ChrisSweigart.com » Life

Woman Gives Daily to Inspire Others

Chris Sweigart — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:10:57 +0000

DECATUR, Ga. (11ALIVE) — Most of us are accustomed to giving. We give to our churches, colleges, and charities. But an Atlanta woman is taking the giving farther — making it her mission to give one hundred dollars a day, every day this year. (Read More)

Athens Humane Society Will Try Online Pet Matching

Chris Sweigart — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:16:09 +0000

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The Athens humane society is taking a cue from popular online dating sites. The shelter is launching a program to pair dogs and cats with owners based on personalities and preferences. (Read More)

Men Shaping Up with Spanx

Chris Sweigart — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:05:33 +0000

ATLANTA (11ALIVE) — It’s a not-so well protected secret among women: Spanx, the undergarment that helps shape and smooth your body. But recently, the company is noticing that some of their best customers aren’t necessarily women. They’re men. (Read More)

LINK: Spanx for Men

Historic Buckhead Theater Set to Reopen

Chris Sweigart — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:58:59 +0000

ATLANTA — An Atlanta landmark that has been closed for several years is set to reopen. The Buckhead Theater, formerly known as the Roxy, will host its first event Friday night.

Located near the intersection of Peachtree, Paces Ferry and Roswell Roads, the Buckhead Theater was purchased by Charles Loudermilk, the founder of Aaron’s Rents, now Aaron’s, Inc. Loudermilk has invested in the renovation of the Buckhead Theater, which is nearly complete. (Read More)

The Buckhead Reporter published a very thorough and complete article about the opening of the Buckhead Theater.
The Buckhead Alliance is currently raising money, partially through the sale of engraved bricks, to fund the renovation of Charlie Loudermilk Park.

Talk To Me Goose

Chris Sweigart — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:43:51 +0000

Maverick and Goose

I came across a tweet on my twitter stream this morning letting me know that today, May 13th, is Top Gun Day.

Official in any capacity? Probably not.

Awesome in every capacity? Absolutely.

There’s a website, Facebook page and Twitter feed dedicated to Top Gun Day. On the website, you can find a handful of suggestions for the proper observation of Top Gun Day. Some tips include quoting Top Gun throughout the day and wearing aviator sunglasses.

Facebook Fans Want Betty White to Host Oscars

Chris Sweigart — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:28:23 +0000

(11ALIVE) — As if hosting “Saturday Night Live” to huge ratings wasn’t enough, Facebook fans now want Betty White to host next year’s Academy Awards. (Read More)

11Alive News Nominated for 27 Emmys

Chris Sweigart — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:04:50 +0000

We’re riding a bit of a high at 11Alive lately. Only a couple of weeks ago, our staff won eight Regional Edward R. Murrow awards, including the award for Overall Excellence.

Friday, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Southeast Region announced that 11Alive had been nominated for 27 Emmy awards. Here’s a rundown of the nominations:

Newscast – Daily Markets (1-25)
11Alive News

General Assignment Report
A Hero’s Reward
Jennifer Leslie, Dan Reilly

Fire & Faith
Jennifer Leslie, Steve Flood

Breaking News
Flood Rescues
Jennifer Leslie, Charles Olmstead, Deven Miller

Team Coverage
September Floods

Spot News
Hit and Run
Doug Richards, Dan Reilly

Continuing Coverage
State of Stimulus: Tracking the Money

Investigative Report
Parvo Puppy Mill
Shawn Hoder, Ross McLaughlin

Feature News Report
Daddy’s Home For Christmas
Marc Pickard, Richard Crabbe

Margie’s Wish
Julie Wolfe

One More Prom
Marc Pickard, Richard Crabbe

Business/ Consumer
Counterfeit Cash
Shawn Hoder, Ross McLaughlin

Health/Science
The Choking Game
Jonathan Samuels, Duffie Dixon

Specialty Assignment Report
Journey to Jhenya: Our Adoption from a Siberian Orphanage
Valerie Hoff, Mike Thomas

Sports-News Single Story
The Woodland Warriors
Matt Pearl

Public/Current/Community Affairs
Heroes for the Holidays
Philip Humes, Elizabeth Deschesne, Ted Hall, Brenda Wood

Special Event Coverage – Live/Edited
Centennial Olympic Park: 4th of July
Paul Ossmann, Ted Hall, A.J. Keane, Philip Humes

Station Excellence
WXIA-TV/WATL-TV

News Excellence
11Alive News
Ellen Crooke

Interactivity
Triplets Graduation
Bill Kalway, Matt Pearl, Danny Noa, Ellen Crooke, Josh Roseman, Michael King, Chris Sweigart, Donna Lowry, Kathleen Bourn, Erika Facey-Palmer, Tyson Paul, Jon Samuels, Keanne Sadeq, Phil Humes

Editor – News
Dan Reilly

News Producer
Philip Humes – 11 Alive News Tonight
Rich Hardwick

On-Camera Talent – Anchor – News
Brenda Wood

On-Camera Talent – Reporter – General Assignment
Duffie Dixon
Jaye Watson

On-Camera Talent – Reporter – Live
Duffie Dixon

Photographer – News
Jon Samuels

Letterman Demonstrates the iPad’s ‘Multi-Lick’ Technology

Chris Sweigart — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:20:13 +0000

Been There…

Chris Sweigart — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:00:57 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=68kSse3m0SU

Don’t Got That B-Roll?

Chris Sweigart — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:09:10 +0000

When committing acts of television (hat-tip to Live Apartment Fire for that one) it is necessary to have to proper b-roll to tell a story. For the uninitiated, b-roll is the video you see during a news story while you hear an anchor or reporter’s voice.

“B-roll” is apparently an “old film term” which I am too young to understand, and you probably don’t care about the details anyway.

Here’s what’s interesting: Sometimes reporters will find themselves assigned to cover a story that is “weak on video”. Usually that means the story is about an event that was not visually capture, or a story about an issue. These are often referred to as a “great story for newspapers”.

Apparently, an Asian media mogul has developed a way to fudge that b-roll by making news reports look like video games. As this report from CNN shows, his company creates animations to depict the news.

Wouldn’t it just be easier to call these guys?