new(s)man

What’s on your mind, Lance?

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:43:26 -0400

What’s on your mind, Lance?

Evening in Georgetown

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:37:08 -0400

Evening in Georgetown

Airborne

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:12:34 -0500

Airborne

Now this is what I call local coverage: What's happening around the corner in photos

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 11:15:06 -0500

Share photos of your local voyages on Instagram and they might be featured here: nyti.ms/WtbvBK Tag them with #NYTVoyage
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 2, 2013

A DOCTOR'S DECEIT? WHY WOULD A GYNECOLOGIST SECRETLY VIDEOTAPE HIS PATIENTS?

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:05:00 -0500

Video

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:03:29 -0500

Breezy Point, NY (top) and Ortley Beach, NJ

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:16:52 -0500

Breezy Point, NY (top) and Ortley Beach, NJ

THE GOOD THAT FOLLOWS DESPAIR: SANDY REVISITED [CLICK HERE]

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:11:00 -0500

THE GOOD THAT FOLLOWS DESPAIR: SANDY REVISITED [CLICK HERE]:

How volunteers are bridging the gap in aid for countless victims of the storm in New York and New Jersey

Travels with Hurricane Sandy (click here)

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:17:00 -0500

Travels with Hurricane Sandy (click here):

Photos taken by my videographer, BJ Forte, during our 5 days covering the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Images from Superstorm Sandy, November, 2012

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:07:34 -0500

Ocean Grove, NJ

Keansburg, NJ

Keansburg, NJ

Keansburg, NJ

Keansburg, NJ

Ocean Grove, NJ

Images from Superstorm Sandy, November, 2012

Sandy comes calling and we head north

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:39:00 -0500

The phone rang shortly after 7:30am on Tuesday, October 30th. I noted the time on the cable box because the bright white digital lights on the box confirmed we hadn’t lost power to Sandy in the District of Columbia. But to our north, New York and New Jersey had been hit hard. The call was from a newsroom manager, asking if I’d be willing to head up to New York to help out our sister station, WNBC, with its coverage of the superstorm. I teamed up with a crew made of a super photographer, BJ Forte, and dedicated satellite truck operator, Chris Layne. By 5pm, we were live on the battered beach in Ocean Grove, NJ. And so began a 5-day odyssey in the storm’s path, from New Jersey’s coast, to darkened bedroom communities in the suburbs of Manhattan, to ravaged Staten Island. It’s a trip marked by stories of unimaginable loss, close brushes with death in storm surge waters, to vows to rebuild iconic coastal boardwalks.

New Dorp section, Staten Island, NY November, 2012

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:04:00 -0500

New Dorp section, Staten Island, NY

November, 2012

Not your father's Durham, NC

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:03:52 -0400

Photo: Chris Hildreth

This month’s issue of Duke’s alumni magazine has a great feature story, “Bull Rising,” by former Raleigh News & Observer reporter Eric Ferreri. It shines a light on Durham, NC’s striking downtown revitalization. Now a writer in Duke’s Office of News and Communications, Ferreri includes easily digestible info on the former tobacco town’s myriad new foodie spots. It’s worth a trip down memory lane for anyone who’s ever traveled down Tobacco Road, or for that matter, parents with a student at Duke or civic leaders who could use a lesson on creative approaches to addressing urban blight. Click here to read the story.

Paying it forward

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:16:22 -0400

Here’s an example of how one high-profile journalist’s use of the ubiquitous 140 Twitter characters can result in high-octane exposure for another. This simple tweet today by @sree of Columbia University’s School of Journalism did the trick. It also led me by the nose to the instructions on how to embed a tweet so you, too, can pay it forward. Amazingly, It’s all contained here if you do some mouse-clicking:

.@NickKristof is the most generous person on Earth. See what he tweeted today and the effect it had: bit.ly/FSvIl0
— Sree Sreenivasan (@sree) March 18, 2012

Return to the Appalachians

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:15:13 -0500

Late last fall, I had a chance to navigate one of America’s classic roadways, The Blue Ridge Parkway. I weaved my way through North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains for an unexpected long weekend. Without much time for advance planning, just days before the trip, I ventured online and stumbled on an intriguing-looking inn, not far from Boone: The Mast Farm Inn in Valle Crucis, NC.

This is not one of those travel odyssey stories that doesn’t end well; in fact, any case of virtual brochure bait-and-switch jitters was quickly calmed when my son and I pulled into the parking lot of the 200-year old former mountain farm estate.

According to the Inn’s website, Joseph Mast set out on foot from Pennsylvania in the late 1700’s and settled here.

The two-room log cabin above was said to be built by Mast’s son around 1810, paving the way for three generations of Masts to be raised here. They farmed corn, sheep, cattle and other food. Eventually, Mast’s great-grandson put the finishing touches on the main house and by the turn of the century, he and his wife began operating the property as an inn.

Intrigued by the free-standing rustic cottages just down the path from the main house, I opted to book The Blacksmith shop, a lofted tin-roofed log cabin, perfect for up to 3 people.

I gave my son the queen bed, as he had logged more miles than I to meet me for our road trip.

I took the twin in the loft up the staircase with posts fashioned from old farm tools.

I only wished my bed had a headboard, but it was actually comfortable sleeping in the eaves.

The Inn also is home to a restaurant called, Simplicity, billed as “gourmet organic dining,” and the dinner did not disappoint after our long drive west. Dinner reservations are recommended during high season, while breakfast is included with your lodging.

After a great night’s sleep, we ventured just down the road to another establishment frozen in time, The Mast General Store, circa 1883.

Step inside and watch Father Time do a jig. Backwards. Here you can now find candy to Carhartt’s—or as an original ad once boasted, “goods for the living; coffins and caskets for the dead.”

From Valle Crucis, it’s just about a thirty-minute drive to the famous Grandfather Mountain scenic perch, with its mile-high swinging bridge.

The views are, well, take a look:

After a hefty dose of fresh mountain air and scenery, we decided to wind our way back to civilization via Asheville, about two hours away. I’d been to the Appalachians before, but never made it to the iconic Biltmore Estate during the four years I spent in the Tarheel State, early in my career.

Impressive as it is, The Biltmore Estate left us with a bloated feeling of excess after our night in a one-room log cabin, so we headed into Asheville’s artsy downtown section, with its well-preserved eclectic architecture and a great assortment of galleries, small shops and restaurants.

After some memorable fried green tomatoes and southern fried chicken at Tupelo Honey Cafe, we eased our full stomachs into the car for our return to reality.

What made the trip all the more memorable was the spontaneity of it all; an itinerary drafted on a whim.

For more of the history of The Mast Farm Inn and the area, click here. In the post below, you will see some additional pictures I took of The Mast Farm Inn in Valle Crucis, NC.

Mast Farm Inn, Valle Crucis, NC

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:47:03 -0500

Mast Farm Inn, Valle Crucis, NC

Hat, boots & reporter's notebook

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:33:30 -0500

Photo: Michael Stravato

“Go Texan Day” is featured this weekend in The New York Times. The story chronicles an annual tradition in Houston, when people from all corners of the cosmopolitan city actually dress the way many people think all Texans dress 24/7. The all-things country duds day is designed to build excitement for kick-off of the yearly education scholarship fund-raiser, The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Back in the early ‘80’s, the three-week event was staged at the iconic Houston Astrodome (its home is now in adjacent Reliant Stadium). A cub reporter needed a good, comfortable pair of cowboy boots to navigate the miles of livestock on display; from chickens, to rabbits, to steer, of course. During my tenure at powerhouse station KTRK-TV in Houston, this dude from the New York suburbs went full-bore Texan, often assigned as “The Rodeo reporter,” in late February, covering daily features of every variety, including selection of the Grand Champion in categories big and small. At night, the dome would host some of the best of country (and other) music, as the crowd in their Wrangler jeans and starched western shirts was treated to heart-pumping calf-roping, barrel racing and a George Strait concert as the kicker. The event model of philanthropy, education and entertainment remains unchanged today.

My Rodeo reporting debut just weeks into my six-year tenure there was of decidedly less than grand champion quality, however. Among my dusty Texas memories is my post-live shot editorial note from the newscast producer: “It’s The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Jim.” The correction in word placement may have seemed subtle to an outsider. But calling it “The Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show,” as I did on live local television that night is tantamount to mangling the words to The Star Spangled Banner. In case I neglected to say it back then: my apologies, Houston!

Digital user short attention span? Not so fast!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:21:49 -0500

Digital user short attention span? Not so fast!:

Like Forbes’ Chief Product Officer, Lewis DVorkin, I have been told a time or two the key to digital content for journalists: “keep it short.” Here, DVorkin shares his optimistic view that the audience for long-form, in-depth stories is growing and adapting to the digital space. Rather than burn up more words here, I’ll let you read his take on the future of long-form journalism here!

http://onforb.es/x9mYTD

Thinking out of the box to get foot in the door

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:20:56 -0500

Anyone in job search mode knows the biggest challenge is getting your resume plucked from a pile that often seems as high as The Empire State Building.

One clever job seeker found a way to grab the attention of one of his target companies and the greater social media community in one fell blog post.

How did he do it? In large part by using all the tools we bloggers are using to gain traction.

So, do what he hoped his future boss would do and click here to read more:

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/1fe14600-193b-4a4c-af91-b3e54255794e.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

At a loss for words?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:11:00 -0500

Does this ever happen to you? You’re at a meeting, in a fairly small group setting and you can feel others taking control of the conversation. You know you have something to contribute, but the longer you think about what it is you want to say, the louder the voice in your head is saying, “what if my comments are irrelevant, off-base, even stupid?”

Apparently, you’re not alone. No commentary necessary as you read this Wall Street Journal column from Elizabeth Bernstein on the science behind the silence:

http://on.wsj.com/AsnEaA