tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84625483899836043242009-04-25T20:34:22.085-04:009NEWS NOW Anchor Mike Walter is seen weekday mornings on W*USA 9. With this blog, you can experience what goes on in the mind of Mike.My Biohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283878581844385761noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-13985242208443820412009-04-25T20:34:00.000-04:002009-04-25T20:34:20.865-04:00

Desktop

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-68177574355384332722008-05-20T09:02:00.006-04:002008-05-23T02:52:52.736-04:00

It's all we are talking about in our business these days. Buyouts and Layoffs. No one is immune. CBS has had widespread layoffs. Recently we saw a smaller round of layoffs at the Gannett stations. The fact of the matter is the economy is in bad shape, and we are now feeling the ripple effects of it all. At one of the most esteemed newspapers in the country it is a drip, drip, drip phenomenon.

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-7929042898716648562008-05-19T09:22:00.002-04:002008-05-19T10:07:51.273-04:00

It's something I fumble around doing on occasion in the early morning hours. Let's face it we all misplace our keys from time to time. I do it, I freely admit it. But this morning was different. I got up groggy, and staggered downstairs to begin my usual morning routine. Pretty much every morning I down a yogurt drink, and then eat a bowl of cereal. I did that. Out of the corner of my eye I

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-38114336753279801182008-05-12T05:35:00.002-04:002008-05-12T10:08:16.874-04:00

I just spent the weekend in Miami. I have the sunburn to prove it. Miami is a fun city. There is so much to see and do. South Beach is like a magnet for tourists. I love the fact that just about every place you pass has cut their prices by 50 percent. We walked until we came to a place that didn't offer a 50 percent discount. We all figured that meant their prices were more realistic. I was

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-13957603017159336642008-05-09T06:58:00.005-04:002008-05-09T09:58:23.837-04:00

They are the kind of people that you might just be envious of. She's won an Academy Award, then came the Emmys, and the Golden Globe award. She was once the president of the Screen Actors Guild. She has had so much success. But if you were around her during that period of time you'd never know it, because she was miserable. So were the people who loved her. Patty Duke always had a smile on screen

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-39912807822209295032008-05-07T09:24:00.005-04:002008-05-08T09:28:02.784-04:00

If you are in this business long enough then when you flip on the TV, you suddenly take a stroll down memory lane. So many faces bring back memories of my stops along the way.Take for example the CBS Evening News. When Correspondent Mark Strassman appears on the air I think back to my time in Columbus Ohio. Mark worked at the ABC station there in the mid 80's. I worked at the CBS station WBNS. We

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-67409482149349897542008-05-05T05:47:00.006-04:002008-05-05T10:05:06.642-04:00

I wrote last week about holding back on key information so that I wouldn't become this incredible bore. That produced responses from viewers and family members alike. Don't do it! That was the resounding cry. My sister Janet weighed in. Here is her email.Hi How am I going to know what is going on with you and yours if you stop blogging about what's going on? By the way you could never be boring

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-60657988774663119232008-05-02T06:17:00.002-04:002008-05-02T09:40:23.769-04:00

Okay I'll admit it. I had to be dragged into the Blogosphere. I remember vividly sitting next to my good buddy Miriam Wright at one of our town hall meetings at the station. I asked her if she liked my most recent blog entry. Her response went something like this."Yes Mike it was very funny. But this is Thursday and you wrote about something that happened over the weekend. Plus you are posting

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-40366915630847455062008-04-30T05:00:00.007-04:002008-04-30T09:50:23.769-04:00

They are the necessities of life, food and sleep. I get plenty of one, and not enough of the other. I was reminded of the need for both yesterday. It was noon time at the Washington Post. Don Graham the Chairman of the Board of the Washington Post strode up to the lectern. This was a luncheon that he was hosting along with Bennett Zier, Bill Marriott, and Abe Pollin. You recognize all the names,

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-50114504260861739992008-04-28T05:16:00.004-04:002008-04-28T10:05:15.814-04:00

We arrived to the mob scene around 6:30. On each side of the red carpet was a group of squealing maniacs. I had dropped Kate off and then went to find a parking spot. No easy task. Meeting up with her wasn't easy. But we found each other and then started to fight the crowds to hit the hospitality suites. First stop Gannett/USA TODAY. Since I once worked at USA TODAY I figured I'd see some

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-54066594656694358812008-04-25T04:22:00.005-04:002008-04-25T11:49:00.503-04:00

No it's not what you think. I'm not getting Dread locks. It's just that my locks dread this time each month when I have to get a haircut. Bottom line, I have always had an uneasy alliance with my hair. Let me put it this way, my hair has a mind all it's own.I don't think I'm alone. Doing mornings you learn that the real struggles at TV stations begin before the newscast, and they usually involve

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-11907633644877696892008-04-23T05:47:00.005-04:002008-04-24T06:51:44.144-04:00

Pope Benedict is gone. He left town, headed up to New York, and then left altogether. But I'm certain his impact will live on. In fact I saw an example of it the other night. Not in a spirtual way, but in a nutritional way. We had planned to get together with a couple of couples about a few months ago. Coordinating something like this is never easy. So it shouln't come as a surprise that one of

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-80433633032706543732008-04-17T06:30:00.002-04:002008-04-17T10:19:29.533-04:00

As I'm writing this hordes of Catholics are making their way to Nationals Park. Thousands will be there for the event of a lifetime. They want to be a part of history as the Pontiff performs a mass at the Stadium for 44 thousand. The tickets to today's event were carefully doled out by the Catholic Church. But this is a city of privilege. If you are in power you can usually get your hands on any

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-65154460427256357092008-04-15T09:12:00.003-04:002008-04-16T10:08:19.138-04:00

I'm reminded that I have it. It resurfaces every so often. It's not like Mad Cow Disease, but Dumb Guy Disease can be pretty embarrassing. I have had episodes before, and I've always sworn, "I'm not doing that again!" Of course that's one of the symptoms of Dumb Guy Disease.I started to see the symptoms coming on late Friday night. I ignored them. I had a massive fever. My wife declared, "You

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-89360755579508910522008-04-11T05:36:00.007-04:002008-04-11T10:36:15.288-04:00

I've been a bad blogger this week. I always try to check in at least three times a week. But this week has been crazy. I spent time in Lawrence on Monday. I wrote about the experience on Tuesday. Then came the Blue Jeans Ball Tuesday Night. I was hoping to write about that yesterday...but had to wait for some pictures. I finally got them from my good friend Jayne Sandman at Capitol File. So my

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-57938536966991958872008-04-08T04:24:00.004-04:002008-04-08T06:55:48.018-04:00

Any other time of the year you could walk down this street without any problem. But for the last few days this short stretch of Mass. Street has become busy street. Massachusetts Street is the main drag in the business section of Downtown Lawrence. I've walked this stretch many times before. Normally I wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone. But not the last few days.Saturday was the

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-54917510767754775022008-04-05T13:02:00.004-04:002008-04-05T14:33:18.415-04:00

I thought I would share the words of Mary Jo Jordan. She's pictured at the left with her husband Fred, and two sons. My sister is my mothers' namesake. This is the eulogy she gave at the service for my mother. Mary Jo Walter passed away at the age of 92.Mary Jo Jordan: "Mary Jo Malone Walter was always full of the joys of life. These joys came as gifts from the heart. Her children received

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-87729021765480631972008-04-03T19:01:00.007-04:002008-04-04T05:26:22.954-04:00

I'm only going to add a couple more posts on my time in Southern California. I'm doing it for selfish reasons, but hopefully you'll get something out of it too. My daughter is away at sea and I'm hoping she can capture some of the flavor of what happened last week as we said farewell to my mom. That's my mom on the left on her 90th birthday. She's pictured with my younger sister Patty and her

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-66877401561518379632008-04-02T05:23:00.006-04:002008-04-02T16:36:34.371-04:00

It's Sunday morning and I'm in the back seat of a van in Southern California. The girl on the phone is crying. She's inconsolable. The girl on the phone isn't a girl, she's a woman. But she'll always be my little girl. My daughter Courtney is talking to me on my cell phone. She is in Vietnam.Me: Courtney your grandmother was a teacher, she would want you to continue on.(Courtney is away at a

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-20013680593163110652008-03-26T09:10:00.006-04:002008-03-26T10:30:17.395-04:00

A couple of days ago I talked about how all of this began, with four words."You have to come."It ended yesterday with two words."She's gone."My sister Patty called with the news. My mother Mary Jo Walter passed away yesterday. I started writing about what's going on in my life for a couple of reasons. In a weird way it's therapeutic. The other reason is because I know a lot of friends and

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-46094932513315187792008-03-25T06:58:00.006-04:002008-03-25T10:15:32.834-04:00

As most of you know I'm dealing with a flood of memories. Looking back on my life, and thinking about the past, as my mom continues to cling to life. Just the other day I started thinking about my first day in the 9Th grade. I had moved from a Catholic school to a public school. I entered Mr. Creed's classroom and he directed me to the back of the class. I took my seat next to this little

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-22343535172398435272008-03-24T02:30:00.007-04:002008-03-24T08:48:59.051-04:00

I didn't sleep well last night. I keep waiting for that phone call that I know is coming. Saturday I jumped on a flight from LAX to Washington. It was my ninth day in Los Angeles. Most of the time was spent walking the corridors of hospitals. On Thursday my brother in law Jim, and my son Trevor, were with me as we made funeral arrangements for my mom. Later that same day my sisters and

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-79378781443975497832008-03-19T22:11:00.002-04:002008-03-19T22:31:51.473-04:00

I'm in the city of Angels. It's the place where I grew up. This is the first time I can say I've actually met angels in this city though. They have names like Tanisha, Cherry, and Pam. They have been caring for my mother who is dying. They care for her as though she was their own mom. We couldn't ask for better care. Mary Jo Walter is the woman who wiped my nose when it was running.

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-20526393875781243102008-03-12T04:52:00.008-04:002008-03-12T06:16:54.220-04:00

Politicians have over sized egos. In fact sometimes they are downright delusional. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer would appear to fall into that category. How does he think he can survive this sex scandal? I remember years ago my old boss Brian Bracco used to bound down the stairs into our newsroom and say to me with a broad smile, "He's done, he can't survive this." He was referring to then

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462548389983604324.post-67251918080997175742008-03-11T15:45:00.006-04:002008-03-12T09:59:05.269-04:00

More solemn news from Iraq where eight U.S. soldiers died in separate attacks. Monday became the deadliest day for U.S. troops in more than two months. It reminded me of just how risky it is to be in that section of the world even though fatalities have dropped in recent months along with the news coverage.Just last week I was at American University as Sharon Schmickle leaned into the microphone

mike walterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04925288559263840677noreply@blogger.com0