It’s a Bust

There’s nothing that will get a news guy’s heart pumping faster than the thought of breaking news. On a recent morning, my heart was pounding as I loaded up my gear and hit the road, bound for Downtown.

I was one of several reporters and photographers dispatched to the breaking news. We all scurried to our respective vehicles. Reporters loaded into trucks, cars and vans. Photographers into LIVE trucks. Within minutes, a somewhat scattered convoy of white high-mileage vehicles was headed towards the scene.

The assignment desk didn’t provide much of a location. We were given a general area to go to. We all arrived, and quickly scattered, circling several blocks, scouting for HUGE breaking news.

After about ten minutes, the excitement began to wane. We’d come across each other’s cars as we circled the “scene”. We’d roll down the windows, shrug and keep circling. Nobody had found anything.

Moments later the desk called. “Finally,” I thought to myself, “a more precise location and an assignment of what to cover.”

“It’s a bust,” the assignment manager said. “Come on back.” My heart rate slowed, my shoulders slumped. Bummed, I turned the car around.

I was the last one back to the station, where the regrouping had already begun. Reporters and photographers were being placed on the relatively mundane daily assignments.

“I got great stuff,” I said excitedly, joking about the faux-breaking news. “What did you guys get?”