Here's a fast story synopsis: Jammin 95.5 has a morning show called the Playhouse. The General Manager said a listener called and got them started talking about this legal herb called Salvia Divinorum. If you smoke it, it can cause hallucinations. So, the Playhouse had one of its crew smoke it this morning to see what would happen. They talked about it on the air... and eventually the guy did smoke it. He said it didn't do anything.

So, what's the big deal? It's legal, right?? Well, that's why we ended up doing a story today.

Here's some background. I did a story on Salvia Divinorum a while ago when the Oregon Poison Center was getting calls from parents and doctors about it. We talked to them and teens and interviewed some other folks by phone (to include the Portland Police Bureau and the DEA). Pretty much everyone in that story had concerns about Salvia because of its unpredictability and hallucinogenic effects. Their point was that even if it is legal that does not make it safe or smart to smoke. People who want the herb kept legal say it is not addictive and not harmful.

The herb has a place among Mexican Shamans who use it in thier healing rituals. A few years ago people started advertising it on the internet as a "legal" alternative to LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs.

We found that even if the websites said "18 and older" many of the sites would sell it to anyone. And one of the high school students we talked to said he bought it regularly from a downtown Portland store that doesn't check ID.

The enforcement agents we spoke to said that many illegal drugs are, in fact, legal for a time.. either when they first hit the scene or are first created (think LSD). It takes a while for the law and Congress to catch up and put it on the Controlled Substances Act. They expect the same will hold true for Salvia Divinorum.

Flash forward to this morning.

That's when the managers said to me (at 9:45am), "go right now to Jammin 95.5 and see if they'll talk to you when they get off the air". I thought odds were 50/50 the Playhouse would talk. PK is the host and he did decline an interview. I then requested one with the General Manager who agreed to speak with me.

Now, one of the challenges of reporting is that we are racing the clock. My producer could not give me a second more than 1:30 for this story, which is why I directed you here.

The GM believes the Playhouse did not realize what Salvia was all about and would NEVER promote drug use. They just figured it was legal, so it must be no big deal.

Here are a few extra excerpts from my interview with the GM and with the DEA agent I spoke with today. I also talked to a doctor and the Portland Police Bureau but did not include any of that in my story tonite.

Jammin 95.5 General Manager Tim McNamara

I asked him how our conversation would be different if the guy who smoked it had a bad reaction or started to hallucinate:

"That would have been something we would have had to address if that happened. It's like anything if you're walking on the edge of the entertainment wall-- you're gonna stumble. And I'm willing to take those risks. We want to be responsible obviously but when you are taking risks sometimes things happen. In this case that didn't happen."

I asked him what he thought the message was to the listeners:

"We try to make sure that we give the right message. We're not out here to promote the drug message and get high. We more were challenging a listener who was saying this stuff is cool. When you are doing entertainment and stunt radio you are walking a fine line- we realize that. And I take every measure to monitor it. And it's not something we take lightly. We promoted that this is stupid so the word that was out was that this is stupid. Could it have gone a lot of different ways? Yeah, but it didn't."

I asked him how the Playhouse felt about the bit this morning:

"Oh they feel terrible. I think you're informing me, too. I didn't know about a lot of this. As a result of this I'm gonna make sure they talk about it more on the air tomorrow and if we could maybe get someone from ftc or whoever would handle this.. poison control.. and educate kids more.. if this is as bad as people say it can be. The Playhouse is a show I am proud of and I wouldn't be proud of it if I didn't know how much hard work went into it and how responsible they do act. In this case I hope something good comes out of it. If we can inform kids that this is bad then we're doing something good."

DEA Assistant Special Agent In Charge Tim Magee

"The DEA looks at Salvia as a substance that's placed on our items to watch list. And it is a dangerous substance. It does have hallucinogenic properties and is extremely dangerous to the user. It's already outlawed in several countries throughout the world and several communities as well."

I asked him what he thought about the fact that it didn't do anything to the guy who smoked it.

"Any drug reacts in a different way to different people. That's number one. And number two: with what happened on the radio station today.. I think the media whether it be the print, or video or sound have a journalistic responsibility to the public to use common sense. I don't really see what happened today on the radio as using common sense. I wonder how many young people will go out and smoke [it] just to see if they can match what happened today on the radio station. I find it ridiculous and quite simply very irresponsible. Any substance right now that is illegal was legal at one time and as society determines what is good for you and what is bad for you... these laws take time to get caught up. I think it's very important for them to understand that. Even thought it is legal right now does not mean it is good for you and it can still be very dangerous."

Anyway, that's some of what I didn't get to put in my story tonite because of time constraints.

As always, feel free to email me: sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:39 PM | Permalink

Okay.. you found your way to this blog. Thanks for checking it out! Some of my older entries are below if you care to read them. Some are about health and some are off topic.

You can check the licensure status of any acupuncturist in Oregon by visiting the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners search website at:

http://www.bme.state.or.us/search.html

The following link is not exactly light bedtime reading but tells you what the state considers when granting a license to an acupucturist. These requirements can vary from state to state.

In Oregon:

http://www.oregon.gov/BME/acupunct.shtml

And finally here is a great link to a reputable website that has a ton of great info about acupuncture:

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/

On an aside.. do you remember that really cute little girl playing in the waiting room while her mom got acupuncture? Well, it was a total stroke of luck that we found her.

We came to that shoot expecting to get video of a pregnant women undergoing the treatment. Then later in the day we were going to connect with a different mom who felt acupucture helped her get pregnant. So, about halfway through the taping at the clinic, mom mentioned she was a fan of the story since she felt acupuncture helped her get pregnant with her previous little one. The photographer (Brian) and I looked at each other, smiled, and promptly asked mom if she minded if we grabbed some shots of her toddler.

If you're so inclined, email me your thoughts on the story:
sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 4:33 PM | Permalink

Oooph.

It's Monday.

While I'm not typically a huge fan of Monday's, this one is a little better than most. I actually have a special report running tonite that I'm pretty excited about. The story premise is using acupuncture to boost fertility. If you want to check it out it runs tonite at 5 or you can watch it after the fact on-line at the main page of this website (look about halfway down the far left side of the page for the link that says "Special Reports").

So, over the weekend I received two emails which both asked about various aspects of my job.

To answer J.L.'s question about wether we leave space on the scripts for editing sake.. no, not really. The computer program we use works like a glorified word processing program. When we input our scripts it leaves the left side for the director's cues. The director is the person who sits in the booth (which functions like command and control for a newscast) and he or she directs the show.

Just trust me when I say I'm making "directing" sound WAY easier than it really is. I've included a picture of just one of the tools the director uses during the newscast. This is the video switcher and I couldn't even get all the buttons to fit into the shot.

Okay, now to answer the question they both asked.. "do I get to pick my own stories". It depends. To give you the best answer I have to tell you a little bit about my average day.

I get in about 8:45 or 9am. I spend the next half hour looking through story ideas people have pitched to me via email, calls, or stories I find on-line. I compile a list and take it into our morning editorial meeting. When it's my turn, I read off my list of usually about 3 to 6 ideas and the producers and managers discuss which one they like. Sometimes I have a vision for a story and will really push to cover it. There are days when I get to cover a story that I pitched and days when I don't.

I get out of the meeting by 10am and start the process of calling people to line up interviews. I tell you what, no one likes it when I call and say to them, "yes, the interview is for tonite's newscast and I need to come in the next few hours".

While I wait for calls back I hop on-line and try to do as much background research as possible. About half the time I'm covering something that I don't have any "institutional" knowledge of.

If I'm lucky I get an interview (or two) sooner than later and am out the door by 11am. I work with a photographer and we shoot the story and fly back to the station hopefully no later than 2pm.

I sit down at a logging station which is basically a machine that plays the tape we shot along with a computer. That's when I log the interview. From there, I return to my desk.. type up the script.. get it approved by a manager.. cut the audio (which is my voice) and hand it all off to the photographer by 3pm or 3:30pm.

He or she then sits down and puts the whole thing together shot by shot by shot to air in the 5pm newscast. I'm still amazed at how fast we work to get a story on the air.

I think my biggest challenge is trying to simplfy a complicated medical story into 90 seconds. Inevitably something has to go and it's my job to try and pick the most important facts to include. When I'm angling for more time because I just can't possibly leave out a certain detail, my bosses will tell you I take that aspect of my job very seriously.

And just briefly to M.F. Yes, I do enjoy anchoring but I'm also very happy doing exactly what I'm doing now. It's a perfect mix of both and, honestly, I like my medical beat so much that I have chosen not to apply for anchoring jobs because it would mean losing this beat and losing out on the great variety of things I currently get to try. I have a great job that really satisfies me professionally.

Want to email me your own question? sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 2:02 PM | Permalink

Happy Thanksgiving!!

M.F. wrote me an email asking what my day to day schedule is like. I'm actually doing this from home (I just got off work) and will update the entry to more specifically talk about what my day looks like when I'm reporting health stories. Those days get CRAZY busy at times.

Today was not nearly as busy.. just long. I anchored the morning show which means my alarm goes off at 2:45am. Worked until 7am anchoring with our business reporter Joe Smith. About once a year or so we anchor together and always have a blast.

Then I split to tackle the "Turkey Trot" which is put on by the Oregon Road Runners Club ((http://www.orrc.net)).

Brutal.

Nothing like 2 miles downhill followed by the same 2 miles uphill. But I did it and will definitely do it again if it jives with my schedule. I've worked every Thanksgiving since I've been a KGW employee and some years I work the nightside shift which wouldn't allow me to to "trot" (sooo not a trot...). One highlight: the odd looks I got from people wondering why this gal would show up to run 4 miles in full, heavy makeup and overly-sprayed hair.

Then it was off to La Center to visit with my husband's family friends. They always feed me the most delicious meal and it's so nice to have even an hour or hour and a half to spend with them.

Then it was back to work at 3pm to anchor the 5, 6, and 6:30 newscasts with John Becker. I have such a respect for the quality of his work. The next time you see one of his stories really take a moment and listen to the writing. He's excellent.

Here's a picture I snapped of him while we were anchoring the 6:30 newscast. We're in a commercial break and he's asking our floor director Sean if he's heard of this name he has to pronounce in an upcoming story (I was of no help). And, I don't think we ever got to the bottom of it, either...

Again, Happy Thanksgiving. I have so very much to be thankful for. More on those crazy reporting days next. I work nightside tomorrow anchoring the 5, 6, 6:30 and 10 and 11pm newscasts. I should have some time about 8 or 9pm.

Email me with questions, comments, or about nothing in particular: sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 8:29 PM | Permalink

Okay, not quite a million. More like 25. But it explains why I hate talking on the phone outside of work. I am headed to Italy in February to cover the Olympics and I called just about every business, association, trade group, and Portland notable I could think of to see who is planning to attend the games. If you know anyone, drop me a line: sstricklen@kgw.com.

Torino will be my third Olympics and I finally feel like I have it figured out. It's not like anything else I've ever covered and to be effective.. truly effective in turning the quantity of coverage that KGW wants, you have to know how to play the game over there. Of course, I'll blog about that come February so I will spare you the details until then.

Wow. It's 4:56pm and I'm on in about 25 minutes. I need to go put on another coat of spackle (makeup). Same deal as yesterday; I'm fronting the health segment. If I get out there and the producer drops a story I'll go grab it and clip it into this blog.

This photo is for Joe who wrote me saying he gets a kick out of the behind the scenes stuff I write about. So, Joe.. it doesn't happen too often but occasionally my boss makes me cover a story that's totally different than the ones I pitched in the morning meeting. Sometimes I'm all for it, and sometimes I'm not. But, I try to keep a good attitude and do the best job I can. I keep this glittery DIVA crown on the top of my computer and have thought about wearing it to the morning meeting when I know it's going to be one of those days. Notice I said "thought about wearing it". I don't think my boss would find it very funny.

And those weird white beads you see came in the mail a few years ago from a company wanting me to do a story on them. Google "fertility beads" if you're interested in learning more. I have all kinds of stuff like that on my desk.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 4:39 PM | Permalink

So, tonite we just flat ran out of time and had to drop a story at the last minute (about :30 before I went on the air). I'll drop in the story for you to check out below. Ignore the CAPS as that's how we type it into the program where we write our stories.

Little insider tidbit, first.. anytime you see me reading a series of shorter health stories (as opposed to doing one longer one) you should know that I most likely didn't write them. Those are days I work on special reports, but I still need to have a presence in the show. So, the producers have me "front" the health segment, to use the lingo. I usually try and go over the scripts and double check the facts before we hit air.

Okay, here is the story we dropped because of time issues.

What you're seeing is my desk with Joe Donlon sitting in the newsroom in front of "Cam 4" getting ready to do a "cut in" as we call them. Basically anytime you see someone in the newsroom doing a story, just know it's right by my desk.

Got a story idea? Have a thought about what you'd like to see in the health blog? Email me: sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:29 PM | Permalink

"Pushed to Extremes" was the name the promotions department settled on for my story that aired tonite. They have the unenviable task of coming up with a catchy title that sums up an entire story in two or three words AND rolls off the tongue. The story focused on teen athletes who suffer overuse injuries as a result of training too hard.

Interesting story, really.. the question is: who pushes these kids so hard? I think the answer I finally settled on after doing some digging was, "it depends". Yeah, great digging, huh?

Of course, there are those coaches who just drive thier students to the point of getting physically sick (apparently a badge of honor for some teams), in other cases the students are so competitive they will train themselves right into the ground and wind up in physical therapy, and in still other cases it's parents who know they can't afford college unless thier son or daughter gets a scholarship.

I'd be interested to hear your story if you have one.. NOT for publication or anything like that. Feel free to email me: sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:21 PM | Permalink

Wow. My own KGW blog. It's great to have my own little space on this website to call home. Of course, KGW owns the site so it's not like I can prattle on about the comings and goings of my life. That's what blogspot and friendster are for. Besides, it would bore you to tears.

But this is a really cool, new tool for me professionally speaking.

Here's why: it gives me the opportunity to share with you a lot of information that just wouldn't make it on the air otherwise. Maybe I saw a really interesting article in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.html), or found this great write-up at WebMD (http://www.webmd.com), or perhaps I want to share just how difficult it was to get a particular story on the air (insider info, how 'bout that). Or maybe I have a ton of extra info about a story and none of the producers can spare extra time in thier jam-packed newscasts... you get the idea.

Now, if only this thing had spell check.

Let me try to include an image here.. hang on.. I'm just learning the software.. this is a picture of me holding a ridiculously expensive coin (like in the millions of dollars). What you can't see are the armed guards all around the studio behind the camera. Yeah, I know, it's got nothing to do with health reporting.

BRILLIANT!! It worked. I just got a camera phone. I should have tried to sneak a picture of one of the anchors with no makeup on or Joe Donlon's crazy ball chair he sits on (hey, I have one at home).

Seriously, feel free to email me with what you would like to see in this space. I'd like to make it work for you just as much as it will work for me: sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:42 PM | Permalink