TV Show Get Pre-Empted? Be Nice When You Call

Ok so I got home Monday and I put the TV on only to find that the U.S. Open Men’s Tennis Championship game was on CBS.  It seems like this event went on forever and I mean days not hours. I remember when the championship game would be played on Labor Day in New York.  Here it was September 10th and they were still playing at Flushing Meadows, New York.

I enjoy watching tennis and as I was sitting there watching the title match I couldn’t help but think about my friend Brenda Mallory who runs the switchboard at KHQA (the station that carried the match).  Brenda has been there for years and has done a wonderful job.   I worked with her for a while and remember the days when she would have people calling the station screaming at her just because their favorite soap opera was pre-empted by tennis , golf or whatever (even Presidential news conferences).

There she was, having to listen to some very rude and crude viewers sounding off at her because their favorite show was “bumped” by a special event.  It would get quite nasty. But true to what Brenda is all about, she would handle it with poise, calmness and professionalism. Oh, I’m not going say that once she hung up the phone she still had a smile on her face and her calmness remained.  She put up with a lot and didn’t deserve the abuse she handled eloquently.  I am sure she went through it again Monday as the afternoon programming and the CBS News broadcast at 5:30 was pre-empted by the U.S. Open.

So remember, before you call, chances are it will be Brenda who will answer the phone and she had absolutely nothing to do with what is shown or not shown. Please be nice to my friend.