erniefreeman's Blog

     After a strange and confusing conversations with a couple of co-workers recently, I decided to do some research.  The co-workers wanted to know why I was being so "moody."  I wanted to know what they were talking about, since, in my view, my moods hasn't changed since 1988. 

     My research took me to a 2005 article in the Independent that talks about Irratable Male Syndrome.  The chief symptom of IMS is mood swing, according to psychotherapist Jed Diamond, of California.  The article outlined symtoms that might indicate you have IMS.  Naturally, after these confusing conversations with my co-workers, I was excited (is tha a mood swing) to see if I had this.  Here are some of the symptoms:

* You feel angry, frustrated or anxious without any obvious cause.  (Well, I'm anxious.  But what's causing the anxiety is this quest to find out if I am moody.)

* You feel sad or depressed without any obvious cause.  (I haven't been sad since my grandmother passed away in 2007.  I haven't been depressed since 1998.  And in both cases, I had good cause.).

* You are unusually aggressive - when driving, say, or playing games or sports.  (I am never aggressive when driving.  I am always aggressive when playing games or sports, and have always been, and probably will always be.  I am super competitive.  I don't think that would qualify as a mood swing.)

* You are tired all the time, without doing anything physically exhausting.  (I'm sometimes tired, but I workout four times a week, and typically run at least 15 miles a week.  But I'm definitely not tired all the time.  No more than anybody else who has to work this schedule.)

* Your mood swings are straining your relationships.  (My personality strains my relationships.)

* You are told that you are becoming more difficult to live with, but can't see that anything has changed.  (I live alone.)

* You are bored by things or activities that you used to find interesting.  (I'm bored by most things...but this isn't a new development.)

* You've gone off sex. (Why would someone do that?)

* You are smoking or drinking more. (I don't drink any more.  I don't drink any less.  I last puffed a cigarette September 1, 2004.)

* All or any of these symptoms have come on recently. You haven't always been like this.  (That's the point I tried to make to my co-workers...anything that you are identifying as "moody" has always been there.  I haven't changed at all.)

In his book,  Irritable Male Syndrome,  Dr. Diamond talks about men who are hypersensetive, frustrated and angry.  As I said to one of my co-workers, "what do I have to be angry about?"  I have one of the coolest jobs in America, where I have more fun than I've ever had at work.  I have great friends.  I have a couple of pennies stashed away under  the mattress, and the New York Football Giants just won the Superbowl.

At various points during the day I will laugh at a joke, engage in a debate, comment about a story or needle a co-worker...just like I've always done.  Is that moody? 

     Every television in the United States has a promotions department.  This department consists of people who produce "commercials" for the television station and, promote the station in the community through various events, sponsorships, and the like.  The promotions department is like the public relations department of a corporation.  Fox-13, right here in Memphis, has one of the best promtions in the United States...if not the best.

     The latest proof of this comes from the preeminent marketing and promotion organization in the world....Promax.  Winning a Promax Gold award is the promotions industry equivalent of winning the Academy Award in motion pictures.  Fox-13 recently won a gold Promax award for the campaign, "What does New York know about Memphis television? "  You may have seen some of these promos on television with me in New York City asking folks there about Memphis news.  The point of the campaign was people in New York don't watch morning newscasts that originate out of Memphis, so why should Memphis news viewers watch morning newscasts that originate out of New York, like the Today Show, and Good Morning America.

   The "spot", as they call it in the industry, also won a Promax Silver in the Information Program Spot category. It was nominated for Information Program Campaign as well.

     Fox-13 is the smallest market station in the country to win at Promax this year. No other television station in the mid south has won a Promax award in the last 5 years.  Promo Manager David Stotts, Creative Director Paul Sloan and Art Director Vanessa Ezernieks have combined to win twenty seven Promax awards in that same amount of time.  Two words for the Fox-13 promotions department: You Rock!

     This is the eighth television station I've worked for in my career.  For me, the question isn't whether this promotions department is the best in the United States, it's whether it's the best in the world.

     If you haven't seen the "spot", I've inserted a link below.  If you have, take another look.  It's funny as heck.

    

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;js
essionid=5F1C0159A53EFE390871CCEAC97A1F65?contentId=382
7037&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.
1&sflg=1

You already know the bad news about the price of gas: It's higher.  And, if you have the same car you had in 2004, it's actually costing you double to fill it up.  That's right, in 2004 gas was two bucks a gallon.  In a couple of days it's going to be four bucks a gallon.  More bad news; it looks like prices will continue to rise because of supply and demand issues (we keep using more, OPEC doesn't produce more) and investors are onboard for a wild bubble ride to make some quick cash.  Think housing bubble.  The only difference here is when this bubble pops, it will be a good thing for the averag Joe.  That fact probably guarantees $200 a barrel crude oil prices in the next couple of years and $10/gallon gas.  Let's hope not.

So, what's the good news?  Many, if not most of us, can still afford to drive our cars and get where we're going without filing for bankruptcy or taking out a loan.  Most people I talk to about gas usage say they fill up once a week.  For me that's $60 each week, $240 each month.  That's $120 more per month compared to 2004 when gas was $2/gallon.  So the question is, do you have $120 (or whatever your difference is) in your budger that you can use for gas?  I do.  It's in the entertainment section of my budget.  Yours might be there too.  It might be in the shopping section of your budget.  Maybe it's in your "pampering" alottment.  You know, hair, nails, spa, personal trainer.

 In a three day period this month, I went to Bahama Breeze twice, King Buscuit once and Vibes once.  These are all establishments along Germantown Parkway in Cordova.  I spent $152.53.  That would more than cover the additional $120 a month it's costing me for gas.  So, with gas prices on the rise, it's decision time for me.  Something's gotta go.  Looks like it's going to be Vibes (they tried to charge me cover last time anyway...but I digress).  While I'm at it, let's just eat in more and hang out less.  You with me on that?

Pulling back on the entertainment is just one wat we can save on gas.  Another is more efficient use of our gas.  I don't know about you, but I will make four trips in one day, running errands, when I could have completed those errands in one trip.  So, next week, I might make the post office, bank, cleaners, grocery store run all on the same trip.  Every gallon counts.

Every dollar counts too, and we have to think about all the ways we can save a buck.  I guess it's the old needs/wants analysis.  HBO ($15), gone.  Thinking about chopping the high speed internet, and saving $60/month.  I could reduce my plan with the wireless company and save a few bucks.

Please tell me I'm not the only knucklehead wasting his money on overrated nightclubs and using gas inefficiently.  If I'm not, there's the good news.  By making some adjustments in our spending habits, we can afford the higher gas prices.  At least for now.

     There's an old comic who would deliver this line and the crowd would erupt in laughter.  In Memphis, you can replace wife with car, but here's the thing, it's not a joke.  Local law enforcement types are seizing automobiles from "johns" who solicit prostitutes (actually undercover cops) for sex.  The law enforcement types say this is allowed under Tennessee law.  I'm no lawyer, but if a guy can lose his car because he and another consenting adult want to do the nasty (and I do mean nasty) somebody needs to take another look at that law.

     I mean, come on...why stop at seizing the guy's car.  Why not just take his house.  Force him to pay his student loans again.  Put his kids into the foster care system and compel his wife to marry his best friend.  Hey, if you're just coming up with arbitrary punishments, why not get creative.  Put some real teeth into that seizure law.  Or, take a look at the U.S. Constitution.  Remember that document?

     It's the one with the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.  There's that pesky Article Six thing that makes the U.S. Constitution the Supreme law of the land and pretty much says States can't just come up with all kinds of crazy laws that are in conflict with the supreme law of the land...to put it in coffee table speak. 

     Legal Eagles, feel free to weigh in on this one.

     The 5th Amendment says we cannot be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.  Local law enforcement types say we'll see about that.

     The 4th Amendment protects us from unreasonable search and seizure.  Local law enforcement apparently feels it's quite reasonable to seize a man's car because he has no "game" and wants to pay for a good time.

     The 8th Amendment prohibits the government's use of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.  Does a car for a "proposition" seem a bit unusual to you.  It does to me.

     I know local law enforcement types want to appear tough on crime.  We can appreciate that.  But is locking up "johns" and taking their keys the way to go?

     This tactic has been tried in other states and has failed to put a dent into "the world's oldest profession."  I'm told a similar law was put on the books in Nevada.  Yeah, how's that working out? 

Have you ever been watching the local news at five o'clock and the reporter promises to give you the rest of the story at nine or ten o'clock that night?  I've been a news junkie for as long as I can remember.  And as a newsroom insider, I understand why certain things happen during a newscast, while the average viewer might not quite understand.  But I have never quite understood the, "we'll have that part of the story tonight at ten."  What you're telling me is you don't have the complete story.  You've got to be kidding.  I go to bed at 7:30pm, 8:00pm if I'm living dangerously.  I will not be up at ten.  I won't see the rest of the story.  I want "that part of the story" NOW.  Don't tease me, please me!  I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Have you experienced this frustration, or am I on an island here, like Tom Hanks in that movie?  Somebody tell me the name of that movie before ten tonight.

Life must be fun on planet Blue Crush.  Because only there can the Memphis Police Director say, with conviction, that crime is down in Memphis.  I first heard that head scratching comment in respoonse to an FBI report about Memphis being the most violent metro area in the United States.  Godwin's response that day was that crime is down and Blue Crush is working.  Is there water on planet Blue Crush?

Then, after the 2007 increase in homicides over 2006 in Memphis, Mr. Godwin said homicides were actually down in 2007.  No Mr. Godwin, they were not down.  They were up.  If a human kills a human on planet Blue Crush, do they call that a homicide?  We do here on planet earth.

And this week, Mr. Godwin said it's not the crime that's the problem in Memphis, it's the perception of crime that's the problem.  I can't help but snicker as I ask this question: Are there any signs of intelligent life on planet Blue Crush?

I found this item in the USA Today.  The United States Supreme Court is going to take up a case from Washington D.C., about gun control versus an individual's rights to keep and bear arms (own a gun).  According to the McNewspaper of record, nearly three out of four Americans — 73% — believe the Second Amendment spells out an individual right to own a firearm, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,016 adults taken Feb. 8-10.

Yet for decades, federal judges have seen the Constitution differently, allowing a range of gun-control measures imposed by governments seeking to curb gun violence.

Lower court judges overwhelmingly have ruled that the right "to keep and bear arms" isn't for individuals, but instead applies to state militias, such as National Guard units. The U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly declined to hear appeals of those rulings, fueling the debate over gun control and tension between the law and public opinion. 

The case tests the constitutionality of a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., where in 1976 officials imposed one of the nation's strictest gun-control laws in response to alarming levels of gun violence. The justices will hear arguments on March 18; a ruling is likely by the end of June.

Let's talk about guns.  The last statistics I saw on this said more than 220,000,000 Americans own them.  So, should the government take them away?  Should we pay a fee to protect our homes, property and families?  What say you?

     The federal Gun-Free Schools Act requires states to compell local districts to expell students who are caught bringing guns to school, keep records of the expulsions and report the data to the U.S. Department of Education.  The last year I could find comprehensive data was for school year 2003/2004.  That year Tennessee expelled 62 students who brought guns to school.  Guess which state had the highest rate of expulsions (per 1,000 students).  Utah.  Eighty four kids were expelled for briging weapons to school in Utah that year, a state with half the number of K-12 students as Tennessee.

     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 135,000 guns in U.S. schools daily.  For the entire academic year 03/04, Education reports a total of 2,165 students being expelled nationwide for bringing a weapon to school.  That leaves roughly 133,000 guns in schools every single day.  Think about what that suggests: Many school districts don't use metal detectors, or the equipment doesn't work, or the vast majority of K-12 students are responsible gun owners.

  In Memphis, a school system spokesman told me today (Tuesday) only one gun had been confiscated in the first one hundred days of this school year.  If those CDC statistics are correct, we can reasonably conclude more guns are floating around in Memphis City Schools.  Students are packing heat.  We can also reasonably conclude, based on the government reports, that students are packing in Covington and Collierville too.  But since the recent shcool shootings have happened in Memphis, the question before the community, the school board and on the Superintendent's desk is what do we do about school security?  Do we conduct mandatory daily metal detector checks, the Kenneth Whalum option?  Or do we leave security to the Principal of each school, the Martavius Jones  and Dan Ward option? 

     There are many considerations; time, cost, effectiveness, just to name three.  To be sure, there are other issues school system leaders have not shared with us.  And, as it relates to school safety and the best course of action to secure our schools,  school system leaders have been something short of completely honest with us.  That is a fact. 

     In tonight's report on Fox-13 News at Nine, the I-Team will share with you some of the things the system does not want you to know.  The operative word in that sentence is some.  Because these people are so determined to put a "happy face" on tragic incidents, it's hard to figure out what they really think about anyting.  And often what they say contradicts what they said days, hours or just minutes prior.

     When our children are faced with potential dangers at school, is it too much to ask that our school leaders just tell the truth?

Having already documented the racial divide in Memphis, we continue our ambitious and on-going look into institutional segregation in the Bluff City.  Thursday night, we hold a mirror up to churches.  And we ask the question, why is Sunday at 11:00a.m. the most segregated hour of the week?  Do not miss the latest presentation of Memphis in Black and White, with myself and fellow I-Team reporter Jason Carter.  Thursday night on Fox-13 News at Nine.

How hard do you think Memphis has been hit by the subprime mortgage meltdown?  It's probably  worse than you think.  What were the forces behind the meltdown?  The answer to that question might surprise you.  Is it over?  Hardly.  On Fox-13 News at Nine tonight, the I-Team shows you things about the subprime mortgage meltdown you probably did not know.  How we got here, what the future holds, and saving yourself from the American nightmare of foreclosure.  Find out that and so much more. 

It took a year, but on Saturday January 26th, my co-workers realized a pledge we made last year to "bring home the hardware" at this year's Emmy awards ceremony in Nashville.  The station won ten Emmy awards, more than any other station in the region.  Compare the ten Emmy wins for Fox-13 to the number of wins for our competitors and you will understand why the folks at 485 S. Highland are so excited these days.  WMC Channel 5 won one Emmy.  WREG channel 3 won three Emmy awards.  Fox-13 won ten awards.  Now that's bringing home the hardware.  Way to go guys!  Oh, by the way, did I mention that Good Morning Memphis won an Emmy for the best daytime newscast in the region?  If I didn't let me say it here and now.  Good Morning Memphis won the Emmy for the best daytime newscast.  To our crew, Claire Jones, Nick Burchette, James Mott, Trevor, Felicia, and the rest of the behind the scenes bunch...you are the best.  Bamm!  And for the man who put it all together, Ken Jobe, our news director.  I sent Ken a text message Saturday night after the announcement that he had won the Emmy for News Excellence.  The big one.  The text said simply...Dude.  Have you seen the Bud Light commercials?  If you have you get it.  If you haven't you don't.  Needless to say, I was speechless.  Fox-13 won the Emmy for News Excellence.  I have no words.  I have no words.  Okay...Awesome!  And...I'm not done yet.  Fox-13 won the Emmy for the best evening newscast with Steve Dawson and Mearl Purvis.  Have you seen Fox-13 News at 5 and Fox-13 News at 9?  To quote Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm, "pretty good."  "Pretty, pretty good."  And our girl Valerie Calhoun brings home an individual Emmy Award for Bargain Thursday.  Wow!  Pretty good.  Pretty good.  John Koski, Paul Sloan, David Stotts and the insanely creative and talented folks in our promotions department have inspired the Fox-13 News team to bring home the hardware.  Can't wait until next year.

Is it time to eliminate pit bulls?

Right now a five year old South Memphis boy is recovering after being attacked by a pit bull named "Beast."  When police officers arrived on the scene, Beast reportedly charged them.  The cops shot and killed the dog.

A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association eight years ago said that over a twenty year period pit bull type dogs were involved in one half of approximately 300 dog bite related fatalities in the United States.  Another study found these type doge were responsible for sixty five percent of fatal dog attacks in the United States and Canada.  

Dog lover Curtis Jay, a Fox-13 anchor and reporter says these dogs should not be eliminated.  "I have a pit bull mix and he's never attacked anyone," said Jay.  ""It's not the dog, it's the people who breed them.  Some people tied dogs up, show no affection and the dogs become aggressive.  If you just started eliminating certain breeds of dogs, it would open up a pandora's box."

That box has already been opened in some European countries that have established dangerous dog acts and require pit bull owners to have their animals sterilized.  Pit bulls are banned in Miami Dade County in Florida.  And in late 2006 city leaders in Tupelo Mississippi and Shelbyville Tennessee proposed bans on pit bulls.

The bottom line question here might be one of nature versus nurture.  So let's ask the question.  Do pit bulls serve any useful purpose in our society?  What say you?

Many days I witness things that are somewhat funny, and wind up having a good laugh or two, which is always a good thing.   Often times the laughter is the result of a snappy one-liner from some of the truly witty people I work with.  Zingers, one-liners and funny exchanges are critical as a defense mechanism against dealing with some of the things we see and report on every day.  But I had three moments Friday that made me wonder if I was in the middle of an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). 

#1  I'm having soup and salads with Valerie Calhoun, Darcy Thomas and James Mott of Good Morning Memphis at the new Jason's Deli near Highland and Poplar.  I finish the soup and I go back to the salad bar for another serving of the ruffage.  The last item I plop on the plate is a jalapeno pepper, which I almost always eat with my salads, if they're available.  I had just finished off one with my first salad.  Everyone knows you don't eat the seeds with these peppers.  I've always known this.  Well, this particular pepper was oddly shaped, and caused me to chomp right down into the seeds.  A few seconds later it felt like someone had lit a fire in my tonsils.  So, I started grunting like wild boar, thinking the burning sensation would go away any second now.  Hoping anyway.  It did not.  So the grunting intensified.  At this point, Valerie is breaking out into hysterical laughter, as a result of my discomfort.  Darcy and James are talking about work related issues, as if I am perfectly fine.  With the grunting and the gagging now at a fever pitch, and of course, me "manning up" saying, "I'm okay, I'm okay" as Valerie, still laughing, is offering to get water, Darcy has now prepared herself an ice-cream treat.  Finally, after what seemed like thirty minutes of my digestive tract being in a microwave, things calmed down.  Darcy fixed me an ice cream treat, I poured me another diet coke, and we left.  And Valerie was still laughing.  I think she's still laughing.  I was funny.

#2 It's 3pm, and I'm still on the job.  I'm with our multi award winning promotions department on a shoot in downtown Memphis.  These are the people who put together those spots with me in New York, and "Vote with your remote" with me and weather guy Joey Sulipeck.  Mearl Purvis is on this shoot, along with fellow I-Teamer Jason Carter.  Now it's time to shoot my part, and the director of this production says "action."  As I'm doing my lines, I hear him hiccup.  So, I stop.  Take two.  And....hiccup.  Now, Jason Carter is laughing.  Poor guy.  Andy Dean, the guy with the camera has the hiccups, and they won't go away.  This guy is counting it down, saying action, and the hiccup pops out almost on cue.  At this point the entire crew is busting out into laughter, and we cannot get this shot done.  Mearl Purvis is in her car, apparently unaware of what's going on, but must have been wondering why it was taking so many takes to get this thing done.  At this point, I'm thinking this is an episode of Punked or we could have some kind of reality show hit right here in downtown Memphis.  Funny stuff.  We finally got it done and I was read for my third funny moment of the day.

#3 Not the funniest of the three, but it made me chuckle.  It's 4:20pm and I was going to meet a couple friends at a restaurant near Wolfchase Mall.  Realizing I had been going since three this morning and drinking tons of coffee, I decided I needed to brush my teeth.  I recalled several weeks back I had picked up a travel kit which included a tiny toothbrush with toothpaste and a small bottle of Scope mouthwash.  I found the kit in my trunk, put the toothbrush together only to find the bristles were like frozen needles, after having stiffened up over the many weeks.  Needing to moisten them, I first poured some of the coffee from the cup in my car onto the bristles, then dampened them with some of the Scope.  My challenge was to have some Scope left to rinse after I brushed.  This is all going on in the parking lot of the restaurant.  It worked.  The bristles softened up, I brushed some of the coffee crud off my pearly browns, rinsed and gargled right there in the parking lot. 

What a day.

The entire Good Morning Memphis team is coming back this week.  All of the on air types made it back today.  One of the produce guys has been asking me about Darcy at the Dexter Plaza Kroger for two weeks.  He was worried about her.  I assured him she was coming back, and if you watched this morning, you saw Darcy and Curtis Jay back in the mix.  Tom Dees finally made it back too.  His partner on the Road Patrol, Derrick Curran, is back too.  He's periodically seen on camera, and they work so closely together, he's worth a mention here.  Cori Lake is back too.  And the inimitable Valeri Calhoun finally made it back to sit along side yours truly today.  I missed these people, and I told them so on the air.  We were still missing a couple of producers today, but they'll be back tomorrow (Thursday) and we'll be at full strength.  As I write this, I'm wondering, how is it that I was the only "regular" on the show who had to work Christmas and New Year's.  What's up with that?  Where's the love?

If your workplace was operating at all during the holidays, there's a good chance it was like a ghost town, with people taking year end vacations.  If that's the case, I hope you were as happy today as I was to see all the regulars come back.

Separately today Valerie and Darcy said to me, "you missed me, didn't you?"  Of course I couldn't just give the enthusiastic, "heck yeah."  So I had to go with the sarcastic Ernie-ism, "you were gone?"  That's Ernie for, "I sure did, and I am so glad you're back."

It's a little late for 2007, but this might be the best gift I could ever give Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin; a new way to look at crime statistics, especially, but not limited to homicides in Memphis.  The old way was the figures don't lie, liars figure approach.  That's where the Police Director would hold a new conference around the first of October tell us Memphians about the homicide rate being down.   And that's when some of us Memphians would get that one eye half closed, mouth twisted look on our faces and ask in that high pitched almost squealing voice, whaaaat?  It's not that Mr. Godwin was technically lying.  But in terms of significant statistics, he wasn't really painting a clear picture for the people of this city who are concerned about cime in general, killings in particular.  When Mr. Godwin made that statement in October about the homicide rate being down seven percent, the city was on the same pace for homicides in 2007 as it was in 2006.  We were experiencing roughly 13 killings a month.  We had 160 homicides in 2006 in Memphis.  As of this posting, on the last day of the year,  the homicide unit of the Memphis Police Department is reporting 163 homicides for 2007.  I'm no math major, but that doesn't appear to be a decline.  Maybe someone has told Director Godwin that Memphians will feel better if you stand in front of a microphone and simply announce the homicide rate is down, whether it's actually down or not.  That seems a curious notion.  And this is my belated gift to the Director:  Rather than trying to  spin statistically insignificant weekly or monthly ebbs in crime stats to put people at ease, why not focus on the statistically significant solve rate, especially for homicides.  The hard working men and women of the homicide unit actually capture nearly ninety percent of the killers in Memphis.  Now, that's a statistic!  That actually makes me feel a little safer.  And would probably make the detectives feel better too.  Oh, and how about this, do some perp walks (defendants on Fox-13 News at five) so the citizens can actually see the alleged killers being arrested.  That would make me feel a little safer.  Not much, but a little.  And, it might serve as a deterrent to other would be killers.  Who knows?  Can't hurt, can it?  So there it is Mr. Godwin, my belated Christmas gift to you; a plea to focus on the solve rate, not the crime rate in Memphis.  We would love it in the media, citizens would love it, and your homicide detectives would get some well deserved credit and attention for a job well done.  So, let's forget the fuzzy math.  Leave the spin machine at 201 Poplar.  Let's make 2008 the year of real stats that matter.    Merry Christmas.