Aggressive Journalism

Yesterday, Senator Barbara Mikulski announced her proposal to carve out about 2 billion from the stimulus package part II for the auto industry essentially giving new car buyers a tax break to stimulate demand again. Now getting a senator to talk to you on the phone is hard work for a small newsroom, luckily for us she was making this announcement right up the street. No surprise, but I was running late to the press conference. After dumping the news van (explorer) off on some poor maintenance man across the street we dove in on the scene. Reporters everywhere and the senator dipping into a car all of two feet away from me. Well unlike those fancy cable teevee reporters, we have a handy cam and a short mic leash.....and no shame. I had that mic so close to the poor woman's face, you'd think she was made of chocolate. You would have thought we were breaking Watergate the way we jumped into the story, meanwhile the lackadaisical press core jotted notes and causally changed tapes. Anywho - it got our mic flag on two local channels this am. Watch and see! Our mic flag now officially has gotten more camera time than Street Talk's Jen Richer! Harrumph!