This Tuesday needed a Coffee Break

More detailed explanation on this series soon. Angi and I knocked a few highlights of existing videos on NewsOK.tv.

Damon Fontenot is covering the Thunder announcements tonight: trade involving Tyson Chandler (who is on Twitter), new mascot and the game vs. the Hornets. Tim Money has been in Cushing all day covering the developments in the triple homicide. We have some video online, expect more soon.


Coverage of the car wreck

First and most importantly, my condolences to all family and friends connected with in the fatal accident that occurred overnight Friday.

Some behind the scenes info… We have equipped The Oklahoman’s reporters with cameras for breaking news situations, such as fires and such. Chris Landsberger did a great job of shooting video of his interview with the OKC police office at the scene. He also shot b-roll of the crash scene.

Robert Medley also interviewed Sgt. Paco Balderrama, OKC police PIO, back at the cop shop for more official comments.

The video, posted early Friday morning, has received an amazing amount of views. Click on the above embedded video for more information about the accident.


Murder suspect caught


A lot changed on this story. And quickly. From this morning when the story was the suspect was caught, to a few hours later when the affidavit was released and we suddenly had details. I taped a version of the caught suspect when I got to the office this morning, but never posted it because we had two sports shoots, a Sunday Conversation and an attempted editorial shoot. By then the details emerged and it was time to rewrite the script and post a new update.

Today I used the NewsOK updated version. The newsroom does a great job of updating NewsOK with the latest information. Mostly I try to use as much of their work as possible along with as many photos or video/b-roll as I can with our updates.


Cold Case: Black Muslim case

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Moments… and cool video effects

Tanner Herriott forwarded me this video earlier today. It’s a church vid promoting a series, this one called “Moments.”

What’s interesting, at least to me, is how it was shot. The subjects appear on screen and on the screen behind them. And it appears to be projected against a flowing curtain, which creates a cool effect.

Tanner is editing our next Cold Case Oklahoma video – read more from Ken Raymond’s blog on our Cold Case stuff, it’s really good. Ken and Tanner and Paige do a great job with the Cold Case series, tying the video to the print while each telling the story in its own manner. Tanner is using a reverse image to illustrate the timeline in this case. He lit a piece of paper then reversed the image creating a film effect that’s far more compelling than the typical Final Cut Pro lower third.


Moments Intro HD from Port City Community Church on Vimeo.

And yes, this post somehow went from church to murder.


News update

‘you’ll never catch me’

Those words were scrawled in marker on a roadside memorial cross in rural Okfuskee County, one month after 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker, were gunned down at the same county roadside, just a few hundred yards from Taylor’s house. The Oklahoman’s Johnny Johnson reports nearly six weeks later, there are still no arrests, no suspects and no motive. And a sketch of a suspicious mystery man with a long ponytail who is listed as a “person of interest” has produced hundreds of leads but no notable results.

The ex-husband of Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller has ended up in bankruptcy court in Seattle, months after abruptly shutting down his laser eye surgery business. Nolan Clay reports Dr. Christopher Phillips was the subject of critical news accounts in Seattle earlier this year because some patients complained they had no notice of the closure and did not know what to do next.

Gov Brad Henry visited the Panhandle yesterday. That part of the state is suffering from an ongoing drought that has been compared to the devastating Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s. The Oklahoman’s John Sutter reports Gov. Henry also collected a $50 bounty for his appearance, to be donated to a local charity. Read more at NewsOK or the front page ot today’s Oklahoman.

Today in OKC expect highs in the lower 90s, with winds around 10 mph.

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Sirloin Stockade murders – 30 years later

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Woodward minister arrested

Edwin Grant Dowty, a Woodward educator, former foster parent and minister of the New Covenant Church of Woodward was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of lewd molestation of a female under the age of 13.

Ellen Censky, director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, announced today she will resign next month from the University of Oklahoma museum.

Oklahoma State University today became the largest campus in the state to ban tobacco. OSU President Burns Hargis said the policy aims to make OSU a clean and healthy environment.

Starbucks Corp. has announced it’s closing 600 underperforming stores in the United States. it expects to open fewer than 200 new company-operated stores in the United States in fiscal 2009.

Looking ahead to your Wednesday forecast, expect highs in the mid 90s in OKC.

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Weleetka murders: video analysis

Damon Fontenot and Tim Money from NewsOK.tv have been on the scene in Okfuskee County since Monday covering the murders of two teen girls.


Today, Damon and Tim provide analysis from Weleetka in a very disturbing story that continues to unfold.

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The Oklahoman’s Johnny Johnson reviews the situation in Okfuskee County, four days after two girls were shot on an isolated dirt road.


Also check out the Day 4 video.

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The OSBI and OHP return to the scene of the crime, searching for additional evidence in the shooting deaths of two young girls.


Weleetka murder update (video)

Press conference was held today at 2 pm. Another is scheduled for 2 pm tomorrow. We’ll be there.

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