From the seedier side of urban Ohio, Richard Breaden shows us what its like to work Overnights In Columbus. Breaden, who need not worry about job offers from the local Chamber of Commerce, says of his midnight gig:“This is a world infested with drug pushers, pimps, prostitutes, gangs, cops, and the occasional TV news crew. When you wake up at five o'clock in the morning and you see the images of death and destruction on your television sets...there is a good chance I was there providing you the glimpse into overnights in Columbus...”
Damn, the Buckeye State never seemed so...C.S.I. Next up is a reticent young fellow I pass in the hallways at work. What little I know of Matt Wood I like, but that’s one placid cat! I‘ve learned far more about the New Hampshire native from his promising blog Betaboy SP, which details his initial forays into the business as well as his very first fatal:“Next to it laid a dark colored car with its roof cut off. The EMS crew was doing CPR on a victim in a front seat. I captured shot after shot of the scene. I let my artistic mind take over and used my memory from all the other wrecks to get the best pictures I could.”
If you don’t understand what he’s talking about, you’ve never rolled up on a fresh wreck with a camera you like. You should try it sometime. But first though, come with me to Dallas where a former news shooter - nay an ExTvTog takes a cue from young Matt and describes his boyhood encounter with a news lens, courtesy of a thoughtful one-woman-band.“She must have noticed me standing there fascinated and in awe, so she did something that most reporters would not do especially to a kid following them around. What she did had a profound affect on my life. It gave me purpose and focus, clarity as to what I must do in life. I stuck my boyish eye in front of that large betacam viewfinder cup as she pushed the play button. I was amazed at the tv magic she had created. From 6 years old, I was hooked!”
Poor bastard. While he seeks the proper therapy let’s swing over to a fabled place called Michiana where another veteran of the p.m. shift punches in. Brian Sapp’s been slingin’ an evening lens for seven years, and he seems to like it that way.“We try to find the news to fill up that half-hour news slot after prime time. You know the one. Right before Letterman or Leno. We do most of this without any direct supervision of management. They go home and try to forget the day they've just suffered. Sooo...what happens once the policy makers leave?”
Wait - don’t answer that. We all need our jobs. How else could we accumulate such wondrous war stories? I.T. guys don’t have this much fun. Though, they do get weekends and holidays off. Forget I mentioned it. Now beam me up, would ya? My ice is melting...
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