Why is it that most of my posts center around technical "issues" in the newsroom. Could it be that it's my job to manage these things?
First, the TV web server was hacked this summer. Then, eHub starting choking on the WordPress databases...
Today, I am happy to report that we have survived yet another technical fiasco. Last Thursday, we needed to restore the story table for the TV web site. We had accidentally written over all the stories in the DB — every single story — with one story, Psychologists blame parents for college stress. Ironic? For a period of about 24 hours, we had nothing on the web site but this lone story, repeated in top news, producer's choice, and pretty much all over the site. After many phone calls, and backing and forthing with the campus academic computing services and the database Staci Wolfe, we finally got our data restored. Just in time to post Friday's newscast.
Katie worked her butt off, even stayed late on Friday to make sure everything was working. We're lucky to have Katie, she's smart as a whip and dedicated too. She's a Geek Goddess.
The lesson in all this is that we can't live without technological people. It's a terrible cliche, but oh so true — technology: can't live with it; can't live without it. Ignorance is not an option. It's job security for me and Katie; but someday, someday, I would like to be able to take a day off without my cell phone ringing with yet another technical issue.
I hardly deserve the ego stroking, Staci. It wasn't so much working my butt off, more like attempting not to panic while staring at the telephone, waiting for the call that would bring my salvation.
And for the record, I blame my "college stress" on college itself rather than my parents. Those psychologists better not be talking 'bout my mama.