"All hands on deck"

This is an old term you don't hear much anymore. It used to be used a lot for things like election night and other major events.

Of course you can't predict when those major events will happen. Yesterday's miraculous plane landing in the Hudson River is one of those.

On days when the country's heart skips a beat, that's when you find out who is really in this business for fame and fortune and who is in it for pure journalism.

On days like 9/11 and the two shuttle disasters, people turn to their television sets. They not only want information, they want the local newscasters who make them feel comfortable in times of trouble.

As a manager I was always surprised at who simply came into the station without being called on those days. And who couldn't be reached by company cell phone and didn't even bother returning my calls.

My first News Director says of these moments, "You shouldn't have to be called." He's right. You should want to be part of the big story, and you should know that your station needs as many staffers as possible.

I'll never forget a very unusual act on 9/11. Our sales manager, who had been a sports anchor in a previous life, came down to the newsroom and asked if he could help. We gave him a photog, sent him out, and he knocked out a good package. On the other side of the coin are the people who simply don't answer the phone.

So what did you feel yesterday when you first heard of the plane story? Did part of you want to be in New York, or did you change the channel? Did you go to your station and suggest tracking down a local pilot to describe what had happened? Did you call to see if your station needed any help?

You may think that your station is thousands of miles away, but events like these are when stations can make their mark. You have so many people who don't watch television news suddenly tuning in. You can take any big story and localize it. Yesterday's story had so many sidebars that you could do anywhere: how to land a plane on water, flying gliders, hypothermia, what to do if you're in that situation.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain when you simply put yourself in play during a big event.

And if you don't feel that pull when you see a big story, maybe you're in the wrong business.