I am always amazed at the number of people who think I work nine minutes day. Think about it… I get about 3 minutes for the weather segments on ABC 33/40 News at 5, 6, and 10:00. Three times three is nine. This is kind of like the idea a preacher working just one hour a week (during the Sunday morning worship hour). Here is a look at my schedule from yesterday, which is fairly typical:
4:52 a.m. The alarm goes off; I turn on the coffee pot and report to the home office/studio
5:00 a.m. I do a quick weather briefing for myself; pouring over dozens of maps and data sets. Then, I pull and save the graphics I will use for the morning Weather Xtreme video
5:25 a.m. I record the morning Weather Xtreme video, using the built-in iSight camera on my MacBook Pro.
5:35 a.m. I edit the video, using Final Cut, and then begin the rendering process (the video is rendered in both Quicktime, for iTunes, and Flash, for the blog).
5:45 a.m. While the video is rendering, I write the morning discussion for the blog
5:55 a.m. I do my first radio chat of the morning with J. Holland on WAAX in Gadsden
6:02 a.m. I upload the completed video files to the server
6:06 a.m. Time for a live radio chat with John Vogel at WYEA in Sylacauga
6:15 a.m. I prepare and upload the XML file, which makes the RSS feed for the Weather Xtreme video in iTunes
6:22 a.m. Another live radio chat; this time with the Country Morning Crew on WTDR-FM in Anniston
6:35 a.m. On the radio again, this time with the Zoo Crew on Z93-FM in Gadsden
6:40 a.m. Time to wake up our ten year old, and get him ready for school
7:05 a.m. I walk the 10 year old down to the bus stop and visit with the other kids and parents in the neighborhood for a few minutes
7:25 a.m. I begin recording the afternoon radio cuts for 24 affiliate radio stations around the nation, from Phoenix to Jacksonville.
7:50 a.m. Time for my morning visit with Rick and Bubba and their vast audience.
8:00 a.m. I finish the afternoon radio cuts
8:15 a.m. After spending a little time with my wife to talk about family matters and life in general, I hop in the shower and get dressed for the day ahead
8:45 a.m. Off to Ashville Elementary School, where I did a weather program for the third grade class
11:30 a.m. Arrive back in the Birmingham area for a working lunch with some associates concerning civic projects
1:00 p.m. Into ABC 33/40 where I go through the process of the blog discussion and producing another Weather Xtreme video
2:30 p.m. Time to check the ole e-mail inbox, which usually has over 50 messages that require an answer
2:45 p.m. I edit the KIDCAM video from Ashville on Final Cut on the MacBook Pro, and send it over to the in house video system
3:30 p.m. I begin working on the morning forecast package, which I write. I am so thankful for J.B. Elliott, who writes the afternoon package. This gives me the freedom to speak somewhere on a daily basis.
4:00 p.m. Into the TV studio, where I cut the afternoon webcast for the abc3340.com site
4:10 p.m. I begin working on the morning radio feed for the following day
5:00 p.m. Into the studio for ABC 33/40 News at 5:00 and 6:00
6:30 p.m. I take a nice break and head home for dinner with the family
8:30 p.m. Back in the station, where I will finish the morning weather package and radio feed
10:00 p.m. Into the studio for ABC 33/40 News at 10:00
10:35 p.m. Time to head home and call it a day. I usually get in bed around 12:00 midnight.
Then, I do all again the next day. Long, crazy hours, but if you really love weather and people, it doesn’t get any better than this. I really am living the dream!
