30 Years Ago in a Newsroom Far Far Away
I started my professional career nearly 30 years ago working for two western Wisconsin radio stations. Because of this background, my view towards journalists is different than most because I pay attention to their mannerisms, cadence, and use of idioms during their reportage.
Although I’ve left that profession (thank God!), I still carry four prominent memories from my experience.
Apartment Standoff
The first involved a man who barricaded himself in an upstairs apartment and repeatedly blasted holes in the walls with his shotgun.
During the standoff, I stood about two blocks away from the building and had a clear view of the upstairs apartment. Through the window, I saw the guy peeking through his window several times. The first time I saw him look my way, it sent a chill down my spine. However, when I found out he was using a shotgun, I felt better: no way his shotgun would’ve hit me from that distance.
As time passed, I started chatting with a nearby police officer. He told me something that stunned me. He said that in the darkness of the alley between me and the building were about a half-dozen SWAT members.
Why this stood out in my mind is simple. At any point in the evening, the PD could’ve easily ended the standoff. No muss, no fuss.
That is if the goal was to kill. I was in my early 20s, and for the first time, it dawned on me how much law enforcement values life. The number of boxes to check before firing their weapon is a lengthy one.
One thing to note: if you ever see an officer with their pistol out of the holster, they are prepared to kill.
During this same standoff, the officer I chatted with told me something that escapes my memory. The gist of it was when I called in an update to the station, I included what the officer had told me. The editor asked me point-blank: “was that on the record?” I told her no, and she told me to completely disregard it until it was on the record.
Compare that with news reports filled with anonymous sourcing, innuendo, and opinionated writing. I’m not referring to analysis reporting of course.
Highway 53 Bypass
In that time of my life, Eau Claire, Wisconsin was in the early stages of discussions about a Highway 53 bypass of the city that connected northern Wisconsin to its southern reaches. Right next door to Eau Claire was the city of Altoona, separated by a small creek.
There were three bypass options considered: building a freeway on top of the current road, an “inner” bypass running between the two cities, and an “outer” bypass, located east of Altoona.
The Highway 53 bypass was an extremely contentious topic. Municipalities along the highway, from Galesville to Superior, all offered their opinions on which bypass they would prefer.
As I was leaving to cover a listening session for the project, I spouted out with my opinion that the outer bypass would be the best option. The outer bypass was cheaper and potentially had a longer useful lifespan compared to the other two options.
One of the news anchors snapped at me. She sarcastically told me to make sure I include that in my story.
I got the point.
Quick question: how often is that pointed comment made in newsrooms around the country?
The state of Wisconsin ultimately decided on the inner bypass option. What I found interesting was that every municipality along 53 symbolically voted for the outer bypass.
All, except for the city and county of Eau Claire. The city council, county board, and school board all indicated their preference to the inner bypass.
Ultimately, it was thought that business owners along Highway 53/Hastings Way in Eau Claire had more clout than other cities and towns. I vividly remember an editorial written in the Leader-Telegram remarking that the only opposition to the inner bypass was a small, yet vocal group located in Altoona.
Well, those business owners got what they wanted. The adage, ‘be careful about what you wish for because you may get it’ rang true. Businesses along the 53 route in Eau Claire dried up. The city ended up having to budget for repairs and maintenance along the road. The city of Altoona ended up with a large area full of commercial applications (and tax base). And, ironically, the Wisconsin DOT estimated that within a generation, another bypass would need to be built!
I See Blue; You See Bluish-Green
Finally, one exciting beat for a general assignment reporter is covering city council, county board, and school board meetings. There were very few meetings that I would describe as exciting.
One coping mechanism that helped was the fact that a few of my competing reporters were friends of mine from college. We passed the time playing tic-tac-toe among other things.
During one three-hour school board meeting, one item on the agenda, we’ll call it Adam, took up over an hour of contentious discussion before the subject was tabled for a future meeting.
After the meeting, I wrote my story complete with soundbites and prepared it for the next morning’s newscast.
When I showed up the next evening for another meeting, my news director approached me with a little too much zip. He was angry because the local paper didn’t report a word on Adam, instead focusing on Eve.
He asked me why I reported on the topic I did and ignored the other. I told him the truth. The board spent over an hour on Adam and less than five minutes on Eve. That Eve was a nonstory.
I knew the other radio stations focused on A for the simple reason that my friends and I combined notes on Adam!
So, to sum up, reporters from radio stations were at the same meeting as a newspaper reporter, listened to the same discussion, and walked away with an entirely different perspective on what was newsworthy.
Put all this together, and I don’t know what it means, but it is a little interesting comparing the two generations of journalism.
It didn’t take me long to decide journalism wasn’t for me. When I graduated college, the starting salary for a general assignment reporter was $11,000. Even 30 years ago, that wasn’t much.
The other reason? My face ~ it’s made for radio.
Originally published at manneymadhouse.com on October 17, 2018.
