Across the street on television

When Mike asked me to post to the blog during his excursion to Scotland, he suggested I use this space to ruminate on my retirement from Channel 13. My contract actually ended at Midnight Sunday, so I’m just beginning to get used to not being a member of the working Houston media. The cliché is that all who work in the print and broadcast worlds are members of the Houston “Media Fraternity.” Actually, aside from the weekly paddling sessions that some of us choose not to attend, it’s not a fraternity at all. Or a sorority. It’s a group of people who work in a highly competitive industry all racing to see who can connect first and most effectively with readers, viewers or listeners. To that list I suppose we now add surfers.

The part that can be compared to a social club is the part where, after the information has been passed on to the masses, everyone gathers over drinks or food or poker chips to compare stories and curse the collective tyranny of big city media management. “(My boss said I could cover the Super Bowl, but I’d have to buy my own ticket!” “Well I worked on a story all day and it got killed for a police chase.)”

I bring this up because for the past few weeks, as I neared the date of my departure, I spent lots to time talking about the great people I’ve worked with for over 30 years at KTRK-TV. I’m asked “what’s Dave Ward really like?” or “Does Tom Koch ever sleep?” But, no-one asks about folks I’ve known and respected on other channels.

Consider for a moment: If you watch a live report from the newsroom of any local station, all of the television sets in the background will show programs from that station or its affiliated networks. It’s a rule you do not break. If Andy Cerota(13) were to appear at a desk in the newsroom with Dominique Sachse (2) on a screen behind him, someone would get yelled at. But, the truth is every station watches every other station every day all day long. Just because none of those screens behind Bill Balleza shows Isaih Carey, don’t assume that Channel 2 is not watching Channel 26. And 11 is watching 2. 13 is watching 26. 26 is watching 39, etc. Over the years, at home and at work, I’ve seen some great people on the screens of other stations.

Some of them are people I worked with at 13 who, for various reasons, went “across the street”. That’s broadcast jargon for “went to work for a competitor.” Alan Hemberger and Frank Billingsley are two prime examples. When I am with either of them we pick up where we left off on a conversation that started years ago when we worked together. Shern-Min Chow, Jeff McShan, Deborah Duncan, Vicente Arenas and others who helped make Channel 13 a powerhouse went across the street to Channel 11. There are others. People I’ve never worked with but I consider “colleagues.”

I’ve watched Phil Archer, Doug Miller, Randy Wallace, Mary Benton and dozens of others so many times that, even though I rarely see them in person, they still seem like close friends. That sensation is even greater when it involves weather people from other stations. I can swap stories with Dr. Frank, Cecilia Sinclair and Mario Gomez about negative feedback after a blown weekend forecast. Mike Iscovitz and David Paul and I share the experience of being asked about the weather wherever we go. It’s something weather people can relate to.

The fraternity extends well beyond Houston. While at 13 I met Geraldo Rivera, Jerry Springer and Hillary Duff. (Actually, they still seem like strangers). Charlie Gibson was pretty down to earth. Like anyone who was fortunate enough to meet Peter Jennings, I will never forget him.

Maybe if I’d stayed longer, I’d have met Bruce Tonioli. Or, my favorite network reporter, Miguel Marquez, who covered fires and trials from LA for CNN and is now at ABC. Maybe. Someday.

Ed Brandon