A soldier's return to squalor

NIGHTLY NEWS

I got to go to Fort Bragg and interview the Brigadier General Arthur M. Bartell. I've never felt so much pressure and stress. While touring the barracks and interviewing the soliders I had an audience of 20+ soliders. Disecting everything I said. Talk about pressure. To make matters worse I was under a tight deadline. After the shoot I had to haul back to Raleigh to feed the tape. Fort Bragg is almost 2 hours away! I left the base around 4pm. I clocked myself going around 90mph...kept reminding myself if I got pulled over it would be the end of the piece! Finally rolled into NBC 17 around 5:40. Was only able to feed in one soundbyte from BG Bartell. I felt bad that we didnt get to show that the repairs had been made to the barracks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24512102/
April 30: When Sgt. Jeff Frawley returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan to deplorable living conditions in the Fort Bragg, N.C., barracks, his outraged father went public with the story. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

AMF

WEEKEND TODAY SHOW
This was a sad story with a postive ending. David Fajgenbaum is an amazing person! I hope he continues to inspire!
Student helps others dealing with loss

April 19: When this college freshman's mother was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to help others by forming a support group for students dealing with the illness or loss of a loved one.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/2421366324213663

That day the weather was quite gloomy that day. While we were interviewing one of the students the sun finally peeked through the clouds. I looked up and felt like David's mom, Anne Marie was smiling upon us. I was inspired to take this photo and had it framed. Its now hangs in my dining room and reminds me how precious life can be and now matter what bad comes in your direction, something good can always come from it.

Only in TV..

Do I get to wake up at 4am and hang out with John and Elizabeth Edwards. I got to their house around 5:30am...I can only dream to have a home like that someday! Elizabeth was so friendly and so down to earth. She was cracking jokes at 6am and even gave us a tour of some of the house. They have an amazing fireplace with stonework that can be seen on the other side in the restroom. Right before she went on air John Edwards came out and sipped on OJ. He even introduced himself! These people are cool. I even played with their 3 dogs.

Here's a link to the story.


Elizabeth Edwards one-on-one
April 2: The wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards challenges John McCain's heath care plan in an interview with NBC's Meredith Vieira.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23914511#23914511

When the media...cover the media.

I worked for Fox News Channel covering this gruesome story in Jacksonville, NC.

http://www.jdnews.com/articles/laurean_54356___article.html/lauterbach_brown.html

The creepy part was when they found the suspects car less than 2 miles from my house. I spoke to the Sheriff and its quite possible that while I was driving down to cover the story, he was probably heading to Morrisville to dump his truck. We may have passed each other on the road.



While covering the story I made the cover of the local paper. See the red hat in the center of the photo? That's me.

JDNEWS.COM

It was so cold on this story that we all had to load up on new gear at Walmart and The Gap. I ended up buying 3 new hats and kept them in a rotation. Everyone kept wondering what hat I'd be wearing that day.

And so it begins..

When Tigers Attack

The day after Christmas I officially began my new life as a freelance news producer. I had no idea what to expect. I was praying for the best, but wasn't expecting to get a job until 2008. I had told David I may not get any work for the first few months. It was a total leap of faith to go freelance and I feel lucky that I was able to do it.

Around 6pm I got a call on my cell phone. It was a 212 number. My heart stopped. It was from NBC in NY! I thought to myself..wait a second, my last day at the station was just yesterday and I'm already getting a call!? How could this be?

It was the Today Show calling to see if I could be in Columbia, SC for a Today Show live shot. Who was I to turn down my first official gig as a freelancer! I packed an overnight back and headed South.

I got to the hotel around midnight. I met the crew at the Zoo around 5:30am. We were interviewing Satch Krantz, chairman of the National Association of Zoos and Aquariums. He was a guest along with the family who lost their son in a tiger attack at the San Diego Zoo.

Here's the link to the story:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22407114

And so it begins. Just two days after leaving my job at WRAL TV I landed my first freelance gig. I got to see an old friend Jim Knowles who runs the Atlanta Bureau's satellite truck. We compared stories and ran over the list of folks we know. I also got to meet some freelancers: Jimmy and Ian. They work for the Go To Team. That's a production company that covers stories along the East Coast. Jimmy was kind enough to pass my name along to his company for work!

I'm just getting started on this next adventure and chapter in my life...and so far I'm sure glad I did!