Waking People Up

First off, let me apologize to anyone I've woken up early over the years to get comment or soundbites. I know it's early. But in my defense, Andrew Adams and I (the morning reporters) wait until at least 6:20 AM (much better than the 4 AM time we get into the newsroom) and it's always for a good story.

Our biggest news hours are in the morning. That is to say, most of our listeners listen while waking up, getting ready for work, and driving to work. Then they often stay with us while they work. That means that right off the bat we need to give you guys the newest, freshest, and most important news of the day. Unfortunatley, it often means waking people up for an interview to clarify something, further a story, or get more information. Most of the time we're calling the major newsmakers -- city councilmembers, mayors, legislators, fire, police and other government officials. These people expect calls at home and are often very nice about it.

But other times there may be a story out there involving someone who may not be called a lot by a news agency. An advocate, a grassroots organizer, a parent concerned about their schools, a person taken advantage of by "the system" or "the man." Sometimes all I have is a name and city, so I try a few different names in the phone book. I wait until later in the morning (say, after 6:30) for these calls because I really don't like waking that many people up!

Most of the time people are happy to share their story. Other times I get some confused answers -- "huh? What time is it? Who are you?" To those people I say I'm sorry, but in the long run, I've got to get the correct story out there so I will keep calling.

And hey, if you've got a story, you can always call us at anytime of day or night. We always have someone in the newsroom.