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Kyle - Newspaper Owner, Editor and Photographer.
64 Plays1 year ago
Kyle and his wife, Jordan, do everything to keep the Cassville Democrat Newspaper running smoothly, so they can provide the community with the most up to date and accurate news possible. They are staples at the local football games and a trusted news source. Kyle walks us through his life from the early days thru college, learning his craft and speaks about the life of a reporter and business owner. If you have ever wanted to know what a local newsroom is like and what it takes to make a go in this industry, this is the podcast for you.
If you enjoyed this interview and would like to support the show, you can do so HERE. Thanks!
Music by: SnoozyBeats - Song Title - "Keep It Calm". Please check out SnoozyBeats on PixaBay for a ton of awesome content! - LINK
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Transcript
Introduction and Interview Begin
00:00:11
Speaker
Hey folks, you're listening to the jobs podcast. I am your host, Tim Hendricks. Your time is valuable. I'm not going to waste it. Let's get right to the interview.
Kyle's Journalism Journey
00:00:19
Speaker
Hey Kyle, thanks for joining me on the jobs podcast today. How are you doing? I'm doing well, Tim. How are you? I'm doing well. Thanks. So you are a reporter and you own a newspaper and you're a photographer and you kind of do everything when it comes to reporting. Is that pretty accurate statement?
00:00:36
Speaker
I would say so, yes. All right. I'm the, the, my wife and I own the Cassville Democrats. I'm a publisher, so I, uh, reporting newspaper design, photography, ad design, you, you name it. If it's in a newspaper, that's what I do. Right on.
Educational Background and Career Shift
00:00:54
Speaker
Well, let's start, give us a little bit of backstory about where you were born, where you're from and walk us through your, your childhood, your family, your education and, and kind of what brought you to be where you're at now. Okay.
00:01:06
Speaker
Um, so I was born in Wichita, Kansas. Um, then we moved to Austin, Texas, right outside of Austin when I was two. Um, and we lived there till I was seven. Um, and I had a little brother that was born there. Um, when I was seven, we moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Um, and I had a ah sister that was born then.
00:01:27
Speaker
And I lived in Little Rock through um high school college, really um graduated from Little Rock Central High School, where I was the co-managing it well co-managing editor of the newspaper the high school newspaper there. And then I went to the University of Central Arkansas and worked at their paper and my sophomore year I actually transferred to Central Baptist College because I wanted to play college soccer. So I did two seasons of that and then finished my education at University of Arkansas at Little Rock um with a journalism degree and yeah entered the field from there.
00:02:09
Speaker
What was it? Did you have an inkling? Did did you have a family member that was in the reporting job line or worked for a newspaper? What was it that kind of initially drew you towards that career?
Passion for Photography
00:02:22
Speaker
So really it was at Central. um It was my sophomore year and somehow I came across the school newspaper and I'd never seen it before and I thought, wow, that's that's really interesting. and And I think I want to be a part of that and you know take pictures or write stories or whatever. um So I reached out to the ah sponsor and expressed that interest. And yeah, going into junior year, I took the beginning journalism class, got on newspaper staff, um and I was actually going to be a kicker for the football team. ah But then the the sponsor offered me the sports editor spot.
00:03:00
Speaker
I'm at the school paper so I decided probably wasn't going to have time to do both in the paper was more interesting so I did that. And yeah it really just developed from there. Did you gravitate towards the reporting side of things or the photography side of things or was it the entire package that you wanted to present which which one drew you more.
00:03:22
Speaker
photography and always been my favorite. okay If I could be a pure photojournalist, I would absolutely do that. right um The writing is fun and and there are perks to it, I do enjoy it. But yeah, photos, I love taking photos, capturing moments and especially sports.
00:03:38
Speaker
Did you have anybody in your family that was in this line of work in photography or anything? Or were you all just kind of self-taught in the classes that you took? Like my dad had some cameras, um but wouldn't really call him a photographer per se. okay Nobody else in the family really, really was. I mean, we took the newspaper, you know, like every Sunday we would, you know, I'd always flip through the sports pages and we had the TV guide in there. And I mean, I was familiar with newspapers.
Family Ties to Journalism
00:04:08
Speaker
I found out later it was I was in college, um about to graduate actually, I think, um when I learned that my great-grandmother was a journalist. I've got a scrapbook of like her writings and stuff from like the early 1900s. But I never really knew her or knew about that until then, but it is kind of cool to look back on that and see.
00:04:37
Speaker
right Um, did you have,
Digital Transition in Journalism
00:04:40
Speaker
were you involved in the transition? I don't know your age. So I don't know if when you first got into it, the online edition of things or news being digital was, was just starting or if it was already pretty common, like I'm 50 years old. And so when I was in college, all we had was a paper newspaper. And if you had an AOL email address, you were cutting edge, you know? Right. So, um, so I'm 36.
00:05:06
Speaker
um So I graduated high school 2006, so I learned. yeah I learned design using Adobe InDesign, okay um which was the industry moved to that after Cork. um That was the previous main design software. okay um So I came in like right at that technological switch. okay um And then as far as online, like so I was a sophomore when Facebook started, okay and social media you know started to become a thing, and people started getting news from there.
00:05:40
Speaker
um Every paper I've ever worked at has had a website that I've managed. at one time or another, um, at kind of different levels. And I mean, it's, it's changed a little bit over time. Um, but really just in, you know, best practices and how to reach people and, and kind of doing things that way. Do you, do you gravitate, do you feel a pull towards holding a newspaper in your hands and and flicking through the pages or do you like the digital thing or do you see they both kind of have their pros and cons or
00:06:15
Speaker
So the digital is cool because it's so sharp. I mean a PDF, you know, you're not going to lose any image quality from right printing. Um, the digital looks really good. Um, but for me, like I, I mean, every Tuesday when I come to the office, uh, the papers are delivered here and then I come in and take our, our mail routes. I didn't go drop them at the post office for Wednesday delivery. Okay. And I always bring a paper back home.
00:06:43
Speaker
Um, to look through it and, and hold it. I mean, even though I've spent the last week putting this together, I know what it looks like, but yeah, yeah just, there's still a lot of satisfaction in seeing that finished product. Sure. And you can't really scrap with a PDF at least not, you know, yeah, not in a traditional fun sort
Backpack Journalism and Industry Changes
00:07:03
Speaker
of way. So.
00:07:04
Speaker
There's a nostalgia to cracking open a newspaper. I used to watch my dad sit down and drink a cup of coffee and read the news. And, you know, it just brings back. That's just how it always was until, I don't know, 20, 25 years ago when it seemed like everything changed almost overnight, but it probably wasn't that quick. Yeah. Now, seeing other people reading my paper, that's very satisfying. Oh, I bet. For sure. Right.
00:07:30
Speaker
Do you see if someone is coming up in the reporting line of work, if they want to get into journalism in some form or another, do people typically, it seems like when you started, you kind of had to do everything. You had to do the reporting, you had to do the photography, you had to do the editing.
00:07:46
Speaker
Now it seems like you have people that are just photographers you is that correct you have people that more specialized or go down a niche or do they still kind of have to be a jack of all
Career Growth and Adaptability
00:07:56
Speaker
trades. So it's really it's really going the other direction oh um so when i really came on like the first career wise after i graduated.
00:08:08
Speaker
I started at the the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in Little Rock. I was a news clerk. um So I answered phones, sorted mail, um and processed anywhere between 50 to 70 obituaries every day, like edited for AP style. There's a lot of clerical stuff.
00:08:25
Speaker
right um And that, you know, that I knew, and it was really just a foot in the door. um I was trying to get to another position somewhere within that paper. But while that was happening, I applied for a job at the Daily Citizen in Searcy, Arkansas, which covered White County,
00:08:46
Speaker
I'm sure she's about twenty two thousand people the county as a whole was like forty five day printed five days a week. um And I was hired on as a hybrid reporter so I did three days of news reporting two stories one photo a day and then two days of sports reporting two stories one photo a day.
00:09:08
Speaker
Um, and as things kind of shifted within that newsroom, I ended up moving from that to sports editor. And then from there to lead reporter, uh, lead news reporter. Um, and then at certain points when lu we either lost staff for or there were some changes, like I was the, um, but the designer and the clerk and eventually my boss left and being another guy were interim co-editors.
00:09:37
Speaker
um So at that paper, like that was a really valuable experience because I did get to do everything. were at and That really set me up for where I am now. But as far as like specializing,
00:09:55
Speaker
really it's It's mostly, it's it's called backpack journalism now. um So you used to have, you know, an editor would assign a story, the writer would go out, do the interview, the photographer would also be there and take the pictures. um You know, if if there was a video aspect, there would be a separate videography that may do that. um Now it's it's one journalist that goes and does everything.
00:10:19
Speaker
Is the backpack reference because you can fit a laptop and a camera and everything that you need. Okay. That makes total sense. All the equipment, you can carry it with you and whatever you need, you got. And you get the whole story, the whole, all the images, everything all on your own. Um, especially for smaller papers. Um, that's the way things have been going and even bigger papers. I mean, like.
00:10:42
Speaker
like the the Springfield News Leader, um they have a one person sports department now. never And they're a regional paper. So yeah, yeah, it's the industry as a whole is has been losing staff over time. And we've seen that I mean, even even since I came to Cassville and Monette and where I was,
00:11:03
Speaker
Um, as editor here of those two papers, like our staff has, has shrunk a little bit and everybody just kind of takes on more duties and we rework everything to make it, to make it work. You don't have a regular Monday through Friday,
Time Management in Journalism
00:11:18
Speaker
nine to five. It seems like, I mean, the news happens 24 seven, three 65. So you, you probably, I know I've seen you at the football games and, uh, just so you know, you're pretty popular with the the kids at the school. They always say, Oh yeah, that guy's cool. You know? So.
00:11:33
Speaker
um Yeah, they're they're good friends to have. Yeah, yeah. But um it seems like you would leave the office and then you've probably got another evening of work during football season or if there's something going on in town that needs your attention. So it's you're kind of on call all the time. Just about. um Yeah, it's it's been different since we've I think since we've purchased the paper. And now that I own it, I get to make I don't have a boss calling me saying, Hey, this is going on. I i need you to go out there and like, I get to just kind of make the decision about what I do and and how I do it. Um, but yes, we, you know, we're, the office is open nine to four and then, um, you know, at least two times a month I have council or school board meetings. Um,
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah, football season every Friday night, i'm wherever the team is. um Other sports, you know, it's Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays sometimes, events on Saturdays, photo ops, it's, you kind of doom You have to be really good at time management, otherwise yeah you'll be working 90 hours a week. Right. You probably look forward to, let's see, after the holidays and the football season is over, you know, February, March, is that your downtime unless there's bad weather?
Advice for Aspiring Journalists
00:12:54
Speaker
Typically. Yeah. Yeah. January, February, are usually kind of the slow ones, but
00:12:59
Speaker
We do so many special projects and we have a couple magazines like we we put out um the Trout Times Magazine kind of focused on Roaring River State Park. Oh, yeah. We put we put that out um before opening day on March 1st. Okay. um So those kinds of things sort of keep us going. um You know, football is great. I've covered and football for 12 years, yeah every week game in game out. And I love it and it's a lot of fun. But yeah, by the end of the season, I'm ready for my Fridays back.
00:13:30
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds like you're putting as much work as the coaches. so Well, i I don't know if I know that. I don't study film or anything. you know They probably work a little bit harder than being in that. ah like But right when you were talking about your early days um in the newspaper business and you started as a clerk and worked your way up, is that still when someone, let's say someone graduates from college and they're immediately wanting to step into working for a newspaper, do they typically start at the beginning and then they have to everybody kind of has to pay their dues or do you see folks coming in that.
00:14:06
Speaker
with the way education is now, they're more turnkey ready to do to just jump into reporting or photography or something along those lines. So I would say right now, like,
00:14:19
Speaker
The opportunities are so much slimmer than they used to be because there's not you know there's not strictly photojournalists, there's not strictly you know crime crime reporter or features reporter or lifestyle reporter. um Everybody has to be able to do some of everything.
00:14:38
Speaker
So that probably makes it challenging um for kids right out of college coming in. Like my, my advice there would be get a foot in the door doing whatever you can do. And then from that point you gain experience and you gain contacts and, and you can branch more into what you would like to do more specifically. and Okay.
00:15:03
Speaker
The word you just mentioned the second ago, contacts. I would imagine that networking is a huge part of your job as far as getting correct information on a story, getting you know breaking news, so to speak, or getting in first. That's probably where if you cultivate relationships with people,
00:15:22
Speaker
that aren't just superficial, but they know, okay, I'm going to go to Kyle because he's going to be fair and balanced, not to borrow from Fox News, but, and he's, he's going to tell the truth. He's going to be honest. He's going to portray it exactly how it is without sentin sensationalization. Right. And so I'm going to call him. Is that pretty accurate? Yep, pretty much. Okay. I mean, especially in a small community. Sure. The more people you know and the, and you know You have to build trust with everybody. kind of that People don't think, oh, I'll call Kyle because he's fair and balanced and all of that. They don't do that without knowing it and seeing it you know yeah that I have been that way. So yeah, um ah that's definitely accurate.
00:16:05
Speaker
What, if someone was just starting out and they were, they came to you and said, look, I'm, I just graduated from high school. I'm going to go to college either two or four year and focus on journalism. What advice would you give them to streamline their process to say, I found these classes to be a waste of time. I found these classes to be worth their weight in gold. What kind of advice would you give somebody who just asked you out of the blue?
00:16:36
Speaker
Um, I would say the greater variety you can take the better off you will be. Um, okay. You know, one of my, probably my favorite class, um, was photography. Um, like I still have pictures that I took from that class that I love, you know, um, I really enjoyed that. Um, the reporting classes were fine. You know, it's,
00:17:04
Speaker
like anything else, you're you're just training and and learning a skill. yeah um The class that I really despised was ethics and law because it was just so dry. i bet um you know A lot of case studies, a lot of um history, and and that's just not Not really my bag, right but I still got a C, so I pass. There you go. um But yeah, the the variety I would say, yeah even though I didn't like that class, um now when I look back on you know the importance of ethics and and knowing how papers handle things and why they handle things the way that they do, um that's really important. So a good mixture. um Even if you don't like it, it may be useful.
00:17:51
Speaker
is there you know I never really even thought of it, but it makes sense. There's a big legal component to reporting. Are there certain stories or statements that you have to have a lawyer or your legal department or whatever look over to go, um how can we word this to where, you know,
00:18:11
Speaker
We're safe to proceed. So there's been a few stories um that I've sent to so Missouri Press Association. They have a ah legal counsel and that we have access to for situations like that.
Legal and Ethical Reporting
00:18:25
Speaker
okay um So I basically send the content to them and say, hey, do you have any concerns about this? um Am I opening up myself to any kind of legal action?
00:18:36
Speaker
And they'll say, oh, no, this is great. You're you know perfectly fine. Or they'll say, you know right here, this leaves some interpret room for interpretation. And you might reconsider how that's presented or worded. And um yeah, it's definitely something to be cognizant of. um And one thing that I do, like I mean, I tell and A lot of people, um you know they'll come to me with like, oh, this this situation happened to me and the sheriff for the you know police chief. nobody's Nobody's doing anything about it. And I want you to write a story. And I have to say, well, so I can't just blast the name of somebody you're accusing of something. I yeah for have i have to have a paper trail. And with crime stuff, that's probable cause reports like there has to be
00:19:25
Speaker
There has to be a charge, a report made, and typically a charge filed before I will use names or or do anything like that. Do you have to remove the emotion from that type of a scenario and just be very analytical about what you see and what you say, correct? Yes. Yeah, it's very cut and dry, factual.
00:19:50
Speaker
um don't add, you can't add or embellish. Um, the, a lot of times I do soften language. Um, there's a thing, uh, in journalism called the Cheerios test. Okay. Um, so if you're, you know,
00:20:07
Speaker
You just got your paper in the mail, you're sitting down with your cup of coffee and your bowl of Cheerios, and the top story is something you know absolutely repulsive. Think heinous crime, especially involving children, um stuff like that. you know It will be very detailed but um in the probable cause statement like this person did XYZ.
00:20:31
Speaker
um And a lot of that language is is just a little much. um And you can say what happened in less words. And that's kind of where I and try to be a little bit more um
00:20:48
Speaker
Oh, just respectful and and cognizant of how people are going to react and understand and, um, you know, what's really need to know versus just sensationalism. Blabbing, blabbing everything sure now as it is. Well, that's admirable. Uh, it seems like there's a lot of reporting nowadays that just seems to go straight for the shock value, regardless of, you know, how it's received.
Emotional Challenges of Journalism
00:21:15
Speaker
Um,
00:21:17
Speaker
You know, there's a time and a place for certain types of language, but yeah, you have to, you probably have to tread carefully on a lot of things. And it's nice that from what I hear from you, you have to look at yourself in the mirror when you report something. And if you can, then, you know, that's a step in the, a big step in the right direction. Well, and very much so. Like I've, there are stories I've reported that I've not felt good about. Um, and some that is, I won't say haunted me, but some that I still, you know, live with.
00:21:46
Speaker
a Decisions that I had made and there's some relationships You know from those that wouldn't would never be repaired. I mean there's you have You have to understand that not everybody's gonna like what you write and not everybody's gonna like you and yeah, that's part of the job and you just have to Keep your head up and do it as well as you can and as fair as you can. Mm-hmm The topic that you mentioned a second ago or the service that the, as far as the legal counsel that you get from, it was a statewide agency. I forget the name. Yeah, Missouri Press. Right. When you send them something, I know that your line of work is is usually time sensitive. You've got deadlines constantly.
00:22:30
Speaker
I'm just curious what their turnaround time is on something like that. Do you get I mean, can you like call a hot phone up in St. Louis or something somewhere and get somebody on the line that can tell you right then or how does that work?
00:22:42
Speaker
Um, so it's usually a day or two turnaround. Um, they're pretty responsive. I can usually get, I can get them on the phone at least within 24 hours. and Okay. Um, and then as far as, you know, really working on the article and, and all that, maybe be another 24. Okay. Yeah, I was curious cause I know that you don't have the luxury of time. Sometimes you need an answer. Um, so now, and those situations really don't,
00:23:12
Speaker
Those kind of situations mostly apply if it's an in-depth reporting, um something we've been working on for a while that we're going to make sure we're going to give ourselves enough time that we're going to make sure we have it right and fully vetted and okayed and and all of that before we go to print. Just to shift gears for a second, what is it that you like most about your job?
Balancing Work and Personal Life
00:23:37
Speaker
And then I'll immediately follow that up with what do you dislike most about your job?
00:23:42
Speaker
Um, so what I like most is really just getting to meet and talk to so many different people and, and learn their experiences. Um, there was a day back in, in Cersei where we were, um,
00:24:01
Speaker
Oh, it was Veterans Day themed stories. um And in the same day, I interviewed an African-American guy who was a Vietnam War vet and also a um survivor of Auschwitz who was, she was six when she went in and left when she was nine, I think.
00:24:23
Speaker
yeah um and the you know the The Vietnam vet, i mean he came back to just turmoil. yeah I'll never forget. I told him that day, you know thank you for your service. and and He just broke down in front of me. He was like, you're only the second or third person that's ever said that to me. Good girl. Really, it's like I love the meeting people, hearing their stories, the impact, and then sharing that with other people to hopefully impact their lives in a positive way or an informative way.
00:24:54
Speaker
um you know I love that. I love sports photography. If I could just do that, I would probably just do that. um Those are probably my favorite things. The least favorite is definitely the time.
00:25:12
Speaker
yeah um you know Like I said, time management is is super key. There's a lot of times that The job takes me away from where I want to be or what I want to be doing. and that's That's what I signed up for. so Yeah. Do you ever get to, if you're driving over to go take some pictures, do you take your kids with you or is that not something that typically happens? so i didn't you They're just getting old enough, so my oldest is nine now, so fourth grade, um and then we have a three-year-old.
00:25:46
Speaker
Um, so the three year old, not really. Yeah. Yeah. I can either take her and have a good time with her, or I can go on my own and take pictures that I can't. Right. And you can't really do both with that one. Um, uh, the nine year old, she's come with me to some football games and.
00:26:02
Speaker
um you know We'll go to events together and especially kid-centric stuff. and She gets to kind of mill around and do the events and I'll take my pictures and then we'll you know meet back up them and do a few things together. um We've been doing more of that, um trying to do stuff for the family as well as as well as work. ah sure and There's lots of opportunity to do it at the same time.
00:26:27
Speaker
ah Well, you probably have the press pass that gets you down onto the field and whatnot. So the family gets to to go with you for football. Yeah. oh Well, anywhere really. Yeah. Um, yeah, nobody, of course I've, I've been covering Cassville for, I think this was my 11th season. So they all pretty well know me now. Um, but yeah, I mean, I laid down on the sidelines as long as she'd buy me, um, she'll either there be.
00:26:57
Speaker
next to me or after she gets bored being next to me, she'll go find her friends and just be on the track. and right um It is interesting sometimes that I have one eye in my lens and then my other eye is like completely turned around like making sure I can still see her. yeah ah That can be a challenge, but it's yeah she has a good time. and Good.
00:27:20
Speaker
When you, I'm curious about your day. like you I know every day is different, but do you find that most of your job is at a desk? Are you on the phone? Are you shooting emails? Are you out and about meeting people and taking pictures? Or is it just every day is completely different? Like, can you give me a rough guesstimate of 65% of the time I'm in the office at my desk and the other time I'm out or vice versa? How does that go?
00:27:46
Speaker
So it's really um Monday, Tuesday. are my design days, okay finishing, reporting, and design. and okay so that's I'm typically at my computer you know thinking of deadlines um on those days. okay um Wednesday morning I come in and everything is up on the website and I have to go like manage the website and put everything out on social like schedule everything to go out on our social media and stuff.
00:28:18
Speaker
Um, by Wednesday afternoon and then Thursday, Friday, um, it's kind of just whatever it needs to be. Um, I do a lot of interviews, uh, by phone and by email, and um, especially sports. I've coaches like email. Yeah. a bit And that's fine with me because it's, you know, copy paste and I get the gist and it's, I have any followups. I can always call them, but, um, so yeah, kind of.
00:28:47
Speaker
Thursday, Friday, I pretty much um conceptualize the content for the next week. um ah Do you typically work about a week or two in advance? Um, so I send the paper, uh, Tuesdays at two. Okay. Um, and then I start on the next edition, Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning, depending on what all is going on. All right. Yeah.
00:29:15
Speaker
Have you ever considered or have you ever ventured out into seeing if you could go to some Chiefs games or some Springfield Cardinal games or just venture out into more sports stuff since you like that or do you even have the time?
Memorable Sports Coverage
00:29:30
Speaker
So before, um when I first got here, my publisher then, um at at that time when I when i first moved to Cassville, so I left and on my backup. So at Circe, my boss there that left came to Monette.
00:29:47
Speaker
And Monette and Cassville were sister papers, so he was publisher of both. okay um So he called me and was like, hey, I got this paper in Cassville, Missouri that I want you to come run. It's a weekly. And I was like, where the heck is Cassville, Missouri? Why the heck would I want to move there? And he's like, just come up here, check it out. And I did. And I turned him down. And then a week later, I called him back and I was like, that was stupid. Is it still offer? Is the offer still there? I'll just i'll do it.
00:30:13
Speaker
um So I did. And six months after starting in Cassville, he made me editor of Milnet 2. And then football season came around and he was a big cheese fan. So he's like, well, I'll just put him for press passes and see if we get anything. um So I've been to...
00:30:31
Speaker
probably five or six Chiefs games. and We would typically get one a field pass for photos and one press box pass. um And because I was not the boss, I got the press box pass. right But one time we did get two field passes. We would always apply for two field and they would just give us one of each. But one time they did give us two field passes and that was so much fun on being on the field in an NFL game.
00:31:00
Speaker
Oh, yeah. um And I got a great shot of like it was a lot. It was the Chargers and it was the last play of the game and they bombed one end into the end zone. And you see the Chargers guys like diving for the ball and the Chiefs defenders that are batting it away. And yeah, like I was I was on TV in that moment, you know, taking the shot and stuff. So, yeah, it was that's pretty cool. um But we don't really. So like Casper, we only the Democrat only covers um Central and Southern Berry County. So um not covering the Chiefs or the Cardinals or really anything outside of our coverage area. yeah They don't want to give us press passes because we're not giving them coverage and I don't want them to see that. so and Also, ah you know a Chiefs game, that's a whole day thing. so sure that's i With our schedule, one of the things that
00:31:58
Speaker
that I like to do is keep Sundays open. yeah so yeah If I were to want to go to a Chiefs game, if it's a noon game, which they hardly play at noon anymore, but if it's a noon game, I mean, we would get up at seven, meet up at seven, drive to the stadium, go to the game, you know go get some barbecue after because you have to, and you know we're home by like 10. It's a long day. it's It's a full day. Yeah.
00:32:27
Speaker
Worth it back then, probably not so much now. Right.
Influential Mentors
00:32:30
Speaker
are there When you were coming up in the in your education and in your early years, getting your feet wet, learning the business, did you have any mentors or people that kind of took you under their wing and and you look back and go, that person showed me so much that I still use to this day? Mm-hmm.
00:32:49
Speaker
um There's a couple. So, Sonny Rhodes was my um one of my professors in college. he was He was the professor in the photography class that I took. And there was another one that I took with him. um And he and I just really kind of hit it off and got along. And and i I consulted him for advice gone for years, oh even even after I moved here.
00:33:14
Speaker
um I was still calling him every now and then like, Hey, like, how do you think I should handle this? You know, he um, and he's come up and visited and he's, yeah, he was really a big part. I mean, as far as a mentor early on.
00:33:31
Speaker
um not having anybody in the family that did anything. like he was He was basically it. And then I would say my my first boss, um Jacob Vincerci, he really challenged me um in a lot of ways and demanded a very high quality of reporting and a very deliberate quality of reporting. Um, you know, I would turn into stories to him and he'd take his red tan and, you know, either it's, wow, that was an incredible story. Great job, which happened maybe one of 10. And then the other night is like, I said, I have this follow-up question. I have this follow-up question. Like you are not making any sense here, you know, kind of,
00:34:17
Speaker
A lot of the guidance that I got on the job early on was because of him and the standard that he set. um you know And at that time, we um we were winning the Arkansas Press Association Best Paper of the Year for our size.
00:34:33
Speaker
Um, when we moved here, um, we started entering Missouri press associations contest and we won six gold cups in a row. Um, like the best small weekly newspaper in the state. Um, yeah, six times in a row, we got that. So that's a big deal. That's where I go back to like.
00:34:53
Speaker
the training and and all of that experience in different positions um and seeing fully like what what a newspaper should be. um A lot of that in the moment probably came from Jacob. When he was pushing you on your articles, you said he pulled out his red pin. What was he trying to get you? what Well, this may be too,
00:35:19
Speaker
too broad of a question, but was he just trying to get you to be more succinct in your writing or was he, was he just your, your explanations were not clear. They were too wordy. What, what do they typically try and do? Or is it just depend on the person that's writing? So it wasn't, it was more like there needs to be more information. Like here's a here's a question that you should ask that would expand the story and make it even better. I see. um That's typically what it was. Okay.
00:35:53
Speaker
yeah he was a A few times maybe that he was like, you know, this need the whole rewrite come at it from a different angle. yeah And those were the hardest, but, uh, no, most of the time it's like, Oh, well, you know, if this is happening, then this should be going along with it, but she didn't ask about this. So go back and ask him.
00:36:12
Speaker
You know just making sure the stories fully fledged out. ah um And I'll do a follow up your your photography instructor that was you said you had contacted many times after you you left school.
00:36:27
Speaker
It seems like photography would be rather straightforward, but you just point the camera towards what you want and then you just take pictures and you find the best one and then there you go. There's, that's obviously a very uninformed statement. I know there's a lot more to that, but yeah. Um, I've got an interview with the lady that owns a photography business next week, I hope, and we're going to dive into that more. But as far as news reporting and pictures,
00:36:56
Speaker
Is there something like with sports, for example, do you always want to be down by the end zone? So you're going to get the action shot or how do you typically approach a football game when you're a photographer?
00:37:08
Speaker
So football specifically, um, you always want to stay, um, you want to be facing your team. So like if, okay, if your team's playing an offense, go into the North, you want to be at the North facing South. So you get them coming at you. Okay. That's a really big key. Okay. Um, you know, kind of follow the play. Um,
00:37:36
Speaker
you know, if if we get close to the end zone, I might go into the, you know, the back of the end zone, um, and shoot from there just to mix it up a little bit. I mean, most of the shots are from the sidelines. Um, really with any sport or, or photography in general, whether it's really whether news or sports, um, capturing action and capturing emotion are the two biggest things. So like if a quarterback goes on a 50-yard run and front flips into the end zone,
00:38:11
Speaker
You want to catch him right in the peak of his front flip. yeah Right. It's compelling and exciting and great action. um And then, you know, after that, when he's running to the sideline, takes his helmet off and is screaming, you know, yeah, I did it. And high fives coach, you know, that's your emotion shot. And you want to go. okay you So it's really storytelling of the whole situation. Right. Trying to put people in it, you know. The camera.
00:38:41
Speaker
Well, you know, when I was younger, everything was, if it was 35 millimeter with a zoom lens that, you know, was the size of, you know, a gum cap. I mean, the thing was gigantic. You know, you only, you couldn't do the rapid fire shots or you'd run out of film real quick. Now with digital, I mean, you can just push that button and just get a ton of shots that you have to choose from to find what you're looking for as far as the emotion or the action. Yeah. Yeah. The conveniences of technology. Sure. Which I, uh, when I was in high school, we were still, we were still film, uh, at that paper and we had a dark room. Yeah. um So I've got experience with it, but man, I,
00:39:21
Speaker
I love that we're digital now. I've been dark rooms. That's a process. Yep. Yeah, absolutely. Um, no, I mean a typical football game, like I'll shoot probably between five and 700 pictures. My goodness. Total. Um, and then I'll pull out about 15 to 70. So 10%. Wow. That's a lot though.
00:39:50
Speaker
What, if someone was, you know, I keep going back to the, if folks are listening to you and they think, I think I want to get into journalism. I want to get into photography.
Essential Journalism Skills
00:39:59
Speaker
Are there any types of soft skills um that you really need to have in order to set yourself apart from the competition in this line of work?
00:40:11
Speaker
um All of them. It's very soft skill oriented. That was in your questions and I actually hope it's soft skills because I'm like, all right, which which soft skills are probably most appropriate? but like right I mean, communication, yes, ah you have to communicate to do interviews, you have to be a good listener, and you also have to be able to understand what's being communicated to you.
00:40:33
Speaker
um properly. um you know Critical thinking, how how you're putting a story together, what's your you know your angle, your ah your purpose, your impact. um Adaptability is a huge one. and you know Being able to do stuff on the fly. dan yeah like Things change all the time and you have to be able to react and and move on. sure um You know, time management, problem solving, creative thinking.
00:41:06
Speaker
um You got them all on here. I mean, yeah, it's really, you know. Listening to you talk about all of your different, the different hats that you wear in your business, time management seems like that's going to be way up there near the top, if not at the top. Yeah. Yeah, it is. I mean, to have, to have a life outside of work. Yes. Yeah.
00:41:29
Speaker
yeah what What advice would you give someone in your line of work? You know, we're all humans, we all make mistakes, we all fail from time to time as we progress. um I'm sure you've made mistakes in your career just like I have.
Learning from Mistakes
00:41:43
Speaker
What advice would you give someone when they make a mistake other than don't make a mistake? Everybody's going to make mistakes. sure i've I've made my fair share. I've gotten better about it because I think, first of all, you have to be accountable. um so First of all, you have to listen. you know If somebody is going to come in and complain and say, you know you did this wrong and
00:42:10
Speaker
you know That's your fault. um You have to be able to have that empathy and and see their side. um And then you have to, you know assuming that you it is actually a mistake, um you have to be accountable to that. to that um you know, I could think one of probably one of the biggest ones that I ever made, um, was in Monette. My reporter went out and took a picture at a car wreck, um, where somebody had died yeah and I, I saw the picture and I was like, you know, there was, there was, uh, the car and then in front of the car on the ground was what looked like a tarp, but I couldn't really tell.
00:42:55
Speaker
And I asked the reporter like, hey, what is this on the ground here? And he's like, oh, I don't know. I didn't really get close enough. So I'm like, okay, well, it's probably no big deal. Run the picture. Well, that was the victim under the tarp. And their family was rightfully very upset about that. um you know They had daughters in middle school and high school, and that picture was being you know shared far un wide and wide in a small community. um So yeah, they were they were very upset, um and they deserved to be. And they contacted me, and we talked, and I'm like, look, you know i it is my mistake. I didn't realize that's what that was. I would have never printed it had I known. Unfortunately, it's already out. The damage is done. All I can do is say, I'm sorry. I will learn from this and never do it again. and
00:43:44
Speaker
um you know and and i'd I've learned over time in those situations that accountability um and sometimes an apology or understanding really goes such a long way. i mean that family That family is still very prominent around here. um you know The daughters, there was was a few weeks after that,
00:44:11
Speaker
the oldest daughter of it was in high school. Like she came up to me on the football during a football game. Um, she came down from the student section and walked up to me on the track and was just like, Hey, you know, my mom and I talked and I just want to tell you, like, thank you for seeing us and for, you know, doing what you can to make this situation better.
00:44:32
Speaker
Yeah. And I was just like, I didn't even know what to say at that point. Right. Because that was incredible to me. um And I think to get to that point, you really do have to you have to be empathetic and understand people and and understand that it's not whatever you think is not the only thing.
00:44:51
Speaker
Right. Well, from what you're telling me and from what I know of you, I would think that your genuine apology came across. And that's not just lip service that you give people. We all make mistakes. If you own it and genuinely apologize for it, sometimes that's all you can offer. But sometimes that is enough. And it sounds like in that case, that was enough to at least move on.
00:45:18
Speaker
It wasn't that one. yeah I mean, there's other ones like, so there was a situation a couple of years ago where we had a ah coach, um there was a kind of domestic incident at home. um And that ended up in him working his job as a coach at the school. And I reported it from a PC and, and, you know,
00:45:43
Speaker
what it was, um, a crime story as far as I knew it, you know, cause I can't, can't play favorites. Um, and I, as much as I respected the coach at the time, like that it was news. Um, so I reported it and he and his wife came in and was like, Hey, we understand you had to report that, but, um, the charges had been dropped and we want to tell our side.
Fairness in Coverage
00:46:08
Speaker
And because the charges were dropped and it's no longer ah no longer a case, I was like, well, i I can't really deny you that. It would be unsafe. So they got they got a return story. you know And it's kind of that balancing act almost all the time. Yeah.
00:46:29
Speaker
Yeah, doing well and what you need to do, but also, you know, being there for other people when they, when they need you. Yeah. No, that sounds, that sounds like the right approach. It sounds balanced and that's, that's really all you can ask when you're just reporting what's going on.
00:46:45
Speaker
But if you weren't, if you weren't in your current career, was there something else that when you were younger, did you want to be a bull rider or, you know, work on a shrimp boat or, you know, was there some other career that you thought you might want to do, but it just wasn't a good fit at the time and you never did.
Passion for Soccer
00:47:03
Speaker
So I always wanted to play soccer. okay I started playing soccer when I was three, started playing competitive when I was 12, 13. I also started refereeing at that time. So I've refereed it at USU soccer regionals, um which has five regions and and the region that I refereed at 12 states, 12 or 18 states.
00:47:29
Speaker
um and it's like the state champions from each state scoring off against each other like you know leading up to a national champion kind of thing like it's i loved that um always did that competitive nature and And as a player, I was, I was fair. Um, I had my moments. Um, you know, I played in college and we, we got seventh in the nation my first year. Um, and that was in the, it's the national Christian collegiate athletic association. okay um So it's smaller schools, you know, all.
00:48:04
Speaker
all religious affiliated. um But nonetheless, I mean, seventh, that's pretty good. that's pretty good so yeah You don't know it, but you are talking to a state champ from the AYSO League when I was a young kid. 1982, state champs in Kansas. you go The Golden Eagles. So yeah, that's one of the only trophies I ever got. so it's About the size of a postage stamp, but whatever. I'll take it. So club ball. I won two state championships and then senior year of high school we were state runner up. ah Lost to an undefeated team won nothing.
00:48:44
Speaker
Yeah, that's funny. that There was a moment where I had a free kick and and almost scored and the goalie stopped it. And that goalie ended up being my teammate later at Central Baptist. And we had yeah always had a good time about that. Oh, sure. I would set the ball in that spot during warmups almost every day. and like Yeah. All right, Gio, see if you can stop at this time.
00:49:03
Speaker
but Well, you've you've got some success in in soccer, but um and I'm going to ask you to do something most people don't like, but I'm going to ask you to brag on yourself for a minute.
Awards and Recognition
00:49:12
Speaker
I have some people have shared some of the different you've a lot won a lot of awards for your reporting. There's I think 2017 was reporter for the entire best reporter for the entire state of Missouri, if that's right.
00:49:26
Speaker
2017 was, I think it's a William E. James, I think is what it's called. It was Young Journalists of the Year. nice um So that's journalists under 30 and they're nominated by their editors or or whatever.
00:49:43
Speaker
um and i That year, i I saw that award and I was like, Well, I think I can qualify for that like you know with ah everything that I'm doing. So I asked my boss, like hey, would you nominate me for this? And he was like, well, you write it up and I'll just sign my name on it. So that's what we did. um And i it was funny because I submitted for the weekly. um And I guess I don't know how many candidates they had or what the field was like, but i they gave it to me for the daily.
00:50:14
Speaker
Um, which was like, wow, you know, like I, if there was reporters from the star or the post dispatch or the newsletter, like, you know, I beat those people out. Yeah. Um, yeah, that was a huge one. That was, that was a lot of fun. Um, you know, worldwide we.
00:50:30
Speaker
We enter every year. um yeah We have six gold cups and then I got put on a budget because you have to pay for entries. oh god so I got put on a budget and that kind of lessened.
00:50:45
Speaker
the amount that we won. There was also some other shifts in subscription numbers and a couple papers that were in the category above us came down to our category, um which made it more difficult because they were, even though their subscriptions, they were even with us, they were a lot more staffed.
00:51:05
Speaker
Um, and had a lot more entries and really, and good stuff. so I mean, it's not all about quantity. It's, there has to be quality too. So sure. Um, so yeah, for a few years we didn't like 2020, I think was my, it was my favorite year because we, we won our sixth for Cassville and then our first in Monette. Um, so both of my papers won gold cups. Um, that's small weekly and best small daily. There you go. And that's.
00:51:35
Speaker
Professionally, that was probably the proudest moment until this year. um We didn't really enter a lot those following years. We want to see things, but we never really contended for the cup. um and Then when ah Jordan, my wife, and I, when we bought the paper last year, um you know we put a lot of time and effort into it and making it better and and you know good quality. and Then this year, I told her, like um I want that cup again.
00:52:05
Speaker
and for our first year of ownership, like that would be that would be awesome. so i did i mean i i entered Actually, I entered everything that I thought that I should enter, but it was less than I had entered before in 2016, 2017. It was about half of the entries that we used to put in. um But a lot of them won and we ended up beating the runner up by basically one award. um you know It's first, second, third are given and you get certain number of points um for each placement and and all the points are added up and then the paper with the most points gets to go cut. okay um and We were basically one one first place to their second place, like that was the difference.
00:52:52
Speaker
wow and so that was and and and The paper that we beat is one of those papers that they'd wanted ah Couple years. They were one of the ones that came down from the category above us um And it's an excellent paper like their publisher and I are good friends ah we bounce ideas off each other we've there's a There's an organization called the International Society of weekly newspaper editors. Okay, which is based in Joplin, but it's an international um
00:53:23
Speaker
there's There's over I think 150 or 200 editors of papers and we have a conference every year and at that conference we do this kind of roundtable discussion thing where everybody brings their papers and Um, it's called editorial critiques and we all look at each other's papers and say, Oh, this is great, but this needs some work. And what are you doing here? And, you know, so Ken and I, we were, we were in the same group this year. Um, and it's really funny cause we, we run our papers very similarly. Um, and the content and is really.
00:53:58
Speaker
but almost mirrors. I mean, content design, it's it's we're pretty neck and neck. um So it's a lot of fun to kind of have that little bit of competitiveness with him and and yeah, to this year, come out on top.
Networking and Feedback
00:54:14
Speaker
Is that convention that you were talking about, you said it's every year, do you have to travel for that? is that a Is it like in Los Angeles or in Las Vegas or New York or something? This year, it was actually in Toronto. Oh, okay. So it changes locations? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Next year, it's going to be in South Dakota.
00:54:32
Speaker
Alright, but this year it was in Toronto. So we actually we took the girl with us and we made it kind of a half vacation half, you know, sure venture. So what a deal. So yeah, go there to see ah Mount Rushmore and whatnot. ah We so we did see Niagara Falls. and Okay. Yeah, didn't do Rushmore Rushmore. It's that's in South Dakota, isn't it?
00:54:56
Speaker
I thought I'm geographically challenged. So hold me to that. No, we were, we, we did go see Niagara falls, which that was incredible. Cause I never, I'm gonna have seen pictures, but like, I never thought I would be in a boat at the mouth of megra like, yeah that was, that was pretty cool. Is it bigger than you think?
00:55:16
Speaker
Yes. Okay. It's, it's pretty incredible. Like the, the power from it, like there's, there's really a feeling that you get when you're there. Um, it's, it's indescribable almost. I bet you took some good pictures of that. We did picture and video and yeah, some got sprayed a little bit that it survived. One more question for you. Um, curious, what is the best compliment professionally that you've ever received?
00:55:47
Speaker
You know, I saw that question and I didn't get down to it. And really it's, I mean, your awards are kind of a ah compliment, you know, that you're obviously doing a very good job or your peers value your work. So really, um, to me, it's, it's the people in the community that,
00:56:12
Speaker
Um, very, you know, with full intent and very heartfelt say, thank you for what you're doing at the newspaper. We need a good community paper and you are doing a wonderful job and we love it. Right. That just, they'll break me down almost every time. Um, cause yeah, I mean, that's, this is what we do and that's who we do it for. And, and it never gets old to hear you're doing a good job.
00:56:39
Speaker
Sure. Well, and it sounds like it's genuine too. So that always conveys, you know, the heartfelt behind it. Yeah. And we have a few, there's a few of our really loyal leaders that, you know, every time they call us are like, Oh, I've, I read this and and you did so good with that. And I love your pictures and just, yeah, that kind of those moments, really, it's not, it's not one specific thing. It's, it's those moments where somebody genuinely just really enjoyed you know the product you're providing. Kyle, this has been really eye-opening. I've never talked to someone that you know owns a paper and has made a career in journalism. and so I learned a lot by talking with you today and really
00:57:24
Speaker
Part of my favorite part of this podcast is just getting to see what the nuts and bolts of a career is actually like. I know that I'm wanting to help people that may have an interest in following your footsteps and your line of work, but I'm also curious by nature. And so it's so neat to to hear, you know, how you grow into, into being the professional journalists that you are. So I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. Yeah.
00:57:48
Speaker
ah One thing I always say is um the the cool thing about being a journalism major and and going into this field is you don't specialize. You get to talk to so many different people, um you know astronauts, musicians, you know yeah authors, just the whole gamut of ah people, and you get to learn just a little bit about everything.
00:58:13
Speaker
yeah um and gathering that knowledge and and then using it to inform people or um even inform yourself and and you know help anybody in some sort of way. like that's That's really what it's about to me.
Future Podcast Aspirations
00:58:27
Speaker
You ever thought about starting a podcast, Cal? A time or two. Yes. You know, time. time Yeah. You're straight. Yeah. Yeah. There's only so much time management you can do when you've run out of time. So yeah. Yeah. Thanks a lot, Kyle. 8th day in the week would be, you know, you can make that happen. I'll talk to God about that. See if we can make that happen. Thanks a lot, Kyle. I appreciate your time.
00:58:51
Speaker
And that wraps up another episode of the jobs podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. Hopefully you found that interesting. As always, I wait until the end of an interview to ask you to like, subscribe and share. I feel it's important that I earn that support from you. Thanks again, and we will see you on the next one.