Hometown: Shreveport, LA
Job Title: KTBS camera guy
Talents: I practice martial arts, if that counts
Favorite thing about your job: Getting paid to do it. Haha  
Who inspires you: God, my grandfather, and Bruce Lee
Your family: Dakota/Jordan (brothers) Tricia (mom) and Kevin (dad)
Anything people might be surprised to learn about you: I DON’T normally have to duck to get through doors.
Nickname: Loag
Favorite book or magazine:  The Stand by Stephen King
Favorite saying: “I could really go for some pizza right about now.”
Biggest challenge: Life

Account Executive, KTBS-TV

Hometown:  Stonewall, Louisiana

Inspiration:  “My parents.”

Biggest Challenge:  “Losing my dad to cancer.”

Favorite thing about your job:  “Meeting new people.”

Nickname:  Honey

Favorite saying:  “It is what it is.”

Job Title:  Web Developer, KTBS 

Hometown:  Paris, Kentucky

Favorite thing about your job:  The challenge of making this stuff work and creating/learning new things

Your inspiration:  My family (Wife-Lee Anne, three wonderful children and a dog)

Anything people might be surprised to learn about you: “I play the trumpet (well, I used to anyway).”

Favorite food:  Turkey and dressing

Nickname:  Wildcat

Favorite book or magazine:  Anything by David Baldacci.  Golf Magazine.

Favorite sayings: “Dot com.  What else would it be?”  …and:  “They must be dealt with in a very cruel and unusual way.”

Biggest challenges:  1.  Raising my children (a manual would be great right now).  2.  Making all of the KTBS websites run correctly. 

Sherri says:  “When Brad, who wouldn’t let me photograph his face, speaks of all the KTBS websites, he’s referring to the more than 30 sites in the KTBS network.”

Job Title:  Studio camera for KTBS-TV and KPXJ CW 21 

Hometown:  Shreveport, Louisiana

Nickname:  HellCam 3

Skills/Talents:  “I’m robotic, but often do things on my own.” 

Family:  Camera 2, Camera 3 and TowerCam

Favorite Movie:  One Hour Photo

The craziest thing you’ve ever done:  Aside from regularly crashing into other cameras and lights during live newscasts, I’ve come close to mowing down a few anchors while they’re walking in the studio.  On a sour note, there’s a sexual harrassment suit pending against me.  Biatches. 

Fantasy girl:  Annie Leibovitz

Favorite food:  “If you thought film, you are such a stereotypical thinker!”

What might people be surprised to learn about you?  “I have tried and tried to get  the production department to implement Feng Shui in the studio.  C’mon, guys!  If the news set faced east, don’t you think ratings would improve?”

Fav saying:  “What I see is what you get!

Goals:  “I’ve always wanted to venture outside the studio and do a National Georgraphic shoot on the procreation of wombats.”

Job Title: Technical Director at KTBS 3

Hometown:  Haughton, LA

“I love playing all sports.  Golf, football, baseball, basketball.  I play basketball the most but I’ve never been very good.  I like to play any sport.”

Favorite thing about your job:  “I like being in control and always having something new to do.  I never really know what to expect until I get to work.  I also like a fast-paced environment, although it seems to be slowing down, or maybe I’m just getting faster.” 

Your inspiration:  “First of all I say Jesus..But also my mom, dad and especially my brother.” 

Your family: Dad–Terry, Mom–Vicki, Brother–Shawn…And the 18 year old blind, deaf, toothless dog Kato.

Anything people might be surprised to learn about you: “I am deathly afraid of spiders.  I once burned a pair of shoes with a blow torch because a spider had made a nest in them.”

Favorite food:  “I’m a fan of all food, but my favorite would have to be Mexican.”

Favorite saying:  “Second place is the first loser.”  (I obviously hate to lose at anything)“My biggest challege was trying to learn spanish.  I took three semesters of it and still can’t say or read a sentence.  It’s complete gibberish to me.  It’s a shame because I would really like to be able to speak a second language.”

Fantasy job:  “I think owning a catamaran in Hawaii that takes tourists out snorkeling every morning would be the perfect job.  I think I would work about 5 hours each day and spend the rest of the day lying around relaxing.  Then I would make Sparky clean my boat.”

Music: Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, The Eagles, The Beatles.  This is about all I ever listen to in my iPod.

One of our Team Nation (behind-the-scenes in broadcasting) profiles is relocating.  KTBS 10 p.m. producer Lakesha Bennett has accepted a job as a morning producer for WSVN Fox 7 in Miami. Congratulations, Lakesha! 

Hometown:  Texarkana, TEXAS!! 

Job Title:  Marketing Hack er, I mean producer.  Formerly of KTBS, now with WBRZ in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Talents/Skills:  Talking when I shouldn’t, sleeping and of course, being a friend. I do think I am good at that.

Favorite thing about your job: The chance to be creative while having the opportunity to act like I’m still in high school

Who/what inspires you: My husband & son and strangely enough…nature! (cue the symphonic music)

Your family: Husband-Philip/Son-John Michael/Cat-Pirate/Dog-Hank/Fish-Goldy

Anything people might be surprised to learn about you: I can operate a forklift. I actually like Jason.

Favorite food: Ribeye rare please! I know Sal…I know!

Nickname: k-for Kooleen

Favorite book or magazine: Fake answer: The Grapes of Wrath/Newsweek*** Real answer: Anything by Anita Shreve/Real Simple

Favorite saying: “Happiness, not in another place, but this place..not for another hour, but this hour…” Walt Whitman

Biggest challenge: Working full time and wanting more time with my son. There has to be a way to make this work. It’s not really all or nothing is it?

What’s so great about Texas? I think the easier question would be; “What’s not so great about Texas?” to which the answer would be the traffic in Houston and GWB! Otherwise what’s not to love!

Craziest thing you’ve ever done: I don’t really want to say, only that it involved the breaking of a federal law.

Monday’s “Team Nation” profile will be former KTBS news producer Colleen Spillane.   You’ll be diggin’ her picture!

Job Title: Assistant News Director, KTBS

Previously: Newspaper and wire service reporter 

Interests outside work: Cycling, yard work (In this business, you frequently don’t know if you’re doing any good. When you mow the lawn, you can at least see you’ve accomplished something.) 

Nickname: Scoop. I got it my first day on the job as the police reporter. Two Bossier City detectives gave it to me. It stuck. 

Book: Pride and Prejudice 

Food: Shrimp 

Professional saying: Holding public officials accountable is like cleaning the kitchen of roaches. “You can spray once and they’ll be gone for a while. But the roaches come back again, similar to the corrupt politicians. You’ve got to keep spraying.” — Sam Dash.  

Personal saying: “It is important to know how to make a living and how to make a life. You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.” 

Biggest challenge: The man who gave me the scoop that made my career messed up later. We had to do the story; I couldn’t — and wouldn’t — let him off the hook. It hurt, but we still talk. I’ve found that when it comes to the decent people in public life, you can rough them up — but if you’re accurate and balanced and it’s justified, they’ll still talk to you.  

Second biggest challenge: Not strangling the reporters who don’t have drive. 

Do you miss newspaper work: Sometimes. You can’t do it as long as I did and not miss seeing your byline on the top of the front page.  

Biggest concern: Libeling people and being wrong. The media have enormous power and the pressure to be first can lead to incredibly bad decisions. The runaway bride in Georgia ought to be a lesson to every one of us. I once wrote a story about two men who unjustifiably lost their jobs. I was a rookie and took an official at his word and didn’t track the men down to find out what happened. It still haunts me. The only good thing about it was they got their jobs back.