Some of y’all have never worked all day to make a person you don’t like very much look like an expert on a subject neither of you know much about and it shows.

Who can backpedal over a mattress and not look away from the viewfinder? Who can be over a shopper's shoulder before a reporter gets the mic out? Who can whip up 90 seconds of decent TV before most folks can find the remote? ‘Cause I'm looking for someone to work overnights...

A congressional aide just offered to ‘get the door’ as I pulled my gear out of his boss’s office. “No thanks,” I said, pushing the door open with my shoulder, “I have a Ph.D in Egress.” He half snorted and looked at me weird. No one likes a chatty cameraman. Sigh.

My ability to wedge a news car into the mayor’s spot and slip through the metal detector before anyone notices far exceeds my ability to circle the fancy restaurant more than twice without threatening topark on the sidewalk and leave the flashers on. The wife really hates that.

My advice to a young TV news shooter? Get in. Gorge on the access. Shred your bucket list. Then, when you start repeating yourself, GET OUT. Take what you’ve learned and go get a real job. For now, develop a specialty. Else, you’ll frame up flashing lights until you retire.

Knowing my 8 year old self would be totally stoked at my TV News career doesn't make schleppin' these prehistoric sticks through a ninety minute walking tour of some thumbtack factory any easier. Just sayin'.

Interviewed Jim Bakker at Billy Graham's funeral. Can't remember what he said. Shoulda thanked him, for back in '89, when I was at my first TV station, Bakker was on trial and losing his damn mind. What a fantastic use of TV cameras, I thought... I wanna do that! Thanks, Jim!

PRO TIP: Contrary to popular belief, TV News stories about lighthearted subjects are no easier to shoot than ‘hard news’. In fact, they’re often more difficult. I mean, have YOU ever tried to pin a lapel microphone on a tap-dancing porpoise? (Loop it around the dorsal fin.)

I'm that odd TV News photog who never learned to fly a drone, but who can spend hours juxtaposing the procedural inclinations of the average court bailiff against the wanton lawlessness of a rookie rent-a-cop. No much call for that kind of thing, but you gotta know who you are.

If I could change ANYTHING about this cruel world we live in, I'd bring a swift end to people holding lavaliere microphones as if they were stick mics. Okay, so it may not be the top of YOUR list, but a fella's gotta stand for what he believes in.

Live your life in such a way that if blue, blurry and badly framed video pops up on the evening news, yours isn’t the name on everyone’s lips. That would be Lenny. I once watched him white-balance on a passing school bus.

KNOWLEDGE is understanding the complex nature of the moratorium that County Commissioners will be recommending at tonight's monthly meeting. EXPERIENCE is getting there early to bag a few soundbites before The Desk reroutes you a burning Port-A-Potty on the edge of town.

It was when the third styrofoam pellet lodged up my nostril that I knew my years in the field were largely over.

I had a whole essay cued up exploring the fretful state of the electronic news media in the year 2026, but then I noticed a coworker dressed JUST LIKE ME(!) and we got hella-distracted posting "Twins" selfies. Now... where was I?

Ten years ago this week I covered the protests that followed the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte. It was the first time I had to wear a bulletproof vest in the name of news and hopefully the last. Now go be good to somebody who looks nothing like you.

Some might not like the distinctive jangle an SD card makes while tumbling inside a clothes dryer, but to me... it's the song of my people.

While we're banning reporters, can we do something about that guy with the TikTok addiction, dietary restriction, slow writing jags, giant makeup bag, pre-track warm-up yodels and complete unwillingness to carry anything because it 'undermines his authority'? Yeah...THAT guy.

Can't believe it's been 8 YEARS since I covered my last hurricane. Really should toss out those granola bars in my storm-bag.

This week on Behind The Lens, we meet a man who spent 9/11 and days after stranded in Gander. What he found there inspired him… youtu.be/OIDlSYstsoE?si=huDT… via @YouTube

When it comes to parking, you’ll never meet a more dedicated tactician than a TV News Photojournalist who doesn’t wanna get his gear wet in the rain. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to call a tow truck on the mayor’s Cadillac. Dude’s in my spot.

A dip of the lens toward Arkansas, as folks mourn the loss of Marcus McDonald. For 41 years, he pointed a KATV camera at triumph and turmoil - and left a legacy of giving in his wake. Anyone can work a fancycam. It takes a guy like Marcus McDonald to make a difference with it.