Getting a mug shot shouldn't be this hard

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
Last night I received the below press release and thought it was written odd because it's missing information that is usually included like description of the suspect, the date of birth, hometown, etc. I figured it had been sent out because of the unusual crime: an angry man throwing a computer monitor across the room in a store. This is something you'd normally see on TV dramas only. We don't receive releases on criminal mischief such as this often.

Lone Tree Police Department
News Release
Type...
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You don't know me. How dare you make assumptions!

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
I understand hot button issues. I expect to receive calls on issues that people really care about. But, PLLEEEAASSSE, please, I implore you, keep your temper in check and just talk to me. I am a reasonable human being. I will discuss your concerns with the story with you. I will pass on your complaints to the reporter, producer, and even the news director.

I just hung up the phone on a woman extremely upset with how a reporter did a story on a bill in legislature regarding in-state tuition for...
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News can't always help

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
I received two calls today from the same gentleman who desperately wanted to know if I could tell him if a company was legit or not. At first he couldn't remember the correct name of the company. I used what he had to do an archive search to see if I could find any story that may have been on the company. While I'm doing the search he tells me how he left a message on the CBS4 News investigation tip line earlier and wanted to know if we'd found out anything on the company yet.

The search ende...
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A bitter chuckle at Sesame St. layoffs

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
Sesame Street is eliminating 67 positions! http://moourl.com/3945c

While we all know the seriousness of having more good people out of work, once the news about the Sesame Street layoffs broke some chose to make fun of it as a way to lighten the mood, or to be satirical.
http://moourl.com/rd68z
http://moourl.com/xc8ge
http://moourl.com/nyl1y

I believe I saw on Twitter a campaign to save Kermit. While I chuckled at what I read and watched, I felt reality weigh on my shoulders. In the last week...
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President Obama on 1st reference. Mr. Obama on 2nd

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
I say it all the time, we've done our job right when in the same day, on the same stories, when we're accused of being too conservative/right AND liberal/left by viewers. When this happens this means we've aired the story with all sides/angles represented. Yeah for unbiased, fair journalism!

Unfortunately, in the issue of referencing the president in our stories we will always be conservative/right for the next 4 - 8 years, as we were always liberal/left during the last 8 years. The difference...
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When good days go bad

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
It's day two of book (Nielsen ratings period)and we're chugging along just fine. To be honest, the stress of scheduling all the special shoots and edits for stories that are going to be aired in the next few weeks seems to have eased up. I'm not sure why. There's still a lot of blue ink on our assignment board.

Oh, I should explain blue ink. We keep tracks of assignments on a big dry erase board and several smaller boards depending on the day/stories, and of course in the computer. Assignments...
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Shawn Montano has a shift in attitude

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
WAIT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ MY POST Future of news/media & how Twitter is moving me there - YOU SHOULD. It explains why I chose to post this article. Cheers! :-)

Below is my article that I wrote for the November 2008 NPPA News Photographer Magazine on my husband, Shawn Montano. He was honored as the Editor of the Year with a party in the newsroom & exactly one week later he was laid off. He asked me to write the article over the complaints of the magazine editor, who thought I would write a fluff...
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Future of news/media & how Twitter is moving me there

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
I started this blog over a week ago and every time I sit down to write it, I can't seem to get out what I want to say. This block has left me feeling like there's nothing else I can blog about until I get this out. So please, if ramble and take tangents, remember it's my way of trying to connect the dots. I'd love your feedback and ideas.

I agree Lacey, it's been too long since I blogged.

Last week was a horrible week for journalism in Denver. The Rocky Mountain News closed. There were lay offs...
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Lessons & Reflections

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
I can't turn off my mind after a day like today. I'm at home and in comfy pajamas trying to turn it all off. I can't so I write. And now I have this long blog. When I sat down to write, with the cranberry/pomegranate martini I made, I only had two or three things to say. Really...

before 1pm
I knew today would be a busy news day with President Obama in Denver & signing the stimulus bill. I didn't have to come in early though for the coverage so I had hoped it would all be running smoothly. When...
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Not so helpful call

Posted by Misty Montano on Saturday, June 20, 2009 In : Assignment News Desk 
We are just human & humans make mistakes. It is unfortunate when misspellings and typos show up in the news. Several eyes look over the scripts and graphics to check for errors and to make corrections. Sometimes, the mistakes just get by us and end up on the air. My recent favorite was in a story listing the symptoms of e-coli where the graphic said STOMACH CRAPS instead of STOMACH CRAMPS. (Seriously. I couldn't make that up.)

I expect people to call to correct us. Some people do it out of wan...
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Misty Montano


Evolving Journalist I am a Journalist using Social Technologies and Interactive Media to connect with news consumers. I am taking on the new exciting and challenging role of Digital Content Manager at 9News in Denver, CO. Previously I was an Assignment Editor at CBS4 News in Denver where I won an Emmy for my work and spent the first 10 years of my career. I truly grew up on the news desk.

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