Dog on The Blog

Woof! Woof! Our "Dog on the Blog" today is Zeke! He's a senior dog who is an 8 year old Lab mix. He's a kind dog who could use a good home!

Please adopt a shelter animal! Don't forget about the kittys! Keep on Bloggin'! Dawn

Bruce's Trivia: Sunday, June 29th

Sunday Show Promo

Bruce's Trivia: Saturday, June 28th

Esperanza means hope!

We all know how expensive college is today. When I went to Ohio University, I remember worrying every year whether I would have the money I needed, since I was paying for school myself. It was so stressful, so I can only imagine what it is like for students today. But for 39 Esperanza College Scholarship recipients, some of that worry is now lessened.

I was honored to be the emcee at Esperanza's Fiesta of Hope Scholarship Luncheon at Windows on the River Friday afternoon. There were 39 students and 44 scholarships given out, some students received two scholarships for their hard work. Esperanza started back in 1983 as an advocacy group for Latino students, back then one scholarship was given out. Over the years, the non profit group has awarded 500 scholarships!

This group of students was very impressive. They had a combined gpa of 3.4, they were student leaders at their schools and involved in community service. In all thanks to the corporate community and individual donors about $40,000 in scholarships were awarded yesterday. I was there to see the proud families and inspiring young people. What struck me was that without family support, this couldn't be possible. Young people need the help from their loved ones, pastors, teachers and greater community. It was clear they have it! Very impressive.

Esperanza's work is so important, when you look at the numbers. In Ohio, according to Education Week, only 48% of Latino students graduate from high school. These students I met yesterday are setting an example for everyone.

One of those students is Awilda-Ivette Santiago. She graduated from Strongsville High School. She will go to Ashland College in the fall to study business. Her proud mother took this picture of us. Way to go Awilda!

I also met Alicia Gonzalez, who graduated from John Hay's Early College High School. She will go to Ohio State to study nursing.

Good luck to all the recipients, and don't forget your hometown, Cleveland!

Congratulations Matt and Danielle!

The Weekend Morning Show crew wants to send out a big congratulations to our Director Matt Babb and his wife, Danielle. They welcomed their first child, a beautiful baby girl yesterday evening.

Mackenzie Grace Babb was born at 6:24 p.m. on 6/24. New dad Matt says she is perfect! Here's a picture he sent us.



He'll be off the next couple of weeks to take care of his new baby girl.

Congratulations Babbs!

Eyes of the Intern

Tuesday, June 24 -- 2:15 p.m.

Good afternoon everyone! This is the intern Lauren. The other interns and I just got finished making an anchor audition tape. There are 5 of us. We each got the opportunity to sit in the studio, read the scripts off the teleprompter and have it recorded onto a DVD to show a potential employer. It was pretty neat. It went very well, and everyone did a great job. We shot some behind the scenes footage with a little digital camera, and we want to share them with you! They will be on the site shortly!

Live Web Chats Will Continue

With the success of the first two weeks of live web chats on the Weekend Morning Show blog, we have decided that we will keep them up and running during the show for the foreseeable future.

Viewers seem to enjoy the contact that the live web chats offer and have also seemed to enjoy the live streaming camera in the studio so that you can always see what is going on.

In the coming weeks, we will be adding some audio to the live streaming camera so that Jeff and Kim can communicate with the audience at home. There will be more movement on the live streaming camera so that you can see even more of what is going on in studio, and as always there will be lots of behind the scenes video that you can only see here on the blog.

Be sure to bookmark the "Weekend Morning Show" blog here on WKYC.com, check back frequently, and tell your friends what they've been missing out on.

Bruce's Trivia: Sunday June 22nd

Boy Scout Saturday

Starr Sightings: Inside Studio A - "Saturday, June 21st"

Hope you are having a great weekend! It's beautiful outside. Inside today, we had another great morning show. We missed Kim because she is off today, but we had some fun. Jeff needed her for the trivia answer! She may have to participate in our live webchat from home to help us with Bruce's trivia questions!

We had quite a few visitors in and out of the studio today. It's always fun to have people come in and experience news from a perspective they don't get to see at home.

Our live webchat continued today. Also, we continued to have live feed from our studio camera online so that everyone at home can see what happens in the studio. Let us know what you think about these features and let us know what else you'd like to see. Email us at weekendmorningshow@wkyc.com.

Stay tuned,

Jess Starr
jstarr@wkyc.com

Your Questions Answered

Question from Angie in Fairlawn:
Can you tell me how I can share my comments
on something that I see on the blog?

Answer:
Thanks for the question Angie. There is a very easy way to share your comments with us. At the bottom of each post that you see on the blog you can click on the portion of the post where it says "Comments" (next to the red arrow in the example below) and share your thoughts. Your comments with then be attached to that specific blog post for all to see. Thanks for taking an interest in our blog.

CLICK HERE to submit your question

Our debut live web chat was a success. I hope you had a chance to log on and chat it up with Kim, Jeff, Bruce and the rest of our crew this past weekend.

If you didn't however, you will have plenty of chances. We are planning on keeping the live chat up and running during the weekend morning show for the foreseeable future. We also plan to keep up the live studio camera stream so you can keep your eyes on what's going on behind the scenes.

If you have any questions or comments about our live web chat, live studio stream, or whatever... feel free to email them to us at weekendmorningshow@wkyc.com

Woof, Woof! Time for "Dog on the Blog"!

Today we have Sasha! She is a 3 year old Australian/Shepard mix. She is a smart dog who rides well in a car. She is quiet, but would do well in a home with older children.

You can call today to set up an appointment to see Sasha at (216)525-4827. Please adopt a shelter animal today!


Don't forget that kitty cats need homes too!

Happy Father's Day Dad!
Keep on Bloggin'!
Dawn

Starr Sightings: Inside Studio A - "Day 2"

Another successful day for our new live webchat! It's day 2 and I really enjoy this feature. Yesterday was busy in Studio A and I didn't get to chat much but I had a little more time to follow along today. Thanks to all who joined in the chat! I think Bruce, Jeff and Kim are really having fun with it, and I know the crew is. Looking forward to next weekend. Hope you'll join us then!

Happy Father's Day to all including my dad, Mike, and my grandfather, Carl.

Stay tuned,

Jess Starr
jstarr@wkyc.com

Sunday 15th Show Promo

Starr Sightings: Inside Studio A - "Bianca"

As promised awhile back... here are a few pictures of my puppy, Bianca. She is a teacup Pomeranian, chocolate in color. She has white markings on her chest and toes. She is the sweetest, happiest dog I've ever met. I love her!






Here she is! All 4 1/2 pounds of her. She won't get any bigger. In this picture, she is in the car with me.




Bianca in her yellow polka dot bikini. Before you comment... just know she actually likes it! Look at her posing. She loves to hang out by the pool and on the boat with me. :)





Stay tuned (I may post more),

Jess Starr
jstarr@wkyc.com

Starr Sightings: Inside Studio A - "Live Webchat"

Today we did our first live webchat on the weekend morning show. I didn't get to post much because it was a busy show in the studio... but what a great thing to have. I love seeing viewer responses come up on the screen as things are happening on the show.

I call my part of the blog "Starr Sightings: Inside Studio A" but now you can see inside the studio for yourself! The crew set up a bump shot of the studio so you can watch what happens during the show. You can see Jeff, Kim and Bruce do what they do best. You can also see me running around getting the sets ready and interacting with the anchors. You may not need my part of the blog anymore because now you can watch inside the studio each weekend. But I'll keep on blogging and fill you in on what you can't hear!

I only lost Jeff once today, which isn't bad for a hectic Saturday! However, he walked through the chroma key again. It was funny, though! Other than that, I think Jeff was at his desk a lot because he was chatting with everyone. This could work to my advantage.

Stay tuned,
Jess Starr

jstarr@wkyc.com

Eyes of the Intern

Saturday, June 21--12:15 p.m.

I just got done uploading all the videos from today's show. They're under "Boy Scout Saturday." If you watch the videos, you'll understand why. There were boy scouts all over this place this morning! They were very good during the newscast. They were taking tours of the news room. They looked like they were really enjoying themselves.

This morning was pretty busy, but not as hectic as last Saturday. Matt wasn't here today, so I was running to get the guests on my own. I shot the videos in between getting the guests into the studio. I was logged onto the Live WebChat this morning also for a little. My Live WebChat screen name is InternLauren. We only had 12 chatters this morning, which isn't much compared to last Saturday. I think we had around 40 chatters last Saturday. Make sure you log onto www.wkyc.com to chat with us on Saturday mornings during the Weekend Morning Show. We would love to talk to you! Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend! Talk to you next Saturday!

-Lauren



Saturday, June 14-- 11:15 a.m.

Hey everyone, it's the intern Lauren. This morning was a crazy crazy morning! I'm worn out from running back and forth between Studio A, Studio B and the green room to get the guests. We had the most guests on the show this morning that we've had on a morning show since I've been here. Matt and I were constantly running out of the control room to help the guests in some way. I would go to Studio B and check on those guests while Matt would run into Studio A and check on those guests. Caitlin and Dawn were hard at work in the control room the entire time. It was such a chaotic morning here, but I think Caitlin did a nice job of trying to keep the show go smoothly.


Here's a little bit of what we had to do this morning:

We had to put our first guests in Studio B because it's much bigger than Studio A and can fit more people. These guests were presented checks on our show this morning. They received around $500,000 total to go towards their charities. It was really a great part of the show. There was a lot of emotion in the room and everyone was so happy. Then, we had a doctor on the show. Next was the band, Fab Faux. If you look at the videos on our blog, you can see the band members joining in on a live chat on our website! Viewers and people from the station were logged onto the live chat and were able to talk to them through that. We ended the show with chocolate covered strawberries and strawberry shortcake. Once the show was over, we were eating all the sweets in the news room. My favorite was the chocolate covered strawberries. :) Talk to you next Saturday!

Webchatting: Day 1

Here a couple of video from behind the scenes of Day 1 of webchatting here on the Weekend Morning Show Blog. Did you enjoy the webchat and the live behind the scenes camera. Send your comments to weekendmorningshow@wkyc.com (you can read the entire chat below on the blog if you're interested)

In this video... you can see Director Matt webchatting in the back of the control room just as the chat launched, welcoming our web chatters.



Next is Director Matt Babb, who was not directing today, getting producer Caitlin Kollar up to speed on the webchatting. It's very difficult to do all of this while keeping a smooth show moving on the air, but we seem to have pulled it off.



So Kim, how did Webchatting: Day 1 go for you today?



Finally, you can see the guys from "Fab Faux" webchatting with some of the folks at home after their appearance on the show.




All in all, I would say that we are very pleased with our first attempt at a live webchat, so we'll try it again tomorrow. Please check back with us Sunday at 8:45 or so as we do Webchatting: Day 2 from the WKYC studios.

When there are more guests than people in the newsroom!

It was a great concept, Dworken & Bernstein presented four checks adding up to nearly $500,000 to four local charities. It was all supposed to be a surprise, so we had to try to keep the groups away from the TV, so they wouldn't hear any of our stories about it before.

The real issue was how many people we had!! When you have more than one interview guest and huge cardboard checks to hand to the groups it gets complicated. It all worked just fine, but leading up to it...I was nervous.

In the end, what was great was that Clothe-a-Child, St. Herman's Hunger Center, DARE and Coats for Kids each received over $100,000 dollars each. This all came from unclaimed class action lawsuit awards....the groups said they can do so much good in our community with that money. It was wonderful to be part of it.

Here is some behind the scenes footage of the group getting set up in Studio B and after they received their checks.

For more information, go to...
http://www.dworken-bernstein.com/
http://www.dare.com
http://www.clothe-a-child.org/
http://www.coats-for-kids.org/

Crazy Big Fun on the "Big Fun Show" today!

Wow! It was a jam packed show today with some great interviews and some BIG Checks for charity! We had some fun with the Fab Faux! Live at Parade the Circle.

Did I mention I was driving the bus today? Yah, Matt coordinated a lot of the guests and lended a hand getting the live chat going. Oh by the way, he was under the news desk at one point hooking Jeff up to do the Live Chat! Jess asked if I could see Matt in our Jib shot, I said no, not really knowing what Matt was doing! Way to go Matt!

As far as driving the bus...All I was looking for was hitting my sound on tapes right and getting off the air on time! It takes a village to get the bus running. Raleigh, our cameraman was a great deal of help when I was marking our format. Also, Jerry, our signal acquisition man was running around helping everyone! Let's not forget Jose, who had my back in the audio booth! We'll do it again tomorrow!

Keep on Bloggin'!
Dawn

Bruce's Trivia: Saturday, June 14th

"Smoke on the water"

I am actually happy it's raining this morning. I have things to do on "Adagio".
For some reason the early part of every summer season revolves around boat "chores". Until we leave on our long voyage in July, it seems every Saturday morning you can find me on my hands and knees trying to fix, improve, clean or polish something on our boat. In fact, I purchased special knee pads because every job seems to require more than a little genuflection.
At home, except for taking out the garbage and kitty litter, I try to avoid as many nasty maintenance issues as possible. But on the boat, I find that I don't think twice about cleaning or repairing anything.
If the head (toilet) on a boat needs work, I have no qualms about twisting my body into circus like contortions and then squeezing my six foot frame into the very small space that requires attention. One little known boating law of physics mandates that the more delicate the repair, the smaller the available space one has to complete said task.
Later today I will also be doing electrical work adding an automatic charging relay (ACR) device to the boat's battery system. The ACR is used in marine electrical systems when there are two batteries and only one source of charging current.
Of course, I have absolutely no experience or education in doing this kind of job. That won't stop me from trying. Oh no!!
Over the years I attempted plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and fiberglass repairs on my boats armed with not much more than anecdotal information, company supplied warning labels, and a sense of humor. I haven't suffered any permanent injury nor have I done any real harm to the boat. Ok, there have been more than a few tense moments and my language does tend to get a bit crusty as things don't go according to plan.
Self sufficiency is a real virtue for sailors. When things break on the ship far from home port it is important to figure a way to "fix" the problem without outside expert intervention. It's good to know how things work by getting your hands dirty before the emergency pops up. That's the rationale I use for almost every job onboard my boat.
Unfortunately, the learning curve is oddly shaped for me. I am one of those liberal arts guys with no shop or mechanical experience. A power drill is truly a dangerous implement in my hands. Not so much for physical harm, but more because I like to eyeball things and then fire away. "Measure twice and cut once", they say on the television home repair show. Ha. Not me. And I have the oddly spaced proof (now covered with slightly larger faceplates) to show for my efforts.
Rest assured that I will try to make sure every possible power source is turned off as I begin my electrical surgery later today. As Dirty Harry Callahan said, "a man's got to know his limitations". Some frazzled guy with electrical burns also said, "nothing ventured - nothing gained".
Few things are as sweet as that feeling of accomplishment after finishing a complicated task that you are totally unqualified to undertake. Of course, it's even sweeter after the smoke clears.
-Capt. Michael O'
s/v "Adagio"

(Update - with assistance of fellow 423 sailor Rick Knapp all went well. No trauma, no flame, no blood and everything seems to be working)

Show Promo: Saturday, June 14th

Join us for a live webchat starting at 9am!

Today the Weekend Morning Show Blog will launch its latest feature, a live webchat with the cast and crew of the show.

Starting at 8:45 a.m. and running through 11:00 a.m. the crew that brings you the weekend morning show will chat live before, during (as much as we can while keeping a clean show on the air) and after your weekend morning newscast.

Comment immediately, play along with Bruce's Trivia question, and get instant feedback from the staff including Jeff, Kim, and Bruce as well as the producer Caitlin and the director Matt.

Don't forget to join us for the first ever live webchat today beginning at 8:45 a.m. right here on the Weekend Morning Show Blog.

So this is how people spend their weekends!

The best part of having a weekend off was being able to sleep in! Instead of waking up at 4 AM and trying not to wake the family, I slept in until 10! What I really enjoyed was being able to walk to our favorite neighborhood and have breakfast with my guys. Saturday is game day at our house. 9 year old Terry plays kid pitch baseball this summer. He had been in a hitting slump lately, so he was thrilled to get a RBI. He even got the game ball. Unfortunately, his team the Dodgers lost to the Reds. I can't say I'm too worried about their record, I just want them to have fun.

Sunday, it was another late morning. Once we finally got up and around, we decided to go for a hike at North Chagrin Reservation in Mayfield Heights. The kids wore their bathing suits because there is a creek they love to play in. They spent hours moving rocks around, so the water would move faster and splashing each other and us. We even saw a Blue Heron dive down and spear a fish. The kids loved seeing it eat the fish!

Once we got home and realized how hot the house was, the kids played in the sprinkler most of the day. We have a century home, so we don't have AC. I love our house, but on these hot days it is brutal. Our big weekend adventure ended with the kids having a "camp out" in my 3 year old's room. As you might expect, it was very late before they settled down to go to sleep. Eventhough, they bicker like most siblings, seeing them in their sleeping bags on the floor after reading and talking until the wee hours..is so precious. Now, back to the real world! I'll be back up at 4AM this Saturday. See you then! Kim

Behind The Scenes: Indians On Deck

In addition to bringing you all of the various newscasts and programming we put on here at Channel 3, we also are the home of SportsTime Ohio, and bring you all sorts of programming for STO as well.

Well, this weekend, like many weekends, the same crew that would normally bring you the weekend morning show at 9am and the noon news on Channel 3 just so happens to be the very same crew that brought you today's "Indians On Deck" pre-game show. We literally move one control room over, and we're now the production crew for SportsTime Ohio's show. It's fun to be able to mix in these types of shows with all of the news coverage that we do. It's a nice change of pace for the crew.

Anyhow, more video on the control room side of things later, but for now, here are a couple of behind the scenes looks for you from inside Studio B where the set for the "On-Deck" show lives.

Below is floor director Jess Starr talking with host Al Pawlowski as he gets mic'd up and ready for the show...



Below is our camera man Jerry getting the camera shots set up on Al...