News Director Gets Emotional
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On a Zoom call with the staff, WXMI (Grand Rapids) News Director Brooks Blanton got a bit emotional during the call.
To say the news has been busy in Grand Rapids would be a major understatement.
Like everyone else, the news room has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. But, they also just got done reporting on historic flooding and now they are covering protests as the downtown area is being damaged.
It’s a lot of news in a short time done by a staff that is much smaller than in the big markets.
Blanton got emotional and he thought he should follow up as to why with a memo to the staff. A memo that FTVLive obtained:
I know for most of you this has been a very tough 24 hours. I don't think that any of us ever imagined that we would see such destruction in our very own city.
We have been through a lot this year and what happened in downtown Grand Rapids last night was just another challenge we face in our daily work.
The bravery of our crews in the field was incredible. I cannot even tell you what it was like watching chaos breakout in the streets, knowing that our crews were in the middle of it all the entire time. The courage it took for them to stay on the air for multiple hours showing us what was happening while glass shattered around them, explosions went off at their feet and teargas filled the very air that they breathed was nothing short of amazing. Despite all of that, they kept their composure and soldiered on.
A big shout out to the employees who were in the newsroom, in the studio and in the control room all night long working hard to keep us on the air during this unprecedented event. Directing, producing, editing video and running the assignment desk during times like this is an artwork of "behind the scenes controlled chaos" our viewers never see, but it's a vital part of our coverage. Also the anchors sitting in the studio, quarterbacking our coverage and trying to keep a proverbial ball in the air for hours upon hours is not an easy task.
I got a little emotional on the morning Zoom call today. Not because I was tired or frustrated or sad at what I had witnessed all night long. I got emotional because once again so many of you stepped up to the challenge and proved once again why you are the best team in West Michigan. So many of you answered the call and got out of bed to relieve colleagues who had been reporting and producing our coverage throughout a very tough night. All along, telling great stories. All of you make my job so rewarding. You care about our newsroom, you care about our coverage and you care about one another. I get a little emotional because we are a family and watching all of you work together in times like this is the best reward I could ever ask for.
We are in the middle of a pandemic. We just saw historic flooding in our state. And now we are dealing with pain, anger and destruction in our communities. Despite all of that, you keep going everyday and I cannot thank you enough.
You all are my heroes and when I casually toss out an "I love you all" in the newsroom, I really mean it. Take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones and be proud of what you do every day. Because you are great!
We have a road ahead of us yet. Keep your chins up and let me know if you need anything.
It’s nice to see the boss just put out a quick note to thank the staff and shows that he cares about them. Maybe some of the other ND’s could follow his lead.
Just saying….
