From this experience, I want to reflect on two questions:
- What makes a good reporter?
- And what role does a free press play in our society?
I was first quoted in a Sentinel story in 1983, my first talk show appearance was in 1984. Since then, I have engaged reporters/media from Journal Sentinel, WTMJ, WISN, ESPN, NYT, WSJ, Time, 60 Minutes, Economist, Dubai News, Shanghai Daily, Al Jazeera, and many others. So, I have some perspective on what makes a good reporter.
A perspective that has been shaped by working with some great ones like Don Walker, Mike Gousha, John Torinus, Tom Daykin, Rick Barrett, Rich Kirchen, Meg Kissinger, Corri Hess, and John Mercure to name a few.
The first time Charles Benson (T.V reporter with WTMJ) put a mike in my face, I was a young guy lobbying in the State capital. Fast forward to 2018 and it was Charles who covered a story about my youngest son playing with the Packers.
In between those 35 years we exchanged information on and off the record, spent hours wading through hearings, sharing a quick lunch in the car, nights crossing paths in the capital, weekends responding to braking news. And, sweating it out, live on camera.
After all those years, I still don’t know if Charles is a Democrat, Republican or an independent. I do know he has competed in an Iron man. But I don’t know if he is conservative, liberal, or libertarian. I know he is a bike rider; I do not know if he is pro/con on the streetcar. I don’t know his views on any of the issues we covered.