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Ain’t Got No Alibi
It was surprisingly difficult to find an ugly Christmas sweater. I struck out at the KARM and Goodwill thrift stores. I also came up empty at Stein Mart, Kohl’s and Walmart. I ultimately wore a very itchy sweater that was in the back of my own closet. It didn’t have the same panache as the other sweaters at the party but at least it had the right colors.
The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party was organized by the folks who work the morning shift at WVLT-TV. Producer Amelia Childers modeled her sweater on Friday’s newscast following a network story about a Vermont woman who makes and sells Ugly Christmas Sweaters on purpose. Bob Yarbrough, Michele Silva, Whitney Kent and Mike Simon were all in attendance. Sara Shookman wore an all-white outfit that she found at a thrift store in Florida.
Mist-ery Spot
Patricia Cornwell traveled to Oak Ridge to promote her new Kay Scarpetta novel, “Red Mist.” It wasn’t for a book signing but for a television appearance. Cornwell’s interview with Terry Moran aired Tuesday on “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.”
Most of the interview took place at the National Forensic Academy, which now houses the bulk of Cornwell’s collection of crime memorabilia. She splattered some real human blood with a baseball bat and a hammer. My son and I got to study blood drops in the same room last year. Cornwell also took Moran on a helicopter flight over the Body Farm, as she revealed on Twitter last week.
Causing a Komo-tion
Jamie Lynn Drohan broke the news last night on her Facebook page. She is leaving Knoxville for a job at KOMO-TV in Seattle. Her last day at WATE-TV will be December 2. She starts at KOMO in January.
I often saw Jamie Lynn around town at various fundraisers and tweet-ups. Most notably, she earned a perfect score at Star 102.1’s 3rd Annual Dancing with the Knoxville Stars. Her dance costume was reminiscent of “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Once she’s settled in the Emerald City, I hope Jamie Lynn looks up my friend Bean and his wife Donna. Donna designs fashions and is the owner of Elsie Katz Couture. I also recommend a trip to the Space Needle and a Duck tour.
When she visited Seattle for her job interview, Jamie Lynn saw ABC’s Bob Woodruff using the KOMO studio to file a report for the network. When she commented on Woodruff’s presence, the person giving her a tour of the newsroom said, “Welcome to the top 15.”
Tall Order
FBI Special Agent in Charge Rick Lambert was on TV shortly after I got home last night. Coincidentally, I had just talked with him at the graduation ceremony for this year’s Citizens Academy class at the FBI building. Each new graduate posed for a picture with Mr. Lambert. The other board members and I were there to invite the class to join the FBI Knoxville Citizens Academy Alumni Association and to attend our holiday social at Side Splitters Comedy Club.
Lambert and Dr. Bill Bass were interviewed on Fox 43 for a story about Neyland Stadium and the Body Farm, which aired right after the season premiere of “Bones.” The feature was part of a series called “Tennessee Truth or Tall Tale.” Anchor Beth Haynes and producer Amanda Dill investigated the claim in “The Blind Side” that there are bodies under the playing field. Readers of my blog know that the stadium houses a skeleton collection in the Anthropology Department’s offices, not buried under the turf.
After a commercial break, Todd Howell reported on the effect of weather on decomposing bodies.
Blue Streaking
There were almost as many recognizable faces in the crowd at Side Splitters as there were on stage Sunday night. Nine local media personalities competed in the second annual Host with the Most Fun’raiser. My wife and I bought tickets to support my Smoky Mountain Television co-host Taz Cable. Brittany Bailey and John Martin had a front row seat to support their WBIR colleague Erin Donovan.
As I looked around the showroom, I saw Cynthia Moxley, Alan Carmichael and Scott Bird of Moxley Carmichael Public Relations. Cynthia writes a popular party-hopping blog called the Blue Streak. In it, she posts photos that she takes at many charity events around town. As a result, she’s not in the pictures. Seeing her gave me the idea to turn the tables on her and to snap a few pictures of the audience in the few moments left before showtime.
Michele Silva was there to root for Taz and for her WVLT colleague Whitney Kent. Michele was seated with WVLT’s Lorena Estrada. I especially enjoyed Whitney’s Shirley Nash Pitts impersonation. Tonya Cinnamon posted a photo on Facebook of Whitney imitating Shirley’s “Clean It Up” facial expression.
Mayoral candidate Mark Padgett and local attorney Stephen A. Burroughs were seated on opposite sides of the room. They both got countless mentions from the comedians, especially Burroughs who is known for his billboards, his Facebook memes and his recent Swagfest.
WATE, Your Turn
The playing field is level once again for Knoxville’s local TV news. Like WVLT and WBIR before it, WATE has started broadcasting its local newscasts in high-definition. I watched their evening and late-night news on Monday to see how it looked. The transition seemed smooth. I didn’t notice any glitches. I know they have been taking their time to make things work. I toured their new set almost a month ago as they were still wiring the control room.
Unless I missed it, the anchors didn’t make any special mention on-air about the improvements. They have, however, been very active on Facebook and Twitter to promote the changes. Over the weekend, I saw pictures from Lori Tucker and from Kristin Farley. Perhaps most interesting was the Facebook photo album of the construction progress. Tearsa Smith was hoping her son would be born before her first HD newscast on Tuesday. He was. Jamie Lynn Drohan will fill in for Tearsa.
Aim Is True
Friday was Allison Kropff’s last day at WVLT. She starts her new job at WTSP in Tampa on October 10. The Florida station is owned by Gannett, which also owns WBIR in Knoxville. Gannett wins twice. They get a quality employee at their station in Tampa and they remove a tremendous asset from their direct competitor in Knoxville.
I used Twitter to congratulate Allison and her husband Justin. I’ve always enjoyed talking with them at various charity events and at an Einstein Simplified show earlier this year. In response to my tweets, Allison called in to Star 102.1 and spoke with Marc Anthony and me. I suggested that she jump into the shot of the floral centerpiece at the end of Chef Walter’s cooking segment during the noon news. On an average weekday, the shot of the centerpiece is the longest 17 seconds in local television.
The good news is that Chef Walter shortened his segment to allow time for a nice good-bye to Allison. Weather specialist Heather Haley made sure I saw it. Allison joked that her farewell wave was just for me. The bad news is that the cooking video posted to WVLT’s website ends after 98 seconds instead of the usual two-and-a-half to three minutes. I was hoping Allison’s noon sign-off would be preserved in cyber-perpetuity.
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