Kent Ninomiya. I would like to reflect today on the passing of a colleague and friend. All of Chicago and the broadcast news community is saddened to learn of the death of John Drury. I had the privilege of working with John for 5 years at WLS. Despite being the biggest star in town he was always warm and down to earth. He led by example for 50 years exuding class and dignity. He gave me some wonderful advice on excelling in the business that I still rely on today. This from the WLS web site... Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya. I am curious to know if this recent increase in hate crime is due to an increase in reporting incidents as hate crimes or an actual increase in violence and racial hatred. It's difficult to know when looking at statistics. One thing is clear. Hate is far from gone from our society. It is a generational battle. We are doing better than our parents and our children will do better than us. That is if we raise them right. If you are bothered with the world, raise your children... Read Full Story
Here's a link to a blog you might find interesting. The author seems to have a good grasp on some pressing sports issues of our time. http://oldschool.tblog.com/post/1969970957#comment_anchor Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya I am here to applaud the Battlestar Galactica Razor movie that premiered last night. It was excellently constructed and finely crafted. The creators should be complimented for venturing outside the regular cast and introducing new characters who could bring the story together. The movie filled in a lot of holes in the timeline. The gaps were inevitable considering the flashback device the series depends on so often. The movie nicely sets up the third and final season premiering... Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya
It's a catch 22. You need experience to get a job and you can't get a job without experience. In TV that's only sort of true. You see, there are some real cheap bastards in the broadcasting industry. It is expected, not suggested, that you work for free before anyone will hire you. These indentured servants are called interns. Unlike other industries where you can go to school to learn a trade, even if you attend a college claiming to teach you broadcast journalism, none of... Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya. Hollywood's writers strike could end up being a wonderful opportunity for TV news. All indications are that new production will be virtually non existent until well into next year. In a few weeks stockpiled unseen entertainment will begin to dry up. TV news, especially magazine shows, can continue to provide fresh new content to a diversion hungry audience. Many of them may stay with us long after the strike ends. So what will we do with this opportunity? Is there a chance we... Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya The longest journey does not begin with your first step. It begins with your decision to make the first step. The most important decision you will ever make in a TV news career is deciding to go into TV news. Consider it like a marriage, even though in many cases the commitment runs much deeper than matrimony. I've known many journalists with multiple spouses but just one career. Either do TV or don't. This is not an industry for the half hearted. You can't "kind of" want to be... Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya OK ... so you've decided to devote your life to a pursuit of TV news. Make no mistake, it will be your life. You are not choosing a job or even a career... you are choosing a lifestyle. Now it's time to get some experience. Forget all those TV journalism programs colleges are pushing these days. They don't teach you anything but bad habits. Think about it. Who is teaching you? Most instructors of TV courses don't have much experience at all doing TV. Maybe they had a job once in... Read Full Story
Kent Ninomiya. Consider solid writing as the foundation of your house. If you don't lay it well and strong you are doomed. It doesn't matter if you build a shack or a mansion of a career on top of it. Both will come crashing down if your writing foundation isn't sound. Writing isn't as glamorous as a silky voice and dashing looks, but it's what will set you apart from the pack. People may not know why they like you, but if they understand you clearly they will. There is nothing more painful... Read Full Story
