"Bed-intruder song"

A viral video that's gotten a lot of attention lately has caught the eyes of our newsroom and I'll share it with you.

It's called "Bed-intruder song" and while the story began from a very serious topic, it has been transformed into a YouTube sensation and iTunes hit. Some critics argue it perpetuates stereotypes yet others say it shows people standing up for something.

It originated from a news story (actually aired by one of our sister stations) about an attempted rapist. The older brother of a woman who was attacked was interviewed and his on-air interview turned into a pop song by two brothers who "Auto-tune the News." They digitally convert the voices of newsmakers into songs and post them on YouTube.

Read this AP article about what Antoine Dodson, the man at the center of this viral video, is doing with his 15 minutes of fame.

You've got to watch the original news story first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520

Then watch the auto-tuned song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw

Training at UMC

Whew! It's been a long time since my last blog post. Sorry about that. I just want to give a little update as to what I've been up to.

I've had the incredible opportunity to receive some extra training in reporting at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

I have to say that learning from the best of the best in the business is both awe-inspiring and intimidating. I've heard from multiple award winning journalists, including a Pultizer prize winner. I've been shown many new tools to help me gather research and data on a number of subjects.

Now that I've learned how and where to look for important stories affecting the Heartland, I just hope I can deliver the caliber of reporting required for such a feat. Check back for an update.