My editors (thanks, guys!) have told me I can be late with this column precisely twice a year. As we’ve reached the halfway point of 1997, I think I’m right on pace.

So did you see the fight? Did you see the bite? How could you miss it? For a "pay-per-chew" event, as some wags have called it, the footage has been all over the news. One of the benefits of working at KCAL is getting to see big fights like this free of charge. Some staffers even come in on their free time, bringing drinks and chips, making an evening out of it.

This was a doozy, all right. The bite was incredible. (You know we’re talking Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield here, right?) And, since by a bizarre coincidence, we had a 10pm newscast that night, we suddenly had a new lead story. It was the right call to make, even if we did arrive at it a scant seven minutes before air time. But, we blew up the lead story, got some new video cut, grabbed the sports guy, and voila! It all worked out pretty well.

As I may have mentioned briefly in a previous column, I have decided to leave my staff position as Weekend Associate Producer at KCAL, and pursue a TV writing career full time. I’d much rather work on NewsRadio than on the Weekend Report. So far, I’ve made a few good contacts, and gotten very helpful feedback on the sample scripts I’ve written. I’m sure my trials and tribulations of trying to get a new career going will provide plenty of column-fodder in the months ahead.

Why now? Well, it seems like much of my life is "in order." I’ve got no real commitments, not to a wife and child, nor car or house payments. I’m still relatively young (30 is not old!). My finances are in pretty good shape. And I know there’s plenty of per diem (daily) news writing work I can get when I need to pay the bills. What I really needed to do was to make a statement to myself. I am not going to stay in TV news forever; it’s time to focus on the second phase of my writing career.

Wish me luck!