Sometimes you run across a story that just sticks with you. And you wish you had more time to tell it than a daily newscast can give you. But if you’re the news director, you have the power and authority to make that happen. Such is the case of the story of Heather Floyd and […]
Sometimes you run across a story that just sticks with you. And you wish you had more time to tell it than a daily newscast can give you. But if you’re the news director, you have the power and authority to make that happen.
Such is the case of the story of Heather Floyd and her son, TJ.
“It’s the ‘good news,’ inspirational type of story viewers always say they want,” says Andrea Stahlman, news director of WLKY, Hearst’s CBS affiliate in Louisville, Ky.
The Invisible Injury airs Sunday at noon, commercial-free, except for a two-minute break that was added not for revenue, but to give viewers a break from the emotional story.
Stahlman wrote and co-produced the special with WLKY photojournalist Scott Eckhardt, who shot and edited it.
“What struck me about this story,” says Stahlman, “is that it can to happen to anyone.”
One day in 2010, TJ was outside playing and crashed his bike. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered a life-altering brain injury.
“When you meet Heather and TJ,” says Stahlman, “she is so passionate about everything — filling his life with happiness, little milestones, comforting others and spreading awareness.” Awareness about helmet safety.
“The message is not only about helmet safety, but also about patience, tolerance and love.”
This isn’t the first time WLKY has carved out time for long-form news specials that tackle important issues. In May 2013, WLKY aired a half-hour commercial free special focused on the problem of violence in Louisville.
That Emmy-award winning special, The Real Impact of Local Violence, was provided to a Kentucky organization, Youth Alert, to show at local schools.
Click here to view The Real Impact of Local Violence.
And in June of last year, WLKY aired, Breaking the Cycle of Abuse, a 30-minute special about child abuse that helped get a new law passed to help medical professionals spot child abuse.
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