An exciting example occurred when I got a call from my assignment desk while traveling back to the newsroom after producing a story in Queens. One of the main jobs of assignment editors is to listen in on the police radio as first responders are directed to "breaking" events. Much of the time, these events turn out to be non-events, something called into 9-1-1 that the cops are obliged to respond to. On this particular day, the dispatcher sent some of New York's Finest to a building site in Harlem near Park Avenue on 124th Street, just by the elevated train platform, on a report that some of the building's bricks were falling off. At first glance it didn't sound like much of a story; after all, the area is largely abandoned, and noone had been actually hit by one of the bricks!
I arrived at the scene about half an hour later, where I found that a four block area around the building had already been completely cordoned off. I parked my car and walked up to a line of men in blue standing behind the yellow "do not cross" tape. "Hi guys," I said. "I'm with channel 9. Any chance I can get in to take a few shots of the building?" My credentials clearly state that, as a member of the New York Press, I am "entitled to cross police and fire lines wherever formed," yet the officers deny my access, telling me it was "unsafe" and that my presence would "interfere" with the responders working by the building. This was a fairly typical response from the police rank and file at breaking news locations, and not unanticipated. Cops are generally not allowed to make decisions, only take orders; they usually say "no" or "no comment" to any and all requests from the media. I then asked the officers if I could "Speak with the officer in charge," gesturing at a lieutenant speaking with EMS workers half a block away. "NO," came the strict reply, adding, "move along!" Like civilians, accredited news people have to obey a direct order from a police officer or face a fine, arrest, or the confiscation of our largely useless press pass! I reluctantly agreed, thanked the officers and walked away, then circled around the block and came back to the same intersection from the other direction, positioning myself on the side of a large emergency vehicle that blocked their view of me. From this vantage point, I gestured to that lieutenant inside the cordoned off area; and he walks right over and smiles at me. "Hi Lou," I said. "I'm with channel 9. Any way you can get me inside somewhere so I can get a shot of the building?" He nods. "I watch your news all the time. No problem. Just keep on the opposite side of the street so you don't get hurt." He pulls up the tape, and we walk down 124th Street, right past the officers who kicked me out! The lieutenant asks me to stand behind a chain link fence directly across from the building, and I comply.
I start interviewing an irritated woman sitting in her car who can't drive out of the area until police give the all clear, when suddenly I hear a noise from the direction of the building. Instinctively, I turn, camera on my shoulder, and "throw the focus" from 5-feet to infinity. Through the eye of the lens, I watch as the building tumbles to the ground; the cops and first responders running from the crashing debris; the dust rising as the walls crash sideways onto the street and nearby empty lot. It is over in seconds, the woman in the car screaming, "Did you see that!?" "Wow, did yo see that?!" I hear first responders calling out to each other, "Are you all right?" And far away, behind the police lines, I see passersby swarming the police tape, desperate to see, well, anything at all. The lieutenant runs up to me. "Did you get that?" he asks. "Yup!" I nod happily. "Great, I'll watch it on channel 9 tonight!" We give each other big grins.
As it turned out, my footage was seen not only on channel 9 but on all the New York television stations, beginning with their 5 pm shows, as well CNN and the Fox Network. My boss was very happy, as we had the exclusive, so he could put our channel 9 "bug" on the footage they all ran (a great publicity scoop!). Because I hadn't given up, and had done my best to position myself well, I had put myself in the right place at the right time to get the story. Timing is truly everything, but skillful positioning oneself for any business opportunity is a key to ultimate success!
If you'd like to see the footage, please log onto my resume website, http://Rob-Bell.tv. The building collapse is shown about a minute into the "Intro" video that plays automatically on the home page when you first log on.
To find out more about how a high definition video can help your company position itself well for whatever the future may hold, please log onto the Green Birdie website at http://GreenBirdieVideo.com.
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