Our boy, Dave!

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Our friend Dave, the politico

David Catanese is leaving Ky3.

I just spent the last few minutes trying to write that sentence cleverly, but then I realized I was only burying the lead.

David Catanese is leaving Ky3. He's headed to Washington, D.C., to become the latest reporter at Politico. His last day on the air will be December 29th.

During his five year stint in the Ozarks, Dave accomplished something no other KY3 reporter had ever done. He elevated the station and filled a niche.

Many people will miss him for his witty writing, exclusive stories, and his political perspectives. Heck, a lot of folks will even miss that subtle smirk he gave at the end of an occasional live shot.

I will miss him for much more. We were pod mates at KY3 and later became good friends. Eventually, my husband would become even better friends with him. I have so many great memories with Dave from work, but the best flashbacks are from what happened off the clock. Dave and I had one epic New Year's Eve together (we just talked about this at dinner tonight!) And, he was one of the few close friends who joined us for our wedding in Honolulu, which he blogged about from the beach.

He's been in our Springfield family for the last few years, and one day we will look back and realize how lucky we were to have had this time together. (Mostly Jim, Dave and Taka, a.k.a, the Motley Crew.)

Though the news hasn't really sunk in, we are so excited for Dave! He has so much of the "it" factor... not as a political reporter but simply as a damn good person.

Election Hangover

I think everyone by now must have an election hangover. My Korean sister, Hyun Jeong, asked me if I was happy about the election, through Twitter. (That's the best way to talk with her because it's immediate through our cell phones. I love it.) She told me that her fiance voted for Obama and then she asked me, "What about you? you like McCain?" I'm wondering... does she assume I voted for McCain? And why would she assume that? Is it because I live in SWMO? Surely she doesn't know the political make-up of Missouri, but her fiance, Glenn, may have told her something about the Midwest.

Anyway, I don't know how I will respond to her just yet, but I do have some thoughts/questions...and am wondering what other people think.

1. How did Missouri lose its bellwether status? Bummer, I kind of liked saying that MO was always right. Missourians voted for McCain, though it was pretty close betweeen Obama. However, the interesting thing is that many McCain supporters opted to choose Democrat Jay Nixon.

courtesy LA Times

2. Is the world setting up Obama for failure? It's like the new South Park episode (Jim makes me watch.) I mean, is it possible for Obama to accomplish all that he says? He's still one man. When I was in STL for election night, everyone was cheering in the streets and honking their horns for hours. It was really kind of neat, but at the same time, I was thinking, "Are they going to be dissapointed later?" When you put someone on a pedestal, they are bound to fall off, right? Hmmm...



3. Will any of this actually change my life? I mean, I am in the middle class. We just bought a home, and we make too much money to get any grants (why?!) but at the same time, we watch our money. We're not at the top of the food chain or anything... We are on a tight budget like many Americans, and I still plan on keeping my job at the library because 1) I really love it, and 2) it helps pay the bills. Just because we elected a new president and a new governor doesn't mean that I'm going to start taking baths in Evian water.

4. I feel sorry for my friend, Dave Catanese. What is he going to do with himself now?

Jim's debut on the Daily Show!

Check it out! Jim and Dave on The Daily Show... on a side note, there are no other obscenities in this piece, other than the title. He's about 3:25 in...

The DNC, Jim & The Daily Show??

Jim is currently covering the Democratic National Convention. It's been kind of a crazy few days for him... I just got off the phone with him and he was ordering dinner at 11:30 p.m.

Jim is there covering the convention for KY3. In case you didn't know, Jim is the chief photographer at KY3, and that's how we met. He's there with political reporter (and friend) Dave Catanese...

Anyway, though the work is hard, hectic, and extremely exhausting... they're enjoying themselves. And get this-- the dashing duo has a pretty good chance of being on The Daily Show this week!

Jim said that he was walking along and noticed Rob Riggle... when a producer from the show asked him if he wanted to be in a skit. Dave and Jim said, "Duh!"

Turns out, they shot a skit and played a local news team... I think maybe someone tried to choke them?? I couldn't really understand what Jim was saying during our phone conversation. Anyway, tune in on FRIDAY. SET YOUR DVRs!

Hopefully, it will make air. We'll see!

By the way, interesting tidbit--Rob Riggle is from Overland Park, KS... and he went to KU. I had no idea! And Jim said Rob recognized KY3 because apparently he has a lake house in the Ozarks. Imagine running into him at Party Cove!

Emmy Nominations are in!

The Emmy nominations were released on-line at 10pm Thursday night. Most of the nominations went to journalists working in St. Louis or Kansas City, but there were a few nods locally. They are as follows:

Newscast evenings, Markets 50+
Cara Connelly, Michelle Sherwood, Jeff Benscoter, Brian Vandenberg, KY3

General Assignment Within a 24-Hour Period
Dave Catanese, KY3
Ice Storm

Education/Schools
Angie Weidinger, KOLR
Tommie's Story

News Excellence
KY3

Congratulations and Good Luck!

My fellow co-worker and blogger

Many of you know David Catanese (on the right.) He's the political reporter at the station, but he's also my friend. Our desks at work sit head-to-head, so when we're both in the building, we have only each other and our computers to look at, so we chat. Anyway, he is the only on-air journalist who contributes to our political blog, so check out what he has to say! I hear he has an exclusive today....
http://ky3.blogspot.com