Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/453014
90 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.15 kdf.org ypal.org/connect up a frozen turkey. "Here's an interactive standup, people!" she announces. "A man on a truck with a turkey." Te 6 p.m. reporters are struggling with sto- ries. A few are falling through. I try to keep up with the gaggle — Keeney, two producers, two reporters and the assignment editor talking all at once. Here's what it sounds like in my recorder: "Te cab guy. Te rape thing? Te Tweeter? My indictment fnally came down!" High-fves. Slap! Te indictment involves a man stealing from a high-school boosters club. "And rumors that he was stealing from a church too. So this is good," the 6 p.m. producer says. "Yes!" In between bites of leftover Halloween M&M;'s, Keeney weighs an option for another reporter. "It's not sexy but water rates afect everybody," she says. A notice: Churchill Downs has canceled races due to a frozen track. "Tat's a good cold-weather angle," Keeney decides. At noon, she heats up her lunch — a crockpot Hot Brown, recipe courtesy of a WDRB in the Morning cooking segment. She asks questions between bites: Te cattle truck turnover from this morning? Do we have pictures? She cracks open a Coke Zero, mutes Family Feud and starts to look over a story set to air tonight. A big one. Te week before, Valerie Chinn, a WDRB veteran, reported on potential fnancial mismanagement within the Southeast Bullitt County Fire Department. When she approached the fre chief, Julius Hatfeld, at a public meeting, he snubbed her and tossed her microphone from a table. When she followed him out of the meeting to again ask about fnancial mismanagement, he repeatedly asked, "Do you understand English? I'm speaking English." Chinn is Asian-American. After the original story aired, Chinn obtained video of Hatfeld on the scene of a car accident in- volving a black family. A deputy states, "I've got a family of four... I got to do something with." Hat- feld responds, "We ain't taking no niggers here." Tat's the story Keeney's reviewing for tonight. Few in the newsroom know about it. Keeney's afraid someone might accidentally slip up and Tweet something. In sweeps periods, it's a gamble — to promote or not promote. While you want to lure viewers in, I once worked for a news di- rector who, upon seeing a story hyped on another station, would send a crew out to turn a quick version for our air. As Keeney looks over the script, WLKY airs a promo for a piece about Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She pulls her hair back into a ponytail. Chinn, wearing a green blazer and brown boots, walks in and sits down. She did a phone interview with Hatfeld to ask him about the racial slur, and he apologized to her for his behavior the week be- fore. She's not sure if she should put it in. Fulmer joins the meeting, sitting on a fle cabinet. "You don't put that apology in," he says. "I think you have to," Keeney says. "It's part of the story." Chinn pipes up. "He only apologized after I said, 'Is there anything else you want to say after last week?'" she says. "He wasn't like, 'I'm so sor- ry.'"