The Cormac MacSweeney Blog - 660News Calgary

The last long weekend of the summer is upon us. For many this means it’s time to party one last time before everyone gets back to the daily grind with fall and winter approaching. Many people are heading out to B.C. to go camping or staying at home to just relax.

But what’s more frightening about this long weekend is … the return of the school year.

We try and block the upcoming chaos out of our minds but we can’t avoid Tuesday morning when we are scrambling to piece together a healthy lunch and making sure the kids bags are packed. There were a few parents who admitted to not having their kids properly prepared for the first day of school.

But there are many parents who have planned ahead. They tell me not only have they bought all the supplies their children need but also have their bags packed and waiting at the door. They don’t want any frantic running around on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Many parents I spoke to this morning say they are going to have some fun with the family in the mountains or have a couple of backyard barbeques before the stress begins. Two guys simply admitting they will be sipping a few cocktails before the weekend is up.

I guess my point is, have fun but be responsible … trust me it’s a good mix. Your child will appreciate having everything ready in advance and may actually learn to be prepared. at the same time everyone needs to relax, especially before things are going to get a lot more stressful.

So have a great long weekend and an easy first day back to school.

Tuesday and Wednesday this week the casting call for “Are You Smarter Than a Canadian 5th Grader?” came to Calgary. We won’t know until September how many (if any) children from Alberta will land a spot on the TV show and get a free ride to Toronto for the taping. Hundreds showed up for the audition, going through the rigorous Nintendo games room and watching previous episodes of the show.

The greatest part of this story is what I got to do…quiz people. Nothing shows the intelligence of the people in our city like a game show. I’m not saying that we are all dumb, I just love going out and finding people (like myself) who can’t answer questions that they probably could have in Grade 5.

So I created a 660 quiz with questions I knew the answers to but also received a set of sample questions from the producers. The answers to some of the questions should be common knowledge, so it’s always fun to hear people get them wrong.

Before you start getting angry at me for making fun of kids, I assure you these answers given were from adults only. I would never embarrass a 10 year old for forgetting what part of a plant carries nutrients and water from the roots to the other parts.

I was amazed when I asked some people around our station how many provinces and territories there are. Can you believe someone got it wrong? If they miscounted the territories because of the not-so-recent addition of Nunavut, I could understand…but this person claimed there were 9 provinces and 2 territories. I will keep their identity hidden so they won’t get red faced, but if you were listening at 5:30 Tuesday morning you’ll know who it is.

Here are some other gems. One of the parents I talked to couldn’t name our first Prime Minister, another thought the Edmonton Oilers have won the most Stanley Cups in NHL history and there were too many people who didn’t know who’s face is on our twenty dollar bill.

While these questions seem simple, don’t think the game show is going to be easy. Some of the sample questions I received include “the words, mine, yours and his are known as?”, “what is the name of a 5 line poem which varies in rhyme and line?” and “who governed the early Egypt civilization?”.

If you can answer those without looking it up, you have better Jeopardy skills than I do. Hopefully for the rest of us, when we see “Are You Smarter Than a Canadian 5th Grader” we will all be looking over our children’s text books.

Recently there has been some movement here at 660News, and I am involved. Before I get to myself, I would like to congratulate Melissa Ramsay, who has been hired as a full-time reporter/editor/anchor. Congratulations as well to our new morning show writer, Bryce Kelley, and our new overnight anchor, Wendy Mason.

As you may know when I am not filling in at the anchor, editor, business or traffic desk, I am the afternoon drive reporter…not anymore. I am proud to announce I have accepted a reporting position on the morning show here at 660News. Kevin Usselman and I will be tracking down the stories of the day and bringing you the news you can use.

I also have the privilege of working with a seasoned news team. Of course, we also have Kevin Usselman reporting on the shift with Ted Henley and Lynda Parcells at the controls at the anchor desk. David Spence, Dave Will and David Tait are all veterans of journalism in Calgary. Radana Suk and Bryce Kelley are the central nervous system, writing and organizing everything you hear on the air.

I will often be driving around the city talking to you about your views on the interesting stories of the day. You may see me at any popular coffee shop, leisure centre, gas station or LRT station. If you do notice the 660 mic flash, don’t be shy; walk over and talk to me. I don’t bite…hard.

Recently, a local business took out a full page ad in one of the newspapers calling for council to reopen the debate of putting “support our troops” decals on all city vehicles. 660News decided to hit the streets and talked to people about revisiting the issue. Practically all supported the idea of the decals with one man saying that the troops need all the support they can get.

It isn’t a surprise that this debate is getting rather passionate with those who say every city vehicle should have a yellow ribbon and others who maintain city vehicles are not billboards to promote a message not all Calgarians agree with.

But is the level of this controversy warranted? My girlfriend made a good point yesterday after hearing the story on the air. She asked why people are making such a big deal over stickers. She adds “if we really cared so much about our troops why aren’t we seeing people hold rallies about more important issues like the treatment of our veterans? I have only seen protests to pull our troops out of Afghanistan but no gathering to say ‘we appreciate what you’re doing in that country.’ Our troops are facing real dangers every day and I bet not even half of those who are screaming about stickers have called their MP’s to let them know what they want our troops doing next…whether that means staying in or out of Afghanistan or other volatile regions. Why don’t they take action that will have a real effect, rather than wasting time over decals while our troops are dying while proudly wearing the Canadian flag on their shoulder?”

It did make me think. If I had to prioritize the issues facing our troops, stickers are not at the top of the list, yet in Calgary it’s what’s getting all the press.

On the other hand these decals are a symbol. The yellow ribbons are a thank you to the men and women with the courage to represent our country and fight the battles to keep peace and stability in the planet we share with everyone else. Plus the decals provide money for the families of troops who are from our city.

But let’s not forget in this debate that the original deal to council didn’t include cash for military families. It was a simple donation for a yellow ribbon for every city vehicle. Council didn’t go with that but had a counter-proposal of selling the decals at city buildings and donating the money…but the business man with the offer didn’t like it and withdrew the sticker deal. He then decided council’s idea was commendable and gave the decals to the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre so they could sell them with all profits going to the right place.

Even the father of Calgary’s Nichola Goddard, who is the first female Canadian soldier to be killed in battle, told the Herald “It strikes me that 5,000 of those decals that people buy and put on their vehicles are a lot stronger statement than 5,000 put on buses or C-Trains.”

So whether it’s plastering your vehicle with decals or going straight to your MP with your concerns…what is the best way to show support for our troops? I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder.

On Monday I was working the afternoon drive shift as an anchor, filling in for Mark Strashok who had moved to the morning show to fill in for Ted Henley. This sort of thing happens a lot at our station. We have people who take vacations and our line up needs to be shuffled to fill in the spots.

It’s kind of like hockey. When a player gets injured a coach must figure out what moves are best to create an even, strong grouping for each line up. So I was moved to the anchors’ desk.

But I received a call from our business reporter David Tait around 4:30 Monday afternoon. He was sick, which means someone had to jump into the business seat for the morning shift.

What you may not realize is that there is specialized software we use at the business desk to get the numbers from Bay and Wall Streets as they move. Only a few people at our station know how to use this software which limits the options for business reporters. As you may have heard from the past two mornings … I am one of those with a working knowledge of the business desk.

The problem is, I had to show up to work at 4:00 a.m. and finish my shift early at 5:30 p.m. It’s not easy to go home and fall asleep in the early evening, especially when you are used to heading to bed shortly before midnight.

Needless to say I was rather groggy when I got to work and needed a few coffees to get myself perked up. I never fully appreciated sleep until I started working morning show shifts and getting up at ridiculous hours.

So when you wake up and hit the snooze button at 6:30 in the morning … make sure you enjoy every second of it … because you never know when that precious sleep can be taken from you.

Some of you may think our traffic reporters have it easy, they sit there in the traffic booth and yell into a microphone for one minute and every ten minutes about what’s happening on the roads. I guess you never can tell how tough it can be until you actually work a traffic shift.

One of my first jobs in radio was as a traffic reporter for our sister station 680News in Toronto. It was not easy. When I wasn’t going on the air with info that’s just seconds old, I was taking a look at the traffic cameras, taking tips from listeners, reading e-mailed traffic updates from the city, and making sure I have the proper sponsor to give credit to at the end of my report.

Our reporters don’t only do that, but also have to make sure Captain Kirk gets transferred over to our other Rogers stations for their traffic reports, (Lite 96, Jack FM and the Fan 960) and now, even updating the traffic section on 660News.com.

It definitely isn’t easy and it can be quite a juggling act just to get it on the air. Of course here at 660 News, professionals like Dave Will, Christina Rowsell, (she had a baby, in case you are wondering why you haven’t heard her in a while) Captain Kirk and Trace St. John make it sound like it’s no sweat.

One other thing you may not realize is that 660News doesn’t only have four or five traffic reporters; we have a million of them. Okay, that number may be exaggerated, but my point is clear. Every single person who calls in with a tip is a part of the wonderful traffic system we have that gets you from work to home, or home to work, with little hassle.

When you call in a tip, it may be a problem we didn’t know about, or you can provide crucial updates to current problems on the pavement. We rely on traffic tipsters to get us the latest info. YOU are as important as City Wide Towing or the Calgary Police Traffic Unit.

Sometimes there are serious crashes that have just happened or a major construction closure that the city failed to notify us about; in these cases we get the info on the air as soon as possible because of your help.

On the odd occasion, our reporters receive some nasty words from listeners. They will get callers saying, “Why didn’t you mention this? You ____.” To answer that question before it’s asked again, we simply didn’t know about it. If we don’t get the calls and the police don’t update us, we may not know it’s happening. Unfortunately, we can’t be everywhere, so the next time you are wondering why we aren’t mentioning a certain issue, call us and let us know what that problem is…there is no need to get grumpy.

One other thing that may need to be cleared up is collisions. If you see a serious crash and there may be injuries, don’t call us first. Above all, 660News promotes the safety of the residents in Calgary. So call 911 first if you see a crash. You would be surprised how many calls we receive of people saying a rollover just happened, but they haven’t bothered to call emergency crews yet.

If that was your son, daughter, brother, sister, mother or father in that car, you would definitely be calling police before a traffic tip line, so give the same respect to anyone else on the road…please.

You rely on us to get you the info you need on your drive to and from work and we rely on you to call us with tips when you see traffic issues. Our traffic reporters are the ears of what’s happening on the roads and make it sound good on the air, but you the listener are our eyes.

To put it best I will quote my friend and traffic reporter Trace St. John who wrote to me in an e-mail saying “traffic tipsters are all part of 660News’ battery of ‘1 Million traffic reporters’…but please don’t give ‘em any of my salary.”

On Wednesday I was called to go to a serious fire in the northwest. The blaze had engulfed three homes by the time I arrived and firefighters were having a tough time getting this two- alarm inferno under control. By the time the fire was out, three houses were destroyed, six houses suffered heat damage, and three families were left without their homes.

Many people believe the only ones in harm’s way in situations like this are the firefighters battling the blaze or those who may have been in the homes at the time. Some don’t realize though, that the media often places itself in a dangerous position so we can get you the story as it happens.

Whenever there is a fire, the public is kept back by emergency crews and police tape blocks away from the situation. That’s done for your safety. Not only is there an intense heat and flames shooting out, but there is always a thick smoke that blows through the neighbourhood filled with chemicals that are being burned off in the home. Trust me, there are a lot of bad things being burned that you DON’T want to breathe in.

But while the public is held back, the media are allowed to cross the yellow tape and get right next to the fire trucks as the blaze is being battled. My News Director always tells me “don’t take any chances, it’s better to be safe than sorry”. She is right. The first time I reported on a house fire I wasn’t prepared for what I would go through.

There was a thick white smoke that was blanketing the area and I was given a surgical mask by a firefighter to make sure I wouldn’t be breathing in the fumes. I would forget to put it back on after every live hit and ended up with a lot of bad smoke in my lungs. All night I was violently coughing as if I was a smoker for 60 years. I coughed so hard, I ruined my voice and could barely finish my shift the next day.

When I arrived at the house fire in Royal Oak this week, one of the first things I did was find a firefighter and get myself a mask. I have learned my lesson, but it appears many other journalists on scene have not. I was amazed to see some of my fellow reporters standing with me as clouds of smoke surrounded us. As I threw my mask on they stood there bare faced breathing in the chemicals from the vinyl siding, the tar paper, the paint, and all the plastics that filled the houses. Some were there for hours continuing this unhealthy practice.

If you ever become a reporter for a day or decide to take on a life of journalism I don’t advise you to take those chances. Even though I used a mask I still had the coughs when I was finished at the scene and when I got back to the newsroom, I stunk up the place with my house fire musk.

Although I like to bring you the best story possible, the Black Lung is not for me.

I got to work yesterday morning very pleased about the story I knew I was going to cover. The political scene was all the buzz for news junkies because Stephen Harper was doing the cabinet shuffle.

I walked into the newsroom with a big smile on my face because I love politics … but not everyone was excited as I was. One of my co-workers from one of the other Rogers radio stations cringed and made a vomiting sound effect when he heard about the story. This led me to wonder, does anyone care?

I decided to ask a few other people whether they were concerned with the fact that our cabinet ministers were playing musical chairs in the House of Commons. To my surprise, not many people outside of us news junkies in the building cared about the big story out of Ottawa.
No, this is not one of those stories that everyone in Calgary simply shrugs off. My mind was settled when I started to speak to some friends outside my work environment who recognized the significance of the changing of the guard at the cabinet posts. They felt a new line up changes the face of our current government.

I don’t kid myself in thinking that everyone in this country has a deep interest in politics like I do, but when big things happen in the political world it does have an effect on our lives, and these are things we should probably pay attention to.

Political scientists and the leaders of the opposition say the moves made yesterday could change relations between the government and aboriginals after Calgary’s Jim Prentice was moved out of the Indian Affairs portfolio. Many experts argue Prentice has done a brilliant job in Indian Affairs and taking him out may that relationship on the rocks.

With Gordon O’Connor moving out and Peter McKay moving into the Defense portfolio, we also may see a shift in our mission in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister has made it clear he wants to stay in the country until it’s believed the Afghan people can police and defend themselves … but then again, mission accomplished or not, our troops may be home as planned in 2009.

These are just two examples of how the moves on Parliament Hill may have a direct impact on us. I’m sure there may be a different face on other portfolios that made a switch, like Industry, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs.

This is why I feel passionately about politics. Whether you like it or not, those politicians and the decisions they make have an effect on everyone in our country. So for me, unlike others, it’s simply hard to ignore.

One of the toughest things about my job is a news scrum. For those of you who don’t know what a scrum is, it’s when a pack of journalists swarm an individual of interest shoving their mics and cameras in that persons face. You tend to see them when police are updating the media on the latest homicide, when lawyers praise or bash a judge’s decision, or when the mayor is talking about city council plans.

A scrum is a lot tougher than you think. Reporters do not cordially approach the person we need to interrogate, especially not when we are in large crowds. The bigger the scrum, the bigger the story, and the tougher it is to get tape. It can be an all out shoving match at times, not unlike a small mosh pit.

The whole point of a scrum is to get the best audio/video tape, while throwing as many questions at the person of interest as possible before they walk away or their handlers step in. If your microphone is too far away, your story can be ruined with bad tape or you may not record anything or even hear what this person said. It’s everyone for themselves, with the main goal to get the story and get it right, or face the wrath of the News Director (my boss).

Many scrums are easy and small with little problems but the others can be vicious. The worst scrum I have been in was at the PC leadership convention in Edmonton, when Tories chose the replacement for former premier Ralph Klein. There were journalists from not only across the province, but the whole nation. There were at least 20 different reporters scrambling to get their mics in each scrum around the likes of Ted Morton, Jim Dinning and of course Ed Stelmach. People were shoving each other, stretching out their arms while practically diving over others, cameramen were poking people and getting upset with reporters who got in the way of their shot, and some even taped their mics to cut off hockey sticks and held them over the heads of the other journalists just to get their tape.

It wasn’t pretty. Many people up front had to plant their feet and hold back others who were trying to squeeze through, those in the middle were having trouble breathing because they were squished from all sides, and some at the back of the bunch were giving up and walking away because there was no chance they could get their audio … let alone hear what was going on.

A scrum is all about position; the closer you are the easier you have it. So needless to say when a reporter has a good spot, they hold their ground. Not every scrum is as tough as the PC leadership race, but most seem to have the same problems with a little bit less shoving.

A news scrum is a necessity of my job. Reporters who can’t handle it lose out, and no station wants a journalist who can’t get the tape they need for a story. It’s a tough reality of “the biz” but it’s one you have to deal with and learn how to get your mic in there no mater what.

Some may call it desperation at its finest, with others calling it a sport, but I call it an art form with a lot of carnage left in its wake.

Facebook truly is an amazing thing. I know it’s merely the latest edition of social networking websites, but it goes beyond just talking with the friends you already have. I, like many others, have been able to find friends who I haven’t seen or talked to since grade 3. Those kids who used to beat you up for your lunch money can now chat with you and maybe set up a get together for some beers…hopefully not stealing your beer money or stiffing you with the beer bill.

Not only do you have the option of searching for people that went to the same school as you when you were still trying to figure out what 7 x 13 equals, but you can also join groups with a common interest. You’ve probably already figured out where this is heading.

Yes, there is a 660 News Facebook group. I should know, I started it a few months ago. At the moment there are 42 members with some of them being my co-workers. We also have many fans of the station who have made their way to the group and have joined in on our discussion topics.

This gives you the listener yet another chance to take a peek inside the newsroom, but with the group you can also voice (type) your opinion on the news of the day. It also give me a chance to connect with you on a more personal level…and let’s face it, connecting with the listeners is what it’s all about. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on what we’re doing as a station and maybe even what you think of this blog.

So whether you want to check out some photos of our station, or just discuss the latest move from city hall or the legislature, stop by the 660News Facebook group and say hello.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Cormac