Slightly Tilted People

As a TV nerd growing up in Saulston, N.C., I spent an awful lot of time watching the local news broadcasts emanating from Capitol City. Raleigh was only 45 minutes away of course, but the glitzy world of WRAL seemed a million miles away from my flat, rural locale. With a simple twist of the dial to number five, a team of nylon-suited newsgatherers leapt from the screen, slinging their flashy betacams and brandishing oversized microphones. Under the steady anchorship of the avuncular Charlie Gaddy, the station left a lasting impression on my young ambitions. I celebrated the day they unveiled their brand new Sky 5 chopper the way other kids celebrated their favorite team's Superbowl win.

Fast forward 25 years. I now know WRAL to be a giant to the East - a fabled place I once intended to work at, until I wandered into the hallowed halls of El Ocho. Ever the innovators, RAL has long impressed me (and legions of others) with their forward thinking. Now, their respected photog staff is taking a small step (and a giant leap) into the blogosphere, launching a collaborative site seemingly endorsed by the station itself. At Under Exposed, you'll get to know...

...the thoughts and ramblings of TV’s most under appreciated members… The TV News Photographer. These men and women are the slightly tilted people who face hurricanes, mobs, dangerous suspects and all manner of ill attitudes to bring you the incredible pictures you see on the air every evening. They are also the people who touch your heart, make you smile and take you fascinating places through the glass on their lens...

What a wonderful description of my chosen craft! By allowing their talented staff to expound on their adventures, WRAL is taking full advantage of the kind of in-house creativity present in photog lounges far and wide. They're also extending a new kind of access to their viewers, providing an eager peek behind the curtains that fans of all TV stations are known to clamor for. I look forward to the day when all broadcast outlets embrace the information renaissance that blogging represents. So extend a hearty welcome to the lenslingers of WRAL and Good Luck - as keeping a site vibrant can be a bitch! But as the many blogging photogs of WGHP can surely attest, it’s a logical extension of a most illogical line of work.