In The Zone

So, I've been working at the premiere television station in my area for nearly six months now, and I've realized that my experiences there have gone largely undocumented in that time. There are a number of reasons for this. First, my brother was in Iraq for most of that time and a lot of my online efforts were dealing with that. Second, not long after I started at KWQC there was an incident -- we now refer to it as "Bloggergate" -- where one employee ripped a co-worker a new asshole in a blog that was quickly exposed by other coworkers. Words were exchanged, feelings hurt, suspensions handed down, and MySpace was locked out of the stations computers. It was all so much junior high drama. Needless to say I want to avoid as much of that drama as I can. Third, there is some prestige that comes from working at a TV station, and much of that prestige would disappear if I were to expose too much of what goes on around the office. The truth is nothing about KWQCs behind-the-scenes action is really all that impressive. Their equipment is outdated, the staff is extremely cynical (I fit right in), and frankly I marvel at how good the on-air product is when I've seen all that I have these past few months.

However, some things do hold up. Ever since my glory days of playing football at Rocky, I've admired Dan Pearson and his brain-child The Highlight Zone. I always saw Dan as a stand-up guy, and now that I've gotten a chance to work with him I realize I may have actually underestimated his passion, his drive, and his involvement with the community. Since the moment I set foot in KWQC I wanted to be a part of The Highlight Zone, and thankfully come Friday night, I will be. When The Zone returns this week, I'll have a camera on my shoulder on the sidelines of many a local football game. In my life, this is as close to "a dream come true" as I've yet achieved. I know it's small potatos, but it is what it is.

So, if any of you friends happen to still attend your old high school football games, give me a shout and I'll see if I can get you on TV. Everybody likes to be on TV, right?