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who are not necessarily celebrities . One of the most interesting people I ever interviewed was this woman who lives in New Orleans , Ethel Williams . Her home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina , and we would have long conversations about her relationship with politics and her belief in our government to support people in times of need . And no offense to all those people in Hollywood , but she was more interesting to talk to .
Q : What ’ s your view on the current state of the news media ?
A : I ’ m really worried . And not to put pressure on all of you , but I think the future of the media depends on all of you . I think it depends on where you land in terms of prioritizing the truth , what you want in terms of news , how you want to consume news , and then how the industry responds to the desires of your generation . That relationship is going to be really important , because I think that the media right now is living in a place where we ’ ve lost so much trust , and for good reason . When I grew up wanting to be a journalist , that anchor desk on television was to me this very sacred thing . Anyone sitting behind that desk was telling the truth [ and ] had an interest in being curious , telling stories , delivering the news , and listening to different perspectives . And I think that anchor desk isn ’ t sacred anymore . If you ’ re consuming news or seeing someone on television , reading the news on social media , what is truth , what does news even mean anymore ?
Q : How do you think a journalist ’ s preferences affect how they do their work ?
A : I went through a lot of my career early on thinking I could just set aside my views and just be objective , objective , objective . I think I ’ ve learned it ’ s a much more complicated world . It can be easy as a journalist to say , “ I ’ m not bringing my own biases in because I ’ m hearing different perspectives from all sides , so I ’ m being fair .” That ’ s great , and that ’ s true to an extent . But there are these hidden biases that journalists don ’ t always see , and they fall into these traps , like the stories they choose to tell , the voices they choose to listen to . Bias can be something that can just live in places you least expect it , and I think that ’ s the most important thing that journalists have to keep in mind .
Q : What advice do you have for someone thinking about becoming a journalist ?
A : If you do it , just constantly be curious . Never assume that you know the story before you go into it . Never land in a place assigned to tell a story and go in with some assumption . Just constantly test your assumptions and listen . Listen and be curious , listen and be curious . That sounds like the easiest advice in the world , but it ’ s actually the hardest . You can be focused on so many other things you forget to do the most important thing , which is to listen .
Q : Do you think your time at Falk impacted your career as a journalist ?
A : Yeah . I think the constant wonder is something that I don ’ t think I knew I was gaining when I was here , but it is so important in my life and career . Not just in journalism , but my wife and I , we are both so curious , whether we are meeting someone in her village of 2,300 people in northwest Ohio or if we ’ re in the former soviet republic of Georgia . We ’ re just constantly curious and eager to build relationships and have a sense of wonder about the world . And I think my brain was just wired that way because of my time here . I truly believe that .
Q : What was Falk like when you were here ?
A : It ’ s the same and different . Some of these new facilities are incredible . The idea that you can hang out outside and overlook this beautiful campus is pretty amazing . Some of these spaces are exactly the same . I saw one of my classrooms , with a teacher who I ’ ve been talking about , Dr . Johnston Martin . He was my teacher when I was here , which was in the 1980s — so just like a year or two ago . [ laughter ] And stepping into that classroom , it all came back .
I think the thing that stays the same is there ’ s just an energy in these walls that I feel right now , sitting here with all of you . There is something really , really special about this place that I don ’ t know if I fully appreciated when I was sitting where you are right now . But I appreciated it as time went on .
When I was first a reporter for The Baltimore Sun , I covered education , so I covered the school system in Carroll County , Maryland , and I was in classrooms a lot . And to me , something was missing , because the magic of this place wasn ’ t there . And I think it really is just this energy and this commitment to making everything that happens within these walls really meaningful . It ’ s like everyone wakes up here thinking about how you all can learn better , how the people teaching you can learn better , what ’ s going to make this more meaningful .
And as I ’ ve gotten older and noticed my constant state of curiosity and wonder , I think it ’ s rooted a lot in Falk and that ’ s something that hasn ’ t changed at all . ■
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