It’s been a month of national news in Montgomery. I want to start this post by saying my sympathies go out to both families involved in this case. And this post is clearly written from a perspective of a journalist covering an officer-involved shooting. It’s my goal to share both sides of the story. I’ve been able to report on this case from the beginning. That’s included breaking the news of a possible attack on the Montgomery police department and being the only reporter to thoroughly look into the background of the victim. Here’s a look at my coverage from start to now:

MPD Officer Charged With Murder from Sarah Cantey on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! This also happens to be my 2 year anniversary of moving to Alabama. I remember stepping off the plane in Montgomery and being taken aback when the woman said “mam” when I bought trail mix…and then my first drive thru order getting all messed up because I guess I sounded too Yankee. I’m not going to pretend that it’s been all sunshine and roses but, a few (maybe occasionally more than that) tears have been worth all the memories, friends, and experiences. So thank you Alabama!

Something in my work has seemed to ‘click’ recently, probably from my fascination with watching the videos on the Storytellers Facebook Group. I’ve been having a lot of fun piecing together multiple part stand ups. They are incredibly awkward to shoot and I get funny looks, but the result is well worth it. I did the story below yesterday (Feb. 13, 2015), and for what could have been a “snoozer,” turned out much better than I could have imagined!

Reporting in lower Alabama, I had the vision of anchoring myself to the ground doing wall-to-wall hurricane coverage. But, for snow!? The bizarre weather resulted in 12 live shots by yours truly in two and a half days. Here’s a montage of some of the highlights:

Snow in Alabama Live Shots and Cut-ins from Sarah Cantey on Vimeo.

As the title of this post gives away, it’s been almost one year since I jumped from behind the scenes to on camera. Summing up 2013 as a year of “firsts”, it is remarkable how much I have learned and how many people I’ve met. After close to five months with WTVY out of Dothan, I made the decision to accept a position with WAKA out of Montgomery. A fifty-market jump that proved to be an extremely positive move. Surrounding myself with people who’ve been in this business WAY longer than me has pushed me to fine tune my writing, on air presence, and quality of story ideas. My advice to anyone starting out in this business- take a leap no matter how scary it may be, it may turn out to be a bumpy road but worth it in the end!

Here are a few of my most recent stories. Written, shot, and edited by myself- https://vimeo.com/85058253

This story starts with a four-wheeler accidents and is followed up with weeks of follow up stories and a WHOLE LOT of learning in the process.

Here was my original report when this story first happened:

Ozark Fire Chief from Sarah Cantey on Vimeo.

In a small, Southern town I quickly learned that your sources (that you interact with on a day to day basis as a bureau reporter) are (for obvious reasons) very forthcoming with positive information, but not so much with the negative. I learned the importance of walking a fine line of being assertive in getting the facts (no easy task when things are “under investigation”) while not being too pushy. Also, building positive relationships with sources was key in moving forward with the story.
And then came the follow-ups…including getting my hands on (in a legal way) the dispatch radio traffic.

Ozark Fire Chief 2 from Sarah Cantey on Vimeo.

And after sitting through a total of 7 hours and 40 minutes over the span of three separate executive sessions….finally a decision was made in regards to what to do with the chief.

Ozark Fire Chief 3 from Sarah Cantey on Vimeo.

This story was the most viewed on the WTVY website. But, besides the popularity of the story, it was quite the learning experience and such a thrill to follow from beginning to end. Even though I am pretty sure this one isn’t quite over yet.

The year 2012 is a year I will never forget. It marked the start of the chapter, hopefully a long one, in my broadcast career. Looking back, I cannot be more humbled or thankful for the opportunity to put my foot in the door of a newsroom, with my first “real world” job. After putting together this story for Tucson News Now, I am amazed at the amount of news I was able to cover in ONE year. Looking forward to what 2013 will bring! Read the story here: http://bit.ly/UbMmVi 

The first legal medical marijuana dispensary opened in Tucson. But, patients are worried that they might be over charged. Also, once a card holder’s medical marijuana card expires, anyone living within 25 miles of a dispensary is not allowed to grow their own crop. This is making some people concerned that dispensaries will have a monopoly.

I wrote and edited this story in about an hour to test how well I can perform on deadline. Here it is:

First Marijuana Dispensary in Tucson from Sarah Cantey on Vimeo.