Illinois Entertainer April 2022 | Page 24

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And we went , " Really ? Straightaway ?" That ' s not like him to not knock back a beer , you know ? As it turned out , of course , he knew , but he had said nothing to us about that and was incredibly stoic through the whole thing . When he did get back , it became apparent what was going on , but trying to get information out of him was like trying to get water out of a stone . In any event , he knew that his last round with us had been really fully realized . He was a light , not to our darkness , but maybe our seriousness . Bones was very happy-go-lucky , with a nature ’ s gentleman sort of presence . It ' s so obvious and trite , but we miss him more than terribly . We miss him very deeply .
IE : Not to dwell in this area , but many fans thought that The Great Circle Tour and The Makarrata Project and Resist might represent the band ' s reignition rather than a final surge . Was that unrealistic given your ages , or did losing Bones change the thesis of the crisis is real . Amongst many other things that are happening in a slightly wild planet , it ' s the thing that we really do need to get on top of . We were pleased that we could get it out but less pleased with the fact that our progress is nowhere near the speed that it needs to be .
IE : “ Tarkine ” is inspired by the Tasmanian home of Australia ’ s largest rainforest . I ’ ve seen your # savethetarkine entries on social media . PG : It ' s a sweet song , but also bittersweet . It ' s stillgotawaystogo , butIthinkthatcampaign could well be won .
IE : “ At the Time of Writing ” is another pointed eco-anthem . You sing , “ old king coal is dying ; he was never gonna last the long run .” I wondered what you thought of the recent Jet Laboratory breakthrough in nuclear fusion , even though that ’ s a clean energy concept that won ’ t help solve a

She ’ s the new weekend anchor at WBBM-TV , Channel 2 in Chicago , but Dana Kozlov has been in the news business for a long time .“ This month is my 30th anniversary as a paid reporter .”

After paying her dues hustling for stories for Channel 2 , and before that , WGN Channel 9 , she ’ s excited about the chance to helm a newscast . “ It ’ s definitely a great opportunity and honor to be able to anchor ,” she says . “ I really enjoy it . I like the idea of bringing the audience into the newscast to make them engaged in the process . It ’ s also a predictable day in so many ways because I know that barring breaking news ( which has already happened a few times ), I can gauge my day and my time and my schedule . And frankly , it ’ s really nice not to be standing out in the weather ( laughs ).” Not that she ’ ll actually get much of a respite from the weather because Kozlov isn ’ t ready to give up
By Rick Kaempfer

KOZLOV IS HOME AT CHANNEL 2

Dan Kozlov
Kozlov was thrilled in 1995 when she was able to join the ranks of Chicago journalists . “ I was only 27 years old at the time , and in those days , it was extremely rare for someone that young to get a job in a major market like Chicago . Dina Bair , who I had known in Peoria , was instrumental in helping me get that job . She told me there was a job available at WGN , and I applied and initially didn ’ t get it , but that person didn ’ t work out , so they called me next . It was a no-brainer . It ’ s my hometown . I was determined to work my butt off and make it , and I did .”
Her hard work at WGN eventually led her to the home of her idols Kurtis , Jacobson , and Zekman at Channel 2 , but before she left WGN , she scored two other prizes : a husband ( WGN- TV ’ s Bill Kissinger ) and an IMDB page entry . Dana was in the film The Watcher with Keanu Reeves . “ If you blink , you ’ ll miss me ,” she explains with a
band ' s reunion and lead to the decision to stop touring ? PG : There ' s probably an element of all of those things and others involved in it . I think that at the end of the day , we would have reached this point even had Bonesy lived . The touring cycle for a band from where we live , of our size and reach , and also attention to detail is about a four or five-year cycle . We have a very strong conviction about what playing Midnight Oil songs means . And the viscerality of that exercise , the combustiveness of it --you ' re kidding yourself if you think you ' re going to be doing that when you ' re in your mid-70s . Everyone ' s got to face up to the onward march of time and do it in a way where , to the extent that any of us can , we have a little bit of control over it . It ’ s very typical of us . We don ' t like other people determining what we do , including Father Time .
IE : “ Rising Seas ” was the perfect song to release ahead of COP26 [ the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference ]. Did it connect as intended ? PG : I think it was a song for its time , and we hope that it had wide broadcast . The climate
24 illinoisentertainer . com april 2022
photo by Robert Hambling
greenhouse problem in the near term . PG : No , it won ’ t . Look , I ' m very sanguine about new technologies , but we ' ve already got existing technologies that could do the job . They ' re called wind turbines , solar panels , batteries , and energy efficiency . It ' s so straightforward and basic that subsequent generations will look back in wonder at what a profligate , ignorant , and greedy generation and political framework we all operated in that continued to pollute the planet and turn the world into a blazing inferno . We need to reduce emissions and look at serious abatement now .
IE : One fundamental message of Resist is to challenge corrupt authority and greed , which is consistent with Midnight Oil ’ s longstanding effort to motivate people to exercise the basic tools of democracy . “ Let ' s kick the crooks out of the kitchen ” is one rallying cry on the album . But there has arguably been an effort at the highest levels of this country ’ s government to undermine certain people ’ s ability to vote . Most people wouldn ’ t have imagined it before 2020 . It ’ s
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reporting entirely . It ’ s in her blood . “ I ’ m still out there the other three days a week . I can still get that adrenaline rush , and I can still meet so many interesting people out there . It ’ s a great job . A challenging job . You have to put yourself in situations that no one would ever intentionally put themselves in , difficult situations , maybe even dangerous situations .”
She has won two Emmy Awards for her reporting work , but that ’ s not what motivates her . “ I didn ’ t get into the business for that . I got into the business because I truly believed in the power of journalism , and I really wanted to root out corruption and shine a light on the truth . All that idealistic junk that some people roll their eyes about — that ’ s really the reason for me . I really believe in reporting . You have to be a news junkie to last 30 years in this business because it ’ s a crazy business . It ’ s certainly not an easy business , especially right now .”
Luckily , growing up in the Chicago area , Kozlov had some good role models . “ I think I became interested in the news watching Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson . It was really Walter Jacobson ’ s ‘ Perspective ’ that did it . I was really intrigued by his ability to uncover misconduct and call it out . I thought those two were the gold standard . Pam Zekman is also one of my idols . She is
chuckle . “ When I was at WGN , the second director of the movie The Watcher saw me on the air and thought I would be good as the anchorwoman in this movie . I ’ m not sure why — I wasn ’ t an anchor at all at the time . So they called me and asked if I wanted to do it . I thought , sure , why not . They sent me some copy in advance . I memorized it and went in , and I got a trailer , and they did my makeup , and I recited my lines , and that was it . If you watch the movie , I pop up a few times , and because you can hear my voice , I got a credit . I still get residual checks . I just got one recently for 20 cents .”
Now Dana is no longer pretending to be an anchor in a film . She ’ s doing it for real every weekend at Channel 2 . She says that she is still developing in the role , but she loves it so far . “ It ’ s a very collaborative process . They encourage me to have a say in what we cover and how we cover it . I write things in my own voice . We have a few newer reporters , and I ’ m always here for them if they want my feedback . We have great producers too . I joined an existing group of people who have already been working here and doing a great job .” After all her years in the business , Kozlov understands the pressure that everyone in the news department faces , internally and externally , and is making a point of not adding to that pressure .