Jerry Jacob saves people, loses equipment

Former KY3 anchor Jerry Jacob is learning combat medic training at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He's doing really well! "All of our casualties survived," he says. "Though I somehow misplaced five rifles."

Who needs rifles?

Anyway, here are some pictures...

JJ says: "What the patient in this photo is saying is:

'Um, doc, I have a bullet in my arm. Why are you taking off my pants?'"

Anchorwoman in Tyler, TX

Too bad this doesn't have the video of her dancing in the background of somebody's liveshot. Bummer.

TV News Sinks to an All New Low

Lauren Jones

Fox is causing controversy with one of its latest reality shows by transporting a beauty queen into small-market television news.

Lauren Jones, former Miss New York, and "Barker Beauty" from The Price is Right, is currently working in Tyler, Texas, as a reporter for KYTX. It's all apart of the network's reality show "Anchorwoman". Jones has no education or experience in journalism...and on her second day, ruined a real reporter's live shot by dancing in the background.

KYTX president Phil Hurley thinks the idea will allow viewers to sample the station's product, but as one might imagine, there are some loud critics, including the Society of Professional Journalists, the Poynter Institute, and serious journalists in the Tyler area. "Being a responsible journalist is not that easy, not that laughable, not that cosmetic, not that superficial," says Christine Tatum, national president of SPJ. "We're seeing this blur of the lines between news and entertainment, and it's just getting worse and worse."

Jones will be working in the newsroom for four weeks. The show is scheduled to air on August 21st.

See the full story here.

**My personal thoughts: HUH?! I am so embarassed for real journalists who try to do solid work. I am also saddened for those viewers who have to actually watch that trainwreck.**

KY3's Cara Connelly Turns in Resignation

For the last five years, Cara Connelly has been in our homes telling us the news. She started at KY3 as the weekend anchor, moved up to the mornings, and eventually landed the 5 o'clock slot...

Well, now my good friend is taking on another position at WBNS-10, Central Ohio's #1 station. It is the CBS affiliate, so she may actually have some watchable TV shows leading into one of her newscasts! Ha!

We will miss Cara. The tides are changing again. In the last 4 1/2 years since I've been here, we've had a lot of people come in and out of our doors...and I'll be sad to see her go.

Please wish her luck! Either email her at cconnelly@ky3.com or leave your comments here. She will likely be leaving in a few weeks!!

Askinosie Chocolate Opens in Springfield

Paul sings Nessun Dorma

Failure to pay parking tickets could get you the boot

The city council could vote on this Monday night. I'm following this story because the move comes from a KY3 investigation we did back in November.

Essentially, we found that you don't have to pay your parking tickets because the city doesn't have adequate procedures to enforce the law. Some people had racked up more than a dozen unpaid parking tickets in the last 2 1/2 or 3 years. However, we couldn't check the previous years because the city throws out anything older.

Anyway, I know people don't really want to get booted, but on the flip side, do people want their tax payer dollars go to city-paid employees, who essentially don't see their work pay off?

Please feel free to discuss...I don't have an opinion on the boots, but I do think taxpayers would probably like to see the city do away with some waste.

MissouriStateYOU

I started a blog called missouristateyou for a journalism class I'm teaching this summer! Feel free to go on there to influence the minds of our future journalists. Next week they'll start posting some of their stories, so I'm very excited about it. If you check now, you'll see Dave Catanese's HOT LIST when it comes to blogs. To Be Continued...

Michelle vs. Michelle

Look, I'm kind of embarassed to say this, but it's been bothering me. I am not Michelle Kwan. I know, I know, I have the grace and body of a national figure skating champion...so it's a little confusing...

Seriously, though. I have had two incidents in 3 days when someone called me Michelle Kwan.

First, it was Saturday. Bless the Masons, but one of them called me MK. Then today during my story, a man I interviewed also called me MK. What is going on???

I'm considering changing my name to something less confusing, maybe Kristi??

To be continued...

Mama Jams!!! Hilarious, but note...LANGUAGE

Korean Cowboy Gangsters

Destination I do!

When you're trying to find a place for your wedding...

you must think:

location, location, location.

Michelle and Jim

Well, I just got back from the most awesome wedding ever! The weather was beautiful, the food was fabulous, and most importantly, the bride and groom were lovesick...

oh yeah, and it was in the Dominican Republic!!

It was my first time to attend a destination wedding...before this, I had only dreamed of being cool enough to get invited to one! ha! Why?

1) you actually get to hang out with the bride and groom
2) you actually get to meet EVERYONE at the wedding
3) you get a little vacation out of it, too

We stayed at the Iberostar Costa Dorada,

where we swam, laid around, ate, and swam, laid around, ate some more.

Nothing like a blue Hawaii to cool down

Check out "07" in the back! Only a European man could pull this off...

Thanks to Mike and Lauren for letting me be apart of their whirlwind wedding weekend!

Michael and Lauren