kplcgmblog

Wildmon (AFR) vs NBC

2005-12-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

Today NBC stations around the country received "sprayed" @mails initiated by Tupelo businessman Donald Wildmon, chairman of the American Family Radio (AFR) group and his lobbying organization, American Family Association (AFA).

Along with actions taken or considered against Ford, American Girl, Readers' Digest and Kraft, Mr. Wildmon is asking his listeners and @mail subscribers to protest the upcoming NBC program "Book of Daniel." All @mails received by KPLC contain similar wording per the letter-writing campaign directive.

The AFA website is excerpted below as a service to our viewers, including solicitations for donations and planned giving to the organization, and links to its merchandise Superstore. Some of the @mails which have been sent to KPLC following AFA's directive come from persons inside the KPLC viewing area, others from outside the local viewing area. All letters are being read and forwarded to NBC, a link to this note sent via return @mail, and the original notes also sent to our public file.

As with all programming on KPLC, we will evaluate content and specific viewer feedback as the programs air. We also encourage parents and guardians to exercise their responsibilities as caretakers to determine what programs are appropriate for viewing in their own homes.

Thanks and regards,
Jim Serra
KPLC VP & General Manager

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FIRE: California School Curtails Christian Students' First Amendment Rights A spokesman for the advocacy group known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education says California State University at San Bernardino is discriminating against a Christian student group in a way that has become all too common on college campuses across the United States. – Read Details December 27, 2005 Louisville researchers make adult stem cell breakthrough ... Bill to found national umbilical cord blood bank passes ... Illinois pharmacists sue state for requiring they dispense 'morning-after' pill ... AFA of PA wants Duquesne to rethink permitting campus Gay-Straight Alliance ... Denver's mayor wants churches to help end homelessness ... Author points to women of the Bible as beacons of inspiration ... Ministry reports broken barriers, bridges built, thanks to post-tsunami outreach – Read Details Canada New Destination of Choice for Pedophiles? The Canadian Supreme Court ruling that redefined obscenity for that nation and legalized group-sex clubs, combined with Canada's unusually low age of consent –- 14 –- will result in an influx of pedophiles to America's neighbor to the north, contends a former consultant to the U.S. Justice Department. Elsewhere on the Web. State's Rejection of 'Left-Leaning' Textbook Not Censorship, Says Attorney A constitutional attorney is hailing a recent decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Texas high school student and the author of a science textbook that some conservatives says is riddled with errors. – Read Details Study: Group Seeks to Add One-Million Students to Homeschool Roles Idea calls for current home schooling families to serve as mentors to new ones. Elsewhere on the Web. Top Stories of 2005: UMC Court Deals Multiple Blows to Homosexual Agenda in the Church In early November, the United Methodist Church's highest court handed down a defeat to homosexual activists in the denomination yesterday. The court reinstated a conservative Virginia clergyman who had been suspended without pay for denying church membership to an unrepentant homosexual. – Read Details Top Stories of 2005: American Family Association Ends Nine-Year Disney Boycott The Mississippi-based American Family Association announced in May the end of its years-long protest against the Walt Disney Company. For nine years, the pro-family organization had urged its supporters to avoid anything Disney. – Read Details Illinois Abortions Reach 31 Year Low, Continue Strong Decline The number of abortions in Illinois has reached a 31 year low and continues to decline steadily. The latest figures from the state health department show 41,577 abortions in 2004, a two percent decrease from the 42,228 that were done in 2003. Elsewhere on the Web. Top Stories of 2005: Michigan Pro-Life Measure Would Offer Women an Informed 'Choice' In early June, a pro-life lawmaker in Michigan said anyone who says they are "pro-choice" ought to have no problem with his bill that would require abortion providers to give women the opportunity to view ultrasound images of their babies. – Read Details
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Top Stories of 2005: Judge Overturns Supermajority Vote Favoring Transfer of Memorial Cross to Feds The legal battle over a war memorial, a 43-foot cross, and the surrounding land began in 1989 -- and despite an overwhelming vote on a ballot measure in July, the matter was still not settled by early September. – Read Details Top Stories of 2005: Christian Doctor Has Doubts About Study Indicating Ritalin-Cancer Link A pediatrician in Illinois stated in the summer that he was a bit skeptical of a small Texas study reporting a higher risk of cancer from Ritalin. Dr. Nick Yates contended there are a number of problems with the researchers' methods and further investigation is warranted. – Read Details
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Is It Happy Holidays, X-Mas, or Merry Christmas??

2005-12-14T02:24:00.000-05:00

Note: This was submitted by Bee LeDoux of Sulphur. -JimS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does it matter what we say at this time of the year? Does it matter how we spell Christmas?

Holiday in the dictionary means a religious festival, holy day. So, if they tell us Happy Holiday, I know they are wishing me a Happy Holy Day Celebration.

A few years ago someone remarked to me about people using X-mas instead of Christmas. When we wish someone Merry Christmas, you are wishing them a season full of fun, laughter, lively, cheerful, joyfulness with a celebration or festival in Christ's honor. The X in Greek means Christ. But, people who use X-Mas are not necessarily omitting Christ out of their celebrations. The dictionary defines X as a person or thing unknown or unrevealed, in other words, Christ has not been revealed to them.

The dictionary says a nativity is the conditions accompanying birth.

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and His names shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

We should allow Christ's Spirit to be born and grow in our hearts.

Luke 2:8-10
And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the angel said unto them , "Fear Not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

Luke 2:20
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

As the shepherds did, let us keep watching, listening, following, worshiping and praising Jesus Christ.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish , but have everlasting life.

2 Corthinians 9:15
Thanks are unto God for His unspeakable gift.

Let us accept and be thankful for God's gift, because He loved us.

Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying all power is given unto Me in heaven and earth. Go, ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

Matthew 28:20
And, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Like the host of angels, proclaiming the good news, let us spread the Gospel of Christ.

Matthew 2:2
Saying, where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen the star in the east, and are come to worship Him.

As the star shown so brightly, that the wise men followed it. Allow Christ to shine so brightly in our hearts that others would want to follow Him too.
God allow His Son to be humbled, to start life in a barn, to experience our pain, frustration and disappointments, not just so that He would understand what we felt, but so that we would know----BE REALLY SURE---- that He understands us.

Yes, Lord make our hearts a nativity that Christ in all His glory be magnified there.

When someone tells me Happy Holiday, I will tell them what I have always said, "MERRY CHRISTMAS".

Choo Rouge

2005-12-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

My friend Robert Ryder might as well be a poster child for Southwest Louisiana.

He's never so much at home as when he's got his cammo gear on, guns in the rack of his oversized pickup. He looks like SWLA. He sounds like SWLA. He married over his head just like most guys around here, myself included. He's the most unpretentious person I know. When he's not shooting whatever's in season, he's an accomplished entrepreneur with real estate holdings throughout Southwest Louisiana.

Oh, and when he's not doing that, I should mention that he's a seasoned 747 pilot who has logged more international flight hours for United Airlines than the rest of us have logged in the driver's seat of our own cars. Before he flew for United, he flew for Eastern. Talk about turbulence.

Robert's a poker buddy of mine and he's never without an opinion. When a guy has those kind of credentials, you tend to listen to him. So when he called me up and went into a rant, I asked him to put it in writing.

What follows is my edited version of Robert's harrangue, mostly so it won't melt your computer. After watching yesterday's news story about the inmates at the Calcasieu Parish Jail getting $2,oo0 in FEMA money (which was turned back by prison officials), I thought it an appropriate time to share Robert's rant with you. Anecdotal evidence tells me many of you will agree with him. Whether you agree or disagree with him, feel free to post a response. Just keep it civil. This is a family blog, after all.

-Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My wife thinks I'm an angry person.

Maybe it's because I've had two pensions legally stolen from me in one lifetime. Perhaps it's because I've watched the pure debauchery of greed take down two strong and wonderful companies, sanctioned by the government and the federal courts.

Just because I go to work everyday, earn money, pay taxes, pay Social Security (since I was 12), pay for insurance (since I was 16), I don't qualify for FEMA payments. They wouldn't even pay for my chainsaw to remove the trees which destroyed my property when Rita blew through here.

Now the irony of this is that if I had not worked all my life and paid taxes, I would be eligible to receive benefits. "Their" benefits, the FEMA guy told me, not my benefits.

But FEMA did offer me a heck of a deal. They offered to loan me money at 4% interest. Let's make this clear. That's the money I've been paying in taxes that they are willing to loan back to me at 4% interest. They didn't seem interested in compensating my wife Stephanie and me for the hours we wasted jumping through their hoops to apply for the Rita aid that we were ultimately denied because we are both gainfully employed.

Ok, so maybe she's right. Maybe I am a little angry.

I was in Shanghai, China a couple of weeks ago, watching CNN International. Lo and behold, they showed a story about a family from New Orleans. They've been living in New York City for two and a half months. The most expensive city in America. If you've ever stayed at a NYC hotel, you know what those rooms cost. FEMA's been footing the bill. In this story, the mother was meeting with FEMA muckitymucks to determine what more they could do for her, her husband and her kids. Neither she nor her husband were employed, nor are they doing any work now in exchange for these benefits. She told the FEMA muckitymucks they were bad people.

So FEMA agreed to pay for another month in the NYC hotel.

Let's review. My wife and I both work and pay taxes, Social Security and insurance. The government sanctions the theft of my two pensions (Eastern and United), and now they can't even cough up enough money for a chainsaw. They'd be happy to loan my own hard-earned money back to me at 4% interest. Yet they can put people who don't work up in an expensive New York City hotel for over three months.

Angry?? Listen, I've got a big-time case of the choo-rouge. That's French for...well, you know.

I wonder what Americans did back in the 1700's and 1800's when the storms and earthquakes came. Did those countrymen hold out their hands with an angry countenance and seethe about our government? I don't think so. Did our government back a truck up with cash to those who had never earned it? I don't think so. Maybe...just maybe...our citizens and our government went to work rebuilding with what God gave them; their gifts, talent, brawn and brains.

John F. Kennedy said it best. "Ask not what your Country can do for you, but what you can do for your Country."

Somewhere along the line, we seem to have lost our way. We have before us a system which institutionally punishes those who contribute to our nation's vitality, and rewards those who don't. In pilots' terms, we've charted a course right into the side of a mountain. FEMA's already commandeered this disaster, and the courts are flying right seat.

We're all passengers on this flight, and it's time we rise up to regain control before it's too late.

-Robert Ryder
December 2005

A Clear and Present Danger

2005-12-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

I read an article last night about a study done by a university professor in New Zealand. His findings appeared in a specialist journal called Injury Prevention. The study drew a parallel between the body count from international terrorism and deaths from road accidents in developed nations.

He pointed out that in 2001, as many people died every 26 days on U.S. roads as died in the terrorist attacks on 9-11. He says that the body count on the roads of developed economies overall is 390 times that from terrorist acts. In his summary, he suggested that governments be aware of these figures when allocating resources to preventing these two avoidable causes of mortality.

The story hit home for me because earlier in the day I had been driving back from Jennings on I-10. Cruising in the right lane at the speed limit, I was approaching an 18-wheeler which was driving below the speed limit in the left (passing) lane. As I was about a couple car-lengths behind it, a brand-new '06 Honda Civic with dealer tags zoomed up in the left lane and cut....not in front of me...but right into me. I swerved and honked, which would normally have sent any sane driver back into his lane. But, he kept on coming at me, insisting on driving in the same space in which I was driving.

I must confess that given the fact that I was driving my venerable old 1987 Volvo and he was driving a shiny new Civic, for a fleeting nanosecond I was tempted to let him go ahead and try to accomplish that impossible feat. But, of course, you can't fight stupidity with stupidity and so I continued swerving onto the shoulder so that he wouldn't hit me and cause an accident which would no doubt draw other innocent drivers into the wreck this moron was about to cause.

In the past few days, I've been witness to other acts of Road Idiocy. All were purely the result of aggressive driving, inattention, improper vehicle operation, excess testosterone, not driving to road or weather conditions, or retaliation by an enraged driver who had responded stupidly to other stupid drivers.

I especially worry about drivers who run stop signs and red lights. Increasingly, I've seen such occurrences not just when the light is "pink" (about to change), but when it is firmly red. It would be easy to chalk it all off to driver inattention, but in at least two cases, I've paused at an intersection when I saw a car coming that didn't look like it had any intention of stopping, and the driver zoomed through the intersection with his/her eyes glued on the road ahead. They knew darned well what they were doing and did it anyway. Bottom line is...I never trust stop signs or traffic signals anymore. If I'm approaching an intersection, I'll slow down until I'm convinced no one is gonna broadside me.

Cars entering highways are another pet peeve of mine. The proper way to enter a highway is to use your turn signal, gain cruising speed on the entrance ramp, yield to vehicles on the roadway, and merge safely with traffic. Unfortunately, that's not the way it's done in the land of pickup trucks and SUV's. Here entering a highway seems to be a test of wills, a measure of virility, and an ever-present invitation to disaster.

Add alcohol, and you've got the perfect recipe for hometown terrorism at the hands of our own neighbors. KPLC's covered way too many accidents over the course of the years which have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people and destroyed families, right here in SWLA. In almost every case, you can't really call it an accident. It was caused by some nut holding the steering wheel.

The problem seems to get worse during the holidays. Maybe that's because this time of year which is supposed to be a season of joy has also become a season of stress for many people.
Now, no one who reads this blog is part of the problem. We are all thoughtful, caring, giving, attentive and intelligent people. So while you and I can't do anything about idiots like my friend driving that new Civic or that long-haul driver going 50 in the passing lane, there are ways to make sure we and the loved ones who ride with us in our cars and trucks don't have to be scraped off of I-10 or Ryan Street with a shovel.

Drive defensively this holiday season and always. Pay attention to the traffic around you. Assume that someone's going to run that stop sign or traffic signal in front of you (broadside accidents are far more common than head-ons, and highly likely to cause injury or death). Watch for lane-switchers and morons entering highways. Try not to drive in packs...keep an appropriate distance between you and other vehicles when feasible.

Of course, make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled in. Use children's seats when appropriate, and when you do, secure them along with your child according to your child's height and weight. and for God's sake, don't drink and drive. By the way, if you are the type who routinely speeds through residential areas where kids play, I suspect there's a special place in hell just for you.

So as our nation's leaders grapple with the real problem of preventing more acts of terrorism, let's each pledge to begin preventing the even more real and present danger that faces each of us every day.

The definition of a crazy person is one who repeatedly does things the same way and expects a different result. If we don't do something to solve the growing crisis on SWLA's streets and highways, we're going to continue seeing our families, friends and neighbors die needlessly at the hands of the roadway terrorists in our midst.

It's beginning to look...

2005-11-29T15:13:00.000-05:00

The holidays seem to bring out the comedian in everyone in an especially festive way. Here are a couple of things I received from friends this week.

The pictures below are of a Christmas display at the Lakeside Mall in New Orleans. Funny! Thanks to my neighbors Mary and Mike McNulty for sending me these. My favorite is the pumping station. : )

And, click here for a home Christmas display you should most certainly be glad is NOT across the street from you!

The Serra Christmas Tree is up. The Nativity Scene is in front of the mantle. This weekend I wrestle with the outdoor lights (unlike the aforementioned McNultys who were the neighborhood showoffs by getting their beautiful outdoor lights up early).

Hope your Christmas shopping is going well, and remember...BUY LOCALLY, ESPECIALLY THIS YEAR!

Best,
Jim

A Souffle, or Something Like It

2005-11-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

Proud Papa:

I'm always proud of my daughter Jennie. She's smart, beautiful, witty, a dandy cook, and makes great choices.

In addition, she has some traits she did not get from my wife Debbie. She can be hard-headed and obstinate. That she gets strictly from me.

Jen's a grad student at LSU. She's majoring in secondary math education with an emphasis on gifted and talented students. I'm especially proud that she is pursuing a career which is so critical to our nation's future.

She passed both of us up on the math front a long time ago. Once when she was in middle school and furrowing her brow over a math homework problem, I asked if I could help. She looked at me as if I had asked if she'd like to jump out of an airplane with an anvil strapped to her back instead of a parachute. Oh well.

Of the many things in which Deb and I take great pride in our daughter, two that we value the most are her sense of empathy and her emphasis on independent critical thinking. On the other hand, we have always sniffed at Jen's paucity of written words. We both love to paint pictures with words. Our Spawn the Math Major has always approached written words as if they were dollars to be spent on an electric bill. The fewer the better.

This weekend Jen and her boyfriend John (see above reference to making great choices) are here for Thanksgiving. Jen brought with her an essay she intends to submit to National Public Radio for consideration.

Wow. Maybe she's our kid after all. I thought she wrote a brilliant essay and asked if I could share her first draft with you as a "guest blog." This time, perhaps to make up for those missed math-help opportunities, she said yes. Since she had not yet titled it, I'm calling it "A Souffle, or Something Like It." -Jim

Annually, my father writes a list of things he “strongly suspects” as opposed to a list of beliefs. He feels that, although many of them stay the same, he can not necessarily call them beliefs because they change subtly year to year based on his experiences and own introspection. He’s pretty much leaving his options open.

I completely agree with him. My view on almost every issue, whether it be education, abortion, religion, or what to wear to that party on Friday, changes as I hear different perspectives or receive new information on the topic. Since there is not a series entitled “This I strongly suspect” I will present my list of strong suspicions to you here on This I Believe.

Fallen Souffle- For full disclosure, I am not a chef. I love cooking and have made souffles before, but in no way am an expert on the subject.

Everyone knows that souffles fall. If you don’t fold the egg white in perfectly, if you don’t cook it the right amount of time, if you look at it wrong, it might fall. That lovely dish over which you have so carefully toiled can, at any moment fall right in front of your eyes. But, all of the ingredients are still there. If you eat the fallen souffle, it may not be like eating a cloud, but it will still taste wonderful. You cannot pump air into it and make it what it was, but you can make it into something that is just as good if not better by changing it subtly or adding a couple new ingredients.

Living in South Louisiana over the past months has kind of been like living in a fallen souffle. I grew up in Rita-stricken Calcasieu Parish and now reside in Baton Rouge, an hour up the road from New Orleans. I know many people who have lost their houses, their belongings, their loved ones, and all of the ingredients that made up their pre-hurricane life. They worked for years to build up their lives only to see much of it destroyed in a matter of hours.

The once colorful bustling streets of New Orleans are now lined with boarded windows and unbelievably large piles of trash and debris. The coastal towns of Cameron Parish in Southwest Louisiana are now only distinguishable by the piers that once supported houses and now stick out of the ground like used candles on a half-eaten birthday cake. Although it is heartbreaking to see the physical and emotional toll these hurricanes have taken on everyone impacted, it is now, of course, time to move on and rebuild.

Your souffle has fallen, but your guests are eagerly awaiting a meal to satisfy their grumbling stomachs. So, you run around the kitchen awhile, see what tools and ingredients you have to work with, and in a relatively small amount of time you present a dish which resembles your original souffle. No, it’s not exactly what it was before, but it will be quite tasty and your guests will enjoy it.

Just because a souffle falls, it does not mean that the ingredients are gone. You may not be able to see the egg whites, but they are still there. Similarly, just because the hurricanes may have taken away a house or a loved one, it does not mean that they did not exist. The fall of a souffle cannot take away the flavor of the dish, and winds and water cannot chase away the memories of people and places.

There’s no denying it: The hurricane-affected areas will not be exactly what they were before. But the job now is to take what ingredients are still there, possibly add some more, and make something out of them.

-Jennifer Serra
November 2005

Thanks.

2005-11-23T17:46:00.000-05:00

And so we arrive at the holiday set aside to give thanks for the blessings of the previous year.

Some years are just easier than others.

So many Louisianians find themselves displaced, many permanently. Others mourn the loss of loved ones to two hurricanes which battered the state's coastline this year. No deaths were directly attributable to Rita, but as we have reported, a disproportionate number of people have died from illnesses and other factors in her wake.

For many Southwest Louisianians, life is starting to get back to normal. For others who took more severe wind and flooding damage, things are a long way from normal. Deb and I drove through Cameron Parish last weekend. Add us to the list of folks who say the pictures and television video don't do justice to the level of damage SWLA's coastal parish suffered. Here are a couple of websites which offer a vivid reminder. This shows before and after aeriel views. This one is the excellent personal blogsite of Rusty Surette, morning anchor at KBTV in Beaumont. Many of you remember Rusty from his days at KVHP here in Lake Charles.

In the end, it's up to each of us to take stock of that for which we are individually thankful. Everyone has their own way of dealing (or not) with life's challenges. How does one square natural or manmade tragedies with the concept of a benevolent universe and loving Maker?
Perhaps to the guy with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. But my own route to coming up with a workable operating system of reality has led to the most basic of a journalist's tools, the keyboard on which I am currently typing.

Each year, I sit down and hammer out what I call my "Strongly Suspect" list. I write out a list of the things I really believe. More correctly, they are things I strongly suspect. Many of them have not changed over the years, but others have. I reserve the right to change my mind on any of these in the future, so I generally avoid using the "B" word.

Why do I do this? Well, tell me what a person believes (or strongly suspects) and I'll give you a pretty accurate description of how that person acts...and reacts. No better place to start than a little self-knowledge. It's a sobering exercise to stare your beliefs in the face. It's even more sobering to be honest with yourself as to where those beliefs really came from, and how many of those have morphed over the course of your life.

One of the things I've come to most strongly suspect over my 51 or so years is that nothing...absolutely nothing...happens by accident. As I look back over the fabric of my life so far, I've come to realize that the things I thought of as the worst possible scenarios actually cleared the way for what I consider the very best parts of my life. From this perch, none of it seems to have happened purely by accident.

In fact, viewed from the perspective of the rear-view mirror, not all those things I considered "bad" weren't quite so bad, and not all the things I considered "good" were quite so good.
Now I find myself being far less judgmental as to whether things I experience are "good" or "bad." I have more of a tendency now to simply ponder how I am supposed to react to those things which I experience. By the way, I've noticed that as people age, they tend to become either more judgmental or more philosophical than they were when they were younger. I'm now mostly on the "P" side of the Myers-Briggs Personality Profile.

So I can't explain why seemingly bad things happen to good people. But I can accept the words of Shakespeare's Hamlet. "There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Things happen for a reason.

I strongly suspect that each of us is dealt (at the highest levels of our being with our knowledge and complicity) challenges which are ours to handle, and for which we are equipped to respond individually and collectively in accordance with the terms of free will. Those challenges, including hurricanes Katrina and Rita, are not roadblocks on our lifepath. They are our lifepath. Our challenge, our goal, is to plan for and respond to them at the highest levels of our ability for the good of those around us.

What better opportunity to apply the Golden Rule? "Love others as you would love yourself."
So in spite of what we've all been through, I find myself saying a quiet prayer of thanks this day for the challenges now set before us. May we use them to express the greatest potential of our humanity and the enduring spiritual principles which undergird our lives.

I am thankful for my family and friends whom I love so dearly. I am deeply thankful for all the wonderful stakeholders of KPLC: our viewers, our advertisers, our employees and our community. I'm thankful for the outstanding stewardship the Liberty Corporation has shown towards KPLC and Southwest Louisiana. I am, in a word, blessed. I look forward to the future and all of the promise that it holds.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the warm thanks we at KPLC have received from thousands of you for our on-air and online coverage of Rita's approach, passage and aftermath. We've stopped counting all the phone calls, snail mail and @mails, but we haven't stopped being humbled by the faith and confidence you have bestowed upon us.

Our Internet Director Meagan Kelleher has been the official "gatherer" of many of the written responses we've received. She's compiled some (but not all) of them on a special page. As you can see, we've gotten shout-outs from all over the world.

So in addition to saying thanks, I'll also say you are very welcome. We are, as always, proud to be At Your Service.

From all of us at KPLC, we wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

"AOL, you're FIRED!"

2005-11-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

My friend James Smith is general manager of WWAY-TV in Wilmington, NC. Before that, he was news director and anchor here at KPLC. He has a favorite phrase which is not only good advice for his employees, but also a sage way for all people and organizations to go about their daily business.

“Never be more trouble than you’re worth.”

Boy, isn’t that the truth. Now, determining what you’re worth is the tricky part. Progressive people throughout the centuries have been redefining that. Thank God for those liberals. If it were not for them, we’d still be beating each other to death with stones at river’s edge in an attempt to secure water for our own tribe. (Fire would not have been invented yet, since it would be an affront to Tribal Values.) Thank God also for conservatives, because they’ve provided the necessary counterbalance to all the goofy ideas progressives come up with that deserve to get chunked into the ashcan. Conservatives also serve to make sure the rest of us are fully aware of what God looks like and what He thinks.

More on “conservatives” and “liberals” later in a future blog. In fact, maybe if I wait long enough, mass culture will have moved on to some other prevailing pair of tissue-thin, stupidly warring factions, to which those who prefer not to apply individual critical thinking may grandly attach themselves.

It used to be easy here in America. Through much of the 20th Century, it was Whites vs. Blacks. Then along came all those Latins, Hispanics, Near-Asians and Far-Asians. Now in most communities, quaint black-white squabbles have taken their place in the parade of U.S. history alongside the great Mustang-Camaro showdowns of the 1970’s. Now there are so many car and human varieties out there that we can’t keep track, so we resort to defining ourselves as either conservative or liberal. Our side (you and me) stands for good and wisdom. The other side (them) stands for evil and idiocy.

But I digress.

No, this blog is about not being more trouble than you’re worth, and you’ve probably gotten from the title that America Online has become for me more trouble than they’re worth. Yep, after years and years of being their loyal customer, they’ve given me no choice but to fire them. I’ll pull the plug on both my personal and business accounts as soon as I can migrate my family from our familiar AOL addresses to some other @mail program.

Why? Simple. They didn’t listen. They came up with all kinds of new stuff without asking me what's really important to me. Then, they imposed all kinds of limitations on the part of the service I use most often (@mail). I don’t mind the new stuff unless it comes at the expense of the old stuff I still want. My business was theirs to lose. And they’ve lost it. They failed in the most efficient way possible to live up to what I consider…and pay…them to be worth.

I tried to find help on their site. No luck. I called their customer service phone number and after working my way through a phalanx of voice-activated prompts I found myself speaking with (big surprise) a gentleman somewhere in India who probably learned English last year.

Don’t get me wrong. That’s pretty darned impressive. If I tried to learn his native language, I doubt I’d be ready to help customers of India Online solve their problems in 2006. Anyway, he steered me back to a dark corner of the AOL site where I basically had to admit to being a spammer if I was to continue sending @mails to friends and family. I think not.

So, AOL, you’re fired. You’re so fired, it’s not even funny. If you were the quarterback, I’d sack you and then I'd go after your family. You have become more trouble than you’re worth.
The last time I was so angry at a company was when American Airlines put my very sick aging mother in a van and drove her from Dallas to Lake Charles in the middle of the night because they didn’t want to torch up a turboprop for the handful of passengers they had that night. When I called their customer service line, I was arrogantly instructed that if I read the boilerplate on my ticket envelope, I’d see that they could do that whenever they wanted. So there.

There were other such experiences with American. When others were bemoaning AA pulling the plug on their service to Lake Charles, I’ve gotta admit I was popping the champagne cork. Good riddance. Don’t let the hatch door hit you on the way out.

I write this as a reminder that business…and life…doesn’t have to be that way. At the other end of the spectrum is Southwest Airlines. My whole family is so enamored with SWA that we think of them as family. Every time we fly them, every time we log onto their website, we are reminded in the smallest and largest of ways that they are less trouble than they are worth. This concept is so engrained into Southwest’s culture, it’s difficult to think of them ever acting any other way.

But if they do…if they ever become more trouble than they’re worth…they’ll be fired too. Someone else will come along and be less trouble than they’re worth. Until then, we’re quite happy to drive to Hobby Airport to catch flights from our favorite airline.

I must admit that in running KPLC, I try to emulate Southwest Airlines in terms of how we think of our customers (viewers, advertisers, and employees). When we get it right, we celebrate. When we get it wrong, we try our best to make it right and learn from the experience. Being the “big guy” in the local TV marketplace, the challenge at KPLC is to keep reinventing ourselves while keeping the current best interests of our customers in mind. It’s a delicate balancing act. When we fail a customer, we get fired and some scrappy newcomer is happy to come along and try and get right what we got wrong.

The landscape is littered with companies which got arrogant and then got fired. And I mean REALLY fired. For every AOL, there’s a Google that comes out of the bushes. For every American Airlines, there’s a Southwest Airlines at which to scoff. The same goes for individual people. I'm sure you can think of many examples.

So as I sign up for my new G-mail account tonight, join me in pondering the sage admonition of James Smith. “Never be more trouble than you’re worth.”

Stare Into the Eyes of Rita

2005-11-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

I've received a number of @mails from viewers regarding Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Here's another one, wonderfully written by a lady here in Lake Charles whom I think speaks for many Louisianians.
-Jim

"This too shall pass" says a lady, standing among the debris, of all that's left of a home where her family once lived.
Where does one get this kind of courage? We can say, from faith and trust in our Lord, but when faced with so much devastation, you wonder how so many are dealing with this tragedy.
We are still watching news, months after the hurricanes that swept through and changed everything we were, about the lost, the displaced and the homeless.
You have to ask yourself.... "what went wrong" "what remains wrong" with the help, that so many need?
The United States, Our Country, is so quick to jump, to protect, provide and defend, so many other countries, what happened here?
We as citizens have came to the rescue to these countries, also...providing monetary donations, clothing, medical help, food, even our loved ones to defend them from terror, etc.
Something is very wrong right now with our system.
For us to watch the horrors, of our people, go through, what they are going through, right now and not question our leaders, is preposterous.
There are questions that have yet to be asked and wondered about :
Why was there not a freeze placed on everything from gas to hotel accommodations, when this happened?
Why were so many, left to die or suffer as they did?
Why are there still thousands, if not millions, displaced, jobless, lost, homeless Americans, left with the burdens from these hurricanes?
Other questions about the cost of utilities from major corporations, remain.
Questions about, where do we go from here, how etc?
Something is definitely wrong, and if this is how our country's leaders take care of its people and its nation, then we are in for big trouble.
I couldn't imagine if anything else happened, as bad as these hurricanes.
If this is a representation of things to come then people, get ready.
What has happened, should prepare all of us and be a warning, that we are on our own and it will be man for man, if anything surpasses this devastation.
We all have the proof, that when it comes to we the people of the United States placed with such terror, that we are on our own.
The handouts we have received from FEMA, Red Cross, food programs etc., are deeply appreciated, but there is still, a multitude of need and it is sitting right outside our doors, but we cant have it, because of red tape and a failed system.
SHAME ON THAT!
My prayers go out for those who are still not seen.
I wonder how well things would have went, had it happened to the States which our leaders call home?
God Bless the South and its people. They will rise again.
My grandson made a comment the other day that touched my heart and made me wonder....
"Mawmaw, I think free Christmas trees and gifts should be passed out to everyone who lived in the hurricanes."
"Well, grandson, I think so too..." then the thought in my mind was, if we can't even provide roofs, how can we provide something as simple as that?
Stare into the eyes of Rita and say a prayer.
Special thanks go out to the team of KPLC who continue great coverage and keeping us all updated on what's going on.
God Bless,
Patricia Guynes
Lake Charles, L o U i S i A n a

'Twas the Night Before Rita

2005-11-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

Someone sent this to me today. I thought it was cute. Author unknown...

'Twas the night before Rita When all through the state Not a gas pump was pumping Not a store open late All the plywood was hung On the windows with care Knowing that a hurricane Soon would be there The children were ready With flashlights in hand While bands from the hurricane Covered over the land And mamma with her Mag-Lite And I in my cap Had just filled the bath tub For flushing our cr*p When out on the lawn There arose such a clatter I sprang from the closet To see what was the matter The trees on the fence And the neighbor's roof torn Gave the fear of us dying In this terrible storm With a little wind gust So lively and quick I remembered quite clearly Our walls weren't brick More rapid than eagles Her courses they came And she whistled, and wafted And surged all the same Off shingles! Off sidings! Off rooftops! Off power! Down trees! Down fences! Down trailers! Down towers! In the center of Texas She continued to maul Screaming Blow Away! Blow Away! Blow Away All! As wind ripped and tossed The debris through the sky I peeked out the shutters At cars floating by So go to the safe-room My family did do With a portable TV And batteries too And then, in a twinkling I heard on the set The end was not coming For a few hours yet! As I calmed down the kids And was turning around Through the window it came With a huge crashing sound A tree branch it was All covered in soot The wind blew it smack-dab On top of my foot A bundle of twigs Now lay in a stack And my living room looks Like it was under attack The wind - how it howled! The storm - very scary! Myself and the family Were all too unwary The dangers of hurricanes Are serious, you know They are taken for granted As Rita did show With the winds dying down And the danger beneath I noticed my tool shed Was missing its sheath So I grabbed my last tarp And nailed it on down Then I got in my car And I headed to town The traffic was awful And stores had no ice My five gallon cooler Would have to suffice Generators were scarce Not one left in town There were trees on the roads And power lines down FEMA was ready With people to work Electrical companies Came in from New York And in the midst of This peculiar routine Another storm emerged Named Hurricane Stan I sprang to the car And gave my family a whistle Then away we all went Like a Tomahawk missile You could hear us exclaim As we drove out of sight "Fare well to this place, CANADA seems just right!"

Lift rock. Shine light.

2005-10-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

My last two posts (“Goodbye Rita, Hello Future” and “Attention Texans”) seem to have found some traction and perhaps hit a few nerves. I’ve received many replies from readers who were equally frustrated with the national media’s mishandling of the Hurricane Rita story.

All who wrote to me agreed that the citizens and leaders of SWLA generally distinguished themselves in their response to Rita. They also concurred that what becomes of our community in the years ahead is a choice we must now make actively, not passively.

A number of you wrote in some detail of your observations regarding the need for SWLA to come to grips with its perennial “old boy” network. For decades, we’ve seen too many blowhards masquerading as leaders while in reality working mostly to preserve a status quo designed to make life comfortable for a small circle of vested interests. Enough. It’s time to put the hidden agendas away, stop handing out awards to each other, and start doing the tough job of growing our region in an enlightened manner.

It’s called “lifting the rock and shining the light.” Some will find the process uncomfortable. Others will be amazed at what slithers out. In the end, it’s up to each of us to ensure that the rock stays lifted, the light lit, leaders held accountable, and everyone focused on our respective roles in this region’s future.

That said, I want to include something that's been rattling around my brain since Rita (and Katrina before her). Here are three “lessons” from nature which may be applicable to the task at hand:

1. THE LESSON OF THE RAINFOREST
"Complexity always follows chaos.”

Nature is instinctively regenerative. I learned this one while walking through the beautiful Hoh Rainforest of Washington's Olympia Peninsula. Huge trees (usually Sitka spruces) there grow so tall they get hit by lightning or crash to the ground from their own weight. To the passerby, this must be a horrific sight. I'm sure there are casualties every time one of these massive trees comes crashing down. But eventually, these rotted trees which span the forest floor become the crucible for new plant and animal life. In fact, they're called "nurse logs" and from them sprout shrubs and seedlings, the Hoh's next generation. Nurse logs are as much a part of nature's cycle as the new life they make possible.

2. THE LESSON OF MOUNT ST. HELENS
"Rule 1 happens faster than we think it will, for reasons we didn't anticipate."

Another favorite place in Washington State is Mount St. Helens. Remember when this volcano did its "sideways" blast years back? Informed observers predicted it would be centuries before the surrounding moonscape would support life once again. They were wrong. Travelers to the visitors' center there are amazed at the beauty which surrounds Mount St. Helens. There are wildflowers, young trees and animal life as far as the eye can see. How did this happen? Early hand-wringers failed to factor in the impact of burrowing animals (moles, etc) which had been hiding safely underground when the blast happened. They dug their way to the surface, bringing up moist earth, insects and worms. Birds flying overhead swooped down, ate the bounty and inadvertently left behind seeds carried from elsewhere. The seeds sprouted in the fresh dirt and, voila...one of the more beautiful and quickly-regenerating landscapes you'll ever see.

3. THE LESSON OF THE MIDWEST FLOODS
"Rule 2 works even quicker when humans are involved."

Humans are amazingly creative creatures. We can be forgiven for seeing the worst when presented with a big challenge such as the mess left behind when the winds blow or the waters rise. But we are hardwired to put our lives back together, individually and communally. Need evidence? Check out the flood plains surrounding St. Louis. Remember all those pictures and videos from the floods a few years back? Remember the money we raised down here in SWLA to help those impacted? Well, take a drive along many of those same flood plains now. They are among the most rapidly-developing areas of the Midwest. Those who saw opportunity instead of problems acted like leaders are supposed to act. They addressed insurance issues, offered incentives for rebuilding, designed structures better able to withstand what nature could dish out, and along the way created thousands of new jobs.

Finally, a bonus lesson. Call it the "Lesson of Zarathustra." I'm not generally taken to quoting Nietszche, and I certainly don't think God is dead. But I do subscribe to the central declaration of the book's hero. He teaches that Man is not a goal but a bridge, a rope over an abyss.

On our own journey, Rita was not the end. She's just another beginning.

Attention Texans

2005-10-12T16:07:00.000-04:00

As you are probably aware by now, Hurricane Rita missed Houston. Hopefully the three million of you who evacuated are safely back home. I hate trying to drive out of downtown after an Astros game, so the idea of three million people all trying to get out of somewhere at the same time isn't at all appealing.

The good news is that your homes and your city were all fine when you got back. If you were watching the national networks, you probably heard the news that the U.S. missed a bullet on Rita.

Well, that's not true, as you know. Rita just veered east. She came ashore at Holly Beach, Louisiana, a few miles south of Lake Charles. We here in Southwest Louisiana are the guys who took the bullet, along with the Golden Triangle area of your fine state. My purpose here isn't to whine about that. Quite the opposite, that's what good neighbors do for one another, sometimes taking a figurative bullet for the other guy. Shucks, don't mention it. Everyone gets their turn in the barrel. This one was ours. We know you'd do the same for us, and if you wait long enough, I'm sure you'll get your chance.

No, my purpose here is simply to get you caught up on what the national news folks didn't tell you about what's been going on next door across the "Sabine picket fence" for the past few weeks.

So pull up a cup of that weak coffee you all seem to like to drink and let's fellowship. Truth be told, we here in Southwest Louisiana like just about everything about you Texans except for your coffee and your insistence on spelling boudin with an "a." We're even getting used to your famous "Texas turnarounds" too since we've got one of our very own right outside the new L'Auberge du Lac casino. We put that there just so you'd feel more at home when you come visit us.

First, a little bit about those national media types. See, there's a standing rule they generally play by. It sort of goes like this: In terms of what makes the national news, 10 New Yorkers equals about 20 people from L.A. which equals about a thousand people from anywhere else in the U.S. which equals about 35,000 people from any country that doesn't have a non-stop from JFK.

So the deaths of all those people from the earthquake in Pakistan roughly equals the death toll from Hurricane Katrina, which equals what happens when, oh, say, 20 Angelinos keel over from a bad wheel of brie or some construction crew accidentally knocks one of those Manhattan building gargoyles over on 10 unsuspecting Mid-City pedestrians.

Rita? Well, she was pretty interesting to them as long as she had the barrel cocked at Houston. We're talking almost 5-million people over your way. But the second she turned her attention over to us, with our paltry 225,000 Cajuns? And then not even a single death directly caused by the hurricane??

Yesterday's news, baby. Hasta la vista, vaqueros. Sure, they had all their satellite trucks already parked in Galveston, so in order for it not to be a total loss, they showed a few lawn chairs knocked over and a few empty bottles bobbling up against the seawall. But that got old quickly, so back to Katrina they all went. Katrina at least killed a bunch of people and flooded lots of buildings and tossed around some casinos and had all those silly politicians cussing and wagging fingers at each other. That's always pretty interesting.

In truth a few network types did make it over our way during Rita, but most of them used to work for us here at KPLC, so we figure it was kind of an excuse for them to come back on the networks' nickel and visit their old pals here.

You really can't blame NBC and Fox and all the other networks. Heck, for a hurricane, Rita turned out to be pretty boring. We at KPLC know that first-hand. We were here for the whole thing. Rode her out just like a prize bull at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and we haven't stopped covering the aftermath of her visit since then.

So let me tell you what we've seen from our front row seat. Might want to take another sip of that bad coffee to stay awake. See, there's not much to tell in terms of the kind of hurricane network news stories you've gotten used to.

The reason that no one was killed here and you haven't heard much about us since Rita passed through is that our public and private leadership and our local law enforcement & media are pretty good at what we all do. More importantly, Southwest Louisiana is mostly filled up with smart, caring, selfless, hard-working, good-humored and quietly philosophical people.

When the word was put out to evacuate, that's just what folks here did. After the storm, we didn't loot each other, we helped each other. We cleared trees and rebuilt our damaged electrical and water and sewer infrastructure and patched up our roofs. We went about the business of dusting ourselves off and getting back to normal as quickly as possible.

And by the way, that includes the awesome people of Cameron Parish, who got swamped by the storm surge and took catastrophic damage as severe as anything Katrina dished out. But you gotta know Cameron Parish people to understand. The ones that got whacked the hardest and lost it all? They're the ones who kept telling us to aim the camera at the "other guy" whom they would insist had taken it on the chin even worse than they did.

One of the great things about living in Lake Charles is that we get to hang around Cameron Parish people. There aren't that many of them by Houston or even Lake Charles standards, but they're among the most special people in the world. Maybe it's because they live in a place which even under normal circumstances is more water than land. They play as hard as they work. You watch. Cameron Parish is still a mess, but they'll get it all cleaned up with a little help from their friends. They'll rebuild it better than ever, and there will be crawfish boils and duck hunting and shrimping and fais do do's down there before you know it. Cameron Parish is an American Treasure, and it'll take more than Rita to flatten it.

So that's it. Not much network viewer intrigue about a bunch of functional people who work and play well together, but that's pretty much what you've got over here in Southwest Louisiana. So as we open back up for business, we hope you'll come visit us. The "welcome" sign is out, and we especially like it when Texans come our way. No matter how you measure it, you're our favorite guests. We especially like it when you stay a while, and we like it best of all when one of you likes it here so much that you decide to hang your hat here permanently.

So come play at one of our fine gambling establishments. Keep those guns oiled and rods cleaned; we'll have the hunting and fishing back up to snuff soon. Don't forget your clubs; we've got some of the finest new designer courses in America here. Rita was kind in that regard and spared us too many divots.

If you read my last blog, you know that I consider Southwest Louisiana the Houston super-region's Gateway to Louisiana. We hope you'll start thinking of us as your newest easternmost suburb. After all, as Rita proved, we really are a great place to live, work and play.

After you drop your paycheck at our casinos or racetrack, here's an even surer bet. Consider Southwest Louisiana as a place to make your next "Houston area" investment. I cordially invite you to plant your business or expansion here. If you’d like more information, write me at jserra@kplctv.com and I’ll make sure we get you all the info you need.

We're just up the road, and we're Louisiana's best place to do business. That’s not chamber of commerce talk. That’s for real. As Rita proved, though we play like Louisianians, we live and work a lot like Texans in our corner of the state.

Except that we have better coffee.

Goodbye Rita; Hello Future

2005-10-03T19:45:00.000-04:00

Factoring in Rita's sojourn through the Caribbean and Gulf, it has been two weeks none of us will ever forget. I've written before of shared experiences. It just doesn't get more shared than this.

All of us at KPLC are exhausted but proud of the emergency coverage we've provided. We're honored that you have entrusted us with documenting (on air and online) the first draft of this chapter of Southwest Louisiana's history. So many of you have written to thank us for providing the area's only broadcast and Internet streaming video coverage of Rita's approach, passing and aftermath. Your kind feedback means the world to us. There's still lots more work ahead for all of us, and rest assured we at KPLC are well into our second wind.

There are so many people we want to thank. Our employees. All the folks at Liberty Corporation who have demonstrated with people and equipment and dollars that we've not been in this alone. Our talented visiting journalists and technicians from sister stations. And, our awesome friends at Christus-St. Patrick Hospital who opened their doors to us at the height of the storm's passage and gave us shelter, support and encouragement so we could concentrate on the job of keeping you informed.

Let's not forget the advertisers you see day in and day out on KPLC and kplctv.com, even when there is NOT a hurricane. These are the businesses which make it possible for your local TV station to respond decisively to a life-changing event such as Hurricane Rita. As they open their doors, please let them know how much you appreciate them. We certainly do.

There are many more people to whom we are indebted. Once SWLA gets fully back on its feet, we'll make sure we leave no "thanks" unturned.

Till then, there will continue to be lots of stories to be told. You can be assured you'll hear and see and read them on KPLC and on kplctv.com. Please keep the people most impacted by Rita, those whose homes and livelihoods have been lost or seriously impacted, in your thoughts and prayers.

I'd like to take a few minutes and look ahead. Not at the "getting the power on" part. I mean further down the road when we look around and realize that Hurricane Rita is no longer consuming (for most of us) most of our waking hours.

Southwest Louisiana stands at a crossroads none of us could even imagine six months ago. There are unique challenges but there are unique opportunities too. First came Katrina, which brought thousands of evacuees our way. Many of them (you) are staying here, a welcome addition to our community. We don't like the circumstances that uprooted them (you) from lives and homes, but we're thrilled to have them (you) here as our new neighbors.

Then we found ourselves in the crosshairs of a major hurricane of our own. And I do mean crosshairs. After wandering thousands of miles, Rita couldn't have done a better job nailing SWLA had she used a compass, night goggles, a micrometer and a pick-axe.

A little perspective. First, there's been so much talk of "whether to rebuild New Orleans."

Of course New Orleans should and will be rebuilt. It is and will continue to be Louisiana’s premiere city, our heart and soul. It is a historic and strategically important port city at the mouth of the U.S.' primary inland navigable river system. The levee surrounding New Orleans should be rebuilt and strengthened. At the same time, suburban sprawl and other development of Louisiana's entire fragile coastline should be severely curtailed to protect not only the environment but the population centers to the north which have been unduly exposed to tropical storm systems.

But here's the reality. The consolidation of the Baton Rouge and New Orleans and Northshore areas into one metropolitan region that you've heard so much about since Katrina has been happening for years. Katrina only accelerated the process and brought it to everyone's lips. The New Orleans area has for decades been a slacker among America's cities in terms of generating "creative class" jobs, retaining its own brightest minds, and attracting the most talented workers and entrepreneurs from elsewhere. Hitching it more formally to LSU-centric Baton Rouge can only help turbocharge New Orleans out of its lethargy and help address some of its pervasive social ills.

One can't put New Orleans or Baton Rouge or Lake Charles into proper perspective without taking a big step back. Here's some news if you haven't been paying attention: American cities no longer primarily compete against each other for new business and talented workers. The playing field is now global. And rather than individual cities competing, it is economic regions, each defined by a "super-region" surrounded by associated sub-regions.

Like it or not (Louisianans are proud and don’t necessarily want to hear this), New Orleans/Baton Rouge/Northshore comprises an economic region which is a satellite to the Houston, Texas super-region. This should not come as much of a surprise. Houston is an economic behemoth, a creative-economy powerhouse with a "GNP" larger than most nations. It is the heart of an economic region which extends south to Mexico, north halfway to Dallas, and east halfway to Atlanta, which is the super-region to our east.

If you think Lake Charles and Sulphur are somehow separate, wake up and smell the coffee. Not only are we joined at the hip, we're part of a 5-parish region. And that region is part of a larger region which includes Lafayette/Acadiana and Alexandria/CenLa. Call it the "Cajun Triangle." That's us. And we're all lucky to be just one more part of the dazzling Houston super-region. Whether we turn out to be a leader and carry our own weight or be a laggard and let the other regions do the heavy lifting for us is a decision only we can make.

So, what about Katrina and Rita? Well, they moved the checkers around a bit but the board game remains the same as it was before the storms hit us. The Houston super-region is competing with the Singapore super-region which is competing with the London super-region which is competing with the Sydney super-region. The winner(s) of this cut-throat game will thrive. The loser(s) will become economic footnotes.

Don’t feel any pressure.

The winners will be the ones who react the quickest and most decisively to natural or other threats, including hurricanes, and build their cities to best withstand those threats. In our case, that means imposing hurricane building standards for coastal cities and towns, controlled coastal development, and once and for all devising a meaningful public/private coastal insurance strategy which isn't riddled with hidden agendas and ready to topple under its own weight.

It means making education not just a priority, but THE priority…doing a better job of raising and educating our kids and preparing our workforce. Maybe you’re as sick as I am of seeing China kick sand in our educational face.

It means committing to an honest and constructive strategy of regional development with a focus on emerging creative businesses and entrepreneurship. It means weaning ourselves from our pattern of jumping from one "savior" industry which falls over the transom into our lap to the next and confusing those with meaningful economic development.

It means taking stock of our assets and liabilities and drawing a shared vision of our future; one which is at once pragmatic and audacious and in alignment with the communities and regions with which we will share the Houston super-region's future.

Katrina and Rita have blurred the lines which have traditionally been drawn between communities in South Louisiana and Southeast Texas. While that's a bit disorienting right now, let's understand that nature never closes a door without opening a window.

What has happened brings with it both the opportunity and the challenge of taking control of our own future. We can choose to see gloom and uncertainty out that window. Or we can choose to reach out to harness a fresh breeze of opportunity that's blowing just beyond our fingertips.

Katrina 2

2005-09-17T18:07:00.000-04:00

Before I move on to my next post, which will deal with the future of Louisiana in the wake of Katrina, I want to share something noteworthy with you. It's one of the best things I've seen written about the aftermath of the storm. It was authored by a gentleman named Chris Rose and originally appeared in the New Orleans Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.

I hope you enjoy it. If you are from South Louisiana, or even if you're not...you might want to grab a box of Kleenex now.

Best to each of you,
Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear America,

I suppose we should introduce ourselves: We're South Louisiana.

We have arrived on your doorstep on short notice and we apologize for that, but we never were much for waiting around for invitations. We're not much on formalities like that.

And we might be staying around your town for a while, enrolling in your schools and looking for jobs, so we wanted to tell you a few things about us. We know you didn't ask for this and neither did we, so we're just going to have to make the best of it.

First of all, we thank you. For your money, your water, your food, your prayers, your boats and buses and the men and women of your National Guards, fire departments, hospitals and everyone else who has come to our rescue.

We're a fiercely proud and independent people, and we don't cotton much to outside interference, but we're not ashamed to accept help when we need it. And right now, we need it.

Just don't get carried away. For instance, once we get around to fishing again, don't try to tell us what kind of lures work best in your waters.

We're not going to listen. We're stubborn that way.

You probably already know that we talk funny and listen to strange music and eat things you'd probably hire an exterminator to get out of your yard.

We dance even if there's no radio. We drink at funerals. We talk too much and laugh too loud and live too large and, frankly, we're suspicious of others who don't.

But we'll try not to judge you while we're in your town.

Everybody loves their home, we know that. But we love South Louisiana with a ferocity that borders on the pathological. Sometimes we bury our dead in LSU sweatshirts.

Often we don't make sense. You may wonder why, for instance - if we could only carry one small bag of belongings with us on our journey to your state - why in God's name did we bring a pair of shrimp boots?

We can't really explain that. It is what it is.

You've probably heard that many of us stayed behind. As bad as it is, many of us cannot fathom a life outside of our border, out in that place we call Elsewhere.

The only way you could understand that is if you have been there, and so many of you have. So you realize that when you strip away all the craziness and bars and parades and music and architecture and all that hooey, really, the best thing about where we come from is us.

We are what made this place a national treasure. We're good people. And don't be afraid to ask us how to pronounce our names. It happens all the time.

When you meet us now and you look into our eyes, you will see the saddest story ever told. Our hearts are broken into a thousand pieces.

But don't pity us. We're gonna make it. We're resilient. After all, we've been rooting for the Saints for 35 years. That's got to count for something.

OK, maybe something else you should know is that we make jokes at inappropriate times.

But what the hell.

And one more thing: In our part of the country, we're used to having visitors. It's our way of life.

So when all this is over and we move back home, we will repay to you the hospitality and generosity of spirit you offer to us in this season of our despair.

That is our promise. That is our faith.

Chris Rose can be reached at noroses@bellsouth.net.

Katrina 1

2005-09-10T10:54:00.000-04:00

So much has been written. So much has been said. Several times during the last week I sat down to post something here, but some other task or issue or priority intervened. And in the end, I didn’t have anything new to add to the litany of coverage and opinions of the human drama that began just to our east, then moved our way, centered on Houston just to the west of us for a while, then dispersed across the nation.

Like you, I have been consumed with sorrow for the lifechanging devastation wrought upon the communities of Southeast Louisiana and South Mississippi by Katrina. I've mourned those who lost their lives and anguished over those who have suffered so much longer than they should have. I've marvelled at the first responders who against all odds have managed to rescue and care for victims. I’ve also been consumed with anger at the lack of planning, the incompetence, the disorganization and the vacuum of leadership displayed by too many New Orleans area, state, and federal elected officials. Their historically awful response to the immediate needs of those impacted by the storm and the resulting flooding has been a public disgrace to our state and to our nation.

Our own efforts here at KPLC over the last two weeks have been twofold. The storm was still dissipating over the coast when we teamed up with the local chapter of the Red Cross to create the KPLC/American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Drive. Southwest Louisiana’s response has been overwhelming; we’ve done these sorts of relief drives before and our community has always been generous to a fault; but nothing compared to this.

I was at the live remote site along Bord du Lac Drive by the Civic Center early last week when we kicked off the drive at 5pm. I stayed there till about 630, then went to pick Debbie up at Episcopal Day School (she is the admissions director there; like all other schools in our area, EDS was already dealing with the sudden arrival of many new students). We circled back around the Civic Center, and the sight before us was something I’ll never forget. Cars were lined up almost all the way to Millenium Park, with generous Southwest Louisianians patiently waiting to drop off bags full of bedding, baby formula, toiletries, toys…everything the Red Cross needed for their local shelter at the Civic Center and much more. The monetary donations were staggering as well; hundreds of thousands of dollars donated that first night. A massive donation by Citgo’s Venezuelan owners and a generous outpouring by local businesses and families pushed the cash donations into the millions.

Finally, the Red Cross asked us to stop asking you for non-cash donations. They had more than they could handle here. Ultimately, they opened up the Burton Coliseum for additional Katrina evacuees so all the goods you donated were used and appreciated.

While we were working with local relief efforts and covering the story of the people who found themselves in Southwest Louisiana either temporarily or permanently, our other focus was on our sister Liberty Corp. station in Biloxi, Mississippi. WLOX is to the Mississippi Coast as KPLC is to Lake Charles. Its facilities were badly damaged by Katrina. Many employees there lost their homes. But they rolled up their sleeves and with the help of our company’s headquarters and other stations, got back on the air to deliver emergency information to all of the devastated communities in their coverage area.

Our immediate assignment was to secure and ship needed fuel to WLOX. They needed diesel fuel for their generators (obviously there would not be any electricity in Biloxi for a while) and gasoline for their vehicles. Easier said than done. At that point, rationing of fuel had already begun in the vicinity of the damage and there were some shortages here as well. We thank Pumpelly Oil for making our fuel needs for WLOX a priority. And we want to say a special thanks with our deepest gratitude to Transwood in Sulphur for providing us with a truck at no charge to transport the fuel to Biloxi.

Getting the fuel there was a challenge unto itself. FEMA was commandeering any and all fuel shipments for their own use. We got Mississippi Senator Trent Lott’s office involved to give some assurance that the fuel would get through. In subsequent shipments, armed hijackers became a real concern. Thanks to Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso for providing an escort of one shipment to the Louisiana-Mississippi line. From there the Mississippi Highway Patrol gave us a blue-light escort all the way to WLOX.

Several KPLC people, on-air and technicians, have rotated through WLOX to assist with the station’s wall-to-wall response to the crisis there. We’ve sent equipment, food and water with them. I would ask that as you keep the Katrina victims (and survivors) in your thoughts and prayers you include our Liberty family at WLOX. As with so many other first responders, they have put service above self. We are intensely proud of what they have done. WLOX has become much more than a television station since Katrina. It is a shelter for many of the families of employees who lost their homes. This is local broadcasting at its finest. When the book is written on responsive community service by local television stations, WLOX deserves a chapter unto itself. How ironic that only days before Katrina hit the gulf coast we as an industry were still trying to convince our federal lawmakers in the face of critical pending legislation that free, over-the-air local broadcasting was worth preserving. Ironically, the point-person for us was Louisiana Senator David Vitter of Metairie, who has been so personally affected by Katrina.

Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by Katrina. We mourn for those who lost their lives and wrap our arms around those displaced. We say welcome to each and every one of you who finds yourself in Southwest Louisiana for however long you are here. As fellow Louisianians and Mississippians, you are more than our neighbors. You are now officially part of our family.

And family takes care of family.

Coming Soon

2005-08-24T09:05:00.000-04:00

Here's a sneak preview of some new things we're working on at KPLC.

Those of you who are wired up to watch our DTV signal may have noticed something new on 7.2. It's our new 24/7 local weather channel, "KPLC WeatherPlus." It employs all of the resources of KPLC and NBC to bring you a truly local weather source anytime you need it. No more sitting through "Weather on the 8's" or other such nonsense. We'll hopefully wrap up a deal with Cox Cable soon so that their digital subscribers in Lake Charles, Sulphur and DeRidder will be able to pick KPLC WeatherPlus up on digital cable channel 247 (get it? 24-7). By the way, this deal with Cox will also allow for continued carriage of KPLC's analog signal on their systems in both the Lake Charles and Lafayette areas, as well as introduction of our primary digital signal (7.1) to the Cox lineup in both cities.

Speaking of weather, if you haven't checked out our new weather blog (if you're reading this, I'd say odds are you already have), make sure you do so. As I write this, Tropical Storm Katrina is out in the Atlantic and will almost certainly enter the gulf. I checked in this morning, and Mike Griffin had posted the DEFINITIVE comprehensive analysis of this storm and its many projected paths. If you are a weather junkie like I am...bookmark our weather blog, because you'll get some really deep wx info from Mike, Curtis, and Wade that you won't find anywhere else (including WeatherUnderground). I'm really proud of what these guys have done with this blog...if you agree, post a response or drop them a line and let them know.

And a final weather note. Soon we'll be launching something new on the air. I won't tell you exactly what it is yet, except to say it's our newest "howitzer" in our weather analysis and presentation arsenal. VERY cool...stay tuned.

Also, yesterday I gave the green light to another very cool new service from KPLC to be launched sometime soon. It will be called "7 On Your Cell," and that's exactly what it is. It will be a way for you to bookmark a special KPLC site on your cellphone...that's right, your cellphone. It will have all the latest news, sports, and weather...including our Super Doppler Radar and 5-Day forecasts. It will work wherever your cellular network has a signal. Another way to help you keep in touch 24/7 no matter where you are.

And, our graphic and promotional wizard Tim Bourgeois is chairing a braintrust of brilliant and creative KPLC propellerheads in the creation of a brand-new local daily program on KPLC. It will be called "KPLC Midday," and will air M-F from 1130am-12noon. It will contain brief news and weather updates, but overall the show will be more entertainment, community and shopping-oriented...different from our regular newscasts. The sausage has yet to be stuffed into the casing on this one yet, but I can tell you that it will feature our own Mari Wilson and Dianna Mayo as hosts (two very familiar faces to KPLC viewers), and will also feature a bunch of great online-related "stuff" from our new Internet Director Meagan Kelleher. BTW, Meagan has a terrific blog of her own here on the site...if you haven't checked it out, do so. She's a fine writer with lots to say, and is at the helm of the rapidly-evolving "new" online-centric KPLC.

You'll notice that our content on kplctv.com is rapidly expanding. One of our newest additions is something one does not usually get "excited" about in the traditional sense...but we are very excited about bringing this new service to SWLA. You may have noticed already that on our "info banner" which runs at the bottom of the screen during our 10pm Nightcast, Sunrise, and noon news, we've added obituaries. Yes, KPLC is in the obituary business now. This is a service that we're proud to offer, and for which we've already gotten tremendous positive feedback. For a fixed price well below that of the average newspaper obituary (which runs once), loved ones can purchase an obit package which includes the name run in the banner at 10pm (the day before the obituaries run in the paper), again at Sunrise, and again at noon. The banner "steers" viewers to kplctv.com for more information. There, the obituaries are listed by participating funeral homes. Click on the name, and it takes you to that person's own page. The obituary can be as long as the family wants (no paying by the word as in the paper), up to two pictures can be included, we'll post a transcript of the eulogy, and we'll link to any special online pages offered by the funeral home, such as an online guest book. The obits will be archived with a search directory for a full year.

We think this is an idea whose time has come, and will provide a 21st-century way to advise loved ones here and around the globe of a person's passing, and offer a sensitive and non-abbreviated way to memorialize that person. The total cost for the package is $100, and can be charged to your credit card by participating funeral homes (who will also handle all the details). I hope that none of you will ever need to take advantage of this service anytime soon (or need someone to take advantage of it on your behalf), but if you do need it, we're here to help.

Shelley Brown's on her way up to Toledo. Congrats again, Shelley...we wish you all the best at WTOL and we're very proud of you. Same goes for KPLC alum Laila Morcos, who just got the nod to join the sales staff at powerhouse WWL Radio in New Orleans, where she's been holding forth on the air. And, great to hear from Jerry Modene on my "Mighty Voice" post. Jerry's another KPLC vet and fellow KMOX/Cards fan now working and playing in Tucson.

A Mighty Voice

2005-08-07T11:12:00.000-04:00

In 1964, my brother and I were riding in the car with our parents. We were on US 61, deep in the Ozark foothills of southern Missouri just north of where it flattens out into the bootheel.

As if on cue, my father pulled the car to the side of the road about halfway down a valley. All the cars behind us and in front of us, in both directions, did the same.

As far as the eye could see, parked cars lined the shoulder of the two-lane country highway, windows down, many with doors open. Drivers and passengers sat quietly, almost reverently. Not one car was traveling on the roadway itself. At that frozen moment in time, the scene was replicated from Minnesota to Louisiana.

A voice boomed out over the valley. It was not the voice of God, though it might as well have been. It was in fact, the voice of Harry Caray, riding on what every radio listener through Middle America instinctively knew as the 50,000 red-hot clear-channel watts of the Voice of St. Louis, the legendary KMOX Radio.

For the Cardinals, to take this game would be to clinch the NL Pennant. Bottom of the ninth, two outs. Seconds later, the Cardinals won. Days later, calling the World Series to a national radio audience, Caray would exercise uncharacteristic non-partisan reserve when the Cards took it all; but not this afternoon.

His audience this day was strictly the Cardinal faithful, and his words still send fond shivers up the spines of baseball fanatics all along the nation’s midsection.

THE CARDINALS WIN THE PENNANT!
THE CARDINALS WIN THE PENNANT!
THE CARDINALS WIN THE PENNANT!

HOLY COW!!!!!

It would be difficult to fully explain that moment to even the most diehard young baseball fan of today. As a broadcaster, I’m partial to shared moments, but I have never witnessed a shared moment quite like that one. It eclipsed Mardi Gras, an instant eruption of joy and celebration from horizon to horizon that spilled out onto the highway, blocking it for at least a half-hour.

In the years before major league baseball came to places like Atlanta and Houston and Kansas City, and all the tiny towns and farms in between, there was KMOX. It was, for all purposes, indistinguishable from St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

Generations of these far-flung fans never made it to Sportsmans’ Park or Busch Stadium. To them, the Cards were KMOX and the famous voices which became synonymous with the team. Gabby Street. France Laux. Harry Caray. Jack Buck. Mike Shannon. Skip Caray. Joe Buck. Bob Costas.

In his book “Voices of the Game,” author and historian Curt Smith called KMOX the “greatest radio station in the country.”

Under the divine rule of CBS regional vice-president Robert Hyland, Jr. (himself perhaps the most legendary KMOX staffer of them all), the station became known as the “jewel in the CBS radio crown.” Its formidable AM signal reached far beyond the United States, careening between the ionosphere and the Earth’s surface to untold points on the globe.

My father spent part of his World War II tour of duty in India. Occasionally on clear nights, he and his buddies used to be able to catch the “Mighty MOX” as if it were a shortwave station. In a way, it was like the Internet is today. It was a very local and very instant taste of home to soldiers scattered throughout the world. Many of those men and women developed a deeply emotional loyalty to KMOX that seamlessly extended to the Cardinals when the station became the team’s exclusive play-by-play source after the war. They handed those loyalties off to the next generation.

One of America’s first commercial stations, KMOX signed on in the mid- 20’s. There is some disagreement as to how the call letters came about. One school of thought contends it refers to its first evening of operation (midnight of X-Mas, 1925). Others insist it referred to the location of its transmitter in Kirkwood, Missouri (KMO) and the experimentally-high wattage (X) with which the station made its much-touted debut.

One thing is known. Over the years, KMOX grew to be the very definition of responsive local programming, quality local news, weather and sports coverage, and a sincere dedication to its community of license. For years, it wielded more influence in St. Louis than all the newspapers (including Pulitzer Publishing’s flagship Post-Dispatch), and radio & TV stations combined.

It was home to non-sports legends as well. Jack Carney. Jim White. Rex Davis. Bob Hardy. Ann Keefe. One simply cannot underestimate the ties between these people, this station, and millions of Midwesterners. A Prairie Home Companion is fiction. KMOX was always the real deal.

(Click on the image to see larger. Thanks to the Post-Dispatch and stl.com for this graphic and for much of the historical information which is included in this blog. The P-D has done a terrific job not only of covering the facts, but the emotions, of this story.)

KMOX also knew the secret of branding. Everything it did had to underscore the three words which comprised its slogan, its commitment, its Mantra. They should be familiar to Southwest Louisianians. KMOX declared and proved itself to be “At Your Service” and it always remained true to that brand.

In 1986, I was general sales manager at KPLC. Then-general manager Ron Loewen was shaping a new vision for the station. As I sat in his office fronting Division Street, we pondered how Channel 7 could do a better job of serving its viewers. It didn’t take long to make our list of attributes essential to any responsive local broadcaster.

It took even less time to agree on the brand that embodied our shared vision. I grew up in St. Louis. Ron grew up in Wichita, Kansas, well within KMOX’s “footprint.” We had a benchmark to which we could aspire.

KPLC’s channel number added a nod toward alliteration. It seemed almost providential. We would be Seven At Your Service.

I tell you all this because this week the Earth Moved. After 52 years, the Cardinals announced that their play-by-play broadcasts will no longer be heard on KMOX. For a variety of business and marketing reasons much-debated in Cardinal Nation, the baseball team’s owners have purchased half of KTRS, a station with dramatically less coverage than blowtorch KMOX.

KTRS’ inferior coverage will be offset by an expansion of the team’s radio network, a patchwork quilt of teakettle stations. The games are available on the internet and of course there’s lots more television coverage than there used to be. The Cards have also cut a deal which will give fans a break on XM satellite radio subscriptions since they carry all of the MLB games. I don’t know exactly how that will work. Maybe you have to answer a series of Cardinal trivia questions successfully to get your discount.

I’ve listened to the games on XM. It’s not the same. I miss hearing from “Dave Sinclair, your South County Ford Dealer…thank you and here’s my address.” Regular KMOX listeners will know what I mean. Local commercials are part of the fabric and lore of any community.

KTRS is supposed to have lots more Cardinal-related programming, and will become the centerpiece of a new ballpark village to surround the team’s new retro Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. There are far fewer seats in the new stadium and they’ll cost a lot more. There are also lots of luxury suites which will ring the registers of the Cardinals’ owners.

As the Post-Dispatch’s Bernie Miklasz so eloquently puts it, “I don’t think there are any villains here. This is simply what happens in corporate America when big businesses attempt to make the best possible deal for their self-interest.” I agree. But it is clear that a team which always placed a value on reaching deep into its fan base for support now prefers to court a smaller but more lucrative base of supporters, be they fans or corporations or media partners. New Orleans Saints fans will understand this concept.

As fate would have it, I write this on a laptop as I head north toward St. Louis on Interstate 55. Decades ago it replaced US 61 as the arterial “spine” which connects the South to the Midwest along the Mississippi River. This time I’m the parent and sitting in the front seat. My wife Debbie is driving, and our daughter Jennie (albeit 22 and a grad student at LSU) is in the back seat. I’m looking out over the very same valley where that impromptu celebration broke out in 1964.

We’re going to a family reunion. I’ll be seeing some distant relatives I probably haven’t seen since Bob Gibson was on the pitcher’s mound at Busch. It’s not lost on me that we’re listening to the XM radio we had installed in the Suburban. On Sunday, my father-in-law and I will be at Busch to watch the Cards play the Braves, no doubt for the last time since the wrecking ball will bring that fabled “60’s doughnut” stadium down after this season. With it will disappear the huge red KMOX sign that has been a permanent fixture next to the broadcast booth for as long as any of us can remember.

So what will become of the legendary KMOX?

It is not mine to pass judgment, and I’m not very good at reading tea leaves. However, over the years the self-proclaimed “Sports Voice of America” has let St. Louis’ two other professional teams, the Rams and the Blues, slip to other stations. It has replaced much of its signature “At Your Service” local programming with agenda-laden syndicated radio wallpaper such as Rush Limbaugh. Major decisions regarding KMOX are for the most part no longer made in St. Louis.

Though I’m sure the good people at Infinity Broadcasting will disagree with me, their station in St. Louis has become pretty much like every other radio station, except for an above-average commitment to local news coverage (which has all but disappeared in the radio industry).

I’m saddened to see the passing of the Cards-KMOX partnership. Though I am all too familiar with the ever-changing realities of the broadcast business, it was one of those things I took for granted, like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Most Cardinal fans in St. Louis will get used to changing the dial from 1120 to 550 for games. But for the thousands of Cardinal fans here in Louisiana and the rest of Cardinal Nation, the emotional link will be sorely tested though likely not broken.

Wrenching change brings with it the opportunity for re-invention. Bill Smith of the Post-Dispatch summarizes KMOX’s legacy and the challenge now before it:

“…to much of its listenership, from the cities to the far-flung farms and small towns of Middle America, KMOX has been, first and last, a baseball station.

“KMOX (also) continued to be a community radio station, a station that championed progress, fostered debate and sought to amuse and entertain. The station has given a public voice to the mayor, the soldier, the dancer, the doctor and the farmer. And most often it has done it with wit, intelligence and respect.”

That is true, though the station has not endeavored to regenerate its aging audience with new listeners. It was definitely a late and reluctant adopter of the Web. I’ve learned that managing a local broadcast station is like driving a sports car through mountain roads. As with the accelerator and the brake, there’s a delicate balance between tradition and innovation if a station is to remain both relevant to its community and financially viable.

Not a day goes by at KPLC that I don’t think about KMOX. We’ve weathered the collapse of two transmitting towers and have emerged stronger. We did it by obsessively adhering to those same principles of giving a public voice to the mayor, the soldier, the dancer, the doctor and the farmer. It is my hope that we also do it with wit, intelligence and respect.

Now with the loss of the St. Louis Cardinals, the station which has been such an inspiration to us at KPLC must find a way to rise to what may be an even more difficult challenge.

Dad-in-law Bud Hacker and me at Busch. Deb surprised us with the tickets or I would've packed my Cardinal Red shirt & cap. Instead, a Krewe de la Noblesse shirt, representing all Cardinal fans in Louisiana.)

Epilogue: Sunday. The Cards win 5-3 on a 9th-inning Grand Slam. America's (real) Team beats America's most annoyingly-marketed Team. God's Voice has spoken through the bat of David Eckstein.

UPDATE: October 10. The Astros have unseated America's most annoyingly-marketed Team in the NL playoffs and will face the Cardinals again. Gotta love Houston. As to Atlanta being a baseball town, check out this blogsite in the AJC: http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/bravesfans/entries/2005/10/09/going_going_gon.html

Angela & Fred

2005-08-05T00:18:00.000-04:00

In my last post, I rhapsodized over the joy of keeping in touch with KPLC alum via the Internet. But every bit as gratifying is the "instant feedback loop" the computer provides from our viewers. Every day, I get calls and @mails from viewers. I get the good, the bad, the ugly, and the occasional oddball. The great thing about America is...everyone gets an opinion, and everyone gets a remote control.

I've learned a lot. I've learned that there are folks out there who pretty seriously think that the people on TV spy on them through their television sets. At first, I thought it was a put-on. But over the years, I've spoken to at least 5 callers who were convinced that our anchors and reporters were not only spying on them electronically, but reading their minds as well. Interestingly, each cited as proof the same perceived phenomenon. They told me they would be thinking of a tree, for example...and then the person on TV would say the word "tree" within a story.

I've spoken to a few counselors who tell me such perceptions are not as unusual as it may seem. It is true that folks tend to see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. Some just take it to an extreme, and there's no doubt that the TV set is for many people a source of real familiarity.

At the other end of the spectrum are the viewers who are so smart and warm and conversant that they become "professional" friends and sometimes personal friends. Such is the case with Angela and Fred Allan. Angela and Fred hooked up with KPLC a few years ago. They are recently retired and love to dote on their beautiful home and garden. They travel to their favorite vacation spot in Italy (Garda) every year and have made friends there. Angela has a passion for Louisiana and has immersed herself in its culture and lore. She knows more about our fine state than most natives. And she is one of KPLC's most loyal viewers. She and I tap out @mails to each other several times each day...sometimes about KPLC folks...sometimes about family & friends...lots of times about news headlines, here or elsewhere. We're all talking about going to Mardi Gras in New Orleans together.

Deb and I consider Fred and Angela two of our best friends.

Oh...I left something out. Angela and Fred Allan have never been to Lake Charles. Never been to Louisiana. Never been to the U.S....not yet, anyway. Our friends the Allans live in Newcastle Upon Tyne...up in northeastern England. How we hooked up is a classic Internet story. Her interest in Cajun culture brought her to the KPLC website, and she found my address (jserra@kplctv.com). She wrote. I wrote back. The rest is history. We enjoy a regular "cultural exchange" program. I send her stuff from Louisiana (food, music, books, art) and she sends me wonderful packages from Newcastle and environs. But we have never actually met in person.

This is just one more testament to the changes the 'net hath wrought. To many people, KPLC is kplctv.com. Like Angela, they use our rapidly-expanding site to keep up with SWLA. They watch all our stories on line, and they watch our streamed "top news," which is the first segment of the previous night's Nightcast. Southwest Louisianians who travel never have to feel very far from home. And as Angela & Fred prove, the old barriers which used to define who is "local" have disappeared. The Serras and the Allans probably have more in common than each of us has with many people who live in our own respective neighborhoods. Walt Disney was right. It is a small world after all.

I mention all this because a package arrived in the mail today. When I see that Royal Mail stamp from Newcastle, I'm like a little kid...it's just like Christmas. And Fred really knows how to wrap a package, so there's lots of time to anticipate what's inside while I cut my way into it like a pomegranate.

Wow! Once while @mailing, I mentioned to Angela my love for British trains. (My wife can vouch for this. We've visited England, Scotland and France numerous times, and Deb sometimes has to drag me off the Tube or Britrail or the TGV..I could ride the rails there all day and be quite happy.) In the package was a DVD on old steam locomotives, a book of British Expresses from 1898, three books on famous steam engines and...three gorgeous detailed models of the trains themselves.

The Pacific Chapelon Nord, which achieved mythical status with its unheard-of 105 mph runs between Paris and Calais...

.

The Duchess LMS, the pinnacle of the English art of steam trains in the 30's...

And, my personal favorite...the Pacific A1 Flying Scotsman, perhaps the most famous steam locomotive in the world, leaving London's King's Cross station for its daily run north to Edinburgh, reaching speeds of up to 108 mph...

Last year we had plane tickets, hotel reservations, and even Britrail passes...in hand...to fly into London and then train up to Newcastle to visit Fred and Angela. But...only a week before we were to depart, our towers fell, and the chance to ride my favorite railroads evaporated for the year.

But hope springs eternal. We look forward to rescheduling our visit to Newcastle. And we look forward to Angela and Fred coming here someday and enjoying our "local" world...one which stretches from the Texas Hill Country to the beaches of the Florida Panhandle.

Till then, we'll continue to share @mails, attachments and "snail mail" packages. We'll marvel at the wonders we see on both sides of the pond as well as recoil at the unspeakable horror of 9-11 and the London bombings. And we'll take for granted a daily friendship which is as comfortable as a link of boudin and a pint of Newcastle Brown Ale.

Comings and Goings

2005-08-03T01:02:00.000-04:00

One of the questions i'm frequently asked is, "why do your on-air people come and go? No sooner do we get used to them than they're off to somewhere else."

Fair question. And, most folks really do know the answer before they ask.

Every city in America is assigned to a television market, and those markets are "ranked" in terms of numbers of television households. So, no surprise, places like NY, LA, Chicago and SF are considered the "bigs," the places where TV folks with the most ambition and talent aspire to go.

Many on-air folks commit to themselves to be mobile, at least during the first part of their career. And generally, they find themselves seeking jobs at stations located in incrementally larger markets. They tend to move around until they settle down for a while (or perhaps permanently) into a place and job that they particularly like. For some, it's all about the business. For others, lifestyle, climate, relationships or family matters dictate where they choose to "hang their hat" a while.

Lake Charles is a small market in the "tv pecking order." In fact, our market rank is about #175. Now, we also serve Lafayette as their NBC station, but Lafayette is designated as a separate television market from Lake Charles. Put the two together, and they'd be equivalent to about the 83rd largest television market in the United States...what the industry calls a "top 100."

KPLC and the other stations in Lake Charles and Lafayette generally approximate the quality of an "80th" market more than they do a "175th market." (That's not bragging...it's a reflection of the population size actually served by these stations. Most industry observers who watch the tv stations in Southwest Louisiana and Acadiana comment that they are far more sophisticated than the officially-designated market sizes would indicate.)

So, we are able to attract many fine people at or toward the beginning of their careers. If they are mobile, they'll stay for a few years and then (assuming they haven't found "someone special" here in town) they'll begin their search for a position in a larger market. KPLC is on the "radar" of many stations in considerably larger markets because they know that we have a track record of producing good broadcasters with great experience. (It doesn't hurt that Southwest Louisiana tends to be a boiling cauldron of "real" news which belies its market size. For better or for worse, there's always something interesting for newspeople to report on here.)

Fortunately for us, we also have several people who have settled in and declared SWLA and KPLC their home. These include people you see on TV such as Cynthia Arceneaux, John Bridges, Pam Dixon and Theresa Schmidt...and also many people behind the scenes that you don't see all the time, but are just as much a part of KPLC.

I first arrived at KPLC back in 1975. I used to be an anchor and reporter then (plus a little of just about everything else). If you have been here a while, you may remember some of the people who were on the air with me. They included Ray Valdetero (who passed away a few years back), Justin Quigley, Kelly Lane, Jim Wright, Dennis Roper, Carlton Adams, Becky Barnett, SJ Gomez (a longtime Gridiron fixture), Kirby Raymond, John Pronk (still on the air at WFAA in Dallas), and of course, Rob Robin, who has for years done the weather at the Cumulus radio stations here in Lake Charles.

I remember when each of us was a "newbie." Had someone not gone on to another market, none of us would have gotten our shot here. And when we moved on, hopefully there were a few viewers who groused about "losing the people they knew so well." But, we made way for a new crop of people who learned their trade and became honorary Cajuns, then moved on, and the whole thing started all over again. Some, like me, end up coming back in other capacities. I never had more fun in my career than I did in Lake Charles in the 70's (more on that in a future blog), and was very happy to be able to come back to stay.

I gotta admit I love the Internet...and one of the things I love most about it is that I get to keep in touch with some of the great people who have worked at KPLC and moved on to distinguish themselves in bigger markets. We have pictures and notes from many of these people on our 50th anniversary page here on kplctv.com. "Recent" grads I keep in touch with who have gone on to become news stars in the "bigs" include Laila Morcos (powerhouse WWL Radio in New Orleans), Janelle MacDonald (now at our biggest Liberty station in Louisville, Kentucky...check out her stories on streaming vid at wave3.com), and Danner Evans (WSET in Lynchburg/Roanoke, Virginia). Three great KPLC news producers are now at KPRC, the NBC station in Houston...Erica Young, Kenneth Hickson, and Melissa McDonald. And, many of you watch Rob Marciano and Bonnie Schneider doing the weather on CNN. I don't mean to slight anyone here, and will be mentioning other KPLC alum in future posts. If we ever have a KPLC reunion, we may just have to rent the Civic Center Coliseum. ; )

Speaking of KPLC alum, please join me in congratulating former Sunrise anchor Amy Giuliano, who is going to be married in Columbus, Georgia in September. Amy has traded in the anchor desk in Columbus for a medical center marketing position there, and her lucky beau Matt is also in healthcare...he is a dentist.

We're going to be saying goodbye soon to two more familiar faces. Dan Bubany will join the sports staff at the Fox station in Greenville, South Carolina. And, Shelley Brown, who has brightened our Sunrise show each morning for the past few years and reported in the evenings, will be leaving us as well. Shelley will be staying in the Liberty family, going to one of our very biggest stations, WTOL in Toledo. She'll be anchoring weekends and reporting during weekday evenings. Check out the television column archive at the online Toledo Blade newspaper, and you'll see a very nice article written about Shelley.

Please join me in wishing Shelley and Dan all the best. We'll miss them as we miss all the fine folks who grace us with a portion of their careers. Each of them leaves here a better broadcaster, and they leave KPLC a better station. I'm very proud of our entire KPLC family, and that includes those who have gone on to what I like to think of as "temporary assignments" elsewhere. Thanks to each of you, our loyal viewers, for your role in helping to nurture so many fine broadcasters through our lil' ole shadetree tv station here in Cajun Country!

Hi from KPLC

2005-07-31T10:08:00.000-04:00

I want to begin by saying welcome to each of you. Whether you are a veteran blogger or someone who just happened to wander by while on kplctv.com, I'd like to invite you to use this blogsite as an ongoing conversation about KPLC. I'll post some of my thoughts, observations and news about KPLC, but will look to you to help me direct things here.

Feel free to post your questions about KPLC. Let me know what you like. Let me know what you don't like. Let me know what you'd like to see us do in the future, either on-air or online. I only have a few rules which I will enforce here: No personal attacks, no cussing, and keep it generally constructive. Nobody likes a grouch.

I'm a sucker for poetry, and over the years I've discovered that there is something about television that seems to inspire the poets in our audience. So, I'd like to begin things by sharing with you a little ditty sent to me by one of our friends in DeRidder. Many thanks to Tonya Bonsein for letting me post her poem here!

KPLC is here to stay
We'll keep you informed
Throughout the day
We may make you happy
Or sometimes sad

But we bring you the news
Though good or bad
Our faithful staff
Works around the clock
Getting out early
With no time to stop

The news room is jumping
The pressure is on
Is everyone ready?
"Answer that phone"
Technical problems?
"Let's get that fixed"

The clock is ticking
It's almost six
The camera's in focus
All ready to go
"Come on now" folks,
Let's start this show