Well... after six months of sitting on the sidelines, I'll be back on Portland's early morning television airwaves tomorrow to join the cast of Northwest Newschannel 8 at Sunrise (Mondays-Fridays, 5am-7am).

Of course, it's not like I've been relaxing at some resort destination since the beginning of September.

Me "swimming" in 2-feet of water off Maui before September.

My previous contract with my former station prevented me from being on the air here at Channel 8 to this point, but the "non-compete' clause said nothing about contributing to the internet.
(I'm assuming they're re-wording their contracts there now.)
(I just used they're, their, and there in the same sentence... feel free to let me know if I used them properly or not.)

As a result, I've been producing a daily feature segment for KGW's website for the past six months. The web segments have been a blast to put together, providing us with some creative freedom that the limitations of live TV don't normally allow.
My photographer Steve Hanson (who, by the way, is one of the reasons I'm happy I made the switch to 8) put together a few of our most memorable moments in the field so far, in a "Best Of" segment that we'll show on the air as part of tomorrow's TV debut.
You can look at the segment right now on-line by checking out the following link:
http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=124118&catId=131

Now, despite not being able to use my name, face, or voice on TV to this point, KGW has still managed to promote my hiring on their airwaves through the clever use of the now infamous crate.

I know many of you are familiar with the crate promotions, because the most common line I hear when I'm out on the street these days is, "Hey, Drew, they let you out of the crate?"

I think one of the highlights of tomorrow's KGW-TV debut will be a pre-produced story we put togther that chronicles what life in the crate has been like for the past six months. At least I hope it's a highlight. You can tune in tomorrow to be the judge yourself.

A lot of people have asked me what time exactly I'll be "coming out" of the crate tomorrow morning. In the spirit of good TV promotion I have to say you'll need to watch the entire "Sunrise" show (which tomorrow begins at 4:30am).

I sincerely appreciate all the positive response I've received through this blog and the overwhelming number of personal e-mails from viewers who have expressed how much they've missed seeing me on their TV sets in the morning and how they're willing to change their viewing habits to catch me on NW Newschannel 8 @ Sunrise.

Your loyal support couldn't come at a better time. We're in the final days of the February TV ratings period (aka February sweeps), and while my new station has a comfortable lead over my former station in the race to win the 5am hour, we're in a dead tie in the even more critical battle to win the 6am hour.

So if I haven't said it before, let me say it now... Please watch on Tuesday from 4:30am-7am.
Please?
Thank you!!

4 Comments

Michael said:

Drew,

I will definatly be watching. Where you at Maui for a vacation? Isn't it nice being ablr to go to Maui? I went there in Spring 2004 and had a blast. Scuba diving, boogy bourding....so much fun. We stayed mstly in Ka'anapali(sp?) at the then called "Embassy Suites Resort". The pool is fabulous. Where did you stay?

We had this book which had a buch of little known places to visit. So much fun.

Well, maybe you were expecting me to comment nore on your debut tommorow. Well, all I can say is "go get em". I type a comment or two after your show.

February 26, 2007 5:58 PM

Shoy L Mohr said:

Ok Drew I watched your 'best of the best' with a real tear in my eye ('cause I was laughing so hard, he he) how are we going to do without you? Please say that in your early position you still will get to be 'out and about' a little and give us the good stuff! You can be sure of one faithful viewer and e-mail buddy! Good luck and have fun will ya?

Shoy

February 26, 2007 6:38 PM

David Henkemeyer said:

Drew -- we were flipping thru the channels this morning and I just about spit out my coffee when we saw you on KGW! We're SO glad you're back! We were huge fans of yours over on 12, and we were so upset you left. We're definately going to start watching KGW to see your segments. Congrats and enjoy your new home!

February 27, 2007 10:34 AM

Benjamin Romero said:

Hi Drew,

Congratulations on the birth of your twins! I am so happy that mother and both babies are healthy and doing fine. There's nothing more exciting than the feeling of bringing a new life to the world. I am sure you and your wife will make fantastic parents, (becoming a father was the best day of my life), the children are lucky to have you as parents. Here's to many years of happiness for all of you. We're going to miss you in the mornings....
Affectionately,

Benjamin

September 7, 2007 7:03 AM

Leave a comment

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.