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00:00:09From The Center for the Study
00:00:10and Teaching of Writing at The
00:00:11Ohio State University, this is
00:00:12Writers Talk.
00:00:13I'm Doug Dangler.
00:00:15Television journalist Jerry
00:00:16Revish has won six Emmy Awards
00:00:18and been nominated seventeen
00:00:20times, including for his
00:00:22project "The Desert Shield
00:00:23Diary: Report on the Persian
00:00:25Gulf War." He received
00:00:26Associated Press Awards for
00:00:28best feature, best documentary,
00:00:30and best spot news coverage;
00:00:32the Blue Chip Award in
00:00:33Communications; the Carl Day
00:00:34Award for Outstanding
00:00:36Achievement; and the best
00:00:37international reporting award
00:00:39from the National Association
00:00:40of Black Journalists.
00:00:41Jerry started his career in
00:00:42Youngstown, Ohio, on WBBW radio
00:00:44and has reported from locations
00:00:47such as Haiti, Barbados, South
00:00:49Africa, Bosnia, and Japan.
00:00:52Welcome to Writers Talk, Jerry
00:00:53Revish.
00:00:53Thank you, Doug.
00:00:54Good to be here today.
00:00:55Good.
00:00:56Well you started in radio after
00:00:57you went to Youngstown State,
00:00:58so let's start there.
00:01:00What were your responsibilities
00:01:01like when you started out in
00:01:03radio?
00:01:04Well, first job is always
00:01:07whatever you can get in the
00:01:09business and that's what it was
00:01:11for me.
00:01:12I started just working
00:01:14weekends, Saturdays, and
00:01:14Sundays as a board operator,
00:01:16working the control board and
00:01:18spinning records for a big band
00:01:22show hosted by a senior citizen
00:01:25who owned a jewelry store and
00:01:28because of that he was able to
00:01:29get some time on the radio
00:01:31station.
00:01:32It was a great experience for
00:01:34me just to learn the ropes of
00:01:36the business.
00:01:37Back in those days you needed
00:01:39what they called a "third
00:01:39phone," a third class FCC
00:01:42license to operate radio
00:01:44equipment and so I had passed
00:01:46the test and gotten all that
00:01:47out of the way, but I had also
00:01:48taken some courses in a
00:01:50minority broadcast training
00:01:51program.
00:01:52This is back in the days of
00:01:53affirmative action, back in the
00:01:55early seventies where local
00:01:56newspaper, television, and
00:02:00radio people in Youngstown were
00:02:02taking it upon themselves to
00:02:04donate their time to teach
00:02:05young black kids the rudiments
00:02:07of the business and that is how
00:02:09I got this first job.
00:02:10So after working weekends for
00:02:12about a year, working nights
00:02:13and overnight, I got a job in
00:02:16the newsroom.
00:02:18I started doing morning drive,
00:02:21as a matter of fact, and going
00:02:23to the school board meetings
00:02:25and city council sessions.
00:02:27Really a green sort of guy in
00:02:29this business, but I had a lot
00:02:31of great mentors around me.
00:02:33Curmudgeons in the station who
00:02:35knew a lot about business of
00:02:37broadcasting, who knew a lot
00:02:38about how to put sentences in
00:02:40stories together because I was
00:02:41really green about all of that.
00:02:43And so that was my training
00:02:45ground.
00:02:45I stayed there for a couple of
00:02:46years and I would tell anybody
00:02:48who is interested in
00:02:49broadcasting, start wherever
00:02:51you can start and don"t think
00:02:52radio is a bad place to start
00:02:54because it teaches you how to
00:02:55write for the ear and create
00:02:57pictures for people.
00:02:58Tell me about that, you say,
00:02:59"Write for the ear." What do
00:03:00you have in mind when you say
00:03:02that?
00:03:02Give me a couple of examples.
00:03:03Well, I think you've got to
00:03:04be very descriptive and very
00:03:07concise when you're writing for
00:03:09the ear.
00:03:10And it's not just for the radio
00:03:12now because I think the same
00:03:13thing transfers to television.
00:03:15When people are watching the
00:03:17news on television they're not
00:03:18sitting there giving you their
00:03:21rapt attention for half an
00:03:22hour, they're usually cooking
00:03:24dinner, maybe reading the
00:03:26newspaper at the same time, a
00:03:27lot of people are multitasking
00:03:28now-a-days, cleaning in the
00:03:30kitchen, doing whatever it is
00:03:32and they're listening as much
00:03:34or more than they are watching.
00:03:36And so you want to say things
00:03:39that are strongly worded
00:03:41sentences that get right to the
00:03:42core of what you're trying to
00:03:44say, easily understood phrasing
00:03:46so that people will stay with
00:03:48you.
00:03:48You don't want to make viewers
00:03:50or listeners have to work to
00:03:52understand the story that
00:03:54you're trying to get across to
00:03:54them.
00:03:55They have to get it the first
00:03:56time.
00:03:56How do you test that?
00:04:00After this many years in the
00:04:00business you've probably got an
00:04:02internal ear that says this
00:04:04works, this doesn't work.
00:04:05Have there been times when
00:04:06you've thought, I want to see
00:04:07if anybody else gets this and
00:04:08then you read it to somebody
00:04:09and if they don't get it.
00:04:10Yeah.
00:04:11A lot of times we do that in
00:04:12the newsroom or we'll read it
00:04:13out loud to ourselves just to
00:04:14see what does this sound like.
00:04:16It sounds good on paper but
00:04:18does it transfer to the ear?
00:04:20I like to write short
00:04:21sentences.
00:04:22I just think it's easier to
00:04:23talk that way in a
00:04:25conversational manner.
00:04:26It's also an easier way for
00:04:28people to follow you because it
00:04:29gives you a moment to breathe,
00:04:32it gives you cadence, and it's
00:04:35almost lyrical, it's got a
00:04:37music to it, really well
00:04:40crafted sentences.
00:04:42Now those are some ways that
00:04:42radio and TV work together.
00:04:44Yeah.
00:04:45Tell me about when you made
00:04:46this transition from radio to
00:04:48television, which I think you
00:04:49made in the late seventies?
00:04:511980.
00:04:521980, ok.
00:04:53That's very late seventies.
00:04:55You started at WBNS in 1980 as
00:04:58a reporter, how did you make
00:05:00that transition and were there
00:05:02things that you had to relearn
00:05:03from radio?
00:05:04Because I've heard television
00:05:05described as writing to the
00:05:07picture.
00:05:08You know, you have to find an
00:05:09image and then that's what's
00:05:10always over the shoulder,
00:05:11right?
00:05:12Right.
00:05:13So tell me about that.
00:05:14That's true.
00:05:15After a couple years in
00:05:17Youngstown at BBW, I got a job
00:05:18at BNS radio just down the
00:05:20street from here and worked
00:05:22there for six years and then
00:05:24went to television in 1980.
00:05:26The first time I tried to get a
00:05:27job at channel ten, the news
00:05:28director at that time said,
00:05:30"Well, you don't have any TV
00:05:32experience so I really can't
00:05:33hire you." I went away a little
00:05:36dejected about that because I
00:05:37knew I could write and I think
00:05:40the heart of any reporting, be
00:05:42it radio, newspapers, or
00:05:44television, you have to be able
00:05:45to tell the story.
00:05:46So a year later I tried again,
00:05:48there was a new news director
00:05:49in the office at that time and
00:05:51it just so happened that he
00:05:52used to listen to me on the
00:05:54radio coming into work every
00:05:55morning and he liked the way I
00:05:57sounded and the way I crafted
00:05:59stories.
00:06:00And he said, "You know, I think
00:06:01you can learn the picture part
00:06:02of television and I'll give you
00:06:04a shot." So that was my first
00:06:05opportunity at television.
00:06:07Writing for the eye is also
00:06:12part of what you do with TV.
00:06:14TV has the advantage of having
00:06:15those pictures and they can be
00:06:18powerful if you've got words
00:06:19that support that, but they can
00:06:22fall flat on their face if you
00:06:23don't write to those pictures.
00:06:26It's see dog, say dog, that's
00:06:28the old bromide we like to use.
00:06:30If you're telling me about
00:06:32something, I want to be able to
00:06:33see that.
00:06:35Now there are times where you
00:06:36can go away from that in the
00:06:36script and in the story and
00:06:37talk about a person's emotions
00:06:39or talk about some other things
00:06:41that you don't have pictures to
00:06:43support and people will get
00:06:45that in a general way, but you
00:06:46always want to take a look at
00:06:48the video that you have, the
00:06:50sound bytes that you have and
00:06:52find the best parts of both of
00:06:54those.
00:06:56And when we're talking about
00:06:56sound bytes, sound bytes should
00:06:58convey emotion not so much the
00:06:59information, that's what you're
00:07:01suppose to do as a reporter.
00:07:03A lot of times the sound bytes
00:07:06should be more of an emotional
00:07:07accent mark in the story that
00:07:10supports what you're trying to
00:07:11get across.
00:07:12Ok.
00:07:13You've made this transition
00:07:16then to television and you're
00:07:18working there, tell me about
00:07:19the average day for you.
00:07:20How does it start, where does
00:07:21it go?
00:07:22You anchor the five, six and
00:07:23eleven, right?
00:07:24Yes sir.
00:07:25So that starts kind of late.
00:07:26It's a late night to be done so
00:07:27I'm guess you're not really in
00:07:30the office at four am or five
00:07:31am like the people who are
00:07:33doing the morning show.
00:07:34Right.
00:07:34So what's your day like?
00:07:35Well, I like to say it's
00:07:37from noon to midnight.
00:07:38Ok.
00:07:39I really kind of start
00:07:41getting ready for work around
00:07:43noon, watching the noon
00:07:44newscast at least and I get
00:07:46into the shop at two pm.
00:07:47Two o'clock is the editorial
00:07:50meeting in which the news
00:07:52directors, assistant news
00:07:53director, producers, reporters,
00:07:55and the anchors sit in and some
00:07:58of the videotape editors
00:07:59sometimes will sit in the
00:08:01conference room and look at
00:08:02what we've got today.
00:08:04What are the stories that were
00:08:05generated from the morning that
00:08:07can be refreshed?
00:08:09What new original material do
00:08:10we have today?
00:08:12And then there's always that
00:08:13wild card of breaking news --
00:08:15that's something that happens
00:08:16unscripted, unplanned for.
00:08:20Somebody at the assignment desk
00:08:21where they've got a whole bank
00:08:23of radios listening to the fire
00:08:24department and the police
00:08:26department, state troopers and
00:08:27all of that, will hear
00:08:29something there that we need to
00:08:30pay attention to or we'll get a
00:08:31phone call.
00:08:32Somebody's telling us, "670 is
00:08:34backed up because of a
00:08:35three-car crash.
00:08:36Did you guys know about that?"
00:08:37We love people calling us in
00:08:38the newsroom; it's a wonderful
00:08:39thing.
00:08:41That's not a little morbid.
00:08:43Call me when you see a
00:08:44three-car crash, call us at the
00:08:45newsroom.
00:08:46Well yeah, I mean we, it's
00:08:48our business and we do have an
00:08:51amount of sensitivity about
00:08:52everything we do, I really do
00:08:54believe that, but we deal with
00:08:56sometimes very dramatic,
00:08:58gruesome, awful, horrible
00:09:00things, and it's our job to
00:09:02detach our emotions from that
00:09:04and get the information out.
00:09:06So in this two o'clock meeting
00:09:08we're going through all the
00:09:09stories.
00:09:10Some stories don't get done
00:09:12because they're not strong, by
00:09:14that I mean we're trying to put
00:09:17stories on the air that have
00:09:19value to viewers, "why should
00:09:21someone be interested in this
00:09:23story?" and that's sort of the
00:09:25test for everything.
00:09:26Why are we doing this?
00:09:29So sometimes a story that would
00:09:30be a full-blown package and
00:09:32that is where the reporter goes
00:09:33out and does a
00:09:35minute-and-a-half on the story,
00:09:37he'll do a stand up standing up
00:09:38in front of the camera and
00:09:41that's the package.
00:09:42If it's not that kind of
00:09:43material then we'll do what is
00:09:45called a VO byte, voiceover, VO
00:09:47voiceover sound byte, that kind
00:09:50of a thing to put the story
00:09:51together.
00:09:51If there's no good sound and no
00:09:53interviews, then it's a VO
00:09:54voiceover, it's just an
00:09:55informational story.
00:09:57"They opened up the Lincoln
00:10:01Theater today to a new group of
00:10:04students from Asia who had
00:10:06never been on Mount Vernon
00:10:07Avenue." Well, you would just
00:10:09show the pictures of that.
00:10:09Ok.
00:10:11How much discussion is there in
00:10:13the newsroom during this time
00:10:14that you're describing about
00:10:15the kinds of stories that
00:10:16you're going to cover?
00:10:18And the corollary to this is
00:10:20how often do things get
00:10:21rejected?
00:10:23You say, "we've done that too
00:10:24frequently" or "we don't want
00:10:25to cover that topic." I mean,
00:10:26what goes into that
00:10:27decision-making, because that's
00:10:28a huge part of what gets
00:10:30reported?
00:10:32A lot of it has to do with
00:10:33timing needs for the newscast.
00:10:36We've got the five, five
00:10:37thirty, and six.
00:10:39It's a ninety-minute newscast,
00:10:41but we have three separate
00:10:42producers and each separate
00:10:44newscast gets its own
00:10:47treatment.
00:10:48We don't like to repeat
00:10:48stories.
00:10:50If we're going to do something
00:10:50in the six that was then in the
00:10:52five, we want it to have a new
00:10:53spin and a new twist so a lot
00:10:56of times stories are shortened
00:10:59or lengthened depending on
00:11:01their merit.
00:11:02If it's a really good story it
00:11:03could get two or three minutes
00:11:05and in TV time that is a long
00:11:06time because in a half hour
00:11:08newscast we've got maybe
00:11:10seventeen minutes of content?
00:11:11The rest of it is commercials,
00:11:13weather, and sports.
00:11:17And I'm not going to tell
00:11:17the sports and weather guys
00:11:18you're saying they're not
00:11:19content.
00:11:20I won't interpret it that way.
00:11:24They've got their own
00:11:25content.
00:11:26They've got their different
00:11:27kind of content.
00:11:28So you also did a, you started
00:11:29a high school journalism
00:11:30workshop for minority students,
00:11:31which sounds like it came from
00:11:32your background.
00:11:34Tell me about it.
00:11:35Where is it, what does it do,
00:11:36how does it run?
00:11:38Well the Columbus
00:11:39Association of Black
00:11:40Journalists is a local chapter
00:11:41of the National Association of
00:11:42Black Journalists.
00:11:44The organization is
00:11:45thirty-five-plus years old, it
00:11:47was started by black reporters
00:11:50in Chicago who really felt, you
00:11:52know, we need to sort of pull
00:11:54together as many of us as we
00:11:56can just for camaraderie and
00:11:58commonality of purpose and just
00:12:01to see how this thing grows.
00:12:02Well the last convention for
00:12:04the NABJ was in San Diego this
00:12:05past summer and there were
00:12:07about twenty-five hundred
00:12:10journalists there.
00:12:10It's the largest minority
00:12:12journalist program in the
00:12:14world.
00:12:17So, the local chapter, the
00:12:18CABJ, we started doing these
00:12:20workshops at The Ohio State
00:12:24University's journalism school
00:12:25back in the day before it was
00:12:27made a communications
00:12:29department now.
00:12:30And there was a studio there,
00:12:32TV studio, there was some radio
00:12:34equipment and we'd bring in
00:12:38kids from high schools in the
00:12:39city who didn't know anything
00:12:40about journalism per say, but
00:12:44we wanted to give them an
00:12:45option.
00:12:46"This is something you might
00:12:47want to look at as a career
00:12:49because the business of radio,
00:12:51TV, and newspapers is still
00:12:53willfully underrepresented when
00:12:54it comes to minorities of all
00:12:56minority groups." So we wanted
00:12:59to give them an opportunity.
00:13:01Some of them looked at it and
00:13:03it was fun, but it wasn't
00:13:04something that they wanted to
00:13:05do but a few decided that this
00:13:07was something that I'd like to
00:13:09continue when I go to college.
00:13:10And I'm happy to say that one
00:13:12of our recently hired assistant
00:13:13producers as Ten TV on the
00:13:16ONN side walked up to me one
00:13:18day, I hadn't seen the fellow
00:13:19in many years, and he says,
00:13:20"Hey, you remember me?
00:13:22I was one of your students in
00:13:24the broadcast program that you
00:13:25had at Ohio State," I thought
00:13:27that was great.
00:13:28So is this still going on?
00:13:29It goes on every two years.
00:13:31We're in hiatus this year.
00:13:33We don't have the membership we
00:13:34used to have in the
00:13:36organization as many of the
00:13:38professional groups are finding
00:13:39now a days, people are just
00:13:40getting busy.
00:13:42They just don't have the time
00:13:42to commit.
00:13:43So as we can, we'll take maybe
00:13:45a dozen kids and go for about
00:13:47four or five Saturday mornings
00:13:51in the late winter, early
00:13:52spring and then at the end of
00:13:54that the kids will have done a
00:13:57story for TV, or for videotape
00:13:59I should say, and we have a
00:14:01little graduation program, the
00:14:03parents come in and they get to
00:14:04see their work on the tube and
00:14:06it's a nice program.
00:14:09When you're doing that, what
00:14:10kind of writing do you focus
00:14:12on?
00:14:13You talk about story telling
00:14:14and all that.
00:14:15Where do you draw from and what
00:14:16do you push for the kids to do?
00:14:19It's a different kind of
00:14:20teaching than you might do for
00:14:21somebody coming right into the
00:14:24where you're expecting
00:14:26they've already got it.
00:14:27What do you have to do for
00:14:28them, for the youngsters?
00:14:29Sure, sure.
00:14:30For me, I want them to think
00:14:32about, think instinctively if
00:14:34they can.
00:14:36First of all, they're getting
00:14:36dropped into an environment
00:14:38that they've never been in
00:14:39before and we're teaching them
00:14:41things in a really crash
00:14:42course.
00:14:44There are really few things
00:14:45that they're going to come away
00:14:47with, but one of the things we
00:14:48want them to come away with is
00:14:49being comfortable in front of a
00:14:50camera, thinking
00:14:54extemporaneously, being able to
00:14:55do a stream of consciousness
00:14:58kind of narrative in a story
00:15:01that they've produced so that
00:15:03they understand what a good
00:15:04story looks like, the
00:15:06beginning, middle, and an end.
00:15:09So the writing skills that
00:15:11we're trying to get them to
00:15:13understand is just to clear
00:15:14away all the complexity in your
00:15:16story, learn how to rewrite.
00:15:18Many times, for me, I'm
00:15:21rewriting a story three or four
00:15:23times before I really feel
00:15:23satisfied with that and we're
00:15:25trying to get them to
00:15:26understand it.
00:15:27But in our business,
00:15:29particularly on live shots,
00:15:30there is no time for two or
00:15:31three or four rewrites.
00:15:33You've got to be able to think
00:15:34on your feet.
00:15:35How am I going to get this
00:15:36point across?
00:15:37What am I trying to get across
00:15:39in a minute and a half and
00:15:41getting in on time and getting
00:15:42out on time?
00:15:43And it's just repetitive, doing
00:15:44it over and over and over again
00:15:47and you get better at it all
00:15:47the time.
00:15:49You've been the master of
00:15:50ceremonies at a number of
00:15:52things in town.
00:15:53You're the master of the
00:15:53Twenty-fifth Annual Dr.
00:15:55Martin Luther King Jr.
00:15:56Birthday Breakfast, the
00:15:57Dedication of the Kelton House
00:15:58Underground Railroad Marker.
00:16:00I'm curious about your take on
00:16:03going from a news reporter to a
00:16:05presenter to something in some
00:16:07ways is making the news, right?
00:16:10How does that work for you?
00:16:12How do you see that as a
00:16:13transition from maybe one role
00:16:16to another kind of role?
00:16:18Well, we do a lot of public
00:16:21appearances, the anchors at Ten
00:16:23TV, and many of the reporters
00:16:24do too.
00:16:25It's part of our way of giving
00:16:27back to the community so we'll
00:16:28do these presentations for
00:16:30folks.
00:16:32A lot of times it's very simple
00:16:37to do.
00:16:37It's like being a traffic cop
00:16:39many times, you've got this
00:16:40long program and you've got to
00:16:42get somebody up and get them
00:16:44down and get the next person up
00:16:45and get them down and weaving
00:16:47through all of that and being
00:16:48entertaining and keeping the
00:16:49program moving.
00:16:50It's something that I enjoy
00:16:54because I get to meet a lot of
00:16:55people and see a lot of
00:16:56different organizations that I
00:16:57normally might not.
00:16:59Your dream interview is
00:17:01Nelson Mandella on your
00:17:02website.
00:17:04Yeah.
00:17:04What would you ask him?
00:17:05What would your questions be
00:17:07for that interview?
00:17:08You know he spent, what,
00:17:10half of his life in prison
00:17:12before he was freed and became
00:17:14the president of South Africa.
00:17:18What were those days like on
00:17:19Robben's Island?
00:17:22How did you keep your sanity?
00:17:24He was in a single cell, he was
00:17:27a solitary life for all those
00:17:30many years.
00:17:31What kept you going?
00:17:32How is it that you had so much
00:17:36power behind bars that you
00:17:38could move a nation of people?
00:17:43What's in your makeup?
00:17:44And what kept you in this so
00:17:46long that you would dedicate
00:17:48your life to that sort of
00:17:49enterprise.
00:17:50And then I think in any good
00:17:54interview, the person that
00:17:56you're talking to will give you
00:17:57other things to bring up to
00:17:58them as a question.
00:18:03Your news philosophy,
00:18:05'afflict the comfortable and
00:18:08comfort the afflicted.' I'd
00:18:10like to know what's behind that
00:18:10because I can get the first
00:18:11part.
00:18:12It's sort of the, we're going
00:18:13to be the media looks after
00:18:15corruption, all this assuming
00:18:18not just going after the
00:18:19wealthy or something.
00:18:20You want to go after those
00:18:22comfortably in power.
00:18:24But I'm less sure about how
00:18:25media comforts people in times
00:18:26of pain, the comforting the
00:18:29afflicted.
00:18:30In fact some ways it has a
00:18:32little bit of the opposite.
00:18:34You can go somewhere and
00:18:35there'll be somebody who's
00:18:36having a difficult time and the
00:18:37news media can exacerbate that
00:18:39it seems like.
00:18:41Tell me how you negotiate that
00:18:43and that isn't true for you.
00:18:45That's a very delicate
00:18:46balance and it takes a really,
00:18:49I think, emotionally mature
00:18:51person to go into the home of
00:18:54family who's just lost a baby
00:18:57or a husband or a wife and get
00:18:59them to sit down with you and
00:19:01allow you to put a microphone
00:19:02on them and talk about that.
00:19:07One thing I want people to know
00:19:09when I'm doing that sort of an
00:19:11interview with them is that
00:19:12yes, we want the information,
00:19:13but this is also an opportunity
00:19:14for you to tell us why John was
00:19:16so important to you.
00:19:18What did he mean to you in the
00:19:19family?
00:19:20You know, this is a time for
00:19:23them to let the world know or
00:19:25the viewers know this isn't
00:19:27somebody that just died and
00:19:29didn't mean anything in life,
00:19:31he had value and purpose and I
00:19:33think every human life does.
00:19:35We do a lot of stories about
00:19:37crack murders and drug killings
00:19:40and all of that, but those were
00:19:42still human beings and to my
00:19:44likes, all life is valuable and
00:19:47precious, so you have to find a
00:19:48way to make people look at it
00:19:50as not just another killing,
00:19:53but another loss of somebody
00:19:54special to somebody else.
00:19:57You listen to them and you go
00:19:59as far as they want to go.
00:20:02Sometimes when I'll sit down
00:20:03with them we talk for maybe
00:20:05twenty minutes before we ever
00:20:05turn the cameras on just
00:20:07because I want them to feel
00:20:08comfortable.
00:20:09And once they're done, I'm
00:20:11done.
00:20:15What's your most memorable
00:20:16time on something like that?
00:20:17Is there a particular story
00:20:18that sticks out in your mind
00:20:19for either way, when you had
00:20:21the opportunity to afflict the
00:20:22comfortable or comfort the
00:20:24afflicted?
00:20:25Are there stories that you
00:20:27really?
00:20:27You've got a list of your most
00:20:29memorable stories on your
00:20:30website, but those seem like
00:20:32the big headline stories to me.
00:20:34Right.
00:20:35I think the little stories are
00:20:37big stories, too, to me.
00:20:39There have been stories that
00:20:40I've done about a mother and
00:20:42her three kids who had to have
00:20:44the oven door open and the gas
00:20:47just turned on because that was
00:20:49the only heat in the house
00:20:50because a landlord didn't fix
00:20:52the furnace.
00:20:54Or the water was shut off and
00:20:57there's no way for them to
00:20:59clean themselves.
00:21:01Well, we'll do a story about
00:21:01that and sometimes I catch the
00:21:03attention of housing and
00:21:05building code inspectors and
00:21:06they'll run out there and talk
00:21:09to the landlord, "you need to
00:21:10get this power back on to these
00:21:11people, the service back on to
00:21:13them because we can't have them
00:21:15living in an unhealthy
00:21:17environment like that." That's
00:21:18a little story that only
00:21:19affected one family, but it's
00:21:21big to me because we made a
00:21:22change.
00:21:23I think one of the reasons I
00:21:24got into the business was I
00:21:25wanted to be able to affect a
00:21:27change in one person's life or
00:21:31let our viewers know this is
00:21:33what's happening in your
00:21:34community and you need to know
00:21:35about it.
00:21:36Speaking of the community,
00:21:37one of the big headline stories
00:21:39you said was a really memorable
00:21:41one for you was the 1977
00:21:43desegregation of Columbus
00:21:44Public Schools.
00:21:45And I think, as you said, a
00:21:47radio reporter at that time.
00:21:48I was.
00:21:49What stays with you from
00:21:50writing that story?
00:21:52And in some ways maybe this is
00:21:53connected to that part where
00:21:54you say you have to detach and
00:21:56it could be difficult.
00:21:57I mean it seems like one of
00:21:58those stories that a lot of
00:21:59people would have difficulty
00:22:01detaching on either side.
00:22:02Yeah.
00:22:03It was quite an experience.
00:22:05We followed that story from the
00:22:07local court all the way to the
00:22:09Supreme Court decision and the
00:22:12implementation of the busing
00:22:14plan.
00:22:16It opened up for all the world
00:22:19to see and at least our
00:22:21community to see that there
00:22:22were some deep fissures and
00:22:24hard feelings among people on
00:22:27the subject of race because
00:22:28that's what this was all about,
00:22:29racial balancing in the
00:22:30schools.
00:22:33If you look at that court case
00:22:35and the fallout from it you had
00:22:37white flight, you also had some
00:22:39black flight.
00:22:40There were some black families
00:22:41who didn't want their kids
00:22:42bussed all the way across town
00:22:44and that spawned the growth of
00:22:46suburbs: Dublin, Pickerington,
00:22:48and Reynoldsburg.
00:22:49Worthington was sort of
00:22:51landlocked, but people were
00:22:52still migrating out to these
00:22:54thought-to-be better school
00:22:56districts.
00:22:57I remember the morning of the
00:22:59first day of desegregation.
00:23:01National press was in here
00:23:03because this was in the context
00:23:05of we had desegregation in
00:23:07Boston where rocks were being
00:23:08thrown at these school buses.
00:23:10Lots of violence was around
00:23:12some of this.
00:23:13Not one incident occurred in
00:23:17Columbus on the day the schools
00:23:18desegregated.
00:23:19That was such a testament to
00:23:22the character of the people in
00:23:23this community.
00:23:24Even though they didn't agree
00:23:25with this, they weren't going
00:23:27to put children in jeopardy by
00:23:30doing anything violent.
00:23:33From that day to this I applaud
00:23:33Columbus for the way they
00:23:35desegregated schools.
00:23:37Where did you interview that
00:23:37day?
00:23:38Where did you go?
00:23:39I was over here at 270 East
00:23:41State Street, that was our
00:23:43command center, and I was sort
00:23:44of anchoring the coverage that
00:23:46morning.
00:23:47We had three or four radio
00:23:49reporters out in different
00:23:50parts of the city and they were
00:23:52phoning in, letting us know
00:23:54what the conditions were, how
00:23:56the buses were rolling, were
00:23:57there any problems out in the
00:23:59neighborhoods, any violence and
00:24:00all of that.
00:24:01I was kind of there at the
00:24:02command center hearing all the
00:24:03stuff come in.
00:24:05We'll go from that to jump a
00:24:09couple years and say that you
00:24:10are a journalist who tweets a
00:24:11lot.
00:24:12Yeah.
00:24:13You're on Twitter
00:24:15Facebook, too.
00:24:16You're on Facebook.
00:24:17And you have a mix of news
00:24:19stories and sort of personal
00:24:20life.
00:24:20You've got one, in one post you
00:24:22wish a happy birthday to a
00:24:22relative and another you report
00:24:24on criminal charges against an
00:24:25actor.
00:24:26How do you see being in the
00:24:29spotlight like this effecting
00:24:30the public perception of
00:24:31journalists?
00:24:33Say, Jerry Revish has this on
00:24:35his tweet.
00:24:37He is saying hi to somebody he
00:24:38knows personally and then he's
00:24:39saying something like this.
00:24:40What does that do for you?
00:24:42It makes me very cautious.
00:24:44I think the Internet and the
00:24:47social networking roadway is
00:24:50littered with the mistakes of
00:24:52reporters who've not understood
00:24:55Facebook and Twitter.
00:24:58I think that for me, this is my
00:25:00personal approach to it, I
00:25:01think there are times when I
00:25:03can reveal a little bit of my
00:25:05personal life and the things
00:25:07that I do, but for the most
00:25:09part I really want to keep this
00:25:11in the journalism vein.
00:25:13I want to give information to
00:25:15people.
00:25:17I'll go through the wire
00:25:18services and I'll call stories
00:25:19out that I think are
00:25:20interesting.
00:25:21I sort of have a bent towards
00:25:22pop culture stories for
00:25:24Facebook and Twitter because I
00:25:25kind of think that's what these
00:25:26things are, sort of a
00:25:27phenomenon in pop culture.
00:25:30So it's not really the hardcore
00:25:31news that I'm trying to convey
00:25:34when I send out a tweet or a
00:25:36Facebook post.
00:25:37At the same time though, I
00:25:38think those connections can
00:25:41bring viewers to our newscast
00:25:43sometimes.
00:25:45"Watch tonight," and this is
00:25:47just the hypothetical.
00:25:48"I just talked with Steve
00:25:50Stiber and Rob Portman and a
00:25:52few other politicians, we're
00:25:54going to have a story on
00:25:55tonight.
00:25:55You'll want to hear what they
00:25:56have to say." You know, that's
00:25:58a blatant ask for your
00:26:01viewership, but also there's
00:26:02some value if you do watch.
00:26:04One of the things that I was
00:26:05curious about is that you've
00:26:06got maybe a third part of this
00:26:09is that you've also got things
00:26:10like you tweeted, 'going down
00:26:12to the Ten TV Fitness Expo.
00:26:14Come and see me.
00:26:15Don't forget to see me, Andrea,
00:26:16and the gang," which is clearly
00:26:17in a different vein.
00:26:22And it's interesting to watch
00:26:24somebody negotiating through
00:26:26these things to say.
00:26:27And I think everybody is doing
00:26:28this, trying to figure out what
00:26:29is this, what does this mean,
00:26:31how does it work around for
00:26:32you?
00:26:34But for a journalist it becomes
00:26:36even doubly so because you've
00:26:38got questions of what's
00:26:39journalistic integrity, you
00:26:41know?
00:26:42Is this a story or am I
00:26:42shilling.
00:26:43Right.
00:26:43And sometimes we are shilling.
00:26:45But that's ok!
00:26:47I want folks to understand
00:26:49we're being honest about it.
00:26:51I do want you to come down here
00:26:52because this is the Ten TV
00:26:53Fitness Expo, but once they get
00:26:54there, there is some value to
00:26:55this.
00:26:57We're looking at Facebook and
00:26:58Twitter as new frontiers for
00:27:02our business.
00:27:04I don't think anybody has the
00:27:08silver bullet for how to corral
00:27:10all of this information and all
00:27:12of these people on the Internet
00:27:14to bring them back to TV.
00:27:17We're all looking for ways to
00:27:18do that and this is a work in
00:27:19progress, it's very
00:27:20experimental.
00:27:21One of the things that I
00:27:23find interesting about that is
00:27:24you've got things.
00:27:25I mean the dispatch owns WBNS,
00:27:27it obviously owns the Dispatch,
00:27:29the Wolf family.
00:27:31There's a convergence in some
00:27:33ways.
00:27:33You've got the print, the
00:27:34television converging on the
00:27:36Internet, the Dispatch will
00:27:37sometimes have video on their
00:27:38site and obviously you've got
00:27:40print on yours.
00:27:41So in a very brief capsule of
00:27:44the time that we have left,
00:27:45tell me what you think that
00:27:46means for the future.
00:27:48Do you think that these sorts
00:27:49of things are going to come
00:27:50together more that you'll have
00:27:53Dispatch TV?
00:27:54What happens there?
00:27:55What happens to journalism?
00:27:57I still think you're going
00:27:58to have a separate newspaper
00:28:01identity, a separate television
00:28:03identity, but I think the
00:28:04synthesis of both of those
00:28:07alliances are going to blur and
00:28:08we'll go forward.
00:28:10A lot of TV reporters are
00:28:14writing newspaper articles and
00:28:16also getting on the radio.
00:28:19A lot of newspaper reporters
00:28:20are showing up on TV,
00:28:23particularly on our O and N
00:28:24side, The Ohio News Network.
00:28:26Great print reporters and
00:28:28you're getting the information
00:28:29from guys and women who are in
00:28:32the trenches everyday doing a
00:28:34lot of great journalism that
00:28:35you wouldn't normally see them
00:28:37in this environment of
00:28:39television.
00:28:41And we found it to be very
00:28:42pleasant, very exciting and
00:28:45it's got a lot of value to it
00:28:47for us to cross over into each
00:28:48other's backyards.
00:28:50Well, we'll be looking for
00:28:51more of that in the future and
00:28:54Jerry Revish from WBNS Ten TV,
00:28:55the anchor for three of the
00:28:57newscasts, I want to thank you
00:28:59for being here today.
00:29:00Thank you.
00:29:01And from The Center for the
00:29:02Study and Teaching of Writing
00:29:02at The Ohio State University,
00:29:04this is Doug Dangler saying,
00:29:05keep writing.
00:29:15
Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions