Last April 29, WPLG Local 10 scored a coup of sorts in local television circles when it lured veteran investigative reporter Bob Norman away from the weekly newspaper, Broward-Palm Beach New Times.
Channel 10 then shipped Norman off to a reporter boot camp in Texas where they show newbies how to walk and talk while holding a mike.
They did a good job.
Bob's been filing regular reports on all sorts of stuff in Broward.
About a month ago, Bob went on the air with his first report on a brand new, $25 million Broward County School Board bus depot that sits empty on the edge of the Everglades.
In the report, Bob can be seen walking through an unlocked door and strolling through the unoccupied building, unchallenged by any kind of security. Fascinating stuff to be sure.
But, did Channel 10 realize that when they hired Bob they'd be getting half a reporter?
What's that you say? You've been watching Bob's reports and he looks like he's all there.
Well, that's the problem. He's all there alright....in Broward County.
Bob, it seems, has no idea there's anything worth reporting south of the Miami-Dade/Broward County line.
Since Bob started filing his reports a little over a month ago, he's done nothing on Miami-Dade. And that's strange since he works for a station that gets 50% of its viewership from south of the Broward County line.
Now I'm pretty sure Bob reads the paper and watches his own station.
And if he does, he knows that Miami-Dade is ground zero when it comes to corruption and waste in government. After all, we've got stuff going on down here that makes Broward County seem like Mayberry by comparison.
Hell, down here in Miami we erect monuments that celebrate corruption.
They're building a monument to corruption right now on the site that used to be occupied by the Orange Bowl. You may have read about it, Bob. It was in all the papers.
It's called the Marlins Stadium.
Anyway, Bob, I know you're busy up there in Broward and haven't had time to check up on things down here.
And, maybe you're also a little leery of venturing down I-95, what with all the crime and stuff. Miami can be a very scary place to someone from the sticks.
So, let me save you some time and help you out a bit by showing you some places you might want to check out when you're able to free up your schedule.
Below is Miami City Hall. You wouldn't believe the stuff that goes on inside this building. Miami has been called a banana republic for a lot reasons. Most of those reasons start right here in this building. Need I say more?
Next up, the 31-story Stephen P. Clark Government Center.
This is where our new mayor and county manager work and oversee more than 27,000 county employees and manage a budget of billions of dollars. Surely you can find something worth reporting on here.
Now if any Random Pixels readers want to tip off Bob about graft, corruption or nefarious activities, go for it.
But, Bob is obviously very busy up there in
So why not send those tips here to me here at Random Pixels? I'll sort through them and prioritize them forward them to Bob. It's the least I can do.
Oh, one more thing Bob. When you do decide to finally come down....make sure you bring your passport.
