The Power of Words

As a writer I’m impressed by how powerful words can be.  As a producer I’m awed by the power of images to tell stories.  This little video about how words evoke compassion left me speechless and a bit teary eyed too. For more information on Vicky Collins visit Teletrends Television Production and Development. Continue reading The Power of Words

Prostitution in Perspective

When I was a senior at St. Andrew’s Priory in Honolulu I was selected by my high school government class to spend a week at the Hawaii state capitol observing the legislature. My assignment was to select one bill under consideration, research it and follow it through the session. I chose the effort to legalize prostitution. At the time, Hawaii had a very active sex … Continue reading Prostitution in Perspective

Points from Poynter

As a young television producer working at KRON TV in San Francisco I had the opportunity to attend a weeklong seminar at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.  It was one of the first times I was able to explore my craft with other like minded professionals and learn from some of the best in the business.  Among them was Rod Prince, one of … Continue reading Points from Poynter

New Face of Homelessness aka Economy Sucks Journal #2 2.7.09

Darlene and Jacob.  Teddy.  Craig and Margie.  All are the new faces of poverty.  Six months ago each had jobs, homes and middle class incomes to support themselves and their families.  Now two families are homeless and the other teeters on the brink.  Their falls have been fast and hard.  Darlene has a college degree and worked in the mortgage industry until October.  Her husband … Continue reading New Face of Homelessness aka Economy Sucks Journal #2 2.7.09

Economy Sucks Journal #1 12.17.08

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

The New Face(book) of News

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

Joe the Plumber

I watched the final Presidential debate last night and the discussion about Joe the Plumber.  Joe is a plumber from Toledo, Ohio who challenged Barack Obama because his taxes would go up if he bought his bosses business.  Since the business makes over $250,000 a year his taxes would rise from 36% to 39% under Obama’s plan.  On the surface it seems like a blow to small business … Continue reading Joe the Plumber

A Hunger to Help

These are uncertain times. The economy is a wreck. Need is escalating throughout the world as prices rise for food and oil. Natural disasters in China and Myanmar are overwhelming and tragic. Huge NGOs like Worldvision http://www.worldvision.org and Care http://www.care.org are pleading for donations as they rush in to help. The work to do is so enormous. Can we possibly make a difference when the … Continue reading A Hunger to Help