CNN Reporter

I play a game by asking people who is the most famous person you’ve just happened to see.  For instance, I was walking in New York years ago and saw a guy with a video camera (when video cameras were expensive) and he was laughing.  It looked like he was filming some joke he pulled on friends.  It was Herve Villechaize (you know, the little guy who said “Da plane, da plane” on Fantasy Island.

Today on my flight to Spokane Washington I sat beside a CNN reporter (Emmy award winning Victor Blackwell).  I didn’t recognize him, so our conversation started more general until we got to the “what do you do” question.  It was the most fascinating conversation I’ve ever had on a plane (the next was the paleobotanist (http://tandtrv.blogspot.com/2012/08/paleobotany-at-30000-feet.html).

We discussed how Jon Stewart makes fun of CNN.  Victor hadn’t had a specific segment done on him, but had been included on some montages.  I realized that Jon Stewart is on for 30 minutes four days a week while CNN is on 24 hours 7 days a week.  It’s pretty likely he’s going to find mistakes during all the time they are reporting.  I really like Jon Stewart, but now I know how dedicated CNN reporters are too.

I was amazed with the knowledge and professionalism of Victor Blackwell.  He’s been working since he was 15 starting on a radio show!  As a reporter, he spends much of his free time reading so he can keep up with local, national, and international news plus he reads history to understand the background or historical parallels to stories.  He has to be ready at any time to travel on a story.  He mentioned that he can’t buy fresh vegetables unless it’s a single serving since he might need to leave quickly and it would go rotten in the refrigerator.

Besides the background knowledge, a reporter has to talk on subjects they don’t really know about or while information is still coming in.  He covered the cruise ship coming into Mobile (http://tandtrv.blogspot.com/2013/03/on-way-to-conference.html) that was moving very, very slowly.  He has to have all types of contacts. While he was covering the ship, he was communicating with people on the ship and people on land while he was in a boat alongside the cruise ship.

Besides all of that, reporters have to have thick skins.  Yes, Jon Stewart makes fun.  Besides all the news knowledge, reporters have to know what clothes look good for different stories.  They also see the tweets from people complaining about what they are wearing or what their hair looks like or if they’ve gained weight.  They may have their bosses tell them when to lose weight or to dye their hair.   There’s a lot of pressure in looking good while you’re telling an important story.

We talked for 1-1/2 hours on this flight and he was friendly and open the entire time.  I’m sorry about being a “Chatty Cathy”, Victor, but it was all very interesting.  I’m now a Victor Blackwell fan!