I'm Not Sure 'I Believe' This....

What does it say about a state when a license plate is making the front page of all the papers and is the lead story on the local news? 'I Believe' it means there are issues with that state. And that's not my opinion. That's a judge's opinion, who granted an injunction this week to halt the production of the Christian-themed 'I Believe' license. But besides the plate itself, which raises SO MANY PROBLEMS in and of itself, most people that I've talked with about it or emailed or called into our newsroom don't seem to even understand what the legal battle is about. And that may be the worst thing of all.

It all started this summer when Lt. Governor Andre Bauer sponsored a bill to create a license plate that affirmed Christianity. The legislature voted for the bill.....UNANIMOUSLY. It took about a quarter of a millisecond for a lawsuit to be filed to send the plate straight to hell. And with this week's injunction, the plate is now dead until further legal battles make their way through the courts.

I can't imagine any of the state lawmakers or the governor (who allowed the plate to become law by not vetoing it, although he didn't sign the bill, either.) didn't know that a lawsuit would immediately follow it's passage. And so now, with a state budget undergoing over $1 billion in cuts, the government is paying for this legal battle they say they will fight all the way to the Supreme Court. But the lawyer for the group who is trying to the kill the plate says it will never get that far, because, of course, the Constitution is pretty clear that government can't sponsor anything religious.

Which brings me back to my main point. Most people I've encountered think the lawsuit is aimed at stopping Christian license plates. Period. It isn't. It's aimed at stopping the government from sponsoring such license plates. If your church wants to sponsor an 'I believe' plate, they say, 'Enjoy.'

In working on this story, I came across some pretty funny license plates you can actually order from the South Carolina DMV. Check 'em out.









BTW--The first license plate lawsuit was in New Hampshire over 25 years ago when a group objected to the state's motto, 'Live Free or Die', being displayed on all plates. They won. Florida and Louisiana, however, shot down a group that objected to the 'Choose Life' license plates. Virginia also shot down a group who objected to a Son's of Confederate Veterans license plate that displayed the Confederate Flag.

A Guy Wins a Million Dollars, I Get Bit By a Pit Bull

I can't claim Thanksgiving was boring. Walking my dogs in a park near my house, they spotted the neighbor's dog, who was also being walked in the park. Once before, on leashes, 'Lady', a bit pull, had gone after one of my dogs. But that happens all the time, so i didn't think too much of it. Besides, dogs on leashes are usually more aggressive than off-leash. At first, all was well, as the three dogs were playing chase and sniff-butt, but then, all of a sudden, 'Lady' went after 'Bongo'. While the guy walking Lady was just yelling, "Lady, stop it!", I went in to get my dog out of the fray, and I have the dog bite on my arm to prove it. Let this be a lesson for all of you who think there is no way for a 60 lb. dog, even if it is a pit bull, can take you down. That dog bit HARD! Puncture wounds at every toothmark. So after I got home and realized I was bleeding (from multiple holes) I went back to the neighbors to make sure the dog had all of it's shots. It did. I'm over it.

I'm not over, however, one Mr. Robert Barnes. He won $926,000 in the South Carolina lottery. He let me come to his house to do a story on him, and he is by far the best character I've ever reported on. You have to watch this guy.

http://www.abccolumbia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1689:70-year-old-local-man-wins-big-in-the-lottery&catid=43:local-news&Itemid=50

I seriously believe we could triple our viewership if we had this guy do a weekly commentary on our newscast. 'Nuff said.

And the winner is....(keep the bag over your head)

My third installment of 'Hidden Columbia' aired tonight. It was about the Miss Venus pageant, put on by Sigma Chi back in the late 1940s through the early '70s. It was finally canceled because by the '70s, the women's liberation movement simply was not ok with women strutting in front of a bunch of frat boys with high heels, short shorts, tight shirts, and BAGS OVER THEIR HEADS. Yup, it simply was too good to pass up. Other than the catch phrase 'bags over their heads' and the accompanying pictures from the yearbooks, there really is nothing much more to it. Unfortunately, I never got a former winner to talk with me, so it left a huge hole in the story overall, not having that perspective. I would love to have done the story without any narration from me--all coming from the former winner and the USC archivist.

But I can honestly say in my short two months at WOLO, I worked harder on trying to get a former winner than i have on any other story. I went through all the yearbooks and wrote down all the winners, then cross-referenced them against the alumni directory. That gave me about five hits. Two had moved out of state, one was in Summerville and never answered the phone, one was in Barnwell and told me she wasn't Miss Venus, but Miss Aphrodite (I have no idea where the bag was placed in that pageant). Finally found someone still in Columbia. She answered the phone and agreed to an interview. She never answered the phone again, nor did she return my messages. I hope she watched tonight and wishes she had participated. Anyway, I won't say who she was, that would be unfair. But I'll give a hint--Miss Venus 1958.

If you want to watch, you no longer have to go to our website and type 'hidden columbia' in the search engine, because now, I have my own SECTION of the website. Go to the main website, www.abccolumbia.com, then click 'local news' at the top. A pull down menu will appear, one of the options being "Hidden Columbia." I'm becoming big-time......Good times.

What to do with South Carolina post-election?

It's an odd scenario as post election numbers clear up, studies conducted, and trends analyzed. The immediate aftermath of the election was a republican collective sigh--they had weathered the storm in our state and won all the major elections, from McCain as president to Lindsey Graham as senator, Joe Wilson as Congressman, etc. etc. But since the day-after sigh, it's not been such a rosy picture. The New York Times analyzed voting returns county by county, and concluded some areas in the South voted more Republican this year than four years ago. Their conclusion--race. Certain parts of the South and Appalachia came out in white droves to stop Obama. Check out the article and map at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/politics/11south.html?_r=1&sq=south&st=cse&oref=slogin

It's pretty revealing because South Carolina looks much more like North Carolina and Virginia than the other deep south states that moved even more republican. And remember, North Carolina and Virginia actually voted for Obama. So the big question: is this an actual trend in the coastal south, a democratic trend, or just an Obama phenomenon. To see how I tackled this issue in a two minute TV story, check out www.abccolumbia.com.

Election Night./'Hidden Columbia' is a hit!

So Obama is the new president. I didn't get to enjoy the party because I was covering the Republican watch party at the downtown Hilton. No food, no drink, no enthusiasm. It felt like the break room at a funeral home, where people aren't outwardly sad, but there isn't exactly a giggy feeling either. Lindsey Graham didn't show, he was in Phoenix with McCain. Joe Wilson did show, put that was it. Governor Sanford, as always, was blunt. He said it was dismal, but that the 'carnage' vindicated his message for the last 6 years of fiscal conservatism. I asked him if he felt so vindicated, would we reverse course and stay in politics after his term is up. He said he didn't know what he was doing tomorrow, much less in two years....but he didn't say 'no'. We'll see. Otherwise, my vantage point last night was very narrow. We didn't even go live because we only have one live truck and that went to the democratic watch party, understandably enough. So enough of politics...


My Hidden Columbia series got underway Monday. The first one was on the 36-year defunt Underground Columbia--an old restaurant and bar mall under the ground on Main Street. I love this stuff, exploring parts of a city that locals don't even know about, or have forgotten about. This place is under the equitable building, just below the arcade pedestrian mall (itself a beautiful rendition of 19th century Italian Renaissance architecture). It was opened in 1972 by 3 local businessmen (Joe Gentry was one, he now runs a contracting business in Columbia) who rented the space from the owner of the building, Ned Barnes (he's in Charlotte, but his nephew gave me an interview and great insight). It's first year was very successful, at least in terms of buzz and attendance, but year two was a disaster. I would love to have seen pictures from when it was running well, and pictures from when it was taken over by prostitutes and tattoo parlors. From what I was told, Joe Gentry has pictures, but he didn't return my phone calls. Disappointing, but the story was still fun and from reaction, successful...you can check it out at www.abccolumbia.com, then find 'Hidden Columbia'. Ned Barnes, the nephew, not the owner, said they had gotten a few offers to renovate the underground, but none that they entertained as serious. I think the equitable arcade above it would be an awesome hotel (a la the renovation of the old Citadel in Charleston into the Embassy Suites.) If you haven't seen the Equitable Arcade, check it out, it's beautiful. Unfortunately, you can't get access to the Underground---unless of course, you watch my story.

'Hidden Columbia'--My new reporting series?

I begin my sweeps shooting tomorrow (sweeps are the months where networks set their advertising rates, so local news tries to put on in depth stories to gain viewers so ratings for the month will be higher and can in turn charge more for advertising. Because of some history stories I did in Charleston, I was told to do a series of three stories called "Hidden Columbia."

The idea is to find things about the city that even locals wouldn't know about. The first is the story of the old State Theater, later renamed the Fox Theater, on Main Street. If you went to it today, you would actually be going into 'Solid Gold', an African-American wig shop. I met up with the director of the Nickelodeon Theater, which bought the store in 2005 to revive the theater. After walking through the store, he took me through a door on the back wall. Once we were through the door, an old 1930's art deco theater opens up--run down, trashed, dark, but amazing nonetheless. Upstairs, an even bigger theater. Can't wait to do that story.

Second, I'm telling the story Underground Columbia. Modeled after Atlanta's Underground, it only existed for two years in the early 1970's, but shut down when the flight to the suburbs killed downtown. Nevertheless, the old underground, with restaurants and shops, still exists, also on Main street.

I'm supposed to find one more story, and am working a few different angles, including:
the tunnels underneath the statehouse and the history of the Ms. Venus pageant, sponsored by Sigma Nu during Derby Days. The pageant ran from 1947 through about 1970, and featured woman in high heels, short shorts, a tight shirt, and a bag over their head. Didn't see that coming, did you? Neither did I, so went to the archives at USC, and sure enough, in the yearbooks from those years, pictures of the pageant. It was judged by the president of the university and the dean of women students. I'm looking for a former winner to interview. Would be too funny. If you find my blog, give me some more ideas. thx.

s.c. budget crisis hearings

Today I covered another round of budget meetings at the state house. Like many states, South Carolina’s revenues will fall far short of the budget as currently in place—about $450 million short. So where to cut? Last week, Governor Sanford met with all 60 state agency heads for a powwow meeting. When he opened the floor to their ideas on how to cut money, dead silence in the room—the cricket chirping kind. At the end of the meeting, he handed out note cards, asked them to write down their ideas, and give them back to him by the end of the week. Today he told me those note cards gave him about $350 million in specific ideas on where to cut. He said he’s having a report written up to give to the legislature when it comes together next week for an ‘emergency session’ to deal with the crisis.

That’s the background. Today I covered a meeting with and agency heads from Commerce; Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; Insurance; Labor, Licensing and OSHA; and DOT. I reported mostly on Sanford’s push, yet again, for restructuring the government away from the legislature toward the executive—the idea being the executive can be more efficient with handling state money than can a state house and senate, with all their local biases. (You can see the story at www.abccolumbia.com.) In fact, South Carolina’s governor is one of the weakest in the country (check out www.stateline.org to see a comparison of governor power compiled by a Univ. of North Carolina political science professor---South Carolina has the 8th weakest governor). My plan is to do a sit down interview the professor about his methodology, ask how a more powerful governor would change South Carolina politics, then have a sit down with Sanford to compare notes—I would like to see his reaction to the survey. If you got this far reading, tell me what you think about more executive power, or about good/bad budget cuts. Thx for reading,
-Andy

My first blog, my first post...WELCOME

my first blog following my first solo anchor night...big night because we are an abc affiliate, so the news followed Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. And I also had my first Ron Burgundy moment. Coming out of sports, we chatted a bit. The sports guy (Tim Hill) gives me a state capital quiz every Sunday. This Sunday it was Mississippi (do you know the capital?) I answered correct then went on with the next story. But it said something about Martinsville and Nascar. So i just looked straight at it and said, "Is that my read? Well, why not." What I read was the tag out of a Nascar story that had been killed. Hey, at least every body knows next week's race is in Martinsville.

In addition to anchoring, I went out in downtown Columbia (the Vista area) to ask people if they knew what the governments' financial bailout plan is, and if they knew what the $700 billion was going to be used for. Three of seven knew the bailout plan was to infuse money in troubled banks. Only knew how the $700 billion was going to be spent (or at least the plan on how it is to be spent). I won't answer here. Maybe get your feedback on if you know, if it's a fair question, if it even matters.

It was interesting to here why people said they didn't know. All of them--that is, the 6 out 7 who didn't know what the money was going to be used for, said they didn't bother to find out the details because there was nothing they could do about it anyway. Goes to show, if people don't have direct control over a situation, they tend not follow it.

So for my first post, I'll end my thoughts there. Now for a quick biography. My name is Andy Burns (full name is Samuel Anderson Burns). I go by Andy socially, Anderson on the air. I am an weekend anchor at WOLO in Columbia, SC. after spending two years as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WCIV in Charleston, SC. Not sure what the deal is with South Carolina, but there it is. I'm way over educated, and have the debt to prove it. Undergrad in Chapel Hill. A short time in Atlanta, then three years in NYC, then I headed to Seminary (Union Theological Seminary in NYC at Columbia U.). I'll explain why I went in a later post. Following seminary, off to Chicago for journalism grad school at Northwestern. The end of that put me Charleston. My hope with this blog is to discuss stories I report or that are dominating the newswires. Hopefully some cool discussions can develop which will help me fine tune my reporting, give me story ideas, and maybe help readers better understand stories or issues they care about. You can watch my stories at abccolumbia.com. I'll link the website as soon I figure all this out. Say hello if you happened to stumble across me. Thx.
-Andy