Where is Julie Watts??

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged… and I have received a lot of questions about my whereabouts since I left KCRA in December.

I am currently working at KPIX CBS 5 in San Francisco as both a reporter and meteorologist. I'm still living in the Sacramento area and commuting between Sac, the city, and San Jose (my home town).

As for the Sierra Leone piece… Obviously it never aired on KCRA (a combo if union issues and lay-offs).

“From Sacramento to Sierra Leone” ended up a half-hour mini-doc airing on KVIE in December. A second version will air in May leading up to a Sierra Leone benefit concert this summer. Stay tuned!

For more on the journey, read the article below…

The Lay-Off Silver Lining

Click Article to Enlarge

So is this freelance or are you going for KCRA?

Neither.

Sam and I are traveling to Sierra Leone as a combo vacation/mission trip… but the journalist in me knows there are important stories to tell there (that wouldn’t be otherwise told). So, I convinced my news director to air those stories upon our return.

Considering the economy, local stations just can’t afford to cover stuff like this any more... especially in an election year when domestic news is more relevant. In-depth stories on things of international importance are more likely to air on PBS or National Geographic… to a limited audience.

The nature of local news can often be summed up in one sentence… “If it’s not relevant to me, I don’t care. “ But I believe that if we present international stories in creative ways, we can make them relevant to local viewers … and reach a wider audience in the process.

So, I figured if I found some local angles and funded the project myself, (Huge thanks to my amazing husband who agreed to let me do this!) I might be able to get these socially significant stories aired on mainstream media. Needless to say I was relieved when my news director agreed to give me a camera and air the stories I come back with. (Big thanks to Anzio too!)

As I mentioned, the initial plan is to put together a 5-part series for KCRA (outlined in previous blogs)… and a 30-minute piece for the KCRA show, Common Ground. And yes, I am shooting/editing the piece… and will have the amazing Mike Caroll (KCRA Photog/Editor) clean it up when I get back.

My First Blog

So... I've got a masters degree in online journalism... but have been pretty lazy about utilizing my online skills since I left grad school. Truth be told, I've been so busy building a broadcast career that my website has fallen by the wayside.

This blog is my attempt at jumping back into the online world and keeping my website fresh... the only problem, what to blog about!

I'll work on that in the coming days... but just a heads up... some upcoming topics may include:

• The necessity of a personal website: Who cares? Is it simply narcissistic? What are the benefits?

• Sierra Leone: My husband and I are in the process of planning a trip to Sierra Leone with World Vision. While we're there I plan to shoot a series of stories on the countries recovery a decade after the height of the "Blood Diamond" era. What is the state of the diamond industry today? How does a diamond get from the mine to your hand?

• Inclement Weather: I'll also likely blog on various weather patterns... Wet or wild weather... How an extended forecast pans out... What makes or breaks a spacific forecast... What tools I utilize to forecast a specific event.

• New Wether Video: You'll often find me out & about reporting in the wind, rain & snow. Sometimes comical sometimes serious... I'll post some of the most interesting video.