mikebarajas's Blog

My version of the old tv program "My Three Sons."    My wife Sylvia and I have three children, all boys.   The eldest is Mike (blue shirt), the middle child is Bill (white shirt) and the youngest child is John Paul (in the middle).

We have a new segment in our Fox Newscast at 5:00 pm called "Your Family Matters." It features everyday women commenting on and discussing issues in the news.

We at Fox sincerely care about the issues we report on, because they affect our families as well.

If you have pictures of your family you would like us to possibly show on the air, or on our website send those photos to "your time@fox26.com"

It is"Your Time Houston"  is the theme of our new newscasts at 5:00 and 5:30pm.  And of course you can always count on us at Fox 26 News at 9.

Okay.  Here is your chance to be a Political  Pundit.  The kind you see on tv all the time.

Barack Obama has led in the national polls all summer.  The Zogby poll had him seven points ahead of John McCain last month.   According to Zogby, McCain now leads Obama by five points.  That represents a twelve point turnaround.

What do you make of that turn of events?

Tropical Storm Edouard was heading toward Galveston and threatened to strengthen into a Category One Hurricane before making landfall.

So we mobilized our staff and resources and gave our viewers on Monday's Fox 26 News at 9 the most comprehensive newscast we could muster.

When we wrapped it up and I was headed home, it appeared from all the weather models that Edouard was going to hit pretty close to Galveston.  Since I live in Clear Lake I got home and I worked at that late hour to put in all the patio furniture and plants into the garage.

I got up at 5 a.m. to check on Edouard's progress and heard Kristine Galvan report from Galveston that the tropical storm had taken a turn to the north and was now approaching the Texas-Louisiana border.  I was very relieved that Galveston was not going to take a direct hit.

Every time a storm approaches, the media and metereologists in particular are accused of hyping the bad weather in an effort to boost ratings.  But it is at times like these that we are doing our best to report the news as best as we can to demonstrate to viewers that we are accurate, credible and worthy of their trust so they will tune in to our news broadcasts.

The state, county and local governments also mobilized and put their troops in place.  Again not to alarm people, but to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Nevertheless, there will be a substantial number of viewers who will question what we did and how we did it.  We welcome the scrutiny as we strive to provide a public service.

If we downplayed the danger and Edouard had come ashore in Galveston and had turned into a hurricane, the media would have been accused of dereliction of duty. 

Remember that Hurricane Dolly came ashore just a couple of weeks ago and at the last minute stengthened from a category one hurricane to a category two.  And some hotels on Padre Island are still struggling to recover.

So I for one am very happy that Eduoard didn't make it here and would hope Monday Morning Quarterbacks take into consideration that hurricanes are extremely unpredictable and we can't just sit in the path of severe weather, and do nothing but simply hope it doesn't come our way.

In case you have not heard, we are starting a new Newscast at Fox 26.  It premieres Monday, August 18th.

Melinda Spaulding and I will co-anchor, Dr. Jim (the only t.v. metereologist with a PHD) will do weather and Emily Akin will tackle your consumer problems.

It is an hour long newscast from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, but it will be divided into 2-half hour segments.

It's your time Houston to enjoy a new innovative and informative newscast, and during the second half hour, your only source for local news (the others will be in network news).

So if you would like to stay informed, about what is going on in your community, get it First on Fox.

Help us get the word out, the launch date is 8-18-08.  So tune in and be part of the first ever broadcast of Fox 26 News at 5.

We use the phrase "senseless" murder in the news business quite often.

But this case involving a Houston man really takes the cake.

William Serrano was just sentenced to 35-years in prison because he stabbed his roommate to death, after the victim insulted Serrano by telling him he had stinky feet.

Police say Serrano had been drinking and initially claimed self-defense, before admitting to the murder.

Belgium based brewer InBev is attempting a hostile take over of Budweiser  (Anheuser-Busch).

Budweiser says its not for sale.  But the Busch family reportedly holds just four percent of voting stock and can't block a takeover. 

Does it make a difference to you if an American Icon is swooped up by the Belgians?

Would that Bud still be for you?  Or would you move on to another brand and cry in your beer about another piece of Americana being lost?

He used to speak on behalf of the President of the United States, but former White House Spokesman Scott McClellan is now speaking for himself.

To late to hold back now. 

Do you find him more credible as a spokesman for the Bush administration or as a "disappointed" man who says he wants to set the record straight.

News Flash.  Yale University honors Sir Paul McCartney with an honorary Doctor of Music Degree for bringing a fresh sound to Rock and Roll.

Wow!  No kidding.  I wonder what took them so long to figure that out.

It has been more than 40-years since Beatlemania swept America and Paul has hardly been idle over the years.

Why do you suppose Yale decided to acknowledge his contributions to modern music now?

Say it isn't so Syesha!

The last woman in this year's American Idol competition lost out to David Cook and David Archuleta.  I think that was a mistake.  In my opinion she is a better singer/performer than Archuleta, but he apparently keeps getting extra points for being cute.

This is not a cuteness competition.  This about who can sing the best.  Miss Mercado wuz robbed.

Will Archuleta's cuteness cook the other David's goose?

I grew up in Houston and watched and admired the local news anchormen, because that is what I dreamed of doing one day.

While at U. of H. I managed to get an intership at Ch. 2 and one of my school assignments was to interview an on air personality.  I decided to shoot for the main guy, Ron Stone and he graciously gave me a sit down one on one interview.

During college I worked at KPRC Radio and afterwards I managed to make the transition to KPRC TV.  It was extremely exciting working alongside people you had been watching for many years.

I still have old videotapes of my days at Big Two News with Ron Stone tossing to reporter Mike Barajas out in the field.

I am a better television journalist today because of that experience.  To the man whose signature line was "good night neighbors" I say a respectful final goodbye and am thankful I got a chance to work with Ron Stone.

Fox 26 is always happy to participate in the charity fashion show for the Star of Hope.

This year several of us modeled clothing loaned to us for the show at the River Oaks Country Club.

No one tripped on the runway and everyone had a good time for a great cause.

Now you judge the models and vote for your favorite.  The winner moves on to the finals of Fox 26's Top Model (no such program exists).

Miley Cyrus took part in a photo shoot for Vanity Fair and now says she is "embarrased" about it.

The photos were taken by a renowned celebrity photographer.  But the cover photo is the one causing some controversy.  In it, Miley who is 15-years old is wrapped in what appears to be a bedsheet, looking over her shoulder with her back exposed.

Miley now says "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

Celebrities aside, would you as a parent allow your young teenage daughter to pose for  a picture that suggests the sheet covering her is the only thing she has on.

It was not supposed to be this way.  Democrats figured their Presidential Nominee would have been decided a long time ago.

But when the only two people standing were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it turned into a Championship Fight scheduled for 12-rounds.

After the latest round in Pennsylvania, both prize fighters returned to their corner.

Since neither contender has been able to knock out his opponent, should the ref stop the bout and pick a winner before the end of the 12th round.