Yankee Stadium Mass...(Cat McKenzie)

It’s me again WABC Special Project Producer, Catherine “Cat” McKenzie – out on the road again but this time I only had to go as far as the Bronx. I have been at WABC for 11 years. Whenever I tell people I am a producer they always ask what does that mean?

Well on a trip like this I am in charge of helping get our product out on the air while we’re in the field.  That means everything from making sure our satellite feeds are up and running to setting up interviews to actually doing an occasional interview to help our reporters round out their coverage.

Right now I am at Yankee Stadium preparing for the Pope to say mass for about 57,000 people.  Security is the tightest it’s ever been on any event that I’ve covered..and that includes two Presidential Inaugurations.  Today, I’m working with Liz Cho, Bill Ritter and NJ Burkett along with about a dozen technical people we arrived at the station at 3:00am this morning!! Then we had to head down to the Sheraton Hotel, go through a security sweep and take a bus to the stadium. It was EARLY – but the early wake up call was worth it.

Our anchor position is in the Yankee Bullpen – yes we are standing on top of the same spot future hall of famer Yankee Mariano Rivera warms up on…pretty cool.  Traveling with anchors has its privileges.  Bill, Liz, David Bloch (one of our Executive Producers) and I took a walk around the stadium.  We walked around the warning track, which is the track of dirt that surrounds the outfield.  When we got to the third base line – an old ABC audio engineer who recognized Bill and Liz summoned us onto the stage – yes onto the same stage the Pope would be on in just about 7 hours.  The colors are so vibrant lots of purples and golds...interesting fact – on the stage is a huge white chair where the Pope will sit.  We were told that the stagehands who had been on the clock since Thursday at midnight and who had been sitting on everything – would not sit in that particular chair…. So after just looking at the chair…we then walked down into the Yankee dugout and out into the tunnel where we were able to look inside the Umpire’s Locker Room.  They had turned the locker room into a suite….complete with new carpeting…gold curtains, fresh flowers, candles and crystals. This is where the Pope would arrive to prepare for celebrating the mass. Then we ran into some young men in liturgical vestments – I asked them if there were excited – one of them was also topping his vestment off with a Yankee cap – they told us as did everyone we met this morning that they were just as excited to be in the inner sanctum of Yankee Stadium as they are to be helping the Pope’s with his final event on this trip.

Our next stop was the Pinstripes Club where we got some much-needed coffee and snacks.  Then it was back to our spot in the bullpen – where Executive Producer David Bloch was able to wrangle recording star Harry Connick Jr.  for an interview with NJ Burkett. How cool was that? And how pretty are his eyes?!!!!

The congregation is coming in now and we can all feel the excitement that they are generating. Kids in “Benedict” jerseys. Families all dressed up for church.  Music blasting from the speakers.

We do a quick interview with Mayor Bloomberg who talks to us about the emotional visit the Pope paid to Ground Zero this morning – and also gives us some insight into his talks with the Pope while he has been in New York.

The choir is singing “Oh Happy Day” and the sun is coming out – and although this is a work assignment and I was raised an Episcopalian I can’t help but smile at how this visit has touched so many of so many different faiths…and I’m a little excited to see the Pope celebrate mass…gotta go Harry's about to sing.…thanks for reading…Cat

Covering the pope (Nina Pineda)

It is amazing to witness the Catholic youth, all chanting, singing and praying together. They are not embarassed to express their love or their devotion to the pope of their generation. They call him B16, for Benedict the 16th.

(The aftermath of the youth rally)

We were moving through the crowd, talking to these young people, very representative of how the face of the Catholic church is changing. And they talked to us about the challenges they face, striving to live chaste lives and abstain from pre-marital sex, to keeping the sabbath and going to church on Sunday. And they are heartened, they are lifted to know that other teens are struggling and they can become better people and be closer to God if they all do this together at the same time.

(Field producer Maura Sweeney and photographer Todd Pierce after a long hard work day.)

From the T-shirts, to the dancing, the expression of faith is so representative of the creative ways kids are choosing to worship. They were told they aren't just the future of the church, they ARE the church.

(Nina and photographer Rob Cantwell)

To worship with Pope Benedict is a privelege, an honor those in attendance will remember for the rest of their lives. And so will we!

Headed to St. Joseph's Seminary

It is day two of the pope's visit to New York City, and while we are all tired from working 16 hour days, it's been a thrill to witness history in the making.

Right now, we have all been ''swept'' by the US Secret Service, which means they have checked all of the camera equipment and our bags with bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors. Once all is clear, we file onto secure buses to be transported en masse to the site we are covering for the pope's visit. Today, I am covering the rally in Yonkers at St. Joseph's seminary.

The bus has just started to leave Midtown, to the cheers or everyone on board. Everyone is acting like school kids, joking and chanting with the giddiness we feel covering a large scale event.

The Secret Service runs a very tight ship. There is no room for error here, and I've never witnessed more heavily armed bodyguards or tighter frozen zones prior to this, and that includes the UN General Assembly and Heads of State visits to New York City post 9/11.

Yesterday, at St Joe's on the Upper East Side, our photogrpaher accidentally stepped out of the barricaded area reserved for press, and a Secret Service agent made the ENTIRE Press Corps empty out of our ''pen'' so the dogs could resniff every bag and federal agents went through our equipment by hand.

Even the people who lived on the street (87th) weren't allowed to sit on their steps or even open their windows prior to and during the pope's service. It was wild. There were sharpshooters in the belltower and on rooftops all over.

Seeing the Pope 

I couldn't help but tear up and quickly tried to blink away my tears before going on the air. It's just incredible to be close to a person so many people around the world regard as the closest thing to God on Earth. Pope Benedict emerged from his Cadillac, with its bulletproof windows, and hugged babies on the steps of the church. He gently held the lucky infants faces and feet. He appeared so much gentler than the cardinal who earned the nickname ''God's rotweiller'' while still Cardinal Ratzinger before becoming Pope.

I immediately wished my own daughter could have been blessed by his holiness, but there was no way I could have brought her (Tea...8 months old) with me to work, because we were literally standing in the same place for about 8 hours and I worked from 9 a.m. until midnight yesterday.

It's been amazing to see the NYPD in action for the pope. They have secured this city down to an exact science, closing down blocks and containing people so well. A few blocks away, you'd never even know what was happening.

Everything went well Friday and we are all hoping the rest of the weekend will be safe and flawless.

I'll write again about the rally. It's a beautiful, sunny day at Dunwoodie, where the seminary is located. I'm sure we will all be inspired by the kids, the pope's message to them and, of course, Kelly Clarkson!!

Bye for now...Nina.

(Field Producer Maura Sweeney and Photographer Todd Pierce after a long hard work day.)

The Final Countdown

By Tara Zimmerman, producer

For me, this is among the most exciting parts of a race...the days leading up to it. There are daily check-ins with Diana, Lisa, Heidi and Lori on how we're all holding up; we've received our race bibs and Channel 7 shirts to wear; we're making plans for the pasta party the night before the race.

Tonight, I pick up my sister Tracy from the airport. She's flying in to cheer me on (and for a weekend of R&R!). She and my boyfriend are reviewing the race route, plotting where they'll be to cheer me on. This is the fun stuff.

The past few months have been a bit tougher, with skipping nights out with friends to train, long runs, chaffing, a sore sartorius muscle and the bout of food-poisoning that I thought would sideline me. Our coach Jimmy Lynch (seen above stretching me out), with Wharton Performance, has been great in answering all of our questions, no matter how small, like "What if we have to go to the bathroom during the race?" (thank goodness for port-a-potties) and "How do I prevent that chaffing? (it turns out Body Glide and Vaseline work wonders).

But after all the hard work and miles logged, now it's time to enjoy the ride. See you at the finish line!

Training for a Blog...race jitters

By Diana Williams

Fear has set in. It permeates all our e-mails within the group. Have we trained enough? Will our hips and knees hold up? Will blisters pop? Will we make it to the finish line without walking? What were we thinking!!??   

Running coach Jimmy Lynch is sensing our jitters. His latest e-mail reminded us that 98 percent of the race is showing up. And at this point, we all know there is no turning back. Today, we received all our race gear. Our bibs with name and number and a chip that will attach to our running shoes. That chip will register our times, not just at the finish line, but at different spots along the 13.1-mile route. Later, we can log onto the New York Road Runners Web site and see how we did. Time doesn't really matter for most of us. We just want to cross the finish line in one piece. As Jimmy says, running is not in your feet, it's in your head. 

Race day almost here...(Lisa Colagrossi)

Race day is fast approaching, and I must admit I am nervous! Diana called me a veteran runner. Well let me tell you, she is very kind! I began running seriously about a year ago and have done two half marathons. The times were nothing to write home about, but I finished before they re-opened the streets, so I was pumped. I have never worked with a trainer before, just got advice from fellow runners, (namely Heidi Jones).

Working with Jimmy Lynch has been a Godsend. Even though we have communicated mostly by e-mail and cellphone, the training schedule he designed for me really helped. I feel like I have an actual plan for the race, instead of just winging it. Fatigue is the biggest issue for me (working the 3 a.m. shift is a killer). My main goal this week is to get as much rest as I can and complete the final training runs without getting hurt.

What I love about running is purely selfish. This I do for me. It has nothing to do with being a wife, a mother or even a reporter. I can't wait for all of us girls to be at the starting line, grim determination on our faces, about to push ourselves to the limit. I am already so proud of our Eyewitness News first timers: Diana, Tara and Lori.

My husband and two little boys will be waiting for me at the finish line. I don’t know if I’ll collapse, cry or throw up (maybe all three). So on Sunday, if you see some chick chugging by with a brunette ponytail and a beet red face, give me a shout out. I'll need all the encouragement I can get!

Half-Marathon Training Continues

By Diana Williams

We ran the loop in Central park Tuesday night. The picture on our Web site shows us after our six-mile jaunt. Lori Schulweis, Tara Zimmerman and I are all running about the same pace, which puts us two steps ahead of a tortise. Our goal isn't speed. It's just to finish the race, and we are feeling pretty confident we can do that. We have all run at least one long run, and now we are shortening our distance, while increasing our speed. It does get a bit maddening when everyone running in the park keeps passing us. The only people we jog past are those who are walking. 

I said yesterday that I was almost sidelined from the More Magazine Half Marathon. It's funny how getting into shape can throw a body out of whack. After a month of running, I began to have excruciating pain. I ended up needing surgery for what turned out to be endometriosis.

I was off my feet for a full week, but back up and running 13 days later. It took me a while to get back on track, and I will probably finish slower because of the surgery, but I'm glad to have it out of the way and to be back in good health.

Speaking of good health, I interviewed legendary Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter today about his battle with cancer. Three years ago, he was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease. He writes about it in a new book, and his advice applies as much to cancer as it does to our race. He quotes Winston Churchill who said, "Never give in." It's the title of his book, and I'm sure that thought will come in handy as we hit the hills in Central Park on race day.

Eyewitness News women 'On the Run'...(Diana Williams)

Less than two weeks from now, a group of women here at Eyewitness News will run in the More Magazine Marathon and Half-Marathon in Central Park. The idea came to us at the beginning of the year when 5:30 p.m. Producer Tara Zimmerman received an e-mail from the Road Runners Club about the race.  A half-marathon with all women appealed to her because she thought it would be less intimidating. It appealed to the rest of us because we were all looking for New Years' resolutions that we could actually follow through on, or so we believed.

Our group started out quite large, but slowly dwindled.  As the training got underway, some realized the time commitment was more than they expected and dropped out.  There are now five of us.  Heidi Jones, runner extraordinaire, is our inspiration.  Lisa Colagrossi, also a veteran runner, is training and ready to go.  Lori Schulweis will be with us too.  She is a production coordinator for "Live with Regis and Kelly." You may be familiar with her because she is part of the show's Staff Fitness Challenge.  To read her blog, click here.  So far she's doing great and is psyched for the race.  There's Tara, who ran in high school and has been training vigilantly. And finally, there's me.  I'm no runner, but always up for a challenge and I didn't want last year's training for Kilimanjaro to go to waste.  Once again, Jimmy Lynch, a fitness guru and a gifted muscular therapist,  is helping out.  He's coordinated our schedules, given us stretching exercises and provided endless advice and answers.

During the next two weeks, you'll hear from us about the race.  Right now, an estimated 7,000 women are expected to cross the finish line. We would love to have you out there cheering us on in the park. For More half-marathon information, click here. 

WABC will be sponsoring another half-marathon this summer, so maybe this race will spark your engine and get you running too.  Tomorrow, I'll have more on our training and tell you about the health concern that almost had me on the sidelines.   

After the resignation

By Jim Dolan
March 13, 2008

So here is where our law and order Governor has put us. I spent Wednesday night outside the apartment building of a 22 year old former drug abuser and recent prostitute who was, apparently the last of many young women to work in Elliott Spitzer’s employ, as they say, off the books. We will forget, for the moment that he is a 48 year old married man with three young daughters. And we will forget, for the moment that a generation of young, political acolytes believed his promises and believed in his promise, and for this moment, we will forget that he convinced an army of people to give up their careers in the private sector for the chance to make a difference in people’s lives. 

We will forget all that, because so many others will discuss it. The tragedy here, of course, lies not in the fall of a politician (somehow, I’m certain, we’ll survive the loss of the “*&%$#@% Steamroller”.), but in the collapse of a family. Mrs. Spitzer and her three daughters will feel this for a lifetime. A year from now, we’ll have trouble remembering the name of David Paterson’s predecessor.

But for this week, you and I have been dragged down in the muck with the governor. Men are asked by their wives "What’s up with men and hookers, anyway," as if a man might understand this simply by virtue of his gender.   Parents are forced to discuss with their children, old enough to read the headlines but too young to understand them, the sordid details of what caused the governor to resign. And there I was last night, the last place on planet earth I wanted to be, trying to learn details about a tragic, pathetic 22 year old woman who came to New York to be a star, but who turned to prostitution when the dream didn’t work out.   A woman who had the misfortune of being assigned, no differently that a livery cab driver who is assigned a fare, a dalliance with her destiny.

Some speculated last night that Ms. Dupree would enjoy her 15 minutes of fame. Sure. Much as she enjoyed having to tell her mother that she was the high priced call girl who slept with the governor in Washington, DC. Much as she enjoyed having to tell her brother and her friends from home, all people she had convinced that things were going just great in the big city. And much as she enjoyed her neighbors learning that she wasn’t a sales representative after all.

When I was a young reporter, I worked at a TV station in Charleston, West Virginia. The prosecutor of Kanawha County back then was a guy named James “mad dog” Roark, a tough as nails, anti-drug crusader who promised to clean up Charleston. He was later arrested, charged and convicted of buying cocaine off  a dealer on a junior high school playground. And stealing cocaine from drug busts he had overseen as prosecutor. Like Spitzer, he had a political future as bright as the morning sun, and it ended up being eclipsed only by his own demons and his considerable hubris.

Roark spent time in a Federal Prison. Its still unclear if Spitzer will. But he has damaged the lives of all he touched. His wife and children, worst of all. But also you and me, who have had to wallow in the slime he generated this week. And a 22 year old girl, a girl whose life was  already so desperate she had to sleep with men like Spitzer to keep her dreams of stardom alive, and whose life has managed, somehow now, to get even worse.

She will be a footnote in New York State history, the tragic answer of a trivia question. But while the world is offering up prayers that the Governor is able to repair his marriage and atone to his family, consider, for a moment the collateral damage. About the parents discussing the headlines with their children, the husbands discussing it with their wives, and the 22 year old woman who just wanted to hold onto the illusion of success a little while longer. We are all collateral damage in the implosion of arrogance and selfishness that brought about the political end of Eliot Spitzer.      

Til next year Oscar...(Sandy Kenyon)

I've often said if a reporter covering the Oscars no longer gets excited at an hour before show time on the Big Night.then that reporter better retire. Me? I get jazzed by seeing all the stars together. There was a wonderful moment when Cameron Diaz was working the press line and past winner Faye Dunaway stopped by to say "I've always wanted to meet you because I really admire you!" Cameron smiled and then turned back to the press corps and said "Oh My God, that was FAYE DUNAWAY!"

I'm close enough to see the little, serpentine tattoo on the back of Jessica Alba's neck.
She was radiantly pregnant, and so was Cate Blanchett. Both looked lovely along the red carpet. The children of privilege stopped to stare on their way to their coveted seats inside the Kodak theater. This being LA, the 13 and 14 year olds sport major bling: diamonds and emeralds with couture dresses to match.

The fans in the stands are true movie fans. You can tell because Helen Mirren gets a bigger cheer than Miley Cyrus. George Clooney gets the biggest reaction of anybody. One of our fashion experts told us, "this year it's all about the men." Now, I heard this comment elsewhere, and I couldn't help thinking: 'how do they know & what does that mean??' But, the sharpest stars on the red carpet did seem to be Mr. Clooney, Colin Farrell, and Viggo Mortenson who came with his young niece.

The show featured the most beautiful set I've ever seen for an Oscar telecast, though I did feel the show lacked star power along with those big moments that one remembers even after many years. Absent was the emotion, for example, of a Halle Berry or even a Cuba Gooding. I like it when at least one winner goes over the top (Sally "You like me" Fields or Jim "King of the World" Cameron).

Jon Stewart showed a lot of class, but my favorite host after Carson & Crystal was Chris Rock. He was the only one to tweak the tender egos of the famous which I thought was hilarious. They take themselves way too seriously to ever allow him back in the room.

Hollywood may be synonymous with filmmaking, but the craft is practiced all over the world. Each of the performers who won for their acting hails from outside the U.S., and the work of each is worth seeing. Not many of you have seen the films up for Best Picture (except for Juno"), but each one is worthwhile and each went home with an Oscar for something. The best part of this whole circus is the way it draws attention to films that otherwise might get lost. The pull of the gold guy is such movies get made that otherwise would not. And that is a good thing.

Your Oscar crew from WABC-TV spent most of the night dressed in formal wear in a truck graciously lent by our sister station KABC-TV. No parties for myself, Cat McKenzie or Mike Thorne. I just keep writing and they keep translating that into sound & pictures for you. Thank God for 'em because the Oscar show is no place for rookies.

Packing the bags...(Cat McKenzie)

Packing up to go home.  Well it’s all over now.  When I look out my hotel room window, I can see the remnants of the tents and the red carpet.  If you were up this morning watching Eyewitness News you probably noticed how much commotion was going on behind Sandy as he did his reports and the crew was busy getting Hollywood Ave back open to the public.

We’ve been up for almost 24 hours straight but it’s been exciting.  Sunday morning was a different feel this year.  Because of the late start on the show the normal final security sweep that is done Saturday night was done Sunday morning right before our 9am live shot and it was done in pouring rain.  Picture the three of us – gear in hand standing in the rain literally counting the seconds down until we could get back on the red carpet it was not a pretty sight.

Normally by end of our morning live shot the “bleacher creatures” have begun to arrive, but because of the rain the Academy was keeping them inside a bit longer than usual so there was no reason for us to stay on the red carpet and chat with fans. After our morning shot the three of us separated to prepare for what lied ahead.  For Mike our cameraman it meant taking apart his whole editing system and bringing it down to our satellite truck.  For Sandy it meant heading back to the room and writing some dummy scripts so our night would go smooth.  For me it meant going back to the room getting our satellite times booked and grabbing any file video that we might need for our final story of the night, and of course getting my dress on.

When we all reconvened, it was down on the red carpet a carpet that was now filled with reporters, cameramen and academy officials all of us in formal dress.  It’s a pretty awesome site and you can feel the energy as stars start arriving on the red carpet.

Biggest Cheer? George Clooney by a mile.

Biggest Surprise? It’s a tie between Kristen Chenoweth being soooo tiny and P.Diddy walking the carpet alone.

Best Greeting? Seeing the director of the IMPACT choir making eye contact and mouthing the words “good luck” and getting a head nod that was cool.

Strange Observation? EVERYBODY has some type of camera now – so much so that when stars walked the carpet you’d first hear this big cheer – then silence as everybody as if on cue picked up their cameras, camera phones, iphones, blackberry’s ect and starting snapping then loud cheers again.

The show itself , I watched from our satellite truck.  In an attempt to get ahead we actually started editing out 11pm piece soon after they gave the award for Best Actress.  No matter it still was a scramble in the end to get the piece done and include the winners for the big five categories.

Favorite part of the show? For me it was when Jon Stewart brought the female winner for best song back out so she could make an acceptance speech. I just thought that was the neatest thing ever.

Final observations?
Great trip – I never get tired of seeing and talking to people as they are on the verge of fulfilling one of their life long dreams.  Whether they've been nominated for an award, are performing on the big show, working backstage on the big show or just going to the big show...it's very cool to see people live out theire dreams. Even though the weather this week in Los Angeles was cold and rainy the city was a gracious host (as was our LA Affliate KABC) and this year I not only got camearaman Mike his In-and-Out burger TWICE,  I remembered to get MY favorite treat  out here – Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles…best ever!!

Hope you enjoyed our Oscar Observations. I’ll be back next time the boss sends me out on the road. Thanks for reading.

Catherine “Cat” McKenzie, Producer Eyewitness News