One of the finest compliments I ever received was from Dan Cates, who was then my assistant news director at the ABC affiliate in Birmingham.
“I wish I had a whole newsroom full of Ike Pigotts.”
It was weeks before I could walk through a doorway without my big head getting in the way.
I knew what he was talking about, but even then, I knew how bad that would be. Every reporter brings a different perspective and approach to their stories, and some approaches work better for certain needs. That’s because at that time, there was still an art to storytelling in television news. The artist who works in oils might be a horrible sculptor, or might not paint well high on scaffolding. If you believe in bringing the right tools for the job at hand, then part of a news manager’s job was to match up the right personnel with the story that needed telling. [Read more…]
