Breaking News

Most evenings we can all take a dinner break between the 6 and 10 o'clock newscasts..
That's MOST evenings.. But when there are severe storms in the KTAB viewing area, or when there is Breaking News, its all hands on deck.. We listen to police and fire radios and scanners all day.. Accidents, fires, shootings.. Those are all incidents we may hear on the police/fire radios.. Of course, we get phone calls and e-mails from viewers about what's going on too..
I also have radios and scanners at home.. My wife has "good ears" to pick up what's happening.. My children hated the scanners, but actually have heard useful news over the years.. Obviously, we use the information only for news coverage..
Wednesday (04-08) I was home for a meal break when the Abilene Fire Department started broadcasting a fire at The Windsor, a multi-story retirement community at North 4th and Pine, downtown.. In news, we really (believe me) don't wish for bad things to happen, but when they do, we have to be prepared to cover them.. That fire call ended my dinner break.. My wife put my dinner in a plastic dish, and I rushed back to the station, just in case.. Altho there was significant smoke and water damage to several apartments, there were no serious injuries and this did not turn into a major event (unless you live in one of those damaged apartments)..
This will obviously lead our newscast at 10pm.. But things are under control, and we have a plan for the 10pm news..
So, that gives me an opportunity to write this.....