Richard Adkins
Chief Photographer


Why is it never easy? All too often what should be an easy day ends up being a stressed filled journey in miserable conditions. Take one day recently when I was called on to work a long day covering part of the UNC Pit incident.

I was called Sunday night to come in early Monday morning and be prepared to cover Taheri-azar in his first court appearance. Thanks goodness I had help from another photographer, Keith Baker, because I was running the Sat Truck.


(Keith Baker waits in the rain.)

The plan was simple. We shoot him walking in to court (from the car transferring him from Central Prison) and Keith would then be in the courtroom to shoot the proceedings. He walks out, we do a noon live shot and boom, done for the day! You know it didn’t happen that way.

First, despite a forecast calling for a nice day… it rained. And I don’t mean a light sprinkle. It was one of those "It ain’t pouring buckets but you’re gonna get wet" rains. Then the deputies won’t tell us their plan to walk him in, so we have to stand out in the rain to cover multiple doors they could bring him in. And they were running late. All we could do was stand in the rain and wait.


( I'd rather work in snow up to my knees than work in the rain!)

To use a sexist expression, these are the days that "separate the Men from the boys". It’s the tough days that define a real News Professional from the ones that punch the clock and just want to be home on time. The tough days are the ones that strain your relationship with coworkers and competitors, and yet you can work together tomorrow without complaint.


(Kelcey makes phone calls and waits in the rain with us. We spend a lot of miserable days together.)

At the end of this particular day, we got what we needed, we got on the air, and the viewer never knew the difference. There are plenty of tough days. This is a tough business.