Posts About Texas
Go Against the Grain
Over the summer Shelby Holliday and I traveled to my hometown of Houston, Texas for a few stories we were working on at the time. One of the stories was a profile piece on an up-and-coming young rapper named Baby Jay. As a Houston native and hip hop fan myself, I really enjoyed producing this story. Here’s why… We started off our day with Baby Jay over chips and salsa and some mean tamales at the original Ninfa’s in Houston – I always find it useful to interact with people in a casual setting prior to an interview. That way, everyone has the opportunity to get comfortable with one another before the cameras turn on.
From there, we headed to one of Baby Jay’s recording studios and got an exclusive listen to some of his latest music. (Actually, I think part of his upcoming single "Respect" will air in the piece.) We didn’t quite know what to expect from Baby Jay’s positive music, but as soon as it came on we were blown away! Baby Jay and his manager played us three songs from his new album and each one was better than the next. I was amazed by his sound and his ability to intertwine such a positive message in to such provocative beats. It was incredible - we were listening to music that you could hear blaring at a club or dance party, yet the hard-hitting rapper was going off about respect and treating women properly. It was refreshing.
We also had the chance to speak with some of Baby Jay’s former classmates. That was cool because we were able to hear how his music affected them. They had nothing but positive things to say. I could tell that their relationships with Baby Jay were very impactful and they viewed him as a source of inspiration. It was encouraging to witness someone so young make such an impact through his creativity.
After spending the day with him, I can tell you that the he’s going nowhere but up! And when he does, remember that you heard it here first – Right Now! Trust me, Baby Jay is a name you won’t soon forget.
You can also check out the videos below for a behind the scenes look at the story.
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Inside Channel One News, Texas
Drought Contributes to Wildfires, but Affects Crops too
When we were in Texas a few weeks ago, I took my first trip to a cotton field. The only problem is, there wasn’t much cotton to see.
That’s because Texas is experiencing the worst drought in decades. Thanks to soaring summer temperatures and very little rain, the state has lost more than half of its cotton crop. One teen farmer we interviewed said that in a normal year, the cotton can grow up to your knee, and it can be so thick that you won’t even see the bottom half of your leg.
(As you can see in this picture, that is not currently the case.)
And it doesn’t stop with crops - ranchers are selling cattle in historic numbers, dry roads are in desperate need of repair, and wildfires have burned more than 3.6 million acres since last November.
Just this weekend, the Texas Forest Service responded to 63 new fires, and more than 1000 homes were destroyed. While there are many troubling facts and figures surrounding this terrible drought, the worst news of all is that the La Niña effect could kick in again this winter. If that happens, experts say the conditions could be even worse next year.
For the rest of Shelby's report from Texas, watch the video below.
Power Trip
If you live in Texas or have ever visited during the summer, you know it’s boiling hot with little relief. I grew up in the Lone Star state, but I still remember how every July I’d feel like I’d stepped into an oven just by opening the back door.
But the heat doesn’t stop Channel One! Shelby and I packed extra sunscreen and flew to Galveston, Texas, to get started on a big, new series we’re working on. This one’s about energy – the different kinds we use, where it comes from and the politics associated with it.
We kicked off our Texas road trip by visiting a retired offshore oil platform in Galveston. Then we drove to Austin to check out a natural gas lab at the University of Texas, and we finished things off by climbing a wind turbine at the world’s largest wind farm in Roscoe, a small town in central Texas. Here’s a short video with some of the highlights of our Power Trip.
Jessica Kumari
Clearwater Beach, Florida native Jessica Kumari cultivated a passion for news at her campus TV station at Georgetown University. She then moved to New York City and joined the prestigious NBC Page Program before serving as a production assistant for Brian Williams.
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Shelby Holliday
Shelby Holliday is passionate about all things Millennial. From politics to prom, her favorite assignments involve talking to students and discussing issues that affect young people.
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Scott Evans
Scott Evans has been working in entertainment and media since the third grade. After studying communications and theatre at Purdue University, he worked as a NBA On-Court Host for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. He most recently worked as the West Coast Correspondent at the millennial news organization, One Minute News.
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Jason Witmer
Producer Jason Witmer has worked in just about every type of journalistic medium including writing for magazines and producing pieces for NPR. He fell in love with video as a medium at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism before spending three years at the Houston Chronicle. He is happy to be at Channel One now, a show he grew up watching.
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Kristen Brody
Kristen Brody is a graduate of the University of Missouri's journalism school and a Production Associate at Channel One.
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Gary Hamilton
Gary knows something about that famous Texas pride, he was born and raised in Houston (where he grew up watching Channel One in Middle and High School) and then he graduated from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas and studied abroad at Oxford University in the U.K.
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Jessica Rojas
Jessica Rojas is a born and bred New Yorker whose love of all types of music, dance and entertainment took her to Los Angeles where she studied at the University of Southern California. Her love of music is what brought Jessica back to New York to share that passion with you at Channel One.
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Sarah Mirza
Producer Sarah Mirza is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Master's journalism program at Boston University. She loves to write and lives for those adrenaline-fueled breaking news situations.
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Kristin Sachau
Producer Kristin grew up in San Diego, California and graduated from San Diego State University. When she got involved with documentary filmmaking, she realized she had a passion for storytelling and she's been doing it every since.
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Evan Groll
Associate Producer Evan Groll started at Channel One as an intern. He enjoys covering international news, human interest pieces and stories centered around social injustices (or even better, a combination of the three).
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