A special interview to start out 2008 …

Gary Tuchman has been with CNN since 1990 – many people are surprised to hear that. I am - only because “cable news” didn’t enter my vocabulary as a news “source” until about 1999 – I think it was the death of JFK, Jr. that got me to view cable news as a predominant source of coverage. But Gary is a mainstay at CNN, and the network is all the better for it. You can read his official biography here, but we’re “digging deeper” - and he has graciously agreed to be ‘grilled’ (ever so gently) by a few of the AC360° Buzz readers, so that we can uncover at least a few of the hidden (and fun) details of Gary’s career path and success. We are truly thankful and appreciative of his time – with more gratitude to follow tomorrow!! :-)

There were many questions – ranging from the days at Boston University to the first journalism jobs to career motivation to punk rock music and baseball, so this diverse interview is going to have a Part 2, which will be posted tomorrow. I’d like to say thank you (very much) to blue_eyes4069, Judy_Stage, news_views, l3go.roz_pc, northweston and Stardust for the very intriguing and thoughtful questions – and a special thanks to Stardust for helping to arrange all of this!! :-)

Let’s get started:

From blue_eyes4069:

Gary,

Thank you for answering our questions.

What I would like to know is do you remember what your first on air story was, what it was and with what news organization were you reporting for?

I was 21 years old when I got my first job in television after graduating from Boston University (so that was two years ago!) Anyway, my first story was on a Wicomico County School Board meeting in Salisbury, Maryland, where I worked for the CBS affiliate, WBOC. It was a great first job. I also anchored the news and worked there for nearly a little over two years until 1985. Then, I joined the CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida, WPEC, where I anchored and reported until 1990. That was a fun job too -- with wonderful people.

From judy_stage:

To Gary: The CNN report on the FLDS cult was a very important story to get out to the world. I was unaware of this type of abuse of women and children in America. It seemed that the brick wall of silence from the community and the police made it most difficult to drill down to the details and get the whole story out there. I admire your determination and was a little concerned for your welfare at times. Was this one of the most difficult stories to report and did you feel it was all worth it following Warren Jeffs’ arrest? I know, I did.

Thanks for the nice words. We thought it was a very important story because of one basic, but important fact. In essence, this is a story about child exploitation and abuse. Yes, the details about the polygamous lifestyles of Jeffs and his followers are very interesting and unusual to most of us. But Jeffs wasn’t charged with polygamy; he was charged with being an accomplice to rape. He was alleged to have arranged many marriages of girls to older men. At times, I have been a bit concerned during our visits there because many followers of the FLDS did not want us there and at times would follow us in their vehicles. But other followers were quite kind to us, and often, the reason they didn’t talk to us is because they were scared to disobey the edicts of the community. We all recognize religious freedom in this country, but forcing children to get married ain’t part of that in our humble opinion.

From news_views:

Hi Gary – thanks for answering our questions!

How did you get the job at CNN in 1990?

In 1990, I was working in West Palm Beach for a station that, in addition to being a CBS affiliate, was also a CNN affiliate. At that time, in the late 80’s, drug stories were a big staple on local news; particularly in South Florida. I had done a few stories in South America in the cocaine fields, and the CNN bosses at the time had seen some of my work. They contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in possibly working at CNN some day. I was totally intrigued with that possibility, and I was hired in 1990. In all honesty, I’m just as intrigued with what I do today as I was when I first heard about the possibility of working here. I was based in New York for my first ten years here, and transferred to Atlanta in 2000.

Do you think the line that distinguishes “news” from “entertainment” is becoming more blurred?

I think there certainly is an increased mixture of “entertainment” with news. But as long as you’re transparent with what you’re doing, I feel its okay. The key is to be honest with the viewer, and tell them what you’re doing.

In the same vein, do you think that the majority of news reporting should be “objective observation” – and how much “opinion” (if any) – should be present? Or maybe vice versa?

My job is to offer objective observation. That doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with someone who is suffering, or be angry with someone who has clearly hurt someone. But when an issue is an open question, I’m there to offer both sides fairly. Others on our air give opinion. There is nothing wrong with that. Newspapers do it every day in their editorial pages which are different than their news pages. The key is, once again, to be transparent. We have opinion shows, and we have analysts who are paid to analyze. For a viewer to watch a particular opinion show on CNN, and say CNN is liberal or conservative because of that opinion show, is unfair. I have never been asked in 17 years at CNN to alter a story to reflect somebody’s bias. When people who work for various competitors allege we offer biased coverage, I vehemently reject that and take it personally. If I wanted to give my opinion, I’d be a lobbyist or a politician. Of course, I have opinions on topics. Probably every topic under the sun. But my job is to tell the stories fairly. That’s what I get paid to do. I take pride that I do it well.

With regards to technology and the media, do you think that the concept of “news-on-demand” (such as what’s available via podcasts) will ever become a dominant news delivery platform?

That is a great question. I don’t know the answer to that. I still like sitting down next to a big screen TV to see the big news stories of our time and watching the big sporting events of our time. But I love all the platforms that we can use. I am on CNN.com all the time because I know I can find out what I want when I want. I think new and old technology complement themselves very well.

From l3go.roz_pc:

Will you be covering the upcoming Presidential campaign next year? What do you think will be the most important issues facing the eventual nominees?

I will be covering various issue - oriented pieces connected with the campaign. I just did a story about the dramatic influx of Mexican immigrants into Iowa and how the issue of immigration is affecting the potential voters in the first caucus state. In addition to immigration, religion is also a huge issue in the 2008 campaign. So is religion, as exemplified in the intense voter interest in the battle between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.




Do you enjoy all of the travel involved with being a national correspondent for CNN?

I enjoy it very much. I love meeting new people and seeing new places. I’ve been to all 50 states on this job; and to countries all over the world. The amount of travel is certainly not for everybody; but the talented producers and photographers I work with seem to thrive on it. People always ask me; don’t you get tired with all the traveling?

Well, the key is being able to sleep on planes. As long as I don’t have loud gabbers sitting next to me (I don’t mind soft gabbers), I do a lot of dozing on planes.


Will you be reporting during the 2007 New Year’s Eve celebration - as you did last year with the Central Park Run? (Note: the question was asked before the NYE celebration, but the answer is still interesting!)

Yes! And I’m looking forward to it! Last year, we set up the same technology we used during the beginning of the Iraq war on a golf cart, so the cameras would be able to show me running the annual midnight four mile run on live TV at midnight. Last year I was nervous; because I wasn’t sure if I could run and speak coherently at the same time ! I hope you think I did! This year, I haven’t decided if I will run it, or rollerblade it! I’m actually more comfortable on skates than I am in my sneakers! Everywhere I go for work or for fun, my blades come with me. I have actually skated in both Iraq and Afghanistan ... to the amusement of many locals I might add.


From northweston:

You’ve covered a number of hurricanes. Other than the obvious dangers, are there other unique challenges involved in broadcasting under those conditions?

One of the more basic challenges is deciding how long to stay outside as the conditions deteriorate. Our bosses leave it to us to decide when it is unsafe to remain in our locations. Your basic journalistic instinct is to stay in a location as long as the storm lasts. But I am working with a lot of people who also have to be in harm’s way to get those stories on the air. Even if I’m willing to take a personal risk, it would be devastating if any of them got hurt. So knowing where to draw the line is always a challenge.

Then, there is the equipment. We have these huge multi-ton satellite trucks that at times, feel like they are going to blow over. After covering so many hurricanes, we quickly know which types of structures will be the least vulnerable and we try to protect all our expensive equipment behind those sturdy walls.

Another unique challenge is reporting in the aftermath of a hurricane. After Katrina, there was no gasoline for quite a long time. How do we drive around to cover the story? We ended up transporting gas cans containers full of gas on top of our vehicles. But several times, when we left our vehicle, we sadly saw people climbing the top of our vans trying to steal our gas. We let some people take some of our gas, and gave others food too. It was a depressing and pitiful situation.


In the two years since Katrina hit, what are the most urgent challenges still facing New Orleans and other Gulf Coast residents?

New Orleans is an amazing city; but I still can’t believe what happened there. In the days after the hurricane, we stayed in a hotel in the French Quarter with just police, military, and journalists. I felt like I was in a warzone. It is truly remarkable that nearly two and a half years later there is still so much devastation. Housing is still the most critical issue. The main purpose of a politician is to keep his or her constituents safe and secure. On so many levels, there has been much failure in keeping that commitment.

What do you think is the overall influence of blogs and other forms of “instant feedback” in the media landscape? And how much influence do you think this form of communication will continue to have in the political arena?

Blogs are a huge part of our media life now. And it’s almost all for the good. It gets everybody involved in issues that should concern them. In my career, I have never seen more people more educated about the important issues of our time than I see now. But I am troubled by people who like to anonymously malign people for their own enjoyment. It is okay to fairly criticize; quite another to hide behind a cloak to hurt someone for sport.

And we’ll wind up Part 1 with a few questions from me (newsblooz) – with more to follow tomorrow:

Do you prefer long-form reporting (documentary-style) or shorter segments? What subjects would you like to tackle that you haven’t had an opportunity to cover yet? Will you be doing any SIU reports in the future?

I love long-form reporting; most of us do. But whenever I’ve worked on projects that have taken me off the air for a while, I’m chomping at the bit to do the big daily stories. I wish I could do both at the same time. What I like about my role here is that my bosses know I’m versatile and can do many different types of stories. So I think I’ve had much opportunity to do all kinds of interesting, and often historic stories, even stories for the ages. That’s what’s so fun about this job. When I look at my children’s Social Studies books, they talk about many stories that I’ve covered. Being part of the first draft of history is a great part of this job.


You did reports for both 360° specials looking at rising crime in two major cities – New Orleans and Chicago – and you focused on the rise in youth crime in both reports. Any solution would be complex to implement – did you come away with a sense that law enforcement will be able to reverse that trend?

That’s hard to say. But I do know it can be done. I lived in New York City from 1990 to 2000. In 1990, the city felt like the Wild West. In 2000, I had no qualms about rollerblading in Central Park at 2:00 in the morning on a nice night. People argue about what lowered the crime rate so dramatically, but the fact is it did happen and it changed New York City for the better. So it can be done.


You’re obviously an animal enthusiast and have done a number of reports on animals in trouble, such as the dolphins displaced by Katrina, illegal puppy-trafficking from Mexico and the relocated tiger sanctuary in Southern California – to name a few. Do you currently have any pets and if so, what do you have?

I love animals, and have always had dogs. I have also occasionally had animals ranging from rabbits to tadpoles. My wife loves animals as much as I do, but she is very allergic to pet hair. So we have a dog that doesn’t have a lot of hair. Her name is Star. She is a toy poodle who weighs 7 pounds. She is very smart, but sometimes I am afraid I will step on her and crush her.

Not a chance, Gary – and I’ll bet she’s absolutely adorable!! Please join us tomorrow for the wrap-up of our interview – we’ll find out what career Gary would have chosen if not journalism (although that’s clearly his first [career] love), and who he’d like to interview if given the opportunity – you may be surprised!