LIVE on location with Kelley Rouse
Perhaps you were working all day, and didn't get a chance to crank up your browser this morning. That's ok. The first time we cook a meal, we don't want to serve it to the whole world.
But here, diners come from everywhere, whenever they like, so we don't have much choice. But we do have a choice about what we do, and where, and why. That is what distinguishes us from beetles, ants, and other small crawling creatures.
And so it was that today, at the beginning of a summer that doesn't seem to want to happen, we did something that we always knew was possible, but were never able to do before.
With our old friends at TV-47, and in fact nearly everyone who maintains an office, a storefront or even a parkbench on the downtown plaza, we did as close to a live broadcast on the web that we could do with the resources at hand.
What we tried to do was something we have done hundreds of times before in television, a live talk-show with guests. The format looked like this, and changed every five minutes or so as we took more pictures, asked more questions, and furiously wrote more copy.
In cooperation with
ICNet, The Computer Village
and WMDT TV-47
present Delmarva's First
LIVE WEBCAM
(beta-test version)
Tuesday, June 4, 1996
LIVE On The Road
On the Downtown Plaza in Salisbury MD
Salisbury, Maryland, USA
with Kelley Rouse
Kelley: "As a broadcaster, how do you view the web ?"
John : "I think it's the beginning of a medium that will encompass everything. It won't be long before televison and computers merge into one entertainment/information system that is partly both, and partly something else. It's an exciting time for anyone in the communications business."
That was pretty much it.
Kelley would ask a question, she and the guest would discuss it, and we would agree upon a simple paraphrase of the answer. We'd grab another frame, edit the file, and send it up to the server. Then we'd start all over again.
Our guests included John Cannon, Production Manager for WMDT-TV. Ironically, John and Kelley put on the very first live outdoor television broadcast on the plaza in 1982, and together they rang in the new order, as well. It was only fitting.
Our second guest was Jack Purnell, owner of Kuhn's Jewelers down on the plaza. He's had a website for some time now, and was very honest when we asked his feelings about it.
"Well, it hasn't sold anything, frankly. But we are
hearing that from a lot of people trying to do business on
the internet. Sure, we get hits and email, but they really
don't turn into sales. Not yet, anyway.
"The way we figure it, you won't be able to compete on price,
"We believe that what you have to have is something that is unique,
and hang in there until someone who is looking for just that thing
comes across it. We have some pretty expensive items on our site,
and we think it's about the only way we can go.
"Really, what it comes down to is that it doesn't cost very much,
doesn't take much time, and has some potential. In business, that
makes something worth continuing. Besides, if this web business
really takes off, which a lot of people think it will, we don't
want to be on the outside looking in."
because you'll be competing with the whole world, and eventually
people will end up making one dollar on a thousand dollar sale.
Kelley: "Why do you DO THIS ?, Van ?""
Van : "I don't know. People work in different
endeavors. Some people write, some people paint. I always
envisioned this as encompassing a lot of different things.
I can talk on radio with people about what they are doing,
and I get to write comedy, which makes me laugh."
Van's next radio performance is this Saturday evening,
at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast the following day on
We heard from some folks who said that the picture wasn't very
good. "Neither were the first pictures from the moon."
we replied, knowing that technological resources always grow to
meet the demand for them, and that unless we could prove the
demand, there was no need to go for the resources.
Others asked us why we were doing what we were doing. There was
an easy answer for that, although it is one you might not know
unless you spent some years cranking out news stories.
In news, it's always now. Situations change constantly,
as people react to them, make new decisions, and take new actions.
Nothing in life is static, life is always a process.
That, dear friends, is what has kept the lights burning through
the night at the Shore Journal. We have found a path from beginning
to end. We hope, above all, that you will join us.
will be broadcast the following day, June 9th, on WESM
(91.3 FM) from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, and WCEI (1460 AM) from
7:00 to 9:00 PM.
June 4, 1996 Charles Paparella The Shore Journal
just let us know !