Journalism Heroes: Charles Kuralt

 

                      BizNews 

                                                                           Charles Kuralt on Broadcast TV

                Charles Kuralt:

            A Broadcast Legend

        Despite being known for the scandel after his death, Charles Kuralt is a highly respected indivdual within the television and broadcast world. Kuralt grew up in North Carolina his whole life as he was born in Wilmington. He remained there during college and went the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He was there from 1951-1955 where he was super invested in journalism and became an editor of the Daily Tar Heel. He also got a job working for WUNC radio while attending university. He eventually left the university and didn't finish his degree instead working for the Charolotte News. Specifically, he was a general assignment reporter. He enjoying writing about ordinary folk and started a daily column People which would forshadow what he'd do later on in his career. He wouldn't leave before accepting the Ernie Prize: an award named after the famous war correspondent from World War 2. 

       After leaving he began working at CBS. It was especially exciting for him as his hero Edward R. Murrow worked their as well. So he didn't mind getting the graveyard shift. His first job was writing the afternoon radio show that would air in the morning. Before long he was transferred to the television news department (which at the time was brand new) as a writer for the CBS evening news. Eventually he went back to the graveyard shift and took a pay cut working as a reportor contact on the assignment desk. However Kuralt wanted to be out in the field more than anything, and within the year CBS offered him his dream as CBS News Correspondent. 

       Kuralt traveled many places. He covered the Vietnam War as well as wars in the Congo and Laos as well. He also covered notable events like piracy on the seas and even ending school segregation. He even got to visit every single country in Latin America as he was the Chief Latin American Correspondent. He also served as the Chief West Coast Correspondent before returning to New York. 

    However his greatest accomplishment was the "On the Road" series for CBS evening news. The series went for 13 years and attracted quite a following. He and his team visited every single state in just a rugged motor home. The result was over a million miles logged during their travels. During this he met extroadinary people and got to tell their stories. The less out there examples being sports players, rodeo riders and seashell collectors. However there were more exotic people as well such as a man who lived in a house made of beer bottles, a person who owned the worlds largest ball of string and a runner who was 104 years old. He was a people person and thus wanted to highlight ordianary people doing extraordinary things. 

    Kuralt's death caused people to peer into his personal life and find that he had secretly been with two women at the same time. This caused a large legal battle over who would get his posessions. Despite all this Kuralt will be remembered as a legendary feature story reportor and being committed to the thing most modern day journalist fail to remember. The people are at the heart of what journalism is about

    

                          

Shock and Awe Reflection Post

 

                             Rotton Tomatoes 

Shock and Awe Promotional Poster

 Shock and Awe:

A Lesson Not Yet Learned

    The film Shock and Awe was a glimpse into a time that is currently being repeated. As such I thought only now would be good time to examine it. The film focuses on the Knight Ridder newspaper and goals of the journalists there to spread honest news about the incoming war in Iraq.

 

    The national papers were grasping ar straws trying to link Iraq and al-Qaida. They called in "experts" who were doing the same thing as them. Spreading false information to push the government's pro-war agenda. This behavior essentially made them the government’s mouthpiece and made them the leading voice in the conversation. They of course also getting tons of audience retention by getting the story out first even if it’s later proven false.

    Meanwhile Knight Ridder was acting when journalistic integrity. They were the ones going out and finding multiple sources and fact-checking all their information. They went to great lengths to talk to all sorts of people that they knew would give them accurate information not just a quick scoop. From people inside the millitary, former journalists and trusted contacts. 

 

    This need to constant verification was a source of conflict between journalists. Johnathon Landley wanted to make sure everything was in order, while Warden Strobel thought they needed to get the out. Sure enough the other papers got to it eventually and got all the credit despite Knight Ridder's diligence. John Walcott, who was the news director, was not happy. This is a constant struggle that even modern newspapers and stations face. When do you have enough information to break a story? It's a hard question to answer as good news organizations want to deliver objective reporting with a myriad of sources while also breaking the story while it's timely and beneficial to readers. In this case they'd done almost all the hard work upfront, so I think it would've been ok to break it despite Landley's protests. 

 

    There is a natural conflict that arises between the government and journalists during times of war. Of course, the constant pressure to deliver news on time to be relevant to the reader is one of them. But further than that the narrative the government wants to be portrayed regarding their actions. In this case they wanted to convince the people that their war on Iraq was justified. They did this by trying to establish links between Al-Aaeda and Iraq. No links were ever found and news outlets eventually issued apologies later down the line. But it of course looks good if your news organization is aligned with the government and gives you perceived credibility. That's why if the government is spreading misinformation and doing things your organization doesn't stand for, it's important doesn't act as a personal megaphone for them. That's the line that separates those with journalistic integrity and those who just want a good reputation and money.