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This week, close friends invited Lynnda and me to attend the 21st Annual West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as their guests. The event was held at the Museum of Radio Technology in Huntington. In this time of distrust of the media, it was a reminder there are good people with integrity who work hard to keep us informed.
It felt like a gathering of friends with people I am used to seeing on TV but never met. We met radio personalities whose voices were familiar, though their faces were not. People were friendly and easy to talk to, like Spencer Adkins, the WOWK weatherman we have watched for decades.
In a democracy, a free press and media we can trust are essential. I have always trusted and depended on local media for facts and truth to keep us informed and safe. Local reporters do their best to get facts, which can be difficult early in a story. If there is a fire or a car accident, the newscaster reports without offering their opinion or analysis. We know which highways are blocked and can take an alternate route. Trust and honest reporting are essential in times of extreme weather or other emergencies like a chemical plant fire. During major snowstorms or after a devastating derecho, only local media could give us the information we needed.
When covering political stories at a local level, reporters and newscasters do a good job of telling the story without adding analysis or indicating their opinion nonverbally. When Walter Cronkite did the news, Erik Severide gave any opinion or analysis CBS wanted to add in a separate segment. It was clear Severide was giving his opinion, not reporting.
This is a time of distrust of the media, primarily major national media because of lies and false stories they have been caught telling. One example, the Trump Russia story was reported for years before it was publicly debunked. Anyone who understood energy knew it was false from the start. Putin is not stupid. He knew Trump's energy policy would increase American oil production, drive down world oil prices and reduce revenue from oil Russia depended on - which is exactly what happened. Remember $40 oil and $1.99 per gallon gasoline? Cheap oil devastated Russia, leaving Putin little money to finance a war.
Americans have short memories. In 2021, a new U.S. energy policy based on carbon increased oil and gasoline prices. In October 2021, the world oil price was $84 a barrel. In January 2022 it was $93 a barrel and gasoline was $3.50 a gallon. Wonder what Putin did with all the extra oil revenue? Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In October 2022, we were paying $4.05 per gallon for gasoline. How quickly we forget.
Most people know the TV networks aligned with each political party and whether they are liberal or conservative. This includes National Public Radio, which should be politically neutral. When they encourage support of the Democratic party by name in a story, NPR's promise to "tell the story straight" doesn't sound truthful.
Growing up, I remember Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, and other national newscasters and reporters. We had no idea what party or political persuasion they favored. It made them trusted and believable. I believe most reporters and newscasters try to follow Walter Cronkite's example and do their best to be unbiased and tell the story straight. Bad actors can create mistrust of everyone.
This year's Hall of Fame inductees are examples of the best of broadcast journalism in West Virginia. They are examples of integrity and leadership young journalists can follow.
* Dave Allen started broadcasting at the Logan High School radio station. He did "Dave in the Morning" for 20 years and worked at several radio stations before joining the Metro News network.
* Michele Crist retired after a 30-year career as executive director of the West Virginia Broadcasters Association. She played a key role in the creation of the AMBER Alert Program.
* Jim Damron started in broadcasting by working at college radio stations. He worked at WCHS, WCAW and WVAH as station manager. He started his own business JD Productions. Jim also appeared in a scene with Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump."
* Alan Dye started as an intern at WDTV in Clarksburg. He directed newscasts for a decade before advancing into leadership roles. He directed numerous sports broadcasts, pageants and festive events, earning numerous awards for his work. He serves on several civic boards.
* Susan Nicholas has been a newscaster for nearly four decades and co-anchors "Studio 3" and "First Look at Four" on WSAZ. Her broadcasting career began as a high school DJ for WNST in Milton. She worked for several stations before WSAZ. Susan was inducted into the Marshall University Journalism Hall of Fame in 2021.
* Will Shumate, aka "Cowboy Will," has been a familiar voice on West Virginia radio since 1977 at WJLS. He had leadership and on-air roles in the Charleston and Beckley markets, most recently serving as morning host and sales manager at WJLS-FM.
* Randy Yohe's career spans five decades. He worked as a television reporter, sports anchor, talk show host, radio journalist, emcee and public address announcer. He spent 24 years at WSAZ and WOWK and now works as statehouse reporter and Marshall/Huntington Bureau chief for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. He is also a professor of journalism at Marshall University.
In their acceptance speeches, passion for broadcasting and serving the public were apparent. They remind me of my friends who are professional speakers. Once these Hall of Famers experienced broadcasting, they knew it was their career. Their happiness is easy to see. May we all be blessed with finding a career we are passionate about.
I was told by a very wise person, "Find a career you love, and you will never work a day in your life." Our country needs more people of integrity like this in broadcasting. Facts and truth matter.
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Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.