I was probably most excited about this destination. It was the very first on my calendar for the summer. Thanks to my childhood friend, Jenny Monroe, for giving us a tour of the station where she works as a Content Director. (Please pardon me, Jenny, if I don't get all the terminology correct on this blog.) One of my fondest memories from high school was when our youth group went on a Polaroid scavenger hunt. We had to find a celebrity. We decided to stop by one of the local news stations and ask if any of the anchors were still at work. Not only did the sports guy pose for a picture with us, but he took us onto the set for the picture. I will never forget it!
I was hoping to recreate this excitement for my children, and I think this day surpassed it! In the vicinity of the News9 station there must be dozens of antennae. That is what we first noticed. While waiting in the lobby, we admired the station's many awards it has one throughout the years, including what I believe was an Emmy, although the receptionist didn't know. We followed Jenny through the building to a room where all the reporters were busy at work. Here, we met Ed Murray, the morning and noon news anchor.
Kelly Ogle, award-winning evening news anchor, stopped to pose for a picture.
On our way in to see the set, we met Congresswoman Mary Fallin, our District 5 Representative to the U.S. Congress and a Gubernatorial Republican candidate for Oklahoma. She was kind enough to pose with the kids before she left.
The set was much smaller than I imagined, and all of it was on wheels so they can rearrange things as needed. Blue tape was all over the floor, marking where sets belong and where people should stand. This keeps them from having to reset lighting. There were four cameras in the room, including this jib, a boom device with a camera on the end which operates like a seesaw (Look, kids! A lever!)
The only thing C wanted to see at the station was the green screen. He looked like he had died and gone to heaven when he saw it. But that was nothing, compared to when the cameraman set it up so that he could try it out!
This shot says it all!
At this point in time, he hadn't even noticed the monitors on either side of him. He was so entranced with his image projected on the camera screen. The people in the control room were fabulous! They put images of different weather maps behind him, and they even placed him in other scenes, too, like the World Cup Soccer game, the Supreme Court Congressional Hearings, and Let's Make a Deal. C was dancing around, pointing at things. It was incredible!
And two pretty women helped him figure out how to point at the temps!
A says they were interns.
Now he's got it!
A BIG thanks to the cameraman and team who made my son's year!
We couldn't leave the weather center without saying hi to Gary England, the number one meteorologist in Oklahoma.
Finally, Jenny introduced us to Mason Dunn, pilot to SkyNews 9 HD, the station's helicopter. According to the News9 website, it is basically a flying news station. The camera has special gyro stabilization which records high definition images which are smooth and clear. It has its own private hanger just outside the newsroom so that pilot and helicopter can be in the air in a matter of minutes.
What an incredible experience! I know this will be among my top 5 memories of the summer of 2010!
A:
News9 was my favorite thing that we have done so far! It was so much fun! We got to meet some of the crew. We also got to meet Gary England, Kelly Ogle, and Ed Murray. While we were there, we also got to meet our Congresswoman that works in D.C. We got to take a picture with her. After that, we got to go to the newsroom. We got to see the green screen, all the cameras, the interview stations, the sports station, and the TV's the meteorologist uses to see himself. That was my favorite part of News9. After we went to the newsroom, we went to the control room. We got to see what they do. Then my mom's friend, Mrs. Monroe, said we should go aoutside and see the helicopter. When we went out there, we saw the cockpit and the sky camera and the place where the people in the back sit. I enjoyed my day at News9. It was so much fun!
News9 was my favorite thing that we have done so far! It was so much fun! We got to meet some of the crew. We also got to meet Gary England, Kelly Ogle, and Ed Murray. While we were there, we also got to meet our Congresswoman that works in D.C. We got to take a picture with her. After that, we got to go to the newsroom. We got to see the green screen, all the cameras, the interview stations, the sports station, and the TV's the meteorologist uses to see himself. That was my favorite part of News9. After we went to the newsroom, we went to the control room. We got to see what they do. Then my mom's friend, Mrs. Monroe, said we should go aoutside and see the helicopter. When we went out there, we saw the cockpit and the sky camera and the place where the people in the back sit. I enjoyed my day at News9. It was so much fun!
C:
News9 was a really cool place! There was cameras, green screens, wires above your head, wires below you. My mom wanted to see the control room. My sister just like being there because it was fun to her. I wanted to see the green screen. It was pretty cool! It changes pictures when the people press the buttons in the control room. I liked it when they put me on a soccer field. I pretended like I was playing soccer at the World Cup!
News9 was a really cool place! There was cameras, green screens, wires above your head, wires below you. My mom wanted to see the control room. My sister just like being there because it was fun to her. I wanted to see the green screen. It was pretty cool! It changes pictures when the people press the buttons in the control room. I liked it when they put me on a soccer field. I pretended like I was playing soccer at the World Cup!
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