It's been said that 90-percent of journalism is logistics and that's more true than ever when you're covering an international story and especially one that you haven't had time to prepare for. We couldn't catch a quick flight on Friday--a non stop or a west coast hop to Japan. So we just arrived after 27 hours of travel--hopping from Los Angeles to Chicago to Detroit and then to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. But we're here. We (producer Toni Molle, photographer Michael McGregor and myself) were held up at the airport where we were technically denied entry because we didn't have a visa to work as reporters but they understand why we're here and they quickly typed up an "appeal" and we were sent on our way.

We'll grab a few hours of sleep (it's just after 2:30 in the morning-we're 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles) and then begin our coverage on the ground here in Japan. As some of you know, my mother is Japanese and I lived here for a number of years as a boy. I speak Japanese well enough to get us from here to there. I feel close to Japan and the Japanese people so this story has meaning to me. In fact, I have family here and friends. Fortunately, they're all OK. That's obviously not the case for thousands of others and we'll do our best to tell their stories.

This will be the second time I've come to Japan to cover a major earthquake. I was here in 1995 for the Kobe quake that killed 6,400 people. The memories and emotions from that assignment are still with me. I don't know what we'll find as we begin this assignment but I will do my best to convey all of it on KTLA 5, here on my blog and on also on my Facebook page and on my Twitter account ktlafbuckley.

If you've worked in the news business for as many years as I have, you've heard more than one person in a newsroom say: "We're in the communications business but we don't communicate very well." It's true. It's easy to forget that our viewers, our listeners and our readers don't always "get the memo" as it were when big changes come to our television and radio stations, to our websites and to our newspapers. We move people around. People come and go. And you're left wondering: Where is so-and-so? What happened to what's-his-name?

This time, you get the memo. Starting next Monday, I'll no longer be anchoring the 5-7am hours of the KTLA Morning News and a new guy will be in the anchor chair. I was asked to fill in on the 5 and 6am broadcasts on a temporary basis after the departure of our friend Emmett Miller in October. We thought it would last a month or two. It's now March. No doubt some of you got used to seeing my mug as you were getting ready in the mornings. I enjoyed being there for you, "the home viewer" (inside joke to those of you who watch the show) and I'll continue to be there for you between 7 and 10am. I love our team from 430am to 10am and the good news is that team will remain in place. 

The new guy is someone you may know from KNBC Channel 4. His name is Chris Schauble. He's a veteran newsman, a dad, and a person we will all get to know well in the months and years ahead. I hope you'll welcome him with open arms to the KTLA Morning News family. 

My friend John Ireland is the brilliant sideline reporter you've probably seen on the Lakers broadcasts. He's also the co-host of the Mason and Ireland program on 710 ESPN Radio. His usually astute analysis of the state of the Lakers missed the mark a bit before the stunning Lakers loss to the Cavaliers this week and now he's paying the price. Check out the email he sent to me and other pals explaining how he wants to make good on a flip remark made without considering the consequences. I think the way he's dealing with his embarrassing gaffe speaks to what a great broadcaster and good man John is. I made a donation and if you want to help him out, there's a link in his note.

All....
 
To those of you who know me, this story will not come as a huge surprise.
 
At the start of the recently concluded 13 day, seven game, Lakers road trip I said something that turned out to be pretty stupid.  Dave Miller, the coach who works on our pre and post game shows, said:
 
"I'm worried about the Lakers on the last game of this trip, in Cleveland--they could lose."
  
Me:  "Dave, are you crazy, it's Cleveland.  They've won eight games all year and is the worst collection of players in the NBA.  You sound like an idiot.  I would quit my job and walk home from Cleveland if they lost that game."
 
Last night in Cleveland, the Cavs beat the Lakers, 104-99.
 
Now I don't really think anybody expected me to walk home from Cleveland (although many would be happy if I quit my job), but I shouldn't get off the hook with nothing either.  So I've reached a "settlement" with Dave.  I've agreed to walk in the Autism Speaks walk at the Rose Bowl on 4/23, and to try and raise money to fight Autism.  Those of you who know my family know that this is a cause that means a lot.  So with that in mind, I'm going to help Autism Speaks raise some money off of my big mouth.  
 
I've set up a "donor page" for my walk.  You can sponsor me, and when I finish, all of the money goes to Autism Speaks.  To get things started, I donated $1000 in the name of Dave Miller (least I could do).  
 
Here's where you come in:
 
Go to this link:  http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=442586&lis=0&kntae442586=175887835725444FB109EBF46C13FA12&supId=321410639
 
You can donate $5, or much more--whatever you feel comfortable with.  I symbolically set up a goal of $2344, which is the exact amount of miles from Cleveland to LA.  I hope to raise much more, but that's the minimum.
 
Can you help an obnoxious, know-it-all, loudmouth sports guy out?
 
Many thanks,
 
JI

I'm a lucky guy and I know it.

I have a beautiful and loving wife and two sons who make me beam with pride. I have a job that I love, I work with people who make me laugh every day, I have great friends from many walks of life. I know I'm blessed and I try to remind myself of this every day when I wake up. I sit on the side of the bed and just take a moment. But all of us have good days and bad and when you wake at the ungodly hour of 3:30 in the morning every day, it's easy to forget to take that moment. Some days, I just plunge in to my day immediately, reading in on the day's news, answering emails, rushing to make my first broadcast at 5 AM, pushing through the morning and then coming home. That's when Part 2 of my day begins. 

You know how that goes--taking care of the stuff we all do to keep the roof over our heads and later, running from one practice or game to the next with the boys. My wife and I spend our evenings making sure everyone's on task with their homework and duties, we get dinner on the table and then get it cleared and cleaned. On other days, I'm emceeing or volunteering my time for a non-profit, or working on new ventures or projects without pay in the hope that someday they'll pay off. Like everyone, I suppose, I get frustrated and tired and I want for this or that. I worry about any number of things and I get as stressed as the next guy when I'm having a bad day. But then, I have days like today--days when I'm reminded of everything and everyone I'm grateful to have in my life.

It's my birthday. I woke up to find homemade cards on the kitchen island from my sons. That made my day before I even walked out the door. But then I got to work and my TV family surprised me with a big breakfast from Denny's, a funny video clip they put together (here's a link: http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/d8beeeec-7cdf-4123-b9b8-cb16f1be0325/News/KTLA-Happy-Birthday-Video-for-Frank-Buckley), and a massive birthday cake with 100 candles. Everyone had a kind word. Friends and family reached out with calls and cards and emails. And many of you reached out on my Facebook page. I had more than 500 birthday greetings from folks--some of whom I've known since my high school years. Some came from viewers I've never met but who watch us faithfully. That made my day again. Thank you for the birthday wishes. 

My birthday is ending on a positive note too. I'm a loyal Trojan but as I've confessed on this page, I love Duke basketball. They're on ESPN right now as I write this beating Carolina after coming back from a double digit deficit. Thank you Duke!

Tonight I'll be enjoying a final birthday moment. As some of you know, I love the idea of ending a day in the quiet of my home, the boys asleep, my wife and I sitting at the kitchen table with a slice of pie and a glass of milk. Mind you-we never actually do that but just thinking of having such a moment someday makes me happy. I mentioned on the air this morning that my wife ordered a blueberry pie for me to make that moment happen on my birthday and who was listening but my friend Gerald who owns a number of Marie Callender's restaurants. He surprised me by showing up at the station with a dozen blueberry pies! I like pie but I can't eat that much. So the Morning News staff got to enjoy a special treat after the show. That made my day yet again.

In a few moments, I'll be sitting down with my wife and my boys to enjoy my slice of pie. I'll savor each bite and reflect--with gratitude--on one of the best birthdays ever.

When President Obama delivers his State of the Union address this evening (live on KTLA and KTLA.COM), we won't see the usual partisan seating arrangement with Republicans on one side Democrats on the other. Senator Mark Udall (D-Colorado) suggested that in the wake of the Tucson shootings that left six people dead and 14 injured, a bipartisan seating arrangement would be a "symbolic gesture of national unity." 

As Senator Udall explained in a letter to his constituents: "The President's State of the Union address sets the agenda for the year - the challenges and opportunities we face. But what Americans see when they watch on TV is a Congress that is bitterly divided by party - one side of the chamber cheering and applauding loudly, while the other side often sits silent. This spectacle only serves to perpetuate the image that the President's speech is more like a football game than a report on the state of our country, and that Congress cannot - and will not - come together for the good of the country we all love." 

"After serving over a decade in the House and Senate, I know that more unites us than divides us, and now - more than ever - we in Congress need to find ways to dial down the political rhetoric and set a positive example for all Americans. Let's start by reaching across the aisle and sitting together."

Dozens of lawmakers have signed on to the idea and will indeed sit with their colleagues from across the aisle among them, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) who will sit with Senator Udall. On the CBS program "Face the Nation," Sen. McCain said he hoped the bipartisan seating would reduce the cheering and jeering that accompanies the modern day State of the Union address.

"I frankly think the cheerleading side of it has detracted from any President--Republican or Democrat--to speak continuously to the American people," McCain said. "It might be nice to cut back a little bit on all the jumping up and down."

I agree. I understand the political theater of partisans cheering and jeering but it has always struck me as childish. It's no doubt entertaining to see grown men and women acting like students at a high school pep rally. But do you respect your elected official more or less when you see him or her either pumping a fist and cheering wildly or conversly, sitting with his or her arms folded in defiance of whatever the President is opposing.

Whether it's the Members of Parliament or the House of Lords in England doing it during Question Time or our own House representatives and Senators doing it during the State of the Union address, it just strikes me as silly. Let's hear what the President has to say and then have a discussion after it's over. 

Not everyone agrees of course. Some believe the bipartisan seating arrangement is an attempt to let the President advance an agenda unchallenged by other views. As Rep. Paul Broun (R-Georgia) told a radio host, Democrats "don't want civility. They want silence from the Republicans. And the sitting together being kissy-kissy is just another way to try to silence Republicans."

What's your view of the seating arrangement? And after the State of the Union address, come back to post your reaction.

My second job in TV news was as a Greensboro bureau reporter for a Winston-Salem, North Carolina TV station. It was a great experience both professionally and personally. I became a better reporter because I worked with some terrific, experienced news photographers who helped me grow as a story teller. I made some friends with whom I am still close. I grew to appreciate a part of the country I didn't know very well. And, I was introduced to Duke basketball. 

One of the stories I covered while I was in North Carolina was the victory celebration at Duke University after the basketball team won the 1991 NCAA National Championship. I was there to see a team that included the likes of Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley. They were feted by their fellow students in a packed and LOUD Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was a thrill and it was the beginning of my great affection for Duke basketball. The team's leader then and now was and is Coach K--Mike Krzyzewski.

This week, Coach K reached a milestone in the North Carolina city which I once called home--Greensboro. Duke beat UNC Greensboro 108-62, giving Mike Krzyzewski his 880th career win and moving him past his former rival Dean Smith (another great) from the University of North Carolina into second place on the Division 1 men's basketball wins list. It's a milestone all college basketball fans should celebrate because Coach K stands for much more than basketball.

If winning was everything, Coach K would certainly qualify as one of the best ever. But neither he nor the student-athletes who have played for the coach would ever say winning was everything. I so admire the coach and the Duke basketball program because the coach is also about winning with grace, about leadership, and about developing young men to be more than basketball players and preparing them for life. 

There's no doubt some players go to Duke to just get the exposure and move on to the NBA. But those players are the exception at Duke. According to the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, Duke has a 92-percent graduation success rate among its basketball players. That means nine out of 10 players on Duke's national championship caliber teams actually graduate with a degree. That's huge among top programs. For perspective, Kansas has a graduation rate of 73-percent. Cal is way down at 20-percent.

So while this 'SC grad will continue to cheer for all things USC. I will also be supporting Duke and Coach K. I just hope USC and Duke never meet in the national championship. It'd be tough to root against Coach K.

If you watched our program today, you saw Eric Spillman at Children's Hospital Los Angeles collecting toys for the children there. Here's how the story came to be...

I received the following note from Laurie Freitag on my Facebook page a couple of days ago:

Frank..please pass this along: There will be no Christmas gifts for the Children at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, toy donations are down 70% this year. Please if anyone would like to donate toys to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles call Head of the Dept. of donation Linda Drexel...she can explain the desperate need of toys.

I passed the note along to Vance Scott, our assignment manager and asked him to please look in to it. He did and confirmed that indeed, the tough economy was affecting toy donations to this great institution in our community. I've known or worked with Vance since I was in my 20s when he was the assignment manager at KCAL-TV and I was one of his reporters. He's a gruff old surfer dude--one of the old-school, hard news journalists who pushes us to cover hard-hitting stories and spot news. He's one of the reasons KTLA is a news leader. But I know he's also a big softie at heart and when he heard the kids were in need he jumped all over it. He insisted that every newscast run something on the plight of the kids at Children's Hospital.

At 6 AM this morning, Eric Spillman was in front of Children's Hospital Los Angeles reporting on it and he asked viewers to show up with toys. You did. One guy came with a truck full of toys. Wells Fargo came with a check for $25,000.

Thanks to Laurie, Vance, Eric and all of you who are making sure the children will have a toy on Christmas day and every day at this wonderful hospital. Here's a link to the hospital's website and a list to the kinds of toys they're looking for. http://www.chla.org/site/c.ipINKTOAJsG/b.3761741/k.A009/Donate_Toys.htm

This was the best Christmas present a guy could ask for. I'm off for the next few days to celebrate the season with my family. I wish you and yours the very best.

President Obama just finished speaking a few moments ago in Winston-Salem, North Carolina about the need for "consensus" in Washington over tax cuts. That doesn't seem likely. Compromise? Yes. Concensus? I don't think so. Because on the tax cut issue anyway, I think there's just a difference in philosophy on whether it's good idea to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for only those individuals making less than $200,000 and couples making less than $250,000.

The people making more than 200K and couples making more than 250K are interchangeably called "higher or top earners" or "the rich" or "the wealthiest Americans" in the news media. I think we in the news business should say precisely what we mean whenever possible, but we have a bad habit as journalists of sometimes using shorthand that may or may not accurately describe the situation. In the case of people making in the two-hundred thousand dollars plus range of annual income, I think it's correct to say they are "higher earners or top earners" relative to 98-percent of the American workforce. But are these folks "rich" or the "wealthiest Americans?" Not sure about that.

Someone making two-hundred grand in North Platte, Nebraska is probably living high on the hog but two-hundred grand in Los Angeles or New York or San Francisco may put you right in the middle of the so-called middle class in those cities. Is it good policy to raise the taxes of those folks? Congressional Republicans say no. Among their arguments that those folks buy things and invest, thereby creating jobs. Democrats, including President Obama, say the country can't afford a permanent extension of tax cuts for those Americans. What are your thoughts?

And what about extending unemployment benefits? Two million unemployed Americans will run out of benefits in December if Congress doesn't act. According to the Associated Press: "Republicans have insisted that any extension of jobless aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the budget. The White House opposes that, saying such cuts are economically damaging during a weak recovery." Does there come a point when unemployment benefits should run out? Should the unemployed receive benefits beyond 99 weeks? Do you believe the unemployed should have the security of an unlimited number of unemployment checks during the current economic crisis?

Looming over all of this is the federal budget deficit. As some of you know, I'm a bit of a political dork and I sometimes put C-SPAN on my TV at home as a sort of comforting video wallpaper. Last week, I was watching as Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson wrapped up their work on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Their conclusion: we must deal with the deficit and begin cutting in a big way or suffer some very serious consequences that all of us will feel. As they put it in their final report:

"As members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, we spent the past eight months studying the same cold, hard facts. Together, we have reached these unavoidable conclusions: The problem is real. The solution will be painful. There is no easy way out. Everything must be on the table. And Washington must lead."

Do you have confidence that our leaders in Washington will lead us to better times? Can they arrive at policy that's the best for this nation without trying to "win" the day in politics?

As we approach the busiest travel days of the year, the Transportation Security Administration is patting people down and making passengers go through full body scanners. They're not doing it to make us angry. They're doing it to try to protect us from terrorists who try to hide explosives in their underwear. But how effective is a pat down? Are they necessary? How do you feel about the sophisticated technology that allows security agents to take a "picture" of your body to make sure you're not concealing anything that might do us harm?

We're taking up this issue on the Water Cooler Buzz at 9AM today. Tell us what you think.