Forget To Press Record? No Problem

SPOKANE — Sneaking around the newsroom with your hands full of tapes or missing that compelling report because you got home late is a thing of the past thanks to Duane Regehr.

“The toughest thing for reporters and anchors is walking through the newsroom with a hand full of tapes and everyone asking ‘where are you going?’ or ‘are you looking for a new job?'” Regehr said.Regehr is an Emmy Award winning photographer who spent 18 years as a news photographer in the Spokane television market and has owned Cutaway Media along with his wife Lisa for the last 12 years.”When we bought the business in 1997 we had a six week archive and four VHS recorders. So the first thing we did was upgrade to S-VHS. 12 years later we’re all digital,” Regehr said.Cutaway Media is part of the “News Data Service” which provides clients with news segments from around the country. Duane says he can provide anyone with a news clip from all 210 markets. His company also does commercial production and digital video editing.

“As part of NDS we’re trying to cover all 210 markets. Eastern Washington was a natural for us but we’re seeing the need grow,” said Regehr.Regehr has put together his fair share of resume tapes. He’s helped hundreds of anchors and reporters jump to bigger markets over the years. Regehr says his newer clients are especially appreciative they can put together a tape without anyone knowing about it.

“A reporter can give us a call, tell us the dates of their best stories and we can retrieve them in our archives in a matter of seconds. All the newscasts are recorded in MPEG then transferred to a Flash file. That way when we’re done putting together a resume tape we load it up to our FTP site where they can view it and make changes if needed,” said Regehr.Regehr says he’s also getting more interest from news directors who are trying to save money on transportation, food and housing costs in this tough economy.

“We have access to the entire United States and instead of putting a reporter or anchor up for two or three days we can pull up an entire month of work on that person. That way a news director can get a feel of what their work is like on a consistent basis,” Regehr said.

Regehr admits the economy has slowed things down on the news retrieval side so he’s trying to develop creative ways to keep busy.

“We’re editing a lot more high school athlete tapes. More kids are coming to me and saying put together a recruiting tape so I can send it to coaches across the country,” Regehr said. “We edit it together then send it off to the university. It’s well worth the investment when you think about the cost of college these days.”Regehr’s home office is dotted with his AP and Emmy awards. When Regehr spots them he gets that old look in his eye as he remembers his days as a photographer.

“I still remember that story like it was yesterday, I wonder how she is. I miss being around the action. But I love what I’m doing now and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Regehr said.

To learn more about Cutaway Media visit their website.