By Don Hayford
KUSA-TV
To borrow a line given to us by the motion picture industry, "I'm mad as hell, and not going to take it any more." You should be mad too, and you don't have to take it any more.
That was the opening line
of an article I wrote back in the ‘80’s for this magazine. And it
still holds true and I’m madder than ever! But you haven’t gotten
mad enough and you are still taking it! Why?
Our industry is not taking
care of itself or each other. We continue to make the news by hurting
ourselves and putting co-workers and the public in danger. As you
read this some of our colleagues are recovering in hospitals from ENG van/power
line accidents.
Many stations around the
country have become the vanguard of operator and van safety with pro-active
training and procedures. Many others have not, but are very re-active
with training by the local utility company or ENG safety organizations
when accidents within our industry are in the news. I understand
that in one of the cities where a recent accident occurred the stations
met to discuss why this continues to happen and talk of prevention.
Perhaps they were “mad enough”. But I was told that not every station
showed up. Why not? Perhaps they know it can’t happen to them
(again).
Because I had covered the stories
of construction equipment contacting overhead power lines, I knew it couldn’t
happen to me, either. But it did. In October of 1985 I made
the mistake of my life that could have cost me that life. Almost
fifteen years later I am doing just fine, working at the same station,
with two prosthetic legs and a disfigured backside. I don’t recommend
it and I don’t want you to become a member of this club. I am very
happy to be able to be here reprimanding you, but it is distressing that
it is still called for.
There are good ENG related safety
tapes available. Has your station shown any to you? Do they
even exist at your station? Maybe each reader of this could ask around
about these and make sure your station is thinking about it.
When you go out in the field
take a look around you. Are there little safety stickers on your
vans? Do you even see them anymore? If you do, do you stop
and think about what they say, why they are there, and that it may be possible
you should do your job differently? Do you pay attention to your
colleagues working in the ENG vehicle next to you? How are they doing?
Are they putting themselves and you in danger? Again I borrow from
my article of years ago; Those of us who work in day to day, minute to
minute news operations understand that news events have no schedules or
pre-determined locations. And all too often we are going to an unknown
location with not enough time to get there, let alone enough time to set-up
the shot...But we get it on the air anyway. Also, I don't know of
anyone I have ever worked with (in any industry) who can come to work and
turn the rest of their life off. There are other things on your mind
and going on around you. Maybe the traffic was horrible getting to
the location, or perhaps the generator suddenly developed a problem.
Maybe the cable-run into this location will be difficult. Or the
possibility that something may have happened at home this morning before
you left for work. Whatever it is, your attention needs to be on
the job at hand.
And to Adrienne Alpert and
Peter MacNaughton, it gets better. It gets OK. You already
know or will soon know what “being tough” really means. You will
know success beyond what you and any of your co-workers have ever known.
And the rewards will soar above the awards.
Everyone, “Let’s be careful
out there.”