Brief Segments

Sometimes, there is a big gap between the time you spend preparing for something and the actual time that thing takes to happen.

A couple of weeks ago, the Glendale Campus welcomed Cory McCloskey, a roving morning reporter from local FOX affiliate KSAZ Channel 10, to the new Midwestern University Eye Institute for a pair of live segments for the station's weekday morning show.

Now, most of you have been to a waiting room in your lifetime - whether it is to fidget uncomfortably while waiting for the dentist, or to fidget in exasperation while waiting for a car repair or service, or to fidget... well, let's just say there's a lot of fidgeting in waiting rooms. Well, most waiting rooms feature TVs, and in Phoenix most waiting room TVs are tuned to FOX 10 in the morning. And you know as well as I do how desperately your eyeballs cling to that TV screen when there's nothing else to do but sit and fidget.

Having Cory McCloskey stop by the Eye Institute, therefore, was a big deal for us. Cory is an actor and a singer in addition to doing the weather, and he has a real gift for improvisation, which makes his morning segments extremely popular with folks in the Valley (in fact, there are several people on staff at Midwestern who are really big fans of his).

Cory McCloskey (left) of local Phoenix FOX affiliate KSAZ Channel 10 talks with AZCOPT students prior to shooting a live segment at the Midwestern University Eye Institute

We in the Communications Office put in weeks of prep work for this. From measuring cable lengths to planning shooting locations to arranging to have kids in the pediatric area to making sure the students all had their white coats, we stayed very busy wrangling everything into place for The Big Day.

When The Big Day arrived, I posted myself out in the fire lane next to the Eye Institute to mark the spot where the remote van should park. Unfortunately, this put me in the perfect spot to watch the FOX 10 remote van drive straight past the Clinic entrance - not once, not twice, but FOUR TIMES - without being able to do anything about it. Eventually, though, they found the right driveway and set up shop.

Cory stepped out of the van looking exactly like how he looks on TV - big grin, floppy blond hair that seemed perfect even windblown, and an easy, friendly air. I don't know if it was a pheromone or what, but it seemed like just being around the guy put one at ease - a "This is fun, right?" attitude at all times.

Inside, everyone was waiting - nervous, excited, tense, giddy, it all depended on who you were. A lot of time and effort had gone into getting ready for this, and it was finally payoff time.

Half an hour later, it was all over. Cory was on camera for a total of about four or five minutes. Whuhhhh? That's it?

After all of that preparation, Cory had breezed in, had chatted gregariously with us for a few minutes, had held up a finger to his ear, and then had let it fly - he was off and running and we were dashing to catch up. Two brief segments later, and he was shaking hands, taking pictures, and heading to his next gig... and we were left blinking in mild amazement.

Was that it? we all wondered. Surely something as brief and - from a University message standpoint - a bit random as this would not have that much impact.

And then the phones began to ring.

Go figure.

Midwestern University Clinics: MyFoxPHOENIX.com