Visiting the orangutans

It was a gorgeous, albeit chilly, day here in Portland today. So, we went to the zoo with our friends Tabitha and baby Marshall. Here are Ian and Marshall getting up close and personal with the orangutans:

Until I write again.

Our brush with fame. Sort of.

As long as I can remember I have been loyal to NBC television, especially when it comes to news. I'm not sure exactly why or how it started, but that is how it is. I teared up when Tom Brokaw and Bob Hager retired, though have since warmed up to Brian Williams and Tom Costello. And of course we won't even talk about Tim Russert. In DC, I only watched WRC-TV for local news. And when we moved to Portland, it didn't even occur to me to check out any other station before turning straight to local NBC affiliate KGW. For what it's worth, the news quality of NBC does seem to surpass other broadcasts - though please recognize that I use that term quality loosely when referring to local news sometimes, especially in the Portland market. But KGW was also the first station in Portland to start broadcasting in HD last year, which is a nice little bonus.
So, of course it piqued our interest early last year when KGW started running fancy-smancy, yet somewhat secretive, ads announcing that their new "Studio on the Square" was "coming soon". It was clear that they were building a new studio with a window on Pioneer Courthouse Square - the centerpiece of downtown Portland - ala the Today Show. Several months went by and eventually the ads disappeared with no word spoken about the "Studio on the Square". It seemed that maybe KGW's new venture somehow hadn't quite worked out as planned. Until a couple of months ago. As quickly as they disappeared, the ads started reappearing on TV and finally, one day, an actual announcement that the studio was near completion and that they would begin broadcasting the morning, noon and 7pm broadcasts from the new location. Last week there was coverage of a special launch party and another announcement that they would host an open house for the public to come and see the new studio on Saturday morning. Sweet. We are always looking for weekend adventures, large and small. Plus, I guess I happen to have some interest in the inner workings of television given that whole PR career path and all. (And I did have the chance, through work, to tour the local ABC affiliate in Washington some years back. Kathleen Matthews, the evening anchor at the time - and wife of the infamous Chris Matthews - gave us the tour, which was kind of cool.)

Now, as I often do, this is where I have to back up for a minute. Earlier this past week, I took Ian on his first MAX train ride (MAX is Portland's light rail system). And I guess I should admit here...my first as well. We hopped on at a station near our house and rode downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square, walked around a bit, ate some lunch and then headed back. It was nice. In many ways it was like an instant flashback to my daily trips on Metro in DC and reminded me how nice it is to have that as a travel option, but in other ways it seemed like a much different experience. However - my observations aside - Ian LOVED it. And you can only imagine that we've been hearing about the ride on the "electric train" nonstop since then. Along with the seemingly constant sound of "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding" ringing throughout the house as he simulates the sound of a railroad crossing. So, I suggested to Jeff that we hop on the train again and ride back downtown on Saturday morning to take him on a tour of the new KGW studio. And that's what we did.

Ian's second train ride was no less exciting to him than the first. We got off the train at Pioneer Courthouse Square and were a bit surprised to find that there was a line to get in the studio. They were shuffling people inside in groups and it took about 15 minutes in between each group. It was cold out and threatening rain, so it didn't take me long to launch into complaint mode noting they should have planned for more people and done more of a constantly moving line through the studio. Keep 'em moving. Keep 'em moving. That was my recommendation for maximum efficiency, though clearly no one asked me.

However, once inside - I realized that no, they were doing this the Portland way. Meaning, they weren't doing this just to see how many folks they could shuffle through in a few hours. They actually cared about locals - their viewers - having the opportunity for an "in depth" look at their proud new home. First there was a brief orientation in the hall with the news producer and managing news director who talked a bit about the history of the studio, took questions and even asked for some viewer input on one of their Friday morning segments. Then, we were moved inside the studio where we were able to walk around and see all the cameras, computers and of course the new anchor desk in front of the window on the square. In the middle of everything, seated at a round table, were almost all of the anchors and reporters we see on TV everyday, talking with all the guests, thanking them for coming and signing autographs. There was no pretentiousness going on - only smiles, friendly faces and seemingly genuine excitement and gratitude that we had taken the time to come down. Ian proudly introduced himself to Business Reporter Joe Smith and I got my picture taken with Weather Guy Dave Salesky (who is extremely tall, by the way). Jeff took pictures. All in all, it seemed kind of silly yet kind of fun. Before we knew it, we were back outside and heading back home on the train. With one very excited three-year-old. Mission accomplished.

Until I write again.