I often get asked if I miss being a TV news anchor/reporter. I'll answer that in 3 different ways.
1. No
2. At the gym this morning (BioFit Stl), I painfully heard a BBC News report on Brittney Spears getting backhanded by a security guard. This was at 7am. The time is important because stories in the first 10 minutes of each half hour are "lead stories."
The news anchor from London told how Brittney Spears was in a Vegas hotel lobby when she tried approaching the #1 NBA Draft pick, Victor Wembanyama. Apparently his security guard backhanded her.
The BBC anchor talked for about 90 seconds, referencing a social media post from Brittney about it, and they played a soundbite from the NBA player. Then they brought in a correspondent sitting in a New York newsroom to discuss. The reporter proceeded to share nothing new. The anchor and reporter had about 2 more minutes of back and forth, essentially saying that there's no other information available.
Then they moved on to the next story, a live report from Pamplona, Spain about the running of the bulls. There was no news angle that I heard, just a reporter there saying bulls get released and people try to avoid being gored. The news anchor asked "how safe is it?" Thankfully my workout was done and I left.
Here's the thing, I'm very proud of most of the work my fellow journalists and I did while I was in broadcast journalism.
My dad, the original John Knicely, is still doing great work as a news anchor/reporter at age 72 in Omaha! He's always been and continues to be my biggest inspiration in storytelling.
He and I also both LOVE the movie Anchorman. Ask me about the time my old school news boss compared me wearing a Ron Burgandy mustache in a Twitter photo to dressing up as Hitler...true story! I'll save that full story for another post. Standby...
The Brittney getting backhanded lead story on BBC World News immediately me think of Panda Watch! The mood is tense!
I have friends in the news business still doing great work. The ones I've talked to recently also say it's gotten even harder to do quality stories that really matter. There's a long list of reasons why that I won't get into here.
3. Most importantly, however, I don't miss TV news because I LOVE the work we get to do at Story on Purpose. Here are a few examples of stories we get to tell that help businesses meet their objectives and families preserve their legacy:
Natural health and wellness company, who's owners built and run orphanages in 3rd world countries: The Kassebaum brothers slept in their minivan on sales trips across the country...for years...as they built Cosmos Corporation, which is now an international leader in natural health, wellness, and care wellness products. The 4 brothers, who own the company, brought in new leadership, Landon Hobson, to run Cosmos a few years ago. Instead of living the yacht life or summering in the Hamptons, the brothers are still heavily involved in Gifts of Love, their nonprofit that runs orphanages and leadership training in Guatemala and Haiti.
Using blockchain, data-driven solutions to reduce landfill waste and turn it into recycled material at a profit for customers: Shapiro's circular solutions are helping manufacturers lower their carbon footprint and maximize profit from their waste streams. In one year at a Georgia manufacturing customer, Shapiro helped reduce their trash pickups from 409 to 57 total loads, eliminating 352 loads annually. This saved 303 tons of trash from the landfill through the “Waste to Energy” program. Shapiro helped recycle 100 extra tons of cardboard and created an additional revenue stream for the manufacturer. This saved over $150,000 in waste cost and led to a $1 Million+ profit for that manufacturer on its waste.
Caring for families through job relocations when that help didn't exist: Laura and Mike Herring continue to say a daily prayer they started saying in 1969, "Lord help us to make a positive impact on the lives we touch today." That prayer inspired the name of their business, Impact Group, which helps care for families when a spouse goes through job relocation. As an executive for Johnson and Johnson said to Laura in 1980s Their daughter, Lauren Herring, initially joined the company out of college in 2001 to be close when Laura was diagnosed with breast cancer. Laura is now healed and Lauren has grown the company. Impact Group now empowers employees worldwide with career coaching through relocation assistance, outplacement services and leadership development.
I will continue to draw on talented journalists and storytellers from TV news to deliver value to customers and help grow Story on Purpose.
Most recently, Emmy Award winning producer Alan Pablik has joined Story on Purpose as a collaborator. A story he just shared with me will help you see why I reached out to him to work together.
Alan came on as a young, new producer when I was morning anchor at KIRO 7 in Seattle. Last week Alan told me his approach when he started at KIRO 7 was to quietly deliver and exceed on what was expected of him. He never said that to me at the time, but you better believe I took notice!
Yep, Alan is a good fit here at Story on Purpose! The rest of you expert storytellers...we're coming for you!
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