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Posted on Wed, Mar. 05, 2008

'We must bring local news to life' Journalism

By DAVID HOUSE

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Life's good even when it's raining rotten eggs and invective -- at least for Star-Telegram columnists. They're supposed to provoke thought, and there's no better measure of success than reader reaction.

Bud Kennedy, a local columnist for 20 years, gets splattered regularly, as I mentioned Feb. 20 when looking at how he and other columnists add depth and perspective to the day's news. Kennedy's enterprise was pointedly provocative during the run-up to Tuesday's primary elections as he explored local and statewide political developments.

Readers praised and pilloried his work. And they had questions. Here are Kennedy's replies:

Are you a liberal?

"I'm a fierce centrist. The two-party system is the only way to keep both sides honest. So I write about candidates in both parties and hope for balance.

"I generally support economic success and growth, which is why I've agreed with President Bush and business groups about immigration. But I also write about racial issues, because they never go away.

"My father was a conservative deacon in the Church of Christ. We lived near the railroad yards in west Fort Worth, in a mixed Anglo and Hispanic neighborhood not far from Lake Como. Every time the question of race came up, or somebody made a hateful comment, my father would say sternly, 'My Bible says, "All men are equal in the eyes of God."'

"He was a hard-working man. I still stick up for good, hard-working Texans of all colors."

What's the point of your column?

"Actually, I don't call it my column. It's for the Star-Telegram and our readers. I don't like columnists who write too much about themselves instead of what readers want to know.

"Mainly, my goal is to be worth 50 cents. That way, if it was a slow news day, the reader still feels like there was something worthwhile in the paper. Ideally, I want to comment on the local news of the day, or tell a good story that relates to current news."

What fed your interest in journalism?

"I grew up reading the old Fort Worth Press, the Scripps evening paper. I never had a lot of toys, but we had an old typewriter, and I would sit and retype the news stories from the Press, and we also had a little neighborhood kids' newspaper.

"I got interested in TV news watching Bob Schieffer, but I started working for the Star-Telegram at 16 covering high school football and went on to study journalism at TCU and UT-Austin (no degree).

"Boring resume: I designed and edited sports sections at the Austin American-Statesman, the Dallas Times Herald, Dallas Morning News and came back to the Star-Telegram as sports editor.

"One day in 1987, Gerry Zenick (now vice president/operations) and another managing editor asked me to develop an evening paper metro column in place of Jim Trinkle, who retired."

Why are local columns needed?

"The metro column tells the reader what's really going on in the community, or what's behind the story, or simply what's funny about the day's news. Reporters cover events, but the columnists go to the same events and see something different."

What's one thing about today's journalism that you would change?

"I'd like to see reporters try harder to connect every story with local communities, neighborhoods and even local streets. Mike Huckabee isn't just a former governor. He's the Mike Huckabee who used to live off Mid-Cities Boulevard in North Richland Hills. It bothers me when I see somebody named in a news story or editorial without some description that helps me meet this person.

"And it really bothers me to read about fires or crimes on the 'east side' or 'in east Arlington' without even a street or neighborhood. We must bring local news to life, capture the vivid personalities and events and describe local cities and neighborhoods."