cumcontact.com

I hope not. The story we aired on "News To Me" last weekend was not a flattering portrayal of that mysterious country… and now it's being reported that the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Il may have suffered a stroke. If true, Shane Smith's VBS.TV report is not something Kim should be watching as he recuperates, click the pic above and take a look for yourself.

There is more than one CNN. James Earl Jones is always right when he says "This is CNN" but he says that in a lot of places. There's CNN Headline News where you watch "News To Me," along with "Morning Express with Robin Meade," "Nancy Grace," "Not Just Another Cable News Show," etc. There's also CNN en Espanol, CNN.com, CNN Airport Network, the original CNN where you can watch "The Situation Room" and "AC360," and finally there are a whole cluster of networks called CNN International.

CNN International, aka: CNNI or "Internat" as we sometimes call it, is probably the most watched of all the CNN Networks because it's seen in the most places! It's pretty hard to find in North America, (some cable and satellite providers do carry it, usually up in the higher digital tiers) but if you have traveled abroad at all you've probably come across it. I know when I was in Rome (where all I knew how to say in Italian was "thank you," and "excuse me") CNN International was an oasis of familiar faces and familiar language on my hotel TV.

The reason for all that exposition is to explain that "News To Me" has a sister show over on CNN International called "iReport for CNN" which is hosted by that tall guy in the pic above, Mr. Michael Holmes.

Michael and his crew came up to our workstations in the Headline News "loft" to shoot parts of "iReport for CNN" earlier this week. I'm sure it was a friendly gesture, but I couldn't help but notice that they came to us when it was time for them to shoot their show about WEIRD FOOD. Not their show about fine art or fun vacations… no, they came to us with a dare to taste two delicacies they learned about from an iReporter — Fried Coke and Hot Beef Sundae. Mmmmm.

More pictures of Eric and Michael being all "TV show hosty" and a picture of the Hot Beef Sundae:

There's Eric and Michael getting a good laugh at "News To Me" Producer Charles who's trying to choke down a taste of day-old fried coke.

Keep in mind that while he does have a great sense of humor, Michael Holmes is a proper newsman. He covered the war in Afghanistan, IN AFGHANISTAN, he has interviewed presidents and prime ministers, survived an ambush on his convoy in Iraq, covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and interviewed Tom Cruise. And now, he's hamming it up with fair foods. Who says TV News ain't glamorous?

And we finish with a cherry on top… a cherry tomato that is. On top of a heaping pile of mashed potatoes, covered in gravy and shredded cheese… I think there's some ground beef in there somewhere too. It actually doesn't sound too bad to be honest.

You can watch Eric's fair-food antics on "iReport for CNN" on CNN International (check your local listings) or on their showpage: cnn.com/ireportforcnn this weekend!

Unlike a certain Presidential candidate, "News To Me" is not going to make you wait for a text message at 3 o'clock in the morning for the information you want. Plus, there's too much in the show to send in a single text! Here's a list of links to all the people, places and World Wide Web sites we featured on "News To Me" this weekend:

Backdraft!
Ken Wible sleeps with a police and fire scanner next to his bed… you can bet he's got some good video on his YouTube channel.

Floating the flood:
Where are Bill and Max and the Evangeline now? Hit their site at bigrivershow.com to find out.

Lazy Fay:
iReporters ridin' the storm out! iReport.com

Burlesque!
iReporter David Kronmiller takes us to a theater in L.A. were the cast is dressing down in order to bring underprivledged kids up! See his full iReport here: Stripping for the Arts. You can also head over to Theatre Yawp's site for more info: Theatre Yawp. Tell 'em Eric sent you!

The naked chase:
See Ray Richard's full iReport here: iReport.com.

Kitty Caper:
It's one of the most popular stories on CNN.com. Check out the full story here: CNN.com.

Chasing Big Waves:
See our interview again in our archives: The Big Kahuna. Visit Garrett McNamara's official site here: garettmcnamara.com.

The Redneck Mommy:
Watch Eric's whole interview from the archives here. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be captivated by Tanis: The Redneck Mommy.

Escalator Spin Girl:
It took some digging but we found her. Bekah Jane, the girl who took escalator spinning to a whole 'nutha level! Go behind the scenes and see a web-only clip of what happens when the "spin" goes wrong here.

We talk a lot about "locations" behind the scenes at "News To Me." That's us shooting "on location" at a local mall in the pic above (it was our first air-conditioned shoot in a while, so that was a NICE change of pace). You'll see that shoot in this weekend's show.

Where do you think we should shoot upcoming episodes of "News To Me?" What kind of places say "Citizen Journalism," "user generated content," "viral video," "bald dude with a camera crew" to you? It doesn't have to be anyplace specific, just a general scene you think would fit our style. The beach, a restaurant, train station, grocery store, Fiji? (BTW, we're all really pulling for Fiji. K?)

The criteria for a "News To Me" location varies, but generally the most important thing we look for is YOU. "News To Me" is all about you, so we want to be where you are! We're a little stalkery like that. If you are at a concert, in the park, at the Mall, we should be there too, carrying several pounds of camera equipment, microphones and Eric's custom Louis Vuitton make-up case. Citizen Journalists don't sit at a desk and read the news, they are out in the world experiencing and recording it! That's why we get Eric out of the studio each week on "News To Me."

So far this year we have been to "The Fabulous Fox Theatre," "a Braves Game at Turner Field," "a Journey Concert", "a swank rooftop bar downtown," "the Renaissance Festival," various streets and alleys, on top of a giant piece of granite. All great places, but where should we go now!?

You don't have to be specific, and your suggestion doesn't have to be in Atlanta. We're just looking for the TYPE of place or event you think of when you think of web culture, iReports, the internet. Someplace with free parking would be good too. Thanks!