super Busy

We have two dry erase boards in our meeting room… one of them is used to list all the reporters and story assignments, and up until recently, the second board has been blank. Lately we’ve taken turn writing funny quotes people say up on that board… but yesterday, our news director wrote a quote that ended up becoming the theme of the day.

“Journalism is faith that the truth will change the world.”

We spent Monday chasing down a bug. But not just any bug. a SUPERbug. If you haven’t been watching the news lately, then you probably don’t know what we’re talking about… but it’s the latest health scare in our community that has everyone washing their hands and being extra careful. We have several reporters covering all angles of this story… so stay tuned.

It’s only Tuesday… but it feels like much later in the week. It’s the last weeks before November Sweeps, so it feels like everyone is on their much-needed vacations before we all have to buckle down.

Discipline Debate
It’s the story of the month… the one that won’t go away. We’ve been getting lots of emails about this one… DeMarco Morgan will have the update.

Shuttle Launch
Everyone loves a shuttle launch. It’s the kind of event that reminds you of being a little kid, and being in awe of spaceships and astronauts. And even though we cover these all the time, I can’t help but hold my breath and watch in amazement everytime another spaceship launches. We’ll have a live report from Cape Canaveral tonight.

We Didn’t Start The Fire
Florida has hurricanes, the Midwest has tornadoes, California has wildfires. It’s scary out there. Hundreds of thousands of people are being evacuated, and the state is just burning. Joel Connable will give us the latest numbers and facts tonight at 7pm.

Where’s Our Producer?

That’s how the morning editorial began. With the combination of vacations, sick days, and people attending out-of-town conferences… there was only one producer in the building for a moment. A bit daunting, but we pulled off the day. We went from a bare-bones morning editorial, to a standing-room only afternoon meeting…. one that started out as focused and serious… and ended with the sharing of funny stories and commentary.

Today we’re dealing with more drug store robberies, raising our eyebrows at pre-teens who know too much, and shaking our heads at poor, poor Britney. (of course, she’s back in the news)

Twister Touchdown
“It was straight out of Wizard of Oz… I was looking for the striped socks.” That was our managing editor describing the video out of Pensacola after a tornado hit the area. Sharon Lawson will have a wrap-up of the damage, and Jennifer Gray will break down the science of it.

Pre-Teen Birth Control
When you were in the 6th grade… what did you know about the birds and the bees? Other than the snickering in the back of the class while you learned about the reproductive system… what did you truly know? Seems some students in Maine know a LOT more than they should… so the school board has voted to make birth control available at middle school health care centers.
We want to know what you think… email your thoughts to interactive@nbc6.net

Halloween Hotspots
We’re only a few days away… do you have your costume? Do you even still dress up? We’ll tell you where you can get last minute costumes… and show you the Halloween Hotspots in tonight’s Ocean Drive segment.

Brit’s Babies
Not only has she lost custody of her children, but now she can’t even visit them. A judge pulled those rights from her until she complies with a court order. No word yet on what the court order is.

Everyday’s A Birthday

It seems like there’s always cake in the newsroom. Or sweets. There’s always a birthday, or someone going away. Sometimes its treats delivered to us by a new business in town, or leftovers from ‘South Florida Today.’ We’ve had everything from shrimp kabobs and filet mignon, to fruit arrangements and smoothie samples. Not the best place to diet.

Today it was cake. Absolutely, positively, the sweetest cake I’ve ever had. The birthday was someone at the assignment desk, and the cake is a Salvadorian specialty. It’s basically hardened merengue, smothered in merengue, and coated with a pink sugary liquid. Delicious, although I will admit I had a gallon of water to go along with it.

So what does cake have to do with the newscast tonight? Probably nothing… but free food gets people talking.

One of the sad stories we’re covering today …. a 35 yr old soldier and mother is killed in Iraq…. just two days before returning home. Gray Hall will have more tonight at 7pm.

Tom Llamas continues reporting from Tally on the Special Session on property taxes…..

… and have you heard? IKEA is finally open. Balloons, clowns, stilt-walkers and free giveaways marked the opening of the first IKEA in Florida. The first woman to walk in the doors of the 293,000 square foot warehouse said she felt “like a princess.” That’s what all the hype will do to you.

News With A Side Of Guac

Today’s lunch theme was Mexican. Several people in the newsroom ordered On The Border to-go… and it all ended up being brought into the meeting. Just imagine tortilla chips and guacamole to go along with all the news discussions we had.

But of course, the moment we walked out of our almost-hour long meeting… things got flip-flopped and the producers are currently re-structuring what goes where.

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find tonight at 7pm…

Walk Against Crime
Cutler Ridge residents along with Miami-Dade Police officers will be walking tonight with candles… to honor fallen Officer Jose Somohano and help raise money for his children. The event starts at 7pm… look for Sharon Lawson’s report.

Anna Nicole
Just when you think it’s over… it’s not. Warrants are issued in connection with Anna Nicole’s death… and authorities are stepping up the investigation. Details tonight…

Gastronomic
It’s always fun when the ‘fun’ stories of the day make it from the morning meeting all the way to your television. Hank Tester is having the most fun of the day… visiting gas stations that double as restaurants.

It’s Friday!

There’s something about Fridays. You walk into the newsroom, and it just *feels* like Friday. For some reason, there are people missing, and the people who are left… are laidback and ready to start their weekend.

With that said… some things for tonight Oct. 11th…

Gas-tronomic
I hate putting gas in my car. I hate the entire process… driving up… making a line during peak hours, and then the smell. I just hate it. But maybe I wouldn’t hate the experience so much if I went to one of the several gas stations in South Florida that also offer fine dining. Hank Tester is out on this story today….

Some Tidbits…

The President is in South Florida…

The story on the Boot Camp Beating Death in the FL panhandle is back… a jury begins deliberations today in the trial of the 7 guards charged.

Chopper 6 was just over Elliott Key where several Cubans have arrived…

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize… but do you think he deserves it? E-mail us your thoughts interactive@nbc6.net

Bring On The B’s

More on Thursday night’s mix…

Bagging the Baggy
Every generation has a fad that’s deemed offensive by the older generation. The city of Opa-locka now wants to ban baggy pants on city property. What did you wear that made your parents mad? Was it hot pants? bell bottoms? piercings? E-mail us interactive@nbc6.net

Britney’s Baggage
Another perk of working at a TV station… we all have TV’s on our desk that at any point of the day can have channels with satellite feeds from all the world and U.S. Sometimes it’s Cuba TV, sometimes it’s ESPN… today it was a live feed from L.A. and the Britney drama. She asked a judge for a last minute hearing to ask for more time with her kids, but then didn’t show up in court. Mention her name in an editorial meeting, and sometimes there just isn’t anything left to say. What’s going on with her?

Busybody
Regardless of popular opinion, news people actually *do* enjoy reporting on good news. Tonight we’re doing just that. Elliott Knofsky McCarthy, a high school senior at the New World School of the Arts, will be honored by President Bush tomorrow for his volunteer work in the community. I couldn’t even begin to list to you all the different things he does because frankly, it would put us all to shame. You can hear from Elliott tonight at 7pm… and then tomorrow look out for his meeting with the President right here in South Florida.