I wish my dad had lived to see this day. Edward Jan Collins was the child of Jewish parents who died in the Holocaust, the brother of siblings scattered by war, the father of children born in America to a better life. As we prepare to inaugurate a new President, our first African American President, he would have been amazed at how far this country has come. My father … Continue reading Patriotism
Ever since I traveled to Kampala, Uganda in 2006 I have wanted to tell the story about the village BeadforLife (http://beadforlife.org) was creating with its members. On our first visit we learned that affordable housing was a dream for the women who were trying to lift themselves out of extreme life crushing poverty. Almost all wished for a home that they would own rather than rent. They … Continue reading Friendship Village
I’m so glad we decided not to take that cruise over the holidays. I came back from Beijing feeling a bit flush after 90 straight days of producing at the Olympics. A Caribbean vacation sounded like a great way to spend winter break but my teenage son didn’t want to do anything that didn’t include his friends so we decided to celebrate at home. As I … Continue reading Economy Sucks Journal #1 12.17.08
My husband and I had a newspaper war. Our subscriptions to the local papers lapsed and I didn’t renew them. It was sort of an experiment to see if we would really miss not having the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News delivered to our home. Everything is available to us on line and I scan half a dozen news websites a day. Often by the … Continue reading Newspaper War
I first learned the layoffs had begun on Wednesday morning when I woke up. A friend posted a desperate cry that she was trying to stay sane after half of NBC’s network bureau was let go in Dallas. It was deja vu for me. I was downsized 10 years ago and I watched Facebook all day as people started changing their status and talking about getting their resumes together. One colleague is … Continue reading The New Face(book) of News
Brenda and I went to a restaurant with red lanterns in front that serves hot pot. A hot pot is like sukiyaki. It is a mish mash of meat, vegetables and noodles cooked at the table. There was no English spoken and the menu was completely in Chinese. For westerners there are pictures of the dishes. We had trouble ordering so a waitress recommended something that … Continue reading Hot Pot of Thoughts
I never met Tim Russert but I had a chance. And I passed. My friends at Linhart PR http://linhartpr.com had invited me to see him when he appeared before the Denver Press Club in April. I was pumped. Then on the day of the event a job came up for this freelance producer and I decided to take it. It seemed so important at the … Continue reading Missing Tim Russert
My ten year old son, Blair, wants to be the next Steven Spielberg or John Lasseter or George Lucas. He is already shooting short films, editing them on I-Movie, composing original music on his keyboard and posting his work on his website at YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/bewalt12345. The name of his company is Figure Productions. His motto is… you guessed it… Go Figure. Tonight he was rendering … Continue reading Future Filmmaker
As a journalist I find covering natural disasters to be amazing and inspiring. So many stories are revealed amidst the staggering force of earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes and wildfires. Even more awesome to witness is the force of the human spirit during such calamities. Natural disasters always bring out the best in people and communities. Despite devastation and personal tragedies, people rush to the aid … Continue reading Art’s Heart
Jubilation!! My first comment. I’m grinning from ear to ear. Someone read my article about favela tours and appreciated it. I tried to get my local newspaper to run this story but they passed. I contacted magazines and websites. Pass. Pass. I said what the hell. I’m starting a blog. I knew this was a good article that people would find interesting and someone read … Continue reading Friends and Favelas
Vicky Collins Online 