February 27th, 2009 By Justin Williams
Local news outlets WFIE, and subsequently WEHT, recently set all their news anchors and reporters up to use popular micro-blogging service Twitter to interact with viewers and discuss what they are doing on location, on set and behind the scenes. For a few months outlets, including the Courier & Press, have offered Twitter accounts that syndicate new article notifications to the service, but this is the first I’ve seen locally of actual reporters and anchors embracing the technology.
I’ve been following the news crews tweets via the Nearby feature of my favorite iPhone Twitter client Tweetie. Nearby allows you to see tweets that are posted within an approximate range of your current location. Given that there are not nearly as many Twitter users in the tri-state area as in other parts of the country, an influx of a few dozen reporters in the stream is quite noticeable.
The integration of this new technology with news reporting seems natural and a smart way for traditional media to embrace new media. Much like the oft reported demise of print media, I feel that traditional television news broadcasts will be going the way of the dodo in favor of digital.
I’ve always been a fan of watching the extras on a DVD to get a glimpse of how the film was made and that’s the same feeling I get when following these local reporters online. Each day a reporter is telling a story, but it is more than just what makes it into a 3 minute segment on the 6 or 10PM news. I can now follow the reporter as they get their assignment, where they are heading to find the facts and what events happen leading up to the actual on-screen reporting.
WEHT’s Brad Byrd is also Twittering and giving a behind the scenes look at what an anchor is doing leading up to a broadcast and even during the show. From cutting promos to prepping copy, you’re able to see what goes into preparing a nightly newscast. It’s an almost perfect use of Twitter.
I’m always happy to see locals embracing these new cutting edge technologies, but I can’t help but feel that both stations are clutching to an old media paradigm and trying to shift it forward. As the newscast gets closer, many of the reporters start posting news teases to their stream much in the way they are done during television commercial breaks.
In one instance, WFIE’s Brandon Bartlett tweeted, “Find out when each EVSC project will start. 14 News is the only station with the list. See you at 10!”
While I don’t find anything wrong with promoting content from your organization, I think trying to lead someone reading your Twitter stream to a traditional media device like the 10 o’clock news is the wrong route to take. Anyone using Twitter is more likely to get their local news from the Web via news stories on the station’s Website or online video rather than making appointment viewing at 10PM.
The Twitter experiment is in its early stages and will likely evolve in the coming weeks and months. While I doubt it’s going to make me tune into the local newscasts, it is drawing me to their Web sites more. I hope other local media outlets, this paper included, continue to embrace these new media technologies.
If you want to learn more about the Twitter integration at WFIE, CJ Hoyt was the guest on my radio show on WNIN this week. Listen live Friday at 12:30 or Sundays at 6:30PM on 88.3-FM
February 23rd, 2009 By Justin Williams
Given that our resident food editor has moved to China for the duration of 2009, it’s up to me to review restaurants now. I hope I can live up to her extremely high standards
Being in Newburgh to visit the family, we decided it was as good of time as any to check out Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, the new Irish themed restaurant next to Showplace Newburgh. O’Bradys is a small midwest and southern centric chain with another restaurant nearby in Owensboro.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is located in the left edge of a small strip mall that was recently built in the area. The large green sign is designed using Celtic fonts giving the impression that it might be an Irish restaurant similar to Ri-Ra downtown, but that appears to be only in the branding.
Upon entering O’Brady’s, you’ll notice two things: the leprechaun green walls and over a dozen high definition televisions mounted on the walls. While I was there most of the TVs were tuned to the Nascar race with one on each side also showcasing the decor of the stars on Oscar’s Red Carpet.
The green walls are filled with local sports jerseys for Boonville and Castle to give it that somewhat local vibe.
One thing I was taken aback by was just how bright the lighting in the restaurant is. It’s possibly one of the brightest restaurants I have ever set foot in. There was no mood set by the lighting whatsoever, save for my desire to want sunglasses.
In terms of the food, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s doesn’t keep with its Irish themed name. The fair is more akin to Buffalo Wild Wings with its chicken wings, wraps and sandwiches.
My parents split the O’Bradys wing basket which came with 10 chicken wings, fries and coleslaw. The wings come in a few different flavors. There are the traditionals like mild, medium, hot, honey bbq, etc. O’Bradys also has a few sauces unique to them with their garlic parmesan, chipotle lime and sweet jalapeno. They opted to get half teriyaki and half garlic parmesan.
The wings were drenched in sauce when they arrived, similar to what you would get at Buffalo Wild Wings. They were both big fans of the garlic parmesa wings and went on about how good the sauce was. They were not that into the teriyaki feeling that there was better teriyaki wings elsewhere in town.
The wing basket also included fries and slaw. The french fries came out cold, but were promptly replaced with piping hot ones. My dad loved the cole slaw. I was waiting for him to beg for the recipe.
I am not one for fried food, so I opted for a salad. I had the Asian Mandarin Chicken Salad. The salad features teriyaki chicken (fried or grilled), almonds, rice noodles and mandarin oranges on a bed of lettuce and red cabbage. It’s served with pan-asian dressing straight from a plastic packets like you’d get at McDonalds or Ritzys.
The chicken on the salad was warm and delicious, and the salad overall was about on par with what I would expect from a place that specializes in greasy food. It wasn’t the best salad I have ever had, but I have had far worse. I would have liked the dressing packets to be replaced with little cups instead. If I am at a sit-down restaurant, I’d like a better presentation.
The service at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s was average. Our waitress was friendly and prompt to take drink orders, but disappeared until our food arrived leaving my dad with an empty beer pint. No one likes to have an empty beer pint.
Overall I’d rate the experience a C+ overall as the experience was just about average. The food was fairly good, but the atmosphere and service left a little to be desired for me. If you’re a fan of AppleBee-esque themed restaurants, it’s probably fine for you. I’d go back if my family wanted to, but I don’t think I will be adding Beef ‘O’ Brady’s to my list of frequently visited establishments.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is located at 8177 Bell Oaks Dr. Suite A. (812) 490-9464. Sunday – Thursday 11am-10pm. Friday – Saturday 11am – 11pm.
February 10th, 2009 By Justin Williams
If you’re looking for something interesting and unique to do this Saturday and don’t have a date, the EVPL is hosting an anime convention at Central Library. E’Ville Con, as they are calling it, will feature a cosplay contest, anime screenings, special guest speakers, artist alley, and video game tournaments.
Registration is free and the event will run from 9AM to 5:30PM. Grab more info from the EVPL site or their MySpace page
January 29th, 2009 By Justin Williams
A few people have been uploading photos of the damage around the city to the Flickr tag ‘itsevansville’ so I thought I’d highlight it. Thanks to mockorangeband and zipzapkap for the images.
In Focus spotlights a photograph taken by a reader of It’s Evansville. If you’d like a chance to have your photo featured, upload your photo to Flickr and tag it with “itsevansville”.
Read the rest of this post
January 28th, 2009 By Justin Williams
The roads downtown are covered in a layer of ice, no one is at work, Subway is closed and I’m listening to large pieces of ice fall off my building. Was Snowpocalypse ‘09 good for you too?
January 26th, 2009 By Justin Williams
When I gripe about a local news story it has to do with ABC25. Their needless fear mongering promos and news teases drive me insane.
All is forgiven because of the hiring of Randall Parmley to do sports. Anyone with a fauxhawk and a striking resemblance to Chuck Liddell is OK by me. You guys can have as many unncessary child safety stories as you want from now one.
In other media related news, Jeff Lyons is on Twitter
January 26th, 2009 By Justin Williams
I get a bit of email from the site, and I thought this one would make for an interesting discussion topic.
Hi Justin! My name is Amy and my husband has recently applied for a job in Evansville. We are currently living (and have lived for most of our lives) in Central Illinois. I am trying to learn as much as I can about Evansville and the in’s and out’s of the city. Good part of town, bad part of town? Good neighborhood, bad neighborhood? Good schools, bad schools? Could you please shed some light of Evansville for me, please? I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance.
I would say the best part of town is the East side (hate on me now West siders), or if you’re younger and don’t have kids, the new downtown condos. I don’t really know much about the local public schools since I graduated from Day School, so I’ll leave that for others to chime in on.
Once you get to town, the first place you need to head to is GD Ritzy’s for a hamburger, fries and cherry coke. Mmm
If you’ve got any advice or suggestions for Amy, and other Evansville newcomers, share them in the comments.
January 20th, 2009 By Justin Williams
I’m just sitting around today watching inauguration coverage, so I figured I’d put up a thread if you want to share your thoughts on all the festivities. It certainly is impressive to see how many people really are in DC right now.
Hulu, NBC and a variety of other places are providing a live stream of the day’s events for those that are stuck in an office. Check it out above.
January 17th, 2009 By Robyn Oglesby
Valkyrie, an historical thriller, is based off of the true story of Operation Valkyrie, a German military plan, which would call the reserve troops of the German Army to service during WWII. In 1944, some German dissidents conspired to use Operation Valkyrie to take control of the German SS and bring order back to the German government in order to make peace with Allied forces and end the war. In order for this plot to be successful, Adolf Hitler would have to be killed so that German soldiers would be free of their oath to be loyal to him.
The German dissidents enlisted the help of Colonel Claus von Staffenberg, a German Army officer who had shown some resistance to the Nazi party movement. Staffenberg was placed in charge of the reserve army, which also gave him the security clearance to be apart of Hilter’s inner circle. Because of this, Staffenberg was also given the assignment to terminate Hitler.
On July 20, 1944, the plot was attempted and failed. When the conspirators were caught, they were excecuted in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock, which was used as an administrative building for the military during the war.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Going into it, I really didn’t expect much. Not knowing much about the historical aspect of Valkyrie, I found the movie to be pretty suspensful. I knew that it was a failed attempt at an assassination of Hitler, but did not know all the details. The action of the movie starts very early on and as a viewer, I didn’t ever really get a chance to relax. Director Bryan Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns) gave Valkyrie an action movie feel while maintaining the historical nature of it.
After doing a little bit of research on Operation Valkyrie, I have found that the movie stays pretty close to the original plot. I’m sure some liberties were taken, but the basic story is the same. Tom Cruise plays the part of Colonel Staffenberg and is joined by other acting heavy hitters such as, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson.
Cruise took a very active role in getting Valkyrie made. He first took interest in the picture because Singer was directing it and later decided to commit to the lead role because Cruise and Staffenberg have similar profiles. Because the picture is financed by United Artists, Cruise is also listed as an executive producer. Cruise also led the crew in a moment of silence prior to the filming of the excution of the conspiritors at Bendlerblock.
While this film certainly does not reach the status of other WWII films such as, Saving Private Ryan or Schindler’s List, it is a good portrayal of Operation Valkyrie and not a bad way to spend winter afternoon.
January 16th, 2009 By Justin Williams
This isn’t as bad as some of the other stories I’ve seen on 25, but it’s ranks up there:
NEWS 25 Looks at Threat of Bird Strikes Locally:
After this week’s story of an airplane, splash-landing in the Hudson River in NYC, we wanted to know more about what caused the accident. Bird strikes can threaten all size of plane, in many areas across the country, so as this threat is brought into the limelight, we wanted to know what Tri-State pilots could face.
A few things that should be noted on this story. First, I am pretty sure there is nothing different between a bird and plane collision at EVV, JFK, ORD or any other small or large airport in the country. Second, I’m sure I’m not the only one that thinks it is slightly disingenuous to try to turn the focus of a national story locally as if there is some potential widespread pandemic of birds attacking jets.
If you want to do a news piece on the statistics and likelihood of something like this happening, fine. Just please stop with trying to prey on people’s fears and acting like anything and everything may come to haunt Evansville.
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