Network News

44 years ago today, I woke up to the news of the accident at Desert One. Operation Eagle Claw had failed. The mission was to rescue the American Hostages being held in Iran. I was in college taking courses in television production, but this event gave me the desire to focus on network news. I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in communications with a focus on video engineering for news gathering.

I began my career working for a TV evangelist, then editing for an ad agency, before working for a mega-church as their broadcast editor and systems engineer. After working for the church, I finally realized my dream of working in network news when I got the job with the Associated Press as an uplink engineer. I loved working in live uplinks. I met a lot of people from all over the world.

My view of network news was tainted when I saw firsthand how information was manipulated for political reasons. This was in 2005, so it was probably not as bad as it is now. The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was my producer, and I was walking past the CNN setup in the Astrodome parking lot, where the New Orleans refugees were staying after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their city. The CNN Producer came up to me, holding a clipboard, and asked if I had ever been to the White House. I responded that I had driven past but not gone inside. My producer said that he took a tour of the White House a few years earlier. "Perfect," said the CNN Producer as he wrote something on the clipboard. He walked away, heading towards the camera, where the on-air person was waiting for the red tally light to light up. The producer took the piece of paper he had written on and handed it to the young lady waiting to deliver the news report. She looked at the paper and looked up in time to see the tally light come on. She said to the world on live TV, "According to White House sources....."

I could not believe what I just witnessed!

There were many other examples I could share, but this particular one really showed the evil side of what many people believe to be true. I knew I had to walk away from a career I loved because I could not be a part of the propaganda that was being spread to the American people. I also walked away with a very healthy paycheck.

God has blessed me with a new career that I love. I am now on my countdown to retirement. I look back on my career, and I know I made the right decision.